KT-150 Tung Sol vacuum tube

Test results and observations on this new tube offering.

Tube Depot ( great folks) says that a pair will produce 300 watts yet the max plate dissipation is spec'd at 70 watts.  I don't understand that 300 watt figure.  A KT88SV as a side note is 50 watts and a regular KT88 is 42 or so watts.  They run $90 per tube.  

I will be looking at these asking myself ... is there a reason?  How do they sound when driven to distortion?  (A KT88 distorts in a lovely way but a 6550 distorts in a quick and raspy way that is not too pleasant).  Do they last at voltages on the spec sheet?  Most tubes today do not.  How long will they keep going at full rated voltages?  (My standard series of life tests.)  What do their traces REALLY look like?  Design spec drawings are often not close to being accurate.

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Super Bowl Sunday and Super Bowl Parties

Andy Bales, the CEO of Union Rescue Mission just posted a few photos on Facebook.  His caption read:  

Starting on a batch of chili for 1000 for the big game today-should I say Souper Bowl? I'll post finished product!

Union Rescue Mission.  What a great organization.  Andy Bales.  Their CEO and one heck of an amazing man.

Superbowl Sunday will not see as many homeless folks go hungry, or miss the game if that is of interest.  You want to impress folks with your Superbowl party where you feed ten ... twenty .... fifty?  It won't impress me much.  Andy and is crew will feed over 1,000.

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Sale price my butt ....

In the past I used the products from these folks.  Last time I was given one price on the phone when the order was placed when I was told the amount my credit card would be charged.  A few days later the charge came which was higher than the amount I was told would be charged.  In four orders this was the first time this happened.  I was always charged the posted price.

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Are You Young or Old?

Are you young or old?  Debated.  Argued throughout history.  The answer is easy.  It is not open to interpretation.

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Relationship Advice

Perhaps the thoughts of my last three wives?

But .... to continue .... Some humor perhaps, some advice too .....

The other day I posted my status on Facebook which I often do:

Recap of the past 24 hours. 

Click on "Read more" if you wish to .... read more ;)

Respect Our Government

How should we treat some of our government leaders in DC now that they have cost this nation so much money, disrupted the lives of so many and accomplished less than nothing? 

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/assessing-the-cost-unnecessary-damage

First, I think that everybody that passes most of "them" on the street should spit on them.  That is my personal reactive response but the action below is a better idea.  It is more productive and will make a statement each time a government official was refused service in a restaurant and asked publically to leave.

Second, I feel restaurants should exercise their right to refuse service to many of them. I feel that the publicity a restaurant would receive for doing that would increase their business ten fold and put the American public squarely behind their eating establishment. 

Now, some PR firm feel free to grab my idea and run with it. 

Government is too big. I am now convinced

I am a simple minded man that is not very well informed when it comes to politics or political science.  

This Government shutdown thing.  I don't get it.  Maybe somebody can explain.  It must be more than this.

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Turning a blunder into a learning experience

As some of us get older we hone our abilities and skills to turn a tragedy into something positive .... a study... a learning experience.

A few minutes ago I was swapping old an empty toilet paper roll for a new one.  The new one dropped in the toilet.  (I generally close the lid when working around the proverbial potty but did not do so today).

So .... What did I do?

Observed how much the water line in the toilet dropped pre and post potty tragedy.  Took the new roll of TP and weighed it to compare to the new roll that fell in the toilet.  I am still thinking how to include this in a vacuum tube report.  Question to self .... do 12AX7s float?  Long plate versus short plate?

President Obama - You have lost one more Democrat

President Obama - you should bow your head in shame
Using the Naval Base tragedy to further your own agenda

I just wrote our President.

I have done this in the past.

I have NEVER received a reply even though others I have written have had the courtesy to send me back a simple form letter.

This is my latest:

I voted for you.  Twice.

I felt you have done some good things for the country and some not so good things.

Your approach to reduce violence by restricting firearms ownership is nothing short of shallow thinking and setting up a platform for people whose thought processes are simplistic at best.

You are not addressing mental health, the economy or the myriad of other aspects that contribute to violence.

You show inconsistent logic on a regular basis.  Strict gun laws to limit, restrict or make unavailable sporting arms one moment and expecting us to bomb Syria the next.

The recent tragedy at the Naval facility was a lack of security.  It was a result of a sick individual.  How dare you use this tragedy to support your own agenda when it has nothing to do with the facts.  

Shame on you.  You may be President of the United States of America but I have lost respect for you as a human being and person.  

What are you going to do if somebody tosses a ammonia gas bomb in a public place at some point?  Outlaw cleaning products?  Outlaw bleach?  

Criminals will continue to pay no attention to laws and will continue to procure weapons of many types on an illegal basis.  Your reaction to that is to take weapons away from those who legally procure them and remove the defensive capability of the citizens that follow the law.  When trouble is seconds away the police take minutes to arrive.

I am a registered Democrat.  In the future I intend to vote against the Democratic party unless the actions and past performance of a candidate is clear to me.  If undecided I will vote against the Democratic candidate.

I find your actions detestable.  Revolting.  Disgusting.

You have lost one more Democrat.

My thoughts on the NRA can be viewed (along with four videos) at
 http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2013/09/nra-national-rifle-association.html

NRA - National Rifle Association

When I was a young teen I was a Junior Member of the National Rifle Association.

I attended firearms safety classes, marksmanship classes and a few years later when I entered military school I was on their shooting teams.  A few years after that I entered military service and was a member of the Navy Rifle and Navy Pistol Team.  In 1984-1985 I was a member of the Sheriff pistol team.  But .... I had let my NRA membership lapse.  Until 2012.

I wonder if our elected officials look at the percentages of letters, calls and communications they receive each day and compare those that say well done versus those with complaints?  One reason I re-joined the NRA is to add one more voice to an organized group and support them financially as well.

The actions by our government at the State and National level were of growing concern for me on many subjects, not just firearms.  Budget changes can take years to make a change but how our elected representatives respond and act on firearms legislation gives an immediate picture of their views.

I joined the NRA in 2012 as I stated about and now spend time as a very active member writing our representatives on a regular basis, calling their offices and posting on social media such as facebook, twitter, reddit and on this blog which has been read almost 15 million times.

You can read more of what I have posted on social media and learn my own thoughts by clicking on "read more" below.