Free tube testing service at AXPONA 2019
essues Technologies is happy to offer free vacuum tube testing service at AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) April 12 - 14, 2019 at Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, Schaumburg, IL. Each visitor is entitled to test up to two tubes for free with full plate volt-current curves and test data. Terms and Conditions apply. Please visit our booth: #9208 Expo Hall
Introduction to the PC control software version 2.xx
The etracer software version 2.xx GUI
Introduction
The GUI (Graphics User Interface) in the etracer software is simple yet effective. The seven tabs below the curves plot area controls the operating mode of the software.
There are three tabs provide three basic modes of measurements: [Quick Scan], [Full Scan] and [Corners]. [Quick-Scan] is designed to perform a quick measurement around a quiescent operating point. This test is similar to the test performed by a tradition tube tester such as Hickok TV-7 with more parameters generated. The [Full Scan] test scans the plate-volt vs. plate-current curves at different grid bias and plot the result. The [Corners] test tests the DUT under extreme voltage conditions.
The [Combo] tab allows the user to compose a combination of three basic test modes and it has the ability to detect an insertion or a removal of a DUT. This mode is useful for testing a tube lot of the same type.
The [H-C Leakage] tab allows user to test the leakage current between the heater and the cathode of a vacuum tube.
The [Basic Params] and the [Load Line] tab allows users to perform real-time analysis of the full-scan data.
Read more: Introduction to the PC control software version 2.xx
Why you need a tube tester that goes up to 750V?
In the Facebook etracer group a member asked how important it is to supply a test voltage beyond 400V. Why can't we just test a tube up to 400V and extrapolate the curves from there. Well, besides the trivial answer that extrapolation is not reliable there are actually situations where extrapolation simply doesn't work.
Comments from lab JC
I've heard about Jean Christophe Morrison, or known as J.C. Morrison for about two decades. JC used to write articles for Sound Practice in the 90s and back then I was the translator for Sound Practice Chinese edition. We never met or connected before JC purchased the etracer kit but I did learned a lot from JC's articles and from his blog. It is an honor for me to get such a positive feedback from JC.
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