What is the 80 vacuum tube?

The 80 is a rectifier vacuum tube designed for rectifier applications. Classic pre-octal rectifier. Gentle sag..

What is a 80 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the 80 include VT-80, 5Y3GT. 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.

Is the 80 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 80 as Moderate 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 80 sound like?

Classic pre-octal rectifier. Gentle sag.. 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.

80 Rectifier Vacuum Tube

Also known as VT-80 · 5Y3GT

Full-wave rectifier for vacuum tube power supply designs

RectifierHeater 5 V · 2 AUX-4RCA·Sylvania 1927

Max DC output current: 125mA
Peak inverse voltage: 1400V
Max RMS input per anode: 500V
Peak anode current: 400mA

Characteristics

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

HeaterDirectly heated

Specifications of 80 — Heater
Heater voltageVh	5 V
Heater currentIh	2 A

Rectifier limitsDatasheet maximum ratings — not to be exceeded

Specifications of 80 — Rectifier limits
Max RMS input voltage per anode	500 V
Io max (DC output current)	125 mA
Peak inverse voltage (PIV)	1400 V
Peak anode current	400 mA
Tube voltage drop at Io	60 V at 125 mA
Min series resistance per anode	10 Ω

Mechanical

Specifications of 80 — Mechanical
Base	UX-4
Rarity	Moderate
Pinout

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

Using this tube

Interactive loadline calculator not available for this tube yet — it needs calibrated Koren or Ayumi parameters.

Applications

Power supply rectification

Generic rectifier rectifier stage

Headphone amp

Replace or compare

Sources

By Jean-Michel Falligan DevergneReviewed May 29, 2026

Manufacturer datasheets

4 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for 804 verified

80 DatasheetLocal mirror · PDF

SPICE models

Revision and verification status

Source: RCA·Sylvania
Reviewed: 2026-05-29
Status: DataModelCalc
Model: under review

Context

The 80 is a directly-heated rectifier from RCA·Sylvania, introduced around 1927. Commonly used in rectifier applications. Classic pre-octal rectifier. Gentle sag.

History

Introduced: 1927
Manufacturer: RCA·Sylvania
Era: Pre-War

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