{"type_number":"420A","canonical_url":"https://tubeofile.com/tubes/420A","manufacturer":"Western Electric","tube_type_key":"small_signal_triode","tube_type_display_name":"Small Signal Triode","base_name":"Noval","description":"High-stability, low-microphonic double triode with separate indirectly heated cathodes. Designed for use in precision DC amplifier circuits, computers, and regulated power supplies requiring high mechanical and thermionic stability and long life.","is_directly_heated":false,"completeness":"high","notes":["Pinout is NOT compatible with 12AX7/ECC83 despite both being Noval twin triodes. Pins 2+3 and 6-8 are swapped relative to 12AX7. An adapter or socket rewiring is required to use in 12AX7 circuits.","Center-tapped heater allows operation at 6.3V (parallel, 360 mA) or 12.6V (series, 180 mA). Heater ballast resistors (35 ohm per lead) recommended in the DC amplifier application to cancel out heater resistance variations.","Special cathode springs reduce microphonic response, verified by tapping at 400-600 G shock levels. Maximum grid current of 10^-9 A ensures drift stability in DC amplifier service.","Developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories for AT&T precision instrumentation. The 420A was Western Electric's designation; Raytheon manufactured the same tube as CK5755 under military contract (JW-5755 for Joint Army-Navy Wet-environment spec).","Both sections must be balanced at the start of operation by adjusting grid bias so plate currents match within 1 µA. The DC amplifier circuit (Fig. 1 in datasheet) uses a 150 kOhm shared cathode bias resistor with 310V supply."],"references":["https://frank.pocnet.net/sheets/138/5/5755.pdf","https://pearl-hifi.com/06_Lit_Archive/08_Tube_Data/Cons_Data/CK5755_420A_Cons_Data.pdf"],"source_urls":{"r_type":null,"tdsl":"https://tdsl.duncanamps.com/show.php?des=420A","radiomuseum":"https://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_420a_we.html"},"raw_equivalents":["5755","CK5755","CV3755"],"equivalents":[],"similar":[{"type_number":"12AX7","reason":"Similar mu (~100 vs 70) and function but completely different pinout — not pin-compatible","has_detail_page":true}],"pins":[{"pin_number":"1","function":"Plate (Section 2)","function_code":"a2","notes":null},{"pin_number":"2","function":"Cathode (Section 2)","function_code":"k2","notes":null},{"pin_number":"3","function":"Grid (Section 2)","function_code":"g1_2","notes":null},{"pin_number":"4","function":"Heater","function_code":"h","notes":null},{"pin_number":"5","function":"Heater","function_code":"h","notes":null},{"pin_number":"6","function":"Grid (Section 1)","function_code":"g1_1","notes":null},{"pin_number":"7","function":"Cathode (Section 1)","function_code":"k1","notes":null},{"pin_number":"8","function":"Plate (Section 1)","function_code":"a1","notes":null},{"pin_number":"9","function":"Heater Center-Tap","function_code":"h","notes":null}],"specs":[{"key":"Vh","display_name":"Heater Voltage","value":"6.3 / 12.6","numeric_value":"6.3","unit":"V","param_group":"heater"},{"key":"Ah","display_name":"Heater Current","value":"0.36 / 0.18","numeric_value":"0.36","unit":"A","param_group":"heater"}],"sections":[{"section_number":1,"section_label":"Triode","tube_type_key":"small_signal_triode","specs":[{"key":"Va_max","display_name":"Anode Voltage (max)","value":"225","numeric_value":"225","unit":"V","param_group":"absolute_max"},{"key":"Pa_max","display_name":"Anode Dissipation (max)","value":"1.0","numeric_value":"1","unit":"W","param_group":"absolute_max"},{"key":"Ik_max","display_name":"Cathode Current (max)","value":"5","numeric_value":"5","unit":"mA","param_group":"absolute_max"},{"key":"Vhk_max","display_name":"Heater-to-Cathode Voltage (max)","value":"75","numeric_value":"75","unit":"V","param_group":"absolute_max"},{"key":"Va","display_name":"Anode Voltage (typical)","value":"110","numeric_value":"110","unit":"V","param_group":"typical_operating"},{"key":"Vg","display_name":"Grid 1 Bias Voltage","value":"-0.6","numeric_value":"-0.6","unit":"V","param_group":"typical_operating"},{"key":"mAa","display_name":"Anode Current","value":"0.15","numeric_value":"0.15","unit":"mA","param_group":"typical_operating"},{"key":"ra","display_name":"Anode Resistance","value":"140000","numeric_value":"140000","unit":"Ω","param_group":"typical_operating"},{"key":"gm","display_name":"Transconductance","value":"0.5","numeric_value":"0.5","unit":"mA/V","param_group":"typical_operating"},{"key":"mu","display_name":"Amplification Factor (μ)","value":"70","numeric_value":"70","unit":"—","param_group":"typical_operating"},{"key":"Cgp","display_name":"Grid-to-Plate Capacitance","value":"1.4","numeric_value":"1.4","unit":"pF","param_group":"capacitances"},{"key":"Cin","display_name":"Input Capacitance","value":"1.5","numeric_value":"1.5","unit":"pF","param_group":"capacitances"},{"key":"Cout","display_name":"Output Capacitance","value":"0.8","numeric_value":"0.8","unit":"pF","param_group":"capacitances"}]}],"synced_at":"2026-04-07T12:09:50.152Z"}