Misc. Stuff

Variac AC/DC Power Supply
This is my Variac AC & DC power supply that I had originally purchased on e-bay. After getting the package delivered to me and opening it up I discovered that there were no internal parts. Someone had canabilized it and all that was left was the meter,knobs, receptacle & fuse holder. The description read as follows; working power supply in excellent condition guaranteed not to be DOA (dead on arrival). I contacted the seller and told him about what I had found and he agreed to refund my purchase price plus the mailing fees then he told me just to keep the unit because it was no good to him the way it was. Anyway, I decided to add a real variac reostat a transformer and capacitors. Now I have a nice bench isolation transformer that will last for years.

Heathkit-IP2715
This is my Heathkit-IP2715 the use specifically for repairing car radios ranging from 1920s through 1950s. It's hard to find a six volt power supply that will produce the amperage that I need to power up those old 6 volt car radios. This item I purchased on ebay and had to replace one meter and the large ripple filters. Works great!

Precision 612 Tube Tester
Precision 612 is an old tester that my friend Jon, (Jon's Antique Radios) found. It has a lot of parts and pieces missing and all of the tube sockets are rusted but could probably be cleaned up. One afternoon as I was coming home, I found another tube tester just like this one. So I robbed few of the parts from the one that Jon sent me and made a good tube tester which I sold to another friend of mine in Australia, (another collector). Anyway I still have this unit as a part's unit only...if anyone is interested in this or needs parts, please email me.

Precision 920
The Precision 920 is a pretty rugged tube tester. It tests all tubes manufactured through the '60s. It has 6 sockets that will check the larger tubes such as 4,5,6,7,8 plus it has 2 sockets that are for smaller 5 & 7 pin tubes. The tube tester also has a volt/ohm meter built-in to the tube tester meter and test leads that you can troubleshoot AC and DC circuits as well as testing for noise in other circuits. It's a very nice tube tester with a solid oak outer case and lid. I found this tester for $22 at an antique store in Kalama, WA. It was a nice find.

Mercury 1000 Tube tester
I received this tester from Jon, (Jon's Antique Radios) and I had another one that needed parts. So I had two testers to work with and made one good tester that is in good working order. The outside has a few scuffs and one small tear on one corner & the top panel is very good. It will check most tubes made through the middle '50s including the 4&5 prong types, It also has a picture tube socket adaptor. This is another keeper that I'll add to my collection.

Heathkit TC-1 Tube Tester
This Heathkit TC-1 is a tester that a friend sent me from California. The front panel looks like someone spilled something on it and it bubbled the paint up as you can see from the photo. I'll probably keep this as a part's set just-in case I find another tester just like it.

Readrite Ranger 442
Readrite Ranger 442, has a Triplet meter in it. I don't know much about this little tester, I have not been able to find any paperwork or manuals for it. It has the 4 pin, and a combination 5-6 pin socket with 7 pin & 8 pin sockets, that's it. I would probably say the vintage of this tester is before the small miniature tubes. The condition of the tester looks to be in mint condition and measures 6''wide X 4''deep X 8'' tall. It has a all metal case. I found this at a estate sale for $2.00.

Conar 223
This is another tester I found at a amateur radio swap meet. The tester had never been used because it was a kit that you bought and put together yourself. I found this tester underneath a table in a cardboard box, the price tag on the box said $89.95 then I noticed someone had marked $25.00 on the other side of the box. After examining the contents I found that the tester was not complete, the kit was never finished. I talked to the owner of the tester and we came to an agreement that I could buy the tester for less than $25.00. I took the tester home and spent three evenings building it. According to the owners manual the tube tester assembly guide was made in the late '50s, early '60s. This tester has the combination 4,5,6 prong socket, large 7 pin socket, 8 pin octal, 8 pin loctal, 9-10 pin sockets, 5 pin nuvistor, 7 pin miniature, 9 pin novar, 12 pin compactron, 10 pin miniature & bayonet sockets. It's a great little tester and is one of my favorite testers.

Sencore 142
Sencore 142 was the find of a lifetime, it is absolutely brand new and it has never ever tested a tube. When you open the case, you can still smell the newness, kinda like a new car smell. This tester will test over 3000 different tubes, even most foreign tubes, the only tubes that it will not check is your 4 prong tubes like the old '45s,'80s etc. This is a mutual conductance tester which means it will test for leakage and gas between controlled grid and other elements, shorts between all elements, leakage between cathode and heater of 180,000 ohms plus all the important cathode emission test. This tester will find problems in a tube that other testers will not find. It is a great tester. I use the Sencore 140 as my bench tester, which is a much earlier version of the 142.

HeathKit IT-17A
I got this on ebay, it didn't work so I changed all the caps and resistors and recalibrated. Works pretty good for an emission tester.

HeathKit IT-21
This is another Heathkit that I found at an estate sale in Portland Oregon. I did the same caps change as I did with the Heathkit IT-17 but when I replace the resistors, I used the metal film type precision resistors. I have to tell you that it made such a big diference in the actual time it took the tube to warm up and also gave a more accurate reading. You might want to try this with your own tester.

Hickok 600A Tube Tester
This tube tester was purchased from ebay and rebuilt to factory specifications.

Hickok 800 Tube Tester
This tube tester was purchased from ebay and rebuilt to factory specifications.

Hickok 534B Tube Tester
This tube tester was purchased from ebay and rebuilt to factory specifications.

B&K Dyna-Jet 707
This B&K Dyna-Jet 707 is a great mutual conductance tube tester. I bought this off an eBay auction, it didn't work when I bought it and that's why I bought it. The price was right so when I got it delivered to me, I immediately started troubleshooting and fixing it, before long I had a nice working tester. As you can see it has a lot of tube sockets and will check over 3000 types of tubes. It's another one of my favorites.

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