What is a 5902 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the 5902 include None standard. These share the same pinout and operating envelope, so they can usually be swapped without circuit changes — though batch-to-batch variations between manufacturers (NOS vs current production) may shift the sonic character noticeably.

What are the key specifications of the 5902?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 6, transconductance gm ≈ 4.2 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 15.0 kΩ, max plate voltage 165 V, max plate dissipation 3.7 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.45 A.

Is the 5902 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 5902 as Moderate availability. NOS (new-old-stock) examples from RCA, Mullard, Tung-Sol, GE, Sylvania and Telefunken trade among collectors; modern production where it exists comes mostly from JJ Electronic, Electro-Harmonix, Tung-Sol (New Sensor), Genalex, and a handful of small-batch makers.

What does the 5902 sound like?

Sylvania subminiature beam-power tetrode for aerospace / missile guidance, 1950s-60s. Flying-lead 8-pin (no socket — leads soldered directly). Small-signal output stage, NOT a preamp tube; NOT equivalent to 6AS6.. Sonic character also depends heavily on the circuit operating point, the surrounding tubes in the stage, and the output transformer when present — use the interactive loadline calculator on this page to explore the trade-offs.

By Jean-Michel Falligan Devergne · Reviewed May 29, 2026

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5902 Pentode Vacuum Tube

Q: What is the 5902 vacuum tube?

The 5902 is a pentode vacuum tube designed for power (output) applications. Sylvania subminiature beam-power tetrode for aerospace / missile guidance, 1950s-60s. Flying-lead 8-pin (no socket — leads soldered directly). Small-signal output stage, NOT a preamp tube; NOT equivalent to 6AS6..

Pentode6.3V / 0.45A8-pin Submini (flying leads)SPICE

SourceSylvania 5902 datasheet · Reddit /r/diytubes feedbackReviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelKoren pentodePDF

Small-signal pentode for low-noise voltage amplification

Datasheet ↗SPICE

5902 — Sylvania·RCA — pentode vacuum tube — (1955)

15.0kΩ

4.2mA/V

6.5pF

0.2pF

7.50pF

GAIN6%

POWER9%

DRIVE85%

LINEARITY95%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater6.3 V · 0.45 A

Max Plate Voltage165 V

Pa max3.7 W

Gain Factor6

gm4.2 mA/V

rp15.0 kΩ

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk6.5 pF

Cgp0.2 pF

Cpk7.5 pF

Pinout8-pin Submini (flying leads)

Era1955

RarityModerate

HEATER6.3V / 0.45A

MAX PLATE165V / 3.7W

BASEsubmini-8

Source datasheets

6 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for 5902

6 verified

Triode-connectedSylvania Electric ProductsFEBRUARY 1957 (Page 1 of 12)

Specs when the screen grid (g2) is tied to the anode — the tube acts as a triode.

0.47

According to Sylvania Electric Products (Radio Tube Division, Emporium PA) — engineering data service (FEBRUARY 1957 (Page 1 of 12)): « Triode-connected »

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The 5902 is a indirectly-heated pentode from Sylvania·RCA, introduced around 1955. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 6 with 15.0kΩ plate resistance. Commonly used in power (output) applications. Sylvania subminiature beam-power tetrode for aerospace / missile guidance, 1950s-60s. Flying-lead 8-pin (no socket — leads soldered directly). Small-signal output stage, NOT a preamp tube; NOT equivalent to 6AS6.

APPLICATIONS

Voltage amplifier

Generic pentode power (output) stage

HISTORY

Introduced1955ManufacturerSylvania·RCA

Golden Age

5902 Datasheet

Local mirror · PDF

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METRIX TESTER

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