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Comment by ck2 | Hacker News Reader

Is it just me or is that "art". Nice design.

Weren't the Russians making vacuum tubes for decades after the US stopped and "perfected" them?

The Mig-25 was fairly famous for using vacuum tubes - initially this was seen as rather funny in the West then people realised that they actually had some distinct advantages, including alleged resiliance to the EMP from nuclear explosions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-25

As well as the audiophile-pleasing sound on those planes.

You can't really "measure" or double-blind test how well this thing kills people. Only if you have well developed taste can you appreciate the finer details, the warmth, the clarity, the fidelity.

> Only if you have well developed taste can you appreciate the finer details, the warmth, the clarity, the fidelity.

There are reports of ground crews for MiG-25's drinking the hydraulic fluid for the planes, which was apparently based on ethanol. Truly an aircraft for those with a discerning palette.

>Truly an aircraft for those with a discerning palette.

or a lifesaver for aircrews stationed in "dry" countries like Yemen :)

I've heard similar stories of soviet soldiers in Afghanistan in the 80's draining the hydraulic fluid from their armored vehicles because it was ethanol, and drinking it...

It is clearly a beautiful design - and the workmanship is incredible as well. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to build just one of those things. It reminds me of the workings of a fine mechanical watch.

That said, I think it's grossly overpriced. Probably worth about $800-$1k (based on it's similarity to classic mechanical watches).

How many collectable watches are available vs antique Soviet memory modules?

How many collectors of watches are in the market vs those looking for antique Soviet memory modules?

Not sure about vacuum tubes, but Nixie tubes were used until the 90s. Most vintage Nixie tubes are from the former Soviet Union.

Yeah, that design makes it a complete fetish item. I covet it just by looking at it.

Those presumably hand soldered enamel wires cleanly laid out? I'm melting like leaded solder on a hot plate.

Yep, there's huge demand for certain NOS (new old stock) tubes used in tube microphones (like the Neumann U47, U67 etc). I think one of the big factories has just opened up again actually.

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