Orange introduces a nifty tool for checking, matching and grading your valves, the Orange DIVO VT1000.
This tool greatly simplifies the process of testing tubes, making it a very useful tool for tube amp owners, music stores and technicians.
This compact tester works as easily as it looks, just plug in the valve and it will automatically test it by performing various tests. With this gadget, maintenance checks and tube replacements for your favorite blues tube amp becomes convenient and quick! It is quite clear that many will benefit from this little gadget, with the VT1000, you can easily match and test valves, know whether your valve is good, worn or bad, and many more.
Here is what the official announcement says:
Orange Amps developed the world’s first fully automatic, portable, digital valve tester, the VT1000, to make it easy to test amp valves. Until now testing valves with little or no knowledge of valve theory was difficult, expensive and often unreliable. This new product will test all popular power and pre-amp valves. Its ease of use will appeal to all valve users whether amateur, professional or in the music retail trade.
The unit has one octal and two nine pin valve sockets for different valve types; simply insert the valve to be tested into the correct socket, select the valve type from the list on the unit and press ‘START’ to test. The results are displayed clearly and concisely using LEDs and will test for a wide range of fault conditions, which could easily cause damage to other components. The simplicity of operation belies what is going on ‘inside the box’, where a CPU controlled testing system is in operation, allowing full control over all inter-electrode switching and measurement operations.
The VT1000 is meant to provide everyone a simple, portable, reliable, inexpensive and safe way to test valves. You can visit the Orange Music Exhibit at Booth 4890 Hall C to take a peek at the new VT1000 and other new Orange Amplification products. Visit Orange Amps for more information.
Here’s a video demonstration of the VT1000:
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This seemed a nice tool for me. But which types of tubes can be tested and which technical parameters are measured. To do a simply Go/No-Go test cheep testers are already available. Checking plate current, transconductance, amplification factor is something what need to know. Using LED as indicator will always return not more than good/better/best. The question is, if this tool measures exact and reproducible to do selections of a bulk of same tube types. Testing power Triodes/Pentodes is more complex.
Anyone knows more details about this tool??
Yes, it tests
•Heater filament test: Short circuit
•Heater filament test: Open circuit
•Heater filament test: Tolerance check
•Heater cathode insulation: Leakage
•Heater cathode insulation: Short Circuit
•Tests for heater current abnormalities
•Amplification factor
•Voltage gain
•Power gain
•Screen grid test
•Mutual conductance test
•Dual test for double triodes
•Emission
•Inter electrode leakage
•Inter electrode short circuit
•Flash-over (arc detection, high voltage breakdown)
•Gas ionisation test
It currently tests the following valves:
EL34/6CA7; EL34L; 6L6; 6V6/6v6GTA; KT66; KT77; KT88; 6550; 5881; EL84/6BQ5; ECC81/12AT7; ECC82/12AU7; ECC83/12AX7; ECC99; 12BH7