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B4

 
See also:
The Dawn of Broadcasting in the UK - BTH B4 Box - BTH B4 Advert - BTH Range Advert - BTH Range Advert - Which Valve Shall I Buy?
    
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The B4 was the first dull emitter valve from BTH (The British Thomson-Huston Company) and was first introduced in 1923. In 1924 the B6 was released that reduced the filament consumption but offered about the same performance. BTH claim that the B4 was the first 6 Volt valve in the UK to draw only 0.25 A.
The design of the B4 was for an AF amplifier to drive small loudspeakers. These would not be the moving coil devices of today but probably a horn device powered by an oversize earpiece and being wound with a high impedance coil that was wired directly into the anode circuit of the valve.
Thanks to Joe Gruber for sending the images.
The balloon envelope is 48 mm in diameter and, excluding the B4 base pins, is 98 mm tall.
References: Adverts, boxes & 1003. Type B4 was first introduced in 1923. See also 1923 adverts.

 

Pin Connections
B4
1
2
3
4
a
g1
f
f

 

Absolute Maximum Operating Conditions
Triode
Vh
Ah
Va
Vg
mAa
ra
gm
μ
6.0
0.25
120
-4.5
-
6,000
1.1
6.5
Updated July 07, 2021.
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