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What Tube tester would be best to buy - Printable Version

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What Tube tester would be best to buy - nortonz - 10-16-2019

I’m looking for a tube tester that works, without spending an arm and a leg for it. Also what would be the best one to look for? Especially for older Philco radios.

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - Phlogiston - 10-31-2019

Hickok 533. All of the good at a better price than a TV-7.

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - Simon Wa3uay - 11-02-2019

I use an I-177 made for the signal corps for WW2; found it locally and had it calibrated all for about 200. Works great!

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - nortonz - 11-07-2019

Ok I bought a Jackson 648s for $236. So far it is working great. Going through my Philco 41-295x I found 5 bad tubes, I have them on order, so hopefully it will work now.

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - LarryFS - 11-08-2019

Good choice!  I like my 648S.  There is a Jackson Model 648 tube tester manual that can be bought from https://vacuumtubesinc.com/index.php/books/the-jackson-model-648-manual.html for $28.50.  It's a bit pricy but useful.

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - nortonz - 11-08-2019

I found a free updated one on the web, plus a very complete tube substitution manual, it was also free. I can upload it to the Phorum is you need it.

Michael

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - RickC - 11-12-2022

I need a tube tester so I can restore my radios. Should I be considering a utracer3 or something more traditional like a Hickok model?

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - Simon Wa3uay - 11-13-2022

I had not heard of the uTracer; I have an old I-177 that I use for these old tubes...something like that will need to be calibrated, probably

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - Ron Ramirez - 11-13-2022

Personally, I think the tube tester which offers the best bang for the buck is the Heathkit TT-1, with its optional TT-1-A adapter. It is a dynamic mutual conductance tester, and is sometimes overlooked by those who want the Hickok testers.

I picked mine up at an auction of an old radio-TV repair shop in western Kentucky back in the 1980s. In more recent years, I fully recapped it, found the calibration instructions online, and calibrated it.

I consider it to be the best two dollars I ever spent. Icon_biggrin

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - RickC - 11-13-2022

Am I correct that the consensus is a conventional tube tester is preferred to a curve tracer?

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - morzh - 11-13-2022

To repair radios you do not really need a curve tracer. If you are into stereo amps, that might be justified; else a mutual conductance tester is all you need. And some would argue that even that is too much.

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - radiorich - 11-13-2022

Hello nortonz,
My self I use a Precision 920 and a B&K tube tester and some other handy test equpment to have is VTVM plus Signal tracer and Signal generator.
Sincerely Richard

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - Brad Winder - 11-14-2022

If you're in Canada, a Stark 9-66 is one of the best testers built/sold here; Stark used Hickok patents.

RE: What Tube tester would be best to buy - RickC - 11-14-2022

Thank you for the help. Now I know how to proceed.