The 5Y3 is a medium-power directly heated full-wave
rectifier
A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The reverse operation (converting DC to AC) is performed by an Power ...
vacuum tube
A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied.
The type kn ...
introduced by
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
in 1935. It has found wide use in tube radios and early
guitar amplifiers
A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which ar ...
(of the
Fender Champ type). It is virtually identical, electrically, to the older four-pin type 80 tube, but with an
octal
The octal numeral system, or oct for short, is the radix, base-8 number system, and uses the Numerical digit, digits 0 to 7. This is to say that 10octal represents eight and 100octal represents sixty-four. However, English, like most languages, ...
base. 5Y3G, 5Y3GT, and 5Y3WGTA are variants with essentially the same specification; the 6087 is similar and a plug-in replacement, but with indirectly heated cathode.
RCA and other manufacturers later introduced many similar 5V rectifier tubes of both higher and lower current and voltage rating, including the 5V3, 5W3, 5X3, 5Z3, 5U4, 5Z4, GZ32, and GZ34.
As for a suitable replacement, the 5Y4G has same specifications as the 5Y3G but with a different pin out.
Sovtek
Sovtek is a brand of vacuum tube owned by Mike Matthews's New Sensor Corporation and manufactured in Saratov, Russia. They are often used in guitar Guitar amplifier, amplification and include versions of the popular 12AX7, EL84, EL34, and 6L6 vacuu ...
in Russia manufacture a 5Y3GT with similar specifications,
New Sensor: brief Sovtek 5Y3GT specification. Filament current misprinted; actually 2A.
/ref> but indirectly heated, and with higher maximum current at 140 instead of 120 mA.
See also
*List of vacuum tubes
This is a list of vacuum tubes or ''thermionic valves'', and low-pressure gas-filled tubes, or ''discharge tubes''. Before the advent of semiconductor devices, thousands of tube types were used in consumer electronics. Many industrial, military or ...
References
External links
* http://www.r-type.org/pdfs/5y3gt.pdf General Electric datasheet
*http://frank.pocnet.net/sheets/127/5/5Y3GT.pdf Tung-Sol 5Y3GT datasheet
*http://frank.pocnet.net/sheets/049/5/5Y3G.pdf RCA 5Y3G & 5Y3GT datasheet
*http://www.svetlana.com/pdf/sovtek/5y3gt-sovtek.pdf Sovtek 5Y3GT datasheet
Vacuum tubes
Guitar amplification tubes
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