[jcassity]

sometimes i tend to think about things i already know to make repairs on things that are broke.
since i dont know enough about old radios,, but enough to hold my own, i think about things i see that will work to fix something else.

here is an example you all may find useful where tube sockets are still being made for a totally different application.
the base that the ice cube relay plugs into is usually a couple bucks.  

 just trying to share what i find.

ignore the application of the relay itself,, its a -48v 10kamp dc plant shunt mux power source relay from the fero days of rectifiers.

[Chas]

Yeppers, those sockets are great for prototyping. Some are made for DIN rail, others can be mounted below a chassis, flip the screw terminals.

Chas

[Arran]

Fortunately the more traditional octal sockets are not at all difficult to find either, also thanks to relays, the Japanese Omron company also makes them, theirs look much like an Amphenol made octal mounted to a diamond shaped mounting plate. I've used some Soviet/Russian Amphenol copies,(actually improved copies), for socket replacement, they were intended to install into a keyed hole in a chassis so I had to cement them in place to stop them from moving in a chassis with non keyed socket holes.
  There are two legacies out there from RCA and G.E, one is the phono jack, and the other is the octal based tube socket, both are hardware related more then electronic.
Regards
Arran

[jcassity]

interesting note about the term "octal" which in shapes means 8 sides.
in math it only includes the numbers 0 through 7,, and excludes 8, yet its called base 8 counting system since 0 is a number.

example.. octal digital address of 111 is equal to decimal 7

counting systems comes to mind....
base 2=binary
base 8=octal
base10=decimal
base16=hexedecimal
Base 60=Sexagesimal notation (for clocks)

[Arran]

If you draw a straight line between each pair of pins on an octal based tube socket, or tube, they will form a octagon, still one of my favorite tube base designs, followed by a rim lock tube, which is a European base, and the old style bayonet based tubes of the 1920s. My least favorite tube bases are of the mini seven and nine pin variety, I can never seem to get the gap in the pins lined up with the holes without looking at the top of the socket, definitely a step backward, plus all of the bent pins you have to deal with, even Loctal tubes are better.
Regards
Arran