Since I had many - and still have some (below) - tube testers, I can chime in a bit... 😉
* The USA Hickock 539C is premium for tube flaws qualification : interelectrodes cuts, shorts, leaks, grid currents... It is of great help to understand problems in defective tube circuits due to tubes. It can match more or less tubes, but it uses a proprietary tube chart in "minimum reject Gm" readings.
* The French Metrix 310CTR is premium for matching tubes. It operates using the official datasheet of the tube manufacturers. It can mesure plate current in mA, under real operating test voltage conditions, measure S and Ri, and possibly trace some curves manually if needed. So it can indeed match tubes in several points to your choice, but it is barely able to qualify tube flaws.
* The USA National Radio Intitute NRI 70 is premium to sort dead or diyng tubes easily and quickly. It is the best for sorting a bunch of tubes : if it says it's dead, it's dead. If it says it's not, or not really, then complementary checks on another instrument must be done to know further.
* The USA SECO GCT-5 is intended to quickly test grid n°1 leaks. I bought it for peanuts. It looks cool, but I still wonder if it is... Usable ! 😀
* The Hickok 600 is intemediary between the Metrix and the 539C. Its proprietary chart is in "average Gm" readings, and I could determinate that when the AVG value is met, then the tube under test has its nominal (bogey) datasheet S value.
As you can see, not all tube testers are equivalent - assuming of course that they are primarily in good condition and suitably calibrated...
Now it's useful to consider the use of the tube tester you intend to have. Concerning me, it's mainly for tube diagnosis when doing repairs / restorations and tube circuit designs. So it is quite different from your requirements...
That's why - considering your needs - I fully agree with what wrote @retailer in his post before, and notably at the end :
That said, I would add a simple and very affordable emission tester with the short and cuts test feature, just for first sorting the dead / dying tube that would harm your testing amp !
T
The Stark 9-66 is like a combination of the left and second from left testers. Probably closest to the Hickok 533.
This is what I normally use, although I have many others. The Canadian military used this tester, made under license from Hickok. Agreed, once tubes pass the tube tester, the final test is in the amplifier under actual operating conditions.
I have many NIB, NOS and used / good tubes. Personally, I'll take a new tube made in the Reflector factory any day of the week. I used to sell tubes when they were new made by Sylvania, GE, Westinghouse and RCA. I've also seen the terrible tubes sold in the 1970's called "Original Equipment" and "El Menco" and a few others. If you see these names, throw them out!
This is what I normally use, although I have many others. The Canadian military used this tester, made under license from Hickok. Agreed, once tubes pass the tube tester, the final test is in the amplifier under actual operating conditions.
I have many NIB, NOS and used / good tubes. Personally, I'll take a new tube made in the Reflector factory any day of the week. I used to sell tubes when they were new made by Sylvania, GE, Westinghouse and RCA. I've also seen the terrible tubes sold in the 1970's called "Original Equipment" and "El Menco" and a few others. If you see these names, throw them out!
The eTracer is what I use and it’s wonderful. You do need to put it together yourself. Chris “may” assemble one for you, not sure what he might charge for this, but if you can wrangle a soldering iron and a screw driver it is pretty straight forward and easy to do. Vs the uTracer, the eTracer can test to higher B+ voltages. I really like the software functionality: “quick test” mode for a fast sort of Gm, Rp, Mu Ik for any particular operating point; “full curve tracing” as well which you can then run the load line sub application on the curves if so desired. A few other tests to help determine potential failure modes are imminent. Highly recommended, I love mine
My 2 cents, ymmv etc etc
My 2 cents, ymmv etc etc
Hi DrowningNotWaving,
I've considered buying a kit. I have zero difficulty assembling and calibrating one. I do have a set of calibration tubes.
My difficulty with buying one is simply return on investment. I have a couple Stark 9-66 testers (and others), a Tek 577 and over 50 years experience with tubes. So for me, while I would probably love one, I can't justify the expense of that test equipment. Over the past few years I have invested in over $50K in new test equipment. I'm tapped out man!
If I was in my 40's, sure. I'm much older.
I've considered buying a kit. I have zero difficulty assembling and calibrating one. I do have a set of calibration tubes.
My difficulty with buying one is simply return on investment. I have a couple Stark 9-66 testers (and others), a Tek 577 and over 50 years experience with tubes. So for me, while I would probably love one, I can't justify the expense of that test equipment. Over the past few years I have invested in over $50K in new test equipment. I'm tapped out man!
If I was in my 40's, sure. I'm much older.
