TM5006 with AM5001 distortion analyzer and FG5010 function generator, TM 500 with power supplies, Yokogawa scope, HP 3577 network analyzer ( I was just making some test on 50 ohm two way splitter and 40 dB attenuator) Stanford Research DSP lock in amplifier, TEK 5000 scope with various plug ins, HP attenuator, Simpson sweeping generator, Rockland Hi pass low pass filter,
soldering / desoldering station, hot air station, RME Fireface 800 interface, Fluke 189...
soldering / desoldering station, hot air station, RME Fireface 800 interface, Fluke 189...
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GK, I love that 'scope! How about a pic with a trace? Some of you gents have some nice stuff. I've got:
Telequipment D66 'scope ($40 off Craigslist with two Tek 10:1 probes, like new)
HP signal generator (cranky, dual outputs with offset plug in, $25 at ham fest)
B&K 606 tube tester (paid $50 for it, I liked the guy and it does what I need)
Cheap DMM (craftsman, strangely)
A few miscellaneous meters (part of a big pile of unrelated gear)
240V 10A Variac, no case, no knob (freebie +$25 shipping from this forum)
A "dim bulb" tester
Technics receiver ($10), Discman (freebie), various speakers and cables
Paul
Wild Burro Audio Labs - DIY Full Range Speakers
Telequipment D66 'scope ($40 off Craigslist with two Tek 10:1 probes, like new)
HP signal generator (cranky, dual outputs with offset plug in, $25 at ham fest)
B&K 606 tube tester (paid $50 for it, I liked the guy and it does what I need)
Cheap DMM (craftsman, strangely)
A few miscellaneous meters (part of a big pile of unrelated gear)
240V 10A Variac, no case, no knob (freebie +$25 shipping from this forum)
A "dim bulb" tester
Technics receiver ($10), Discman (freebie), various speakers and cables
Paul
Wild Burro Audio Labs - DIY Full Range Speakers
Well okay then. It has been a long while since I plugged this one in. I actually had to pull out the chassis to get at and wiggle the single vertical amplifier tube in its socket to make its heater glow again.
I repaired this one a long time ago. When I got it just about every resistor (the voltage divider strings for the various CRT grid voltages) was charcoal, caused by the various paper capacitors which had spewed out most of their goo.
I’m quite fond of the non-linear horizontal sweep. It uses a thyratron tube in an R/C relaxation oscillator, with the sweep voltage simply picked off the timing capacitor.
Synchronisation is painfully achieved by feeding a sample of the vertical amplifier signal to the thyratron grid via a potentiometer labelled “Synchronise”. You basically fiddle this control for the most stable display after fiddling the timebase “coarse” and “fine” frequency controls to make the sweep rate an exact multiple of the input frequency.
There is also a separate input for the horizontal amplifier (which is identical to the vertical amplifier) so the thing can be used as an X/Y scope. The scope is a lot more useful for generating Lissajous figures.
I repaired this one a long time ago. When I got it just about every resistor (the voltage divider strings for the various CRT grid voltages) was charcoal, caused by the various paper capacitors which had spewed out most of their goo.
I’m quite fond of the non-linear horizontal sweep. It uses a thyratron tube in an R/C relaxation oscillator, with the sweep voltage simply picked off the timing capacitor.
Synchronisation is painfully achieved by feeding a sample of the vertical amplifier signal to the thyratron grid via a potentiometer labelled “Synchronise”. You basically fiddle this control for the most stable display after fiddling the timebase “coarse” and “fine” frequency controls to make the sweep rate an exact multiple of the input frequency.
There is also a separate input for the horizontal amplifier (which is identical to the vertical amplifier) so the thing can be used as an X/Y scope. The scope is a lot more useful for generating Lissajous figures.
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Member
Joined 2002
So Gimp, are you asking us for opinions on what we think might be a canonical selection of tube audio test equipment, or just what do we have (for fun)?
I have a ton of equipment. Heck I have 12 tek scopes alone, a whole rack for power supplies another for signal sources...
Now, what I use the most are a couple of power supplies for B+. The one I use depends on what voltage and current needs. I worked at Tektronix when we switched out all the old tube gear so I picked up some internal test fixtures and power supplies. I built a few, before then.
I have a couple of Tek TM500 racks with DMMs in them. I put one on every tube plate and grid/cathode so I can monitor the entire system at a glance as I power it up with the variac. They can be purchased fairly cheaply. You just can't have enough volt/amp meters 🙂 Saves me from having to do a lot of live probing.
Make sure at least one is analog. You can see trouble faster on an analog meter. Having one to monitor PS current is recommended.
A variac is a must. An isolation transformer comes in very handy. A high voltage probe is another quite useful item. A lot of people fry their scope probes because they don't pay attention to the DC+AC rating. Good for the probe business though 😉
A good LCR meter is really handy. I have a fancy ESI lab one but the one I use the most is a little handheld unit cheapo (Tenma I think).
Distortion and spectrum analyzers are nice to have, if you really care. Most of the time I just use my vector scope and don't really care about absolute distortion numbers. I just eyeball the output then go immediately to listening.
I agree with our pointed headed friend from the alps, having both an analog and digital scope is really nice. My favorite is my old Tek 547, but it is huge and dims the lights when it powers up it's 50 tubes. Most of the time I use my Tek 2014 because it is so small, light and has automated trace setup. But my favorite digital scope is the Tek 7854 because it uses plugins (I think I have them all) and it is programmable (has a keyboard). But the big Tek lab scopes take a lot of room and are sooooo heavy!
Music in the lab? Mostly NPR, BBC, or the local jazz station.
I have a ton of equipment. Heck I have 12 tek scopes alone, a whole rack for power supplies another for signal sources...
Now, what I use the most are a couple of power supplies for B+. The one I use depends on what voltage and current needs. I worked at Tektronix when we switched out all the old tube gear so I picked up some internal test fixtures and power supplies. I built a few, before then.
I have a couple of Tek TM500 racks with DMMs in them. I put one on every tube plate and grid/cathode so I can monitor the entire system at a glance as I power it up with the variac. They can be purchased fairly cheaply. You just can't have enough volt/amp meters 🙂 Saves me from having to do a lot of live probing.
Make sure at least one is analog. You can see trouble faster on an analog meter. Having one to monitor PS current is recommended.
A variac is a must. An isolation transformer comes in very handy. A high voltage probe is another quite useful item. A lot of people fry their scope probes because they don't pay attention to the DC+AC rating. Good for the probe business though 😉
A good LCR meter is really handy. I have a fancy ESI lab one but the one I use the most is a little handheld unit cheapo (Tenma I think).
Distortion and spectrum analyzers are nice to have, if you really care. Most of the time I just use my vector scope and don't really care about absolute distortion numbers. I just eyeball the output then go immediately to listening.
I agree with our pointed headed friend from the alps, having both an analog and digital scope is really nice. My favorite is my old Tek 547, but it is huge and dims the lights when it powers up it's 50 tubes. Most of the time I use my Tek 2014 because it is so small, light and has automated trace setup. But my favorite digital scope is the Tek 7854 because it uses plugins (I think I have them all) and it is programmable (has a keyboard). But the big Tek lab scopes take a lot of room and are sooooo heavy!
Music in the lab? Mostly NPR, BBC, or the local jazz station.
I was wondering what was most useful.
I got a B&K 2534 oscilloscope last year when my old scope died, but am looking for an old analog scope cheap to go with it.
I've got various variacs, isolation transformers, and meter movements.
For general measurement I use a Fluke 8020B or Radio Shack 22-812 multimeter.
My signal generator is an RCA WC-44C that I have spare tubes for but need to work on as it has some problems with the potentiometers.
I'm building a couple of HV adjustable Power Supplies.
I'm looking to find out what else is most useful.
I got a B&K 2534 oscilloscope last year when my old scope died, but am looking for an old analog scope cheap to go with it.
I've got various variacs, isolation transformers, and meter movements.
For general measurement I use a Fluke 8020B or Radio Shack 22-812 multimeter.
My signal generator is an RCA WC-44C that I have spare tubes for but need to work on as it has some problems with the potentiometers.
I'm building a couple of HV adjustable Power Supplies.
I'm looking to find out what else is most useful.
Not fancy eye candy test equipment, but you should have various attenuators, loads and reliable connectors to connect everything in the measurement configurations you use most. I have no patience for bench setups that aren't reliable or are hard to work with. Every now and then I just take a couple hours and make cables. Rarely now, since I have pretty much everything I need hanging on a peg rack on the wall.
Member
Joined 2002
radio shack meters are crap, they are maybe usefull for checking voltages that you dont care about ie HIGH voltage tube transformers LOL u blow it up OHWELL!
Fluke all the way, I personally will be buying more meters and ahand held scop after xmas for my bench :0
J'
One of the best components you can buy for the lab are good test cables -- it makes me whince at the price, -- but a bunch of Pomona's will make your life a lot easier. You can also make good test interconnects yourself with high quality coax and military BNC's.
A good attenuator for audio is the HP 350D and they go for cheap. I also have some Tektronix attenuators for RF.
Here are some potentially good deals on good scopes:
TEKTRONIX 2215A/2215 2CH 60MHZ ANALOG OSCILLOSCOPE - eBay (item 220508633740 end time Dec-10-09 09:39:09 PST)
TEKTRONIX 2213 60 MHz 2 CHANNEL OSCILLOSCOPE - eBay (item 300364800251 end time Nov-14-09 11:48:41 PST)
TEKTRONIX DUAL AMPLIFIER Oscilloscope MODEL 2335 - eBay (item 200403746894 end time Nov-15-09 10:16:44 PST)
Here is a fun one. It comes with a diff amp so you might want to find a single ended vertical amp for it. It is an RM unit.
TEKTRONIX RM 564 STORAGE OSCILLOSCOPE 2A63 2B67PLUG-INS - eBay (item 390116577185 end time Nov-14-09 16:01:18 PST)
Gee, there used to be so many more, it seems, on eBay.
I agree with the other person's comment about the rat shack meters, at least to a certain extent. I have a couple that I do use, when I need a battery powered fully floating meter (read, disposable). Actually the ones I have, are fuse protected and survived amazing abuse!
But, yeah Fluke is much better. <disclosure: they are owned by the same parent company as we are...>
Some spare probes are nice 😉
A high voltage probe is really nice to have. Here is one:
Tektronix P6015 HIGH VOLTAGE PROBE Oscilloscope 1 - eBay (item 370285788216 end time Nov-14-09 23:51:34 PST)
a current probe is nice as well.
sounds like you have the basics well covered, except maybe a more convenient signal source. The rest are just nice to haves.
Then the more exotic (or rat-hole inducing) units like distortion analyzers and spectrum analyzers...
I can't pass up this opportunity to post a barely on topic picture of my home built 'signal generator'.
Big version at http://www.sdiy.org/wicked1/images/synth09.JPG
Big version at http://www.sdiy.org/wicked1/images/synth09.JPG
Ha, I have some of those old PAIA synth modules around some where. Cool stuff. Oh so late 70's, early 80's.
Does look like it takes a little bench space though!😛
Yeah, those 4 little paia modules set off the hardcore electronics hobby for me.. before those it was just LED's and tiny noise maker circuits, etc..
edit - I should say learning to fix those PAIA modules set off the hardcore electronics hobby 🙂
That's 10 years worth of synth modules, and it used to be obvious.. I gave them all a facelift last spring, so they match. I left the paia with their original faces (for now).
edit - I should say learning to fix those PAIA modules set off the hardcore electronics hobby 🙂
That's 10 years worth of synth modules, and it used to be obvious.. I gave them all a facelift last spring, so they match. I left the paia with their original faces (for now).
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Hi MR. DigitalJunkie
I see in your post of equipment you have an AF-250L Analyzer.
I have a Sigma AF-250L AM/FM ANALYZER, and we have misplaced our manual, we moved a couple of times and it might have been lost in the move. Would it be possible to obtain a copy of yours if you have one? We are willing to pay for the material and shipping. Email might be a better option.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Charlie.
AFAIR,I've never had a manual for that piece,Nor do I know where to find one. Maybe BAMA?
(EDIT: No luck at BAMA either.)
(EDIT: No luck at BAMA either.)
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