uTracer6 Tube Curve Tracer

To expand my testing capabilities, I decided to build a uTracer 6 curve tracer from a kit supplied by Ronald and Marie-José in the Netherlands at www.dos4ever.com.

After assembling the PCB I installed it in a 16 × 8 × 3-inch Hammond steel chassis I had on hand. One of the uTracer’s strengths is the freedom to design your own enclosure. I kept mine simple, with four tube sockets covering most of the tubes we work with and adapters can be used for the rest.

Following Ronald’s approach, I used jumper leads with quality Johnson/Cinch banana sockets and plugs to connect the tube pins. An auxiliary 5 A buck-boost converter supplies tubes requiring more than the uTracer’s 1.5 A heater-current limit. Additionally, I created an isolated heater supply unit providing 2.5/5/6.3v AC for testing diode tubes or directly heated triodes.

The internal wiring uses 18 AWG, 5,000 V-rated rubber test-lead wire with ferrite beads and inductors, it is wired similar to an AVO style tester to limit any unwanted oscillations. It's designed to keep the underside tidy and allow easy board removal for future modifications, separate heater and board-supply fuses, and a fused IEC mains inlet are located on the back.

Testing has produced results closely matching published tube curves in old data sheets, with no oscillations observed so far. The finished uTracer adds accurate tube testing and matching to our bench and it will see regular use. 

I have also purchased the positive grid extension board for the uTracer 6, this allows grid voltages above 0v while testing.

For more information on the uTracer, visit Ronald’s website.

https://www.dos4ever.com/uTracer3/uTracer3_pag0.html

You get a bag of organized parts and an almost blank PCB