Bender 4 Life Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 yes, I know...i'm "googling" them as y'all tell me to.....but i'm wanting personal experience/testimonials from YOU, the people I trust most about music related gear. i'm remembering the days when every super-market had a pinball machine sized tester and assortment of tubes for sale beneath it. the Orange brand unit looks nice....small....simple.....but $499...REALLY?? thanks for any info y'all can render !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 i agree with you. when i first saw the Orange tube tester i thought "great", then i saw the price. you gotta be kidding. yep, back in the 60's they were everywhere like you said. i can remember a tv repairman coming to our house with a suitcase size tube tester. i'd love to have one, but not for $500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 If I were you, at that price, I'd build one. Try searching for a schematic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 http://www.amp-head....&products_id=30 Here ya go. ............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 biasing is different than testing the tubes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I have a basic tube tester that will tell you if there are any shorts or leaks. Then you can test the "output" to see how strong it is. It's a Lafayette, kind of like this one. Not real fancy, just basic. http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-LAFAYETTE-TE-50A-TUBE-TESTER-99-5063-GUITAR-AMPLIFIER-HI-FI-RADIO-/350909067656?_trksid=p2054897.l4276 The one above is not a bad deal, actually. I think I paid about fifty to one hundred bucks for it. Your best bet is to find a used one on ebay or somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I picked up a basic tester at a garage sale over the summer for $2. It just lights up an indicator if it works. Good enough to at least diagnose a tube failure if i'm having an amp problem. It works for my 12ax7 and 6L6 tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I think it kinda depends on what you need it for. You can buy old tube testers really reasonably on eBay. These are great for old NOS tubes, but are crap for testing a modern 12AX7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I think it kinda depends on what you need it for. You can buy old tube testers really reasonably on eBay. These are great for old NOS tubes, but are crap for testing a modern 12AX7. Yeah - The old tube testers aren't as useful as you might think. I like the Orange thing. It's more of a modern automated tester and seems to test all kinds of stuff. Way more that one of the old testers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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