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Hi,I have a pair of used RCA 5U4GB in my amp, one of them has started showing a small blue/purple flash at the base of one of the plates at power on, it dissapates within about half a second and the amp appears to be fine.
Is this a sign the tube is on the way out? Should I replace it now before it kills something?
Follow Ups:
you might want to snoop around and see if a filter cap going leaky is the cause of the light show. It would be a shame to just swap out rectifier tubes and hose-up another one when the problem is a faulty capacitor somewhere. just a thought,
I've swapped back to the 5Z3Ps the amp came with, all appears OK.I miss the sound of the old RCAs, might have to pick up some NOS ones sometime or find something else that's better than the 5Z3Ps.
Finding something better than the Chinese 5z3p is EASY. US made NOS 5U4GBs are still affordable. Which is more important to you, the ST envelope or the sound?TungSol, RCA, and GE all made excellent 5U4GBs. Heck, early Sylvania is pretty darn good too.
Eli D.
The sound is more important of course! I've tracked down some US made 5U4GBs, now all I have to do is wait for them to be shipped...
Yes. The tube is about to undergo a pyrotecnic display. She be all-done.
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Long Live Dr.Gizmo
I've never known a rectifier to arc more than a few times before it's mushroomcloudsville.Lose that baby.
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