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Old 23rd Mar 2021, 9:45 pm   #1
Cruisin Marine
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Default Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

I am finally getting round to building a valve tester, it will be a mix of ideas, including the Sussex jobbie.
I would like suggestions on any sockets to add to my current list if you can help
I have
B7G
B9A
B7A
B8B
INTERNATIONAL OCTAL
UX5


ANY SUGGESTIONS? I don't want to finish it and miss any obvious choices.
Although I could an an extender adaptor afterwards.
The Q Max cutter is at the ready lol
Thanks.

Last edited by Cruisin Marine; 23rd Mar 2021 at 9:59 pm.
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Old 23rd Mar 2021, 10:14 pm   #2
m0cemdave
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Default Re: Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

It depends on what your interests are in terms of equipment.

Maybe some of the following:

Mazda Octal for some vintage 1940's equipment.

UX7 for anything that uses 1625's (12V version of 807).
UX4, 5, and 6 for vintage American radios.

B4, B5, B7 for 1920's/30's British radios.

B8A Rimlock for 1950's radio and TV valves and EL41's

B8G Loktal for "7" and "14" series valves, Philco radios etc.
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Old 23rd Mar 2021, 10:15 pm   #3
Radio Wrangler
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Default Re: Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

What sort of equipment do you work on? There's Mazda Octal, then the UX series. But they're only important if you use them.

You could stick a 12-pin socket on, not for use as such but as a receptacle for adaptors to handle anything you've missed.

David
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Old 23rd Mar 2021, 10:25 pm   #4
M0FYA Andy
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Default Re: Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

I would certainly want a B9G base for testing EF50's, as well as a little B3G base for EA50 diodes, in addition to the Mazda Octal already suggested, because of my interest in early radar equipment.
It will be easier to include all bases initially than to add them later.

Andy
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Old 23rd Mar 2021, 10:57 pm   #5
joebog1
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Default Re: Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

I am also building a valve tester and after some thought I have come up with this idea:
I am using my old MKII Avo chassis as the hardware basis. The rotary switch will be retained in its origional position on the "top" of the valve tester. The main box of the tester will be painted in aluminium paint. The top panel will be a piece of "polished" aluminium, to closely match the aluminium paint. It will not be painted for exactly the reason you mention, adding another valve base. With plain aluminium you can cut/file new holes without damaging any paint that would most likely start flaking off around the new hole(s). To keep the top looking smick I will be blowing a thin coat of clear over the top to prevent it tarnishing. Other valve bases already fitted can be easily masked off to prevent paint ingress.

Just a thought

Joe
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Old 24th Mar 2021, 8:17 pm   #6
Cruisin Marine
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Default Re: Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

Thanks everyone, loads of sockets to get on with there, appreciated- cheers
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Old 24th Mar 2021, 8:32 pm   #7
GrimJosef
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Default Re: Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

Try to choose robust, well-made ones. Depending on how often you use it and with which valves, some of the sockets may see many more insertions than would ever happen to them in ordinary equipment.

Taking the trouble to straighten any bent valve pins might extend the sockets' lives too.

Cheers,

GJ
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Old 24th Mar 2021, 9:17 pm   #8
G6Tanuki
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Default Re: Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

it all comes down to "what sorts of valves will you be testing?"

For me I'd want UX5 [for 807s and their friends]. B7G, B9A of course, proper-Octal and Mazda-Octal, B8A, B9G for the likes of the EF50/EF54/QV04-7, B7A for the QQV03/20 - QQV06/40, B8B for the 5B/254M and similar.

Whether to include Acorns and Nuvistors would be a matter of personal preference - my valve-world is biased [pun intended] towards RF-stuff, which brings with it a whole slew of needing-to-seriously-stop-and-choke the valve-under-test if you're trying to do DC measurements - yet also sometimes needing to be able to test a valve's ability-to-oscillate at its upper frequency-limit.
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Old 25th Mar 2021, 1:08 am   #9
turretslug
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Default Re: Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

I suppose that you could add B9D and B10B sockets as well if you really wanted to, at least allowing the PLs and PFL200s that turn up in the telly valve pull boxes to be tested, and outliers like the ECH200.
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Old 25th Mar 2021, 1:19 pm   #10
Stevie342000
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Default Re: Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

You can buy socket savers on eBay for the more familiar sockets which will be the ones you most probably will use most, B9A, B7G and IO come to mind there may be others. I bought some for my Avo Two Panel. You can if you look find pin Straighteners too.
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Old 3rd Apr 2021, 1:57 am   #11
retailer
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Default Re: Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

What ever sockets you decide on, and if you have the room you may want to think about including a row of hard wired sockets for 'common' use type valves - I recently built a valve tester and included hardwired sockets for EL34/6V6/6L6/etc octal output valves - 12Axx series of dual triodes - 6SL7/6SN7/etc series of octal dual triodes - 6BQ5 etc.
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Old 4th Apr 2021, 12:28 am   #12
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Default Re: Valve Tester- socket suggestions please?

Yes, a few fixed-wired sockets may be useful. However, too many can take up a bit of panel space
The first AVO 'Large Multimeter style' 'basic' Valve Tester had external panel units, connected with a large multi-pin connector that had rows & columns of multiple same size sockets, that were originally all fixed-wired
- So there was a panel for British types and another for International ones.
But these still didn't cover quite a few types, so it seems it was soon superseded by the universal panel with just one socket of each size and a row of thumbwheel switches that you needed the infamous AVO Data Manual book to look-up the required settings for each type (as well as controls on the main unit).

With many classic valve-testers getting rather old and more difficult to get hold of good ones at sensible prices, there have been a few attempts at creating a new one.
And I had seen that Brimar, who are aiming to restart UK manufacture of some valves, had started work on designing a new one: https://brimaruk.com/valve-testers/
I was surprised when I saw this on their stand at the NVCF, that although it has an integrated digital display, all the switching is done manually via lots of rotary switches, that take up quite a lot of the panel space (especially compared to old thumbwheel types), rather than being fully electronically-controlled - But maybe the amount of relays required to do universal any-connections switching works out much more expensive / complex with conventional changeover relays rather than uniselectors.
Computer-control could be useful for curve-plotting and matching etc. - especially to companies like this, but may not be required by those only dealing with a few valves.

Valve holders for the more common, still in current equipment, types should be available new in better quality ceramic or Teflon. But some of the more obscure type sizes might require the use of less-robust paxolin or bakelite surplus ones if no-one's manufacturing these anymore.
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