It’s hard to beat this vintage reel for learning about how vacuum tube amplifiers work. It was put together by the us army in 1963 (if we’re reading the MCMLXIII in the title slide correctly). If you have a basic understanding of electronics you’ll appreciate at least the first half of the video, but even the most learned of radio enthusiasts will find something of interest as they make their way through the 30-minute presentation.

The instruction begins with a description of how a carbon microphone works, how that is fed to a transformer, and then into the amplifier. The first stage of the tube amp is a voltage amplifier and you’ll get a very thorough demo of the input voltage swing and how that affects the output. We really like it that the reel talks about getting data from the tube manual, but also shows how to measure cut-off and saturation voltage for yourself. From there it’s off to the races with the different tube applications used to make class A, B, and C amplifiers. This rapidly moves onto a discussion of the pros and cons of each amplifier type. See for yourself after the jump.

[Thanks Elliot]

Retrotechtacular is a weekly column featuring hacks, technology, and kitsch from ages of yore. help keep it fresh by sending in your ideas for future installments.