AIC Tube tester..Any Good????

kcoc321
kcoc321 Posts: 1,788
edited April 2010 in Electronics
I am looking at a Accurate Instrument Co. model 161 Tube tester on CL for $40. It is a Utility Appliance, Tube, and Auto Tester. It has several functions and uses and is a very versatile piece of test gear.

I did find this one:
http://auctionworks.com/StoreFrontProfiles/DeluxeSFItemDetail.aspx?sid=1&sfid=86409&c=19901&i=244394615

Anyone tried one?

Only downside if the guy if 1.5 hours away, e/w

I want to be able to test an match tubes for my Tube buffer....:D
Post edited by kcoc321 on
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Comments

  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 34,212
    edited April 2010
    By the looks of it, probably just tests filament continuity. Useful if you have an "AC/DC" (transformerless) set with no filaments lighting (filaments in series, like old-time Christmas tree lights); otherwise of no value for assessing tube quality (even emission).
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  • kcoc321
    kcoc321 Posts: 1,788
    edited April 2010
    thanks MRH,
    So if I 'dumb it down' for my 'novice' skillset, this one would just tell me if the tube is working, as in continuity, but not tell me a reading like would be needed to 'match' tubes??

    Are my 6ak5/6J1 tubes 'transformerless'?
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,986
    edited April 2010
    Zero value audio wise, as mentioned.
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 34,212
    edited April 2010
    kcoc321 wrote: »
    thanks MRH,
    So if I 'dumb it down' for my 'novice' skillset, this one would just tell me if the tube is working, as in continuity, but not tell me a reading like would be needed to 'match' tubes??

    Are my 6ak5/6J1 tubes 'transformerless'?
    It won't even tell you if the tube has emission (electrodes cooking off the cathode); it will just tell you that there's electrical continuity to the heater filament.

    A transformerless amplifier or TV or radio will have the tubes wired with their filaments in a series string; the filament voltages will all add up to about 110V. This was primarily for cost cutting (the sets would typically have no filament nor high-voltage power supply transformer, but also no electrical isolation). This made the chassis of the transformerless set potentially "hot" electrically (which could be hazardous or even fatal upon contact under just the wrong circumstances). Google "All American Five radio" and learn about the most common AM table radio configuration for about three decades.
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  • kcoc321
    kcoc321 Posts: 1,788
    edited April 2010
    Alright, thanks for the education. Looks like I'll pass on it.
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