Angle of the picture can easily fool the eye - the letter D in 6DJ8 looks like B ( which would be V in Cyrilic ), but all the rest is in a Latinic - the font for letters 6DJ8 is little unusual also.
For example I have never seen EL84 or PCL82 / PCF80 TV tubes with Cyrilic letters - think that Ei did all lettering in Latinic unlike Soviets who used Cyrilic ( maybe some Latinic for export but i'm not really sure about that ).
For example I have never seen EL84 or PCL82 / PCF80 TV tubes with Cyrilic letters - think that Ei did all lettering in Latinic unlike Soviets who used Cyrilic ( maybe some Latinic for export but i'm not really sure about that ).
I was told that this tube is one of the first 100 ever made in Serbia. The machines were just being set up. This one was rejected because it had a tangential crack on the stem
I honestly don't believe some local girl welded these anodes. In the years that followed, the girls from Nis did an excellent job. They proved to be very reliable and in almost all workplaces they easily exceeded Philips working hour norms. The quality of EI Nis tubes was exceptional until the early 80s.
Great read guys. I ended up here because my favourite ECC82 tube is a Mazda (Foreign) blue print, long smooth plates, big O getter and it turns out after all this research to be an EI from the half circle and dot brand marking. I pair it in my modded BH crack with a TS5998 to much audio pleasure.
Code is 1A1/m7H <--I put m for the circle and dot symbol. Any idea if they follow the normal date code and the 7 in a 3 digit code means 1957? Great tube anyway. Sounds better than my 1959 Marconi (Mullard), Brimar CV4003 from 62 and Siemens Chrome plate.
Code is 1A1/m7H <--I put m for the circle and dot symbol. Any idea if they follow the normal date code and the 7 in a 3 digit code means 1957? Great tube anyway. Sounds better than my 1959 Marconi (Mullard), Brimar CV4003 from 62 and Siemens Chrome plate.
EI used philips style manufacture codes. ive never used their 12AU7. you got me thinkin i should give em a try.
I know there was some ECC88 Mazda made in France : pretty good, exactly the same as the others ECC88 made there, only the brand stamp is changing. And sometimes has the Herleen made code according the batch. I don't know however about the ECC82...
tubes are identified by manufacture, and each manufacturer made tubes a particular way. herleen code and F-code surenses france are different tubes. they are not the same. ECC88 with herleen code are different from ECC88 F-code, B-code, r-code and so on.
In what are they different ? Workers skills? There were 3 plants in France iirc. Suresnes, one of them as good as the same tube when made in Holland, cause the tooling and plants here were well regarded by Philips company. But I have a french branded E188CC that was made at Herleen, too.
As far I know, there were some country/plants where the tooling rom Philips were ending their life and often the production was less good as for some UK plants/brand. France, not as far I know
As far I know, there were some country/plants where the tooling rom Philips were ending their life and often the production was less good as for some UK plants/brand. France, not as far I know
Because while each factory is making things "to spec" there will be slight differences either in not exactly the same machines and tooling and skills and materials from the start of the process through to the end. And even from the same factory there are differences in the same tube from 1 run to the next let alone 1 year to the next. The only Miniwatt I have says "made in holland" on the print but has a date code of B2BI so it was made in Blackburn in either in 62 or 72. but not in Holland as the print says. I have some Herleen tubes somewhere so will try and dig them out and check my listening notes on them. They might not be the same specs though (i.e. Gf1 etc.)
OK looks like I only have 1 tube from Herleen and that is an Amperex Bugleboy with a 3 digit code and a 9 so 1959 I assume.
Some scientific observations though on my collection of 12AU7/ECC82 variants 🙂
I have 4 Blackburn marked tubes and their points are uniformly identical short and stubby but tidy and with a visible seam like they were 2 parts sealed together. The Mitcham K61 does have a seam but is almost invisible. You can only see it under the light but it is not a visible join otherwise. So the 4 blackburn tubes probably made on the same machines, same process.
A Marconi brand Gf2 from 1959, A Tungsram Gf1 from 1960, A Mullard Gf1 from 1962 and the Philips Miniwatt is dated 62 or 72 but there is not upper line so no idea whether that is a Gf1/2 or whatever else but it is identical inside to the Mullard Gf1 from 1962
And that led me on to the EI Mazda with smooth plates. Comparing the glass construction to the Bugle Boy made in Heerlen both have a thinner taller blunt point, not exactly uniform like the Mullards but close enough however it is visible that the seams are not a half. The top is drawn together in quarters so there are 4 seams leading into the point. So they follow the Philips process at least if not they use the same machines? The plates are obviously different with the Bugle Boy being a ladder not smooth plates
Then I noticed my Siemens chrome plates has this quarter seam on the top too. The insides of these 3 tubes is of course different. They are also from different ages however I am going to put my neck on the line just from looking at internal designs with their micro differences in mica stat points and their spacing, ladders and where their crimps and holes are points, glass seams etc:
The Mazda England is made of Mullard parts but is not made by the Blackburn factory or by the same machines or tools as the Blackburn factory. It has no seam, not even with my magnifying glasses on under very good lights, the point at the top is not uniform and untidy! Blackburn parts but made somewhere else, maybe not even in England.
The Mazda foreign with very small smooth plates, only crimped 1 side like an ice lolly profile is made in Hungary by Tungsram.
The Mazda long smooth plates is marked EI and was made in Yugoslavia and it is this one that is very nice to my ears. The other Mazdas punch well above their weight including some of the Blackburn made tubes above but this one sounds nice. Enough of the tubey sound without being too syrupy. Its musical YMMV.
Right I'm off to test my new '58 Mitcham K61 with the funny glass 😀 See if it replaces the EI Mazda.
Some scientific observations though on my collection of 12AU7/ECC82 variants 🙂
I have 4 Blackburn marked tubes and their points are uniformly identical short and stubby but tidy and with a visible seam like they were 2 parts sealed together. The Mitcham K61 does have a seam but is almost invisible. You can only see it under the light but it is not a visible join otherwise. So the 4 blackburn tubes probably made on the same machines, same process.
A Marconi brand Gf2 from 1959, A Tungsram Gf1 from 1960, A Mullard Gf1 from 1962 and the Philips Miniwatt is dated 62 or 72 but there is not upper line so no idea whether that is a Gf1/2 or whatever else but it is identical inside to the Mullard Gf1 from 1962
And that led me on to the EI Mazda with smooth plates. Comparing the glass construction to the Bugle Boy made in Heerlen both have a thinner taller blunt point, not exactly uniform like the Mullards but close enough however it is visible that the seams are not a half. The top is drawn together in quarters so there are 4 seams leading into the point. So they follow the Philips process at least if not they use the same machines? The plates are obviously different with the Bugle Boy being a ladder not smooth plates
Then I noticed my Siemens chrome plates has this quarter seam on the top too. The insides of these 3 tubes is of course different. They are also from different ages however I am going to put my neck on the line just from looking at internal designs with their micro differences in mica stat points and their spacing, ladders and where their crimps and holes are points, glass seams etc:
The Mazda England is made of Mullard parts but is not made by the Blackburn factory or by the same machines or tools as the Blackburn factory. It has no seam, not even with my magnifying glasses on under very good lights, the point at the top is not uniform and untidy! Blackburn parts but made somewhere else, maybe not even in England.
The Mazda foreign with very small smooth plates, only crimped 1 side like an ice lolly profile is made in Hungary by Tungsram.
The Mazda long smooth plates is marked EI and was made in Yugoslavia and it is this one that is very nice to my ears. The other Mazdas punch well above their weight including some of the Blackburn made tubes above but this one sounds nice. Enough of the tubey sound without being too syrupy. Its musical YMMV.
Right I'm off to test my new '58 Mitcham K61 with the funny glass 😀 See if it replaces the EI Mazda.
Sorry for the spam. lol. I have noticed on the bay a few of these long smooth plate tubes. Most sellers state "telefunken tooling" so no idea if this is a bit of artistic licence. There is even one that says "telefunken tooling" but is branded Philips. Maybe the lore on this tube has gone a little too far and prices have risen a lot. Some are calling them grail and wanting grail prices for them. I bought mine in 2020 for £16.50 including shipping (20 euros) but I wouldn't have paid £100+ when I knew nothing about it.
mazda was in brusselss belgium. are you saying that you had mazda-branded RTC ECC88?
Nope, I said some Mazda was made in philips France plants. And I have a french RTC made in Herleen. 🙂
How complex ! Indeed, one has to read the stamped codes.
How complex ! Indeed, one has to read the stamped codes.
Last edited:
" I said some Mazda was made in philips France plants. "
i am real curious aboutn that one; can you please post some pics of the maunfacture codes?
"And I have a french RTC made in Herleen. "
theyre not french theyre dutch philips made by philips @ herleen holland facility. french RTC were made in france at RTC in surenses.
if you want to be especially clear then you have "rtc-labelled philips herleen"
i am real curious aboutn that one; can you please post some pics of the maunfacture codes?
"And I have a french RTC made in Herleen. "
theyre not french theyre dutch philips made by philips @ herleen holland facility. french RTC were made in france at RTC in surenses.
if you want to be especially clear then you have "rtc-labelled philips herleen"
nope and I have rigth in the hand an RTC E188CC made Herleen code from the 70s' ! Or at least partially made in France for mine ? Don't to be mixed with the britanic RTC, mine has the green RT logo ! (la Radio Technique)
And it is not surenses, it is Suresnes (near Paris).
Plants was adapting suppliers demands, there are also some 6dj8 made in Herleen and sent to NYC ! Call that indeed xxx- labelled Philips XXX ; the customers have the box with the asked logo brand or in pack with no box but the marking on tubes of course. (Radio and TV was good customers)
And it is not surenses, it is Suresnes (near Paris).
Plants was adapting suppliers demands, there are also some 6dj8 made in Herleen and sent to NYC ! Call that indeed xxx- labelled Philips XXX ; the customers have the box with the asked logo brand or in pack with no box but the marking on tubes of course. (Radio and TV was good customers)
thats a philips E188CC, an RTC-labelled philips E188CC.
so many colors
right
yes. those are philips ECC88. theyll be amperex-labelled.
tubes are identified by manufacture not label or brand. thos "amperex" is often substituted for "philips." its usually specified by USA amperex or dutch amperex, which is usually philips herleen.
hope that clears it up
Dutch is nearer from the deutsch ? I personally thougth for a long time 6dj8 was made in Harlem. 😉
So no Mazda fabed in France ?
Yes, vocabulary problem, many talk about the logo on the tube but indeed should talk of the stamp fab. So I was not wrong about My heerleen made with RT logo.
I surenesder... For me Ei equals tired tools sent in East Europe and climbing trebles, not my tea cup.
Any Noval 6900 made in Papouasie ? Are Mazdas had not green painting anymore ?
So much mysteries.And oh, all that factories that makes diferent getter sometimes worse than originals like Siemen often sent à fortune in USA when the guys could have bougth 10 RT for the same price that sounds better. 😀
Yes, vocabulary problem, many talk about the logo on the tube but indeed should talk of the stamp fab. So I was not wrong about My heerleen made with RT logo.
I surenesder... For me Ei equals tired tools sent in East Europe and climbing trebles, not my tea cup.
Any Noval 6900 made in Papouasie ? Are Mazdas had not green painting anymore ?
So much mysteries.And oh, all that factories that makes diferent getter sometimes worse than originals like Siemen often sent à fortune in USA when the guys could have bougth 10 RT for the same price that sounds better. 😀
Last edited: