Warehouse 13 - The Tesla Gun

[PeterLC]

Really I guess that there is only magnesium which in the vast scheme of things isn't too bad. It is usually what the "getter" is made from.

When a tube is evacuated of air there is always a tiny bit left which eventually will lead to corroding of the filaments. The getter is a ring of magnesium that is placed inside and after the air is pumped out the getter is heated by induction and it burns up the remaining oxygen atoms. The silvery coating you see is the vapourised magnesium that has settled on the glass.

I don't think there's anything in there that will hurt you but I certainly wouldn't lick it.

Gee, suddenly I feel a teeny tiny bit better about the way I'm needing to create the tubes for my gun. (mostly cardboard and thin wire for the "guts.")

This did raise a question in my mind though. Are there hazardous materials in the vacuum tubes? Do they have mercury or other nasty things?

 

[PeterLC]

I was mostly kidding about the heat sink thing. I get bored and giddy in the mornings, which leads to my fingers typing whatever they want. Although, it is fairly easy to burn those tubes out due to the amount of heat they produce....

Ah bored and giddy. That could be fun to watch. I was sure you were kidding. Yeah just like a lightbulb these things will heat up quite a bit. In fact the "warm-up" time is always a little bit of a drawback with valve powered stuff. Old amps used to have a glow about them from the valves inside.

But, really, I figured aluminum would be easier to work with and lighter, which may be a benefit in the long run, considering the brass fittings could get a wee bit heavy.

It is aluminium that was used in the real props for the main frame and handle piece so that would be the right choice for the replicas anyway. There are also copper wire and brass fittings plus the resin on the handle. This much we know about them.

As for the battery... all the tubes would need is a wee 9volt. I figure that could be nicely hidden between the dial on the one side and the itty bitty meters on the other side. Someone far more clever than I could probably even rig it so the dial closes the circuit. ((scheme))

One could probably get many of the filaments in valves to glow using a 9V battery but I'm pretty sure the heater element in for example an EL84 needs an AC supply.

The need for valves to warm-up is probably a drawback to lighting them this way for the Tesla. You really want something that will "fire" instantly when the trigger is pulled/activated. In the case of the Tesla it's awkward "trigger" would have to have a membrane swwitch or something similar put inside it to make it functional and it's definitely not made for left-handed people. However there's nothing to stop someone making a reversed left-handed version of it..

The simple glowing of the tube might look good though with the Telsa being displayed.

I'm with ya on that one, Jeff. Although, you can see it... if... you tilt your head... juuuuust right........ But electricity is the debil's tool. (Personally, I religiously disbelieve physics.)

Now I have to find my old tube wiring diagrams... ((grumble, grumble))

As Adam Savage from Mythbusters says "I deny your reality and substitute my own.". It's not really true that one can't see electricity. Sometimes one sees the big sparks just fine as they dance across one's body. OK I admit one isn't seeing electricity just the result of it.

 

[PeterLC]

Are those the original pics that were seen early in the thread or the later ones from the auction catalogue? We have seen in some later screenshots that the tubes look like they've been replaced with something else; something less fragile we assume. In the early episodes they really do look like intact tubes. So maybe they have replaced the glass with acrylic or resin.

Since mine is really only going to be sitting on a shelf, I'd like to use real tubes. If I were going to be running about with it doing the Action Man thing, I'd want something a bit less breakable.

I think the one in the auction catalogue is one that has been recently made, perhaps one specially for sale at that very auction.

It would have made more sense if this was going to be a weapon used by field agents, that the tubes would have a cage of some kind over them to protect them from damage. It just might not have looked so cool. It is in a lot of ways though a somewhat impractical weapon to have in rough and tumble situations. Saul Rubinek is quite a physical actor (as in he likes props) and Artie is pretty carefree about the way he tosses the Tesla into his bag and such. Maybe he kept breaking them.

Forgive me if this has already been covered, but to me they look like they took the innards of real tubes and put them in acrylic/glass sleeves. I've done electronics work for a few years, and I don't recall seeing tubes that had such a crisp seam on the silver portion. Also, on the front tube you can see that the innards aren't physically connected to the rear of the tube, indicating that the tube we're looking for is actually a shorter tube that's been re-used and modified. Anyone else see what looks like a seam at the edge of the silver on the tubes?

 

[Interceptor6]

In the early episodes they really do look like intact tubes. So maybe they have replaced the glass with acrylic or resin.

Since mine is really only going to be sitting on a shelf, I'd like to use real tubes.

Here's my tube "haul" from the weekend. The stubby rear tube is marked "8B10", The skinny rear tubes have a variety of marks, some almost illegible, 5JK6, 12B176(or 8) , 8 (orB)FQT, 8 (orB)CG7, 12B176 (or8).
I also noticed that the copper "spokes" around the front tube appear to be hollow (tubing)?
Getting Closer......

 

[jackdoud]

So I picked up a box of tubes at a yardsale recently (couldn't pass up the price) mainly as parts for a game version proton pack. It recently occured to me though that the right tubes for the Tesla might be in the box as well. I haven't really researched the gun much but I figured one of you guys would be able to help me. Do any of these look likely?

 

[Interceptor6]

Do any of these look likely?

Nice score Jack!
The two little fat ones near the lower right look good.
I'll get some measurements off mine tonight.
Jeff

 

[ATimeForHeroics]

Are those the original pics that were seen early in the thread or the later ones from the auction catalogue?

I used pics from the auction. I don't recall seeing any that clear and precise until those came out, but it would make sense that they replaced the glass with what looks like clear acrylic. Is there a definitive point in which we can tell they're been replaced? I remember in season 1 a shot with a shattered, burnt Tesla gun. Perhaps the real tubes broke and after that point they used acrylic?

Personally, I'd go with real tubes myself. If I ever DID bring one out, it'd be to a convention, and I doubt I'd be running around doing somersaults around corners and what not. Any other time it'd be sitting on a shelf or on a wall plaque.

 

[division 6]

I was looking through my collection of pix (mainly from this thread) and noticed that the gun with the fake tubes is used in the opening credits.

One would guess that they have both the hero's and the stunts.
Most of the shots of the hero has a milky white look to the ends and least on the front tube.

 

[TheDoctor]

It's probably unrelated, but here where I live, there's TONS of people throwing out old Tube TVs and almost ALL of them have been cracked open and the tubes removed! It's like some sort of run for tubes!

 

[Sara013]

Perhaps the real tubes broke and after that point they used acrylic?

I liked your diagram (above)... pointed out some interesting things. Looking at all the photos closer, I'm now thinking you may be able to tell the "fake" tubes by how so very flat they are at the end. (?) Actual tubes (that I've seen) seem to curve a lot more at the bottom where the body of the glass meets the pins.

If I ever DID bring one out, it'd be to a convention, and I doubt I'd be running around doing somersaults around corners and what not.

Oh, that happens a whole lot more often than one would think... ((shifty eyes))

 

[Interceptor6]

Actual tubes (that I've seen) seem to curve a lot more at the bottom where the body of the glass meets the pins.

Oh, that happens a whole lot more often than one would think... ((shifty eyes))

My stubby rear tube, "8B10": W 1.125" X L 1.5" ( 3cm X 4cm)
My skinny rear tube 5JK6, : W .75" X L 2" (2cm X 5cm)
Front tube is 1.125" w X 3+ " long. My biggest so far is just over 3, though the one with the base looks best.

 

[PeterLC]

I was looking through my collection of pix (mainly from this thread) and noticed that the gun with the fake tubes is used in the opening credits.

The opening credits have changed in season 2 as well so maybe they replaced the shot of the Tesla.

One would guess that they have both the hero's and the stunts.
Most of the shots of the hero has a milky white look to the ends and least on the front tube.

The things is, one would think that they would use the hero prop in all of the closeups but sometimes even then the tubes look plastic.

Sometimes the white inside the glass can be a sign that the tube has a crack somewhere or that air has somehow gotten in I believe.

 

[PeterLC]

Wow that is quite a haul. I'm jealous. I've always liked the look of vacuum tubes even if they are old ones that don't work. They just look cool and sort of sciencey in a kind of mad scientist's lab way.

So I picked up a box of tubes at a yardsale recently (couldn't pass up the price) mainly as parts for a game version proton pack.

 

[PeterLC]

Yeah that had been fairly clear form the beginning. It is small OD tubing but it has a thick wall. It is very likely copper rather than brass like the main body part with the knob and meters.

I also noticed that the copper "spokes" around the front tube appear to be hollow (tubing)?
Getting Closer......

 

[division 6]

Just checked.
No longer shown in the opening credits.

Bonus note:

Eddie McClintock
Warehouse 13 writers went back to work yesterday! Season III, here we come!

 

[exoray]

It's like some sort of run for tubes!

They are an extinct commodity, there are plenty of people that cherish vintage electronics and tubes do have a limited life... Russia has been dumping their cold war stocks of tubes on the market for the last few decades and we are now seeing a decline in availability of those as well...

Supply and demand comes into play...

 

[PeterLC]

A lot of musicians prefer the "warmer" sound of a tube amp over the "crisper" sound of a more modern type of amp so some tubes are still being made for that market. They tend to replace those tubes (like EL84) fairly frequently to keep the sound the way they want it.

They are an extinct commodity, there are plenty of people that cherish vintage electronics and tubes do have a limited life... Russia has been dumping their cold war stocks of tubes on the market for the last few decades and we are now seeing a decline in availability of those as well...

Supply and demand comes into play...

 

[rkpetersen]

I was looking through my collection of pix (mainly from this thread) and noticed that the gun with the fake tubes is used in the opening credits.

Is this the screencap you're referring to? It does indeed look like this is the one that PIH is auctioning.

 

[division 6]

No.
This one from page one of this thread.
The one you just posted was a cap I did from the HG Wells episode in London.

 

[rkpetersen]

Ah, I see, thank you. Guess it was used in that episode, too. :$