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Post by RickJames on Mar 25, 2022 6:47:29 GMT -7
Could this be a good tool for testing tubes as I locate them. It would good to know backup tubes are truly matched sets and functionally sound as well. Maybe Doc can weigh in , time permitting of course.
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Post by RickJames on Mar 25, 2022 12:35:30 GMT -7
Anyone with a thought on this device could be helpful.
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Post by loucardguitar (Johnathan) on Mar 25, 2022 13:19:46 GMT -7
Anyone with a thought on this device could be helpful. I'm honestly not too familiar with it but from what I've seen, it seems to be more of a biasing tool for power tubes than a true tube tester. Could be wrong though.
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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on Mar 25, 2022 14:29:45 GMT -7
The description says “It can also be used with an audio oscillator to test your tubes through the full range of power levels so you can find out if your tubes are really matched.”
Alone it’s a bias meter - I’ve used a cheaper set that you use with your own multimeter to set the bias on my Z28.
I don’t know what an audio oscillator costs and whether you’d end up with a true “tube tester” or not.
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Post by smolder on Mar 25, 2022 15:43:53 GMT -7
It will (with a working amp) help you to match power tubes, but it won’t check for emissions or transconductance… nor will it tell you anything about preamp tubes.
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Post by zpilot on Mar 27, 2022 15:39:47 GMT -7
It will (with a working amp) help you to match power tubes, but it won’t check for emissions or transconductance… nor will it tell you anything about preamp tubes. Nor does it appear that it will measure 9-pin power tubes such as an EL84 with the sockets provided. There are, or at least have been, several similar devices like this sold. Eurotubes has a nice one. These are not really tube testers as much as they are meant to be a tool for measuring plate current dissipation.
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Post by RickJames on Mar 27, 2022 16:44:32 GMT -7
It will (with a working amp) help you to match power tubes, but it won’t check for emissions or transconductance… nor will it tell you anything about preamp tubes. Nor does it appear that it will measure 9-pin power tubes such as an EL84 with the sockets provided. There are, or at least have been, several similar devices like this sold. Eurotubes has a nice one. These are not really tube testers as much as they are meant to be a tool for measuring plate current dissipation. Sounds like a tool for a technician, and that not me………thanks much for the info. They can put a man on the moon, but I can’t find an affordable tube tester … lol
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Post by driventone on Mar 28, 2022 16:44:03 GMT -7
I’ve been looking for a tube tester too, and I keep running across this. I have an old “Dual Bias Tester” from a company that’s not around anymore, it’s almost the same thing. Basically a resistor in line with pin 3 (I think?) that makes mA equal to mV, so you can set your multimeter to mV, and see the plate current on each tube.
The VHT (along with my bias meter) is really more of a bias adjustment tool than a tube tester. A tube tester should be able to tell you if a tube is good without having to put it in an amp. And how about shorts? Shouldn’t a tube tester be able to tell you that a tube will fry your transformer, or at minimum blow a fuse, if you put it in your amp? With the VHT, you would have no idea unless you manually tested for shorts across pins with a multimeter.
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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on Mar 28, 2022 17:06:54 GMT -7
Lord … I’m old enough to remember when they had tube testers in drug stores. 😔
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Mar 28, 2022 17:15:35 GMT -7
I have the VHT bias meter. It’s the best built unit out there and great for a quick bias check when you already know the plate voltage (written down somewhere) and don’t have time for a more accurate method such as shunt. Just read the owners manual to try and figure out why it’s called a tube tester now. It’s still just a meter that reads mA.
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Post by RickJames on Mar 28, 2022 18:32:28 GMT -7
Lord … I’m old enough to remember when they had tube testers in drug stores. 😔 Me too, not mention the TV repair man that came to our house. Tons of the weirdest tube ever.
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Post by zpilot on Mar 29, 2022 12:52:55 GMT -7
Lord … I’m old enough to remember when they had tube testers in drug stores. 😔 Me too, not mention the TV repair man that came to our house. Tons of the weirdest tube ever. I have a couple of those tube cases that repairmen used to carry and that is where I store my tube stock. One is labeled Philco and the other Tung-Sol. Customers love it when I bring them out and it gives the impression that I am an "old tube guy", which I guess I am now. They really like it when I break out my REAL tube tester. A Triplett 3423.
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Post by nicholas on Apr 2, 2022 7:22:05 GMT -7
I was looking for a tube tester also. Something simple to use. I primarily want to find a way to test all my preamp tubes and label regarding gain and if they are balanced or not. I have a bunch of preamp tubes 60+. Some were bought balanced, some not, some high gain, some not. Unfortunately I never marked the tubes themselves and over the years they've ended up in non original boxes, so I don't know what's what. I have about a dozen NOS RFT 12AX7's that I'd like to sort also. I did see an Orange Amps tube tester back when I was shopping. Close, but not quite. I don't believe it's made anymore anyway.
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