What is the 807 vacuum tube?

The 807 is a tetrode vacuum tube designed for transmitting / power applications. WWII workhorse. Great audio..

What is a 807 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the 807 include 1625, VT-100A. 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 807?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 8, transconductance gm ≈ 6 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 24.0 kΩ, max plate voltage 600 V, max plate dissipation 25 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.9 A.

Is the 807 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 807 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 807 sound like?

WWII workhorse. Great audio.. 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.

807 Tetrode Vacuum Tube

Also known as 1625 · VT-100A

Beam power tetrode rated at 25W for high-power output stages

TetrodeHeater 6.3 V · 0.9 AOctal + Top CapRCA 1937

Plate dissipation: 25W
Max plate voltage: 600V
Max screen voltage: 300V
Transconductance: 6mA/V

807

Characteristics

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

HeaterIndirectly heated

Specifications of 807 — Heater
Heater voltageVh	6.3 V
Heater currentIh	0.9 A

Limiting valuesDatasheet maximum ratings — not to be exceeded

Specifications of 807 — Limiting values
Plate voltageVa max	600 V
Screen voltageVg2 max	300 V
Plate dissipationPa max	25 W
Heater–cathode voltageVhk max	135 V

Mechanical

Specifications of 807 — Mechanical
Base	Octal + Top Cap
Rarity	Common
Pinout

Small signalDatasheet parameters at the reference operating point — not limits

Specifications of 807 — Small signal
Transconductance	6 mA/V
Plate resistance	24 kΩ
Amplification factor	8

Capacitances

Specifications of 807 — Capacitances
Input	12 pF
Grid–plate	0.2 pF
Output	7 pF

Charactereditorial reading, not a measurement

Specifications of 807 — Character
Gain	8%
Power	63%
Drive	76%
Linearity	95%

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

Typical operation

Conditions published by the manufacturers, one row per condition. Nothing is computed.

Typical operation
Setup	Va	Vg2	Vg1 / Rk	Ia	Ig2	Load	Pout	THD	Source
Class A, single-endedpentode connection · fixed bias	300 V	250 V	-12.5 V	83 mA	8 mA		6.4 W	6%	OCR, to be checked Ferranti Limited · 1957 · p. 1 · transcript
Class B, single-endedpentode connection · fixed bias	400 V	300 V	-40 V	75 mA					OCR, to be checked RCA · 1954 · p. 5 · transcript
pentode connection, single-endedclass not stated	325 V	250 V		80 mA					OCR, to be checked RCA · 1954 · p. 6 · transcript
Class AB1, push-pulltriode connection · fixed bias · values for two tubes	400 V		-45 V	64 mA		3 kΩ a-a			OCR, to be checked RCA · 1954 · p. 2 · transcript

Using this tube

Applications

High-power output

Ham radio transmitterHeathkit DX-100

Replace or compare

Sources

By Jean-Michel Falligan DevergneReviewed May 29, 2026Active model : Norman Koren

Manufacturer datasheets

5 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for 8075 verified

807 DatasheetLocal mirror · PDF

SPICE models

Revision and verification status

Source: RCA
Reviewed: 2026-05-29
Status: DataModelCalc
Model: Norman Koren

Context

The 807 is a indirectly-heated beam tetrode from RCA, introduced around 1937. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 8 with 24.0kΩ plate resistance. Commonly used in transmitting / power applications. WWII workhorse. Great audio.

History

Introduced: 1937
Manufacturer: RCA
Era: Pre-War

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