Purchasing a tube tester can be tricky. There are a lot of testers for sale on Ebay and Audiogon. Many are not calibrated or are in need of some other type of repair. Make sure you ask questions before you buy. Some of these sellers will say it's in perfect cosmetic order, which doesn't necessarily mean that it works well, just that it looks pretty! I actually purchased a Triplet 3414 on ebay that was in very good shape cosmetically and functionally. I was willing to take a chance that it may need to be calibrated, but I lucked out. You also want to make sure that it will test the tubes that you are using or may use in the future because certain testers do not have the facility to test certain tubes. You should also make sure it comes with the user guide and list of tubes, otherwise do not buy it unless you can get a manual somewhere else. You might be able to get an Eico 625, which is a pretty basic unit, for $100-$125 on Ebay. Some of these tube testers are selling for twice the price of what they cost when they were new. It's the law of supply and demand, and I don't think that there is a company that is still making tube testers for the average consumer.
Before you begin your search, check out this web site:
www.alltubetesters.com You will find useful information about tube testers. The guy even offers opinions on which tube testers are worthwhile. He also performs repairs on them, so even if you purchase a tube tester that is functioning perfectly, it may need repair someday. Good Luck!!
