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WD-11
Triode vacuum tube
Triode vacuum tube
The WD-11 vacuum tube, a triode, was introduced by the Westinghouse Electric corporation in 1922 for their Aeriola RF model radio and found use in other contemporary regenerative receivers (used as a detector-amplifier) including the Regenoflex and Radiola series.
The WD11 and "RCA-11" (and later simply named "11" by RCA and Philips/Miniwatt) have the following characteristics:
| Socket: | EIA/RETMA base diagram: | Description: | Filament: | Plate (anode) voltage: | Grid voltage: | Plate current | Plate resistance: | Amplification Factor (mu): | Transconductance (gm or S): | Power output: (Po): | Grid-plate Capacitance (Cga): | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV4 (also known as WD-4-Pin) | ||||||||||||
| 4F | ||||||||||||
| Detector Amplifier Triode | ||||||||||||
| Directly heated 1.1 V | 0.25 A | |||||||||||
| 90 V | 135 V maximum | |||||||||||
| −4.5 V | −10.5 V | |||||||||||
| 2.5 mA | 3.0 mA | |||||||||||
| 15.5 kΩ | 15 kΩ | |||||||||||
| 6.6 | 6.6 | |||||||||||
| 0.425 mA/V | 0.44 mA/V | |||||||||||
| 0.007 W | 0.04 W | |||||||||||
| 3.3 pF |
Drawbacks
The design of the WD-11 is somewhat flawed. When the filament burns out, it has a tendency to contact the plate. This feeds high voltages back through the heater circuitry, subsequently burning out the filaments on the remaining tubes.
The WD-11 has a unique 4-pin base layout that was unlike any subsequent UV and UX style tube bases. It had 3 "small" pins and one "large" pin. Later UV based tubes relied on an index pin on the side of the tube base and UX tubes had 2 large and 2 small pins to ensure proper indexing.
It was replaced a year after its introduction by higher performance tubes which were less likely to encounter the filament shorting problem, Westinghouse Electric's WD-12 and General Electric's UX-199. No radios using the WD-11 tube were designed after 1924. RCA ceased production and issued a service bulletin describing how to retrofit existing sets to use the newer UX-199 triodes.
Collectibility
Because of the rarity of the WD-11, it has become one of the most valuable vacuum tubes in the world. New-old-stock tubes have sold for as much as US$180 and used tubes have sold for over $100, more than the original price of the radios that use them. Collectors rarely use these tubes for fear of burning them out.
Substitution
Sets that use the costly WD-11 and UV-199 tubes can be modified to use the inexpensive 1A5/GT octal power pentode by wiring a 5.1 ohm resistor between the pins of the filament and fabricating an octal-to-four pin adaptor. The pin for the 1A5's suppressor is left unconnected and the screen connected to the plate.
The type 12 (also known as RCA-12) is electrically identical to the type 11, but with a more common UX4 base.
References
- (1937). "RCA Receiving Tube Manual RC-13".
- (1940). "RCA Receiving Tube Manual RC-14".
- (1958). ""Miniwatt" Technical Data". The "Miniwatt" Electronics Division of Philips Electrical Industries Pty. Limited, N.S.W..
- "WD 11".
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