[Amps] conditioning 3-500Z

[John T. M. Lyles]

I would recommend running them with rated filament voltage first 100 
hours, and then backing that off to whatever needed to support your 
cathode current requirement, plus a little, and leave them there. 
Thats straight from the manufacturers app notes.

Nothing else. give them 30 minutes first time before hitting HV 
switch, thats all.

And of course, filament and blower on, I can't imagine one without 
the other. No need to run HV without drawing current.

john
K5PRO


>
>Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 21:17:30 -0500
>From: ab5mm <ab5mm at 9plus.net>
>Subject: [Amps] Tube Burn In Question.
>
>The 20+ year old 3-500Z Eimacs have lost their brilliance. I finally
>broke down and purchased a new pair to go into the Henry 3K-A today at
>HAM-COMM.
>My question is how should I "burn in" the tubes?
>How many hours?
>Only filament and blower on? (I did the mod to cool the pins)
>Filament voltage? (I can vary it)
>And finally, is there a general consensus on whether or not some portion
>of the burn in time should include plate voltage (no drive, just idle
>current? (I can vary this also)