Hickok 6000 calibration
This article discusses repair and calibration of the Hickok 6000 tube tester. Models 6000A and 6005 are the same with only minor feature differences that are not relevant to tube test calibration, therefore the discussion is applicable to those models as well. Serious electrical voltages are present, repairs should only be attempted by a qualified technician. Copyrighted by Bob Putnak, all rights reserved. Introduction
Hickok 6000 series is a compact mutual conductance tube tester. Most Hickok tube testers fall in two categories: those that use a 5 vac signal voltage and those that use a 2.5 vac signal voltage. Otherwise, most Hickok’s are remarkably alike (except for the really expensive models such as 539C or 752…). The 6000 series in the the 2.5 vac signal voltage group. The compact size of the 6000 is a welcome asset to any technician’s workbench because space is always at a premium. The 6000 series also has a replaceable socket panel. One panel has an older compliment of sockets (4-pin through 9-pin-miniature sockets); the other panel has a newer socket compliment (compactron & novar sockets instead of the antique sockets). This system allowed easy replacement of worn out sockets — the customer simply purchased a new panel from Hickok. The setup chart configuration for the Shunt control gives “Good-Bad” readings, which were previously called the “English” readings in older Hickok testers. In fact, the Shunt control was named “English” on older models. The chart also provides a micromhos score for tubes that have transconductance (ie – not rectifiers, not diodes, not thyratrons…), and the Shunt control must be repositioned to the red dot on the Shunt control that is appropriate for that micromhos reading. For example, if the chart says “2000” and you had some reason to benefit from knowing the micromhos score (which is seldom the situation), you would ignore the chart’s shunt number and instead set the shunt control to the red dot near “73” which is the 3000 micromhos range. For most testing needs of a technician, the good/bad scale is convenient and appropriate.
Need paperwork for your Hickok 6000? I offer a remastered paperwork package for Hickok 6000 — manual, schematic, remastered factory calibration document, and obsolete tube chart data supplement. $9.99 free ship USA.
Vintage is approx 1957. The 6000 sold for $182 in 1958. Dimensions: 17 x 12 x 8 (inches) and weight 16-lbs. Model 6005 is the same tube tester but integrates multimeter functions. Model 6000A has basic transistor testing capability, which I doubt that anyone uses today. The 6000A has the newer socket panel with compactron and novar sockets, but without the antique sockets (4-pin, 5-pin, etc.) The socket panels are not interchangeable between 6000 and 6000A due to a different connection plug on the underside. As a sidenote, this socket panel makes it very difficult to install socket-savers if you still want to close the case lid. It can be done, but it requires a lot of work and creative thinking. See my article [HERE].
Repair and Calibration A thorough explanation of the Hickok test method, calibration voltages, and the equipment that was used to make those voltage measurements is in a United States military document TM 11-6625-274-35 for military TV-7 series of tube testers. This information is applicable to most Hickok tube testers (not all), with the caveat that some models use 2.5 vac signal voltage instead of 5.0 vac. It explains the voltages for the plate, screen, grid, signal and the method used to obtain those measurements. A factory calibration document for the 6000 series also exists (and has one typo mistake) and closely follows the voltages in the military TM document. (more…)