How did it work in terms of the customer? Did they have sufficient knowledge to pop into the TV shop and get a specific tube, or did the TV shop guy or repairman tell them what to get? Or could customers bring all the tubes out of something, test them and then buy new ones if required? Did the shop charge for that?
There would be people lined up the morning before a major football game.
My local K&B drug store had one I used as a kid.
Having more sockets made it easier than most field testers. You just had to look up tube type, choose socket and heater voltage for the most part.
They still has a shorts test aside from emission.
My local K&B drug store had one I used as a kid.
Having more sockets made it easier than most field testers. You just had to look up tube type, choose socket and heater voltage for the most part.
They still has a shorts test aside from emission.
Brochures like this helped customers to figure out what to do. Probably they could ask for some assistance when needed.
I certainly don't remember seeing something like this myself (I was born in 1963). I think that 'Drugstore' tube testers were not so common in Europe as they were in the USA.
I certainly don't remember seeing something like this myself (I was born in 1963). I think that 'Drugstore' tube testers were not so common in Europe as they were in the USA.
In early tube days there used to be "tube engineers" who would come to look at your TV or radio and swap tubes to see if that fixed a problem.
I once fixed our old Black and White TV doing that.
I once fixed our old Black and White TV doing that.
They had one of those in the 7-11 gas station when I was in HS. Most of my friends and I knew how to use it.
We had them in 7-11’s too. Even my stepdad could figure it out. The vertical output in out black and white used to go out all the time. Bright white line right across the center of the picture tube. Usually for a few days or a week it would look pretty distorted than finally no more picture. The tubes were only four bucks but he’d raise a stink about having to spend that.
You periodically brought your tubes into a Radio Shack or drug store and tested them. If one tested bad you bought a new one. The same way people bought new needles for their turntables. You just replaced them every year or whatever.
My cousin had a gadget on his turntable that clocked the number of hours you had used the needle.
The "corner drug store tube tester" was a common fixture in the 50's through the mid 70's. We had two in the Olson's electronics store where I ran the service department in 1971 and 1972. Most Radio Shack's had them too, along with a variety of "Realistic Lifetime" tubes. They were guaranteed for as long as you owned the set you put them into.....YES, I burned through about 3 sets of 6L6GC's in a cranked guitar amp.
Many customers would bring a few tubes to test, a few would have a whole bag, and a few would have one or two. Most customers could run the tester by reading the instructions, some asked for help.
One of my "routines" as a kid was to ride my bicycle to the three local TV repair shops in my vicinity on trash day and rummage through the trash for tubes and other useful stuff. My next stop would be the drug store where I tested all the tubes I got from the trash. Of course the simple emission tester said half or more were good, and many did indeed work in some of my DIY creations.
Occasionally a friends father would take me with him to the trash dump when he cleaned out his wood shop. I would return with a big box full of tubes and other goodies from all the discarded TVs, radios, and HiFi sets. They all got run through the drug store tester.
As seen in the picture the tester had a rack or three of the popular tube types for sale in case someone found a bad one. Some places were known to "rig" their testers to increase sales, so you always tested a new tube before buying it.
Many customers would bring a few tubes to test, a few would have a whole bag, and a few would have one or two. Most customers could run the tester by reading the instructions, some asked for help.
One of my "routines" as a kid was to ride my bicycle to the three local TV repair shops in my vicinity on trash day and rummage through the trash for tubes and other useful stuff. My next stop would be the drug store where I tested all the tubes I got from the trash. Of course the simple emission tester said half or more were good, and many did indeed work in some of my DIY creations.
Occasionally a friends father would take me with him to the trash dump when he cleaned out his wood shop. I would return with a big box full of tubes and other goodies from all the discarded TVs, radios, and HiFi sets. They all got run through the drug store tester.
As seen in the picture the tester had a rack or three of the popular tube types for sale in case someone found a bad one. Some places were known to "rig" their testers to increase sales, so you always tested a new tube before buying it.
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I had a friend at school who was into electronics.
On town bin day we used to go up town during school lunch break and he would go to all the TV shops and hunt through their junk for valves etc.
He would hide anything worth having and pick it up on the way home.
On town bin day we used to go up town during school lunch break and he would go to all the TV shops and hunt through their junk for valves etc.
He would hide anything worth having and pick it up on the way home.
I suppose in some "Bizarro" universe, every CVS and Walgreens still has one of these, but PC powered with a large LCD screen showing all the curves and other relevant data for the tube.
Or the customer could switch mode to display a big red-yellow-green indicator ;')
Or the customer could switch mode to display a big red-yellow-green indicator ;')
Nothing so adventurous (or useful) in the UK, but most towns had a 'radio shop' where a gentleman in a white coat would plug your valves into a Mullard tester for a small fee. They usually stocked a vast array of goodies for building or repairing including many choices of enamel or cotton covered wire for coil winding in various swg's. Memories!
We had a shop called "Radio House" where the gentlemen engineer (ex RAF) worked on radio's and TV's.
I took in a disco sound to light for him to fix and he allowed me to watch him fix it.
We got chatting about music in general and I said valve amps were popular with guitarists (I am one.) He gave me a really old 1930's couple of watts valve amp to play with. The valves were very old and huge bottle types.
I took in a disco sound to light for him to fix and he allowed me to watch him fix it.
We got chatting about music in general and I said valve amps were popular with guitarists (I am one.) He gave me a really old 1930's couple of watts valve amp to play with. The valves were very old and huge bottle types.
I vaguely remember seeing one in Radio Shack in the early 1980s. A friend of mine actually has one of these testers in storage.
One thing rarely mentioned about those old drugstore tube testers. (because it's a secret!)
In some cases, the (helpful) counterperson had a hidden little remote switch, that regardless of the condition of what tube was tested (by the customer), once the switch was activated, it made the tube look BAD.
This promoted sales of new tubes of course.
Sneaky, but profitable.
I bet y'all never knew about that!
In some cases, the (helpful) counterperson had a hidden little remote switch, that regardless of the condition of what tube was tested (by the customer), once the switch was activated, it made the tube look BAD.
This promoted sales of new tubes of course.
Sneaky, but profitable.
I bet y'all never knew about that!
I am fairly sure my local drugstore tube tester was honest. I was able to replace a horizontal output tube and an FM tuner tube and get the desired results.
Other tubes that tested good seemed to be good.
I recall having to get used to adjusting the horizontal hold until you finally got fed up and replaced the tube. A failing tube would have a picture that flipped a bit.
Other tubes that tested good seemed to be good.
I recall having to get used to adjusting the horizontal hold until you finally got fed up and replaced the tube. A failing tube would have a picture that flipped a bit.
When I was 11 (1966) dad would send me on the bike to the drugstore with tubes to test and $10, with the directive... "buy the tube thats bad" and pick up a pack of Camels and the Chicago American (a newspaper). He would just yank 5 or 6 tubes out of the set every time it went bad, intuition. Yes an 11 year old can operate one, and yes if the store knew your dad they'd sell his kid a pack of Camels.