Tube Testers. Specifically Heathkit TC2

[C/G]

I have a chance to buy an old Heathkit TC2 for $40 CDN. Just wondering if it is a decent tube tester. I have never used or owned a tube tester before and it would just be used to check mine and friends tubes. Is this thing a pos or is it a decent tester? It used to belong to a friends grandfather who has passed away and he was an old school tv repairman.

Well any tube tester that works is worth 40 bucks.
Does it have all the cards with it?

Oh... Yeah... $40.00 Canadian. Damn that is a good deal.

BTW, Heathkit always made bitchin HAM radio gear, so Im sure the brand is a good one.

[Tubefreak]

They were sold in the days as DIY kits. They are "simple" testers which will give you a basic indication. But it's not high quality by far. It is as simple/basic as it gets.

The price you paid is reasonable and will sure give you lots of fun. If you ever want to step up you would have to pay at least 3x the price (for a Hickok, B&K or Precision). If you want to go pro... then expect to pay way more.

Maarten

Most of my tube testing time is on a B&K, damn thing works great. Even has extra blank cards so you can make your own parameters for a tube that was not initially planned for.

[Geoff_T]

Originally Posted by WHITEAUDIOLABs

Well any tube tester that works is worth 40 bucks.
Does it have all the cards with it?

Oh... Yeah... $40.00 Canadian. Damn that is a good deal.

BTW, Heathkit always made bitchin HAM radio gear, so Im sure the brand is a good one.

Hi

The only problem with Heathkit items is not the design... they made some seriously nice gear... but the manner in which it was assembled by the DIY'er, way back.

All that aside, the gear was never designed to compete with the likes of B and K but, for a home user wanting a tool that told him whether the tube was good, passable if desparate, or duffo... it'll do you fine.

They made a variety of the devices... here's a link to a smarter one...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Heath-Heathkit-T...QQcmdZViewItem

[DaveH]

Years ago I built all my test equipment. Most of it was Heathkit.

The tube tester that I built that I though did a real good job was
a EICO 667. (I did buy the kit with made it a 667K)
(Dynamic Conductance)

They seem to go for around $100.

IECO has some good designs, I have had the pleasure of playing with a few of there tube type HI-Fi amps. That company sold there gear pre-assembled and in kit form if Im not mistaken.

Originally Posted by Geoff_T

The only problem with Heathkit items is not the design... they made some seriously nice gear... but the manner in which it was assembled by the DIY'er, way back.

Well I have found that anything from that era that is still around either works, or was at least assembled correctly. But I am most familiar with there Transmitters, Receivers, Transceivers, and Linear amplifiers. The big boy toys.