Tube Testers...What to buy?

starkiller · « **on:** 6 Aug 2009, 10:45 pm »

ok, say a newbie (me) wants to get into the fun-filled days and nights of tube-testing. what should I start with? Needs to be easy to understand, yet good enough to ensure accuracy of the results. with the addition of a tube tuner to my hybrid amp and preamp i would like to maybe do some tube rolling in the future and would love to check out tubes myself.

mike1964 · « **Reply #1 on:** 7 Aug 2009, 12:28 am »

I don't know that there is one (at a realistic price) that could be recommended.
Read JC Morrison's post about tube testers, it is very interesting:
http://mailman.io.com/pipermail/sound/2009-July/017852.html
He is a very talented designer and has also worked in the industry, so he knows his stuff.

JoshK · « **Reply #2 on:** 7 Aug 2009, 12:36 am »

I have a Hickok 539C that I find really easy to use. It doesn't need a data manual to set the parameters like my other Hickok 7something. They aren't cheap nowadays.

The prices of good tube testers on ebay has gotten to the point where I'd plunk down the money for a tube tracer instead, but then you'd need to know how and what to use those for.

If you can't find a good tube tester for <$300 then this starts looking like a better option IMHO. It does more than a typical tube tester. Much more informative....but you have to build it or get someone to do it for you.

JakeJ · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 Aug 2009, 12:54 am »

Hi Starkiller,

Here is a link to Roger Kennedy's primer. I highly recommend him for service and restoration of a tester should you get one.

Really wouldn't hurt to read all of his technical articles as they are pretty informative and written for the average joe.

Good luck in your search.

JakeJ

ltr317 · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Aug 2009, 01:02 am »

Quote from: JakeJ on 7 Aug 2009, 12:54 am

Hi Starkiller,

Here is a link to Roger Kennedy's primer. I highly recommend him for service and restoration of a tester should you get one.

Really wouldn't hurt to read all of his technical articles as they are pretty informative and written for the average joe.

Good luck in your search.

JakeJ

Roger does good work, but he's been on and off sick for a while. He's backup with testers waiting to be repaired.

richidoo · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 Aug 2009, 01:23 am »

http://www.transcendentsound.com/tube_analyzer.htm

ltr317 · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Aug 2009, 01:31 am »

Quote from: richidoo on 7 Aug 2009, 01:23 am

http://www.transcendentsound.com/tube_analyzer.htm

That's a sweet looking unit!

Beats the 7 vintage testers that I have in the looks department.

richidoo · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 Aug 2009, 02:06 am »

Yeah, I'm tempted to build one. Bruce's stuff is quite well designed.

SET Man · « **Reply #8 on:** 7 Aug 2009, 04:01 am »

Quote from: richidoo on 7 Aug 2009, 01:23 am

http://www.transcendentsound.com/tube_analyzer.htm

Hey!

That's looks great.

I do have the Hickok 6000. But look like Roger Kennedy is not a fan of. Well, it works fine so far.

Hmmm.... maybe I should dump my Hickok 6000 and build myself the Transcendent... wonder how much my Hickok 6000 worth now on eBay

Take care,
Buddy

bunnyma357 · « **Reply #9 on:** 7 Aug 2009, 04:19 am »

I have a Jackson 648 that I like. I mainly use it to weed out bad tubes and find tubes that seem to have similar characteristics. Nothing too fancy, but it has allowed me to find some decent tubes from really cheap lots of used tubes on eBay.

Not as capable as some of the others, but also relatively cheap.

http://www.tone-lizard.com/Jackson648.html

Jim C

Listens2tubes · « **Reply #10 on:** 7 Aug 2009, 02:49 pm »

Tone Lizard is a great resource.

For an easy to use/calibrate tester I'd go with a B&K 700 or 707. These are mutual conductance testers that will test most tubes and are plentiful. Enjoy.

JohnR · « **Reply #11 on:** 8 Aug 2009, 06:15 am »

I have a TV-7. Personally, I rather like it, it's a lot more compact and portable than the 539s, for example. I ended up with it after two 539's and a B&K 747 that didn't work. Vintage tube testers are complicated beasts - I would say the most important criteria if you are looking at this type of tester would be is it guaranteed to work when you receive it? (seriously)

The caveats and cautions above (and in the links) about operating points is worth noting. For power tubes, you may have to design and build your own tester if you really want to replicate actual operating conditions - the Transcendent unit, for example, is limited to 300V plate voltage, far below the typical operating point for EL34/KT88 amps. A test circuit for a single tube type is not that complicated - it's the switching needed to deal with hundreds of different tube types that makes off-the-shelf testers so complex.

That is not to say that testers are not useful, just be realistic about what they indicate.

Oh - you should also be aware that making a mistake with the switch settings on a tester can destroy a tube. (Been there, done that...) Use care at all times!

richidoo · « **Reply #12 on:** 8 Aug 2009, 04:27 pm »

Great tip John, thanks. I didn't know about that limitation. I once had problems with JJs that couldn't handle 500V plates, so that tester would not have helped me. Transcendent amps run tubes very easy.

SET Man · « **Reply #13 on:** 8 Aug 2009, 09:46 pm »

Hey!

Good point JohnR.

I bought my tester mainly just to make sure that the tubes are not shorted before I put them in my system. Of course be able to match them and measure them also a plus.

Take care,
Buddy

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #14 on:** 8 Aug 2009, 10:11 pm »

JohnR is right, as usual. Roger Modjeski has written extensively about this. Here is a link to these articles:

http://www.tubeaudiostore.com/tubin1.html

He basically considers all transconductance testers to be worthless since they don't test at real world voltages. So he built his own! Very informative articles.