EIA codes...learn to love them!

Most of the time the EIA code is a clue to who made the tube, but unfortunately, not always. Some manufacturers bought tubes from other manufacturers and labeled them as their own, complete with their own EIA code! I have seen several tubes labeled like this. If you know what you are looking for and know the physical structure of the tube you are looking for, you will most likely not be fooled by these improper EIA codes, but they still fool me now and then. Westinghouse did this a lot. The only way I can find out if it was truly made by Westinghouse (they bought a lot of RCA tubes and labeled them as their own, complete with the 337 code) is to check the getter. They had two wires on the end of their square getters. This is a true Westinghouse tube, and not an RCA or another manufacturer.

Happy tube hunting everyone!

ken99
 
ken99 said:
Most of the time the EIA code is a clue to who made the tube, but unfortunately, not always. Some manufacturers bought tubes from other manufacturers and labeled them as their own, complete with their own EIA code! I have seen several tubes labeled like this. If you know what you are looking for and know the physical structure of the tube you are looking for, you will most likely not be fooled by these improper EIA codes, but they still fool me now and then. Westinghouse did this a lot. The only way I can find out if it was truly made by Westinghouse (they bought a lot of RCA tubes and labeled them as their own, complete with the 337 code) is to check the getter. They had two wires on the end of their square getters. This is a true Westinghouse tube, and not an RCA or another manufacturer.

Happy tube hunting everyone!

ken99
Click to expand...

I've seen a handful of those, though most of the ones I've seen of that nature have omitted the EIA code entirely. Tubes labeled for the major organ manufacturers (Lowrey, Baldwin, Hammond, etc.) are quite common used tube finds, and they're almost always labeled with the EIA code of the original manufacturer. Still, it's good to keep in mind that the EIA code may not be the last word on who manufactured a tube - and Westinghouse didn't make many tubes in-house, so the vast majority of their tubes are relabels. 7591s being a notable exception.
 
Tubes and CRT's EIA code
Amperex (USA) 111
Bendix 125
DuMont 158
Eimac (Eitel-McCullough, Inc) 162
Electronic Tube Corp 169
General Electric Co (USA) 188
Hytron (CBS-Hytron) 210
Machlett 231
RCA (Radio Corp of America) 274
Raytheon 280
Superior Tube Co 310
Sylvania (Hygrade Sylvania Corp) 312
Tung-Sol 322
United Electronics 323
Western Electric 336
Westinghouse 337
Zenith Radio Corp (CRT's) 343
Nortn American Philips Corp 423
Taylor (aka Cetron-Taylor) 713
Lewis & Kaufman 738
National Electronics (also Cetron) 749
Penta Laboratories 771
Vacuum Tube Products 781
Varian Associates 809
Litton Industries 879
Electrons, Inc 935
Capacitors EIA code
Aerovox Corp 102
American Condensor 109
Centralab 134
Chicago Condensor 135
Aerovox Hi-Q Division 163
John E Fast 178
General Electric 188
Mallory 235
Micamold 240
Millen 242
Radio Condensor Company 273
Solar 296
Sprague 303
Gudeman 438
Good-All 446
Barker & Wiiliamson 461
Pyramid 472
United Condensor 516
Electrical Utilities Corp 569
Illinois Capacitor (Condensor) 616
American Radionic 648
Sangamo 658
Ajax 705
Standard Condensor 710
RMC (Radio Materials Corp) 732
Condensor Manufacturers 885
Transformers & Coils EIA code
Stancor (Chicago-Standard) 138
Coil Engineering 141
Ensign Coil 172
Freed 183
General Radio 194
Jefferson Electric 218
Thordarsen-Meissner 238
Merit Coil & Transformer 239
Standard Coil 305
Essex (Transformer Division) 352
New York Transformer 366
Altec Lansing-Peerless 391
Foster Transformer 394
General Transformer 412
United Transformer Corp (UTC) 418
Radio-Television Products Corp 489
Empire Coil 452
Caledonia 503
Triwec Transformer 524
Midwest Coil & Transformer 549
Standard Winding Co 550
F & V Coil Winding 572
Woodward-Schumacher 606
Central Coil 637
Electrical Windings 682
Grand Transformers 757
Forest Electric 773
Ogden Coil & Transformer 776
Triad 830
Better Coil & Transformer 831
Acro Products (Acrosound) 878
Mohawk 883
American Transformer 892
Tresco 897
Coilcraft 906
Aerocoil 908
Acme Coil & Transformer 928
Magnetic Coil Mfring 933
Northlake 1005
Pacific 1052


Resistor & Potentiometers EIA code
Allen-Bradley 106
Centralab 134
CTS (Chicago Telephone Supply) 137
Clarostat 140
Erie 173
IRC (International Resistance Co) 214
Mallory 235
Muter 244
Ohmite 251
Speer 300
Stackpole 304
Ward Leonard 532
Milwaukee Resistor 722
Dale 816
Atlas 932
Speakers (Drivers only, not cabinets) EIA Code
CTS (Chicago Telephone Supply) 137
Jensen 220
Magnavox 232
DuKane (Operadio Corp) 252
Quam (Quam-Nichols) 270
Rola 285
Utah 328
Western Electric 336
Altec Lansing Corp 391
North American Philips (Norelco) 423
Oxford 465
Waldom Electronics 555
Electro-Voice 649
Russell Speaker Co 748
Quincy Speaker Mfr Corp 767
Klipsch 843
University 847
Oaktron 934
Other commonly seen manufacturers


Company Product Code
Admiral Corp TV's, Radios 101
Alpha Wire 733
Amphenol Sockets, plugs 554
ATR Vibrators 551
Anaconda Wire 547
Arvin Sears radios & TV's 248
Astatic Phono cartridges 345
Belden Wire 579
Bell Amps 708
Bogen Amps 589
BIC British imports 409
Cannon Connectors 440
Cinch Sockets, connectors 139
Collins Radio gear 439
Connector Corp Sockets, connectors 888
Consolidated Wire 607
Crosley Radios 152
Drake RF gear 851
DuKane (Operadio) Amps 252
Eby Sockets 160
Empire Phono cartridges 452
Essex Wire 175
Gates RF gear 187
General Cement Adhesives, Testor's paint 396
General Radio Test Equip 194
Hallicrafters Ham & SW gear 199
Hammarlund Ham & SW gear 201
Harmon-Kardon Hi-fi gear 794
Hickok Test Equip 508
International Rectifier Semiconductors 845
Jackson Tube Testers 216
E F Johnson Sockets, ham xcvrs 222
Kester Solder 224
Keystone Hardware 699
Lenz Wire 228
Littelfuse Fuses 230
McIntosh Hifi gear 793
Methode Connectors 720
James Millen Sockets 242
Muntz Cheap TV's 772
National Co Ham & SW gear, hifi 245
Newcomb Amps 437
Packard Bell TV's radios computers 254
Philco Radios & TV's 260
Philmore Hardware 262
Pickering (Stanton) Phono cartridges 631
Pilot Hifi tuners & amps 264
Pioneer Cheap recievers 706
Precision (Grommes) Hifi & PA amps 871
Radio Craftsmen Hifi gear 275
J P Seeburg Jukeboxes 289
Shure Brothers Phono carts, mics 590
Mark Simpson (MASCO) PA Amps 295
Simpson Electric Meters 614
Sonotone Phono cartridges 787
Tetrad Phono cartridges 842
Triplett Test equipment 321
Wells-Gardner Monkey Wards radios 334
Weston Test Equipment 338
Zenith Radios & TV's 343
 
toxcrusadr said:
Someone in Speakers was just asking about some drivers and I went to the nicest biggest list I know of and the link was broken. Contacted the site owner and he fixed it. So here's a 1994 list.

http://www.davelevasseur.com/old/1994 EIA Source and Date Code Book.pdf
Click to expand...

Just wanted to say, it's always good to have several links ready if you can't find a number. I've been using the above 1994 list for awhile and it failed me this week: it doesn't list 575, Heppner. Anyone messing with old speakers needs Heppner. :cool:

Other lists posted on this thread:

http://www.thespeakershop.com/speakerrepair/eiacodes.html No Heppner
1961 EIA list http://www.thespeakershop.com/speakerrepair/eiacodes.html Has Heppner!
http://www.triodeel.com/eiacode.htm Very short list - no Heppner.

I'm bookmarking that 1961 list and also the Speakershop one because it's all speakers which makes it a handy reference for that.
 
Check this bad boy list out, wow. Maybe some of you have seen this one, I have not. Good for some more obscure stuff that is hard to find. WOW! I am saving this one to the HD before the site goes down at some point. The list of all lists that I have ever seen.. http://audiophool.com/Misc/1962_EIA_codes.pdf
 
Last edited:
Audiophool's "Technophool page" has several lists of EIA codes, including the one linked above by Patrick620 and Dave Levasseur's 1994 EIA Source and Date Code list (mentioned above by toxcrusadr and others).
 
There's no 6l6s leftttt anyways man...unless go look at auctions or grandmas attic or basement man lol.
The RCAs and Phillips stuff is worth going looking for, while only a few of the GEs were that good man.

Or else some of these old stashes have BB man...the good ones 50s Lp's and stuff I'll sell ya this last strong one...but it like belongs in a Museum or something.
 
Last edited:
I've been looking for hours trying to find a manufacturer of code 417 for some 6" RCA midranges with phenolic cones.
 
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