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On Sat, 3 Dec 2016 19:03:02 -0800, Catherine wrote:
>What's everyone doing to plan for the day when most tubes are unobtainium?
REPLY:
My advice is to get an amp with an 8877. They have been in production
since 1970 at least and will probably be around that much longer. In
every respect it is a superb tube for an amateur linear. Their only
real drawback is cost if bought from Eimac, but the Chinese ones are
half the price and that's what I use in my homebrew amp.
Also, metal-ceramic tubes have a better seal and leak air much less
than metal-glass so the shelf life is greater. I worked at Tektronix
many years ago when they discovered this and stopped making glass
CRT's and went to ceramic.
However, it is likely that tube amps for amateur use will be a thing
of the past in a few more years. The new LDMOS transistors make a
fantastic amp and a pair of them costs about the same as a single
3-500Z, believe it or not. Amazing.
73, Bill W6WRT
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