Orange Valve Tester VT1000

The compact and extremely easy to use VT1000 is a fully automatic valve tester, which performs a wide range of tests quickly and accurately. The benefits of using the VT1000 are clear and wide reaching; users can quickly and simply match and test valves, plus receive a reliable health check as to whether their valves are good, bad or worn.

Orange Amps developed the world’s first fully automatic, portable, digital valve tester, the VT1000, to make it easy to test amp valves. Until now testing valves with little or no knowledge of valve theory was difficult, expensive and often unreliable. This new product will test all popular power and pre-amp valves. Its ease of use will appeal to all valve users whether amateur, professional or in the music retail trade.

The unit has one octal and two nine pin valve sockets for different valve types; simply insert the valve to be tested into the correct socket, select the valve type from the list on the unit and press ‘OK’ to test. The results are displayed clearly and concisely using LEDs and will test for a wide range of fault conditions, which could easily cause damage to other components. The simplicity of operation belies what is going on ‘inside the box’, where a CPU controlled testing system is in operation, allowing full control over all inter-electrode switching and measurement operations.

In approximately two minutes, the VT1000 performs an extensive series of tests including:

Heater filament test: Short circuit
Heater filament test: Open circuit
Heater filament test: Tolerance check
Heater cathode insulation: Leakage
Heater cathode insulation: Short Circuit
Tests for heater current abnormalities
Amplification factor
Voltage gain
Power gain
Screen grid test
Mutual conductance test
Dual test for double triodes
Emission
Inter electrode leakage
Inter electrode short circuit
Flash-over (arc detection, high voltage breakdown)
Gas ionisation test
The VT1000 really opens the door to everyone to have an extremely simple, portable, reliable, inexpensive and safe way to test valves.

The VT1000 incorporates patent-pending technology and currently tests the following valves:

EL34/6CA7; EL34L; 6L6; 6V6/6v6GTA; KT66; KT77; KT88; 6550; 5881; EL84/6BQ5; ECC81/12AT7; ECC82/12AU7; ECC83/12AX7; ECC99; 12BH7