{"id":66082,"date":"2026-05-13T07:55:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=66082"},"modified":"2026-05-13T07:55:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:55:06","slug":"from-compactrons-to-nuvistors-vacuum-tubes-last-hurrah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/from-compactrons-to-nuvistors-vacuum-tubes-last-hurrah\/","title":{"rendered":"From Compactrons to Nuvistors: Vacuum Tubes\u2019 Last Hurrah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor Dennis Dura, who shares this article from Hackaday that explores the fascinating \u201clast gasp\u201d innovations of vacuum tube technology long after transistors had already begun taking over the electronics industry. The article dives into late-era tube developments like compactrons, lighthouse tubes, and RCA\u2019s remarkable nuvistor\u2014tiny, rugged, low-noise tubes that pushed thermionic technology to its limits in applications ranging from military gear to high-end audio and RF equipment. It\u2019s a terrific read.<\/p>\n

Click here to read: The Vacuum Tube\u2019s Last Stand(s)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dennis Dura, who shares this article from Hackaday that explores the fascinating \u201clast gasp\u201d innovations of vacuum tube technology long after transistors had already begun taking over the electronics industry. The article dives into late-era tube developments like compactrons, lighthouse tubes, and RCA\u2019s remarkable nuvistor\u2014tiny, rugged, low-noise tubes that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,305,288],"tags":[5875,3354,5114,7002,5113],"class_list":["post-66082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","tag-dennis-dura","tag-hackaday","tag-tubes","tag-vacuum-tubes","tag-valves"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-hbQ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46502,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/ieee-spectrum-the-11-greatest-vacuum-tubes-youve-never-heard-of\/","url_meta":{"origin":66082,"position":0},"title":"IEEE Spectrum: “The 11 Greatest Vacuum Tubes You\u2019ve Never Heard Of”","author":"Thomas","date":"November 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes: Hi Thomas, SWLing Post readers who are fans of tube radios might enjoy reading about \"The 11 Greatest Vacuum Tubes You've Never Heard Of\" in this IEEE Spectrum article. While only a few of them have been used in radio and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/VOA-Site-B-57-of-170.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/VOA-Site-B-57-of-170.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/VOA-Site-B-57-of-170.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/VOA-Site-B-57-of-170.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56221,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/04\/radio-waves-vacuum-tube-revival-kmj-documentary-2023-domestic-broadcasting-survey-and-radio-in-zimbabwe\/","url_meta":{"origin":66082,"position":1},"title":"Radio Waves: Vacuum Tube Revival, KMJ Documentary, 2023 Domestic Broadcasting Survey, and Radio in Zimbabwe","author":"Thomas","date":"April 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.\u00a0Enjoy! Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Ulis Fleming, Dennis Dura, and Tracy Wood for the following tips: One Man\u2019s Quest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Transistor-radio-dial-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Transistor-radio-dial-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Transistor-radio-dial-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Transistor-radio-dial-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Transistor-radio-dial-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52991,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/high-speed-a-d-conversion-in-1965-with-a-vacuum-tube\/","url_meta":{"origin":66082,"position":2},"title":"High Speed A\/D Conversion in 1965, with a Vacuum Tube!","author":"Thomas","date":"June 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark (AE2EA), with the Antique Wireless Museum who shares the following: This isn't a SWL, or even a ham radio story, but it's a nice technology story about a vacuum tube at the beginning of the digital age and near the end of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Tube-9-Bit-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Tube-9-Bit-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Tube-9-Bit-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Tube-9-Bit-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19217,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/tubes-and-valves-dans-research-uncovers-three-vintage-films\/","url_meta":{"origin":66082,"position":3},"title":"Tubes and Valves: Dan’s research uncovers three vintage films","author":"Thomas","date":"May 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, DanH, who writes: I have been working on my Hammarlund SP600-JX-21 for the last two weeks. Results of the filter cap replacement were encouraging. I\u2019m going after an AVC issue that is probably capacitor-related as well before doing a re-alignment with the signal generator.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hammarlund-SP-600","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hammarlund-SP-600.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hammarlund-SP-600.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hammarlund-SP-600.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Hammarlund-SP-600.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47910,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/video-how-the-philips-factory-made-vacuum-tubes\/","url_meta":{"origin":66082,"position":4},"title":"Video: How the Philips factory made vacuum tubes","author":"Thomas","date":"February 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave (K4SV), who shares the following video: https:\/\/youtu.be\/fcfMj_cqufc Click here to view on YouTube.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/philips-valves-tubes-ad.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/philips-valves-tubes-ad.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/philips-valves-tubes-ad.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31790,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/hand-made-vacuum-tubes-by-claude-paillard\/","url_meta":{"origin":66082,"position":5},"title":"Hand Made Vacuum Tubes by Claude Paillard","author":"Robert Gulley","date":"April 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This is an amazing video - hand-made vacuum tubes! About 17 minutes long - well worth the watching if you have any interest at all in old equipment! https:\/\/vimeo.com\/47812871 You can find the video here Enjoy! Robert Gulley, AK3Q,\u00a0is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/art-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vacuum-tube.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vacuum-tube.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vacuum-tube.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/vacuum-tube.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66083,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66082\/revisions\/66083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}