DX Engineering is excited to announce that it has added expertly crafted RF vacuum tubes from Penta Laboratories to its lineup of more than 30,000 products for amateur radio operators and electronics enthusiasts.
In the ham radio community, special RF power vacuum tubes are essential replacements for current model amplifiers. They are also used to revive legacy amplifiers, and some technically savvy operators build vintage-style homebrew equipment and other devices using vacuum tubes.
If you’re looking for a proven and tested tube, you’ve come to the right place. Penta Laboratories has been a trusted source for more than 70 years.
Founded in 1951, Penta Laboratories gained industry-wide recognition for its development of the beam-power Pentode vacuum tube. Today, the company stocks thousands of tubes for a range of disciplines, including vacuum tubes designed for radio frequency/ham radio applications. Penta Laboratories matched vacuum tubes:
- undergo rigorous test procedures to enhance performance
- are burned in for a minimum of 48 hours, dissipating full power with filament, plate, and screen voltages that are normally used in amplifier applications
These steps ensure that the electrical parameters of Penta vacuum tubes are stable and will perform as expected during their lifetime. All Penta tubes are matched within a 5% variation on all parameters. Vacuum tubes that pass this phase of testing are then evaluated on WT-100A original RCA production testers for plate current, screen current, and transconductance.
Choose from these RF vacuum tubes at DXEngineering.com:
- 3-500ZG: High-mu power triode RF vacuum tube with a maximum plate dissipation rating of 500 watts. It is intended for use as a zero-bias Class AB2 amplifier. Penta says that when operated in a cathode-driven circuit, a power gain of as much as 20 times is achievable. It features a ceramic base for better temperature control. Radiation and forced air provide cooling through the base, along the envelope, and over the plate seal and plate connector. Also sold as a matched pair (3-500ZG-2), set of three (3-500ZG-3), or set of 4 (3-500ZG-4).
- 572B: Power triode RF vacuum tube designed for use as an RF oscillator, RF power amplifier, and audio frequency modulator. The 572B is a direct replacement for the 811A but comes with a graphite anode for increased performance and reliability. Also sold as a matched pair (572B-2), set of three (572B-3), and set of four (572B-4).
- 811A: Hi-mu power triode RF vacuum tube designed for use as an audio frequency amplifier or modulator, RF amplifier, or oscillator. The 811A is capable of outputting up to 160 watts at frequencies up to 30 MHz. Also sold as a matched pair (811A-2), set of three (811A-3), and set of four (811A-4).
- 3CX800A7: Compact power triode ceramic RF vacuum tube for use as a cathode-driven Class AB2 or Class B amplifier in RF applications, including VHF. Penta says that as a linear amplifier, high power gains may be achieved without sacrificing low intermodulation distortion characteristics. It features low drive power for a tube of this power capacity thanks to its low grid interception and high amplification factor. Useful to 450 MHz, the 3CX800A7 delivers 750 watts PEP and 750 watts key-down CW output power to 350 MHz. Its anode is forced- air cooled for 800 watts of dissipation. Also available as a matched pair (3CX800A7-2).
- 3CX1500A7: This rugged ceramic and metal high-mu RF vacuum tube is designed for use as a cathode-driven Class AB2 or Class B amplifier in audio or RF applications including VHF, or as a cathode-driven, plate-modulated Class C RF amplifier. It has a maximum plate dissipation rating of 1,500 watts and maximum CW output power to 250 MHz.
- 4CX1000A: This low-voltage, high-current radial-beam power tetrode ceramic RF vacuum tube is designed for Class AB1 RF linear amplifier or audio amplifier applications. It has a maximum plate dissipation rating of 1,000 watts and maximum CW output power to 110 MHz.
- 4CX800A-T: This ceramic Thompson Brand RF power tetrode vacuum tube (GU74B equivalent) features a maximum plate dissipation rating of 800 watts.
