[MRCA] Mystery Project PVC

[Ray Fantini]

If you are willing to build adapters just about any of the big tube testers will work. On my old OQ-3 that’s basically a Weston 788 it has a 7 pin socket for testing the newest at the time it was built seven pin tubes but there is no nine pin socket. The way the old Weston was built they had a top section with around eight or nine different sockets for things like eight pin, locktall and a assortment of weird primitive tubes that goes to a patch panel and on the tube tester body itself are a row of plugs to connect to the heaters, cathodes, grids and plate with all the sockets wired in together so that pin 1 is pin 1 on everything.
So if you build up an external box or socket you can in theory test any tube. That is as long as you have a good example to calibrate the tester. I find it more valuable to be able to check the old style one or two big pin tubes or the octal then to be able to do the more modern stuff.
Back years ago when I use to work on TV sets a tube tester was a must, used it all the time. Now days find that about the only time I use on is to confirm if a tube is good or not and not have seen that many failures of tubes in military stuff. When we use to have tubes in broadcasting back ten twenty years ago only had tubes in high power applications and you would be able to tell by its operation when a tube was wearing out but never saw a tester for high power tubes and would be leery of one if such existed.

%ay F/KA3EKH



From: J Mcvey <ac2eu at yahoo.com>
Sent: Monday, March 29, 2021 10:44 AM
To: B. Smith <smithab11 at comcast.net>; mrca at mailman.qth.net; Ray Fantini <RAFANTINI at salisbury.edu>
Subject: Re: [MRCA] Mystery Project PVC



Is it correct that the TV-7 and TV-10 can also test the 12 pin compactron tubes with an adapter?
I've been looking for a tester that will do those types, The hicock 6000A appears to be a good choice as well, albeit a "civilian model".
On Monday, March 29, 2021, 9:24:34 AM EDT, Ray Fantini <rafantini at salisbury.edu<mailto:rafantini at salisbury.edu>> wrote:



The Navy MX1258 kit  has an adapter that works with the 1625 along with adapters for big tubes like the 813 or 803 along with the regular seven, nine and eight pin tubes, thought everyone had one of them being they were quite common at Ham Fest ten years or so back.  From what I remember I think I paid around $10 for the one I have that came with all the adopters and case but not the book.  Just looked on eBay and they are apparently selling for stupid money today with the only ratted out one on eBay now asking like $139.00 and a quick search of the web showing nice looking examples selling for over $200.00

Over the years I have built up a good collection of the small Navy test sets including the 1625 Adapter Test Set, the PRM-10 Grid Dip meter, PSM-1 Megger, URM-25 Signal Generator, ME-9 Multimeter and a OS-8 Scope. The Navy produced a whole fleet of small portable test equipment that can be used on a number of jobs around the shop, that’s in addition to the larger regular test sets and test equipment.

I have a lot of the larger stuff too, like my TV-10 tube tester or the very old but very functional OQ-3 that’s maybe one of the hardest tube testers to use along with newer stuff like the SG-376 Two tone generator for SSB work but the line of small multipurpose gray case test equipment is always a go to when working on vacuum tube equipment.

The AN/USM-3 Test Tool Set always looked like a fun package, tube tester, signal generator and tracer, hand tools and sub box. There is nothing I would need it for or use it other then the wow factor of owing one. Have to wonder how and where they were assigned by the Navy and interesting to see that no other branch of the military never did near the amount of small general use test equipment.



Ray F/KA3EKH


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