Early 1940's RTL Airline Tube Tester Teardown With Explanation.
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- Lets look inside and see how it's assembled. Then, will it test a tube? Let's find out. Enjoy! For links, click the SHOW MORE tab below.
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#learnelectronics #repair #restore
![1940's Forestry Radio Receiver And Transmitter [Teardown With Circuit Description]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/H7RKEDPUy-8/mqdefault.jpg)
To learn electronics in a very different and effective way, and gain access to Mr Carlson's personal designs and inventions, visit the Mr Carlson's Lab Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/MrCarlsonsLab
I would really like to see a full restoration of this vintage(!) tube tester🙂
About the shadow on the test screen: Could it be that the metal plate sagged downwards in time but should be up to the top of the meter? Maybe give the metal plate a little push upwards to make it 'right' again? I can't imagine this was supposed to be like this from factory.
Agree,well said
Would love to see the restoration of this since it shares some similarities to my 50s Taylor 45c. I think these are some of the best for beginners since they can give a good/bad indication as well as been cheep and easy to use.
Yes, would love to see restoration of the tub tester. Thank you
Please!
I absolutely love the really artsy Art Deco stuff, and the rarer the better. This thing deserves a full restoration and needs to be used as your main tube tester for future videos. Probably one of my favorites along with the Supreme Vedolyzer.
My father-in-law started his activity in the electronics industry as a field man for Tung-Sol. This would have been the mid-1930's. He had a route (various drug stores, hardware stores and such). He would inventory the tubes, bill the store, restock, and test the tester. He had some great stories.
This being an early (1940's) tester you might bring us through what a typical customer repair looked like back then.
Contrast that with the roadblocks we currently suffer under just to change the battery on a cell phone.
Thanks for your input Jerry.
So true!
Yes, please restore this tube tester. While i do not work with tubes, I love listening to and watching your videos on these old machines.
In the early 70s, I worked for a chain Drug Store in the states. They had a large tube tester in the corner of the store. Prior to bringing your tubes in to be tested, you would pick up a pamphlet with
numerous stickers in pairs. 1 sticker went on the tube and the other on the chassis so a person could put the tubes back where they belonged. It was amazing to watch a person bring in a lunch bag with a bunch of tubes to test. I recall one customer getting angry and hit the machine with his fist, the manager told him to stop or leave the store. Eventually, he bought a few new tubes and put them in the lunch bag with the others. When he got outside, for unknown reason(s) to me, he dropped the bag on the sidewalk. He was really mad and wanted the manager to refund his money. I just went back to scooping ice cream and laughing to myself. They took the machine out a few years later.
Thanks for sharing your story!
Yes, I would definitely love to see you restore & calibrate this lovely meter!
Me too.
Yes, Paul I would like to see the restoration of this device. I believe we can learn a lot from an odd piece of equipment that is expertly restored. I am looking forward to your videos and it is great to see you back, I hope all is well.
Mr Carlson proves once again he is a time traveler. How else do you get such old electronics, in good shape? He obviously built a time machine out of old tubes and handmade circuit boards and went back to restock all his tube and test equipment needs
Maybe he's friends with This Old Tony and borrowed his time-travel lathe.
Can I have it back now Paul?
I've only used a store tube tester once in 1966, when I was 16. My father asked me to test all the time tubes in our television set. Every tube tested bad, which I found hard to believe! Shortly after that, I purchased a late model Precision Apparatus tube tester from the estate of a radio and television man. Testing the tubes with that tester showed the tubes as good. Since then, I never trusted store tube testers.
interesting. you could sell a lot more tubes if the tester was off kinda shady practice but i;m sure some did it.
Neat! It's a Radiotechnic Labratory Tube tester. This has to be from the early 40's the shortcircuit detection patent (US2033347A) was granted in 1936. Apparently "Airline" was the trade name for Montgomery Ward branded tube radios so I'm betting that's the store this was made for.
There were indeed guitars and guitar amplifiers branded Airline and sold at Montgomery Wards which were made for them mostly by Valco in Chicago.
this is gonna be good !!
DOUBTFUL = “When it’s probably just too good to be true!”
I would love to see the restoration of this interesting tester. Tell us, Paul, WHERE do you get these mint condition and interesting pieces of gear?
I sure have learned a lot from you. Thanks.
This was great Professor Carlson and thank you for the explanations and tour of this classic tube tester. Brings back memories for me when I was a kid going to Sears (early/mid-1960's) and next to Customer Service was a tube tester. Absolutely would like to see this tester restored.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Yes I would like to see the restoration. When I was a kid there were vacuum tube testers in Radio Shack stores. My two favorite stores back then were the Hobby Shop and Radio Shack. Thanks for sharing another great video!
Do you say “decal” in such a way possibly due to the French language having more influence in Canada? The word “décalcomanie” sounds more like the way you’re saying it.
I would like to see the restoration of this device.
First time I heard the Canadian pronunciation of decal was in Coneheads. I suppose this was because, to many Americans, even Canadians are seen as alien. Frankly, I have no idea what that's aboat; decal aside, Paul's accent could easily be mistaken for Southie.
Thanks for the video Mr. Carlson! I’m from the south in the States and personally say “Dee-cal”, but I’d tell whoever is telling you how to talk to “F right off!”
No worries, I will remain "me." :^)
@@MrCarlsonsLab I trust you will, no doubt I trust you will! Have a good one Mr. C!!!
There are some pedantic people who seem to get a kick online from correcting the American style pronunciation of solder because we say it as if it had two d's and no L; ie, "sodder", not "soul-der". The Oxford English dictionary actually lists both pronunciations as correct and acceptable.
With out a doubt, your funniest video. It's doubtful that without the tube quality indicator I wouldn't have laughed so much. It's brought to mind the Simpsons and Moe's love tester.
The wiring is very nicely layed out ... clearly close to Western Electric quality.
AWESOME piece. YES, PLZ restore.
BTW I was wondering if you would, or have, restore a WW 2 U.S. Army Signal Corps SCR-508/608 (Sherman tank radio) or SCR-610, 509 (Jeep radios). The 508 was common in tanks and 1/2 tracks whereas the 610 and 509's were more common in light vehicles. The 608 was for artillery units. The 508 and 509 operated at 20.0mc to 27.9mc. The 608 and 610's operated at 27.0mc to 38.9mc So all these radios could communicate with one another at least in the cross over area of 27.0-27.9mc. They are relatively short range, between 5 to 10 miles and a lot of fun. I have restored probably a dozen of each for friends who own military vehicles. These are the radios I learned how to work on this stuff. I would love to get your take on the process of restoration on these radios to see how well, or poorly, I did. Especially on the tuning and aligning process. Thanks. As always I look forward to more exciting videos from you. 🥸
this tube tester just shows that right to repair was once a selling point for products. pity that is not the way it is today
New to the channel. Didn't know Bob Ross did electronic teardowns as well! Such a relaxing video.
Welcome aboard!
If/when you do restore it, could you also cover the significance of the 'Airline' term on the decals. Thanks for another interesting and informative video Paul.
Mr. Carlson, I have been watching you for over two years - it is one of the best pick me up to watch your work. I love it.
I have meaning to inquire, I have an old 1980s TenTec 4 mutiband ham gear. I serviced the VFO works fine changed all the caps. BUT it badly needs alignment. Would you be interested in having fun with it and of course I will be great full. Cheers!
I would suggest that since this was in a grocery, hardware or drug (or other type) of store with public accessibility, they wanted to keep someone from pulling out a screwdriver and seeing what was inside. Maybe just for curiosity, but maybe for malice. Hence the use of nuts on machine screws to attach the front panel. The chrome strip attachment clips are definitely similar to what is seen to hold similar strips on 1930s and 1940s cars. That is a classic attachment mechanism for the times. I think that this is definitely an early 1940's vintage tester. The late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s testers would have been much more complex.
These devices would often check only the tube filament and maybe listening to the signal from transmission between anode and cathode (later replaced by a transconductance meter). Hence, only three (or four) connections to many octal and loctal tubes. The four to seven pin tubes would have needed more switch settings to configure the pins on the front-panel sockets. It may have even tested mechanical "vibrator" devices (which I recall were four to six pin devices) used to generate pulsed DC to step up to high voltage DC for early radios (basically a mechanical switch-mode power supply). Having no miniature tube sockets (let alone Compactron or Nuvistor), and none of the older 3-pin tube bases like the "Pee-Wee" and European types used starting in the 1920s.
As for bulbs, I've seen some older equipment like this where there were early bayonet sockets used. The filament would have had a "side", and so putting the bulb in 180-degrees out of the sweet spot would cast a shadow on the dial. That was not a problem with the screw type sockets or the bayonet types that had one pin track higher than the other. The neon bulb used to be available in several types, but all would trigger at 90 volts, so I'm surprised that your unit didn't have its neon bulb light up. The "D" electrode types were very useful for polarity determination, as could the pin-type (like the NE-2), with other types available, but not as intuitive for polarity detection.
This would be a fun restoration to see.
Sorry to hear of your loss and the joyous news about a new grandchild. Condolences on your loss, and congratulations on your new family member!
Mr Carlson, I would like to see this tube tester restored. Thank you for the techniques and knowledge which have made available to us.
You're very welcome Jack!
Carlson man you’re an Owl
My kind of people
Awesome tester. I'm old enough I remember going into Thrifty Drugs with my Mom (or older brother) and testing our TV tubes. Was always a cr*pshoot if they'd have a replacement for the bad tube in the bin below the tester...but if they did and the new tube fixed the TV...WooHoo! Those were the days. Needless to say you get my upvote to restore this one. Looking forward to it!!
DT
Are you aware that "Airline" was the in-house brand for radios/electronics sold by "Montgomery Ward"? (A competitor of Sears back in the day) Hence, I suspect that tube-tester lived in a "Montgomery Ward" store for many years. I am sure I used one of those at some point.
I really remember the tube testers at drug stores and hardware stores when I was a young. I remember trying to fix our family's radios and TVs by putting all the tubes in a bag, taking them to the store, and testing them. Today, I really doubt the quality and calibration of those retail store testers. They usually seemed to identify a lot of tubes as being bad. And, chances are, they didn't have the tubes you needed in stock to sell, anyway. I remember buying tubes we didn't actually need, and the problem not being fixed.
I also remembered when the professional TV repair guy would make a visit, he's carry in some big tube caddies, and just immediately start substituting tubes, not using a tube tester at all. When you understood the circuitry, a lot of potential problems were obvious.
Absolutely! It's working but I wonder how accurate. Only the Mr Carlson treatment will reveal the truth
Hi Paul, nice Valve Tester, i will love to see a restoration in this. 73 from M0IVC - CT9ABQ
MR. CARLSON,
KINDLY TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY. HOW MANY CHILDREN YOU HAVE AND IF THEY ARE INTERESTED IN YOUR WORK AND THEY WILL CONTINUE TO WORK IN YOUR HUGE WORKSHOP AND WILL MAINTAIN THE WORKSHOP AFTER YOU.
I PRAY FOR YOUR LONG LIFE AND WISH YOU CROSS THE 100TH BIRTHDAY 🎂
Excellent Paul. Thanks for sharing. If you have time, it'd be great to see this restored. 👍
I wonder if the way the panel screws are backed by nuts, might be to reduce tampering since the device is in public, and probably the force of pulling the tube out might strip the threads of the frame if the panel were screwed straight into the wood? Anyway I love the methodical presentation 💜
Id love that tube tester just lit up , even the neon bulb 💡 is awesome ..old stuff beautiful ..awesome piece test kit Mr Carlson hope you restored fully bud
Mr Carlson
It would be beautiful to see you wave your doctor electronic magic on this beautiful 1940's test equipment.
I so love watching your vids and seeing your work as it reminds me of the days when I was a child and seeing repair worker's actually repairing the machines.
Paul,
I can't believe you own a bucket truck. I have no earthly use for one, but I am still oddly jealous!
I had to pull my neon bulb out of the cupboard and try it out. Looks the same as yours but the # on mine is NE-34. Please do restore this and do some comparison testing as you mentioned :)
Absolutely fascinating!...Please put in the queue for a restoration video!!
For the rookies in this hobby like myself, seeing a tube tester restored is valuable information, please add it to your list.
It would be interesting to see the design relationship to the neon lamp and speaker in a more thorough investigation, as it looks like that speaker, since wired on a long cord, is meant to hold up to one's ear to possibly indicate more information about a tubes quality/strength when tested. If you cant find more info or a schematic, it will most likely be "reverse engineering" time, but would be very interesting to see as well. I am surprised they didn't have some sort of current limiting lamp or fuse inside to protect the ancient transformer, maybe that is something to be added in the restoral as well.
That ear piece is only used to see if a tube is noisy or microphonic. The circuit is very simple and basic.
He already explained what the hand speaker does.
That may not be the most valuable thing, but I love it! A great pice of Americana worth preserving.
I've Missed'Ya Mr Carlson (The Original AT1000 tube tester)
Well, I learned something. That device has always been a rheostat to me --- so I'm from "back in the day." Yeah, let's restore, should be easy compared to most other things you tackle. This is especially interesting to me as I used these things in drug stores in the 1950s to test TV tubes (yeah, I guess back in the day!). Thanks, great as always.
Although I do not like some aspects of RUclips, people like you being able to share all of these interesting & fascinating things that we love with a whole bunch of people across the globe is invaluable ! Gotta love teh internet !
Yes, please do restore that lovely tube tester. I had to laugh with surprise at the ear piece, I'd never seen one before. How many people knew what it was? I have a suitcase type tube tester.
An interesting thing just happened to me, in the shot where you removed the small meter bulb I started smelling the old wire, plastic and dust.
Dear Paul: I remember going with my dad taking tubes from our living room TV to Walgreens pharmacy to check them in the tube tester in the store.
Interesting that an electronics channel has me checking pronunciation and etymology so frequently.
If the device was used in a retail setting, the purpose of the nuts on the screws was to prevent easy removal by the public?
Cool looking front panel on that tube tester. Hahaha A canadian that can speak real English ... "Dee Cal"
Yes please restore it's a beautiful thing. Looks like a some sort of arcade fruit machine at first glance.
You make learning electronics fun, in part because of diversions like the one here: 8:41 - 9:04 😂
"common sense, what's that nowadays" There speaks a grandad 8-)
Common sense? What's that, nowadays? 😁 Yes, I agree with you 😓
That's a nice find Paul, sort of an electronics guys version of a pinball machine in the pool room. It would be nice to see you align it 🙂
This channel would not have been complete without a tube tester review. Fantastic!
Of course you must restore this item. I never miss any of your restoration videos they are quit informative on the vintage tech.
Thumbs up.. right, let me have a watch of the vid :)
Someone is burning the midnight oil
Yes, would like to see you restore this. And I am already subscribed.
Love it.. more testers need a 'doubtful'
And a restoration would be super.
I think the real anger taken out on tube testers was after someone tested all the tubes in their radios and they all indicated good.
Paul, I love to watch you restore just about anything and enjoy listening of how you did it all in such great detail! So, yes, I'd love to see you restore this. Although, being a fan of keeping things as original as possible, I'm not sure how far I'd go to make this 'perfect'; at least on the outside visible part. Another great video and would love to know where you find your treasures at? Maybe I need to take up residence in Canada, or at least have a summer home there. ;-)
I vote restore. I would also like to see 7 and 9 pin miniature sockets installed (maybe replace the unwired sockets) so that modern tubes could be tested. Figuring out the necessary settings on the tester for these modern tubes sounds like a fascinating exercise.
I'd definitely enjoy seeing a video of this being restored, it's a lovely bit of industrial design, from an era with as you said relatively few surviving examples!
Talking of design, I think that shadowmask is specifically a visual design decision. Sure, it might block reflections as you note - and also maybe protect the labelling from the heat of the bulb over time, keep it from getting or even looking too blown out - but I think they wanted that shadow there just as a visual element, kind of a "here are the labels, below here is the data" separation, right? If that makes sense. Kind of a visual demarcation.
I feel fairly confident I've seen displays like that before, where they did the same sorts of things but with other materials, including just higher-opacity paint where headings (words, numbers) are involved.
Isn't the top of line with the label "Line" where the shadow is supposed to be? Guessing you figured that out though... Great at electronics terrible at deckels. JK. Love your restorations!
I would like to see this restored. So please add it to your very long list.😀
Radiotechnic Labs That might be from the late 30's
Yes, definitely want to see the restoration of this tube tester!
You sir truly own some beautiful pieces of historical art.
We would like to see the restoration of ALL the devices you show here 😛
Thumbs up for the restoration project!
Definately want to see the restoration of this valve tester. :) It's beautiful.
Yes, please do a restoration on this !
Wow the humour in this episode! The jibes at "doubtful" and the black-hole of the bad tube within a tube... becoming a grandfather has brought out a bit of cheeky joy!
That’s a beauty, I love tube testers and love watching you restore them and I love restoring them.
If there's one thing Mr. Carlson is good for besides his vast technical knowledge then it's how he is able to and does explain EVERY - SINGLE - THING he shows in his videos, which is why I keep watching. He leaves no room for imagination with how the stuff works. Keep up the good work Mr. Carlson!
This is where my career in electronics began in my uncles grocery store. He sold Radio /TV tubes. It was my assignment to help people do the tests , especially the ladies. Markup on tubes in a grocery store was good profit. Tube sales were slow as no one else was pro active in sales. I earned a commission on every tube I sold. In my senior year I signed up for RCA Technical Institute in New York City. The rest is all my history of a lifetime in electronics. I am glad I had mentors like Mr. Carlson.
Would love to see a back-engineered schematic of what this thing is effectively testing for. I recall someone warning me; "Never use those nasty old emission testers that sort of joined all the elements together & the meter read if any current was able to flow".
Even the nasty old emission testers served a purpose. They're great for culling out bad tubes. If the tube fails the emission test there's no point in going any further. Those that pass move on to the transconductance tester.
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It's interesting to think of some fellow in a fedora walking into the drug store in 1943 and testing a vacuum tube and then going home and shoving it back into his old RCA and listening to war time radio. Different time. Different place. Different everything. Please restore this old time capsule soon!
Love learning little bits of trivia like deckle vs decal.
I have a real nostalgia for the simple self-service "drug store" emission testers. 'Bought a Mercury (Minneola, NY) model 204 many years ago and love it, even though my bulletproof and fast B&K 707 is my usual go-to tester.
Oh what memories that brings back. I remember having to walk into Thrifty's Drug store, to find the tube tester. I found one that supposedly still works at a electronics store in San Bernardino called "Mac's Electronics" Just another one of the places where you can find old vintage parts for whatever you can think of.
No different than the tube checkers that specifically targeted the DIY television repair folks. These made people buy more tubes than necessary and if I understand the policies, no tubes can be returned for a full refund. For the pennies of electricity that powered these devices, someone was making a lot of cash selling tubes.
Common sense is not so common anymore. Nice job on the tube tester.
Airline was a trade name for Montgomery-Ward
Come on, common sense ain't very common these days!
So, from now on people will come over to your lab and test their tubes like way back when :)
Andhaving doubts is a perfectly fine sign of doing good science (though I really doubt that it's enough!)
What amazes me the most is that back in that day the average professional homeowner would know how to use that tester with ease. Someone else I watch on RUclips points out that automobile owners manuals used to tell you things like how to time your car, how to tune the carb, give you an electrical schematic...Now they tell you how to turn on the radio...
Is that shadow part of the original design? If so, why would you want to eliminate it?
1940s coolness!
Off point, I was 65 before I ever heard it pronounced _"deckal". I have only ever heard it pronounced deecal. I wonder which is actually correct?
As an American I really enjoyed this episooooude of Mr. Carlson's Lab.
Paul,
WoW! I think this is a very cool device. Where do you come up with all the neat stuff to consider for restoration? This one I'm definitely in the yes column for restoration.
Thank you for sharing a look inside this one.
Best Regards,
Paul M.
"Doubtful" leaves no doubt about that poor tube. I got a real laugh out of that. But all joking aside this is really a real gem of a project to restore. I can't wait to follow along.