6AH6's are still pretty common and can be had for two or three bucks apiece.
AFAIK, nobody is making new sweep tubes anymore. Many years down the road,
a lot of us will probably have to convert our transmitters to use 6146's
which are still being made. I've seen a couple of links off 'HFN's website
for instructions and pictures on how to do it. It IS a tight fit in the
cage but it can be done without lowering the deck.
For the time being, the 6JB6's are still fairly available, albeit at a
somewhat steep price ($60-75/pair, last time I checked). Compared to the
price of RF transistors, they're about on a par. We're all just
sticker-shocked because we remember getting them at hamfests for eight bucks
each :)
73,
Steve Wedge, W1ES/4
"Just so the wealth of the country, its capital, its credit, must be saved
from the predatory poor as well as the predatory rich, but above all from
the predatory politician."
- James Jerome Hill
All my computers have my signature with various pearls of wisdom appended
thereto.
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Terrell Hamilton" <hamil...@nwi.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2012 11:56 AM
To: "'Eugene Balinski'" <euge...@nni.com>; "'Steve Wedge'"
<w1es1...@earthlink.net>; <pony...@aol.com>; <drakelist@zerobeat.net>
Subject: RE: [Drakelist] 6AH6 tube availability
Gene, et. al
Is it beyond the realm of possibility that some small tube company might
be
convinced to do a limited (Sylvania quality) run of 6JB6's and 6AH6's? If
a
hundred hams signed up to buy several sets each, would that be enough, I
wonder?
Anyone know an exec/owner of a tube company?
Terry K7WLD
Wenatchee, wA
-----Original Message-----
From: drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net
[mailto:drakelist-boun...@zerobeat.net]
On Behalf Of Eugene Balinski
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 2:40 PM
To: Steve Wedge; pony...@aol.com; drakelist@zerobeat.net
Subject: Re: [Drakelist] 6AH6 tube availability
Hmmm Maybe we could convince Rob Sherwood to do a series of tests in the
spirit of keeping the old one alive. I do know that he is a big fan of
the
R4C. Maybe he is a fan of the B-lins as well..
73
Gene K1NR
On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:08:07 -0400
"Steve Wedge" <w1es1...@earthlink.net> wrote:
Yep - and I've found 6AH6's for $3 locally.
I fully understand that there are a lot of folks who want to keep
their sets original. It's especially important with mint-condition
sets. The two tube types are not 100% identical: that's why the two
types exist. The Drake engineers intentionally picked this tube for a
reason, and there may likely be changes in performance when you sub.
But many times those changes may need precise equipment to measure
them.
I've pulled in some "hamfest-fresh" R-4B's that were using 6AU6's in
place of V2 and V8. Yes, the receivers were working - it's the same
pinout, but a 6AU6 has very different characteristics out at the edges
of performance. I've replaced 6HS6's with 6HS6's until recently, but
they're getting increasingly difficult to find and expensive. I've
done some work for others, too, so I make them aware of the sub and
ask which they want now.
It would be interesting to do some full-blown testing on an R-4B with
each tube type so that we could have hard data. Tests identical to
what the ARRL Lab uses would be quite informative, I'm sure. I don't
have the equipment necessary for testing 3-order response, intercept
points, etc.
Anyone got access to a decent lab?
73,
Steve Wedge, W1ES/4
"Just so the wealth of the country, its capital, its credit, must be
saved from the predatory poor as well as the predatory rich, but above
all from the predatory politician."
- James Jerome Hill
All my computers have my signature with various pearls of wisdom
appended thereto.
From: pony...@aol.com
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 1:21 PM
To: drakelist@zerobeat.net
Subject: [Drakelist] 6AH6 tube availability
hi gang
After reading the farakus about getting 6AH6 tubes, I checked one of
my favorite sites, and viola 4 Bucks The web site is
radioera.com/tubes.asp.
Enjoy them Drakes Tom, WD8JPP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
_______________________________________________
Drakelist mailing list
Drakelist@zerobeat.net
http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Web mail provided by NuNet, Inc. The Premier National provider.
http://www.nni.com/
_______________________________________________
Drakelist mailing list
Drakelist@zerobeat.net
http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
_______________________________________________
Drakelist mailing list
Drakelist@zerobeat.net
http://mailman.zerobeat.net/mailman/listinfo/drakelist
