What is the 8298A vacuum tube?

The 8298A is a tetrode vacuum tube designed for power (pp) applications. Enhanced EL34 type..

What is a 8298A substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the 8298A include 6146B. 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 8298A?

Transconductance gm ≈ 10 mA/V, max plate voltage 800 V, max plate dissipation 35 W, heater 6.3 V / 1.25 A.

Is the 8298A still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 8298A as Sought-after 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 8298A sound like?

Enhanced EL34 type.. 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.

8298A Tetrode Vacuum Tube

Also known as 6146B

Beam power tetrode rated at 35W for high-power output stages

TetrodeHeater 6.3 V · 1.25 AOctalGE 1960

Plate dissipation: 35W
Max plate voltage: 800V
Transconductance: 10mA/V

8298A

Characteristics

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

HeaterIndirectly heated

Specifications of 8298A — Heater
Heater voltageVh	6.3 V
Heater currentIh	1.25 A

Limiting valuesDatasheet maximum ratings — not to be exceeded

Specifications of 8298A — Limiting values
Plate voltageVa max	800 V
Plate dissipationPa max	35 W

Mechanical

Specifications of 8298A — Mechanical
Base	Octal
Rarity	Sought-after
Pinout

Small signalDatasheet parameters at the reference operating point — not limits

Specifications of 8298A — Small signal
Transconductance	10 mA/V

Capacitances

Specifications of 8298A — Capacitances
Input	11 pF
Grid–plate	0.7 pF
Output	8.5 pF

Charactereditorial reading, not a measurement

Specifications of 8298A — Character
Gain	0%
Power	88%
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

PA/public address

Replace or compare

Sources

By Jean-Michel Falligan DevergneReviewed May 9, 2026Source : amplifiedparts 6146B/8298A beam powerActive model : Koren pentode

Manufacturer datasheets

8298A DatasheetLocal mirror · PDF

SPICE models

Revision and verification status

Source: amplifiedparts 6146B/8298A beam power
Reviewed: 2026-05-09
Status: DataModelCalc
Model: Koren pentode

Context

The 8298A is a indirectly-heated beam tetrode from GE, introduced around 1960. Commonly used in power (pp) applications. Enhanced EL34 type.

History

Introduced: 1960
Manufacturer: GE
Era: Late Production

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