Test Equipment

A Fubsy Polymath subdomain

Test Equipment

Vacuum-tube testers, VTVMs, signal tracers, oscilloscopes — owned, in service, on the bench.

Deep-dive volumes arrive as instruments work their way through the queue.

Photo: IDS-2074E oscilloscope + signal generator on the bench by Mortymore · CC BY 2.0

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How to search

sten gun
pages with both words
"sten gun"
the words together, as a phrase
sten OR sterling
either one (| works too)
sten -replica
leave out pages that mention “replica”

Without quotes, the last word also matches longer words that start with it (sten finds Stenophylla), and close word forms count (rifle finds rifles). Tick Exact words to match whole words only.

Whole deep dives are listed first, then the pages inside them.

CRT testers

Electrostatic CRT Tester — Mark 2 Live
Electrostatic CRT Tester — Mark 2 The Electrostatic CRT Tester — Mark 2 is a simple, manually-operated bench instrument for testing electrostatic-deflecti… · Owned (DIY-built) · Active deep-dive target · Modern DIY (open-source kit, sgitheach.org.uk; tests tube-era CRTs from the 1930s onward) · Deep dive · 8 vols Live

Curve Tracers

Curve Tracers — Overview & Primer Live
Curve Tracers — Overview & Primer A curve tracer is a test instrument that sweeps voltage across a device under test while measuring the resulting current… · Reference · Active deep-dive target · Reference (spans the vacuum-tube era through modern DIY) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
VBA Curve Tracer Live
VBA Curve Tracer The VBA Curve Tracer is Paul Versteeg's open DIY semiconductor / component curve tracer, documented on his blog at paulv… · Aspirational · Active deep-dive target · Modern DIY (2022 — Paul Versteeg "paulvee" open design) · Deep dive · 4 vols Live
eTracer Live
eTracer The eTracer is a PC-controlled, pulsed-HV vacuum-tube curve tracer / tube tester designed and sold by Chris Chang of Ess… · Owned · Active deep-dive target · Modern commercial (2017 — Chris Chang / Essues Co., Ltd., Taiwan; an independent competitor to Dekker's uTracer, not a member of that line) · Deep dive · 6 vols Live
uTracer NXT Live
uTracer NXT The uTracer NXT is Ronald Dekker's next-generation DIY tube curve tracer — a modern redesign of the long-running uTracer… · On order · Active deep-dive target · Modern DIY (2020s — next-generation successor to the uTracer3+/uTracer6) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live
uTracer6 Live
uTracer6 The uTracer6 is Ronald Dekker's kilovolt-class DIY tube curve tracer (dos4ever.com) — a distinct high-voltage model in t… · Owned · Active deep-dive target · Modern DIY (~2019–2020 — Dekker's high-voltage uTracer model, 0–1000 V / 1 A; a distinct model from the uTracer3/3+, sold in parallel with the current-mainstream uTracer NXT) · Deep dive · 6 vols Live
Heathkit IT-3121 Curve Tracer Live
Heathkit IT-3121 Curve Tracer Deep dive, now on the Heathkit site. Live

Function / signal generators

Gigatronics 6060A Signal Generator Live
Gigatronics 6060A Signal Generator The Gigatronics 6060A series (6061A / 6062A) is a pair of synthesized RF benchtop signal generators — full ATE-class iro… · Owned · bench-only · Vintage (Fluke 6060A-series design, early 1980s; Gigatronics rebadge ~1995; line discontinued 2013) · Deep dive · 3 vols Live

Multimeters

Simpson 260 Series 8 Live
Simpson 260 Series 8 The Simpson 260 is the iconic American analog VOM — patented 1936, first shipped ~1939, and still in production today (2… · Owned · Active deep-dive target · Vintage-through-current VOM (Series 8 ≈ mid-1990s onward; the 260 line runs from the ~1939-shipped original — patent 1936 — and is still in production in 2026) · Deep dive · 6 vols Live

Power supplies

Heathkit IP-32 HV Power Supply Live
Heathkit IP-32 HV Power Supply Deep dive, now on the Heathkit site. Live
Heathkit SP-2717A HVPS Live
Heathkit SP-2717A HVPS Deep dive, now on the Heathkit site. Live

Signal tracers

PACO Z-80 Audio-RF Signal Tracer Live
PACO Z-80 Audio-RF Signal Tracer PACO's Z-80 is a classic audio + RF signal tracer for tube-era radio and TV servicing (manual dated 1957, cataloged ~196… · Owned · Active deep-dive target · Vintage (1957 manual / ~1960 catalog — Precision Apparatus Co.'s PACO kit-line audio+RF signal tracer for radio/TV service; kit or factory-wired) · Deep dive · 6 vols Live

Specialty test gear

Radio Shack 43-114 Telephone Tester Live
Radio Shack 43-114 Telephone Tester The Radio Shack "Telephone Tester" Cat. No. 43-114 (Tandy/Radio Shack, © 1985, made in USA) is a ~13 lb, *AC-mains-power… · Owned · Active deep-dive target · 1985 (© Tandy Corp.; made in USA — microprocessor-controlled CO-simulator console for grading telephone sets) · Deep dive · 5 vols Live

Tube testers

Supreme Instruments 385 Automatic Tester Live
Supreme Instruments 385 Automatic Tester The Supreme Instruments Model 385 Automatic (1935, $77.95, Supreme Instruments Corp., Greenwood, Mississippi) is a Depre… · Owned · Active deep-dive target · Vintage (mid-1930s — pre-WWII tube tester, emission-style, with the famous Supreme 'Automatic' switch setup) · Deep dive · 6 vols Live
Heathkit TT-1 Tube Tester Live
Heathkit TT-1 Tube Tester Deep dive, now on the Heathkit site. Live

Variacs / autotransformers (bench infrastructure for tube and mains-powered work)

B&K 1653A Variac Live
B&K 1653A Variac The B&K 1653A is the bench Variac used to safely re-energize vintage tube gear after long storage. 0–150 Vac output at u… · Owned · Active deep-dive target · Modern (B&K's still-current 0–150 Vac, 2 A bench Variac with a built-in isolation transformer, fuse-protected output, and a single dual-function analog meter — no GFCI; that, plus dual outlets and a leakage tester, is the 1655A) · Deep dive · 6 vols Live

Voltmeters

B&K Dynamic 375 VTVM Live
B&K Dynamic 375 VTVM B&K's Model 375 — correctly the "Dynamatic 375" (the folder name says "Dynamic"; that's a scaffold typo) — is a 1961 vac… · Owned · Active deep-dive target · Vintage tube VTVM (introduced 1961; 12AU7 + 6AL5, selenium B+, rotating "Dynamatic" drum scale). NOT solid-state — the FET B&K is the later Model 277. · Deep dive · 6 vols Live
Radio City Products 665 VTVM Live
Radio City Products 665 VTVM The Radio City Products 665 is a mid-1940s combined vacuum-tube voltmeter, ohmmeter, capacity meter, and insulation test… · Owned · bench-only · Vintage (Radio City Products Co., New York; period-dated October 1944) · Deep dive · 3 vols Live
Simpson Model 311-2 VTVM Live
Simpson Model 311-2 VTVM Simpson's 311-2 (© 1966, the PCB revision of the © 1958 Model 311) is the bench VTVM counterpart to the B&K Dynamatic 37… · Owned · Active deep-dive target · Vintage VTVM (1960s — late-production all-tube or hybrid VTVM) · Deep dive · 6 vols Live

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