VACUTRACE Vacuum Tube Curve Tracer
4
Socket Adapter Cards
Socket adapter cards are employed to accommodate various tube pinouts. These
cards plug onto the connector at the top of VacuTrace and are held in place by four
wing nuts. They are built to be rugged and quickly swapped with one another. A
socket adapter card must be installed before a vacuum tube can be tested. Standard
cards included with VacuTrace are:
•
Dual 8 and 9 pin triodes (12AX7A/6DJ8, 6SN7)
•
Octal pentode power tubes (6L6GC, KT88)
•
Power triodes and diodes (2A3/300B, 5Y3)
•
Jumper (any 7, 8, or 9 pin tube)
Connections
Connecting a VacuTrace is simple. Use the BNC cables provided to connect the X, Y
and Z outputs to your oscilloscope. Note, not all oscilloscopes have intensity
modulation. This is ok, but makes it more difficult to determine which curve belongs
to which tube in A/B comparison mode.
1. Connect X to channel 2 (horizontal) on your oscilloscope.
2. Connect Y to channel 1 (vertical).
3. Connect Z to the intensity modulation input, usually located on the rear.
4. Connect the ac power cord.
That’s it, install a socket adapter card and you are ready to go. Be sure to set your
oscilloscope to XY mode. Also, initially set both channel attenuators to 0.5V/division.
