[joebog1]

This has become a very educational thread for me at least.


EF41 as 6CJ5
ECH42 as 6CU7
EBC41 as 6CV7
EAF42 as 6CT7
EK41 as 6CK5
UF41 as 12AC5

For instance, I have NEVER seen any of the above valves in either designation. I did start my career as a kid pestering the local TV repairers to "can I see please".
I had two mentors that taught me a great deal of what I still remember ( yes, thats a hint to the education system). As I have mentioned before, RCA had a huge influence on Australian made valves, even though I "think" that the valve factories made batches for whoever was paying for them at the time.
Philips were in Adelaide, some thousands of kilometres from where I lived, but did make many valves for the TV market. MOSTLY though they were branded Mullard.
RCA, Radiotron and AWV were in Sydney a few hundred miles away, and that could also have a bearing on what I saw and learned.
The most common brand name in Australia was AWV. Amalgamated Wireless Valve.
If I am given a choice of valve for use, and I have a choice of brands, I will generally use the AWV branded units, as they were tough as old boots and lasted very well under the most severe circumstances. I have mentioned before working on AWA AM radio transmitters where the lowly old 807 would show quite bright pink plates for years without faltering. This is NOT a plug for aussie made BTW !!.

I was given a radio from a tank when I was young, and it had he first "bodgie" valves I had seen. They were loctals, and the radio was from South Africa.
That was as far afield as I had seen up to that point. I went away and built mainframe computers for quite a few years. When the early computer boom finished so had the valve era.
Octal based valves ( eight pins with a locating spigot) were extremely common, as were 5 pin (807 style). "Most" Australian radios that I saw/worked on used 7 pin miniature, or noval bases, and for the life of me, (and I have been thinking since this thread started)
TV's were almost all octal or noval, and audio varied. Some of the best audio equipment came from across the ditch ( New Zealand), but all the valves used American designations.

As far as this goes, and only slightly off topic, I have NEVER even seen an AC/DC radio in my life. There were a few early B/W TV sets that were, but I have never worked on one. I think this may have to do with Australian regulations, but I cant prove that. We do have an excellent record for electrical installation however.


Thanks again to all

Joe