6SN7 equivalent?

[clay shooter]

I hope someone can advise me as to an easily available (and cheap) equivalent to a 6SN7 octal valve? This is the last component that I need to purchase before I can start the construction of a regen receiver.
I have tried to find ;
7n7
Cv1988
6n85
B65
13d2 all to no avail

[G6Tanuki]

What's wrong with this?

http://www.cricklewoodelectronics.com/6SN7GT.html

[£12 is a lot saner than the sort of £100+ "audiophool" prices demanded by other suppliers!]

[clay shooter]

That seems better, o did see the mega £ ones and questioned my sanity ... Thanks for that

[Station X]

Have you completely given up on using a 6SN7?

I've got a 6SN7GT which is a "pull", so I'd have to test it.

Don't know what you mean by cheap, but you can have it for a fiver, £2.85 of which will be postage.

[clay shooter]

That would be great, can you see if its OK I am interested thanks

[bikerhifinut]

If you can do the job using B9A equivalents there's the 6CG7 which I think is pretty much a 6SN7 in a noval bottle.

The 7N7 I think is a "Loctal" type?

Are you constrained by heater voltage? I think there are versions that use different heater voltages if you have that sort of flexibility, but I imagine that's probably not an option for you?

And depending on what its expected to do you might perhaps get away with the cheap as chips ECC82/12AU7 ?

Experienced guys what do you think?

A.

[Station X]

Originally Posted by clay shooter

That would be great, can you see if its OK I am interested thanks

Sorry, but on testing it I found its emission was well down. Not worth wasting your money on.

[FrankB]

6SN7= 2 ea. 6J5 tubes or a single 6J6 types. Also you can use a 6CG7/6FQ7 to replace it.
there are some compactron types that are dirt cheap and will work also.

I suggest finding a copy of "Tube Lore". It has more data for substituting tubes than you will ever likely use. IIRC Lud Sibley is the author. He is one of the "spark plugs" in the Tube Collectors Assn. If you find one, they are in the 3rd or 4th errata and notes sheets too.

[Alf]

It would be interesting to see the circuit you're about to use. I agree about the compactrons, I've used the 6AF11 in re-gens but you might have problems getting a base for one.

[MotorBikeLes]

If memory serves correctly, the Honeywell Brown Electronik temperature controllers I took charge of in 1966 (probably 1950 mfg.) contained 6SN7GTs. By then H-B were supplying ECC82(?) in an adaptor socket as suitable replacements.
They also supplied an FET based solid state plug in block to replace the vibrator chopper used in the input to the DC amplifier, as well as a Zener based module to replace out of spec Weston Cadmium reference cells.
Les.

[k_yller]

6SN7 = 6Н8С (6n8s in Russian)

[Radio Wrangler]

The 6J6 isn't really an equivalent, the two triodes share a common cathode.

It's got a completely different form of construction. Each triode uses one side of a flat cathode. The grids are flat as are the anodes. It was designed to go high in frequency with short, low inductance connections. Good VHF-style layout is important when using these, I found out the hard way when building 2-metre converters in the sixties.

ECC82/12AU7 should be quite close enough for a regen receiver.

The hundred quid plus 6SN7s have special audible properties which can only be discerned by those few people with the very finest hearing. Mere slobs like myself can't hear anything that causes such expensive preferences, so I can't understand what all the fuss is about. This saves me a lot of money.

If you're building a radio from scratch, use any old 6SN7 which tests OK if you want to stick to octals for appearance. Use an ECC82 if you want something a bit more generally available.
You could also use a pair of 6J5 or a pair of 6C4 if you want to be able to afford NOS valves which haven't been latched onto by the silly people with fat wallets.

David

[Courtney Louise]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6N8S-6-8-6...IAAOSwcwhVNOQ9

[lesmw0sec]

A bottle which is close to my heart - made all sorts of kit using them. Incidentally, those old valve numbers make very good memorable but confusing passwords!

Les.

[peter_sol]

Would an ECC82 not do or do you need an octal type?

[clay shooter]

Thanks guys.
I shall try and answers all the points raised.
Thank you Graham for testing the valve, it is appreciated.
The heater voltage is not to critical, I can adjust the circuit to suit.
The circuit can be found at
Faculty.frostburg.edu/phys /latta /ee /twinplexschematic.html #tuning. I hope !!
The only reason I wanted to use the octal Base is simple, I have a dozen or so spare . and it would seem silly not to use them.
I shall have a look later at the equivalent you have suggested, when I have a little more time.
Sorry for the somewhat clipped response, time has not been friendly to me today and if I haven't replied to everyone's comments, I apologise

[Skywave]

Originally Posted by clay shooter

I hope someone can advise me as to an easily available (and cheap) equivalent to a 6SN7 octal valve?

ECC32, whilst not an 'equivalent', is comparable to it - and, moreover, may be adequate for your need.

Al.

[VT FUSE]

Also,
do remember the 12 volt heater version- 12SN7GT which found use in WW2 era Radar and other systems.

I believe some vintage TV's also made use of the above Valve/Tube.

Checked my hoard but found only a matched pair,sorry.

Another Octal twin Triode to consider is the 12AH7 (mu 18 Vs 20 of 6/12SN7GT and very nice in regenerative circuits)

A consideration also is the 300mA heater of the 12 Volt versions as an opposed to the 600mA 6 Volt variants,easy to feed the heater.

All the above work very well in Twinplex receivers-I know because I built my share 20-30 years back.

[Radio Wrangler]

ECC32 seems to drop you straight into audiophilia central with even crazier prices than the 6SN7.

David

[Skywave]

Really? O.K. - it was just a thought! Perhaps it's just me, but I can't see what is so special about an ECC32 or a 6SN7 to command such high prices.

Al.