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15. Tube (Part # V1):
a. Take the tube out of its box and closely look at the pins.
Sometimes a few of the pins get bent in the handling
or shipping process from the factory. If any of the
pins are bent, very gently use your needle nose
pliers to straighten them out.
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Do this step very
carefully and do not put too much torque on the pin
at the point where it comes out of the glass. If you do,
the glass could easily crack and allow the vacuum in the
tube to be compromised, which would mean we’d have to sell you a new tube.
b. Now flip the amp right-side-up again and install the tube in its socket. It can only go in one
way. Line up the pins and then gently rock the tube,
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pressing gently but firmly down on the
top, until it is completely seated in the socket.
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If it has a hard time fitting into the socket
make sure all the tube pins line up with the socket pins properly. If you still have trouble, you
might need to use your awl again to loosen the tube socket pins.
TIP:
You can tell if the
vacuum is bad in your tube
because the “getter flash” (the shiny
metallic section on the inside of the
glass) will turn white or clear.
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