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  #1  
Old 03-12-2014, 09:36 PM
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josephdaniel josephdaniel is offline
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Absolutely essential test equipment.

What do you guys consider to be essential est equipment for repairing TVs?
Right now I have a Central Electronics CRT tester. I have a Sencore CR-161 in the mail that I finally pulled the plug on after debating for ages over it. I'm waiting a few days to get a B&K 1076 television analyst for cheap (Hoping that it doesn't' need too much work) I have a Heathkit HO-10 scope that needs recapped, but I haven't done anything to it because they aren't that great and finally I have a really old "frequency calibrator" that I think is from the 1930's and needs recapped to be functional...

How am I doing so far? I desperately need to get at least a cheap emissions tube tester, a good oscilloscope, and a Capacitor analyzer. But I think that stuff will wait until next time I get payed.. .
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Old 03-13-2014, 12:40 AM
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If you do not have a multimeter (Volts, Ohms, Amps) that is a VERY important device to have...Almost more important than the rest combined.

A HV probe or meter are also useful to have.
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Old 03-13-2014, 01:06 AM
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Yes, I have a multimeter! I have a few actually!
I didnt think about a HV probe... Thats another one to add to the list of things to get.
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Old 03-13-2014, 09:30 AM
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Tube tester, CRT tester, HV probe, and meter. That's all I've ever used.
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Old 03-13-2014, 10:04 AM
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Do you have a specific brand/ model that you would recommend?
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Old 03-13-2014, 05:37 PM
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Like others have said, a good quality multimeter is the most essential bit of test gear in anyone's arsenal. I'd add that there are times when analog is preferable over digital, and vice-versa, so one of each is handy.

My "go-to" bench meters are the ol' Simpson 260 (analog) and Fluke 8000a (digi). They're hard to kill and don't cost a fortune. I'm not crazy about using handheld MMs on the bench, they seem to always either get in the way or end up on the floor for some reason :-) Do like my Fluke 87 for when I need the portability, though...

I'm curious to see what people suggest for HV; that's the one thing I don't have (yet).

-Steve
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Old 03-13-2014, 06:02 PM
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Get an isolation transformer, for hot chassis sets.

I second the vote for the Simpson 260, I've got one too.
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Old 03-13-2014, 09:11 PM
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Depends on what you're working on I guess. My top priority is an ESR meter, what with all the caps in my sets.

Edit: ^ Not one of my better decisions. I later sold the thing. Now I'm a lot better at selecting what I need.

Last edited by Jon A.; 09-05-2017 at 05:49 PM.
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Old 03-13-2014, 09:19 PM
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You need at least 2 good meters, VOM, a 260 is good, but for circuit loading you need a digital, or VTVM. A reasonable scope that is capable of measuring DC as well as AC. A HV Probe is good to have, there are ways around a crt tester, get it if you want. Tube testers are too expensive, you could much better put money towards replacement tubes for those you suspect. Capacitor testers might be much more useful than a tube tester, but then again you may need more than one type.

Then before you get this stuff think about what you are going to do.....

Are you going to trouble shoot problems, or just replace parts until you finally replace the bad part....? If you are going to re-cap everything you get if it needs it or not, eliminate the cap testers..... If the screen is smooshed at the top, are you going to figure out what is going on, or replace stuff till its fixed...? Eliminate the scope..... If you are not going to learn exactly what is going on in the IF sections, Sync, and Demodulator, Oscillator circuits, and understand bandwidth, Roll off, etc, then you don't need a tv analyst box, or marker generators, because you'll just make that part of the set worse..... So replacing caps in critical signal areas should be approached with re-alignment thoughts in mind.....

Hot chassis sets require some extra safety.... If you attach something that plugs in to the wall, and grounds to the tv, you have to check first if there is 120V across the grounds, if so reverse the power cord and re test, or get a isolation transformer as stated above...

A good approach is to get 2 good meters, then get the rest as needed, and as a good deal presents itself....
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Last edited by Username1; 03-13-2014 at 09:25 PM.
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  #10  
Old 03-13-2014, 09:44 PM
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Alright, I think that I can forgo the scope and tube tester for now. I'm still going to get the analyst as its only 10 dollars and even though I don't fully understand all of its capabilities I can still use it as a test pattern generator... I don't really need the extra CRT tester being that I already have one all though it would be nice... I would really love to learn how these sets work and everything about them but I guess I can out that off for a while..

Talk about cutting ack
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Old 03-14-2014, 12:11 PM
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Ditto the isolation transformer. Makes working on live-chassis sets much safer and is easier on test equipment probes...

I'm with others on the tube testers, kind of nice to have but not absolutely essential.
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Old 03-17-2014, 09:14 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by josephdaniel View Post
Alright, I think that I can forgo the scope and tube tester for now. I'm still going to get the analyst as its only 10 dollars and even though I don't fully understand all of its capabilities I can still use it as a test pattern generator... I don't really need the extra CRT tester being that I already have one all though it would be nice... I would really love to learn how these sets work and everything about them but I guess I can out that off for a while..

Talk about cutting ack
Since you are into TV this much, the analyst will be a great help in isolating the problems you may find, after doing the recap. Sure, you can become familiar using it for the test patterns but after while you will have opportunities to plug signals in along the way to show you what IS working.
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  #13  
Old 04-13-2014, 01:29 PM
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M3-SRT8 M3-SRT8 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamakiri View Post
Tube tester, CRT tester, HV probe, and meter. That's all I've ever used.
Ditto. Plus a BK Precision 890 cap sorting meter. Just splurged on a new Fluke 87-V, and I'm pondering a capacitor/leak tester. But up to now I've made do with the basics.

You'd be surprised how far you can go with so little. You shotgun all the caps anyways, so there's little or no need to test them. And occasional Mica cap might need a test, but they rarely fail except in the horizontal sweep or osc sections.

Now that I've been doing this for 5 years or so I just want a few extra pieces of test equipment just for my own amusement.
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  #14  
Old 04-13-2014, 07:21 PM
Rod Beauvex Rod Beauvex is offline
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Not a piece of test equipment, but I've heard nothing but good things about the Hakko 808 de-soldering iron. I saw one used in a video several years ago on You Tube and it makes de-soldering a snap. I want one plenty bad.
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  #15  
Old 04-14-2014, 04:16 AM
powerking powerking is offline
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Ditto here on the Hako 808 de-soldering iron. What a great tool. Much easier to use than my old "trusty" PACE soldering/de-soldering station with limited heat & power. Worst thing about the 808 is the price of the tips, but I think there are more reasonable ones on eBay (Chinese clones?) for about $10 each.

Tom (PK)
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