[Hallicrafters] Ref: 12DQ6

[Mike Everette]

Carl,

I don't know about Richardson having destroyed US tube manufacturing... I sort 
of thought solid state had done that number, so the mfrs decided to dump their 
tooling and technology in China and Russia... but, I would agree that Richardson 
has all but cornered the market on power tubes and if you want Eimac (the only 
still-US made high power tubes, to my knowledge), you'll probably buy them from 
Richardson if you get new ones.  They may be the only remaining US distributor 
for Eimac.  I buy tubes frequently at work and, in spite of the efforts of 
politicians blinded by political correctness to overrule good sense,  try to 
specify US-made, because foreign 8560AS and 4CX259B, especially Chinese, 
("National" brand, and most Motey-Rollie replacements are from National these 
days unfortunately) are a total waste of money.  


Richardson's prices for Eimac are not certainly cheap and they keep rising at an 
alarming rate -- the 4CX250B runs about $475 right now and the 8560AS is at $525 
each -- it takes two to tango, in a Motey-Rollie transmitter, and two of them 
last about HALF as long as a single 4CX250B in an Ericsson-GE final, both 
tunning about the same power, 250 watts out in the 40-50 MHz range. (Wonder 
howcum Motey-Rollie did that...?)   But for tubes in the 50 to 100 watt class, I 
doubt they are much different from most other places.  Eimac doesn't make 6146s 
et al... the ones I get are GE, or maybe Amperex.

I have been told that Eimac has ceased all glass-tube production; dunni how true 
this is though.

One can often find brand new 6883 et al at hanfests for peanuts because many 
hamd do not know what they are... it's a shame we can't make much use of  6159s 
which are 25 volt 6146s.  They are often literally under a buck each brand new 
in JAN boxes.  Collins aircraft HF SSB radios (notably the ARC-38, 38A and 618S 
series) used these tubes and the military bought scads of them.

73

Mike
W4DSE