Portrait of a tube 13E1 Author: Jac van de Walle Unfinished Article. You can send information if you have something interesting about 13E1.
13E1 is a very remarkable tube. Kind of like the tube that has all you want. Don't say we MUST have such tubes for a low price, and SURE people you would use them. I don't think they would. A smaller family member is 6C33, it is for sale for give away prices, and it is not widely used. So still let's take another look at 13E1. Unlike 6C33, the 13E1 is a tetrode. Like this we get the advantages of a Tetrode, which is higher gain, and (don't ask me why that is...) tetrodes have a better potential to be used it at maximum ratings and be abused. The datasheet of 13E1 says it's intended for DC control applications, and it can be used triode connected. Comparing this tube with the 6C33, we see the same double cathode, and the same option to heat only one part of this cathode. For 6C33 this could be used to increase reliability of the circuit. At the moment the circuit fails (whatever the reason) some watchdog circuit would switch off the defective cathode, and switch on the other. Or a service man can do this by hand and you don't need a spare tube at that moment. The same is possible with 13E1. Alternatively, as the tube is intended for DC control circuits, some clever circuits would be possible with two cathodes. What is interesting is the specifications. Maximum anode voltage up to 800 Volts, but it's sure not a high voltage tube. Triode mode it works already at much lower voltage. Just to get the taste of it, peak anode current is 5 Ampere. Maximum continuous is 800mA. (Who needs an OTL tube....) Maximum dissipation 90 Watt. What else do you need :) |
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13E1 has TWO flat cathodes, with very much heater power. These flat cathodes produce the excellent high current properties of this tube. Yet it has only one anode, and grids are in parallel. |
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The glow picture of this tube is simply fantastic, with it's big bulb of 6cm diameter |
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Here you can see it is not all gold what shines. This tube is ST shaped, and there are some mechanical errors visible. Look at the mica wing in the top. This usually happens when the tubes are out gassed in the factory, at high temperature. Some parts may become too hot and damage. I think it's better to search for the older dome types. <----- YOU CAN CLICK ON EACH PICTURE, TO ENLARGE IT |
