EL34 identification help

[steve_p]

Hi All,

I have a pair of EL34s that I am trying to figure out the manufacturer.
They are printed with the name "Tronal" and EL34. They are also printed "Made in England".

They have a dimple in the top of the glass. This makes me think possibly RFT, but the made in england is throwing me off.
There is no etching on the glass that I can see.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Here are a few pictures:

[IMG:768:1024]http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv106/Steve_P_82/el34/20130614_214513_zpsdc154366.jpg[/img]

[IMG:768:1024]http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv106/Steve_P_82/el34/20130614_214605_zpsa0c42ac5.jpg[/img]

[IMG:768:1024]http://i674.photobucket.com/albums/vv106/Steve_P_82/el34/20130614_214550_zpsa65b0694.jpg[/img]

[Dai H.]

I'd say RFT. There is a Russian one (EL34G IIRC) that looks similar but the staples in the plate look sloppier. I wouldn't necessarily take the country of manf. markings seriously. Maybe some incorrectly marked ones were legit (to get around export controls or whatever), but they aren't always true. I've got some "made in Holland" Tesla EL34s (made in fmr. Czechoslovakia), for example. Also (newer example), I've seen Svetlana EL34s marked w/a different brand (R...something..."Ramington"??) and "made in England"(IIRC). That one was probably more outright fakery though.

[overtone]

Yes RFT, enjoy them.
Tronal was an English re-brander.
You see these RFTs with all sorts of printing, I found some printed KT77 in one amp. The re-branding was to hide the fact that they originated in East Germany during the cold war. Companies like TFK had contracts to supply the military and after they all ceased their own production a bit of creativity was called for.

[steve_p]

Thanks all for the replies.
When i bought them, they were stated to be RFTs, so it is nice to have some independent confirmation.

They looked slightly different than another pair of RFTs that I have, these ones have a short tube base, where my others have a slightly taller base.

Thanks again!
Steve

[overtone]

yes, the base height changed over the production history, but they are the same tube.
I personally have not noticed any difference between tall and short bases in use.

tony

[BIG Dave]

Yup! RFT. Better than anything made today.