I had a very productive day on saturday. I went to visit a friend whom had a shed brim full of gear to clear out. I ended up buying stacks of hard to get NOS valves to which I gladly paid what he asked. These items are not being made anymore.
I will send photos of some of the more interesting bits that he actually gifted to me and some items that I dare not ask for as they are truly collectable in more than one category.
One item I love is a miniature radiation detector ( forgot the name but it's in the photos. It can be mistaken for a pen which you clip into your shirt pocket you charge it up of a morning and just wear it in your pocket ( this is military ) because you work around radioactive sites (real cold war stuff) at the end of the day you click the latch that doubles as the bit that attaches to the pocket and then look through it like a calaidoscope and you see a little meter that shows how much radiation you have been exposed to!
Anyway it was one of those days that was very tiring but most enjoyable!
Will send photos shortly!

Sounds interesting!

Robbert you would have felt like a child in a toyshop lol.

I managed to get a photo of what you actually see in the radiation detector. Its quite fascinating.

Depending on what type of valves you got you may find that the radiation detector (dosimeter) will come in handy. Some of the higher power transmitting valves from the late '30s and 1940s contained a small radioactive source to stimulate emission. These were safe enough until the envelope/case broke. (Then hold your breath and run away.)

If you want to test your dosimeter then take it with you on your next trip to Sydney. There are three distinct strips of higher than normal background radiation across the city that were the result of radium fallout from the black coal burnt in the old power stations. In the '70s these were used for fallout plotting when the Army did NBC warfare training at the old School of Military Engineering. (Part of the course was also conducted at the Lucas Heights facility; it was scary stuff to see how 'spent' fuel rods placed at the bottom of deep containment ponds could ionise water so that it glowed with an intense blue light.)

You could also test it out on your old radium Rolex watch.

DangerousDave I could test it on my AWA Clock Radios lol

Photo uploaded to Post 4.

There are photos of the radiation meter and its operating manual in another email to Brad that I found amazing. I can actually search for the charger using the part number in the manual. I wouldnt mind getting it. I plan on putting it with my NOS Pair of Army Field phones I mention in one of my very early threads in Vintage telephones.