[ARC5] Tube Tester

[match at ece.utah.edu]

On 13 Jul 2009 at 15:47, Michael Tauson wrote:

> On Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 2:21 PM, John
> Hutchins<olegerityincj at austin.rr.com> wrote:
> >  Come on be patient!  I have seen an I-177B that went for ~50$ in the
> > past 6 months on E-place.  You may also need the MX-949/U adapter or you
> > can make the individual adapter sockets.
> 
> I'm being patient.  Sort of.  But I also found someone who has a
> Jackson 648 (Thanks, Carl) who's willing to wait for payment until my
> next pension check arrives.  If an I-177 wanders my way I can get in
> addition (Yeah, I know.  Grabby of me!), I'll have two testers which
> is the arrangement I had on the mainland - an I-177 and something
> civilian I can't remember to handle the modern stuff.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Michael, WH7HG

I'm a little late to this party, but just wanted to comment.

I have more than a half-dozen tube testers, including an I-177, Hickok 539C, 
Hickok 800A, Hickok 6000, Tripplet, another older Hickok, Hickok 799 
Mustang... and a Jackson 648S. All considered good testers.

Each has its advantages, and each has its quirks. the one I use most often is 
the Jackson. I dunno if the Jackson is an emission tester, or mutual 
conductance tester, or something in-between, but I can say that in general 
day-to-day use, the results compare closely with those of my 539C, and I 
trust the results I get from it. If a tube tests good, bad or marginal on the 
Jackson, it always tests good, bad or marginal on the Hickoks, every time 
I've made a comparison.

But, the Jackson is quick and simple to use. Two knobs to set and a handful 
of push-buttons. 

It's actually quicker and easier for me to set up the Jackson for a test than 
the Hickok 799. (the 799 is the one with about 39 sockets, each marked with 
the tube type it's wired for)

Marvin
KA7TPH