I purchased a NOS matched set of KT88 tubes from a member of a forum on another site. Received them today and even after doing a bit of research I'm still unsure if these are Winged "C" type or not. The confusion lies in that there supposedly were real Winged "C" tubes that just had the S logo on it.
The printing on the tubes is a silvery grey color, very hard to see. The date code looks to be 0005, I take that as the 5th week of 2000.
The plates have the rectangular holes in them, not the round holes as found in all of the reissue versions.
Also in blue ink is stamped OTH56.
The boxes have both the Winged "C" logo and Svetlana on them. Made in Russia as well.
So can anybody confirm that these are really Winged "C" or were they made in the other plant.
Thanks
BillWojo
The printing on the tubes is a silvery grey color, very hard to see. The date code looks to be 0005, I take that as the 5th week of 2000.
The plates have the rectangular holes in them, not the round holes as found in all of the reissue versions.
Also in blue ink is stamped OTH56.
The boxes have both the Winged "C" logo and Svetlana on them. Made in Russia as well.
So can anybody confirm that these are really Winged "C" or were they made in the other plant.
Thanks
BillWojo
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Winged C valves have the Winged C logo on them.
Anyone can use a box from another source. plus the anode of the valve has a
JSC Svetlana is a Russian company that owns and operates the Svetlana factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, which has been making vacuum tubes for almost a century. These tubes have been known in the United States as Svetlana brand tubes and have had the "S" logo and/or the logo
The Xpo-pul factory (formerly part of Reflector) in Saratov, Russia is an entirely different Russian company that makes vacuum tubes for an American corporation that controls the Sovtek and Electro-Harmonix brand names. This same American corporation now also owns and controls the Svetlana brand name in the United States and Canada and recently introduced a line of Svetlana branded vacuum tubes produced in the Xpo-pul factory. The Xpo-pul factory "Svetlana" tubes are not the same Svetlana tubes that you have been accustomed to over the years!
Rest assured that the Svetlana factory in St. Petersburg, Russia is still producing vacuum tubes and has no plans to stop.
All current production St. Petersburg factory tubes -- and only those tubes -- do bear the
Hope this helps.
Your Valves do have the OTK logo so are definitely of Russian/East European origin.
Anyone can use a box from another source. plus the anode of the valve has a
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
mark on the glass and a pair of wing shaped getters on the top of the anode. As the valve world gets more and more complicated, it is important to make sure that you know what you are buying and how to identify the valves you want to buy. Here's the story:JSC Svetlana is a Russian company that owns and operates the Svetlana factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, which has been making vacuum tubes for almost a century. These tubes have been known in the United States as Svetlana brand tubes and have had the "S" logo and/or the logo
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
(a Cyrillic S) on them. Because of a change in ownership of the former American distributor, JSC Svetlana recently lost its ability to sell vacuum tubes bearing the "Svetlana" name, while maintaining the ability to sell the tubes bearing the An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
logo in the United States and Canada.The Xpo-pul factory (formerly part of Reflector) in Saratov, Russia is an entirely different Russian company that makes vacuum tubes for an American corporation that controls the Sovtek and Electro-Harmonix brand names. This same American corporation now also owns and controls the Svetlana brand name in the United States and Canada and recently introduced a line of Svetlana branded vacuum tubes produced in the Xpo-pul factory. The Xpo-pul factory "Svetlana" tubes are not the same Svetlana tubes that you have been accustomed to over the years!
Rest assured that the Svetlana factory in St. Petersburg, Russia is still producing vacuum tubes and has no plans to stop.
All current production St. Petersburg factory tubes -- and only those tubes -- do bear the
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
mark, while in the past some did not. In today's world if you want the tubes that you've come to know in the past as "Svetlana", the only way to be sure you're getting that tube is to look for the An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Hope this helps.
Your Valves do have the OTK logo so are definitely of Russian/East European origin.
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It really sucks how New Sensor has bought out the Svetlana brand name. I'm more OK with them buying the Mullard and Tung Sol names, as those were effectively dead anyway.
Sent from my phone. Please excuse any typpos.
Sent from my phone. Please excuse any typpos.
Incredible, why they have the Svetlana logo?
They were sold as Svetlana.
''GSTube.com''. Tubes, sockets etc. Search result for <u>kt88</u>
I was under the impression that rectangular holes meant that they were made in St Petersburg and the round holes were made by Reflextor/New Sensor. I know all the new tubes I see offered on Ebay have round holes.
I have also read that "some" of the tubes that came from the St Petersburg plant did not have the Winged "C", just the "S".
There are wings on top of the second mica and support rods that go through the third mica with small round saucers on top, under the silver getter.
BillWojo
I have also read that "some" of the tubes that came from the St Petersburg plant did not have the Winged "C", just the "S".
There are wings on top of the second mica and support rods that go through the third mica with small round saucers on top, under the silver getter.
BillWojo
It is a long story. In short, due to its inexperience in American market, Svetlana was swindled by an unscrupulous US distributor out of the right of using its almost hundred year-old brand name in the US market. This unscrupulous distributor, who also acquired the Reflector plant, then started slapping Svetlana name on all kind of Saratov stuff, creating great confusion in the tube market. Only the tubes with the "winged C" on the glass are real Svetlana, the "S" logo is fake.
To add to a little more confusion. I have 6550s that are winged c. But have the basic svetlana marks. St Petersburg tubes were sold during the New Sensor takeover. He was unable to sell them in America so he sold them in Australia and possibly other countries. They have the square holes on the plates and have 1998 dates I think. I am not certain but i think they were only making 6l6 el34 and 6550 svetlana tetrode pentodes at the time. A friend of mine found more on ebay a few months ago the same as mine. He got them for a good price because of their confusing/conflicting logos. I noticed they also had the new sensor green standard matching stickers on the box.
Well, I'm still confused as to what I have at this point. Can anyone confirm that the take over at the Xpo-pul factory by New Sensor ever manufactured KT88 tubes with the 3 rectangular holes? Everything I have seen in the way of KT88 that have come from New Sensor have the round holes.
When building new tooling for the stamping presses, round hole features are much less costly to make than rectangular holes.
Thank you
BillWojo
When building new tooling for the stamping presses, round hole features are much less costly to make than rectangular holes.
Thank you
BillWojo
I'm more confused on the subject after reading this thread than before. I thought the Petersburg factory had closed. Is this not the case?
I never saw wrong ГУ-50 tube. All are great, and all cost way below their real prices. 😀
Why? Because they were produced for military to serve certain number of hours, but as the result all warehouses of Warshaw pact armies were filled by tubes that last forever.
Why? Because they were produced for military to serve certain number of hours, but as the result all warehouses of Warshaw pact armies were filled by tubes that last forever.
Great tubes, indeed, but in no way comparable to KT88's, as the origin of their construction is about 20 years older. It's just quite a different tube.
Best regards!
Best regards!
The great made in USA tubes from the past as 211, 805, 300B and KTs are useless today as they are unobtanium or too expensive, tubes are useful while are cheap are reliable as Russian ones imo.
I can't imagine that they did or do. Mike Matthews has owned the Xpo-Pul factory for decades now, was formerly known as Reflektor. I suspect based on the design of the tube and the box labeling that they are in fact old SED (Svetlana Electron Devices) joint venture tubes. SED went belly up more than a decade ago, so these are old tubes. SED tubes were not always (or usually IIRC) marked with the Winged C of later Svetlana tubes sold here and elsewhere.
I had a brief association with SED in the late 1990s, early 2000s and designed a 300B PP monoblock amplifier that was featured in VTV and in one of their app notes using their SV300B.
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