The magic eye tube was the first in a line of development of cathode ray type tuning indicators developed as a cheaper alternative to needle movement meters. It was not until the 1960s that needle meters were made economically enough in Japan to displace indicator tubes.[2] Tuning indicator tubes were used in vacuum tube receivers from around 1936 to 1980, before vacuum tubes were replaced by transistors in radios.[3] An earlier tuning aid which the magic eye replaced was the "tuneon" neon lamp.[3][4]