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Reviews For: EIMAC 3CX1500A7/8877

Category: Electron Tubes

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Review Summary For : EIMAC 3CX1500A7/8877
Reviews: 8MSRP:
Description:
Eimac Power Triode Transmitting Amplifier Tube
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.cpii.com/eimac/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0084.5
W6MTF Rating: 2019-07-09
great tube! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
the fact is Eimac never sold tooling to China and this is to refute the fact, some tube resellers will say anything - Fake news!
I was a close friend of Bill Sain, the designer of the 8877/3CX1500A7, he developed the tube in a short 10 month period start to finsh. It remains a classic electron tube with high merits, when built correctly.
W6MTF

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Earlier 2-star review posted by W6MTF on 2012-10-20

I don't know who WB1S spoke with but in my 27+ years of service at Eimac I answered many calls related to the YU- designations. The YU tubes were not designed any different that the 8877, they are fall-outs or tubes tested to lower specifications during production of 8877. The primary parameter of interest is grid current. Eimac has always had issues with grid current due to sloppy manufacturing tolerances and grid-to-cathode alignment. IMD will vary slightly from tube to tube for those reasons but the YU tubes do not have higher Intermodulation figures. The YU-158 is a tube that was tightly controlled in order to meet parallel operation in MRI equipment. Reliability problems with YU158 ultimately led to the development of the YC156 and YU179 tubes (3CPX5000A7).
The photo of the tube used in this thread is of a Chinese 8877 sold by Penta who now own the logo. Its a bit of a disconnect but for accuracy a tube with an Eimac logo would be more fitting to the name of the thread.
KM1H Rating: 2019-07-04
-Eimac doesnt want to deal with ham power levels any longer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
They sold tooling to China and trained them to build it. It is an excellent tube at about half what Eimac charges. They even sold tooling for the 3CX3000A7 which is still one of the best tubes made.

Eimac wants to concentrate only on the real big tubes where the profits are high and they also own the company, Econoco, who rebuilds them
W6PJJ Rating: 2012-12-03
BEST BANG 4 THE BUCK Time Owned: more than 12 months.

I wandered to the reviews column here today after looking for related topics on the Eimac 8877, my primary interest was in reduced emission and the causes. I see all manner of remarks mostly Positive. I have build many Linear Amplifiers for Amateur Radio use and with many types of Triodes. For my money I choose the Eimac 3CX1500A7 or 8877. When one considers the amplification factor of this Triode and minimal drive and cooling requirements,the surplus of tubes on the market and the cost... For me, this is the best Triode for the investment and should be considered by any Ham that is looking for an economical solution to high power. I built Amps for HF, VHF and VHF High Band with this brute in the socket, its probably one of the best tubes Eimac has ever designed and built. Once they got the internal tollerances up to snuff in manufacturing this Brute does it with plenty of Head Room.

73's
Don W6PJJ
K4FX Rating: 2010-10-13
Powerhouse Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I spent some time checking out the current amp models on the market before deciding to go with the 8877. While it is common knowledge that a triode based grounded grid amp is the best way to go, the main tubes are the 8877, 3CX1200, and the pair of 3-500's that are on the market today. I went with the 8877 because of the high gain as compared to the 3CX1200 and 3-500's. About 40 watts will give legal limit or close to it. The 3 min delay is not a bother since most of my operation is contesting. The air requirements do make some noise but again, in the contests I use headphones most of the time. It is a lot of power in a small package.

The best thing about 8877's is that there is a large used market of good tubes for less than 400 dollars.
K0IO Rating: 2008-08-07
FB! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Except for the 3 minute time delay and air requirements, these are great tubes with low drive and medical pulls can be found for under $400.
W0JX Rating: 2008-01-23
A Powerhouse! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I spent a lot of time evaluating the 3CX1200A7, GS-35B, and 8877 tubes to replace the aging 3-1000Z in my BTI amplifier. I chose the 8877, mainly because of the lower drive and blower requirements (as compared to the GS-35B) and because the 3CX1200A7 is impossible to find at reasonable prices. 8877's can still be found on Ebay at affordable prices.

The amp was easy to convert and puts out a minimum of 1500 watts on all bands with lower drive than the 3-1000Z. It's a great tube!
WA2MJP Rating: 2007-04-29
Very good tube Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using this tube for over 10 years in a Henry 3002 2 meter amplifier. I operate it between 1000 and 1500 watts output SSB & CW and it has been flawless since day one, granted it does not get used as much as my HF amp (commander hf-2500) but it has always been there for me with no problems. It requires very little drive for legal output (aprox. 40 watts). The only thing I do dislike is not with the tube but the blower required to support it, it does move alot of air but makes quite a lot of noise also.
SSB Rating: 2007-01-12
3cx1200d7 is better Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is almost the perfect tube. High output, small size, will work at hi/low plate resistances, reliable, long lasting life, Eimac quality. Only down side is the 3 minute warm up. The perfect tube in my opinion is the 3cx1200d7.

Alex....