Years ago... longer than I care to remember... a list was published, probably yearly or periodically... of the most popular tube numbers and suggested number to stock. Does anyone have a handy pdf or a link to any???
Best,
Jim

I remember having seen in an electronics service related magazine back in the 50's or 60's lists of what tube types a repair shop ought to carry in stock, and also what their tube caddy should be stocked with for house calls. Possibly that publication was Sams PF Reporter.

You might want to specify the year ,A 1940 carry will be a lot different than 1960

One of our members, Paul Dietenberger, many years ago published a list of commonly used tubes right here on ARF. It proved to be fairly popular. Attached is a zipped copy of his PDF. I suspect this pdf has some slight editing as no credit is given to Paul in the PDF and I thought he did (deservedly so) originally.

I think it is a waste of time to look for those lists. They were for manufacturers of new equipment, or for radio repair shops, and have little or no bearing on us who work on radios over 50 years old (yes, tubes have been out of favor that long).
It was common for tube manuals to include a page of something like "preferred tube list" or "tubes not recommended for new design". I am sure each tube brand had its own list, and was updated with each new edition. I just looked at two of the old RCA manuals, where the obsolescent tubes were listed on the inside back cover. The later one did not include the ones listed in the earlier edition. In 1941 the government created the War Production Board and ordered 349 types out of production except for lend-lease use. During the war there were frequent updates to preferred tube lists, but very few were available to the civilian world until after the war.
If you have a need for a tube that is hard to find, there are substitution lists. The substitutes are usually just as hard to find. You may, or more likely may not, do as I did and go collecting every tube type I could find, thinking some day I may have need of them. Most I have not needed yet.
I suggest it is easiest to concentrate on tubes used in the kind of radios that you prefer. It was easiest for me to arrange them by date of introduction. The oldest are the pre-octals, then the octals, and later the miniatures, then more exotic types.
If you want to search for tubes by radio make and model, find a copy of Sylvania's Tube Complement List.
John

Here are the PF Reporter magazines to browse through.

https://worldradiohistory.com/PF-Index.htm

-Steve

I should have added more context... my addled brain isn't hitting on all cylinders at all times (intermittent miss)... LOL... Now that Kutztown is in the can, we know more... We want to update our club tube supply... rather than dragging a zillion tubes out, we would like to drag the most popular numbers in larger quantity. We know from past sales most of what is requested, but really would like external input. We would also like to update to an "easier to use" inventory system so we can get the tubes to the folks faster!! Any and all suggestions are most welcome!!!
Best,
Jim

I'm glad that's still floating around. My website went away when I changed ISPs and I never put a new one back up. I was credited when it ran in PopComm in 2005 https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-P ... 005-05.pdf

But I still think that's pretty good for collectible radios, other than not including the low-draw stuff from the very end of the tube era like the 18FX6 and whatnot. Of course, there tends to more demand for some of those than others. I'd suspect you probably want to keep the audio output tubes close at hand and the rectifiers behind that and small signal RF tubes behind those. 83s if people need to fix their Hickoks, all the ST glass octals, apparently whatever regularly sells for the most money is probably what people are going to tend to look for.

If you find a post WWII list intended for the service industry, most of the tubes on it will be TV types. Your record of what sells in your situation is the most accurate guide you can get.

I think that the best way to restock is exactly what you have already posted ...... replace what you sold. I don't know anyone who can predict the future.

There is one way to know what you "should have had", and very few establishments do it, but it's called a "lost sales" register. We used to do it in a light duty way at my power equipment shop .... we had a list of items that people asked for that we didn't have in stock and that they did not order before leaving.

I think your sales history is your best list.

One would think that having "the most popular tubes" would be the obvious choice. So multiples of the different eras of All American Five tube sets would be a start. However, I have found that at the few shows I take tubes to, people are often looking for tubes they can't seem to find anywhere else, so i always take a few of these hard-to-find types like 25B8GT, 6HS6, FM1000, 15, etc. (if I have them in stock). Add to that any new "G" style octals for the Zenith crowd and a supply of 6E5 and 6U5 tuning eyes.

That said, I would echo what other posters have said. Your past sales should be a good indication of what you need to bring.

PF Index/Reporter published a stock guide for TV tubes periodically in the 1950s, but I can't remember a radio tube list. Over the years several different "families" of tubes were used, and a stock guide will depend on your collecting interests. For example, mid 1930s radios commonly used 6A7, 6D6, 75, 42, and 80. Add 6B7, 6C6, 6F7, 41, 76, 77, 78, with 43 and 25Z5 to cover AC-DC sets, and an 84 for car radios. Go back or forward a few years, and you're looking at a different lineup.