looks like they really went for it. the Vintec C3.

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:eek: w00t!
I thought this never got made.. A fever dream of tube maniac...
Some specs would be interesting to hear, tube count? Power consumption?
 
Prolly gets pretty hot in that room!
vintec_c3_front_500px.jpg

I counted 20 tubes on that channel strip picture. Also they say 160w of heat is dissipated per channel..
Say, 50 channels, makes it a nice 8 kW... Can't run this at home...
 
The all tube channelstrip of the  Vintec console "C3"


The channel strip of the Vintec "C3" was one of the most complex tasks with the development of the console.

26 tubes (double triodes/52 tubestages), had to be accommodated per channel strip with a max. width of only
40 mm. This required the use of modern Sandwich architecture.

8)
 
I remember this console somewhere in a post from a couple of years ago.

how many cm it grow for the heat?

I want a channel strip ;D
 
if they were really smart they would make 16 channel side cars in the same vein and people would be all over it.  hmmmmm. 16X16 size console would be perfect for the modern working paradigm....
 
What's a SQ vacuum tube?  Obviously a twin triode but I'm not seeing what makes it special.  It doesn't look all that rugged to me, or at least not like an old Bendix tube.  I don't see triple mica.  Looks very Russian to me.
 
> What's a SQ vacuum tube?  Obviously a twin triode but I'm not seeing what makes it special.

"SQ" = "Special Quality". What more would you want to know?

"SQ" is along the lines of "5-Star". 5-Star is a GE trademark and response to airlines' need for high reliability over very long life (they wanted radios to work as long as engines, so they could overhaul both at once). http://pmillett.com/tubedata/GE_5star.pdf  --2 megabyte PDF file about GE Five-Star Tubes

I don't know if SQ is another 5-Star or a different goal. No, they are not like some Bendix; what could be? But they are supposed to be better than the bottles they put in Aunt Matilda's radio, or even in some military work (military has short flights, high danger, and free labor; different goals than airlines).

> Looks very Russian to me.

Ah...Vin-Tec is selling "new SQ" tubes, not using 1950s SQ types. Well, the way they made high-grade tubes in Owensboro could be done in Saratov just as well. Some assay/inspection machinery is now quite cheap. Special pay to encourage careful work... that's probably cheaper in Saratov now than it was back then, even in Kentucky. Just need someone who cares about their tubes for more than 30 days. With 1539 tubes in one room, you start to care enough to pay well. They claim "during our hole test phase of the channel strips and modules it came to no failure."

It looks like they don't trust tube-sockets as much as those 0.1" pin-connectors and two extra solder-joints?
FX-A_2009_02_21_0313_3xROEHRE_500px.jpg
 
Integrated 10,4" TFT Display in center-section to control computer automation or different
sources (video, analyzer, internet etc.)

that is so not vintage/vacuum
 
According to a thread at PSW one Vintec has been sold. It appears that the firm know how to make hardware (check their EQ), it's just that few people had the balls to buy a console that -potentially- requires so much TLC.

In the link it talks about the valves requiring less heater current than your average AX7 or similar, which is reassuring.

I take my hat off to Vintec. I wonder if anymore will sell? According to the PSW link, a stack of V76s need to be procured, which could be a stumbling block (unless he's making repro ones?). Oliver Archut makes a couple of posts, so the link's well worth looking at.

that is so not vintage/vacuum

Yeah, they should've used a CRT, then it would be 'all tube' :)


Justin


oh yeah - if the PSW link is correct, the owner of C3 serial no.1 keeps 2 full-time staff tending to it...
 
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