Taylor Windsor 45B Valve Tester

[sparkymike]

Hi I have been offered a Taylor valve tester model 45B.
What would be a reasonable price to pay for such an item.
No price has been mentioned, but I would like to pay the seller a fair price.
Are the special valve charts available for use with this model ?
I have found a manual for the 45C. This looks very similar, what are the differences to the above model ?
One valve holder is broken and is the type with the side contacts, but all other parts case/knobs etc. are all in good order and as far as I can see, nothing is missing.
Mike.

[Freya]

Cant offer an opinion on price, but you can use the 45C manual data with the exception of valve data with an asterix, meaning only for a 45C tester. You may never use the side contact base, but they are available used online.

[Craig Sawyers]

Check ebay and set the sold tab. The Taylor 45X (X=A, B, or C) sell pretty often. Doing a quick check the last one (45C) went for £150 with an original manual, but I have seen higher than that too.

The side contact bases are available from the same place with a bit of searching.

Good luck - they are a nice tester.

[sparkymike]

I made a mistake on the broken valve base, it is not a side contact base but it is a Telefunken 8 pin base with three pin holes on one side and five on the other.
Probably never need it, but it is always nice to get old equipment back to looking original I think.
Mike.

[Craig Sawyers]

I have one (Chinese of course) spare. I needed one, but had to buy four. PM me your address and it's yours. Mounting hole spacing is different to the Taylor, but you can easily make a nice adaptor.

Craig

[retailer]

The 45B is a nice valve tester and is quick and easy to use with the ease of use coming from having only 3, 9 position selector switches marked A B and C to set up the valve element connections for testing. This compares to other testers that use anywhere from 9 to 13 switches. There is a few down sides to this though - as new valves came on the market the engineers at Taylor found that some valves could not be accommodated, one the most notable and common types is the EL84(6BQ5).
This led to the introduction of the 45C which increased the number of switch positions to 18. The other down side is that if a valve is not listed in the data manual then it is up to the operator to work out the A B C switch positions for that valve - this can take a bit of time to get your head around. To complicate matters further there seems to be at lease 3 versions of the valve base wiring so you need the correct manual for your tester.
Some years back one of the members of this forum ( I forget who) I believe wrote a program (I think in Javascript ) to do the heavy lifting so to speak, once the valve pinouts were input it would work out the A B C switch settings, I also believe a link was posted for use by forum members. At the time I had also written a program in VB to do the same thing I didn't bother posting a link as the Javascript version was available but I do recall sending a copy to the forum member that had written the Javascript version.
If you can get the Taylor for a reasonable price and it is in good order then do so, it is better than an emission tester and also better than the crop of testers such as the Eico 666 that are part way between emission and GM testers. While it is not as comprehensive as say an Avo it is a lot easier and quicker to use.

You can get around the EL84 issue by making up a B9a Novel to octal adapter taking care to wire the valve elements as a 6V6, this allows you to use 6V6 A B C settings.

[Sideband]

Originally Posted by retailer

You can get around the EL84 issue by making up a B9a Novel to octal adapter taking care to wire the valve elements as a 6V6, this allows you to use 6V6 A B C settings.

...which is exactly what I did!

[sparkymike]

I have now fitted a new mains lead as the old one was perished badly.
What protection does the transformer have in the event of problems ? I.e. if a faulty valve with internal shorts is being tested, or if some other event occurs.
A new Telefunken base is now on its way to me, thanks to a kind forum member.
All the knobs fixing grub screws were at first seized, but I soaked them in wd40 for a couple of days and now just one knob (on a wirewound pot) refuses at the moment to shift.
Mike.

[Craig Sawyers]

There is a switch position to check for element shorts. Check the manual - there is a definite procedure to check for inter-electrode shorts and cathode/heater resistance.

Craig

[sparkymike]

Re point in earlier post, " you can use the 45C manual data with the exception of valve data with an asterix, meaning only for a 45C tester. "
In the valve chart that I have here for the 45C, a figure 13 in a circle denotes for 45C use only and not an asterisk.
Perhaps the charts differ, I don't know.
Well all the heater voltages are correct, just need to try the anode volts and that will prove the transformer.
Mike.

[sparkymike]

Anybody know why the Telefunken valve base has that long slot across it ?
Does part of a Telefunken valve locate in there ? Not that it will ever get used but just curious, as that is a very weak point on the base and where the original base broke off.
Mike.

[sparkymike]

I have been trying to locate the manual for the B model, but can only find the C model.
If anyone can email me the correct manual please pm me.
Mike.

[Freya]

You don't specify if you want user or data manual but the 45C data is a far better choice as it has all the updates and errors that existed on the 47 and 45 data manuals corrected, There were still updates published for the 45C manual but mostly for newer valves.

I can email you the 45A&B data manual and the 45B user, send your email via PM if you would like this.

[sparkymike]

Thanks Stephen, I have sent you a PM.
It is the Taylor 45B user manual I need.
Mike.

[sparkymike]

In desperate need of a break during the hot weather, (I am re-fitting out an en-suite) I went back to the Taylor and now am wondering best method of replacing the broken Telefunken valve base. At first glance it looked impossible to slip the new base in above the old and then rewire pin by pin. However, I had a rethink and it looks like if around three or four surrounding bases fixing screws are removed, it may well make the job easier as then they may help with access.. Main problem is there are cross wires traversing the faulty base across the middle and no slack on these at all.
I would be interested to hear if there were similar problems encountered by others, and how they got over the problem.
Mike.

[Freya]

There is no easy way, this is because Taylor usually used solid core wire which is laced through the terminals, then the insulation sleeve is threaded onto the next stretch and so on. Take pictures and make sure you can see all areas or make drawings. A few years back I replaced all the valve holders on a 45C that was badly corroded, took a few hours to do.

[sparkymike]

Hi Stephen,
I was afraid that the wires went through the terminals and on to another point
!!
One solution would be to cut off the old base terminals, complete with wires, one at a time and number them, and then transfer the wires one step at a time.
I wonder if anyone ever replaced the hard wire with printed circuit.
One question, what are the two large metal plates on each side of the bases?
Shielding ?
Mike.

[sparkymike]

Thumbnail enclosed to show the problem wiring.
Mike.

[Herald1360]

There may be just enough wire to cut close each side of the old tags, then strip the insulation back a little and push both ends through the new tags. If not, the old wires can be extended using thinner wire if necessary to allow a joint inside the sleeving. Half an inch of side by side wire neatly soldered will be perfectly OK for the benign environment the tester now lives in.

[sparkymike]

"will be perfectly OK for the benign environment the tester now lives in."

Yes Chris, my place has often been known as a rest home for retired/ redundant electro/mechanical curiosities !!