6AB4
6AB4 has no equivalent designation confirmed by the archive. Completed sales put the typical price at $12.00 per tube.
The 6AB4 is a miniature triode designed for use as a grounded-grid radio-frequency amplifier, frequency converter, or oscillator at frequencies below approximately 300 megacycles. It has a coated unipotential cathode.
Construction
The 6AB4 uses a T-5½ glass envelope and an E7-1 miniature button 7-pin base. Its mounting position is any. The heater requires 6.3 volts AC or DC. Pin 1 is the plate, pin 2 is not connected, pins 3 and 4 are the heater, pin 5 is not connected, pin 6 is the grid, and pin 7 is the cathode.
Ratings and Characteristics
The General Electric datasheet gives design-center ratings for the 6AB4. Under typical operating conditions, the amplification factor is 60. At a plate voltage of 100 volts with a cathode-bias resistor of 270 ohms, the plate resistance is approximately 15,000 ohms, transconductance is 4,000 micromhos, and plate current is 3.7 milliamperes. At a plate voltage of 250 volts with a cathode-bias resistor of 200 ohms, the plate resistance is approximately 10,900 ohms, transconductance is 5,500 micromhos, and plate current is 10 milliamperes.
| Measure | Per tube |
|---|---|
| Median | $12.00 |
| Typical range (25th–75th) | $8.50 – $15.00 |
| Most sales (10th–90th) | $5.75 – $50.00 |
| Extremes incl. outliers | $5.00 – $50.54 |
| Completed sales | 25 |
| Brand | Median | Range | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| RCA | $7.26 | $5.75 – $8.50 | 8 |
| GE | $13.45 | $12.00 – $14.45 | 6 |
| Condition | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| NOS | $12.32 | 18 |
| used | $5.75 | 3 |
Per-tube prices from completed sales, 2026-06-24 to 2026-09-14. Matched pairs and quads are divided out. See the price index for how these move over time.
Original manufacturer datasheets for 6AB4, hosted by Frank Philipse's Electron Tube Data sheets.
| Manufacturer | Designation | Datasheet |
|---|---|---|
| General Electric | 6AB4 | PDF (381 KB) |
| RCA (RC30) | 6AB4 | PDF (277 KB) |
| Tung-Sol | 6AB4 | PDF (104 KB) |
| RCA (HB3) | 6AB4 | PDF (62 KB) |
Documents held here and used to write this page.
- 6AB4 TRIODE
2 further designations appear alongside 6AB4 in the literature but below the evidence threshold used here, so they are not listed as equivalent.