[Amps] Difference between a 4CX800A and a GU74B

[Paul M Dunphy]

     If this has been beat to death before, my apologies for 
re-asking.  I managed to get a Svetlana 4CX800A, and a pair of NOS 
GU74Bs.  I've done a lot of searching on the Internet, and if you 
poke one into Google you often get hits for the other or they are 
used synonymously.  I don't read anything different from an 
electrical perspective, and I'm becoming 99% convinced they are 
interchangeable.

     That said, the Svetlana 4CX800A is shinny, looks like it was 
made by Eimac (although I realise it came from St Petersburg, Russia) 
and generally just looks like a brand new, NA made tube.  On the 
other hand, the GU74Bs are dull, look older and are labelled in 
Cyrillic, etc.  My understanding is that they were made in ex Soviet 
factories in Czech/Hungary/Bulgaria and are really rugged tubes, 
probably for un-shock mounted service in tanks.  One review of the 
GU74B suggested they are good for 1.2 KW, while the 4CX800A is never 
rated above 1KW.

     The question is really simple -- is a Svetlana 4CX800A any 
better than a GU74B or vice versa?  These are spare tubes for an 
ACOM-1000, and I am becoming convinced that either will be just as 
good.  Does anyone have any experience or knowledge that would 
suggest one is better than the other?

73, Paul VE1DX


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