sales@effectrode.com

  • About Us
  • Knowledge Base
    • Tubes
    • Pedals
    • Science of Tone
    • Binson Echorec
    • History
    • Quality
  • News
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Vacancies
  • My Account
  • Login
logo
  • Store
  • Stockists
  • Artists
  • Contact
  • | Newsletter
  • Store
    • Accessories
    • Pedals
    • Vacuum Tubes
  • Knowledge Base
  • Stockists
  • Artists
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • About
  • News
  • Press
  • Newsletter
  • 0

    Shopping cart

    0
    Cart is Empty
46_ribble_house_mullard_blackburn_ruins_and-rubble
14 Jul

Tubes in the Rubble and Ruins

I certainly wasn’t going to let a pesky little thing like security and administration spoil my day out at Mullard. Undeterred, I decided to scout around the site perimeter to take a few more pictures and followed Philips Road towards the south boundary. I turned on to Blakewater Road and stopped to take this photograph showing a deserted landscape of rubble and broken masonry amongst which brambles and grasses were growing – the ruins of a recently demolished building. Stretching into the distance is Challenge Way and to the north is Ribble House and the car park where the hydrogen and oxygen production plant was once located. I took a little artistic licence with the photograph and manipulated it on my computer (using ‘The Gimp’) to remove the colour from the buildings in the distance whilst retaining the colour in the foreground – the idea being to give the impression of looking back into the past when the works was in its heyday to contrast that with the dereliction of the site today.

It’s easy to imagine that perhaps there’s a cache of tubes and disused equipment laying buried and forgotten on this part of the site. There are several tales in circulation regarding this and other anecdotes about what happened to all the tooling, machinery and documentation used to manufacture these tubes. One story goes that in 1985 there were over 2 million tubes stored in one of the Mullard warehouses. Philips decided they needed the space to rent out and made arrangements to have all the tubes dumped and buried somewhere on the site. In hindisght this might seem like implausible, a fairytale, however tube production at Blackburn had already ceased back in 1980 and the workshops were utilised for light bulb and T.V. tube manufacture (around this time the site still employed 1500 people). Tubes were no longer fashionable in the hifi, professional audio and even the guitar industry – yes, there was time when tubes were not cool and solid-state gear was in vogue. The last Mullard Blackburn ECC83s were manufactured in 1979 and production of power tubes ceased not long after this.

As for the tooling, there are rumours that New Sensor Corporation acquired it and relocated it to their Xpo-Pul factory (also known as Reflektor) in Saratov, Russia when they began to manufacture reissue 12AX7 (properly ECC83) Mullard tubes. However, the materials and construction of these new Russian ‘Mullard’ tubes are substantially different from the geniune article – surely New Sensor wouldn’t go to all the trouble and expense of procuring and relocating the Blackburn tooling, production line machinery and documentation only to then not use it. Another rumour is a tale telling of how electronic component manufacturer, Matsushita in Japan acquired the tooling in the early 1980s when Blackburn stopped tube production, but there’s no evidence or pictures to substantiate this either.

But this is mostly conjecture – here are the facts. What is known is that Blackburn Microtech Solutions (formed from the former Philips Components organisation/Mullard Radio Valve Company) were still manufacturing cathode-ray tubes for televisions through the 1980s up until relatively recently in 2009. Over the decades Mullard had diversified into manufacturing all kinds of electronic components for radio and T.V. They utilised their expertise in thermionic emission technology, materials and fabrication processes and shifted the emphasis from audio vacuum tube manufacture to cathode ray television tube manufacture. In its later years Mullard continued shedding staff and contracted in size withdrawing from the outer buildings to leave them empty and derelict. But the spirit of Mullard remained in the centre of the site. Situated on Challenge Way between the old wire factory and two of the adjacent component assembly buildings, Microtech Solutions survived as a specialist supplier of increasingly obsolete cathode-ray tubes used in old-fashioned T.V. sets. They may or may not have retained some vestige of the original equipment and documentation from the “glory days” but, most importantly, they did retain some of the Mullard engineers; the boffins who possessed the knowhow on making tubes. How do I know this? Because Microtech actually began manufacturing audio vacuum tubes again in 2009. Part 8: The Last Tubes Made on the Blackburn Site

You must be logged in to post a comment.

logo
+44 (0) 1782 372210 sales@effectrode.com
facebook instagram twitter pinterest rss soundcloud
Newsletter

Useful Links

  • Shipping Policy
  • Refund Policy
  • WEEE Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Warranty Policy
  • Register Your Pedal

Instagram

Copyright © 1963-2022 EFFECTRODE THERMIONIC. All Rights Reserved.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
_GRECAPTCHA5 months 27 daysThis cookie is set by Google. In addition to certain standard Google cookies, reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie (_GRECAPTCHA) when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
JSESSIONIDCookie used to allow the Worldpay payment gateway on the website to function.
machineCookie used to allow the Worldpay payment gateway on the website to function.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
wordpress_logged_in_Users are those people who have registered an account with the WordPress site. On login, WordPress uses the wordpress_[hash] cookie to store your authentication details. Its use is limited to the Administration Screen area, /wp-admin/ After login, WordPress sets the wordpress_logged_in_[hash] cookie, which indicates when you’re logged in, and who you are, for most interface use. WordPress also sets a few wp-settings-{time}-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface, and possibly also the main site interface.
wordpress_sec_1 yearProvide protection against hackers, store account details.
wordpress_test_cookieTest to see if cookies are enabled.
wp-settings-1 yearWordPress also sets a few wp-settings-{time}-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface, and possibly also the main site interface.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
CookieDurationDescription
_gat1 minuteThis cookie is installed by Google Universal Analytics to restrain request rate and thus limit the collection of data on high traffic sites.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
mailchimp_landing_site1 monthThis cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp_user_email1 monthThis cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp_user_previous_email1 monthThis cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp.cart.current_emailThis cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp.cart.previous_emailThis cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
woocommerce_recently_viewedsessionDescription unavailable.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo