Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-17
TUBE MAKERS RIDE
|. CREST OF DEMAND
Competitive Situation Leads
to Substantial Price Re-
duction to Consumer.
BY MARTIN CODEL.

Radio tube makers. large and small,
are riding high on the crest OF the wave
Of popular demand for their products.
This demand and the competitive situa-
ton in the tube market have already
led to gradual but substantial reduc-
lions in prices to the consumer. The
demand Is also reflected in the greater
production schedules for this year now
being announced by the manufacturers.
The Radio Corporation of America,
largest of the tube producers, has an
nounced that its 1929 output viii be in
creased by $50 per cent over that OF
1928. It's factories at Newark, N. j.,
and Cleveland are being enlarged and
reorganiZed to prevent a recurrence OF
the situation last year, when reserve
inventories were wiped out as early as
November and shortage developed.
This shortage m the wake of the tenn
porary breakdown of the famous tube
clause" in the courts gave a new lease
on life to the smaller, independent
manufacturers.
They gained foothold in the market
which they now regard as secure. They
also are announcing plans to increase
production and stimulate their sales
efforts in the initial installation and
replacement markets.
Case Under Review.
While the tube manufacturers are
engaging in q trade struggle that Is
salutary to the radio set owners. the
tube litigation has gone back to the
courts. The case brought by the indie
pendent manufacturers against the Ra-
dio Corporation of America was heard
ION its merits" this week by Judge
Hugh Morris in the Federal District
Court at Wilmington. The decision on
the legal aspects of the case went
against the Radio Corporation of Amer
lea recently when the Supreme Court
refused to review the temporary injunc-
ton granted the independents by Judge
Morris, which was upheld by the Circuit
Court of Appeals at Philadelphia.
Judge Morris must now decide whether
the temporary injunction shall be made
permanent. The injunction prevents
the Radio Corporation of America from
enforcing clause 8" in its patent license
contracts with IS large manufacturers
Of radio equipment, under which they
had to agree to buy tubes OF the Radio
Corporation of America manufacture for
the initial installations in their receiv-
ing sets.
The market for tubes naturally fol-
lows the market for sets, but tube re-
placements In old sets represent q pro-
gressively increasing factor. The Radio
Corporation of America, with such men
as John w. Davis and Frederick Fish
as counsel, argued the right of its pat
ents. The. independents, with Samuel
Darby, jr., and Ernest Reichmann as
counsel, contended that a monopoly of
the tube business was the design of the
Radio Corporation of America, mas
much as the initial installations cap
tured the bulk of the market at the out
set and requirements would naturally
De made by the purchaser with the same
brand Of tubes.
"Clause 8" Suspended.
CLAUSE 9" was suspended by the Ra-
dio Corporation Of America just before
the decision was rendered, and It is
regarded as unlikely that 1t will ever
90 into force again, regardless of the
outcome of the present legal test. Thus
the competing manufacturers are in the
market strictly on the merits of their
respective products and dependent upon
their own marketing ability.
Last years market. 1t is estimated,
aggregated sc, 100000 tubes of all kinds,
with wholesale value Of $l10,000,0o0.
All OF the producers enjoyed banner
year, and the shortage toward the end
of the year caught them all unaware
The prospects for 1929 are believed to
be even brighter. and the benefits Of
factory economies and increased sales
are being passed on to the consumer
more and more.
Battery tubes are now selling at from
$3.50 to So, while alternating current
tubes are averaging 50 to So. The
power amplifier tubes in speakers are
considerably more expensive, but they
also have come down to around Sl1.
Varying estimates up to 1000 hours are
made for the life Of tubes, but the
fiuctuating voltages that pass through
the alternating current tubes now in
most common usage make these esti-
mates generally unreliable.