[Amps] 572B/T160L tube class C

Alek Petkovic vk6apk at bigpond.com
Fri Aug 20 22:08:47 EDT 2021


Over the years, I've imported around 200 572Bs from China.

They are definitely not as good as the US ones but they have proven to 
be very serviceable, when treated right.

The single biggest proviso that I drummed into everybody that I ever 
sold them to is to make absolutely certain that the filament voltage 
stays at 6.3V.  The Chinese tubes fail very quickly with filament 
voltages of around 7V+, which are the rule in both Yaesu, Ameritron and 
Dentron amplifiers when connected to Australian 240V+ mains voltages.

It is a very simple thing to add appropriate resistance to the filament 
circuit to bring the voltage back to 6.3V. I've modified very many amps 
in this way for many hams. The result has been that all those amps are 
running happily on Chinese tubes, which are lasting many years.

73, Alek, VK6APK.


On 21/08/2021 8:00 am, Stan Gammons via Amps wrote:
> I agree. I've had so so luck with the Chinese ones. They are nowhere
> near the quality of the American made tubes. When America made lots of
> tubes; I think we made the best tubes in the world. But, I'm a bit biased :)
>
> 73
>
> Stan
> KM4HQE
>
>
> On 8/20/21 6:52 PM, Carl wrote:
>> The Chinesw 572B and 811 (it is NOT a real 811A, not even close) are mostly
>> all junk looking for a trash can. They sometimes let a good one sneak thru.
>>
>> Best bet is to pay the freight for a real NOS Cetron or United Electronics,
>> the only USA real manufacturer who private labeled them for others.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Jeff Blaine" <KeepWalking188 at ac0c.com>
>> To: <amps at contesting.com>
>> Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2021 10:33 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Amps] 572B/T160L tube class C
>>
>>
>>> How much service do you expect from a new set of tubes? It's one thing to
>>> know "it can do it, if I want" - but then not actually need the
>>> capability. It's another thing if you are saying "I want to run a 572b
>>> 24/7 at full output."
>>>
>>> About 10 years ago I was working on a SB200 which was initially setup to
>>> run RTTY. I did quite a lot of profiling of those using the Chinese tubes
>>> of the era. Watching very carefully to respect the Pd max of the tubes, I
>>> found a typical 25% drop in Po over about 100 hours of testing. The
>>> testing was typically 3-15 minutes key down 100% carrier per interval.
>>> Plus on-band rag chew, contesting & DX (this was pre FT8).
>>>
>>> Carl is about a million times more experienced than I am but I think maybe
>>> the Pd spec vs. actual was a bit optimistic for the Chinese tubes I had
>>> because this drop off seemed excessive. However my abuse of those tubes,
>>> compared to typical ham use, was really bad. Also the SB200 positions the
>>> tube horizontally which may be a factor as is the generally poor
>>> circulation even with my augmented cooling.
>>>
>>> In the end, I abandoned the 572b and went with the GI7T which was an
>>> excellent performer by comparison although it required quite a lot of
>>> changes to the SB200. Unless there is a specific reason to use the 572b,
>>> if I were building a high duty cycle amp in the future, I would probably
>>> want to use a metal/ceramic type tube instead of a glass one.
>>>
>>> Good luck!
>>>
>>> 73/jeff/ac0c
>>> alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
>>> www.ac0c.com
>>>
>>>
>>> On 8/19/21 8:50 PM, Carl wrote:
>>>> That tube was designed for AM BCB service by Taylor but didnt catch on
>>>> there or for AM hams as the T-160L in the late 50's.
>>>>
>>>> It was later bought by and designated the 572/T-160L for Unitrd
>>>> Electronics alone.
>>>> They couldnt keep up with demand and sold production rights to Cetron who
>>>> had a much larger production facility.
>>>>
>>>> UE then became the 572A and Cetron the 572B. The step top (shouldered)
>>>> glass was Cetron and the round top was UE.
>>>>
>>>> At some point the T-160L was dropped for both.
>>>>
>>>> You may also find a 572B with the round top and the Cetron name, those
>>>> were built by UE as the demand was even too much for Cetron alone at
>>>> times....such as the SB-200 and the Clipperton L.
>>>>
>>>> I have examples of both (no Taylor T-160L) as well as other versions
>>>> including OEM named such as Dentron, Waters, plus Raytheon, GE, and
>>>> several others who did not build their own. The top shape ID's the
>>>> source.
>>>>
>>>> I cant remember ever seeing an actual T-160L spect sheet or the tube.
>>>>
>>>> Carl
>>>> Ham since 1955
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Fuqua, William L." <wlfuqu00 at uky.edu>
>>>> To: <amps at contesting.com>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2021 8:56 PM
>>>> Subject: [Amps] 572B/T160L tube class C
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> I am looking for full power data for the 572B/T160L operating ICAS
>>>>> class-c CW and AM.
>>>>> The only thing I have found thus far is in an ARRL handbook, but it is
>>>>> obviously the 811A specs.
>>>>> Not the full 160W plate dissipation specs.
>>>>>
>>>>> 73
>>>>> Bill wa4lav
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Amps mailing list
>>>>> Amps at contesting.com
>>>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
>>>> ---
>>>> This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
>>>> https://www.avg.com
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Amps mailing list
>>>> Amps at contesting.com
>>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Amps mailing list
>>> Amps at contesting.com
>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Amps mailing list
>> Amps at contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
>
> _______________________________________________
> Amps mailing list
> Amps at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps


More information about the Amps mailing list