What is the CV515 vacuum tube?

The CV515 is a tetrode vacuum tube designed for power applications. Military / CV designation in the 6Y6 family..

What is a CV515 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the CV515 include 6Y6G. 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 CV515?

Transconductance gm ≈ 7.1 mA/V, max plate voltage 200 V, max plate dissipation 12.5 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.45 A.

Is the CV515 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the CV515 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 CV515 sound like?

Military / CV designation in the 6Y6 family.. 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.

CV515 Tetrode Vacuum Tube

Also known as 6Y6G

Beam power tetrode rated at 12.5W for high-power output stages

TetrodeHeater 6.3 V · 0.45 AOctalGEC 1942

Plate dissipation: 12.5W
Max plate voltage: 200V
Transconductance: 7.1mA/V

CV515

Characteristics

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

HeaterIndirectly heated

Specifications of CV515 — Heater
Heater voltageVh	6.3 V
Heater currentIh	0.45 A

Limiting valuesDatasheet maximum ratings — not to be exceeded

Specifications of CV515 — Limiting values
Plate voltageVa max	200 V
Plate dissipationPa max	12.5 W

Mechanical

Specifications of CV515 — Mechanical
Base	Octal
Rarity	Moderate
Pinout

Small signalDatasheet parameters at the reference operating point — not limits

Specifications of CV515 — Small signal
Transconductance	7.1 mA/V

Capacitances

Specifications of CV515 — Capacitances
Input	6 pF
Grid–plate	0.005 pF
Output	7 pF

Charactereditorial reading, not a measurement

Specifications of CV515 — Character
Gain	0%
Power	31%
Drive	50%
Linearity	75%

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

Using this tube

Replace or compare

Sources

By Jean-Michel Falligan DevergneReviewed May 9, 2026Source : qsl.net 6Y6 (= CV515, NOT 6V6) · wording corrected: 6Y6 family, not 6V6Active model : Koren pentode

Manufacturer datasheets

CV515 DatasheetLocal mirror · PDF

SPICE models

Revision and verification status

Source: qsl.net 6Y6 (= CV515, NOT 6V6) · wording corrected: 6Y6 family, not 6V6
Reviewed: 2026-05-09
Status: DataModelCalc
Model: Koren pentode

Context

The CV515 is a indirectly-heated beam tetrode from GEC, introduced around 1942. Commonly used in power applications. Military / CV designation in the 6Y6 family.

History

Introduced: 1942
Manufacturer: GEC
Era: Pre-War

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