RC-10 do I need this?

[bluefoxicy]

http://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/~reese/RC10/rc10.pdf

Should I look for RC-30 instead?

EDIT: Found RC-30 http://www.pmillett.com/tube_data.htm

[Enzo]

You definitely want the RC-30. The RC-10 has some interesting retro stuff in it, but it doesn't cover a lot of the more modern tubes we see every day. The RC-30 was the last version they came out with and is very up to date. The tutorial chapters are also very good.

It is great to have it online to look up a tube or two, but really, it is worth the $20 to have a paper copy on the shelf. A lot easier to stick a finger in the pinout page in teh back while thumbing along looking at various tubes that fit. Or looking up old tubes in the main body while also looking up older versions in the condensed section in the rear.

[Rob Mercure]

BF,

I wholeheartedly agree with Enzo. It's nice to have both electronically but there's nothing like having the paper - hell, I'm "geek" enough to occasionally flip through the RC-30 during a quick sandwich at the bench (washed hand well, thanks) and lotsa little tidbits randomly observed can provide useful background that you just don't acquire any other way. When I respond to this forum about specific tube issues I'll quickly flip to the RC-30 page to make sure my memory is still functional (and it "remembers" the popular pages - but I've had it rebound professionally). Ya can't have too much information. Oh, and there are Sylvania and GE tube manuals online that are great sources - especially the Sylvania which is set-up more like the RCA while the GE provides for more obscure tubes that the RCA/Syl seems to ignore.

Rob