18Watt.com

I've just received a lot of "Tesla ECC83". Now, those look exactly like RFT tubes.. so I wonder if this could be a factory relabel or just some sneaky ebay selller?

I know Tesla usually labeled their tubes E83CC as I have a few ones of those myself.. but if those were "fakes", I wonder why they'd be RFTs instead of current production stuff..

Here are a few pics I took:

First, a real Tesla for reference


An RFT tube



And my seemingly Tesla labeled RFT




So yeah, it seems like I scored a lot of 13 RFT tubes for a rather cheap amount. Not complaining really.. just seems a bit odd for a "fake" tube label. Or am I missing something? I'm not mad at all as I really dig RFTs.

The tubes labels are as follow: Tesla ECC 83, factory 32, code SR220

They are RFT made for me, the micas are really specific, so are the holes.

I know Tesla rebranded EF86s made by RFT...i have a few of those. I didnt think they rebranded ECC83s....i thought they made them all the way up until they closed before JJ bought them out.

Post this in the Tube Forum at the Plexi Palace. With luck Tubegetter, Luc Key or Jeff West should be able to help. My feeling is that they are fake but i cant be sure.

Perhaps fake Tesla, but they obviously have a RFT structure.
I even saw british tubes made by RFT !
The only difference is see is the color of the getter, really dark on my RFT.

Google image + ECC83 RFT >>








Etc

I think a some of the brit tube companys relabelled tubes like RFT as they wound down their own production. I have seen the odd late Brimar labelled RFT and heaps of Mazda, Zearix and other rebranders. Never Mullard though.

As for the getters the RFT tubes do really darken quickly. I have seen few that are really bright silver and they dont last long like that with use.

Wicksy wrote:I think a some of the brit tube companys relabelled tubes like RFT as they wound down their own production. I have seen the odd late Brimar labelled RFT and heaps of Mazda, Zearix and other rebranders. Never Mullard though.

Here is a good example of questionable rebranding. I found two NOS 6BQ5`s buried in a TV repair shops basement. They were in RCA boxes but the tubes were labelled `Made in England`. Turns out the tubes are actually NOS Sovtek!

http://www.18watt.com/modules.php?name= ... highlight=

Chappy

And your 12AX7 were really Mullard.Great deal.

A small ray of hope -

Tesla did produce ECC83 to that pattern. They are usually fine valves, but not as durable as the frame-grid classic pattern in the first pic. It should be noted that Tesla also made ladder plate ECC83 as well, so nothing funny about that, if you see it.

The pattern is not unique to RFT and Tesla. Somewhere in my box I have a couple of GE 12AX7 made that way from the Far East (Malaysia, I think).

One thing I have noticed about RFT is that the getter is invariably spot-welded to some point in the top of the structure. Even if the getter pole is a rounded wire, the base is flattened out to give a tiny "plate" that is "spotted on to" a point on the top.

So - if the getter has a join above the top mica, it may be they are relabelled RFT, but otherwise it is probably Tesla, but "not as we know it".

And re. those 6BQ5 - I don't think they are English, but they are not necessarily Russian. The plate holes are very big for Russian 6p14p. My guess would be that they are Polish, made by Telam or Polam (the getter is a big clue, but the Poles used Russian getters, too).