Should I buy this tube tester?

[jewishjay]

Is it a good one? Is $200 a fair price?

https://humboldt.craigslist.org/msg/d/fortuna-knight-model-600a-tube-tester/7234944789.html

[DummyLoad]

if it works, it's better than no tube tester. $200 is a fair price if it's fully functional and none of the commonly used sockets aren't shopworn.

note that it's an emissions only tester, and not a mutual conductance test set. you'd probably prefer the latter. 


--pete

[HotBluePlates]

It would be wise to consider:

    -  What do I need a tester to tell me?

    -  How do I want to receive that info?  ("Good/Bad" or "Numbers to Interpret")

    -  How much time am I willing to spend per-tube tested?

    -  What is my budget?

There's a wide range of testers out there.  Some provide little info, but also don't leave much to the user to interpret.  Some give all the info, but also require the user to bring their own knowledge to interpret the results.  Some are very fast to set-up/test, while others will be a 30-60 minute process.


$200 for a Knight emission tester sounds steep to me.  eBay has plenty of similar testers for under $100 (many closer to $45-80).  Many Knight testers were built as kits by end-users, and could have wiring errors.  But if the sockets are snug and all the functions seem to work when you test a known-good tube, it's not necessarily a bad choice (even if something else provides "more info" which is why it's important to be clear on your requirements).

"Rare" on eBay and Craigslist ads are code for "it's old so I'm gonna try to charge extra."  A Knight emission tester is hardly a rare bird.

[bmccowan]

"Rare" on eBay and Craigslist ads are code for "it's old so I'm gonna try to charge extra."

My favorite eBay line is - One of a kind. Two available.