6386
6386 has no equivalent designation confirmed by the archive. Completed sales put the typical price at $220.00 per tube.
The 6386 is a miniature medium-mu twin triode in which each section exhibits a remote-cutoff characteristic.
Construction
The 6386 uses a T-6½ glass envelope without external shield and an E9-1 small button 9-pin base. It has a coated unipotential cathode. The heater requires 10% volts AC or DC at 0.35 amperes. Features include a high degree of mechanical strength and a heater-cathode construction capable of withstanding many-thousand cycles of intermittent operation.
Ratings
Each section of the 6386 has a plate dissipation rating of 1.5 watts, a DC cathode current rating of 18 milliamperes, and a plate voltage rating of 300 volts. Heater-cathode voltage is rated at 90 volts with the heater either positive or negative with respect to the cathode. The direct interelectrode capacitances per section are: grid to plate, 1.2 μμf; input, 2.0 μμf; output, 1.1 μμf; and heater to cathode, 2.6 μμf. Grid-to-grid capacitance is 0.003 μμf and plate-to-plate capacitance is 0.11 μμf.
Mechanical and Life Ratings
The 6386 has a heater-cycling rating of 2000 cycles of intermittent operation minimum, tested with Ef = 7.5 volts cycled for one minute on and one minute off, Eb = Ec = 0 volts, and Ehk = 135 volts with heater positive with respect to cathode. It has a shock rating of 600 G impact acceleration in any direction, based on forces applied by the Navy-type High Impact (flyweight) Shock Machine for Electronic Devices or its equivalent. The tube has a fatigue rating of 2.5 G vibrational acceleration in any direction, based on forces applied for at least 100 hours at 25 cycles per second. The minimum continuous operating time under life-test conditions or equivalent prior to characteristics testing is 46 hours.
Applications
The 6386 is designed primarily for use as a cascode radio-frequency amplifier, intermediate-frequency amplifier, or mixer in circuits to which automatic-gain-control is applied. In cascode applications, its performance is characterized by high gain, low noise figure, and low higher-order harmonic distortion. It is a special-quality tube intended for critical industrial and military applications where operational dependability is of primary importance. When used in on-off control applications, it will maintain emission capabilities after long periods of operation under cutoff conditions.
| Measure | Per tube |
|---|---|
| Median | $220.00 |
| Typical range (25th–75th) | $119.50 – $282.95 |
| Most sales (10th–90th) | $83.30 – $328.98 |
| Extremes incl. outliers | $37.76 – $382.00 |
| Completed sales | 21 |
| Brand | Median | Range | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| GE | $221.34 | $125.75 – $323.50 | 15 |
| RCA | $220.00 | $220.00 – $285.98 | 4 |
| Condition | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| NOS | $220.00 | 13 |
| used | $166.00 | 7 |
Per-tube prices from completed sales, 2026-06-23 to 2026-09-15. Matched pairs and quads are divided out. See the price index for how these move over time.
Original manufacturer datasheets for 6386, hosted by Frank Philipse's Electron Tube Data sheets.
| Manufacturer | Designation | Datasheet |
|---|---|---|
| General Electric | 6386 | PDF (516 KB) |
Documents held here and used to write this page.
- 6386 TWIN TRIODE