need to purchase a calibrated , small signal tube tester-why so difficult?!


Tired of not being able to test my own tubes.

 

I know enough to not just blindly go to ebay and buy a vintage one….even if says “calibrated.” I’ve contacted some of the legacy folks/sources, they really don’t seem interested in making money.

 

Any recommendations to get me into an affordable, accurate, and easy to use tester? I don’t care if it’s rusty or anything else, if it works reliably . im willing to pay $500-750 ish——-for emissions and conductance capability.

Is this too much to ask?! Where to go?  Other advice re. which testers may be moost appropriate, and why, would be more than welcomed,

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Thanks so much @cleeds — talked to them a couple times already… They were very friendly! Excellent C.S.

 

Was going to bump up my high end to $1K, anyway…and, this is right there…a little more with a 6DJ8 adapter.

Appears to be an excellent value!

I agree with cleeds. If you’re looking for an affordable, accurate, and easy to use tester; the MaxiPreamp is one good choice.

It does not test for emissions. It does test for transconductance but does not provide a list of what average new tubes should measure. It provides such a list for gain. I’d guess they could explain why they don’t provide benchmarks for transconductance

For noise, I run RCA interconnects from the two RCA outputs at the top of the oval at the right side of the picture in the manual into a headphone amp. I don’t know if there is a more direct way to do it.

Thanks @tomcy6 … very helpful.

Great tip on the noise test too..

I did ask them about emissions. Disclaimer : Although I have an electronics degree etc…I know only the very basic things about tubes. But when he explained it…. It was basically that there are different ways to skin a cat….and that you could still confidently measure, manage and detect good vs bad. without?  But I do not want to put words in anyone’s mouth but my own.

 

But that’s a great question!!,

 

 

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For anyone inclined : In Plain language, what is “Emission Testing “? Why do we need it?

 

Notice— I’m not looking to start a. “Do cables matter”-like SH#$STORM …so if you have an 🪓 to grind…please take it elsewhere.

 

I may start a separate thread…. Emission’s testing. What’s it good for? 🎶
(Never mind, I thought it was funny 😆)

Use Case: for an old audio guy who just wants to manage his small signal tubes.