Tube Testers and Classic Electronic Test Gear

I bought this because I wanted to find out what makes a great tube tester. Mr Douglas has a very good way of making technical jargon understandable. Includes lots of great photos and illustrations, company history, and "how it works" information. Highly recommended for anyone who listens to vacuum tubes, collects tubes, and/ or collects old test gear.

I have a bit of a Jones for test equipment, especially the military and other high quality stuff. This book has a lot of interesting history of the test equipment makers, and also explains the various models. Highly recommended.

This book is regarded as a 'classic', and the data on tube testers, especially Hickok, is pretty comprehensive. I wish it had more color plates (see the cover shot), many of the black-and-white ad reprints looked rather washed out & grey; this seems to improve as you read later chapters. Included is information on many brands of tube testers and test equipment I'd never heard of, along with model- and production-year data, as well as hints on replacing meters in tube testers. Overall an enjoyable read and a very good reference tool. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone interested in vintage electronics test gear. Hopefully the author may someday expand this work substantially. A good value for around $17.

This book was recently recommended by Brian Belanger in his article "Tube Tester Basics", printed in the December 2013 issue of RADIO AGE magazine. I found it to be a good reference source on older test equipment that every ham radio operator should have in his/her library.

Great book for tube technology collectors, and hollow state enthusiasts. Lots of good information.

Covered several topics of interest. Restoring tube radios and test equipment is a hobby now and this book was insight into several areas that were related.

I was disappointed in this book. I met Alan Douglas in Elgin, Illinois many years ago and I thought his 3 volume set "Radio Manufacturers of the 1920s" was the best set on radio history. The book doesn't cover test equipment in any detail and is mostly a photo-history. RIP Alan.

A lot of good info and a good reference for technicians and engineers interested in vintage gear. Lacks some organization but it's a keeper in my test equipment library!

Disappointed. Based on previous reviews I had expected more technical information such as circuit diagrams, explanations of operation, hints for servicing and repair. Whilst there are some details on Hickok tube testers much of the rest of the material is limited to photographs and old advertisements for equipment.

米国の計測器の歴史がわかり易く時代の流れがわかる本です。 保存本の1冊です。

This book is a great insight into vintage tube equipment with an honest opinion to go with it. Since I am into old and Vintage equipment it is a wonderful fresh look in this Tube era that I almost forgot about, part of my past experiences . My work involves all this old equipment up to the latest Digital computers . The book was a refresher on an era everyone thinks belongs in a museum collecting dust . The buying and selling of this equipment goes on in the internet world of today. The book by Alan Douglas gives the reader lots of information from his long time working and using this equipment and experiences , he gives us some history on the subject.. Anyone who deals with Antiques or Vintage equipment should get this book and read it , the information is very valuable and precious not to have it. I recommend the book to all my friends as reference in Tube Equipment. My regards to Alan Douglas for a well written Book.

Bought this mostly for the tube tester part but it covers many other useful types of info. The only drawback is that the tubetester section seems mostly useful if you have a Hickock tester (which I don't..)