> I have always been a big Alpha fan. It's nice to have spare tubes and
> good to have them before prices go up. I had a spare set when i bought
> my alpha in 1983. Cant remeber when i sold them but i did !!.. Sounds
> like 3cx800 is the way to go.. I have bought a couple of MFJ products
> in the last year and had to return them.. I bought a tuner with
> problems and was so disappointed just got my money back. I bought a
> 259 and had to take it back to hro for one that worked.. luckily they
> replaced it no questions asked and they were 15 minutes away..
MFJ is a separate facility with separate people, and better QC than
MFJ.
I warned Martin Jue many times that associating Ameritron with MFJ
would cost customers, just because of the poor quality and quality
control of many MFJ products. I assume Hygain will suffer the same
results, even though it is also a separate facility that uses the
same old tooling and parts sources Hygain used.
All of that aside, watch out for Russian tubes like the 4CX1600's.
They are becoming very difficult to find, even for manufacturers.
Both 3CX800 and 3CX1200 are very reliable long life tubes, although
you should be sure the grids are protected in 3CX800 amps. Nearly any
amount of excessive grid current will quickly ruin the gold-plated
grids in a 3CX800, but it is virtually impossible to hurt the
tungsten grid in a 3CX1200 tube. Virtually all 3CX1200 tube failures
are from mechanical shock in transportation.
73, Tom W8JI
W8JI@contesting.com
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