Beware of changing the 6JS6C power amplifier valves in the venerable old FT-101

Clarence came in with a long face and an FT‑101. He explained that the rig had been running per­fectly, but he thought he would treat it to a new set of valves. He found the 6JS6C power ampli­fier valves a little too expensive in the UK, and from a friend in the USA he had obtained a pair of genuine RCA 6JS6C tubes. His friend, who had been in TV serv­ice, told him that they were re­ally the best that could be got, and that he had held them in stock for many years as they were no longer made. They were specially constructed to give long life in colour TVs, as they had extra heat dissipating plates added to the electrode system.

The Yaesu FT-101

Clarence had fitted them, but as the rig had warmed up, he had noted a strange noise on receive followed by the sound of arcing in the PA compartment. He had switched off quickly and refitted his old valves, but now found that the rig had PA current, but no RF output. "What has hap­pened, Harry, were the valves duff and can you do anything about the rig?"

I had to explain that all valves are not equal, and that some are much better for one purpose than an other. Many valves used as driver and power output devices in Amateur Radio equipment were actually designed for use in TV sets. Line output valves such as the 6JS6C, 6KD6 and 6HF5 were designed to run at around 15kHz, and so have no agreed standard for inter‑electrode capacity (at 15kHz a few pF one way or other isn't going to make much difference). Also, these valves were intended to be used only to pass pulses, and so once again the characteristics of the control grid, as regards to how much bias was required, seems to differ widely between brands.

When Yaesu, Swan and KW were designing modestly‑priced transceivers they found that us­ing certain brands of mass‑pro­duced TV valves worked well, were cheap, and therefore gave them a competitive edge. What must not be forgotten, however, is that these valves are being used outside their maker's speci­fication, and hence the valve which is best in a TV can be a disaster in an Amateur Radio transceiver. Differing inter‑electrode capacity can make them impossible to neutralize, and, as in Clarance's case, differing bias levels allows some to conduct in the receive mode.

Clarance's rig had gone into violent oscillation in the PA stage. No load was connected and so high RF voltages had been pro­duced. This had caused the PA anode RF choke to arc over, making it go short circuit. Fortunately this was the only damage that had occurred, but it still lost Clarence a lot more than if he had purchased a pair of the correct valves in the first place.

Before using television valves in a transceiver, do check that they are suitable for use in the equipment you have. It is much better to be safe than sorry.