Well kept secret: 6BG6G & 6CD6GA. DIY'ers will love these!

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Niteshade

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Repackaged 807, the 6BG6G


Intended for television use back in the late 40's. These fine quality, CHEAP tubes are great for audio use. Another favorite of mine is the 6CD6GA. I use these tubes mainly for hobby use because people do not recognize them in the mainstream audio market. The 6CD6GA takes a whopping 2.5 amps filament current! A 6BG6G take only .9 amps. Both use 6.3 volts. There is a whole family of these tubes and the two mentioned are interchangeable as long as you can dish out the filament current for the larger tube. 

Niteshade

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Re: Well kept secret: 6BG6G & 6CD6GA. DIY'ers will love these!
« Reply #1 on: 25 Nov 2010, 12:55 pm »
Have a favorite, cheap tube? You're welcome to post about it!

Another gem: The 6AQ5.

As far as the large RF tubes go, I suggest the 811.


Like BIG triodes? There you go- triode power on the cheap. Filament draw is 6.3 volts @ 4 amps. Not too bad! Plate dissipation is only 45 watts, but that's still enough to make a decent SET or a powerful P-P amp.

guest1632

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Re: Well kept secret: 6BG6G & 6CD6GA. DIY'ers will love these!
« Reply #2 on: 27 Nov 2010, 12:51 am »
Repackaged 807, the 6BG6G


Intended for television use back in the late 40's. These fine quality, CHEAP tubes are great for audio use. Another favorite of mine is the 6CD6GA. I use these tubes mainly for hobby use because people do not recognize them in the mainstream audio market. The 6CD6GA takes a whopping 2.5 amps filament current! A 6BG6G take only .9 amps. Both use 6.3 volts. There is a whole family of these tubes and the two mentioned are interchangeable as long as you can dish out the filament current for the larger tube.

Hi Brair,

Yeah! 807, also output transmitting tubes. Had two of them in my Globe Chief Transmitter when I had my Novice Ham license. also nicknamed as beer cans.

So what application would these be used in, power output, maybe preamp tubes, what?

Ray Bronk

Niteshade

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Re: Well kept secret: 6BG6G & 6CD6GA. DIY'ers will love these!
« Reply #3 on: 27 Nov 2010, 01:33 am »
These tubes can be near direct replacements for 6L6GC's. They're built tough and sound great. Same deal with a 6CD6GA, but they resemble a 6550 more than a 6L6.

Here's a plan: Use them as a driver stage for an 811 amp! It would be transformer coupled.

BTW: You can get a Tech no code license now days. Been sitting on mine for too long- I should upgrade up to General class sometime.

rajacat

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Re: Well kept secret: 6BG6G & 6CD6GA. DIY'ers will love these!
« Reply #4 on: 27 Nov 2010, 06:22 am »
Could I use these in my Heathkit W5m monoblocks? I'm using Russian Reflector 6N23P-EV now.
http://www.cryoset.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=243&osCsid=42e74b7919bbc0ba9433f1a9405f3700
-Roy

bunnyma357

Re: Well kept secret: 6BG6G & 6CD6GA. DIY'ers will love these!
« Reply #5 on: 27 Nov 2010, 06:53 am »
Always looking for a bargain, I've tried these inexpensive more recent NOS 6BG6GA's with adapters as a substitute for 5881's or 6L6's in my Onix SP3 with good result. 

http://www.vacuumtubes.com/6BG6.html

Ultimately, I found some even cheaper Russian 6P3S-E tubes that I actually like the best of what I've tried, so the 6BG6GA's are just back-ups now.


Jim C


Niteshade

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Re: Well kept secret: 6BG6G & 6CD6GA. DIY'ers will love these!
« Reply #6 on: 27 Nov 2010, 11:41 am »
These (6BG6G) can be used wherever 6L6's are used. Since they have a different pinout, the adapter is necessary or some re-wiring has to be done.