It tells if the tube's ok... but it doesn't tell you anything quantitative about the tube.
Most people that have a tube amp already have a tube amp that will do that.
Am I missing a USB connection and a application that gives you access to all the data it is collecting and using to make it's determination? Maybe it's there and I don't see it?
It is unrealistic to think you can test a power tube with out transferring some power. They may have a voltage multiplier in there that will mimic operating conditions but they don't have any way to test the power tubes under power.
Failure of a power tube is the thing you want to prevent if you want to avoid extra damage. This thing can't really test under that condition so it has to try to make an educated guess. Preamp tubes make lots of weird noise before they fail and rarely hurt anything if they do manage to die. Driver tubes sometimes wear out... you'll have lots of hum for a warning before they die.
Seems like a fun item that might be good for initial sorting through a box of used tubes but it's not going to tell you much about tubes you already know the provenance of.
Thanks for the head up!
best regards,
mike
post edited by mike_mccue - 2013/03/04 18:30:31