What company made the best vintage Test Equipment?

My personal opinion is Eico. Some Heathkit was not bad too.
Another favorite, is Paco, but that is only based on one piece of test
gear, which is an signal tracer. Paco stuff is rare and hard to find.

That Paco tracer is very similar to an Eico tracer. So much similar, I
kind of wonder if the same company made it????

I mostly collect EICO test equipment though. Back in the day, they had
the biggest variety and made very sturdy and reliable gear. Amazingly,
most of that stuff still works when I buy it. Aside from replacing
line cords quite often, I recap it, spray contacts and pots, and use it.

Of course many of these devices did not have Capacitors. They had
Condensers, and those never went bad...... <LOL>

So, the next time someone tells you to recap a piece of vintage
electronics, check the schematic, and I'll bet at least half of them
use the word "Condenser". So, of course you have to mess with the
person who asked if you changed the caps, and tell them there are
none. That ought to start a "war of words".... :)

Anyhow, what are your favorite vintage testers?
(I am only referring to tube based testers)

By the way, I do almost all my repairs using that old test gear. My
only modern test gear is a Sencore scope, a frequency counter, and a
few multimeters.

One question I have never been able to answer, is why many Eico testers
came with both blue and silver faces? (Same model numbers). Does anyone
know? I have often wondered if the KIT version was one color and the
FINISHED ones were the other color? (Just a guess).

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thursday, January 3, 2019 at 4:54:49 PM UTC-6, tub...@myshop.com wrote:

What company made the best vintage Test Equipment?

My personal opinion is Eico. Some Heathkit was not bad too.
Another favorite, is Paco, but that is only based on one piece of test
gear, which is an signal tracer. Paco stuff is rare and hard to find.

That Paco tracer is very similar to an Eico tracer. So much similar, I
kind of wonder if the same company made it????

I mostly collect EICO test equipment though. Back in the day, they had
the biggest variety and made very sturdy and reliable gear. Amazingly,
most of that stuff still works when I buy it. Aside from replacing
line cords quite often, I recap it, spray contacts and pots, and use it.

Of course many of these devices did not have Capacitors. They had
Condensers, and those never went bad...... <LOL>

So, the next time someone tells you to recap a piece of vintage
electronics, check the schematic, and I'll bet at least half of them
use the word "Condenser". So, of course you have to mess with the
person who asked if you changed the caps, and tell them there are
none. That ought to start a "war of words".... :)

Anyhow, what are your favorite vintage testers?
(I am only referring to tube based testers)

By the way, I do almost all my repairs using that old test gear. My
only modern test gear is a Sencore scope, a frequency counter, and a
few multimeters.

One question I have never been able to answer, is why many Eico testers
came with both blue and silver faces? (Same model numbers). Does anyone
know? I have often wondered if the KIT version was one color and the
FINISHED ones were the other color? (Just a guess).

Geez, he writes a LOT like Oldstuff....... WITH LOTS OF CAPS and asking lots of INANE QUESTIONS..... Maybe it's time to repost the shoelaces post....

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thursday, January 3, 2019 at 6:43:25 PM UTC-5, tschw...@gmail.com wrote:

Geez, he writes a LOT like Oldstuff....... WITH LOTS OF CAPS and asking lots of INANE QUESTIONS..... Maybe it's time to repost the shoelaces post....

There is that...

Note that when the stuff was made, it was not "Vintage" but new. Note that the likes of Eico, Heath, and other hobby-rated equipment was designed to a price-point that put it within the range of a hobbyist, and just good enough for the need. Any serious
tech would have dismissed it out-of-hand for commercial-grade test equipment, as their livelihood depended on it.

I did like the shoelaces post, however.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Fri, 4 Jan 2019 04:20:08 -0800 (PST), Peter Wieck
<peterwieck33@gmail.com> wrote:

On Thursday, January 3, 2019 at 6:43:25 PM UTC-5, tschw...@gmail.com wrote:

There is that...

Note that when the stuff was made, it was not "Vintage" but new. Note that the >likes of Eico, Heath, and other hobby-rated equipment was designed to a price-point
that put it within the range of a hobbyist, and just good enough for the need. Any
serious tech would have dismissed it out-of-hand for commercial-grade test equipment,
as their livelihood depended on it.

This is a hobby and only a hobby. I have no intention of starting a
business. These days the only customers would want me to repair modern
solid state gear, and I want no part of that. I work on tube gear
because I enjoy it. Solid state stuff only frustrates me, and if that is
what I had to repair, I'd switch hobbies to bird watching or something.
Hobbies are intended to be enjoyable.

I learned electronics in the 1960s. What I used was the same test gear
that I use now. Eico, Heathkit, Allied, etc. It has always served me
well, and has allowed me to repair lots of old tube radios and amps. I
have never seen a need for the commercial grade stuff. One exception was
the old 50's scope that I used back then. That thing was way to big,
heavy, and lacked features. I now have a Sencore PS163 scope and it
works great.

Anyhow, this test gear was made for the things I work on, and is simple
to use. So, it's appropriate for my hobby and my needs. Not to mention
all that old gear was built like an Army tank and lasts forever......

I did like the shoelaces post, however.

I have no idea what you're talking about!!!!

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

I did like the shoelaces post, however.

I have no idea what you're talking about!!!!

What I'm talking about was a tongue-in-cheek post I wrote a while back in response to your inane incessant questions about what type of capacitors to use and your associated tirade against Chinese parts.

It was over in rec.antiques.radio+phono, where you were posting your drivel under "oldstuff" or some such pseudonym.

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!searchin/rec.antiques.radio$2Bphono/shoelaces%7Csort:date/rec.antiques.radio+phono/NN8-LnK11Ig/isXRqcQoBQAJ

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 01/08/19 17:18, tschw10117@gmail.com wrote:

I did like the shoelaces post, however.

I have no idea what you're talking about!!!!

What I'm talking about was a tongue-in-cheek post I wrote a while back in response to your inane incessant questions about what type of capacitors to use and your associated tirade against Chinese parts.

It was over in rec.antiques.radio+phono, where you were posting your drivel under "oldstuff" or some such pseudonym.

that's a little harsh, isn't it? Not like outright trolling, might as
well kick back, sip your adult beverage, and just read for grins

What I object to is 'hall monitoring'. Just sayin'.

But worse than that is those who must make you look bad in order to make themselves look good. When every idea you have is crap, everything you
say is wrong, and they're the only ones who know anything, THOSE guys
are the ones who deserve the vitriol. I have one specific former poster
to this newsgroup in mind on THAT one, from 2012-ish as I recall.
Haven't seen him at all since I came back to this newsgroup, thankfully.
I left for a while because of trolls like him. Interesting
discussions with 'flipper', though, but he was beginning to pattern his behavior after the trolls... and that's when it was time to go byby,

Personally, whatever the 'shoelace' post was, who really cares? This is USENET, where anarchy is part of the fun.

[if the guy changed his nic, assume he left his old intarweb persona
behind with the old one... it's not like intarweb personas are who you
are IRL right?]


--
(aka 'Bombastic Bob' in case you wondered)

'Feeling with my fingers, and thinking with my brain' - me

'your story is so touching, but it sounds just like a lie'
"Straighten up and fly right"

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

While we are on this subject,can anybody recommend somebody who could repair or restore a nonworking tube tester?

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 02/07/19 19:02, Roger Kulp wrote:

While we are on this subject,can anybody recommend somebody who could repair or restore a nonworking tube tester?

actually it would depend on a) what kind [I would assume an old 'drug
store' type of model, or a hobbyist tube tester or something like that,
cathode emissions only] and b) what's wrong with it. A bad power
transformer might require some significant effort to repair, from
swapping it out for multiple single voltage transformers, to re-winding
the thing [which I would never want to do, evar].

They're usually pretty simple, unless it's some high tech unit that
measures more than cathode emission with all grids + plate tied
together. In THAT case, not sure what to say, maybe someone knows
enough about those to walk you through...

As for me, I'd suggest finding a tech manual and seeing if all of the
voltages are good and all of the switches and sockets work, the meter
works ok, all of the light bulbs [if any] work, etc. especially a
'shorted' light [if burnt out, might act like a fuse and keep the unit
from working at all, depending], and repair as needed.

As I recall the 'shorted' light on this one tester was a medium voltage
light bulb in series with the power transformer, and so if it's
"shorted" the light protects the circuitry and indicates 'shorted'. If
that bulb burns out the entire unit won't function, and you can't really operate properly without the thing in there, so no pennies in the socket
etc.


--
(aka 'Bombastic Bob' in case you wondered)

'Feeling with my fingers, and thinking with my brain' - me

'your story is so touching, but it sounds just like a lie'
"Straighten up and fly right"

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 10:02:01 PM UTC-5, Roger Kulp wrote:

While we are on this subject,can anybody recommend somebody who could repair or restore a nonworking tube tester?

It very much depends on the type of tester and, of course, its immediate condition. Could be anything from a bad rectifier tube (or tubes), to mice in the works. Or, as BBB suggest, a bad lamp or other wearing part. Could be dirt.

Brand, and model would be useful.

This would be a place to start.

http://tone-lizard.com/category/tube-testers/

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)