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RE: Why is the 6v6 more useful or used than 6y6

Posted by Tom Bavis (A) on November 5, 2015 at 13:47:40

In Reply to: Why is the 6v6 more useful or used than 6y6 posted by DAK on November 4, 2015 at 23:58:45:

Efficiency is the main reason 6V6 was used so much - less heater power, less screen current, so it replaced most of the earlier tubes used at the 3-15W output level. It meant that manufacturers could use a smaller transformer for lowest overall cost, and less heat is always good. The 6BQ5 came later and could do a little more power for a little less money, and the extra heater power was worth it.

The 6Y6 needs more heater power because it needs more electron emission for higher current at lower plate voltage. It CAN run at higher plate voltage, but would need the screen voltage to be limited - 150V or 200V max, depending on version. In the old days, lower voltage, higher current meant lower efficiency, since the tube rectifier would drop more voltage at a higher current, and the rectifier drop was a greater percentage of the output voltage. The 6Y6 made an excellent regulator pass tube and TV vertical output due to its low voltage drop, but there's not much demand for those any more. Acrosound published an ultralinear circuit for 6Y6, made an output transformer for it, but was never popular due to the different output and power transformers required - transformer would be about 3K center-tapped.

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