Vacuum Tube Testing
For critical vacuum tube positions, in-house computer testing and matching ensures best possible tube performance.
Tubes are tested at real world high voltage conditions as they would be in the final circuit. In these instances, the tube testing report is also included with the shipped product.
We test our tubes across their 4 key parameters:
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gm (transconductance)
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Mu (gain)
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Rp (plate resistance
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Ia (plate current)
These parameters give an indication of the tubes' overall heath and are the key parameters for matching. We often match to 5% or better across all 4 parameters.
Since these parameters are tested at a static point on the tube's operating range, we also curve trace these tubes to look for performance anomalies. With curve tracing we can visually catch bad tubes that would otherwise pass the static conditions above.
Example Tube Curve Trace
For more information on the importance of vacuum tube testing, see our technical article below
Example Tube Test Report
