For your consideration here are two vintage Western Electric “Tennis Ball” type tubes, one 216A Triode and one 217A Half Wave Rectifier. They’re both in excellent condition, considering they’re almost 100 years old. The filaments on both measure 2.8 Ohms with our Fluke Multi Meter but we don’t have a tube tester so we couldn’t check any other parameters so we’re assuming these are for display and not in a functional Power Supply or Speech Amplifier as they were originally used. There are no rattles. Both bases need to be cleaned up but we’ll leave that to the buyer.

Western Electric 216A Triode

The familiar Western Electric 216-A first appeared in 1922 as a component of the W.E. 7A amplifier set. The initial design was taken from the 101-D, with the only difference being in the filament voltage. The 101-D was intended to run at 1 amp at about 4.5 volts, but the 216-A was designed for operation at 5.5 - 6.0 volts at 1 amp. The higher voltage rating allowed this tube to be run from a storage battery without a rheostat or dropping resistor. Gold tips were not used on the pins, as were the normal telephone tubes.

The first version of the 216-A had flat plates, glass arbor, and general internal construction is that of the 101-D. The base used was that of a 208-A, The actual type number, 216-A, was stamped into the wax fill in the bottom of the base. This construction was only used briefly, and is rather scarce. The second version has the internal structure redesigned to a form somewhat like that used in the VT-1, but with wider spacing between the elements. The type number was stamped in the wax fill and is also printed on the paper label wrapped around the glass just above the base. The paper band also carries a notice restricting the use of the tube to the "Western Electric Loud Speaking Telephone Outfit". This version of the tube, while not common, is seen from time to time but can be overlooked if the base markings are not checked.

When the 216-A finally got its own base design the type number was stamped in the base and two new patent dates added, 6-24-19 and 1-27-20. The paper band with the license notice is still used, and the number was also stamped in the wax fill. This tube is the types normally encountered by collectors. Unlike most Western Electric tubes, the 216-A was available for sale to the general public and is now one of the easier of the early W.E. tubes to find. The next version had new base markings. The patent date 6-13-22 had been added, and the paper band has been deleted. The license notice was stamped into the base.

The 216A triode was one of the first tubes made by Western Electric. It was introduced in 1922 and apparently it was the first tube made by W.E. that was designed for a fixed filament Voltage: 6 Volts /1 Ampere. The u was a modest 6.

The max plate Voltage rating was 150V. The 216A tube was apparently made exclusively for the 7-A amplifier. The ball shape of the early tubes was simply because that the technology of glass had already been incorporated in the automobile industry by the use of Edison’s incandescent light bulb.

Push Pull was not a new invention, it had been used for small signal amplifiers and oscillators very early on, but WE made some of the first commercial PP power amplifier’s.

The last Patent date on the base is 1-27-20.

Western Electric 217A Half Wave Rectifier
 

There was an experimental version of the 217-A rectifier made in the New York labs about 1922. The plate structure was from the standard repeater tubes but with reduced spacing. This tube met the electrical specs for the 217-A but was redesigned using a corrugated type plate before being released. This early rectifier was most commonly used in the WE 2A Current Supply Set for the 7A Audio Amplifier. The paper band carried the same license notice as the similar band on the 216-A. Later versions of this tube had the license notice stamped into the shell. The 217-A is the 216-A without a grid.

The last patent date on the base is 12-17-18.

They will ship USPS Flat Rate 2 day insured for the full amount in a USPS Medium Flat Rate box. Total shipping cost is $25.05 to anywhere in the U.S. That’s $14.35 for USPS Flat Rate and $10.70 for insurance for $700.00