el34 ID help?

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Reeltarded
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el34 ID help?

Post by Reeltarded »

This will be quick, I bet.

Know where these were made? I found them in a box of stuff I stripped off basketcase Marshalls. I can't recall what I got them out of.

The screening is almost gone, nothing legible really, except for the model designation.. as you see.

Not obvious in terrible pic is the HEAVY single halo. Thing looks like the thickness of a men's wedding band. Sturdy. They sound great too.

Thanks!
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selloutrr
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Re: el34 ID help?

Post by selloutrr »

Companies that used the Black base:

Mullard - grey plate double O getter labeled 6CA7/EL34
RFT - Label "EL34"
Amperex - labeled 6CA7/EL34
RCA - manufactured by Mullard XF2
Telefunken
Seimens
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selloutrr
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Re: el34 ID help?

Post by selloutrr »

Siemens Black Base, Round Getter EL34s. These tubes were manufactured in an East Germany for Siemens by RFT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SIEMENS-NOS-EL3 ... 4cfdade805
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Re: el34 ID help?

Post by Reeltarded »

YES! And they sound fantastic!

I thought they might be. They are an excellent surprise, and I also found a quad and a half of kt88 pulls, and a new quad of Sylie 6550s!

This 50 never saw a Mullard. It's as surprised as I am.. ZING! Thumpa! They are great!

And now I need more. :)
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overtone
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Re: el34 ID help?

Post by overtone »

wonderful, rugged tubes, love them to bits. Be careful with the bases and the locator pin as they are getting brittle now.
I run them with 457V on G2 and they seem to hold up well.

Yes, as selloutrr said, made in East Germany. They were also used in military equipment by the enemy of the people - the West German / Nato forces. Somewhere I have some with telefunken logo and the west german forces eagle on them, tfk had to keep up their contracts and nobody was asking where the tubes were coming from :-)
The DDR made huge amounts of these mostly for export. Sadly the factory and the expertise is long gone. The wall came down.
There is some argument as whether the good selected ones were exported to the West for hard cash, or whether the good ones were kept in the DDR, für das Volk. Another story is that if you see a 1 in a triangle printed on them, that those were the for export selected ones... what ever that meant in the cold war.

Prost!
tony
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Re: el34 ID help?

Post by Reeltarded »

I haven't seen any marked this way before. As far as construction, I never looked beyond a label before the internet. These things are made like a bulldozer.

I tried them in 2 amps. I don't have a tube test rig, but I had to decrease bias on both amps to get them in range by 4-5mA.

Thanks for the ebay links Sello'r. I want to be that guys best friend. :)

I am sleepy. More playing in the last day than the last 2 years, and smiling more than the last 15 years. Tube lotto loves me.

No more acoustic guitar for me, thanks! I have to regain some dexterity. Inspiring!
Signatures have a 255 character limit that I could abuse, but I am not Cecil B. DeMille.
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