I have a TV-7 and 3 other Hickoks. The only drawback to any of these vs the Amplitrex, Etracer, and Maximatcher is the relatively low plate voltage applied to power tubes is insufficient for matching. In a recent test of rare 8417 tubes, I used my 539B, which allows plate current monitoring. After recording the data for each of 12 tubes, I took them to a friend's house who has a tester with up to 500 v on the plates, and meters on every element in the tube. Over half of the theoretical matches my 539B predicted were wrong. The TV-7 and similar Hickoks are fine for preamp tubes and detecting shorts in all tubes, but for matching, you need a higher plate voltage. I'll probably get an Etracer kit at some point.
Anyone Here Ever Purchased A Tube Tester?
Once or twice a day a tube sputters for a brief second in my Audio Research Reference DAC. The Reference DAC is connected directly to my amplifier and it also serves as my preamp. Visually, all of the tubes look fine. Visually, I can’t tell which tube may be bad.
The tubes are: (4) 6H30, plus (1) 6550C and (1) 6H30 in power supply
Have any of you ever purchased a tube tester to test your tubes? If so, what tube tester are you using?