[Amps] Pulls?

[Jeff Breitner]

> And how do you find these deals when broadcast stations with older
> transmitters do a pull?
>
> I hear a lot of discussion around how great pulls are as an affordable
> source of good tubes, but it is always vague and never tells us how we can
> get in on the fun.  Is this one of those "you have to know somebody"
> situations?
>

Yes, you pretty much have to know someone.  The good news is that you may
just need to check with your local ham club, chances are someone there
knows a broadcaster and maybe in a dusty corner at the transmitter site are
some long forgotten IPA tubes from an old Harris FMK series.  The bad news
is that I think tubes have long ago started their exit from the broadcast
industry.  Although, these people are still around (
http://www.cpii.com/division.cfm/11) rebuilding tubes, so maybe I'm wrong.

The largest source of useable tubes from my television station (ex)
employer was from the NTSC aural transmitters, and we all know the fate of
NTSC.  The radio stations in the same building were largely solid state a
decade ago, and everything else making substantial power would be of no
interest to amateurs.  Okay, of great interest!  But unfortunately out of
scope and very out of budget for an amateur amplifier project.

When I left, the only thing running conventional tubes suitable for reuse
was the NOAA weather station transmitter utilizing 4cx250Bs.