My selection

Here are gathered the books that allowed me to better understand the operation of vintage radios. You will find theoretical and technical works dating from the era of tubes, but also more recent works on electronics, physics, or mathematics that allow the design of test equipment or the development of calculation programs whose primary use is not related to vintage radios. Some of them are still published and therefore available. For the others, you need to visit vintage radio fairs or make requests on specialized forums: forum.retrotechnique.org, archives.doctsf.com, annonces.retrotechnique.org, tubebooks.org, etc...

Demuiderkring - Tubes and transistors.(1961)

Tubes and transistors cover
Tube library and transistor library:
Very clear, it contains information on tubes, cathode ray tubes, "magic eyes", germanium transistors.
Page intérieure du Demuiderkring Tubes and transistors

P. H. BRANS - VADE-MECUM of radio tubes.(1945)

Carnets TSF
Contents:

  • Data on receiving tubes.
  • Data on less common tubes.
  • Comparison table.
  • Replacement tubes.
  • Bases
  • Russian tubes
  • Service tubes.

Characteristics in table form of tubes including the oldest ones — Presented in 4 languages including French.
Carnets TSF : un détail du brans Details here (102Kb)

TELEFUNKEN - TASCHENBUCH.(1963)

taschenbuch cover
Contents:

  • Empfänger- und Verstärkerröhren
    Receiving and amplifying tubes
  • Fernseh-Bildröhren
    Television picture tubes
  • Transistoren
    Transistors
  • Germanium-Dioden • Silizium-Dioden
    Germanium diodes - Silicon diodes
  • Speziairöhren • Mikrowellen-Röhren
    Special tubes • Micro wave tubes
  • Oszillographen-Röhren
    Cathode-ray tubes
  • Klein-Thyratrons • Kaltkathoden-Röhren
    Small thyratrons • Cold-cathode tubes
  • Photozellen • Stabilisatoren
    Photo tubes • Voltage regulators
  • Senderöhren • Vakuum-Kondensatoren
    Transmitting tubes • Vacuum capacitors
  • Abmessungen • Vergleichslisten
    Outlines • Identity charts
  • Technischer Anhang
    Technical appendix

Characteristics in table form of tubes including the oldest ones — Presented in 2 languages (German and English).
Carnets TSF An excerpt here (600Kb)

AEG-TELEFUNKEN - TASCHENBUCH.(1975)

taschenbuch cover
Contents:

  • Data on receiving tubes.
  • Data on less common tubes.
  • Comparison table.
  • Replacement tubes.
  • Bases
  • Russian tubes
  • Service tubes.

Characteristics in table form of tubes including the oldest ones — Presented in 2 languages (German and English).

L. Gaudillat - Official lexicon of radio tubes.(1946)

Lexique officiel des lampes radio
Contents:
  • Instructions for using the lexicon
  • Table of tubes
  • Table of bases (sockets)
  • Equivalent tubes
  • Replacement tubes
Very popular little booklet.
Gaudillat-Lexique-officiel-des-tubes-radio cover An excerpt here (208Kb)

E. AISBERG - L. Gaudillat - R. DE SCHEPPER- Radio Tubes 6th ed.(1957)

Radio tubes 6e edition
Contents:
  • Instructions for using the manual
  • Table of tubes
Very popular little booklet in France.
Radio tubes cover An excerpt here (144Kb)

Michel ADAM - The radio tube.(1943)

Carnets TSF
Contents:

  • Elementary theory of the operation of electronic tubes ELECTRON EMISSION — DIODE AND RECTIFICATION — TRIODE — AMPLIFICATION — DETECTION — REACTION — OSCILLATION — WAVE EMISSION — MODULATION — RECEPTION
  • General characteristics of tubes Current state and trends — Bases for classification of tubes — Characteristics of construction — Various types of bases — Connections of various classic types of bases
  • Properties and functions of the various types of tubes from the diode to the triode-hexode PROPERTIES OF TUBE SERIES CORRESPONDING TO VARIOUS USES — PROPERTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF TUBES — TUBES OF THE EUROPEAN SERIES — TUBES OF THE AMERICAN SERIES — METAL TUBES
  • New achievements in electronic kinematics Generalities on electronic kinematics — Tubes with controlled electronic path — Tubes with directed electronic emissions — Tubes with switching characteristic — Tubes with secondary emission — Normal receiving series
  • Special tubes Shortwave tubes - Acorn tubes — "All-glass" tubes for television — Power amplifier tubes — High-voltage rectifier tubes — Luminescent tubes for optical tuning — Cathode indicators — Current regulator tubes — Voltage stabilizer tubes — Tubes electrometers — Gas-filled triodes (thyratrons) — Tubes with effluvia without bulb — Photoelectric cells — Thermoelectric couples in high vacuum
  • Velocity modulation tubes Velocity and density modulation — Operation of velocity modulation tubes — The double-ended grid — Transformation of modulation of velocity into density modulation — Output electrode and circuit — Various applications of velocity modulation tubes — Construction of velocity modulation tubes — Reflex klystron — Lecher wire oscillator — Hahn tube with annular electrodes — Revolving tube with coaxial elements — Interest of tubes with velocity modulation — Klystron tubes — Amplifier klystron — Oscillator klystron — Rhumbatrons — Operating conditions of klystrons — Results obtained
  • Standardization of receiving tubes Necessity and trends of standardization — Choice of standardized tubes — Types of tubes kept until the depletion of series — Tubes replacements — Standardization of receiving tubes for professional equipment
  • Nomenclature of the main tubes Designation of various types of tubes — EUROPEAN TUBES — TUBES AMERICAN — Table of American tube codes
  • Tables of characteristics Synoptic tables of tube characteristics — Schematic symbols, pinout and connections — Bases of American series tubes — Tube correspondence table — Correspondence between new tubes and old tubes — Monographs of standardized receiving tubes
Same reading level as Berché, but more complete since it is solely dedicated to tubes (up to 1943 models).
Carnets TSF Details here (57Kb)



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