01-04-2022, 09:22 AM
A word from my own point of view. I bought a modern sig gen off eBay, like this one... https://www.ebay.com/itm/114899896592?ha...SwkL1g01mH . It was never very accurate, and crapped out after less than a year of use. I have also bought several different vintage, tube type signal generators, from a Heathkit SG-8....
[Image: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/3mMAAOSwh...-l1600.jpg]
(not mine, but same model...) to an EICO model 324....
[Image: https://64.media.tumblr.com/a5460038db65...867b95.jpg]
The EICO is what I currently use because it is a little more accurate. Both of these old tube type sig gens work fine and reliably once you replace any paper condensers in them, and any electrolytic condensers. The Heathkit is pretty fixed, and is a little less accurate frequency wise, so I had to constantly check it with a good, modern, digital readout radio. I dialed in the EICO which is more adjustable using that method. I find that it now is so accurate that for most alignment work I don't have to double check the frequency.
Neither of these sig gens cost me more than $70. They are perfectly adequate for 99% for the work we do restoring antique radios. About the only thing they lack is a frequency modulated FM frequency band output. There are work arounds for this which can be found in the literature for the Philco 48-482.
So, there you have it. I prefer these old tube type signal generators over the modern Chinese junk.
[Image: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/3mMAAOSwh...-l1600.jpg]
(not mine, but same model...) to an EICO model 324....
[Image: https://64.media.tumblr.com/a5460038db65...867b95.jpg]
The EICO is what I currently use because it is a little more accurate. Both of these old tube type sig gens work fine and reliably once you replace any paper condensers in them, and any electrolytic condensers. The Heathkit is pretty fixed, and is a little less accurate frequency wise, so I had to constantly check it with a good, modern, digital readout radio. I dialed in the EICO which is more adjustable using that method. I find that it now is so accurate that for most alignment work I don't have to double check the frequency.
Neither of these sig gens cost me more than $70. They are perfectly adequate for 99% for the work we do restoring antique radios. About the only thing they lack is a frequency modulated FM frequency band output. There are work arounds for this which can be found in the literature for the Philco 48-482.
So, there you have it. I prefer these old tube type signal generators over the modern Chinese junk.
![[-]](https://philcoradio.com/phorum/images/bootbb/collapse.png "[-]")
