Author Topic: Tubelover 112a/26 DHT preamp  (Read 19155 times)

Offline stevenvalve

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Re: Tubelover 112a/26 DHT preamp
« Reply #20 on: March 28, 2014, 04:49:33 PM »
Blackgate caps were manufactured by Rubycon to the Takeda Machinery specification and I purchased them directly from Takeda for the last 5 years of manufacture including the last shipment release. Every single cap I purchased of which there were several thousand, featured the "K" on the top of the cap, the expansion weak point so to speak. There was never any other pattern used. The double half moon pattern on the ones inside you amp form the bulk of the ebay variety now common and very fake.
Sorry to rain on the parade but given the price that these things sell for now, forgery is a very lucrative business. I still have many new Blackgates and non have the double half moon pattern.
You really are a Guru, well done. The 2 Black gates I used where about 10 Years old and had about 200 hours use. Question is, why in the modern money orientated world if Black Gates are so good, and they are selling, why did they stop production. 

Offline guru

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Re: Tubelover 112a/26 DHT preamp
« Reply #21 on: March 28, 2014, 06:41:49 PM »
Takeda Machinery was a family owned business with just 4 staff. When the elderly wife of the owner died he lost interest in running the business and with no children, he decided to withdraw from the market. Rubycon had been pressing for increased orders due to the manufacturing setups required for manufacturing Blackgates and the impact of that on normal production of capacitors for computers.
He was offered large amounts of money for the license rights and declined all. Thus the end of Blackgate, no mystery, just an old man feeling lost and deciding to call it a day.