Any one could help me in this!
There is one 123B tube tester for sale locally. What should I need to look for and how much should I offer?
Thank so much for your help!
There is one 123B tube tester for sale locally. What should I need to look for and how much should I offer?
Thank so much for your help!
The Hickok 123 series are cardmatic type tube testers. Assuming it is in good working condition, the cards are the most important thing. Check to see if the common tube numbers used for audio are there. Remember that some tubes can be tested as other numbers. (KT88=6550, KT66=6L6GC, EL34=6CA7 etc.) Also check the condition of the cards themselves. The older ones were fiber cards and tend to crack with age. Newer ones are plastic and thinner. The type 123 cards, 1234, the military USM-118, and a few others are all interchangable. However, the Hickok 121 cardmatic is not! These cards will not work in any other tester and vise versa
How much it is worth is hard to say sight unseen and functionality unknown. It all depends on condition and how many cards come with it. Without cards, I'd stay away since a full set of cards is virtually impossible to find and expensive if you could. A few oddball collections sometimes show up on eBay. With a reasonable amount of cards and in good working condition perhaps $150-250. As a buyer, start lower. You can always go up. Bring a few known good tubes to test if you can. If it doesn't work be very careful. It could be just dirty/sticky switch pins. Also a loose or bad lamp (or tube) inside. Or it could be serious like a transformer or meter that's bad.
These's information on the web about these testers like here and here. I think the 123B version has the modular socket plug-in assembly like the USM-118. I mostly use my USM-118B because it's fast with no knob twisting. Good luck.
How much it is worth is hard to say sight unseen and functionality unknown. It all depends on condition and how many cards come with it. Without cards, I'd stay away since a full set of cards is virtually impossible to find and expensive if you could. A few oddball collections sometimes show up on eBay. With a reasonable amount of cards and in good working condition perhaps $150-250. As a buyer, start lower. You can always go up. Bring a few known good tubes to test if you can. If it doesn't work be very careful. It could be just dirty/sticky switch pins. Also a loose or bad lamp (or tube) inside. Or it could be serious like a transformer or meter that's bad.
These's information on the web about these testers like here and here. I think the 123B version has the modular socket plug-in assembly like the USM-118. I mostly use my USM-118B because it's fast with no knob twisting. Good luck.
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