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Tube/valve testing

edited November 2013 in Audio Talk

I'd like to extend the offer I made to Tony the other day, with some limitations. If you're in Sydney and have a GtG I'd be happy to bring over my TV-7 tester and test some tubes/valves for you. In some cases, I may let you borrow the tester for longer.

If you're not in Sydney and are stuck, I don't mind doing some testing for you if you a. start a thread about it first, b. pay postage both ways, and c. post the tubes to me in boxes that I can write on. Not that interested though in doing your rare expensive irreplaceable triodes, for obvious reasons.

If you want to know which tubes you can test on a TV-7, Google it :) Almost all traditional tubes are fine, more recent tubes like Russian super-tubes and modern manufacture "sort of like X" tubes with different specs won't work.

Comments

  • What are Russian super tubes ?

  • edited November 2013

    From what I understand, the Russians continued to develop tube/valve technology well after the West had largely moved to transistors. As a result, they developed and produced tubes that are superior in specs to the older types developed in the 1930s and 40s. Some have been picked up by audio designers and (AFAIK) are being used in some current production audio gear, 6H30 and 6C19 come to mind. However most tube testers (American/vintage) don't have the data or capabilities necessary to test them.

  • Lucas put me onto some of those tubes ,he was using before BAT and a few other high end players started using them .
    My pre use's the 6H30pi the dac I had 6C45pi and the bass amp tube GU50 which was developed from the German Telefunken LS50 in 1932.

    Cheers

  • edited November 2013

    Ah, 6C45 is another one.

    It's not very hard to build a tester for a specific type of tube. The reason tube testers are so complicated is all the sockets and switches and wiring so they can test hundreds of different types of tubes.

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