Hi guys!
I found a pair of 'Mullard ECC82' on a local market but this is definitely a RFT (East Germany) tube inside and it's not 'Made in Great Britain'!
Did Mullard ever label foreign made tubes like e.g. Tungsram?
Looks like a fake tube to me...
Thanks!
I found a pair of 'Mullard ECC82' on a local market but this is definitely a RFT (East Germany) tube inside and it's not 'Made in Great Britain'!
Did Mullard ever label foreign made tubes like e.g. Tungsram?
Looks like a fake tube to me...
Thanks!
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Many tube company's had other tube company's build tubes for them. It was common back in the day. It's no trivial task to break a production line down and retool it for another tube type. So if a company was running short on a tube model it might outsource a tube type from another manufacture to fill in until they have a chance to change back and build that tube model again. Some big tube company's never made certain models of tubes but always had that model of tube available. Again it was outsourced.
BillWojo
BillWojo
I don't see the point in trying to 'fake' a mullard ecc82. I seriously doubt it would be worth the effort.
RFT made really good quality valves/tubes and produced for west german companies, such as Siemens and Telefunken. They likely produced for Philips too (which fully owned mullard since 1927, and Valvo since 1932).
Nothing wrong with just buying RFT labels valves/tubes. I had some excellent EL34's from them (long since sold).
RFT made really good quality valves/tubes and produced for west german companies, such as Siemens and Telefunken. They likely produced for Philips too (which fully owned mullard since 1927, and Valvo since 1932).
Nothing wrong with just buying RFT labels valves/tubes. I had some excellent EL34's from them (long since sold).
No, I also do not think Mullard or RFT did any 'fake' tube.
Since Mullard tubes has gotten expensive maybe someone thought it's clever to print a Mullard logo on a cheap RFT tube to make some money...
Jac found out that there are a lot of 'fake' tube on ebay, mostly Telefunken ones:
FAKE TUBES LIKE ECC803S and others
But now I start to think BillWojo is right and it's just an outsourced one.
But it would be great if someone would say: "Yes, I know this tube and it's genuine!"
I know Tungsram sold some OEM RFT tube but at least they are printed with 'Made in East Germany'.
Since Mullard tubes has gotten expensive maybe someone thought it's clever to print a Mullard logo on a cheap RFT tube to make some money...
Jac found out that there are a lot of 'fake' tube on ebay, mostly Telefunken ones:
FAKE TUBES LIKE ECC803S and others
But now I start to think BillWojo is right and it's just an outsourced one.
But it would be great if someone would say: "Yes, I know this tube and it's genuine!"
I know Tungsram sold some OEM RFT tube but at least they are printed with 'Made in East Germany'.
True, but Mullard also made Valvo branded valves and Philips made Mullard branded valves. Basically, a Philips group design could be made in a number of different factories in different countries but the brand applied would normally be the Philips brand for country of sale. Hence Philips group valves intended for UK would be branded Mullard, but exactly the same valve going to the Netherlands would be branded Philips or Valvo for Germany.JonSnell Electronic said:
RFT are the brand name for East German manufacture. Nothing to do with Mazda, except that some 'Mazda' valves were actually made by RFT. Some 'Mullard' valves were made by RFT.
To me, that ECC82 looks like it was made in Eastern Europe by either RFT (E Germany) or Tungsram (Hungary). In the later years of the valve era it was quite common for Western brands to be made in the East. However, it should not say 'Made in Great Britain'; it should say 'Foreign made'.
The question is: is it a 'genuine fake' (i.e. made by RFT for the Philips group to sell in Britain under the Mullard brand - with the 'made in britain' painted in error) or is it a 'fake fake' (someone trying to make some money). If it is a genuine fake then it should have the correct Philips etch code for RFT manufacture, because all suppliers were expected to adhere to Philips standards for this. If it has no etch code then it may be a fake fake. In either case it may be a perfectly good valve; RFT have a good reputation. For example, they made EL34 which are now highly sought after yet most of them carried other brandings (including a few 'Mullards').
It doesn't have any code except that engraved "O 11" on the bottom side.
And the tube values are good, I did measure them with a tube-tester.
No Philips etch code probably means it was not originally made for Philips. The 'made in britain' is also suspicious, although Western brands sometimes told lies. So probably fake fake. However, the valve could be identical in manufacture and function to a 'genuine fake' which came off the same production line a few seconds later and was then sold to Philips.
I've had those "not licensed ..." Mullard tube boxes, but I couldn't find one here at the office. Pictured is a NOS 12AX7 that I pulled from an unbuilt Heathkit a few years ago; the kit was packed in 1961, the trade dress is almost identical. Maybe even deceptive.
The ones I had, that I specifically recall, were 6BQ5's, and all were gassy; useful only for target practice.
I'm *thinking* these "not licensed ..." Mullards were distributed here by International Servicemaster. They may have just licensed the name.
Win W5JAG
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