Help on researching tubes

Tubes Asylum

Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ

Being a novice at this, I am suffering from confusion concerning tube designations and variants. Any particular tube model apparently has several alternate designations, depending on where it's made or date or something, but they are exactly the same tube. In other cases, tubes with differing model numbers are essentially the same, but may or may not be substituted for each other (e.g. 6BQ5's for 7189's).
It's driving me nuts. There is a thread a bit down concerning 12AU7's....if they're made by Brimar, they are CV4003 or something. Then I see a few 12AU7"A"'s for sale (are they the same thing as 12AU7 or at least an even-steven substitute?).
Is there any good website or guide book that can help me make sense of this maze as I shop for tube replacements?
Of course, this doesn't even begin to address the varying quality of said tubes or counterfeit production of Mullards, etc, that was also mentioned in the 12AU7 discussion. Scary, that....how would a simple consumer as myself know who is a reputable dealer. Egads.
Stephen

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Topic - Help on researching tubes - sed 10:02:24 11/04/02 (4)

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the help. nt - sed 11:24:23 11/05/02 (0)

Start here... - foolno1@blazenet.net 20:04:16 11/04/02 (0)

Re: Help on researching tubes - j.l.guillebeau@att.net 11:24:40 11/04/02 (0)

Re: Help on researching tubes - airtime 10:48:53 11/04/02 (0)

You can not post to an archived thread.