[JKDJedi]

The date code on one of your 5998s, "418", indicates that the tube was manufactured in the 18th week of 1954. But the box shows a date of July 1963. So if that tube came to you in that box, it implies it sat in a warehouse for 10 years!

But perhaps another of your 5998's came in that box? It is not clear to us....

Just got ship in the box they had at hand is my bet.

 

[LoryWiv]

I have this beauty coming in. Is this a brown base, a black base, or dark brown? I will find out on closer inspection next week.

Those are beautiful, @CaptainFantastic. I have GEC 6080 powers and 6V6 drivers and they are amongst my favorite tubes. Please let us know your impressions when you give them a spin!

 

[JTbbb]

The date code on one of your 5998s, "418", indicates that the tube was manufactured in the 18th week of 1954. But the box shows a date of July 1963. So if that tube came to you in that box, it implies it sat in a warehouse for 10 years!

But perhaps another of your 5998's came in that box? It is not clear to us....

The other box is identical to the one shown, but the graphics on the other tube are rather indistinct. Looking in detail at both tubes I would say they are both date code 418. So sat in a warehouse for 10 years is a possibility! Thanks for the information, it is much appreciated.

 

[Slade01]

Not sure if this is a good deal or not but will throw it out there anyways. Saw this lot on ebay, potentially 2 tung sol/chatham 6080s included, one of which looks like its graphite plates. Unfortunately you get some GE tubes as well. LOL. You do get alot of tubes to mess with, maybe someone just starting up this would be good.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-12-6080-1-6as7ga-RCA-GE-Chatham-Tubes/254766105933

 

[bcowen]

Not sure if this is a good deal or not but will throw it out there anyways. Saw this lot on ebay, potentially 2 tung sol/chatham 6080s included, one of which looks like its graphite plates. Unfortunately you get some GE tubes as well. LOL. You do get alot of tubes to mess with, maybe someone just starting up this would be good.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-12-6080-1-6as7ga-RCA-GE-Chatham-Tubes/254766105933

If that stays near $49, that's a great deal assuming the tubes test out decently.

 

[bcowen]

Hooray of the day. Got this Chatham a couple months ago as one of a pair, and the first triode on it was pegging a dead short. Finally got around to resoldering the pins today just to see if that would fix it, and bingo! I did a full suck'n'solder routine and it tests out perfectly now. Not quite at NOS GM levels but not far from it, and the triodes are within 10% of each other. From trash can fodder to player. The other one I received with it tested fine and I like the sound quite a bit, so I'm happy to now have a solid backup...for free (the seller refunded half my money when I advised them one tube had a short ).

A little tip for pin soldering for those (like me) that are not at the grand master level of @Paladin79 . I've never had any issue getting a good solder connection on the inside of the tube pins. The issue (for me) has always been excess solder that wants to stick to the outside of the pin and then is a PITA to file back down to the original pin profile. Guess what solder won't stick to and has a way higher melting point than a 750 degree soldering iron tip? Graphite. As in the business end of a pencil. If you rub some around the outside of the pin (about 1/8" up from the tip is all you need), the solder won't stick to it. Yup, a good old pencil will work fine to see if it helps. Just be careful not to get any inside the pin especially if you've sucked the old solder out. I got the graphite sticks below as the width makes it a little easier to quickly rub on the pins:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BPP4YC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Ripper2860]

Dammit. I just re-read your post and saw the link. Guess I need to get a return label from Amazon.

 

[bcowen]

Dammit. I just re-read your post and saw the link. Guess I need to get a return label from Amazon.

Naw, keep it. That will work nicely for resoldering 9-pin tubes.

 

[Paladin79]

Hooray of the day. Got this Chatham a couple months ago as one of a pair, and the first triode on it was pegging a dead short. Finally got around to resoldering the pins today just to see if that would fix it, and bingo! I did a full suck'n'solder routine and it tests out perfectly now. Not quite at NOS GM levels but not far from it, and the triodes are within 10% of each other. From trash can fodder to player. The other one I received with it tested fine and I like the sound quite a bit, so I'm happy to now have a solid backup...for free (the seller refunded half my money when I advised them one tube had a short ).



A little tip for pin soldering for those (like me) that are not at the grand master level of @Paladin79 . I've never had any issue getting a good solder connection on the inside of the tube pins. The issue (for me) has always been excess solder that wants to stick to the outside of the pin and then is a PITA to file back down to the original pin profile. Guess what solder won't stick to and has a way higher melting point than a 750 degree soldering iron tip? Graphite. As in the business end of a pencil. If you rub some around the outside of the pin (about 1/8" up from the tip is all you need), the solder won't stick to it. Yup, a good old pencil will work fine to see if it helps. Just be careful not to get any inside the pin especially if you've sucked the old solder out. I got the graphite sticks below as the width makes it a little easier to quickly rub on the pins:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BPP4YC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Very good information. I do tend to keep the solder inside the pins but your tip will help others. The tubes I soldered yesterday had very tiny pin openings and I believe they were from 1935 or so. The rosin inside the solder was not enough to give a proper bond to the wires extending down into the pins so extra rosin was called for.

 

[adeadcrab]

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Western...IOnTopCombiner&_trksid=p2508447.c100042.m2062

 

[PsilocybinCube]

Kind of off topic and I know cleaning was a topic before.

I'm looking to purchase only the Caig D25L-25CA. This is the red fluid in the tube survival kit:

https://www.parts-express.com/caig-...nUakxFyT-3rJVKvPxXQuxUfCF-QuVZVUaAir8EALw_wcB

Does anyone know if you can purchase that separately? On the website it looks like you can get the D100 or D5, but no D25: https://caig.com/deoxit-d-series/

Thoughts? Or do I just need to buy the whole tube survival kit?

 

[bcowen]

Kind of off topic and I know cleaning was a topic before.

I'm looking to purchase only the Caig D25L-25CA. This is the red fluid in the tube survival kit:

https://www.parts-express.com/caig-...nUakxFyT-3rJVKvPxXQuxUfCF-QuVZVUaAir8EALw_wcB

Does anyone know if you can purchase that separately? On the website it looks like you can get the D100 or D5, but no D25: https://caig.com/deoxit-d-series/

Thoughts? Or do I just need to buy the whole tube survival kit?

You can get the 25% solution in a pump spray on Amazon if that's what you want. The 5% is quite a bit cheaper though and works quite well if you use it properly (apply liberally, let sit a few minutes, then hit it again). I don't like "spraying" Deoxit directly onto the surface, preferring to spray it on an applicator (pipe cleaner, cotton swab, etc) and then apply it to the intended surfaces with the applicator. I only spray it directly if I'm trying to clean a pot or similar or in a place where an applicator won't work. But that's just me...everyone has their own methods which probably work equally as well.

https://www.amazon.com/CAIG-Laborat...eywords=caig+deoxit+25&qid=1604946491&sr=8-13

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-D5S-6-D...eywords=caig+deoxit+25&qid=1604946662&sr=8-16

 

[PsilocybinCube]

You can get the 25% solution in a pump spray on Amazon if that's what you want. The 5% is quite a bit cheaper though and works quite well if you use it properly (apply liberally, let sit a few minutes, then hit it again). I don't like "spraying" Deoxit directly onto the surface, preferring to spray it on an applicator (pipe cleaner, cotton swab, etc) and then apply it to the intended surfaces with the applicator. I only spray it directly if I'm trying to clean a pot or similar or in a place where an applicator won't work. But that's just me...everyone has their own methods which probably work equally as well.

https://www.amazon.com/CAIG-Laborat...eywords=caig+deoxit+25&qid=1604946491&sr=8-13

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-D5S-6-D...eywords=caig+deoxit+25&qid=1604946662&sr=8-16

Thanks for the tip. I'll probably just go that direction and it makes sense about not soaking your tubes with aerosol spray.

Has anyone tried the D100??? I'm assuming it's a little too strong?

 

[bcowen]

Thanks for the tip. I'll probably just go that direction and it makes sense about not soaking your tubes with aerosol spray.

Has anyone tried the D100??? I'm assuming it's a little too strong?

I have some D100 in a little tube. It's much higher viscosity (about like maple syrup) and I'm sure it has some very practical uses. For cleaning tube sockets and tube pins and such, it seems to be a bit of overkill to me.

 

[GDuss]

Hey @bcowen , thanks for the recommendation on these, but I didn't realize I was getting so many. I thought it was 10, but it was 10 packs, of 56 each. Now I need to buy more amps so I have more sockets to clean .