Brand new Russian 813's for $18.90 each

[K1JJ]

I wonder if anyone has had experience with Russian 813's?   I know the external anode Russian tubes like the "GB" series have been good.

I found a doctor in Russia who has a good reputation dealing with Russian tubes whirl-wide.  I asked for a quote for twelve 813's and he offered them at $18.90 + shipping. Normally they cost $25 each in one lots. 

For twelve tubes,  and $60 shipping from Russia, this equals $22.90 each.

From what I read on the web, he packs them very well and all reports are quite good concerning his dealings for several years now.

Any opinions on the quality of these "glass" tubes?

Considering what used 813 tubes are going for on eBay lately, a set of new ones for the new amplifier wud be quite the deal.


Received today from Russia:

"Thank you for your letter and interest to my tubes.
It is Russian tubes, but it is 100% equivalent of 813.
I sent them to US many times without damages. I have good packaging experience.
Price for tubes is $215, postage is $60, sorry I cannot reduce postage.The total is $275 shipped.
If it is OK for you, need in your address. You can pay by USPS MO."


73,
Tom, K1JJ


Below:  It won't be long now!!!

[W3RSW]

If they're as good as a lot of other Russian ex military stuff they're probably pretty well made. If they are genuinely made now, I'm not sure.

Hey, if you get a bunch I'll take two and pay you $25 each for your trouble; bring or send them via somebody to a hamfest     Seriously, it might be a gamble but what isn't these days.  Just think how much we've lost in the market.  If you do it, put me down for two. 

[WA1GFZ]

Gee Tom,
I wonder if you got the plate Z down to 450 or 200 ohms you could use a BB transformer down to 50 ohms and just use low pass filters. no tune???

[K1JJ]

I sent a message to the doctor asking if the plates are carbon or metal. Also, asked the manufacturer's name. I see about 8 Russian tube manufacturers listed on the web and can possibly get a feel for their quality reputation from a Google search.


Frank:  I emailed with Chuck and he thought the input and output matching would be a challenge for low loss. The input and output capacitances were high meaning matching networks with radical values and low efficiency.  He was ready to build one and decided not.  I plan to finalize the design before ordering any tubes to be sure it is feasible.

He also thought that 40M wud be the limit, but I had figgered on 75M as a mono-band amp anyway.


Rick:  Sure, we can do a combined buy to save you the extra high shipping expense of two tubes sent alone. Let me zero in on a few things above and we'll go from there. 

Here's the doctor's name and email if anyone wants to contact him for tubes:
Dr Alex Gavva  (actually in Ukraine)
email:  ur4ll@bk.ru
http://www.nd2x.net/ur4ll.html

(Do a google on his name and "tubes" and you will get lots of info too.)


Later -

T

[WA1GFZ]

I've had the same conversation with Chuck. Yes there will be a lot of current but compared to a transistor no that much. So an L network up or a transformer down pick your medicine.

[W1RKW]

Tom and Rick,
If you guys are interested in doing a group buy, count me in.  I could go for six of the buggers myself.

Bob

[W7SOE]

If someone wants to volunteer to re-ship, count me in for at least two.

Rich

[k4kyv]

Last time I checked, 813's were cheap, much less expensive than any triode.  N.O.S. RCA's were running under $30 each from several tube sellers within the past year or so.

Have the audiophools now found a newly-discovered tessitura in 813's?

An alternative to 813's is a pentode with a similar plate structure and the same plate dissipation, but a different socket and a taller glass envelope - the 803.  I have seen N.O.S. ones going for less than what you would pay for a new 6146.

[K1JJ]

OK, Rich and Bob....

We'll have to figger something out.

Here's the latest email... I asked about carbon plates and the manufacturer. All sound quite good to me.  The money is sent to an established Extra Class ham in Texas, so that's a good thang too.

email reply:
"Plates are dark grey color,  I think it is carbon, we call it graffite.
Tubes were made at Russian military plant and passed military control- they have special violette color marks on glass.
I propose to make the first deal with 12 pcs, I dont want to make packaging bigger ( for safe delivery).
I can add more tubes, but I think it will be another box."



Tom, K1JJ

[W1RKW]

Tom,
If you want to handle the transaction, I have no problem sending you the funds. I can throw in a little extra just because. 

From the sounds of things, it sounds like a legit business deal with this guy. I'm game.  I've done overseas transactions before for motorcycle parts to Asia and haven't been stiffed.  I think the odds are pretty good that we'd be OK.  The down side is shipping time.  It could take several weeks to receive the product. 

The last overseas transaction I had was for some motorcycle parts that came out of Thailand. It took about 10 weeks to ship. The shipper stated 8 weeks. I got nervous and contacted the shipper.  He assured me they were on the way and the parts showed up at my door step. So depending how the shipping companies operate, it's essentially up to them and their schedule.  In my case they came by ocean going ship.

Here in the states having the ability to have 5 day shipping at standard costs from coast to coast, one can lose perspective on shipping time if going world wide.  I know I have lost perspective the few times doing the deed.

I say, lets do it.  I'm game.

[WB3JOK]

This ordering setup sounds familiar... is it QRO-(somethingmumble) on that auction place (Gintas Sakenas, who I seem to recall is Lithuanian)?

In the last few years I have bought a Russian mil-surplus vacuum cap, and on different occasions some doorknob caps and nice ceramic rotary switches, and they were just as advertised and there were no problems with the transaction at all.

[K1JJ]

Bob,

Ok, let's see...

It looks like the vendor wants to ship them 12 pieces in each box.  We need at least 22 tubes. I can understand his reasons for spreading the risk out and having a smaller box to control handling abuse and maintaining box strength. 

I think we already hit the economy of scale at $18.90 each so asking for a further discount won't amount to much. The shipping is $60 per box of 12 pcs.  The shipping price will go up anyway if we stuffed more in the box.


What I'm thinking is that I need 12 tubes and plan to order them probably in a few weeks, once I really decide if I'm gonna build this 813 amp or not.

Rich, Rick and you need 10 and probably can increase that to 12 tubes total easily enuff.  Bob, you may consider ordering the 12 lot yourself and re-shipping the remaining 6 to the two guys.  That way we all get a super price and you get yours asap while I can hold off and order mine much later - if I decide to go ahead with the project.  The price is the same any way we do it.

How's that sound?

T



Here's the payment info he sent me: (contact the doctor directly first)

-------
You can pay by USPS MO sent to:
 Paul Goble
 6116 Rue des Amis
 San Antonio, TX
 78238

 If it is OK for you , need in your address.

 I can add more tubes, but I think it will be another box.

--
Best regards,
Dr Alex Gavva,
UR4LL  KO70xg
                          mailto:ur4ll@bk.ru 

------------

[W2NBC]

Dr. Gavva seems to sell other parts as well:

 http://www.nd2x.net/ur4ll.html

Thanks for the info Tom,

Jeff W2NBC

[K1JJ]

Dr. Gavva seems to sell other parts as well:

 http://www.nd2x.net/ur4ll.html

Thanks for the info Tom,

Jeff W2NBC

Yeah, he sure has a ton of good stuff for sale, huh Jeff?

He appears to be the guy to see when you want a strapping  Russian linear tube and building parts.

As some have said, the Russian parts are usually of great quality and good prices. I wonder how low prices will get as we (and they) slide farther down the deflation slope?

T

[K6IC]

Thanks for posting the link,  Jeff.

The 813 shown in the following link looks like it has a Graphite plate ;

http://www.nd2x.net/ur4ll/813.jpg

Looks like an exact copy to me.   73   Vic

[WB2YGF]

Ask him if he will throw in a case of Vodka. 

[W3RSW]

Tom if I've read your arithmetic right you wish me to have 4 tubes to add to RKW's?  I'm ok with that. From the pix, they look like great stuff.   That will leave 8 in a twelve box.  Is that ok with everbody?

[K1JJ]

Tom if I've read your arithmetic right you wish me to have 4 tubes to add to RKW's?  I'm ok with that. From the pix, they look like great stuff.   That will leave 8 in a twelve box.  Is that ok with everbody?

Rick,

Yes, they look like great tubes and well worth the money.

Well, I think the idea is you need 12 tubes total per $60 shipping charge box.

As I mentioned, I want to hold off on my own purchase of 12 tubes after running into some technical problems with building the 813 amp.  I may not build it at all now -  in favor of completing a solid state class A amp I've been working on.  So I won't need any tubes.

So it will be up to you, Rich and Bob/RKW to contact the doctor and do the transaction.  Probably one of you should buy and receive the 12 tube shipment and reship the balance to the other two guys.  It's a super deal for new mil-spec tubes, even with the shipping charge.

T

[W1RKW]

My mind certainly isn't as sharp as it used to be and I don't like it when I forget stuff but while messing around with the 813 today rig and parts scrounging, I came to the realization that I have plenty of 813s. Hit the jackpot. I forgot I bought a bunch from Skip/K7YOO last year and had them stashed in a box. So along with those  and others I've acquired I'm good for now and probably a long time to come. 

[K1JJ]

My mind certainly isn't as sharp as it used to be and I don't like it when I forget stuff but while messing around with the 813 today rig and parts scrounging, I came to the realization that I have plenty of 813s. Hit the jackpot. I forgot I bought a bunch from Skip/K7YOO last year and had them stashed in a box. So along with those  and others I've acquired I'm good for now and probably a long time to come. 

heheheh... I have the same thing happen several times a day when I try to fire up a project and realize I can't remember how it works or where I left off. I've got too many things going at once. The telescope project has pushed me over the top. 

Well, it's up to Rich and Rick now, if they're still interested.  Maybe there are some others who need 813 tubes to get up to the twelve level.

T

[WA1GFZ]

Tom,
I made a mistake. you can't run just a low pass filter unless you go AB push pull. The tank circuit is a flywheel for the lack of 360 degree conduction angle.

[K1JJ]

Tom,
I made a mistake. you can't run just a low pass filter unless you go AB push pull. The tank circuit is a flywheel for the lack of 360 degree conduction angle.

OK Frank-

I've decided to bag the twelve 813 idea for now.  I'm focusing on the Irb and EBS solid state amps right now. I wanna see if I can get them up and running as per the old plan.

Thanks for the input -

T

[W3RSW]

Insert Quote
If someone wants to volunteer to re-ship, count me in for at least two.

Rich, looks like we're it.
My ardor's damped since Tom's pulled out. I was really thinking that an original large shipment from Russia in decent cases might arrive undamaged, but local UPS, etc. from the main receipt point wouldn't .   So if Tom or a relay brought two 813's or so to a hamfest that would be the way to go.  I guess we could just order a few ourselves and have them shipped direct to us.  I wonder if this Paul Goble in TX is running a local warehouse? If not he ought to be for easily damaged stuff like tubes.

[W7SOE]

Insert Quote
If someone wants to volunteer to re-ship, count me in for at least two.

Rich, looks like we're it.

So I have really lost track of this endeavor.   Is the ordering of a case for re-distribution dead?  I really only need a couple........


Rich

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Wonder where/why the demand for these came from? The Ruskie copy of the ART-13?

I must have a dozen or more 813s, as Don says they are cheap and plentiful (last I knew). Is there some growing demand outside of radio for these that is driving the demand? I know that the audio crowd has been scarfing up previously unexciting tubes over the last couple years. Tubes they couldn't be bothered with in the 90s.