[R-390] Test Equipment

Sun Feb 15 20:59:28 EST 2009

You can check filaments with an ohm meter....

I find the tube tester useful for finding gassy or shorted tubes out of a 
pile of used tubes that I might pick up as surplus or pulls.  I'd much 
rather find that out with a tube tester than to shove one in a piece of gear 
and chance smoking something.

The transconductance testers will also help rate the emission value as well 
when sorting through a pile of surplus or pulls.  Still doesn't mean the 
tube is useful as it may have mechanical issues that one can't always find 
out about on the tester.

The tube tester prices have been driven up by the tube guitar amp crowd and 
also the tube audio folks...

They have also found a following as collectables.

Cecil....
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David C. Hallam" <dhallam at rapidsys.com>
To: <lester at veenstras.com>
Cc: <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>; "'Pete Williams'" <jupete at bigpond.net.au>
Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2009 5:45 PM
Subject: Re: [R-390] Test Equipment

Tube testers are about the least useful piece of test equipment ever
invented.  I can't understand their popularity or the astronomical
prices they command.  The only bit of truly unambiguous information you
can get from a tube tester is that the filament is burned out.  I don't
think you need a tube tester to find that out.

I was that the Orlando hamfest yesterday and was astounded at the asking
prices for any kind of tube tester.

David
KC2JD/4

Lester Veenstra wrote:
> Not necessarily improvements in the results, but certainly in the ease,
> speed, and reproducibility.  Been there and done that (CTM1) and I have to
> say it was a joy to get do the job with an HP 606 and 5248.
>
> In retrospect, what I would really would like to have had back then would 
> be
> a synthesized sweeper to get the IFs to where they can be and noise source
> to properly characterize sensitivity, rather than the bogus numbers you 
> can
> get by tuning the SigGen to a hot spot (peak) in the IF response.
>
> New rant:
> So yes, you can do good things to an R-390 with a URM-25 and a PSM-4. On 
> the
> other hand you can do bad things with a tv-xx. The only useful tube tester
> you should use, and will ever need, is the R-390. What you get, from a 
> tube
> tester, is meaningless where it is critical, and frequently condemns
> perfectly usable tubes. Instead of spending money on tube ?testers?, you
> should spend it on a collection of spare tubes.
>
>
> Lester B Veenstra  MØYCM K1YCM
> lester at veenstras.com
> m0ycm at veenstras.com
> k1ycm at veenstras.com
>
>
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: r-390-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:r-390-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
> On Behalf Of Pete Williams
> Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2009 12:29 AM
> To: r-390 at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [R-390] Test Equipment
>
> G'day....  well, for goodness sakes guys... belittling a URM-25,56+years
> old, because it doesn't do alinement/tests or whatever to current 
> standards
> pays no respect to history.--Vintaqe.
> Used for R-390's it's perfectly satisfactory-why, you can align a R-390
> using the calibrator if you read the manual and have your druthers about
> you.
> Any noticeable/useable  improvement using later sophisticated  gear is
> fetishism to extreme lengths ---- get real !
> Pete
>
>
>
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