RCA CTC-12 estate sale find

[frenchy]

Adam, are you doing an immediate test of the gun strength after turn on, or letting them warm up for 5 minutes or so? The test of a good tube is if it meets the numbers after 4 minutes of warmup. My ctc-11 is definitely dim when first turned on but comes on full blast after a few minutes. I think that was a partial reason they had put a brightner on the set years ago. The more I use the set, the stronger it is when I first turn it on, so it seems when the set sits idle for quite a while it starts going back to being noticeably dimmer when first turned on. Doesn't bother me and I took the brightener off. Maybe your bottle could use some longer on-time to wake it up some more, 3 months is a long time. (I said 'bottle' so I sound more like a old pro, heh heh)
I don't think the filaments are anywhere near each other, but they can short against other parts of their particular gun though.
Frenchy