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Re: Yugoslavian GE 12AX7?

I believe the -5 following the EIA code of 188 is the factory code -- which in the case of -5 was the big receiving tube plant in Owensboro, Kentucky where so many of the GE tubes were made, such as their famous 6550A as well as most of their 9-pin dual triodes. My guess is that since the silkscreen stencil was set up for always silk screening 188-5 on tubes, it was too much bother to change for a single batch of Yugoslavian import tubes.

To Jim's point about Yugoslavia during the cold war, Yugoslavia was not a Warsaw Pact country. Trade between US-based companies and Yugoslavia was encouraged by the US State and Commerce Departments to keep Yugoslavia's economy independent of the Soviet Union. Also, from GE's perspective, the Ei tubes were pretty high quality relative to the other Eastern block countries (and less expensive than Western European versions still in production). For example, when the Telefunken Ulm, West Germany receiving tube plant shut down in 1972, all of the equipment was sold to Ei in Yugoslavia.


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  • Re: Yugoslavian GE 12AX7? - musicpre 22:58:36 03/27/06 (0)


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