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Radio Shack will still give you a free replacement tube, but you have to jump through a few hoops.
First of all, you have to get a Radio Shack employee to stop trying to sell you a cell phone long enough to explain the situation. Generally, they will have no clue, and will try to blow you off. Be persistent, and have them contact their district manager if they try to claim that the warranty is no longer valid.
They will obviously not have the tube in stock, and it will take a long time to get it. The last time I went through this, it was about 6 weeks to get replacements.
The tube you are requesting needs to be available through one of their suppliers. Only a handful of tube types are still being made. I put in a request for a new pair of 6L6GCs, to replace a gassed-up pair of RS Lifetime tubes. 6L6s are still being made for the guitar amp market, but most TV/Radio types are long out of production.
If you manage to get your free tubes, they will NOT carry the lifetime warranty any more. They won't even be RS branded. The 6L6s I got were Russian "Sovtek" brand.
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