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David Simpson · 24th Nov 2018, 11:12 pm

Right enough, Phil, quite a disparity. Firstly - the Siemens is a very early PNP only tester from the 1950's. Works on a "buzzer" principal. Just a go/no-go tester really. The Kamoden is a cheapo basic Jappo tester from round about 1980. Actually called a "Checker" so not expected to be very accurate, but actually matches the TITS expected gain. The DAC55 should be jolly accurate I'd have thought, and in fact gives the same gain as the AVO TDM (47/48). That leaves the faithful CT446, in which I have the most trust, having serviced & repaired them in the RAF back in the late 60's. Its gain of 64 is jolly close to the Chinko/AVO homebrew tester which gave 62. This I also trust(see "Test Equipment Project Quiz" thread raised on 20th Sept.2016). As it has in-built self-test facility utilising transistors thoroughly tested originally by "Pamphonica".
So - just for a quicko test of an unknown transistor - I use the DAC55. For accuracy I use the CT446 or the Chinko/AVO homebrew tester. The others are just for vintage collection purposes.
For valves, well - I try & keep my AVO MK3 up to spec, also my homebrew DC tester. So trust them, particularly after they held their own against Dekatron's Roetest during the 6AQ5 Standardisation Project I ran last year. If I also still had a Taylor 45, then I would consider it just a go/no-go tester, likewise a Mullard HSVT. But even so, those valve testers are pretty decent in their own right.

Regards, David

24th Nov 2018, 11:12 pm	#9
David Simpson Nonode Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Aberdeen, UK. Posts: 2,858	Re: AVO TT169 Transistor Tester Right enough, Phil, quite a disparity. Firstly - the Siemens is a very early PNP only tester from the 1950's. Works on a "buzzer" principal. Just a go/no-go tester really. The Kamoden is a cheapo basic Jappo tester from round about 1980. Actually called a "Checker" so not expected to be very accurate, but actually matches the TITS expected gain. The DAC55 should be jolly accurate I'd have thought, and in fact gives the same gain as the AVO TDM (47/48). That leaves the faithful CT446, in which I have the most trust, having serviced & repaired them in the RAF back in the late 60's. Its gain of 64 is jolly close to the Chinko/AVO homebrew tester which gave 62. This I also trust(see "Test Equipment Project Quiz" thread raised on 20th Sept.2016). As it has in-built self-test facility utilising transistors thoroughly tested originally by "Pamphonica". So - just for a quicko test of an unknown transistor - I use the DAC55. For accuracy I use the CT446 or the Chinko/AVO homebrew tester. The others are just for vintage collection purposes. For valves, well - I try & keep my AVO MK3 up to spec, also my homebrew DC tester. So trust them, particularly after they held their own against Dekatron's Roetest during the 6AQ5 Standardisation Project I ran last year. If I also still had a Taylor 45, then I would consider it just a go/no-go tester, likewise a Mullard HSVT. But even so, those valve testers are pretty decent in their own right. Regards, David