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86.5.5.71
I was intrigued to learn of this particular valve/tube. All of the EZ80 manufactures encountered — Mullard, Brimar, Mazda, Marconi, EI, et al. among own stock — have had steel pins, and, indeed, the use of gold pins on a rectifier is something I would not anticipate. Can anyone illuminate, please, possibly providing, also, value judgement if heard amplification where utilized?
Follow Ups:
Sean,I've had a fair number of EZ80's, EZ81's, U709's, etc. pass through my hands and I have NEVER seen one w/gold pins. Not saying they don't exist ... just saying I've never seen one. Can you post a picture? A definite oddity.
Currently I am running a pair of the gold pin Valvo EZ80 in the external power supply for my Border Patrol SE300B. I am due to leave for Scotland, tomorrow, and presently haven’t the time to remove the case etc. to photograph the tube — there are more pressing things to be done before departure. I will be back home by the middle of next week and will have the time, then, to photograph.I have not posted a photograph before, and, having quickly read relevant section of FAQs, can’t see the browse button option mentioned there. What does one do? Alternatively, I could e-mail photo to you.
Sean, do not put yourself out. I just thought if it was someting you could easily do ... Have a good trip to Scotland!
I need to find out how to post images, for, surely, at some time or another, the value of posting an image will arise again. So, I’ll look into the matter next week.’Looking forward to another visit to Scotland and thank you for the sentiment.
’Taking the opportunity on this occasion to hear a concert at a concert hall I have never visited before, namely, the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Lazarev performing Sibelius’s Violin Concerto and Elgar’s Second Symphony, on Saturday; before travelling on north to Sutherland, to visit the kind friends of my wife’s late aunt who died in 2005, resident in Sutherland, and visit her grave in the Highlands in the Strath of Kildonan. We only occasionally find the time to visit — indeed, this is the first occasion since the funeral in the summer of 2005 — the journey from home to the Strath being well over half the length of the British mainland and into a landscape less remote in some ways than it was thirty years ago but so peripheral to the contemporary order of things and slowly dying as a site of human habitation.
Seán,As far as I know, the gold plating on tube pins is to prevent oxidation on the pins that gradually lowers the conductivity.
Some people mention the gold pin tube that sounds better than than the steel pin version, as though it's the gold pins themselves contributing, but it's logical given that the gold pin version is going to be the premium version or selected. I believe the gold pins alone are not contributing to the sound except to the extent the corrosion-free pins are making better contact than steel pins with oxidation.
Gold pins are usually mentioned in listings as they denote a premium model, though I think some try to associate the plating alone with better sound. The gold pin fetish extends to claims on this forum that a certain Ebay seller plates the pins on certain tubes and markets them as original super-premium versions that never existed.
While the most glamourous tube I have is Valvo E80CF (6BL8) red label, pinched waist, and gold pin - also a great sounding version, I have several favourite tubes though that are steel pin: Siemens E83CC, E81CC, and 5814A- all triple mica tubes. As well, the Amperex Bugle Boy ECC88 and A-frame ECC88- always steel pinned.
I'm not aware of power tubes with gold pins.
While Siemens seemed to regard gold pins as an unnecessary luxury, and Telefunken plating habits are in the middle, Philips seemed to really like gold pins. In the US, the top gold pinner seems to be Sylvania, whereas the only RCA's I see with gold pins are a few rebranded German E88CC. I have gold pin Sylvanias: 6136 (6AU6), "GB-1252" (6U8), 6201 (12AT7), 5751 (12AX7) and I wonder if Sylvania's "Gold Brand" was not responsible for more gold pin tube versions than any other maker. It's worth noting, however, that not all Gold Brand Sylvanias have gold pins. All the Gold Brand tubes I have also were made with steel pins: 6678 (6U8) that are identical to the GB1252 but steel pin, steel pin 5751- the military issue were steel, the consumer version gold- and GB-6201 steel pin. Typically, if the original box has the little shield and lightning bolt a GB will have gold pins, if in the later box with the multiple big "SYLVANIA"s, the pins will be steel.
Generally, I do like to buy gold pinned tubes as it signifies the premium version, but it is the overall quality of the tube that dominates, not the plating. Looking back, I would say my prediliction for certain construction features is for triple mica tubes, but black plates, and square getter will get my attention too. Those features, like gold pins are not themselves affecting the sound, but in this case indicating earlier tubes.
Gold pins are functional- a glittering way to prevent oxidation, but are not in themselves contributing to the sound- touted through their association to the premium and/or selected versions. They do make tubes look glamourous for industrial devices !
Cheers,
Firstly, simply to endorse much of what you write. I do wonder if the manufacture and use of gold pins might also signify, at certain times, use of tube in hard-to-access or remote locations by end-user. The desire to develop long life variants surely comes partly from use of tube in difficult-to-access places, cutting labour costs to access and maintain; with the advantages presented by the use of gold pins, as you mention, apropos stable contact over longer periods of time, particularly in environments where steel might oxidize or corrode to the point of impaired contact, gold on the pins of ‘premium’ versions would seem a sound commercial step. However, as to some simple correlation between gold pins and ‘sound’, I do not hold this to be so [not that I would attribute that sentiment to you, clearly]: some of my favourite sounding 6922s/E88CCs & 6DJ8s/ECC88s are orange globe Amperex 6DJ8/ECC88s (A frame, pole with dimpled disc, etc.) manufactured in the 1960s, all with steel pins; however, I also find German and Dutch manufacture Valvo E88CCs, with gold pins, to be comparable to, but differentially valid with, those favourite Amperex tubes. When it comes to 5687s, my preference is for the Tung Sol 50s production — no gold pins — against the Sylvania GB5687 with gold pins; indeed, I would prefer the GE***** with ‘holed plate’ circa post 1962 production to the GB5687.
Seán,Your idea of using gold pin tubes in positions difficult to service may have merit. Earlier on, of course, all military communications equipment was tubed and during WWII especially became much more complex quickly -there was RADAR, by the end of the War they were using television, and there were code breaking and trajectory calculation computers. In some situtations this gear would have to be very compact -airplanes and ships, while they are also in a more corrosive environment that would build oxidation on the pins faster. It's logical that the operators might have to add a lot of maintenence time in tube pin cleaning and in gear that was really packed in to conserve space/weight, and secured.
It seems the 6BL8 is often around communications stuff- tuners and ham radio- and the military version- 7643- is always gold pinned. I've often wanted to see the works of WWII walkie-talkies as these had to have a tube transmitter and receiver- battery powered- in a relatively compact hand-held single unit that would get thrown around in combat. I don't know if these had any gold pin tubes, but the tubes must have been in pretty tight!
The 6DJ8 too is interesting as I believe it was first designed for high frequency use in RADAR and the like. It's said that's the reason they are so often microphonic- the microphonics wouldn't play a role at those frequencies. But, the 6DJ8 is always steel pinned, whereas the 6922/E88CC and 7308/E188CC are almost all gold pinned. I say 'almost' as the very last Philips E188CCs were steel pinned. By the way, the Valvo and Amperex E88CC can be the same tube as they are both Philips made and made with identical tooling and materials whether at Heeerlen, Holland, Hamburg, or the Mullard, Blackburn factories. Most Philips, Holland tubes are called Amperex and the Hamburg tubes Valvo, but there are certainly Hamburg Amperex Bugle Boys. But, all factories' output was intended to be as similar as possible.
Cheers,Bambi B
PS: I saw a single WWII walkie talkie for sale not long ago and I thought of rebuilding my cel phone into the case and when everyone at the lunch table pulls out their subminiature video/tune/phones, I'd have my 4" X 4" X 18", 8 pounder in a rucksack! When the phone would ring, I'd get it, pull up the 5' whip antenna and say, "Over" at the end of each sentence. "Sorry, everyone, it was James Cameron. He's at sea and had a question."
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