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| Microwave Amplifier & Oscillator Tubes |
Magnetron tubes are high power microwave oscillators, best known for their role as the heart of centimetric radar and the defining component of microwave ovens. Magnetrons have a pulsed- or constant-current hot cathode, which emits a stream of electrons into a circular chamber lined with cylindrical cavities. An external permanent magnet applies a perpendicular magnetic force, causing the electrons to spiral outward and past the cavities. The cavities induce bunching in the electron stream, creating a high frequency signal which then passes to the anode.
The magnetron was invented by Albert Hull at the General Electric Research Laboratory (GERL) in 1920, and by 1925 GERL had achieved the successful operation of a 15kW magnetron at a frequency of 20kHz. Unlike a conventional magnetron, the Hull magnetron uses an external stator coil instead of a permanent magnet, and does not achieve the microwave frequencies usually associated with magnetrons. High frequency cavity magnetrons arrived in 1940, developed at Birmingham University by John Randall and Harry Boot. The cavity magnetron revolutionized the effectiveness of radar, offering much more power than the early klystron-based US and German centimetric radar systems.
The klystron was invented at Stanford University by Russell and Sigurd Varian in 1937. Klystrons rely on the internal geometry of one or more resonant cavities to generate oscillations in an electron beam, which is then velocity-modulated by a weak external RF signal. The velocity modulation creates electron bunching, generating an RF current within the beam which is then passed magnetically to an output waveguide or pickup. Because of their extremely critical dimensional requirements, klystrons must be individually hand-built, and tuned much like a musical instrument.
Early klystrons were low-power devices, surpassed by cavity magnetrons for high power applications such as radar. However, the highly stable output frequency of the klystron makes it an inherently more versatile device than the frequency-drifting magnetron. As more powerful klystrons have been developed, the magnetron has been made obsolete in virtually every instance. Klystrons are still widely used in radar, communications and high energy physics applications. The magnetron's last remaining widespread use is in microwave ovens, where its low cost and high power-to-size ratio surpass the klystron. Precision frequency output is not required in such devices.
| General Electric ZP-597 | |
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The GE ZP-597 is a large liquid-cooled magnetron, built in the 1940s. Little else is known about this device. |
| CV2116 (Unknown Mfr.) | |
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The CV2116 is a small thermally tuned reflex klystron, with a notably wide frequency range of 1.8-4.5GHz, 140mW output. |
| Federal Telephone & Radio 5J29 | |
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The 5J29 is an unusual device, a water-cooled split anode magnetron used primarily in the AN/APT-4 radar jammer. Unlike a conventional multicavity magnetron, the 5J29 is effectively a miniature cyclotron accelerator. The 5J29 is best known as a GE product; the second-source FTR version is much rarer. |
| RCA 1A5V4 | |
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The RCA 1A5V4 is a traveling-wave tube of unknown specification. Traveling-wave tubes greatly amplify RF signals by using a high power electron beam which fires down the center of a helical coil, interacting with a parallel RF signal which is simultaneously being carried by the coil itself. This results in a velocity modulation feedback interaction between the RF signal and the electron beam, producing an amplified RF output. Traveling-wave tubes are considered broadband devices, with frequency ranges of up to three octaves. |
| Raytheon 2J51 | |
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The 2J51 is a tunable air-cooled magnetron with a range of 8.5Ghz to 9.6Ghz. Unfortunately this sample is missing several components, including the large semicircular magnets that would be clamped to each side of the tube. The 2J51 can generate microwave pulses in excess of 40 kilowatts. |
| Raytheon RK2K25 | |
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The RK2K25 is a small, mechanically tuned reflex klystron which operates between 8500 and 9660MHz. |
| Sperry 2K35 | |
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The 2K35 is a large, multi-cavity klystron that operates in the 3 GHz range. Nothing else is currently known about it. |
| Sperry 2K36 / 416 | |
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The 2K36 is a klystron frequency multiplier, which up-converts a 300 MHz signal to 3 GHz. Coaxial inputs & outputs, octal base. |
| Sperry 2K41 | |
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The Sperry 2K41 is a two-cavity mechanically tuned klystron used in various military radar and communications systems. This tube generates frequencies from 2660 to 3310MHz, with a filament voltage of 6V, beam voltage of 1200V, and a reflector voltage of 750V. |
| Raytheon 2K45 | |
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The 2K45 is a thermally tuned reflex klystron which operates in the 8.5-9.66 GHz range. It has an average power output of 30 mW. |
| Sperry 2K46 | |
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The 2K46 is a tunable air cooled klystron frequency tripler, with an output of 8.1 to 10 Ghz. The heater voltage is 6.3 volts and the output is rated at 1.5kV. The inputs and outputs are coaxial. |
| Western Electric 2K50 | |
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The 2K50 is a thermally tuned reflex klystron which operates in the 23.5 to 24.5 GHz range. This particular example is an extremely rare pre-production Western Electric / US Navy version. |
| Sperry 410R | |
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The 410R is a two-cavity, 3 GHz klystron tube with four threaded coaxial inputs/outputs; octal base. The 410R is a prototype of the 3K30. |
| Sylvania 5789W | |
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This device was somewhat difficult to identify, but research revealed that it is a magnetron. The copper portions of this device that are mounted on either side of the waveguide are slightly magnetic, suggesting that the device originally had much larger magnets attached. The output of this tube is a fixed 34 GHz and the power requirement is around 14 kV. According to the book Tube Lore, this is the first commercially available US magnetron for the Ka band, and was released in 1949. |
| Microwave Associates 6229 | |
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The 6229 is a cavity resonator-type magnetron used in the Nike I missile guidance unit. The 6229 employs a grounded anode and a negatively pulsed cathode to generate 0.25-microsecond 700W pulses of RF energy. The average power output of the magnetron is 0.35W. The 6229 is tunable from 8.9 to 9.4 GHz by means of a tuner shaft that varies the cavity dimensions. |
| Sylvania 6BM6 | |
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The 6BM6 is a small glass-and-metal reflex klystron with an asymmetrically keyed four-pin phenolic base. |
| Klystronics 7238 | |
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The Klystronics 7238 appears to be a fairly typical metal-enclosed reflex klystron, almost surely electronically tunable. This tube uses a modified octal base commonly seen in small klystrons, in which one pin is replaced with a long waveguide. Specifications are unknown. |
| Sperry SRC8A | |
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The Sperry SRC8A is a fairly early C-band reflex klystron. This unit is a pre-production example, labeled as experimental. |
| Varian V-153 | |
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The Varian V-153 is a mechanically tuned 9500MHz low power reflex klystron. |
| Varian VA-220 Series | |
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Devices included in this entry: |
| Varian VA-222F | |
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The Varian VA-222F is a close relative of the VA-220 series devices pictured above, the main difference being that the VA-222F is conduction cooled, while the older VA-220 series are air-cooled devices with integrated radiators. |
| Varian VA-806F | |
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The Varian VA-806F is a four-cavity 8.2 GHz (X-band) fluid-cooled klystron tube with a 2kW output. The VA-806F was originally used in military satellite systems in the 1960s. Other members of the VA-806 series have seen use in plasma containment research. |
| Varian VRX-7204A | |
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The VRX-7204A relay klystron is a functional replacement for the older Western Electric 457A klystron. The VRX-7204A is tunable from 10.7-11.7GHz, 100mw output. |
| Western Electric 730A | |
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The Western Electric 730A is a non-tunable magnetron with an oscillating frequency of 9.375GHz, +/-30MHz. The 730A was used in military radar equipment. Note that the wooden base is part of the tube's original packing material, not an installable component. |
| Raytheon QK291 | |
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The Raytheon QK291 is a small two-cavity Ka-band klystron, mechanically tunable from 33.52GHz to 36.25GHz. The QK291 is a low-power device, with an 18mW average power output. |
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