I recently pulled out a case of junk from my dad's hippie days, and in it is a bunch of old tubes. These are from the late 60s/early 70s, and I was wondering if they are worth using, or if they are gonna cause a catastrophe. They are 6l6GC and 12Ax7.
[IMG:800:640]http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a255/ ... img387.jpg[/img]
[IMG:800:640]http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a255/ ... img389.jpg[/img]
[IMG:800:640]http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a255/ ... img390.jpg[/img]
[IMG:800:640]http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a255/ ... img391.jpg[/img]
NOS, or just trash?
Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal
Re: NOS, or just trash?
naw, send em to me. 
find someone with a tube tester and check them out. mandatory on the 6L6. i wouldnt worry too much about the 12ax7, they will either sound great, or not.
germ
find someone with a tube tester and check them out. mandatory on the 6L6. i wouldnt worry too much about the 12ax7, they will either sound great, or not.
germ
Re: NOS, or just trash?
Well, I do know someone who has a tube tester that they want to get rid of, but I already tried the 6l6s and they worked! I guess I'll start trying the 12zx7s now...
Re: NOS, or just trash?
Looks like there is a pin missing in the fuzzy pic you got there. I doubt that tube would work unless the missing pin is #1 or #6 which are not internally connected on a 6L6. Old RCA is good stuff. You say they work, but how did you test these to know they actually do work?
Re: NOS, or just trash?
Yes the pins are the ones normally missing. I tested them by putting them in my SLO clone.
Re: NOS, or just trash?
They look like fabulous tubes, a real score. The pin out on the 6l6 looks right to me. A tube tester is nice, but really does not tell the whole story. Tester usually don't run the voltages as high as your amp does.
I would put them in , go to standby only to check the filaments and give a good warm up. Then without a signal turn the amp on and watch them very closely for ten minutes or so. be ready to shut her down if you see any arcing . Redplating probably means a bias adjustment.
I bet you will be surprised to find they are strong and bias just fine. I am judging by the looks of how clean the tubes are they maybe NOS. And they are in original boxes.
Of course if you have a good tube tester like a TV7/DU or hickock then I would check them first. But a lot of testers like the B&K jet etc are pretty useless.
I would put them in , go to standby only to check the filaments and give a good warm up. Then without a signal turn the amp on and watch them very closely for ten minutes or so. be ready to shut her down if you see any arcing . Redplating probably means a bias adjustment.
I bet you will be surprised to find they are strong and bias just fine. I am judging by the looks of how clean the tubes are they maybe NOS. And they are in original boxes.
Of course if you have a good tube tester like a TV7/DU or hickock then I would check them first. But a lot of testers like the B&K jet etc are pretty useless.