5881
5881 has no equivalent designation confirmed by the archive. Completed sales put the typical price at $29.99 per tube.
Description
The 5881 is a beam power tube with a coated unipotential cathode. It has a JEDEC 7AC base, a 7-pin octal, an 87 outline, and an 11-1 envelope. The tube can be used in any mounting position.
Ratings and Characteristics
The heater is rated at 6.3 volts and 900 mA AC or DC. Maximum heater-cathode voltage is 200 volts. Maximum plate voltage is 400 volts, and maximum grid #2 voltage is 400 volts. In triode connection, maximum plate voltage is 400 volts. Maximum plate dissipation is 23 watts, and maximum grid #2 dissipation is 3 watts. In triode connection, maximum plate dissipation is 26 watts. Maximum grid resistance is 0.1 megohm for fixed bias operation and 0.5 megohm for self bias operation.
In a class A1 amplifier with triode connection, the amplification factor is 8 and the transconductance is 5250 micromhos. The datasheet includes characteristic data for class A1 amplifier operation in both single-tube and push-pull configurations.
Construction
The 5881 is electrically equivalent to types 6L6 and 6L6G except that plate and screen dissipation ratings are increased approximately 20 percent. It has a complete mechanical redesign that results in greater resistance to shock and vibration. The tube uses treated grids and anode to increase overload capabilities, and has a low-loss barrier type base.
| Measure | Per tube |
|---|---|
| Median | $29.99 |
| Typical range (25th–75th) | $20.00 – $42.49 |
| Most sales (10th–90th) | $12.50 – $67.26 |
| Extremes incl. outliers | $4.00 – $379.99 |
| Completed sales | 274 |
| Brand | Median | Range | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tung-Sol | $32.80 | $24.99 – $49.80 | 99 |
| Sovtek | $26.64 | $13.75 – $35.27 | 45 |
| GE | $24.41 | $19.95 – $30.45 | 22 |
| RCA | $35.00 | $29.50 – $45.87 | 18 |
| unknown | $17.81 | $13.00 – $22.50 | 17 |
| Sylvania | $38.75 | $25.00 – $55.32 | 15 |
| Condition | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| NOS | $35.00 | 69 |
| used | $25.18 | 119 |
| current | $30.66 | 32 |
Per-tube prices from completed sales, 2019-09-10 to 2026-11-08. Matched pairs and quads are divided out. See the price index for how these move over time.
Original manufacturer datasheets for 5881, hosted by Frank Philipse's Electron Tube Data sheets.
| Manufacturer | Designation | Datasheet |
|---|---|---|
| Tung-Sol | 5881 | PDF (345 KB) |
| RCA (HB3) | 5881 | PDF (232 KB) |
Documents held here and used to write this page.
- CLASS A<sub>1</sub> AMPLIFIER - SINGLE TUBE - TRIODE CONNECTION GRID #2 CONNECTED TO PLATE