Got a closet full that I need to inventory and sell some day. I imagine they are worth more than I paid just a few years ago, the tube market is nuts with hoarding.
This reminds me that I need to find a good Tektronix curve tracer and build an adapter plus screen & filament supplies to test my tubes. Matched pairs of some of the tubes I have in my inventory run hundreds of dollars. Curve tracer is the best way to evaluate a tube because it tests it over the whole operating range, not just at low current, as with a tube tester.
I thought the Curve Tracer did measure at "real" voltages unlike the Hickok's of the day.
Myles,
Which Curve Tracer are you referring ? May be some can work with real voltages, but some of them are really expensive. And unless you are in the business of tubes, you will be paying mostly for the flexibility of testing hundreds of types of tubes, and you only need to test a few types.
I thought Mark had a Tek Tronix curve tracer. And yes the Tek Tronix cost a small fortune when new. I think something in the neighborhood of 15k.
Mark, if you've got some matched 417As please drop me a PM
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