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That's one thing I always wondered about - why is it that some tubes are so *&^# expensive? Especially the color TV tubes. I mean, there aren't that many of us that actually fix these old sets - why are the tubes so costly? I was looking for a spare 6BK4 for my CTC-15, and I was suprised at the cost - nearly $40 at AES! And I better hope the horizontal output never burns out, because I'm not going to be able to afford to replace it.
Is there some secret society of people (besides us, that is) that collect old color TV's? Or are there that many of them out there still in use? Or do television tubes have some other application in industrial situations? Someone once told me that certain tubes are used in ham radio sets - but to be that popular?
And some tubes, really common ones, seem to be pretty expensive for what they are. Like the 6SN7. It's a simple dual triode, used as vertical oscillators and the like. The prices on that one seem to be all over the place. The GTB is signifigantly cheaper than the GT version, and the only difference is the heater warmup time! And then there are BRAND NEW ones - as in currently made, brand new, not sitting on some dusty shelf for years - and those are even cheaper!
Gah! It boggles the mind!
-Ian
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