6L6 versions???

Bill Turner wrt at ESKIMO.COM
Tue Dec 30 13:34:31 EST 1997


On Tue, 30 Dec 1997 03:23:23 -0800, Brian Carling <bry at mnsinc.com>
wrote:

>There's also this.
>
>I hope Eric doesn't mind me passing it along since I have given him
>the proper credit for this fine fine article:
>
>
>                                6L6 FOREVER
>
>                              By Eric Barbour
>
>(Note: This article does not include the full text, photos and
>graphics of the original one published in VTV Issue #4.)
>
>If you ever find yourself being harassed by a techie who insists upon
>criticizing you for your interest in vacuum tubes, there is an easy
>answer. He can be silenced with a simple question. Ask him if any
>early type integrated circuits will still be manufactured and used in
>new products in, say, the year 2030. If he's honest, the answer will
>be "no". Then tell him that the first-ever beam power tube is still
>selling in the millions today, and shows no sign of becoming
>obsolete.....after 60 years. That should get rid of him.
>
_______________________________________________________________
Hold on there, pardner.  Not so fast.

I love tube stuff too, but I'd have to disagree with some of your
logic.  True, the 6L6 and it's variants are still selling whereas
early transistors are not.  However the 6L6 is not an "early" tube
type -- far from it.  A more fair comparison would be to ask if 01As
and 45s are still being manufactured today.  Well, maybe they are
somewhere, but they're aren't any for sale at Circuit City.

Also, consider the difficulty of changing a tube design.  A tube like
a 6L6 is incredibly intricate.  Ever take one apart?  It's a miracle
that they can be manufactured at all.  By comparison, a transistor is
simple.  That's why even MIL-SPEC transistors can be manufactured and
sold for a nickel each.  Try that with a tube.  The point is that once
a tube is designed, it is a major undertaking to do a redesign.
Transistors on the other hand, are easy and therefore lend themselves
to upgrade much more readily.  Because of that, old transistor designs
get phased out pretty quickly whereas a tube design (if it's a good
one) is likely to be around a while.  As the computer guys say, it's a
feature, not a bug...   :-)

Anyway, I'm not trying to knock tubes.  I like radios that glow in the
dark too, but transistors have all but replaced them.  Sorry.

73, Bill W7TI

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