[firedome]

Please eMail direct to: dieselpug"at"stny.rr.com

Hickok 6000a tube tester recently calibrated, good roll chart, works
perfect and in excellent condition $400.
Excellent machine and reasonably priced alternative to 539c...
thanks
Roger

[Peter Wieck]

firedome wrote:

Hickok 6000a tube tester recently calibrated, good roll chart, works
perfect and in excellent condition $400.
Excellent machine and reasonably priced alternative to 539c...

The 6000A is the "other" version of the 6000, and therefore came with
the more recent sockets. So, 7 & 9-pin miniatures, compactron (9 & 12
pin), Octal, Locktal, nuvistor, transistor & VOM. It will not test its
own 4-pin 83 mercury rectifier, for instance. It is also much more
limited than the 539-series inasmuch as it does not have variable bias,
does not have a way to test plate and filament current directly and one
must choose between which vintage tubes one is able to test (without
adaptors).

So, as a general-purpose GM-type tube-tester when matching is not a
requirement and pre-octal tubes are not used, it is an excellent
option.

Note that the 6000 option (both the 6000 and 6000A were offered at the
same time) does test pre-octal, octal, locktal and 7 & 9-pin miniatures
(also transistor & VOM), but NOT nuvistors or compactrons.

As to the price, that is between the buyer, seller and their respective
gods.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

[Sander deWaal]

"Peter Wieck" said:


firedome wrote:

Hickok 6000a tube tester recently calibrated, good roll chart, works
perfect and in excellent condition $400.
Excellent machine and reasonably priced alternative to 539c...


The 6000A is the "other" version of the 6000, and therefore came with
the more recent sockets. So, 7 & 9-pin miniatures, compactron (9 & 12
pin), Octal, Locktal, nuvistor, transistor & VOM. It will not test its
own 4-pin 83 mercury rectifier, for instance. It is also much more
limited than the 539-series inasmuch as it does not have variable bias,
does not have a way to test plate and filament current directly and one
must choose between which vintage tubes one is able to test (without
adaptors).

So, as a general-purpose GM-type tube-tester when matching is not a
requirement and pre-octal tubes are not used, it is an excellent
option.

Note that the 6000 option (both the 6000 and 6000A were offered at the
same time) does test pre-octal, octal, locktal and 7 & 9-pin miniatures
(also transistor & VOM), but NOT nuvistors or compactrons.


This post speaks volumes about your primary intended use, restoring
vintage radios (ie. pre-1940). ;-)

I almost exclusively use the Octal, Noval and 7-pin miniature sockets
on my AVO, since I'm a silly audiophile.

The few tube radios I have are all postwar, mostly Philips, Erres,
Tesla and Grundig.
There used to be a kind of equivalent to the AA5, the "4-tube European
circuit", not counting the rectifier.
Initially, it used the "elephant feet" P tubes (red series) by
Philips.
Examples: EBL1, EL3, ECH3, EF9 and such.
Later, the rimlock 8 pin tubes, like EF40, EL41, ECH41 etc. replaced
them.
Still later, Noval tubes from the 80 series were used, well into the
'50s (e.g. by Tesla).

Those tube sockets are on my AVO, but I never used that instrument to
judge the tubes I needed for my radios.
I just plug them in and listen ;-)


As to the price, that is between the buyer, seller and their respective
gods.


Compared to AVO prices here in Europe, which this tester may be
equalled with, the price is in step with the market value IMO.

--
"Due knot trussed yore spell chequer two fined awl miss steaks."

[Peter Wieck]

Sander deWaal wrote:

This post speaks volumes about your primary intended use, restoring
vintage radios (ie. pre-1940). ;-)

Actually, my primary tester is a Hickok 539B. And my secondary is a
Simpson 555 emissions-only tester. The Hickok does it all... pre-octal
through nuvistor. The Simpson is fine for 99-44/100ths of vintage radio
work. I drag out the Hickok for those pesky Audio-type tubes that
kinda-sorta want to be matched or something.

And (heaven forfend) should I ever want to get into triode-based audio
stuff, the 6000A would be pretty much useless without an adaptor. It's
all in accordance with what one wants. Put another way, if one is going
to invest serious money in a tube-tester, then don't stop half-way. As
you so correctly note (and excepting shorts and gas) the equipment is
the ultimate test of any tube.

Enjoy!

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

[firedome]

Astute observations all... which, withall, alerted me to my descriptive
error...it is a 6000 not 6000a, (mea culpa). It is, in any event, an
excellent tester which, in some respects, I have come to prefer to the
revered TV7D/U. You correctly note that useage in-circuit is the
ultimate test, and the intended use the ideal determinant of
preference..I, for example, don't test many nuvistors. With 539s now at
nosebleed prices, less costly alternatives that perhaps function at
somewhat less than ideal (is there an ideal?... ping Alan Douglas...)
suddenly become quite viable for a significant number of users.
regards, Roger Anderson
writer, Vacuum Tube Valley Magazine
Binghamton NY



Peter Wieck wrote:
Sander deWaal wrote:

This post speaks volumes about your primary intended use, restoring
vintage radios (ie. pre-1940). ;-)

Actually, my primary tester is a Hickok 539B. And my secondary is a
Simpson 555 emissions-only tester. The Hickok does it all... pre-octal
through nuvistor. The Simpson is fine for 99-44/100ths of vintage radio
work. I drag out the Hickok for those pesky Audio-type tubes that
kinda-sorta want to be matched or something.

And (heaven forfend) should I ever want to get into triode-based audio
stuff, the 6000A would be pretty much useless without an adaptor. It's
all in accordance with what one wants. Put another way, if one is going
to invest serious money in a tube-tester, then don't stop half-way. As
you so correctly note (and excepting shorts and gas) the equipment is
the ultimate test of any tube.

Enjoy!

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

[Sander deWaal]

"Peter Wieck" said:


And (heaven forfend) should I ever want to get into triode-based audio
stuff, ...........


You're halfway there, you just don't realize it at this moment.

How many steps are there in your "Fisher Iron" scheme? ;-)

--
"Due knot trussed yore spell chequer two fined awl miss steaks."

[Peter Wieck]

Sander deWaal wrote:


How many steps are there in your "Fisher Iron" scheme? ;-)

None that involve any 4-pin tubes for damned sure ;-b

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

[Sander deWaal]

"Peter Wieck" said:


How many steps are there in your "Fisher Iron" scheme? ;-)


None that involve any 4-pin tubes for damned sure ;-b


No need to.

The AD1 has 7 pins ;-)


Really, KT88 trioded is sweet enough, at least to these ears.

There are many fans of the EL34 in triode.
I am not, for some apparently absurd reason.
So, that leaves more of them for you guys to try!

(in case you need some, I have XF2, XF3 and XF4 quads, stashed away
for you-never-know-when-you-might-need-em).

--
"Due knot trussed yore spell chequer two fined awl miss steaks."