I had one of these back when I was about 15. I recall that just about every single wire had been cut and I spent many hours splicing it back together. I also out a NOS transformer in it I got from Fair Radio Sales. It did work fairly well, but I ended up selling it a couple years later at a ham fest.
Flash forward about 25 years and I find myself in need of a respectable tester for pre war tubes. So I got on eBay and spotted this guy that looked to be in very good condition. No pictures of it working or of the inside though. Here's all the seller had to say about it
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HERE IS AN OLD ARMY AIR FORCE TUBE TESTING MACHINE IN WORKING ORDER AS FAR AS I CAN TELL. I PLUGGED IT IN AND HIT A BUTTON AND THE NEEDLE MOVED TO THE MIDDLE. IT'S HEAVY AND HAS THE ORIGINAL MANUAL STILL IN THE BOX. THANK YOU FOR LOOKING.
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The price was reasonable so I picked it up.
Here she is. The control panel is in excellent shape. Looks like the paint may have been touched up a little.
I carefully removed the screws and pulled the chassis. It's very, very clean inside. All that anti-fungal varnish probably help preserve it.
There's a schematic built into the bottom of the case made of some sort of laminated plastic. No doubt to survive the tropics.
The wiring is immaculate. So much so, I suspect it's been rewired. If so, someone did a fantastic job!
I recall the wiring in the 177 I had years ago look just like this.
What do you guys think - has it been wired ?
I carefully removed the 83 tube and let it warm up for 20 minutes before testing. That allows the mercury to vaporize.
Unfortunately, I'll have to replace the power cord before I can power it up. Nice cast aluminum plug housing.
