The AM Forum

not sure if this WE video has been seen here.
https://www.westernelectric.com/blog/made-by-hand-in-the-usa


Made By Hand in the USA | From the Rossville Works
The WE 300B has been made available, don't know for how long. Its hand made in the USA so it's expensive.

$700 for a one tube or $$1,500 for a matched pair! And i though people out there buying all those SDR radios had too much money.

Supply and demand.
If you needed an 845 or 211, etc, probably you would pay a lot more than you might expect?
In fact those tubes do go for a lot of money in the non-ham world today.

But they do make clones of them and the 300B today.
They range from fairly reasonable to just about as much or more than the originals.

Materials and parts are difficult to source as well.
Count the labor involved in a handmade tube, plus the investment in machines/tools to
even consider making a tube! And then there are the overheads... eats power and fuel for lunch!

So, when you get around to thinking about trying to make a going business out of it??
Not so simple.


                             _-_-bear

Hand made tech from the USA is costly for a reason.

There are several 'grades' of Chinese tube in many types. I think we see that reflected in different branding of tubes from the same line, and from alternate factory such as Shuguang vs PS Vane.

But the new US WE 300B - they don't sell seconds so all are first class and have a 5Y warranty they state.

I guess it's a thing. I was mainly happy to see tubes made here again.

They have been manufacturing the 300B since 1997. They moved the manufacturing location several times.
Read history starting at 1997 or read the whole thing:
https://www.westernelectric.com/company-history

Back in the day, in the Bell Labs location where I worked, the stockroom had various vacuum tubes available. Never checked for 300-types, but still have a stash of NOS WECo 417A's.

My mom worked for the original Western Electric in NJ

Need to be more specific. There were a number Western Electric locations in NJ handling a number of manufacturing and standards activities. Somewhere around here I have/had a directory of all WECo locations but can't put my hand on it.
But did find my 1991 AT&T Bell Labs directory  ;D

She started in the Kearny plant. Worked for a short time in Jersey City, moved back to Kearny. During the war she was assembling dynamiters, but most of her work was on switchboards. I have a photo of her which was posted in phone booths, nation wide. It was somevsort of “Bell System” news.