Good evening to all
I recently bought the L3-3 off ebay username: sunnygirl505
Item number: 300918041965
I chose to buy from this seller because it indicates that it is new, calibrated and fully functional condition!
After reaching the tester the first picture was beautiful outside box was flawless! In potentiometers were some oxidation but did not bother. The cards look new and the manual! Additional tubes not look new and some had black marks! I opened the fuse holder which selects and the supply voltage and found that fuse had placed three wires! I put it back in place.
I put the cable to the mains and switch on to heat as described in instructions. The tester after a bit faded .. I opened the safety and found that it had blown. I replaced the fuse reopened the switch and after a few seconds again burned.
I contacted the seller and told me that tester was double tested before shipping and this must be some problem in transit!
Externally as I said was excellent with no sign! I turned to see and internally. I found that there was no sign to indicate that something is shorted.
I contacted the seller again and after inform that nothing happened on the transfer request one of three
1. To refund me 250 euro for repair
2. To send it back and send me another one in full working condition + the cost I would pay to return
3. To send it back and refund me all the money I paid + the cost I would pay to return
He replied that because the high cost 150-200 euros returned, better to have it repaired but can not give me so much because the repair costs 20-30 dollars in her country and reaches 80-90 dollars in other countries.
I contact a professional technician who proceeded to diagnosis. Found many small problems (burned resistors) but the main thing is that the primary of the transformer is shorted! The cost would be at least 250 euro!!
Again I contacted the seller and informed diagnosis and demand
1. To refund me 250 euro for repair
2. I send it back and refund me all the money I paid + the cost I would pay to return
She told me to send it back and she will make a refund in accordance with the rules of ebay!
I find it unfair that happens, she sent me something that does not match the description and she wants me to pay with the cost of shipping.
Can someone help me please; What do you suggest me?
Thanks
Alexander
I recently bought the L3-3 off ebay username: sunnygirl505
Item number: 300918041965
I chose to buy from this seller because it indicates that it is new, calibrated and fully functional condition!
After reaching the tester the first picture was beautiful outside box was flawless! In potentiometers were some oxidation but did not bother. The cards look new and the manual! Additional tubes not look new and some had black marks! I opened the fuse holder which selects and the supply voltage and found that fuse had placed three wires! I put it back in place.
I put the cable to the mains and switch on to heat as described in instructions. The tester after a bit faded .. I opened the safety and found that it had blown. I replaced the fuse reopened the switch and after a few seconds again burned.
I contacted the seller and told me that tester was double tested before shipping and this must be some problem in transit!
Externally as I said was excellent with no sign! I turned to see and internally. I found that there was no sign to indicate that something is shorted.
I contacted the seller again and after inform that nothing happened on the transfer request one of three
1. To refund me 250 euro for repair
2. To send it back and send me another one in full working condition + the cost I would pay to return
3. To send it back and refund me all the money I paid + the cost I would pay to return
He replied that because the high cost 150-200 euros returned, better to have it repaired but can not give me so much because the repair costs 20-30 dollars in her country and reaches 80-90 dollars in other countries.
I contact a professional technician who proceeded to diagnosis. Found many small problems (burned resistors) but the main thing is that the primary of the transformer is shorted! The cost would be at least 250 euro!!
Again I contacted the seller and informed diagnosis and demand
1. To refund me 250 euro for repair
2. I send it back and refund me all the money I paid + the cost I would pay to return
She told me to send it back and she will make a refund in accordance with the rules of ebay!
I find it unfair that happens, she sent me something that does not match the description and she wants me to pay with the cost of shipping.
Can someone help me please; What do you suggest me?
Thanks
Alexander
Yes Paypal should get you a complete refund.
Provided you used Paypal for payment. Also save the email exchange about the item. I got a complete refund on a non-working preamp. Don't leave any feedback till this is resolved.... The down side of Ebay........
Provided you used Paypal for payment. Also save the email exchange about the item. I got a complete refund on a non-working preamp. Don't leave any feedback till this is resolved.... The down side of Ebay........
What voltage you have in your power outlet? L3-3 can be configured for 127V, and if you connect it to 220V, sure there will be burn out
There are many L1-3 and L3-3 passed through my hands, but I never encountered problems with power transformer.
There are many L1-3 and L3-3 passed through my hands, but I never encountered problems with power transformer.
I can do this. Ebay and Paypal will tell me send it back and seller will give you the money you paid, but not the carrier who I will pay, or not;
I think is unfair to pay 150-200 euros from the moment I received something that is not as described!
I have 230V. manual say 220+-22. This fuse does not leave you to make mistakes....
the tester came to me with three wires as a fuse isn't this suspicious?
primary shows 2,1 ohm only.Is possible the main is good and something else is wrong?
I'm currently have several L3-3 testers. Primary is 2.8 Ohm on one and 3.4 Ohm on another. By R(DC) your seem to be OK, but it doesn't mean there are no primary shorts.
Please note - fuse holder acts as input voltage switcher !!!
So you need to take real fuse, and insert fuse holder with 220V pointing to the bottom if you have 220V power line.
Its quite possible one of the electrolytes or diodes in power supply gone south, and simply created short on secondary. Again, broken power transformer is quite unusual for L3-3, Rewinding/repair is possible, but due to enormous number of windings it will be quite time consuming and expensive.
PS. I think seller checked one L3-3, and sold the rest of the stock as is. You bough it from a surplus e-bay seller, not professional electronic specialist, so all surprises are possible.
Depending upon your location, it may be worth to take anything you can from ebay seller, and try to repair it.
Please note - fuse holder acts as input voltage switcher !!!
So you need to take real fuse, and insert fuse holder with 220V pointing to the bottom if you have 220V power line.
Its quite possible one of the electrolytes or diodes in power supply gone south, and simply created short on secondary. Again, broken power transformer is quite unusual for L3-3, Rewinding/repair is possible, but due to enormous number of windings it will be quite time consuming and expensive.
PS. I think seller checked one L3-3, and sold the rest of the stock as is. You bough it from a surplus e-bay seller, not professional electronic specialist, so all surprises are possible.
Depending upon your location, it may be worth to take anything you can from ebay seller, and try to repair it.
There are several occasions which will lead to the burnout of resistors for sure.
Please check short user manual on my blog:
L1-3/L3-3 Vacuum Tube/Valve Tester User Manual | MacGuru HQ
Anyway, disconnect wires from power transformer leading to high voltage stabilizers, or at least take away tubes L1, L2, L8, L16 from them. Then insert new fuse and try again. If fuse stays alive, power transformer probably is OK.
Please check short user manual on my blog:
L1-3/L3-3 Vacuum Tube/Valve Tester User Manual | MacGuru HQ
Anyway, disconnect wires from power transformer leading to high voltage stabilizers, or at least take away tubes L1, L2, L8, L16 from them. Then insert new fuse and try again. If fuse stays alive, power transformer probably is OK.
I'm quite agree with LinuksGuru, my experience with L3-3 is that even when the machine is brand new, of the electrolytic caps are already bad and need to replace, so it might be the cause for your issue here.
And yes, the voltage selector at the fuse holder can be a trap, in my case I cut off the 127/115V and leave only the 220V line to avoid mistake.
And yes, the voltage selector at the fuse holder can be a trap, in my case I cut off the 127/115V and leave only the 220V line to avoid mistake.
This test has already done by professional technician and then concluded that the problem is the transformer
What i will do now;
Seller does not cover my repair costs are approximately 250 euro. Told me to send it back and she will return the money I gave ($ 780) but not cover the cost to send it back 150-200 euro.
What do you suggest me?
If you are sure that transformer is faulty better to send it back. Transformer is repairable, but it has so much windings (just look at the schematic), so I don't know what the final price could be.
You can check DPD, they can deliver goods for around 50 Euro across European Union borders weighting up to 30 kg. L3-3 with packing is about 26 kg.
Another option is DHL ground, but I'm not sure you can get a good price without having corporate account, you have to call local office. We usually using DHL to send goods in EU weighting 250 - 800 kg.
Take care about strong packing, in very rigid cartoon box, with foam and bubble-wrap. Even if you have shipping insurance, and are private person, you will get NOTHING if goods are damaged.
When buying such equipment next time, ask seller to shoot a video of particular unit for sale, showing its really works with any tube, and post on youtube. It can be done with dirty cheap digital camera or mobile phone within 20 -25 minutes.
Also, since it is quite old, and get very very hot, reliability could be an issue. I have 2 units, one already needed repair after few months of usage, since micrometer can't be fixed anymore at highest point. L1-3 is more difficult to repair compared to L3-3. Normal market price is 300 - 380 Euro for L3-3, 200 - 250 Euro for L1-3 in a good, working condition.
Any claim that it is "new and unused" is a misleading statement to say at least. You should have ebay/paypal claim filled, stating misleading description, result of your inspection, otherwise it could be very problematic to get a full refund.
You can check DPD, they can deliver goods for around 50 Euro across European Union borders weighting up to 30 kg. L3-3 with packing is about 26 kg.
Another option is DHL ground, but I'm not sure you can get a good price without having corporate account, you have to call local office. We usually using DHL to send goods in EU weighting 250 - 800 kg.
Take care about strong packing, in very rigid cartoon box, with foam and bubble-wrap. Even if you have shipping insurance, and are private person, you will get NOTHING if goods are damaged.
When buying such equipment next time, ask seller to shoot a video of particular unit for sale, showing its really works with any tube, and post on youtube. It can be done with dirty cheap digital camera or mobile phone within 20 -25 minutes.
Also, since it is quite old, and get very very hot, reliability could be an issue. I have 2 units, one already needed repair after few months of usage, since micrometer can't be fixed anymore at highest point. L1-3 is more difficult to repair compared to L3-3. Normal market price is 300 - 380 Euro for L3-3, 200 - 250 Euro for L1-3 in a good, working condition.
Any claim that it is "new and unused" is a misleading statement to say at least. You should have ebay/paypal claim filled, stating misleading description, result of your inspection, otherwise it could be very problematic to get a full refund.
After many futile attempts to find a solution with the seller, I decide to open a case.
Ebay asked me to send pictures showing the problem.
After a few days informed me that the case is in my favor and I will get a full refund (excluding postage to send it back) provided that I'll send it back.
The seller sent me a message if I still interested to give me 250 euros to repair it.
After a while without having done something became a full refund and the case was closed!
Τhank you for helping!
Ebay asked me to send pictures showing the problem.
After a few days informed me that the case is in my favor and I will get a full refund (excluding postage to send it back) provided that I'll send it back.
The seller sent me a message if I still interested to give me 250 euros to repair it.
After a while without having done something became a full refund and the case was closed!
Τhank you for helping!
Hi Everyone,
I hope I grab attention of one of the L3-3 valve tester experts out there.
I purchased a claimed "NOS" L3-3 from "any-devices" eBay seller. It seems like I'm not the first one struggling with it. Anyway, the tester is complete with all the cards and connectors.
The tester arrived safely yesterday. I follower the instructions to warm it up (I live in the UK), I connected the ground pin to the mains ground on the plug and left it for 40min running. I can adjust 250V, Us and grid (Ug) but can't measure Ua. At some point I had an intermittent measure when pressing the measure button. I suspect it may be the button and the contacts?
I opened the tester and cleaned up the 8 contacts from the measurement (left) button. I didn't want to reverse the button as suggested by Jacmusic as I want to isolate first where the issue is.
As a basic setup I connected pins as follows:
20/I (US range at 300V)
26/I (UA range at 300V)
1/I (grid at -65V range)
However when I measure with the voltmeter the anode voltage on 12/II (shunt pin of the Ua stabiliser circuit) I can measure voltage range from couple of volts to 500V. I'd expect the regulation circuit to limit the output voltage.
Still, the meter doesn't work on "Ua" position.
I suspect is either the Ua stabilise circuit (VL1, VL2 and VL4) or the rotary switch. The latter scares me a bit to dismantle it given the amount of connections!
I will test all the tester valves independently first and measure voltages around the stabiliser circuit as first step.
Any suggestion on how to trouble shoot this are welcomed!
Cheers
Ale
I hope I grab attention of one of the L3-3 valve tester experts out there.
I purchased a claimed "NOS" L3-3 from "any-devices" eBay seller. It seems like I'm not the first one struggling with it. Anyway, the tester is complete with all the cards and connectors.
The tester arrived safely yesterday. I follower the instructions to warm it up (I live in the UK), I connected the ground pin to the mains ground on the plug and left it for 40min running. I can adjust 250V, Us and grid (Ug) but can't measure Ua. At some point I had an intermittent measure when pressing the measure button. I suspect it may be the button and the contacts?
I opened the tester and cleaned up the 8 contacts from the measurement (left) button. I didn't want to reverse the button as suggested by Jacmusic as I want to isolate first where the issue is.
As a basic setup I connected pins as follows:
20/I (US range at 300V)
26/I (UA range at 300V)
1/I (grid at -65V range)
However when I measure with the voltmeter the anode voltage on 12/II (shunt pin of the Ua stabiliser circuit) I can measure voltage range from couple of volts to 500V. I'd expect the regulation circuit to limit the output voltage.
Still, the meter doesn't work on "Ua" position.
I suspect is either the Ua stabilise circuit (VL1, VL2 and VL4) or the rotary switch. The latter scares me a bit to dismantle it given the amount of connections!
I will test all the tester valves independently first and measure voltages around the stabiliser circuit as first step.
Any suggestion on how to trouble shoot this are welcomed!
Cheers
Ale
I changed the pots for Ua, Ug2 and Ug1 (x2). The latter 2 pots being 10T. I can get Ug1 to work fine.
The reference 250V is working well. I measured all the valves and found a couple of 6J3P tetrodes to measure low. I changed them for spare ones which measured about 65%.
The anode voltage spans from 120V to 500V. Definitely there is an issue with the rotary switch as I can measure Ua and Ug2 from the pins, but Ua isn't displaying at all.
I'm not very keen to dismantle the rotary switch to see where the Ua isn't connecting properly, too many cables!!
I will measure the Ua regulation circuit next....
Any advice?
thanks
Ale
The reference 250V is working well. I measured all the valves and found a couple of 6J3P tetrodes to measure low. I changed them for spare ones which measured about 65%.
The anode voltage spans from 120V to 500V. Definitely there is an issue with the rotary switch as I can measure Ua and Ug2 from the pins, but Ua isn't displaying at all.
I'm not very keen to dismantle the rotary switch to see where the Ua isn't connecting properly, too many cables!!
I will measure the Ua regulation circuit next....
Any advice?
thanks
Ale
I checked all the voltages across the regulator valves as per the manual instructions. Everything ok within the tolerance levels.
I can get to read Ug2 and the Ug2 is present on the 4mm connector for valves with top screen pins. However, the Ua can't be read or isn't present on the anode 4mm connector.
I suspect I will have to remove the 5 wafer rotary switch and dismantle it for cleaning. Anyone has done this before and can suggest best way for doing this task?
Thanks
Ale
I can get to read Ug2 and the Ug2 is present on the 4mm connector for valves with top screen pins. However, the Ua can't be read or isn't present on the anode 4mm connector.
I suspect I will have to remove the 5 wafer rotary switch and dismantle it for cleaning. Anyone has done this before and can suggest best way for doing this task?
Thanks
Ale
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