About Tube Treasures

 Tube Treasures is a reference site for people who work with vintage vacuum tubes — collectors, musicians, hi-fi enthusiasts, technicians, and restorers.

We focus on the practical side of the hobby: how to identify a tube's real origin, how to read factory and date codes, how to test a tube properly, and how to tell a genuine vintage part from a rebrand or a fake. Every guide is written from hands-on experience testing, sorting, and restoring real tubes — not copied from datasheets.

What you'll find here

  • Identification guides for major European and American brands (Philips, Mullard, Valvo, Telefunken, Siemens, Tesla, Tungsram, RFT, GEC, RCA, Sylvania, and others)
  • Tube type guides covering common preamp, power, and rectifier tubes (ECC83/12AX7, ECC82/12AU7, EL34, EL84, GZ34, and more)
  • Testing and restoration notes, including safety guidance for anyone working with tube-based equipment
  • Buying guides to help you avoid overpaying for reissues sold as NOS, or fakes sold as originals
  • Free downloads — identification charts, date-code references, and testing logs

Who writes this

Tube Treasures is run by Fernando, a long-time collector based in Portugal with a large personal collection of NOS European tubes.My collection grew out of an interest in vintage hi-fi and guitar amplification, and it's focused mainly on European NOS tubes from makers like Telefunken, Mullard, Philips, and Valvo — the kind of stock that's becoming harder to find in good, tested condition. Along the way I got tired of guessing at codes and rebrands with no reliable reference to check against, so I started writing down what I learned from testing and sorting hundreds of tubes by hand. Tube Treasures is that documentation turned into something other collectors can actually use.

Get in touch

Questions, corrections, or a tube you'd like help identifying? Visit the Contact page or reach out at tubetreasures@gmail.com.

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