[who?me?]

HI everyone,

I have a Triplett 3444 tube tester from 1962 that is not working as I expected or as I wanted ! 
I have been following the Triplett instructions straight from the original manual that I downloaded.

1. The power comes on, lights in the meter and roll chart work ok.
2. The Line Test is fine.
3. But then the Gm test does not swing the meter dial all the way to the right “full scale”.I push and turn the Gm knob as instructed.

I started cutting out the big yellow caps to replace them, but that is about the extent of my technical skills. Im reading more and more about the problems with the 3444 restoration, so Im gonna need some help doing this. 

I have spent hours on the net looking for a guide or forum to help me restore this 3444. I have not found any guides, just bits and pieces in forums by more experienced technicians than myself (& that's not good

Any suggestions? Know anyone else with a 3444?

thank you!

[FullRangeMan]

If there is no visible damaged part this not a easy task, tube testers are more complicated than the tube amps or the tubes they tests. Maybe you would contact this man, he used to sell a tube tester some years ago:
https://www.transcendentsound.com/contact.html

[Scott F.]

Who

I've got a Triplett 3423. It's proven to be a good tester over the years. Although I try and tackle repairs myself, your repair is not something I'd try and do myself. I'd suggest sending it off to somebody that knows all of the ins and outs of tester repairs.

I've not dealt with this guy but he seems to know what he is doing, at least on the surface.
http://www.alltubetesters.com/repair.htm
There are more like him out there. They range from simple repairs to full on mods to make the Triplett a Lab Grade tester. For mine, it may have a little drift and results may be +/-5% to 10% buts that's OK since I don't resell tubes.
Good luck!

[mgalusha]

In your other post it mentioned a selenium rectifier, that almost certainly needs to be replaced but using a standard diode will result in higher voltage, the drop across the diode is lower than the original rectifier and you will likely need to add a resistor after it or perhaps a zener diode to simulate the original drop.

I don't know if this has rectifier tubes inside like some of the Hikock's but if so, it's quite possible those will be bad. If you have the service manual it should have test points and voltages listed, I would start with that. Of course that is only if you're very comfortable poking around in high voltage gear, not something to be taken lightly. Sad to say, but if you have to pay someone to troubleshoot and repair this, it will likely cost more than it's worth.