All,
I just scored a REAL clean Sylvania 219 tube tester that I will be picking up this evening. How are these beasties put together ? In other words, is it safe to assume that they need a recap, etc before it can be plugged in and used ? Also, anyone happen to have a PDF of the user's manual ?
Thanks a bunch,
Steve
I just scored a REAL clean Sylvania 219 tube tester that I will be picking up this evening. How are these beasties put together ? In other words, is it safe to assume that they need a recap, etc before it can be plugged in and used ? Also, anyone happen to have a PDF of the user's manual ?
Thanks a bunch,
Steve
Here is a link to the manual for the 219 and 220 series testers.
ftp://bama.sbc.edu/downloads/sylvania/220/220.pdf
It contains everything you need to know about this tester.
Copies of the charts as well as a modification for testing 0Z4A are here:
ftp://bama.sbc.edu/downloads/sylvania/220/
ftp://bama.sbc.edu/downloads/sylvania/220/220.pdf
It contains everything you need to know about this tester.
Copies of the charts as well as a modification for testing 0Z4A are here:
ftp://bama.sbc.edu/downloads/sylvania/220/
Thanks ! And now:
I cleaned up the chassis abit; it didn't turn out too bad (the pic is pre-cleaning...). As you can see, when I tested my 83 tube, only one of the sides ignited. Both side's filaments were on; but I guess the tester only draws from one pin (as would for a non-rectifier tube), and not both. Safe assumption ?
Regards,
Steve
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An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I cleaned up the chassis abit; it didn't turn out too bad (the pic is pre-cleaning...). As you can see, when I tested my 83 tube, only one of the sides ignited. Both side's filaments were on; but I guess the tester only draws from one pin (as would for a non-rectifier tube), and not both. Safe assumption ?
Regards,
Steve
Steven-H said:
You are now into the world of discovering that valve tester code books are riddled with errors. The AVO code books were notorious for this although the 23rd edition is said to be the reasonably error-free.
I get valve data sheets from Frank's site, then work out my own connection codes...
You probably did only half the test.. LOL You will note that there is probably another setting for the other half of the tube. (Any dual whether rectifier, triode or triode/pentode will have two sets of settings.)
Not a bad tester IMO.. Note though that it will be meaningless to compare results with a traditional transconductance type tester (diodes excluded obviously) because the Sylvania measures a combination of emission and transconductance as noted in the manual.
Be gentle when scrolling through the tube charts as the paper gets fragile in its old age. (I have a Hickok with its original chart - still going fine after many years.)
The Hickok charts, and IIRC Sylvania charts are pretty error free. I've never found one in a Hickok chart. Omissions, yes, errors no..
Should be a very useful tester, and looks to be in excellent condition.. Good find!
Edit for clarity, typos, added a comment or two..
Not a bad tester IMO.. Note though that it will be meaningless to compare results with a traditional transconductance type tester (diodes excluded obviously) because the Sylvania measures a combination of emission and transconductance as noted in the manual.
Be gentle when scrolling through the tube charts as the paper gets fragile in its old age. (I have a Hickok with its original chart - still going fine after many years.)
The Hickok charts, and IIRC Sylvania charts are pretty error free. I've never found one in a Hickok chart. Omissions, yes, errors no..
Should be a very useful tester, and looks to be in excellent condition.. Good find!
Edit for clarity, typos, added a comment or two..
I have a Sylvania 620 tube tester (1956 model), with all the docs (schematic, updated listings etc.)
I'm just getting back into this hobby, and I've had this unit for probably 15-20 years, it seems to work fine, however when testing power tubes like the 6V6GT, when doing the final "tube test", the needle does not go out of the red area. I tried this with over 10 tubes, including two brand-new JJ's, so it's not the tubes. I read somewhere on the net that you shouldn't go by what the tester says, just plug in the tubes and see how they sound.
What causes this though, in others' experience do you get results like this as well? Triodes and pre-amp tubes test just fine, go all the way into the green, generally.
I'm just getting back into this hobby, and I've had this unit for probably 15-20 years, it seems to work fine, however when testing power tubes like the 6V6GT, when doing the final "tube test", the needle does not go out of the red area. I tried this with over 10 tubes, including two brand-new JJ's, so it's not the tubes. I read somewhere on the net that you shouldn't go by what the tester says, just plug in the tubes and see how they sound.
What causes this though, in others' experience do you get results like this as well? Triodes and pre-amp tubes test just fine, go all the way into the green, generally.
A 6V6 normally would be tested at much higher plate currents than the typical pre-amp tube (still nowhere close to what would be encountered in an actual circuit) and a weak rectifier tube, or old selenium rectifier might sag drastically under the higher current. The other thing to look for is electrolytics, they're rare in tube testers, but if present by now will need to be replaced. Same thing for paper caps...
Replace any selenium rectifier or electrolytic you encounter. Sub another tube rectifier if present and recheck if this is the case.
Replace any selenium rectifier or electrolytic you encounter. Sub another tube rectifier if present and recheck if this is the case.
There were no caps at all in the tester, except for 2 mica caps, one straddled to the 7 pin mini socket, and one to the 9 pin mini socket, which frees up the octal socket from blame.
All else are switches, wires, and a few wirewound resistors.
The other maybe faulty component, was a 6C4 tube under the chassis, I replaced it with a new one, but no changes to performance.
All else are switches, wires, and a few wirewound resistors.
The other maybe faulty component, was a 6C4 tube under the chassis, I replaced it with a new one, but no changes to performance.
Sylvania 220 tube tester...
Hi I'm new here...I was browsing the net looking for a schematic for my Sylvania 220 tube tester and found your excellent site. Great disscusions you guys have here! My favorites are Tung Sol 6550s(is there a better 6550 out there?) and I do favor the Telefunken ECC83....even over the Genelex B759.
I tried to access the FTP site for the manual/schematic for the Sylvania 220 and it wouldnt allow me....does anyone have the schematic so I can get this unit repaired? I have used this tester for years without issue, and it seems very accurate for the level tester it is(does not operate at plate voltage of an amp though)...if anyone knows where I can find it, or hopefully has it, just email me at campo1010@yahoo.com....I'll also check back here too of course!
Thanks everyone!
Hi I'm new here...I was browsing the net looking for a schematic for my Sylvania 220 tube tester and found your excellent site. Great disscusions you guys have here! My favorites are Tung Sol 6550s(is there a better 6550 out there?) and I do favor the Telefunken ECC83....even over the Genelex B759.
I tried to access the FTP site for the manual/schematic for the Sylvania 220 and it wouldnt allow me....does anyone have the schematic so I can get this unit repaired? I have used this tester for years without issue, and it seems very accurate for the level tester it is(does not operate at plate voltage of an amp though)...if anyone knows where I can find it, or hopefully has it, just email me at campo1010@yahoo.com....I'll also check back here too of course!
Thanks everyone!
ftp://bama.sbc.edu/downloads/sylvania/220/220.pdf
Hi guys,
I cannot get (download) anything from this ftp://bama.sbc.edu/ place, cannot establish a connection. I'm in Australia. Is that the problem? Please help ... Best wishes!
PS If somebody has a schematics on Sylvania 220 tube tester, that would be much appreciated!
Hi guys,
I cannot get (download) anything from this ftp://bama.sbc.edu/ place, cannot establish a connection. I'm in Australia. Is that the problem? Please help ... Best wishes!
PS If somebody has a schematics on Sylvania 220 tube tester, that would be much appreciated!
The main site http://bama.sbc.edu has been down for upgrades. You’ll need to use the mirror site for now: http://bama.edebris.com/manuals/. The 220 manual is available on the mirror site.
I have a Sylvania 219 tube tester, but the meter is broken. I have a nice 50uA meter I can shunt for 0-1 mA, but I have no way of knowing what the original meter resistance was. Does anyone know the resistance of the original 219 meter? How important is it to match the original meter resistance?
Steve
Steve
Re: series resistance of the meter on a Sylvania 219 tube tester
I looked at the schematic for a Sylvania 140, and it looked like the same circuit, at least around the meter. The schematic image was sort of blurry, but it looked like it said "0-1 mA 100" on the meter. I added a resistor in series with a shunted 0-50uA meter to get the resistance up to about 100 ohms, and now I'm getting readings that seem reasonable.
Steve
I looked at the schematic for a Sylvania 140, and it looked like the same circuit, at least around the meter. The schematic image was sort of blurry, but it looked like it said "0-1 mA 100" on the meter. I added a resistor in series with a shunted 0-50uA meter to get the resistance up to about 100 ohms, and now I'm getting readings that seem reasonable.
Steve
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