Is there an inexspensive and reliable way to test tubes...

[Vogelsong]

I have a few tubes out of an old radio from 1948.

They are old Crosley tubes, one is a coke bottle 5y3g, and 6v6gt.

The rest are smaller ones 6sq7's and a few others.

So what is the best way to go about testing them without spending a fortune on equipment.

 

[SonicProvocateur]

Put them in your Fender and see if they explode? Lol

No, thats awful lol. Got a friend or local music shop that has a tester you can use for free?

 

[Vogelsong]

Put them in your Fender and see if they explode? Lol

No, thats awful lol. Got a friend or local music shop that has a tester you can use for free?

I wanna get something of my own. I want to start educating myself.

 

[Vogelsong]

Put them in your Fender and see if they explode? Lol

No, thats awful lol.

Dude we have the same sense of humor, thats the same kind of thing I'd say.

Aren't we terrible? LOL

 

[mark2boogie]

Hi Vogelsong,

So what is the best way to go about testing them without spending a fortune on equipment.

Sorry, there is no cheap way, apart pluging the tube on where it should be used and try to evaluate how it behaves... It's not a bad way at all, but this is not testing. Here's my test gear :

A+!

 

[Vogelsong]

Hi Vogelsong,

So what is the best way to go about testing them without spending a fortune on equipment.

Sorry, there is no cheap way, apart pluging the tube on where it should be used and try to evaluate how it behaves... It's not a bad way at all, but this is not testing. Here's my test gear :

A+!

Really!

Why didn't you just drive to central PA and put a stake through my heart?

Seriously, okay so it's not a "cheap" thing I see.

So if you could only have one piece of test gear what would it be and why?

 

[yeti]

where at in central pa?

im routinely up my camp near parker off of route 80...i dont have all that tube testing equip posted above me, but the one i have works well and is calibrated recently. i can test those three types, and probably any others you might have if you're in need of knowing (12ax7, 12at7, au7, etc..6l6, el34's, etc). i could bring my tester and run your tubes on it and see if they test for shorts/emissions and quality. that is if you're close by and wanna take a drive on the weekend, i'm usually off the water from chasing muskies by 11 a.m. on hot summer days (my other passion aside from music). let me know dude, i'd be glad to help out.

im not always on here, so the best way to get in touch would be at my email: [email protected]

hit me up, we'll set something up.

 

[Vogelsong]

where at in central pa?

im routinely up my camp near parker off of route 80...i dont have all that tube testing equip posted above me, but the one i have works well and is calibrated recently. i can test those three types, and probably any others you might have if you're in need of knowing (12ax7, 12at7, au7, etc..6l6, el34's, etc). i could bring my tester and run your tubes on it and see if they test for shorts/emissions and quality. that is if you're close by and wanna take a drive on the weekend, i'm usually off the water from chasing muskies by 11 a.m. on hot summer days (my other passion aside from music). let me know dude, i'd be glad to help out.

im not always on here, so the best way to get in touch would be at my email: [email protected]

hit me up, we'll set something up.

Your probably around 2 hours away, which isn't bad. I don't mind the occasional drive and I love the outdoors. Although my sons the fisherman I prefer hunting, but for a ten year old he fishes his *** off.

We'll see, I'm really wanting to pick something up and start doing this myself. No other way to learn but to read and dive in right.

 

[mark2boogie]

Hi Vogelsong,

Why didn't you just drive to central PA and put a stake through my heart?

I am located in France - Europe - do you vaguely see where it is ? - I thinks it's not very near to Central PA...

If you only want to know if a tube is really out of duty, then an emission tester is OK and you can find very affordable units in good condition on eBay, like my KNIGHT 600A - Look at the Heathkit, Eico, Knight brands, to name a few...

But DO NOT expect that kind of tester to tell you if a tube can work properly : it can't.

If you want to know a bit more, that is to say an evaluation of the performance of the tube, then a dynamic mutual conductance like the HICKOK 600, 800, 6000 are convenient. Don't look for a 539B or C model, because they command very high prices and all in all do not much a better job than a 600 or a 800 (I know it, a friend has a minty 539C)...

But DO NOT expect from a HICKOK to give you useful measurements to be compared to the official tube datasheets.

If you want to know if a tube meets its datasheets specs, you will need one of those European models made by METRIX (fr), AVO (uk) or NEUBERGER (de). These are the most reliable and costy...

But do you need to go so far ?

A+!

 

[yeti]

honestly, i have a superior td55, it was cheap, gives me emissions, shorts and quality, and that's basically all i need. tubes that tested bad, didn't sound good, or didn't produce sound later (after the tests). i know it's not the best


that's some KILLER equipment you have there, but i can't justify thousands of bux on tube testing gear for a few guitar amp tubes, if you know what i mean. i can certainly see where you would want to have different testers though, and, would love to grab a hickock 600/800 to run in conjunction with my td55.

 

[mark2boogie]

Yes, yeti, thanks !

My part time job is servicing tube amps - so that's why I have some more elaborated testing equipment.

Sorry, I forgot to mention Superior (SiCo - I love their 1955 TW-11, in its wooden cab), Mercury, Paco, Simpson, Triplett, BK... Most of them are like your TD55 : emission testers, useful to detect frankly bad tubes, and they do this job quickly and easily. Doing better is usually not compulsory, except for dubious cases or special/critical tube duty, matching, etc, but it's another story... With more sophisticated tube testers !

A+!

 

[Vogelsong]

Yes, yeti, thanks !

My part time job is servicing tube amps - so that's why I have some more elaborated testing equipment.

Sorry, I forgot to mention Superior (SiCo - I love their 1955 TW-11, in its wooden cab), Mercury, Paco, Simpson, Triplett, BK... Most of them are like your TD55 : emission testers, useful to detect frankly bad tubes, and they do this job quickly and easily. Doing better is usually not compulsory, except for dubious cases or special/critical tube duty, matching, etc, but it's another story... With more sophisticated tube testers !

A+!

How much info will an Eico 667 give me?

 

[Vogelsong]

How reliable are these function wise? I see a lot of them that people are selling that power on but beyond that they don't know if it works properly.

 

[mark2boogie]

Hi Vogelsong,

In the Eico brand, I would choose the 625 or 628. These have all the basic features you need (emission, shorts), are simple and fast to operate, are very common and share similar schematic as the Knight, Heathkit, and most off all : the tube data of the tube tester is widely available (that's a very important thing, as you can't rely on official datasheets !). The 666 and 667 are more complicated, they test transistor (useless today) and their data has numerous errors...

In the Heathkit brand, there's the TC-2, the IT-17, similar to the previous ones. Forget the TT-1 : it has technical flaws that makes it rather unreliable.

In the Knight brand, you find the 600A and the 600B. Forget the 400A : it's a toy. I have a 600A which works very well, is fast and simple to operate, a good quality instrument. Here's mine again :

In the SiCo / Superior brand (the one that owns yeti) you find the very nice TW-11 and it's wooden cabinet. Therefore, I would prefer a more recent one, because the tube data will be more complete.

No matter the tube tester you choose :

Buy a nice one, very well preserved, with its complete documentation, like I bought my Knignt 600A and others. I paid mine 76USD last year and it is fully operational, complete with its documentation, and mint condition.

Do not "monkey" with bad condition tube tester if you have not the knowledge to make them work properly. Spend a little more money for a VG+++ instrument : you won't regret it, trust me...

A+!

 

[Vogelsong]

So after doing a lot of reading, I do want to be able to match tubes.

So if I understand correctly a mutual conductance tester is the least I need correct?

 

[mark2boogie]

Hi Vogelsong,

Yes - an HICKOK tube tester will match tubes quite correctly : I would say "enough" for tube amps purposes, whereas if it's not perfect. The models 600, 600A, 6000, 800, 800A are simple to operate, convenient and reliable.

My 600 is a nice instrument and works quickly, but will never be able to be objective like my METRIX 310CTR, because it uses his own proprietary data (like all HICKOKs), whereas the METRIX relies on official datasheets, and can check different working points.

Nonetheless, the tests done by my HICKOK 600 are consistent, and while not as accurate as the METRIX, they are 99% in accordance. I mean : if the tube is good at the METRIX, then the tube is good at the HICKOK, every time. But if the tube is good at the HICKOK, the METRIX may detect a lack of performance versus the official datasheet, which doesn't mean that it is a faulty tube - at least for the major part of applications.

Note that an HICKOK tube tester must be calibrated to operate correctly. You can do it by yourself if you are tech-minded, the procedures can be found on the web. There's also guys who can do it for you (search on the web too).

Again, find a very good if not excellent condition instrument... I have paid 315USD my mint and complete HICKOK 600 last year (plus 100USD shipping to France, plus 200USD for the French customs) but I know what I have bought.

A+!

 

[Vogelsong]

Hi Vogelsong,

Yes - an HICKOK tube tester will match tubes quite correctly : I would say "enough" for tube amps purposes, whereas if it's not perfect. The models 600, 600A, 6000, 800, 800A are simple to operate, convenient and reliable.

My 600 is a nice instrument and works quickly, but will never be able to be objective like my METRIX 310CTR, because it uses his own proprietary data (like all HICKOKs), whereas the METRIX relies on official datasheets, and can check different working points.

Nonetheless, the tests done by my HICKOK 600 are consistent, and while not as accurate as the METRIX, they are 99% in accordance. I mean : if the tube is good at the METRIX, then the tube is good at the HICKOK, every time. But if the tube is good at the HICKOK, the METRIX may detect a lack of performance versus the official datasheet, which doesn't mean that it is a faulty tube - at least for the major part of applications.

Note that an HICKOK tube tester must be calibrated to operate correctly. You can do it by yourself if you are tech-minded, the procedures can be found on the web. There's also guys who can do it for you (search on the web too).

Again, find a very good if not excellent condition instrument... I have paid 315USD my mint and complete HICKOK 600 last year (plus 100USD shipping to France, plus 200USD for the French customs) but I know what I have bought.

A+!

Hey thanks for all the info, I was wondering if calibration could be done myself. I'm sure I can handle it as long as I have good info. I have my eye on a few hickoks as we speak. I'll let ya know what I come up with.

 

[mark2boogie]

So good search and good luck, Vogelsong !

A+!

 

[Vogelsong]

So good search and good luck, Vogelsong !

A+!

Real quick what is the differance between a Hickok 600-800 and a 6000?

I see the 6000's seem to have an extra square piece or something on the board that the others don't.

 

[mark2boogie]

Real quick what is the differance between a Hickok 600-800 and a 6000?

I see the 6000's seem to have an extra square piece or something on the board that the others don't.

Well, I have not the pics on hand so I'll go by memory :

On the 6000 series, all the tube sockets are grouped on a central "island", which is removable from the panel of the instrument (because it is installed on a socket too). On the 600 / 800 series, the sockets are directly on the panel.

The 6000 has the old tubes sockets complement island (UX = 300B, 45, 47, 42, etc... used in vintage / hi-end audio) whereas the 6000A has the TV tubes sockets complement island (Compactron = 6C10, etc... used in TV's and some Ampeg amps). But these are not interchangeable, as far as I remember, and the data roll chart is not the same, of course.

The operating mode and tests of the 600, 800, 6000 series are nearly the same, with some slight differences in features. For example, the way to test shorts : 600 = neon test, 800-6000 = meter test in megohms; 800-6000 = transistor test available (well...), not on the 600; better quality "bakelite" meter and seperate on/off switch on the 600, not on later models...

I do not remember all the differences, but these are usually minor for the all-around testing duty, and anyway less important than the condition and calibration of the instrument itself.

If I had to buy another HICKOK, it would be a 800A, only because it has both the Compactron facility along with the UX facility, that other models 600, 800, 6000 series don't have. But in terms of quality and aesthetics, I prefer the 600, a "piece of Art" tube tester. Again, see mine, which is from August 19, 1950 :

Nonetheless, any of the 600, 800, 6000 series will do the job you expect, as long as they are complete, in good condition and calibrated, of course.