The PHILCO Phorum

I have a number of tube testers. My workhorse is my Simpson 305...


I have several others, among them a Sylvania type 620 which is my only tester which will test the FM-1000 tube used in the Philco 48-482.


I also use a Superior Instruments TV-11 as a backup...


and also an EICO model 628 as another backup, and a Precision Tube Master Series 10-12 which I have yet to restore.
In this hobby one cannot have enough tube testers. They go along with the hundreds of rubes I have collected over the years, Last year I spent many nights testing a few hundred of them, ones which I had not tested in at least 40 years, if at all. They were ones I took from old sets I scrapped years ago, or bought by the big box full at flea markets years ago. They are now all in proper individual boxes and labeled. I amassed them in the days before the internet when many types were already becoming hard to get, and I wanted to have a supply I could fall back on if needed. Because of that, I now have types like WD-11 and 01A, 26, 27, 35 and so on that are becoming more and more expensive.

I am not an expert in radio repair, and learned most of what little I know from all the folks here over the years. I do this as a casual hobby, so a lot of top end test equipment is not in my possession. Sure, a mutual conductance tester would be nice, but I picked up an old Triplett tube tester at a MARC event a few years back. I replaced caps and resistors in it, and installed a new NE-2 bulb. All in all, I spent maybe $60.00 total. For my purposes it is usually all I need. Take care and BE HEALTHY! Gary