[Boatanchors] OT (sorta) - long - Vacuum tubes were the 4th largest US export in 2011!!??

[LM Picard]

I could only get one of the links to work.

The sales in this category are now down to $325 million.  Sometimes the 
data that is captured in these analyses may not exactly match our 
perceptions of these products.

Perhaps there is a market for high power tubes to be used in 
broadcasting applications world wide.  There may be a substantial market 
for tubes used in medical and to a lesser extent, scientific/commercial 
x-ray machines and CT scanners.  I heard a rumor that some of the x-ray 
tubes for CT scanners start at $10,000.  Perhaps some specialized tubes 
are still being produced for radar use or high power RF ovens.

The category of vapor or gas filled tubes might include various types of 
mercury or sodium filled lamps used for lighting etc.  Some special 
mercury tubes are used for UV germ killing.

Out of all of this there probably isn't $1.00's worth of stuff for 
boatanchors.