Wow, I would have never had guessed that this set used a tube that was faulty by design. I would like to get a NOS 6X5GT, but if I can't trust it then I guess I would rather get those diodes instead. It sucks since the vacuum tube design is what draws me to these radios, and in this case it seems like I'd have to make at least one small concession for reliability purposes. The diodes are certainly way more affordable than the tubes. I rather like the idea of using the diodes and keeping the tube installed with the heater glowing just for looks. How would I do that? Or, would it be best just to leave it out all together?
http://tubedata.milbert.com/sheets/127/6/6X5GT.pdf ( 6X5GT )
Referring back to my radio's schematic ( 3rd post in this thread ) why is it that pin 1 isn't even mentioned? Several pins in my radio have wires running to them that aren't covered in the schematic. Isn't it leaving out the path that heats the filaments?