Philips 5814 - 12AU7

I work on Govt Property pretty often and was at a super duper RADAR site recently.
In the storeroom there were STACKS of JAN 5814 tubes, all NOS.
I asked the tech, "What are these for?", and he says "some of the RADAR amps use them and we horde them"

"They don't make them like this anymore!!"

And I though it was just us...

  

Interesting that the gov. still uses equipment with tubes.  But I heard that vacuum tubes are impervious to EMPs (electromagnetic pulses) generated by nuclear explosions so can see why they are still around.   There are probably 1,000s of tubes still locked away such installations.  Thanks for sharing.

I saw a documentary recently that covered the nuclear command post ...



The Boeing E4 is based on a 747 airframe, but the tech goes back to the B52 stratofortresses. As you mentioned, it's mostly to get around EMP that could kill contemporary systems. They mentioned something like 28 different radar and tracking systems in the upper fuselage bubble for backup and redundancy.

Wouldn't be surprised to find a few tubes in there somewhere. Probably not in the entertainment center - this ain't like Air Force One ... real utilitarian workhorse it is. Interior is also a bit cramped due to the additional shielding ... unlike the TARDIS, these are much smaller on the inside.  

^The "Doomsday Plane".

Tom how could you tell is Obama on it 

Maintarget - I think we're supposed to stay away from politics on this forum
and find your comment inappropriate. Sorry.

An Airborne Command Post shadows Air Force One and parks at a local AF base
when the President is in town. I don't know if the "Doomsday Plane" nickname is local
but that's what I've heard it called. You're not allowed to take pics of it on base
but you can see it clearly from the highway and there are plenty of photos on the internet.
It's hard to hide a parked 747.