[sdiy] box of tubes - mercury revisited

[Scott Gravenhorst]

If this is incorrect or inaccurate, I'm here to learn - but AFAIK...

Tubes which use mercury to enhance conduction are usually power tubes.  They contain
something called a "getter" which is used to attract the mercury to collect it when the
tube cools off.  From my old man's memory, the getter looks like a circular piece of
metal near the bottom of the tube.  The ring has a metal stick welded to it that is
embedded into the glass stem.  I would also think that the spec sheet for the tube will
mention mercury.

As long as the tubes are still sealed, they are not dangerous at all.

Anthony Bisset <abisset at dspaudio.com> wrote:
>i found a box of tubes from a repairmans closet.  they appear to be mostly
>from tv, radio and amplifiers.  is it likely any of them contain mercury?
>so, how do you identify a mercury vapour tube?
>
>being a mad hatter isn't an appealing lifestyle,
>-anthony
>
>

---------------------------------------------------------
- Where merit is not rewarded, excellence fades.
- Hydrogen is pointless without solar.
- What good are laws that only lawyers understand?
- The media's credibility should always be questioned.
- The only good terrorist is a dead terrorist.
- Governments do nothing well, save collect taxes.

-- Scott Gravenhorst | LegoManiac / Lego Trains / RIS 1.5
-- Linux Rex         | RedWebMail by RedStarWare
-- FatMan: home1.gte.net/res0658s/fatman/
-- NonFatMan: home1.gte.net/res0658s/electronics/
-- Autodidactic Master of Arcane and Hidden Knowledge.