7011 Base Repair

[Tim Laing]

Hello Jens, and of course the rest of the group. As a long time member of TCA (Tube Collectors Association) poor pin connections in based tubes has come up many times. This was a common problem in the very tubes. 201A triodes etc. 

  Tube manufacturers did NOT want to use a lot of solder on those pins!  A waste of money and materials.  So the pins were barely dipped into the solder, just enough to solder the end of the wire inside the tip of the pin. Most of the pin is empty.  Many times that solder joint can fail.  What many collectors and I do is melt what little solder is in the pin and either suck it out (Boy that burns the lips! Just kidding!) or flick the tube to knock the solder out. (Note the solder usually is hard to melt as it had a low tin content $$$) Then you have a hollow tube with a thin wire in it. I have nice thick rosin core solder that will just fit in the hole. I stick a length of this solder in that matches the tube pin length. Then I use a conical tip on my soldering iron stuck into the hole on the end of the pin to heat the pin while holding the tube in an UPRIGHT position. I After a bit the solder melts and fills most of the pin. Pretty much all the solder stays inside the pin and doesn’t need cleaned off.  The flux in the core of the solder coats the wire and the inside of the pin making a good and much longer connection.  I would try this long before even thinking of trying to break the base loose from the glass and possibly breaking the glass or busting off a wire lead.  (The soldering trick can always be unsoldered again.) Of you don’t have any of the larger gauge solder I can send you some.   Tim Laing

[Jens Boos]

Tim, this is a great idea, thank you for sharing! Will definitely give this a try. I am traveling right now, but when I am back I will have a closer look at those pins of the faulty tubes. It may also make sense to check the working ones.

 

Best wishes

Jens

 

Tim Laing <brant...@gmail.com> hat am 23.09.2022 12:00 CEST geschrieben:

 

 

Hello Jens, and of course the rest of the group. As a long time member of TCA (Tube Collectors Association) poor pin connections in based tubes has come up many times. This was a common problem in the very tubes. 201A triodes etc. 

  Tube manufacturers did NOT want to use a lot of solder on those pins!  A waste of money and materials.  So the pins were barely dipped into the solder, just enough to solder the end of the wire inside the tip of the pin. Most of the pin is empty.  Many times that solder joint can fail.  What many collectors and I do is melt what little solder is in the pin and either suck it out (Boy that burns the lips! Just kidding!) or flick the tube to knock the solder out. (Note the solder usually is hard to melt as it had a low tin content $$$) Then you have a hollow tube with a thin wire in it. I have nice thick rosin core solder that will just fit in the hole. I stick a length of this solder in that matches the tube pin length. Then I use a conical tip on my soldering iron stuck into the hole on the end of the pin to heat the pin while holding the tube in an UPRIGHT position. I After a bit the solder melts and fills most of the pin. Pretty much all the solder stays inside the pin and doesn’t need cleaned off.  The flux in the core of the solder coats the wire and the inside of the pin making a good and much longer connection.  I would try this long before even thinking of trying to break the base loose from the glass and possibly breaking the glass or busting off a wire lead.  (The soldering trick can always be unsoldered again.) Of you don’t have any of the larger gauge solder I can send you some.   Tim Laing

 

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