Ex-Mullard Blackburn facility to begin new valve manufacture

Been watching this for a couple of months and, as they're about to begin sales (I think!), thought I'd share.

Blackburn MicroTech Solutions (BMS) has been formed from the former Philips Components organisation that itself started life as the Mullard Radio Valve Company Limited in 1938.....

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http://www.techtubevalves.com/about_us/index.php

...with renewed interest in analogue devices, the former Mullard site at Blackburn, now belonging to Blackburn MicroTech Solutions, will once again include thermionic valves for radio amplification as one of its key product lines. Even though the Mullard brand can no longer be applied to the product as it is owned by outside parties, the TechTube brand will enforce the quality and reliability standards that the Mullard brand stood for and is now revered for in the market place.

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http://www.techtubevalves.com/about_us/history.php

Initial production will be of three tube types, E813CC (ECC83 aka 12AX7)/E812CC (ECC82 aka 12AU7)/E811CC (ECC81 aka 12AT7), built to new designs based on CRT technology. Price will be £20 - £30. Per my correspondence, sales will begin shortly solely via their website. Power valves are planned for 2009 (EL34, EL84, KT66), with other types possible, longer term. Claims of 10-year life expectancy due to the design, etc. etc.

Terrific vintage clips in "The Blackburn Story" here.

That vid is terrific, if a little long.

Caught this stuff a while ago in http://www.martinloganowners.com/~tdacquis/forum/showthread.php?t=7164

Here's the latest on TechTubes...

May I take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year and thank you for your interest in our new TechTubeTM valve technology.

As you may have read on the web site we launched the TechTubeTM brand back in September 2008 with a view to launching web sales of the product in October. Following very detailed, open and honest feedback from discerning end users at the launch the start of sales was postponed to allow our engineers time to rectify the few technical issues raised, namely valve to valve and within valve consistency, and microphony.

This rectification is taking longer than anticipated. As a consequence it is with regret that I have to inform you of the delay to the launch of the sales web site. The difficult decision has been taken to delay the opening of sales until the beginning of April 2009.

It should be remembered that our goal is to be selling a product that is better than the current manufactured product. Blackburn MicroTech Solutions, the Company behind the TechTubeTM brand, is what remains of the former Mullard Radio Valve works based in Blackburn so we have a strong heritage to uphold, so strong we named our first series after it!

We hope you understand our situation and ask for your patience.

With kind regards,

The TechTubeTM team.

PS> Below are some notes that I would like to reiterate:

The valve will cost £26.09 + VAT @ 15% + shipping if EU based
The valve will cost £26.09 + Duty + shipping if non-EU based
Shipping and Customs clearance will be via UPS courier
Ordering is by credit card off the web site

Larger volume requirements should be directed to [email protected] not ordered via the web site.


In other words, we haven't quite got 'em workin' properly yet? I'll order some when they are available, though, and give some feedback if I remember to.

and the latest latest via email

Hi there,

It’s now been three months since our last notice and activity has been frantic and very productive but as yet the elusive solution is not quite ready for public unveiling. Despite the economic downturn our drive to launch the new TechTube™ valve technology is not diminished. We still have full management backing and are getting closer to the specification we have set ourselves.

Our target for the E813CC valve is to have every triode and consequently every valve with an Ip current within a band from 0.8mA to 1.2mA. We targeted this band after benchmarking several competitor valves. The benchmark analysis showed that current valve production has Ip ranging between 0.7mA and 1.6mA, even though the data sheet specification is 1mA! Within a valve, the triode to triode variation ranges from nothing (both triodes having the same output) to 0.5mA difference between triodes.

NOS valves perform better having Ip varying between 0.7mA and 1.3mA. Mullard NOS (Blackburn production) have excellent within valve (triode to triode) variations of less than 0.1mA against a norm of 0.25mA. Sovtek have a slightly wider triode to triode variation of 0.25mA but valve to valve they are very consistent with all the valves we tested falling between 0.95mA and 1.4mA.

Currently, our Ip ranges from 0.75mA to 1.5mA, too much variation considering our claim that we are benchmarked against the Blackburn Mullard valve. We continue to work on the factors that give this variation and are near to a resolution.

The other characteristic that we needed to improve upon according to feedback from the September show is microphony. Again we benchmarked several valves already in the field, both current production and NOS. Once again the variation seen was incredible. It’s no wonder end users complain about inconsistent performance!! Over the months the team has been working on this problem, we have come to know how valves shake, rattle and role in intimate detail. Our use of high speed cameras, differing construction techniques and numerous mechanical designs has led us in several directions. Unfortunately even though most were successful in removing microphony they created problems with other characteristics of the valve and consequently they have been scrapped. The down side of this process is that time moves on. Our knowledge base is rapidly increasing but that elusive solution that can be industrialised and automated is still to be found. We continue with numerous parallel paths and the team continues to work hard.

As a result of these factors we will not be in a position to launch the web sales to our plan of April this year. The team continues to work hard on the problems and we will keep you informed as we move through April and probably May.



From all in the TechTube™ team @ Blackburn

Nice to hear that they remain dedicated to producing a quality tube even if it does take longer than anticipated.

Interesting news Ken, thanks for the update !

RUR - great post.

The trouble is, these guys have to "re-learn" all the stuff their forefathers learnt.

I find it interesting that is these days of computer modelling and more advanced materials, it is still a real challenge.

Hopefully this answers some of the questions people have been asking about why NOS valves are considered to be superior in a lot of cases...

"Learn from the old masters - and incorporate the best of modern technology." Mr Rolls or Mr Royce - can't remember which!

User211 said:

RUR - great post.

The trouble is, these guys have to "re-learn" all the stuff their forefathers learnt.

I find it interesting that is these days of computer modelling and more advanced materials, it is still a real challenge.

Hopefully this answers some of the questions people have been asking about why NOS valves are considered to be superior in a lot of cases...

"Learn from the old masters - and incorporate the best of modern technology." Mr Rolls or Mr Royce - can't remember which!

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Clearly making tubes is more art than science. They'll need more than the same facility; some of the old guys who made tubes there would help, unfortunately those guys have taken the secret of a great tube to their graves with them. Just as it would be difficult if not impossible to make battleship armor of the same quality as in the USS Missouri (that skill died with those guys also), it seems as difficult to make a new tube as good as the old ones. It seems that everything can't be CAD designed and work as planned

Memories

Watched the Blackburn video with interest. Nostalgic for me since, in the 50s, I worked in the Development Lab at Brimar, one of Mullards competitors. Brought back happy memories of valve manufacture - many thanks.

Hi tony21,

I think it's fascinating how with today's technology they can't reproduce the quality of vacuum tubes that they were making in the 40's.

I for one would love to hear any insights you might have on the process.

Satch

https://shop.blackburnmicrotech.com/

ECC83 equiv. available and in stock now!

Thanks, Justin. Just ordered a pair for tryout. I'll report out in a few weeks after I've received and tested them.:music:

Just checked this morning and stock has gone from "in stock" to "available soon"

Limited to 4 due to anticipated demand.

Well done for getting in quickly, RUR. be interested to see what you think.

The internal construction looks absolutely like nothing else.

Tubes arrived this afternoon. Here's a snap and forgive my feeble photo skills...



As expected, internal construction is wildly different. I'll put them in the M150's tonight and see what happens.

From another forum:

I reality, if they were half that price I would have tried them, without question - after all it would be nice to support a new UK venture. I am still concerned that this is not a drop in replacement for the ECC83 - there is even a warning on the spec sheet;

"..The cathodes used in this valve are based on a low power cathode developed for use in cathode ray tubes. The heater power consumption of these cathodes is a third less than that used in traditional ECC83/12AX7 valves.." and

"..NOTE:

In some applications, Audio Research amplifiers for example, the heater voltage is obtained by tapping off a higher voltage rail via a resistor. As the heater current of the TechTube™ valve is lower than other valves this resistor will need to increase in value to ensure the correct voltage is obtained.

The consequence of not adjusting the resistor will be that the heater voltage supplied to the valve will be higher. This in turn will have a detrimental effect on valve life and will invalidate the valve warranty.."

So do you have to be a techie' to use these or will TechTube be able to advise on every application?

Justin, can you give me a link to this info? I'll run it by the Rogue folks and see if I have an issue.

Thanks!

http://www.techtubevalves.com/about_us/questions_and_answers.php

In this FAQ section somewhere. Good luck. Let us all know what they say.

To be honest, the forum thread says nothing useful... above and beyond what I posted.

After a brief delay whilst Mark O'Brian, the owner/designer @ Rogue was off on vacation, I'm advised that these tubes will work just fine in the M150's. I'll put 'em in today and see what's what. The few early user reports have been extremely positive, though there appear to be sporadic microphonics issues. In fact, I received a package from Tech Tubes last week with a pair of dampers to be used on the tubes to mitigate any microphonics. Nice that they're proactive, not so nice that they may be required in the first place.

More after some burn-in.:music:

I'm betting that if there are any noticeable microphony issues, it'll be inside guitar amps, where they really will get a tough time.

As a point of note, when I was talking to the rep at the London Hi-Fi show, he said that guitar amp sales were a very large percentage of the market i.e. much more than the hi-fi one.

After 50 hours use, I’m really liking these tubes. Highs are superb – crystal clear with no glare. Revealing, dynamic - choose your adjective. To me, they sound very flat across the FR, so if you’re looking for some midrange push, these may not be for you. If you’re looking for some really incredible detail without any vices, they may be just the ticket. They’re definitely staying in my system.

For reference, I’m using the tubes in Rogue M-150 monoblocks , in which my previous favorite was the NOS RCA black plate (orange label).

Ken, I've been enjoying your journey (for obvious reasons since we both own M-150's) have you just replaced the input tube (12ax7) on each amp so far ? and pardon my ignorance but what are you using for driver tubes and output tubes ?

FWIW, again, I'm using RCA 12ax7's, RFT 12au7's and Gold Lion KT-88's. Based on your decription I'm guessing my RCA's to be slightly more 'lush' than the tech tubes.