EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Products => Test Equipment => Topic started by: 001 on November 30, 2018, 10:37:14 am
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What is the best tube tester (not curve tracer)?
Yea
I mean oldschool box full of tube panels and big analog meter in the center
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One very good is AVO VCM163.
What is absolutely best - who knows.
How to define and tell what is best in general. My opinion is that it is impossible. Which is perhaps best for some purpose for some user, that is another matter. What is best car, what is best bicycle, what is best oscilloscope, what best spectrum analyzer and so on, what is best banana... no one know.
Tens of years ago my son ask lot of this kind of questions.
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Hi!
The AVO VCM163 Valve Characteristic Meter, to give it it's official name, was the "Rolls Royce" of valve testers/evaluators, but it suffers from many problems with the large numbers of multi–contact rotary switches, and it's meter movement is horrendously scarce and difficult to obtain!
The UK's Vintage Radio Discussion and Restoration Forum deals at length with this instrument and has manuals, but personally I would make a new Valve Tester right from the ground up, and to this end I whole–heartedly recommend you consider building the talented late Mike Rowe's "Sussex" V.T. design – all parts are readily available, and you can get a specially made mains transformer to order – the UK Forum has all the details!
I am about to embark on building a "Sussex" Valve Tester for myself!
Chris Williams
The UK Vintage Radio Forum has a full Construction & Operation Manual for the Sussex V.T., I'd download a copy and have a perusal through it first!
The stratospheric prices now being asked for Avo, Mullard and Taylor Valve testers has completely put me off attempting to buy and restore one – they're well into four figures now!!
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Any of the old Military ones are great. I have a TV-3C/U, the TV-10 is the latest one. The tube test setting are compatible.