On Tuesday, January 28, 2014 9:57:45 PM UTC-5, hugeshows wrote:
Hello All,
A little late - by nearly 10 months - but a bit of advice when dealing with any Hickok-pattern tester:
Lose the 83.
First, in most Hickok testers, it is placed in a sideways position - they are not designed for that. Second, you are correct that they either 'do' or 'don't', but they also are somewhat spotty when they do - after they have aged a bit. Often enough they will show an otherwise good tube as either weak or bad, especially high-draw output tubes such as those KT90s.
http://tubesound.com/2009/01/16/soli...t-for-83-tube/ is a How-To link that will get you a worry-free SS drop-in replacement.
I keep a 539B, and after I replaced the 83 and did the calibration, it is as accurate as any tester gets, a fairly wide window in any case. And the readings are much more consistent overall.
Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
p.s.: Nor would I use junk-box 'pulls' on any piece of equipment that is of any value, more specifically, something as difficult to 'get into' as that tester. Fine for testing and fine for diagnosis - but as a permanent install? Not hardly.