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gold grid 5881 - was I had?

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RARE 6P3S-E = 5881 = 6L6GS Tube 1980s Gold Grid. REFLECTOR NOS | eBay


there are a few tubes on ebay that indicate they have gold grids. some 5881's, el-84, and a few others. bought some of the 5881's. got them. don't see any gold. I can see the screens and they look regular color. Maybe they are white gold. Got some el-84's coming. maybe they will have some gold grids. I asked the seller , where's the gold.....wondering if gold grids sound any different. I know gold pins sound the same as regular pins. Anyone have any insight?
 
I wonder how the seller knows the control grid is gold plated... unless all 6P3S-E come that way. This tube shows no markings that are any different than any of the other dozens of 6P3S-E I've ever seen.

I've got a couple dead ones around here somewhere... maybe I should crack one open and dissect it.
 
I wonder how the seller knows the control grid is gold plated... unless all 6P3S-E come that way. This tube shows no markings that are any different than any of the other dozens of 6P3S-E I've ever seen.

I've got a couple dead ones around here somewhere... maybe I should crack one open and dissect it.

All the g1s on ALL those tubes are gold plated. The seller is not misstating the facts.
 
Many have run these tubes way past 250 plate volts, some close to 600V. You can easily put these in a Dynaco ST-70 with 470 volts.

Yes they will do fine in a Dyna! I even match them at 465 volts on the plate and screen, and I've sold a number that have gone into 500+ volt applications. So I'm speaking from personal experience.

They will run at 25-30 watts dissipation all day and never show any strain.

That 250 volt figure must not be a rated maximum. I can't read Cyrillic, but I suspect that's a "typical operation" point like in western tube manuals.
 
I tried them in a few amps, no problem with 6l6 and 5881 applications. el-34 applications seem to show glowing grids and scorching patterns on the glass that match anode holes....so they won't last long in an el-34 application. bias probing them while on my tube tester puts them in the same Ip range as 6l6's and 5881's. They do sound better than 6l6's.
 
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