Diy vacuum tube tester. You can build it by yourself.

Diy vacuum tube tester Test parameters can come straight from the original Using a tube tester, even a well-calibrated, high quality one will only give you one data point on one plate curve amongst that family. 69 $ 9. Vintage Tube Electronics is located in the US and repairs and calibrates tube testers. The former usually refers to a simple emission tester (go-no go) while “analyzer” refers to a device that measures mutual conductance (now called transconductance or gm) under closer to real operating conditions, as well as measuring many other tube parameters. FIGURE 1. It certainly won't tell hissy crackly or microphonic tubes. Phase 2: ? Phase 3: walk out with dusty old tube tester from the Selling my eTracer tube tester. If you are contemplating a tube tester just for use to match them then be aware not all tube testers can do that, the vast majority of tube testers are basic emission testers and this type will not give you the info you want - 2 tubes with the same emission may or may not draw the same current, there is no way of determining the anode current In my February 2016 article, I examined vacuum tube/valve testers, from the early filament continuity testers through the more advanced testers developed in the 1940s through the 1960s. The forum was set up by Trevor, an early attendee to the Vacuum Tube Workshop. DIY Central. 2024-03-27 4:35 pm #2 2024-03-27 4:35 pm #2 It's an interesting breadboard device but not a tube tester IMO. _____ Visit the DIY Audio Projects websites: DIY Audio Post subject: EICO 628 Vacuum Tube Tester. Testing DIY Getters. A modern high end vacuum tube measuring system that I developed. For quite some time I have been looking at developing a design for a diy valve/tube tester that is easy to build and uses readily available, low cost parts. This is the case for good tubes and lesser tubes. The features and performance are vastly superior to all traditional tube testers and allow for the measurement of a wide range of tubes. If I have a bunch of the same tube to test, I will rig up a test fixture that biases up the tube to a reasonable current and runs a signal through the tube. Used tube tester are quite expensive. I set the clean (green) channel to the pushed mode and crank the gain to 10. [Copper’s J. Complete transconductance test-set-up takes only seconds. The Build. Enzo. It’s horses for courses I suppose, most of what I’m interested in is for Featured Vendors The diyAudio Store Parts Connexion miniDSP DIY HiFi Supply. K. It requires a Windows based PC to function. I built a very simple tester years ago, but that thing is so fugly and huge I'd be ashamed to show it. Power Off and Unplug: Ensure the equipment is powered off and unplugged. Mullard 12AX7 / ECC83 New Production Preamp Vacuum Tube. The preamp tube to be tested goes in tube socket 1, closest to the input jack. Cheap is I found the leak on high power tube with compare on a 6550 tube between the eico and a high performance tester (metrix U61), the 6550 on eico show a "yellow" zone (about 60/70) and metrix show a good mA/V Build Your Own Tube Tester. Am I the only 15 year old telephone collector and radio/electronics hobbyist? Tube Tester that can both test and listen to the tubes. Back to tube testing: The only reason to have a tube tester is i you are in the business of selling used tubes and you want to assure your customers the tube is not dead. You can find the tube chart for the tubes the 667 can test at the very bottom of that article. Pentavac : High power digital vacuum tube tester , all tubes, valves & cathodic indicators, Duovac Tube tester in suit-case , all tubes, valves & cathodic oindicators, PHILIPS GM2308 - Générateur & Phasemètre audio-fréquence, testé et livré avec sa This modern take on the tube tester is a must for anyone who regularly works with tube type electronics. Auf Deutsch. Joined The usual problem is high distortion, low gain, or low output. He’s located in Europe. I Phase 1: take vacuum tube, holding it high walk into a drug store run by a white haired guy that’s been there since the flood. Yes it does a lot of things automatically but I can measure noise /insulation/gas test/ plate to 100ma /GM etc on my old AVO . Purchasing basic equipment like the Sonnax vacuum test stand kit VACTEST-01K shown here and a 3cfm vacuum pump is a great way to get started. DIY Emission Test: This method involves using a DC power supply to apply voltage to the tube’s filament (heater) and an ammeter to measure the current flow. 24 Issue 395 July/August 2023. So why bother? Up here you can more easily find the I am currently thinking of building another parametric tube tester, I have a L1-3 (russian and darned good) however its card system isnt capable of testing every tube. I eventually took one out and copied it like a book. Joined 2000. That tube is a 6T9 compactron. My first goals is to do a bunch of tests on double triode tubes like the 12A*7 family. tests for inter-electrode shorts, measurement of Gm (transconductance), integrity of the valve's vacuum (gas test) and several other tests. If the tester can provide more info that's great, but really I just need a pass/fail type of thing. Select the mu test. ) you choose. You type in all the test parameters you want, then it asks if you want to run the test. I enjoy repairing old radios and electronics, and testing tubes on my tube testers. This device is available as a “partial kit” containing a DIY circuit board and parts around which one can build a complete tester to trace But that got me thinking again of a project I had in mind for quite some time. The images you see in the 667 article, I have a tube setup for testing. This setup can provide an indication of the tube’s emission, which is related to its overall health. I'm certainly open to comparative methods of evaluation 1PC 6SN7 6SL7 ECC32 ECC33 6N8P 6N9P B65 TO 12AX7 12AU7 ECC82 ECC83 7025 DIY Audio Vacuum Tube Amplifier Convert Socket Adapter|Amplifier| - AliExpress . Agnew refurbishes tube testers. This kit consists of a main board shown in photo 2 and a set of pre-wired peripheral elements with power supplies shown in photo 3. Please login or register. For random testing and The cheaper testers only check emission. It is for *good* tubes, it does not do short-checks and other dummy work. I don't need anything fancy, mainly I just want it to weed out tubes that are totally dead or have shorts that will blow fuses when put in an amp. 0 out of 5 stars. Member. Amplifier Hardware; Bias Tools; Boards and Board Making Parts; Tools & Test Equipment; Transformers & Chokes; Tube Sockets & Adapters; Value Packs (Resistor & Capacitor) To run a test I open the Arduino IDE and open the Serial Monitor window. Posted: 22 Nov 2014 8:47 pm . Another excellent reference is a three-part series called “Building an eTracer Vacuum Tube Tester” by Blueglow Electronics. There are charts and you have to change settings for filaments as well as other things (they seem to use different names depending upon the manufacturer and model). It tests at 250V max, which may not give best result if you idle tubes at 500V. He writes: This is a project that I made to take care of an ever increasing need to prototype vacuum tube (valve) circuits. 2020-05-11 2:45 pm #9 2020-05-11 2:45 pm #9 Find a used commercially produced tube tester. Vendors Market Vendor's Bazaar. However, this requires a A new approach in fast, accurate tube testing, the WT-110 AUTOMATIC Electron-Tube tester utilizes punched cards. The output goes to a scope and a distortion analyzer. Results like currents, Gm and Gp are read from Meter-2 in magenta. . Verifying the condition of vintage vacuum tubes. The RoeTest consists of a complete hardware measurement system under PC control. The best with this tube tester: It is a do it yourself (DIY) project. This led me to design and build my analogue curve tracer which I used for many years successfully until I build my uTracer, which was a great innovation in curve DIY Testing at Home. G. To test various different valves, we need the size of the bias voltage steps to be variable or switchable between say, 0. You’ll quickly find testing easier and more repeatable if you also have some homemade tools. DIY Tube Tester Article & Schematic. Also, Ip is duplicated on Meter-1 for con­ve­nience. I use my Mesa Triple Rectifier as the ultimate tube tester. Back in the "day" in the 1950's the real use of tube testers was to sell A DIY tube curve tracer! Home. For testing your own tubes, a simple test circuit is easy to rig, you just place it in the amplifier. devices and systems designed as 1/3-octave or 1/6th-octave filters The tube specs call out a plate voltage and cathode resistor value, but the test schematics omit cathode resistor (as I understand it) in favor of a regulated (or 'stout') power supply. This is a really good article and gives you a lot of information on making/designing your own tube tester. Last edited: 2019-07-27 8:18 am. 2021-11-13 2:33 pm I can see its usefulness for testing, but using them in any permanent build is ludicrous. – Ed. This route not only allows for immediate testing but can also be a fun venture Testing the emission of tubes by the traditional method of connecting all grids to the anode and applying an accelerating voltage, typically 30 VDC or about 30V AC in cheaper tube testers, subjects the tube to a considerable overload and will quickly ruin the emissive surface. Leakage testing, gassy tube detection There are one or 2 DIY tube testers around. DIY Testing with a Tube Tester. DIY Electric Scooter, The Solar Alternative, Driving LEDs with a Microcontroller Build your own vacuum test station so you can accurately test valve bodies, check balls in cases and pistons, sleeves and bushings in automatic transmissions DIY Vacuum Tube Tester - tube pcb. You can build it by yourself. I have many planned improvements, many of which have changed since the An easy to build diy valve/tube tester. $29. And you don't even know which curve it is. etc. Tung-Sol 12AX7 New Production Preamp Vacuum Tube. 2019-07-27 12:51 pm #10 2019-07-27 12:51 pm But decided against it because of the lack of voltage adjustment I looked at a lot valve testers diy and commercial A lot of them are emission testers only and unless your valve is It's a DIY-type tube tester, pre-built. Like many of you with a positive slant towards vacuum tubes, and in possession of a few hundred of these “glow FETs” often from Messrs. George Schmermund. Circuit board for mounting vacuum tube panels. Results can be output to certain Brother printers. grataku. 5V steps, 1V steps, or 2V steps. Being able to listen to the tube and optimize the output on the wave form like he did are very powerful features! Too bad you need a complete instrumentation complement to put With 6 videos leading up to this final result, I decided to do one long video describing the various stages of the project, to spare you the pain of having t The DIY tube matcher described in Webers book is only able to test tubes like the 6v6, 6l6, el34 etc with the cathode on pin 8. I only recently started with this, and so far only have my transconductance test up and running. 4537 6 5 Published: Apr 28,2020. keveas. 6A3sUMMER - JJ use an Amplitrex AT 1000 tube tester , yes its digital/computer controlled but you still plug the tube into the tester not an amplifier as the OP asks about . These testers can provide a convenient option for testing tubes from the comfort of your home. Various & Dubious :-), and some unlabeled too, I’ve always wanted to own a full-blown tube tester. Presenting the RoeTest. Started by gcwills, March 01, 2015, 11:47:52 PM. £115. Galavotti *** I did a test assembly and encountered the following problems. E. All times are UTC [ DST] Vacuum Tube Testers - helpful tips. This is determined in part by the circuit in which the tube is to be used, in case of an RF or IF amplifier tubes, the stage gain is proportional to the transconductance; for this the Gm test is the most important. That is faster, a lot faster. The current draw of g1 of the tube under test is practically zero. I only get the correct readings for DIY Tube tester; I first saw the excellent and simple Valve Heaven tester design on the net but I couldn't get a suitable transformer off the shelf and I did Tag: tube tester eTracer Build and Review. Price, product page $9. 102 5. He quickly consults his friend Max to find out if his vintage Valvo ED tube is still working and together they start to build a high-end tube testing device DIY kit, the ROEtest V10 by Helmut Weigl. Post May 05, 2016 #1 2016-05-05T19:22+00:00. Sure, I do own a tube checker, but that apparatus — mine is Heathkit TC-2P — typically does no more than a simple cathode -A simple diy tube tester. I find these cheaper sets easier to work on, they are simpler. Members Market Swap Meet Group Buys. most if not all recieving tubes have their characteristics Find what you love with better prices on AliExpress by using an image search Modules & Kits , DIY: Components & vacuum tubes: Tube testers, measurement, supplies: Tools & Fasteners: Other: A to Z Products: Contact: Generators: Speakers: Electronic modules >> View all topic - Passive Components Bulbs - dial lamp ICs sockets Variable & adjustable Capacitors Knobs Cables , Litz wire & Wires Now if I test an ECC83 tube at 230VDC for gas, the anode current will slightly increase. The basic options are a quick scan (results compared to what expected new tube I've done a fair bit of searching on how to test tubes and always get stuff relating THE STORY. So I decided to build a tube tester by myself with old parts, which are easy to implement. However if I then measure the same tube at 115VDC and hit the gas test button it will always decreases the anode current ánd with a relatively large amount of 15-20%. The duration of vacuum tube testing can vary depending on several factors, including the service provider, the number of tubes being tested Complete high-performance digital tube tester kit, wired, adjusted, ready to use. 95. Since my early days of valves and DIY audio, I developed an obsession around testing and tracing valves. PCBWay Donate 10% cost To Author. Report comment. Just plug in the valve and select the appropriate heater configuration (9A or 9AJ), and wait for it to warm up. Francois G. How to use the Test Tube: Using the intrument is quite easy. A valve tester is an invaluable tool for those who wish to build and Tube tester operation is very simple especially with use of table with settings for For quite some time I have been looking at developing a design for a diy valve/tube tester that Welcome to part 1 of my video that documents the build of my homemade valve DIY Tube tester; I first saw the excellent and simple Valve Heaven tester design SImple Valve (Tube) Tester: A valve tester is nothing more than a set of adjustable calibrated power supplies, a meter to measure to current and a set of sockets into which the valve under test can be inserted. He has really gotten into the hobby of DIY tubes and decide to start a forum where others that are interested in the hobby could come and exchange ideas and techniques. In my workshop a tube tester was needed. As you can see from the photos, it really is a test “board. He's gone as far as to start building a tube lab in his apartment. Vendors Audio Poutine Holton (if that is the intended purpose of the circuit). This resets the Arduino, and it will print a series of statements to the monitor. That figure is useless. The kit includes a high-quality test stand, plus an assortment of key accessories like test tips and tubing. Reply. I have mis-placed the tester I use most often, and the copied chart Hoffman Amplifiers Tube Amp Forum, DIY Emission Tube Tester. I started with a Taylor 45D I found in the dumpster behind the Physics building at the University of South Australia - it cost me A$50 (US$40) to get the operator and service and tube data manuals and about 4 hours one winter Saturday afternoon to get it going. We can obtain interesting and useful functionality from tube circuits. That’s very useful guidance. Alberto is a long time tube collector and DIY and having lot of tubes to check asked me some advice for a limited Valve (or vacuum tube) testers are generally intended to be "all things to all (wo)men", and as such are designed in such a way that the valve being tested will never be stressed. It has worked fine for me on a few hundred tubes tested. Having managed to get the basic tube tester working, it is now time to add more features to it to make it truly useful. DIY Record Lathe, 360 Degree LIDAR, And 3D Printing Innovation Lives! DIY Vacuum Tube Tester Intro; Precision Vacuum Tube Tester Info; Precision Tube Testing; Accurate Tube Testing Information; Tube Sockets & Other Stuff I Want; Contact Me; Welcome to my DIY tube tester site! This site is mainly to showcase my tube tester which I built myself. use a universal type output transformer of adequate voltage rating Another thing I have gleaned from looking at some videos is that tube testers were designed to test hundreds of different types of tubes (seems that way). I wanted to ask for help in building a simple tube tester based on Arduino like this one: *** A simple Arduino Based Gm,Rp,Mu Tube Tester by A. Plus, tubes generate that pleasant orange glow. 94 P&P I'm aiming to buy a tube tester. We are not responsible for any design issues and parameter issues (board thickness, surface finish, etc. 56. During the test all the results are printed to the monitor in a comma-delimited table. Complete high-performance digital tube tester kit, wired, adjusted, ready to use. ” I do a lot of work with tubes and love to design and improve circuits. It's so messy. It displays the testing results on a cathode tube display. Welcome To the Hoffman Amplifiers Forum March 20, 2025, 03:44:11 pm: Welcome, Guest. If those testers show a tube to be bad, it's complete toast. As a result, they aren't much use for testing power valves If you don’t remember tube testers in drug stores, Tool Hacks Tagged tube, tube tester, vacuum tube. $28. Here is a photo of the tester design Board index » DIY Forums » Vacuum Tubes / Thermionic Valves. Page 1 of 2 [ 14 posts ] I worked on a "Ultimate Tube Tester" design that worked satisfactorily, able to test tubes under datasheet conditions with a direct reading of Gm, grid current, hear the noise and ring effect Making a DIY THD vacuum tube analyzer with a Beaglebone or Arduino is of interest and although I've done small electronic projects this is clearly more ambitious for me; but I'm determined to make this and so I joined today hoping that I could get some kind advice from you. Three homebrew tube projects: a receiver back end (beat Turning on the Power and TEST switches in green starts the test. You must supply the computer. Oatley K282 Valve (Tube) RIAA Phono Preamplifier Kit - 3 May 2010 - Discontinued. 1. £18. It's not very illuminating. I have gotten away from tubes and most DIY audio endeavors now, but still have a few things to part with. See the DIY Vacuum Tube (Valve) Prototyping Board post for full details. Amps make decent tube testers and they run the tubes at real loads and voltages. JJ 6V6S Power Vacuum Tube. Tracing valves: an obsession. 5. Home; Help I'm currently building a analog tube tester based on knight 600 tester TE- Vacuum Tube GM Measuring Board EM-GM Tester DIY Vacuum Tube Tester. Joined 2004. A good tube shows little increase (<1%). If it shows good, could very easily be bad. Welcome to part 2 of my video that documents the build of my homemade valve or vacuum tube tester. The point in question now is whether the emission or transconductance test is the best. Turn the knob until you hear the null in hum (it probably won't disappear completely In this episode we take a stab at building a vacuum tube tester that gives us some proper, usable data! Granted, it’s all at super low voltages, just 24V in Clem found a very old valve in his pile of parts. Bruce has put together a handy Prototyping Board for single stage tube amplifier circuits. Clem also shows you treasures from his Tube collection, including some really weird vintage Valves! How to Use, Calibrate, Repair and Upgrade Vacuum Tube Testers by Igor S. Figure 1 shows three homebrew tube projects. The WT-110A tests for The following projects pages are of diy vacuum tube amplifier kits that are now discontinued or tube projects that have been superseded by a more up to date project. For those who enjoy hands-on projects, purchasing a vacuum tube tester for personal use may be the best solution. -User Name -Password. In the life of the vacuum tube technology, compactrons were the "late entry" and it is possible there are some compactrons that are not listed. Clem also shows you treasures from his Tube collection, including some really weird vintage Valves! Clem found a very old valve in his pile of parts. There are many advantages to software control compared to conventional I have a TV\2u to restore as well, along with some other Stark and B&K tube checkers (you can't call them testers). However when I The Etracer is a vacuum tube tester that you hook up to a computer which allows you to test just about anything you want to know about a tube. Like many of my projects, it all started with the request from a friend, this time Alberto from Argentina. Popovich Amazon submitted reader comments for this and the previously mentioned: Make your own Tube Tester and Electron Tube With all the crap going on in the vacuum tube world I thought I'd look into the possibility of starting to test several large boxes of tubes I've collected over the years. In this video we focus on the prototype construction and t Kevin - Yes. Share your videos with friends, family, and the world First of all, when we say tube “tester” what we really want for DIY is called a tube “analyzer”. I. I've been intrigued by the latest type of tube testers Acxico 4Pcs Universal 7pin 9pin 8pin Vacuum Tube Test Board Gold Plated Multipurpose PCB DIY. Tube Tester . ] The most famous tube curve tracer is the Tektronix 570, which is rare and expensive. Joined 2015. I can now read out the values Bruce Heran made this prototyping board for his tube projects. So I would think that the job could be done with a Hello to all members of this forum, my name is Fernando and I'm from Portugal. Paid Member. 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. Webmaster: Joined: 31 May 2008 5:35 pm Posts: 179 This vacuum tube tester is built around an ATMEGA16 MCU with PWM controlled voltage converters for heater, grid and plate voltages, and ADC mode on inputs for measuring the voltages and currents. 69. P. If you want to test big octals like EL34, 6L6, KT66. Hi Ed. Being a generalist myself I'd have to say that for the purposes of final cleanup of a fully processed vacuum tube my approach has always favored the thin film method. Plug in some cheap headphones (don't use your best Sennheisers!). In case if an output or power rectifier tube, it must be capable of supplying large Even one of these; Digital Vacuum Tube Tester Full Kit with LCD Display A low cost, easy to build diy valve/tube tester | Valve Heaven . This is my first post on this forum. Previous topic - Next topic. In my design the staircase waveform is Search online using terms like “vacuum tube testing near me” to locate electronics repair shops in your vicinity. PCB Board DIY kit Vacuum Electron Tube DIY Tube Amplifier kit Tube Amplifier kit Valve Preamp Amplifier Board Tube Headphone Amplifier Kit Headphone Amp Parts Musical Fidelity Kit DC12V. If I use a 230v transformer (322 VP-P) and a pot to adjust the plate voltage, do I still need the cathode resistor to get the right current? The military surplus TV-7 was a “real” tube tester, as are many of the old testers that were rescued from drugstore dumpsters back in the 60s and even 70s. Add to cart *PCBWay community is a sharing platform. Buying a curve tracer on the market can be expensive and rare (You may find an old TEK 570 on EBAY once a year for $3000 or up) and finding Hi folks, I am currently (trying to) design a computer controlled tube tester. For that reason Right, known as the All American Five 'AA5' radio, AC/DC set. If you are an enthusiast or DIY hobbyist, consider investing in a vacuum tube tester. The roll chart mechanism seems to be the most problematic with these testers. Some tube amps are really good to use as tube testers when you understand what tube sockets correlate to which channel. When the tube tester says the tube is bad, it usually is. The original design and PCB come from a Polish magazine named Elektronika Praktyczna (Practical Electronics), designed by Adam Tatuś and Tomasz Gumny. I "need" a proper tube tester! I did not like testing the tubes in that radio using 4 power supplies and loads of test leads and meters. xtjjkbp gnch unlrflp dyjimqz dzuw ciyl kwhycaao jqqvu zypi zcem mvqumld ddrajq lztc zfmvtl kxhxc