[Boatanchors] newbie question

[Bill Cromwell]

On 06/29/2013 08:44 PM, Preston Clark wrote:
> This has probably been asked before  what kind of tools do you need to
> start working on boatanchors  and how do  you buy a tube tester are they
> radio specific or what thanks
>
> Preston
>
Hi,

Sounds like a smart alec comment but get a hand truck/dolly like the 
people who move furniture use. Maybe a small shop crane. And a *sturdy* 
workbench.

I have a VTVM, HF and VHF signal generators (actually down to 100 kc), a 
scope (but you can get by for a while without one (maybe forever). A 
soldering gun and a smaller soldering iron. Don't forget about a place 
to keep the manuals out of harms way. A filing cabinet. Other people 
will start filling in holes I have left.

How old are you? More to the point..how is your eyesight? Tube testers 
are good for a little bit. Buy them on eBay or some of the lists or at 
hamfests. They are specific to tubes - not radios. You can count on them 
to find gross failures but the best tube test is substitution in the 
actual circuit. Some tubes will work in some applications and not in others.

73,

Bill  KU8H