Not even the tube manufacturers themselves had test equipment that could detect all bad tubes, or verify all good tubes, or test for all tube characteristics.
A 100 accurate tube tester is not even possible because a tube can work excellent in one circuit and not work at all in another circuit.
However, many people do not use a tube tester properly, do not interpret the results correctly, or have unreasonable expectations of them.
Other people have developed poor workflow habits that need to be improved.
While each tube tester has different capabilities and therefore different operating instructions, here are my thoughts regarding tubes, testing, and all tube testers in general.
I scanned the article, cleaned it up with photoshop, and make it available as a PDF HERE.
It was hard to sell a tube to a cautious customer just based upon the word of the repairman, so the tube tester was proof that the tube was bad.
The results must be interpreted and judged, no different than you would with a voltmeter or other test equipment.
![hickok 600a tube chart hickok 600a tube chart](/uploads/1/3/4/6/134657628/500116090_orig.jpg)
He puts the tube tester on a pedestal as a tin god or supreme judge of all tubes.
His tube worries are over All goes well for a while, and the novice is a rabid tester of tubes.
He supports the tester ardently in discussions with more experienced technicians.
The bad tube is reinserted in the set and troubleshooting begins.
Everyday on chat forums, you find fanboys of this-or-that-model tube tester, discussing their tin god as the arbiter of tube testing excellence, but without themselves having any real expertise regarding the technicalities of its test circuit, the strengths or weaknesses of their model (and the weaknesses are many), nor any real knowledge of how tubes work.
Portable photoshop cs6 for mac torrent downloadIt is rare indeed for one to say, simply and concisely, that their tester does a good job at FINDING BAD TUBES.
I always find it interesting when people put faith in the test scores or test results, or whether the tube does (or does not) have Shorts or Leakage, when they know that they are using an as is tube tester or tube tester of unknown accuracy.
![hickok 600a tube chart hickok 600a tube chart](/uploads/1/3/4/6/134657628/794841476_orig.jpg)
It is rare to acquire a tube tester that does not have a problem.
In fact, I cannot remember the last time that I purchased a tube tester that did not have significant issues preventing it from working to the best of its ability.
Apparently some people actually believe that a tube tester which is 40 to 70 years old magically works properly some 40 to 70 years after it was manufactured just because it gives a reading on the meter.
I say magically because I am not aware of too many 40 to 70 year old devices that work properly without being serviced.
But even the best tube tester of unknown condition cannot by definition be relied upon.