Basing (pinout)
Bottom view — the socket as you see it from the wiring side. Hover, tap, or focus a pin to name it. Read from the datasheet basing diagram (how to read these →).
Hover, tap, or focus a pin to name it.
- High voltage (B+)
- Control grid
- Cathode
- Heater / filament
- No connection
Viewed from below (socket / wiring side) · octal · basing 7AC
⚡ Oxblood pins sit at B+ — hundreds of volts in service, lethal, and still charged after power-off.
Datasheets
Primary manufacturer data, via public tube-data archives. The model below is fitted to the tabulated "average characteristics" in these sheets; the datasheet files themselves are linked, never rehosted.
| Publisher | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|
| RCA | 6L6GC | frank.pocnet.net ↗ |
| General Electric | 6L6GC | frank.pocnet.net ↗ |
| Tung-Sol | 6L6GC | frank.pocnet.net ↗ |
| RCA | 5881 | frank.pocnet.net ↗ |
| Tung-Sol | 5881 | frank.pocnet.net ↗ |
Circuit Codex model
A CC0 ngspice model in the Koren form, fitted here to the published anchor — no parameters copied from other model collections. Methodology →
- Anchor
- Va=250 V, Vg2=250 V, Vg1=-14 V → Ia=72 mA, Ig2=5 mA, gm=6000 µmho
- Source
- RCA Receiving Tube Manual RC-19, 1959, average characteristics (6L6GC)
- Note
- 5881/6L6WGB is treated as 6L6GC-class at these ratings. µ is the grid-No.1-to-grid-No.2 amplification factor (8, RC-19).
- File
- models/5881.inc ↗
Maximum ratings
Design-center maximums for the 5881 as printed by Tung-Sol. The 5881's rugged construction trades the 6L6GC's higher ceiling for durability: it is rated below the 6L6GC on both plate dissipation and voltage (23 W / 400 V against 30 W / 500 V), which is why a 6L6GC drops into a 5881 socket with margin to spare while a 5881 run at 6L6GC voltages sits near its limit.
- Plate dissipation
- 23 W
- Plate voltage
- 400 V
- Screen (grid No.2) voltage
- 400 V
- Screen dissipation
- 3 W
- Source
- Tung-Sol 5881 datasheet (design-center system) ↗