Zenith Chromacolor Hybrid 23DC14

[zenith2134]

Regarding the 6LF6,, it isn't just the hamradio guys who want em...it's popular with the OTL (output transformerless) amp guys as well.

[Zenith26kc20]

Be sure to watch the tripler. I changed literally hundreds of them when this chassis was popular.
The first ones were blue and they would literally blow up (selenium! What a stink!) and throw tiny metal circles everywhere.
The ceramic discs siliconed to the top of the flyback on some of them like to short out also.
Futterman amplifiers and their clones love those big 6LF6 tubes! They run them HOT and mismatching the loads can bring on a expensive fireworks display!

[fsjonsey]

Originally Posted by zenith2134

Regarding the 6LF6,, it isn't just the hamradio guys who want em...it's popular with the OTL (output transformerless) amp guys as well.

Actually, it's not even Ham's or OTL guys. CB'ers are the reason 6LF6's are so rare today. The 6lf6 was commonly used in illegal CB Linear amps back in the 70's, mainly because it was a cheap and readily available sweep tube at the time.
These Linear amps were generally very poorly designed, splattered harmonics everywhere, and ran the tubes way beyond their max plate dissipation ratings. The average lifespan of a 6lf6 in one of those amps was barely in the tens of hours. And most of those amps used at least six, and some as many as 10 or 12 6LF6's, depending on output power. Back in the 70's this wasn't an issue. The 6LF6 was a common TV tube.

"Dedicated" CB'ers are still using many of these amps, and have almost completely burned through the remaining NOS stocks of 6lf6's in the past twenty or so years. They continue to pay top dollar for any NOS 6LF6 they can find, even though they could easily rewire their amps to accept the new production Russian El509/6KG6, just as the OTL amp guys have done. However, most of these guys aren't exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer, so I doubt that will happen any time soon.

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by fsjonsey

CB'ers are the reason 6LF6's are so rare today. The 6lf6 was commonly used in illegal CB Linear amps back in the 70's, mainly because it was a cheap and readily available sweep tube at the time.
These Linear amps were generally very poorly designed, splattered harmonics everywhere, and ran the tubes way beyond their max plate dissipation ratings. ...

"Dedicated" CB'ers are still using many of these amps, ... However, most of these guys aren't exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer, so I doubt that will happen any time soon.

I know a ham friend who rebuilt one of these illegal linears for a neighbor of his, to reduce the harmonics and make it work better. Mainly so this CBer wouldn't produce interference with TV reception, which the neighbors would blame on my ham friend.

The sharp freeband CBers, now that the sunspots are at a minimum (which makes for a lack of "skip" on 27Mhz) likely have found out that a general or extra class ham license no longer required Morse Code, just a written test (albeit a non-trivial test). And sworn off freebanding in exchange for legal worldwide DX communications.