Anybody remember using one of these?

[LeftyStrat]

http://www.seattlepi.com/realestate/art ... to-6154286

They were in Radio Shacks back in the day.

Damn I'm old.

[Cliff Schecht]

Maybe you can point me in the right direction Lefty, I haven't found much in the way of good thrift stores or pawn shops around here.. What gives?

[sepulchre]

That one looks a little more modern than the one available in our town. It was flat and square and the bottom was closed in for storage of their replacement tubes. Boy what I'd give to raid that box today!

My father was an electrical engineer and worked at the power company, the 'Light Company' in our vernacular. When our TV went on the fritz (every few months it seemed) he would bring a tube tester home from the shop and out came the chassis. I don't remember the number but it was a Hickock and he taught me to use it. While he worked on it my brother and I would take turns sticking our heads in up in the empty cabinet and play news announcers.

When I was older and retubing my Fender he asked what went in it. I told him 6L6s and he said that was a common tube for them to use. He said there were banks of them in boxes on light poles and especially in the substations. Again, to be able to go back and see what they had!

(I thought this was about the tube testers in Radio Shack.)

[cbass]

Maybe you can point me in the right direction Lefty, I haven't found much in the way of good thrift stores or pawn shops around here.. What gives?

All these picker and junk and pawn tv shows has ruined bargin hunting Everyone thinks there old crap is worth a fortunue
This little town has exploded wit thrift stores all overpriced all will be closed soon.
People see an ol gas station sign on tv thats worth a thousand bucks so now all of there crappy old rusted signs are worth a thousand bucks.

[LeftyStrat]

Maybe you can point me in the right direction Lefty, I haven't found much in the way of good thrift stores or pawn shops around here.. What gives?

All these picker and junk and pawn tv shows has ruined bargin hunting Everyone thinks there old crap is worth a fortunue
This little town has exploded wit thrift stores all overpriced all will be closed soon.
People see an ol gas station sign on tv thats worth a thousand bucks so now all of there crappy old rusted signs are worth a thousand bucks.

The real killer is the fact every pawn shop can use eBay to look up past auctions to determine the market value. If they can't sell it locally, they can put it on eBay.

You can find deals if it's so rare it doesn't come up on eBay, or if it's too heavy to deal with shipping.

You can still find gems. Back when I was obsessed with tube screamers I used to pick up old Japanese-made radios at Goodwill. Almost always had an original JRC4558D. Though eventually I found the op275.

Cliff, you need to take Aurora north out of Seattle. If nothing else to see the hookers in strange platform shoes. Lot's of pawn shops, kind of hit or miss. I've scored a few things at good prices.

If you want to stare at $25k guitars you can hit Emerald City Guitars downtown. The best used source is Trading Musician in Ravenna. Ignore the marked prices, they expect to be talked down.

The one I miss the most is "The Old Technology Shop." It closed down a few years ago. A place full of tube transformers, NOS tubes, and old stereo gear.

[ER]

It's a little more work but lots of these guys are willing to trade stuff too, since they deal in so many different things.

[JazzGuitarGimp]

When I was a kid, almost every grocery store had a self serve testes. Unlike the one in the OP, the ones in my area had an enclosed, locking box underneath the tester. In that box was all of the common TV and Radio tubes that you could purchase right at the store.

[xtian]

When I was a kid, almost every grocery store had a self serve testes.

Awesome typo, Lou!

What you need is a tester for your testes!

[menger66]

The electronic store here in my town "Able Electronics" has one on there floor still, but the only tubes they stock are 12ax7 for 18$ about the same price as GC. I remember them tester displays being in drug store and hardware stores when i was a kid, I one time helped a friend clean a garage and threw out a bunch of full tube caddys That was in the late 80s i was rocken a Randdle RG80 and was'nt really thinking about tubes i guess.

[Structo]

When I was a kid, almost every grocery store had a self serve testes.

Awesome typo, Lou!

What you need is a tester for your testes!

BAWAHAWAHAWA!!

When I was a kid my grandmother used one those that had the ringer above the drum.

She commented one day that my father had got his arm smashed a bit because he got too close and the rollers did some work on his forearm.
They supposedly have a safety release of so many pounds.
It didn't seem to affect him other than soreness for a few days.

Yesterday's discarded junk is today's gold.

eBay killed the bargain bin store.

[M Fowler]

We had the ringer washer on the farm for our work pants and bibs.

The local Radio Shack had that tube tester and I always bought my tubes from them if I didn't find them at the city dump or auction sales. Dad would bring home junk for us to sift through.

[kkregsg]

Might as well date myself, too. Our grocery store had them, too, with the enclosed bottom storage. Back then, electronics to me was black magic and voodoo, until my Dad built his own Heathkit AM/ FM tuner and an amp for the wood shop. If my Dad could do it, eventually, so could I, because he was a very versatile, very patient teacher. So, to quote Hank Jr: I'm just carrying on an old family tradition.

[skyboltone]

Yup, apparently most of you are getting a tube tester. I got the wringer washer too. Grandma had one. Grandpa told me she got her tit caught in it once. I'm not sure if it was true. In those days when somebody said the word "tit" it would send me to the floor rolling around with laughter. Tits, weaners, and poop. Life was more fun then.

[Baxtercat]

.... self serve testes.

That's how mine were until I got married. Now they're even more so.



[just to get back on track]

[Baxtercat]

[sorry for the extra posts, kept getting 'fail' notice!]