7JP4 ordeal
 

Well I went and bought a NOS rebuilt 7JP4 off ebay a couple weeks ago.
"Untested" and cheap, and we all know what that usually means!

Sure enough, it was NOS but sure enough it was defective.
I had to pull the base cap off to fix a short caused by a wire out of place.

Putting the base cap back on a tube with 12 active pins is a special kind of hell that no one should have to endure :cry:

After several tries with various types of extensions soldered to the pins I finally did it, the base isn't absolutly snug against the tube but close enough for me.

It works!

I really don't see why 7JP4s aren't still made. The majority of the "1st" TVs use 'em, seems like there would be enuff demand to have a run of 'em every now & then,especially now since people are starting to "discover" the early TVs.Or maybe it's just me,'cos I'm into them...-Sandy G.

...

Eric,

Congratulations on having the patience to get all those wires back in where they belong and salvaging a "dead" tube! I like to think I have a fair amount of patience, especially since no one's ever waiting for me to finish except me, but then when push comes to shove, I frequently find I can get as frustrated as the next guy.

--Dave