Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ

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Well.......

Posted by Steve O (A) on March 3, 2004 at 20:41:15

In Reply to: Radioactive material in Preamp Tubes? posted by tubesound on March 3, 2004 at 17:39:21:

Most consumer grade tubes like 12AU7 don't contain anything radioactive as such so fear not. However, some gas regulator tubes do contain small amounts of radioactive materials to assure reliable ignition at spec voltages. Something like radon gas or an isotope of nickel in the plate IIRC. Thorium is another mildly radioactive material used in transmitting type tubes as the thoriated tungsten filament of directly heated, non coated cathodes. Neither of these uses are probably anything to lose sleep over but they're also something one wouldn't want to ingest either.

If you have any remaining concerns, I'd be glad to properly dispose of any NOS RCA 845s you might have lying around. Email off forum.

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