What is the 6P3S vacuum tube?

The 6P3S (6P3S-E) is a tetrode vacuum tube designed for power (pp) applications. Russian 6L6..

What is a 6P3S substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the 6P3S include 6L6GC. These share the same pinout and operating envelope, so they can usually be swapped without circuit changes — though batch-to-batch variations between manufacturers (NOS vs current production) may shift the sonic character noticeably.

What are the key specifications of the 6P3S?

Transconductance gm ≈ 6 mA/V, max plate voltage 400 V, max plate dissipation 20.5 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.9 A.

Is the 6P3S still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 6P3S as Common availability. NOS (new-old-stock) examples from RCA, Mullard, Tung-Sol, GE, Sylvania and Telefunken trade among collectors; modern production where it exists comes mostly from JJ Electronic, Electro-Harmonix, Tung-Sol (New Sensor), Genalex, and a handful of small-batch makers.

What does the 6P3S sound like?

Russian 6L6.. Sonic character also depends heavily on the circuit operating point, the surrounding tubes in the stage, and the output transformer when present — use the interactive loadline calculator on this page to explore the trade-offs.

6P3S E Tetrode Vacuum Tube

Also known as 6L6GC

Beam power tetrode rated at 20.5W for high-power output stages

TetrodeHeater 6.3 V · 0.9 AOctalRussian 1960

Plate dissipation: 20.5W
Max plate voltage: 400V
Transconductance: 6mA/V

6P3S

Characteristics

Datasheet values, once each. Every value cites its sheet.

HeaterIndirectly heated

Specifications of 6P3S — Heater
Heater voltageVh	6.3 V
Heater currentIh	0.9 A

Limiting valuesDatasheet maximum ratings — not to be exceeded

Specifications of 6P3S — Limiting values
Plate voltageVa max	400 V
Plate dissipationPa max	20.5 W

Mechanical

Specifications of 6P3S — Mechanical
Base	Octal
Rarity	Common
Pinout

Small signalDatasheet parameters at the reference operating point — not limits

Specifications of 6P3S — Small signal
Transconductance	6 mA/V

Capacitances

Specifications of 6P3S — Capacitances
Input	11 pF
Grid–plate	1 pF
Output	8.25 pF

Charactereditorial reading, not a measurement

Specifications of 6P3S — Character
Gain	0%
Power	51%
Drive	50%
Linearity	75%

datasheet cited · model or editorial reading · catalogue value, no citation attached yet · nothing invented

Using this tube

Applications

High-power output

Generic tetrode power (pp) stage

Replace or compare

Sources

By Jean-Michel Falligan DevergneReviewed May 29, 2026Source : Gazotron 6P3S-E · Soviet-TubesActive model : Koren pentode

Manufacturer datasheets

1 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for 6P3S-E1 verified

6P3S DatasheetLocal mirror · PDF

SPICE models

Revision and verification status

Source: Gazotron 6P3S-E · Soviet-Tubes
Reviewed: 2026-05-29
Status: DataModelCalc
Model: Koren pentode

Context

The 6P3S is a indirectly-heated beam tetrode from Russian, introduced around 1960. Commonly used in power (pp) applications. Russian 6L6.

History

Introduced: 1960
Manufacturer: Russian
Era: Late Production

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