Power Tube and Pre Tubes Testers

PurityS.L.G

PurityS.L.G

Well-known member
Anybody have a good lead on where to purchase one? All I see are a bunch of vintage units not verified to work. What do you guys use or do to test efficiency of tubes?
 
Maximatcher is the ultimate tube tester, but boy is it pricey. More than I wanted to spend anyway.

I kept an eye out and eventually got a verified working EMC 211. It works enough to check for shorts and tell if a tube still has life in it. For matching power tubes I'll use one of my amps and keep track of tube readings.

Maybe see how much it would be to have a vintage one serviced and take a chance on one of the unverified ones.
 
phil b said:
https://maximatcher.com/ is THE tube tester but they are real expensive. If you want accuracy those are it though.
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I'm always keeping an eye out for a used maximatcher, but they never seem to show up on the used market. For what I need one for, I can't see dropping the ~$900 it would take to buy a new one. Either there aren't that many out there, or folks just don't want to get rid of them.
 
I have a cheap mighty mite from probably the early 60s. Works great; tests for emissions/leaks/shorts/strength. 50 bucks on ebay 10 yrs ago.
Never let me down.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
Maximatcher is the ultimate tube tester, but boy is it pricey. More than I wanted to spend anyway.

I kept an eye out and eventually got a verified working EMC 211. It works enough to check for shorts and tell if a tube still has life in it. For matching power tubes I'll use one of my amps and keep track of tube readings.

Maybe see how much it would be to have a vintage one serviced and take a chance on one of the unverified ones.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I did a few yrs back. Use the same amp to test the milliamps in each tube....write that number on the tube base, and now you can match all the like numbers up for a good quad/pair.
 
Just use your amp; its the best tube tester you can have. It will tell no lies and test everything including how they SOUND. Just have a few fuses handy if a power tube is shorted.
Plus, you can match power tubes too if you can measure the bias current while testing.

I do this all the time with great results. No need to get an old tube tester unless you buy and sell tubes that you don't use in your own amps.
 
I have an Eico 666 that I rebuilt and calibrated. I recently had an amp that blew mains fuse because of bad power tube. Was able to tell which tube was the culprit with the Eico. Amp company sent me out a new quad because it was only 45 days old, kept the other 3 goods tubes for backups or a 50watter.
 
matttornado said:
Just use your amp; its the best tube tester you can have. It will tell no lies and test everything including how they SOUND. Just have a few fuses handy if a power tube is shorted.
Plus, you can match power tubes too if you can measure the bias current while testing.

I do this all the time with great results. No need to get an old tube tester unless you buy and sell tubes that you don't use in your own amps.
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So how do you test preamp tubes?
 
matttornado said:
Just use your amp; its the best tube tester you can have. It will tell no lies and test everything including how they SOUND. Just have a few fuses handy if a power tube is shorted.
Plus, you can match power tubes too if you can measure the bias current while testing.

I do this all the time with great results. No need to get an old tube tester unless you buy and sell tubes that you don't use in your own amps.
Click to expand...
Yes, and no. The problem is if you put a bad power tube in, even with fuses a tube can still damage the OT. It's not supposed to, but I've read about this happening.
My cheap 1960s tube tester serves the purpose of checking for bad tubes, so I don't install one and risk anything. I also have checked all my power tubes in the same amps and measured them; a great way to then match up a pair or quad.
 
Racerxrated said:
I have a cheap mighty mite from probably the early 60s. Works great; tests for emissions/leaks/shorts/strength. 50 bucks on ebay 10 yrs ago.
Never let me down.
Click to expand...
 

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Racerxrated said:
Yes, and no. The problem is if you put a bad power tube in, even with fuses a tube can still damage the OT. It's not supposed to, but I've read about this happening.
My cheap 1960s tube tester serves the purpose of checking for bad tubes, so I don't install one and risk anything. I also have checked all my power tubes in the same amps and measured them; a great way to then match up a pair or quad.
Click to expand...
I agree with the power tubes. It can be a little risky.
 
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