Hi Engineers! Want some consulting work? The catch is its vacuum tubes- tetrodes. I bet no one here plays with these anymore. If you do, please get in touch! Thanks.

Not difficult to work with, and making them work with analog/digital mixed PCB designs is something I'm comfortable with. However, your requirements actually sound like you have a client who is a) not knowledgeable enough to be working with such things, or b) on a restricted list of personnel for whom such knowledge is prohibited based on what they intend to use it for.... IMHO.

No interested.

 

They could also be wanting to build a GPS signal jammer or spoofer. I have concluded that the solution to jamming and spoofing is a small missile homing on the signal. And the missile should have perhaps a 25-yard kill circle. No need to be excessivly destructive.

Also known as the high speed anti radiation missile (HARM). I wish that technology worked on robocallers.

The mystery application also calls for thyratrons and pulse forming networks, plus receiver circuitry (?) so I'd still guess a radar. Or... maybe a radar jammer? That's why I 'd like to know who the customer is first.

 

The client intends to sponsor one project each 4-6 weeks with a budget between $500+$1000 with an additional bonus upon successful capital raising.

The projects will all be around high voltage circuits using 'tubes' such as tetrodes, pulse forming networks, thyratrons, and klystrons. Other projects will include analog heterodyne detection and mixing.

For those whose background is PCB design using solid state transistors, this is not a suitable match.

The client's working style is to be hands on and the expectation is to translate existing circuit topologies into hand-holding guidance.

The client is capable of respecting, honouring, and rewarding people that can zoom in past theory and focus on delivery.

An example first project could be:
1. Advise the client how to connect a beam power tetrode and operate it. You'd advise which transformers, capacitors, etc are required. After acquiring these, a series of video conferences to guide the client connecting the pieces together.
The GU series of pentodes will be used.

Is this something you and experience in and would be interested in discussing further? Please let me know. Thanks!

Not enough pay for the engineering, or liabilities associated.

 

More towards the original topic of the thread, it would be a serious challenge to put all of the learning about vacuum tube operation into a short course. And the huge unknown is how much fundamental electronic background the proposed individuals gaining all of this knowledge have. As some of the "NOOBs" asking questions show us, there are interested folks with a lot of learning to do yet.
And passing on all of that material that I learned in 1967 and 1968 may challenge my teaching skills, as well.

 

My work with valves has primarily been repair: audio amplifiers, older car radios, TV's, AM/FM radios, A transtor/tube oscilloscope, 1 kW RF transmitters and HV regulators 13 kV at around 1.5A that used a tube for final regulation as well as transistors. The highest voltage I worked with was 100 kV at 0.1A.

I have a friend that has built a lot of valve audio amplifiers.

 

Maybe we could find someone who is not an engineer, but has played one on TV. I suppose they wouldn't work for less than scale.

 

I have discovered there are a few persons in the field of music electronics that have a fair knowledge of waves.
Having an instinctive approach to sound has helped them develop some interesting equipment. As a young man
Peering into a glowing tube trying to understand AC theory from an old navy course gave me experience in
the nature of high voltage AC in a rarefied gas of a vacuum tube. By having a talented hand in making a musical instruments reproduce effects. The acid rock diode effects of fuzz began to change to crunch. Sometime in my circuits I am trying for an effect not for music.

 

Yep, not enough pay ... The current cooperate rate we charge our clients is $100 per hour.