I recently purchased at a local auction a box of tubes. ST, GT, and globe styles (no boxes).. There was over 200 tubes in this box mostly common GT style tubes..At the auction I could not dig all the way to the bottm of the box so took a chance and bought the whole dam thing...for 100.00... Tubes were VERY dirty and coated in grime...That night I carefully took tubes out of box and spread out over my floor...OHHHHH MY GOD..a radio collectors dream..I KID YOU NOT..At bottom of box was 3 250 globes (test good) 3 199s (test good)....4 245 globes (test good) 3 10s (2 test good) and a 316 that tests good... and about 3/4 of the rest all tested good..common GT and some hard to find ST style.. My question is: What exactly is a 316? Is that an early style rectifier same as a 80?

:I recently purchased at a local auction a box of tubes. ST, GT, and globe styles (no boxes).. There was over 200 tubes in this box mostly common GT style tubes..At the auction I could not dig all the way to the bottm of the box so took a chance and bought the whole dam thing...for 100.00... Tubes were VERY dirty and coated in grime...That night I carefully took tubes out of box and spread out over my floor...OHHHHH MY GOD..a radio collectors dream..I KID YOU NOT..At bottom of box was 3 250 globes (test good) 3 199s (test good)....4 245 globes (test good) 3 10s (2 test good) and a 316 that tests good... and about 3/4 of the rest all tested good..common GT and some hard to find ST style.. My question is: What exactly is a 316? Is that an early style rectifier same as a 80?
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George,
Who is the manufacturer of the tube...Cunningham by chance? RCA made a 16 half wave rectifier for a short period of time that was replaced by the 81. Is it an ST shape or globe or like an acorn/door knob? A 316A is a door knob shape and is a triode with four pins. Did you test it as a 16/how did you determine it to be good? Neat & valuable finds, John

Is the 316 a Western Electric?

:Is the 316 a Western Electric?
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Good point, Richard, but I believe WECo Always had a letter after the three digits.
Leiws

Lewis, to the best of my knowledge they always had a letter. Having said that, I have an engraved base Western Electric 300, that is clearly identical in appearance to the 300A/B, but has no letter engraved after the 300.

Richard

The tube is a 316 Cunningham not sure what it is used in...Early amps? I was able to test fillament..tests good....ahh forgot to mention there was (I still have) 2.. 316A that look like a door knobs with tiny thin pins..What the heck are these..military? ALSO HAVE 4 RCA CRC8025 that have 4 prongs comming out the side and were in swivel bases that allowed the tube to rock back and forth..I am guesssing..used in navy equipment

If it is a Cunningham 316, then it should be a type 16 tube. If so it would be a 4-pin half-wave rectifier.

Here is the pinout on it:

http://www.nostalgiaair.org/tubes/16.htm

Richard

:Ok by the way it is NOT tennis ball shape it is a large globe (pear shape) What was this used in? I don't see very often a 81 in my radio restoration

::Ok by the way it is NOT tennis ball shape it is a large globe (pear shape) What was this used in? I don't see very often a 81 in my radio restoration
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George,
The 81 is a direct replacement for the early 16. Half wave rectifiers used in early receivers for a short period of time. Filaments: 7.5V, 1.25 Amps., capable of high plate voltage of 700 volts. Didn't last long due to high filament current draw. FYI: There is a Cunningham CX316B for sale right now on Epay out of Hong Kong...hmmmmmm! Starting bid is $39.99. Just search for Cunningham tubes/vintage and 5 pages will pop up. The 316B is about half way down on page 4.
John

:::Ok by the way it is NOT tennis ball shape it is a large globe (pear shape) What was this used in? I don't see very often a 81 in my radio restoration
::
:George,
:The 81 is a direct replacement for the early 16. Half wave rectifiers used in early receivers for a short period of time. Filaments: 7.5V, 1.25 Amps., capable of high plate voltage of 700 volts. Didn't last long due to high filament current draw. FYI: There is a Cunningham CX316B for sale right now on Epay out of Hong Kong...hmmmmmm! Starting bid is $39.99. Just search for Cunningham tubes/vintage and 5 pages will pop up. The 316B is about half way down on page 4.
:John
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George,
The 316A was used in the military and had a
VT-191 designation. The triode was good at UHF frequencies and used in transmitters SCR-515/BC645...whatever those were? John

At the bottom of my box i bought at auction I also found 3 2A3 tubes..I see these are going for close to $100.00 bucks each on Ebay...What are they used for and why so dam expensive?

it's a power triode used for audio output. They are not made anymore. Less become available each day. Similar to like the 45 can go for whatever market will pay.

2A3s are still made by Sovtek (Russian): http://www.tubedepot.com/so-2a3.html They sell for much less than NOS.

:it's a power triode used for audio output. They are not made anymore. Less become available each day. Similar to like the 45 can go for whatever market will pay.
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Shuguang (China) also still makes 2A3's and they're pretty good.

:it's a power triode used for audio output. They are not made anymore. Less become available each day. Similar to like the 45 can go for whatever market will pay.
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