tracking tube hours

[rlw3]

bought 4 hand held counters for $25 from amazon to track the various sets of tubes. now i wont have to guess a year from now how many hours of use have taken place.

[Wasatch]

I thought about tracking hours, but have not done it yet.

[bakerman]

bought 4 hand held counters for $25 from amazon to track the various sets of tubes. now i wont have to guess a year from now how many hours of use have taken place.

Got a link so we can check it out? :thumbsup:

[rlw3]

i think i saw a review where a phono or preamp from ARC had an automatic counter built in that tracked how long the unit had been on. curious if it loses count during power outages

[rlw3]

Got a link so we can check it out? :thumbsup:

Doug got to amazon and type in hand held counter. i bought the units from gogo around $4 ea plus shipping. i put small felt pads on one side and taped some labels on the other.Now i will know where the usage is a year or two out without guessing.

[bakerman]

That will work for sure. Can't beat it for $4 bucks...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41wwcrMXojL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[microstrip]

i think i saw a review where a phono or preamp from ARC had an automatic counter built in that tracked how long the unit had been on. curious if it loses count during power outages

No. The only way to disguise tube use is pressing the internal reset button of the hour counter. The amps have an internal LCD hour counter - this IC can be used with any electronic device. Nagra tubed preamplifiers have an analog hour counter that looks like a fuse!

If a preamplifier has a 12V output trigger signal most probably we can use it to drive a low power hour counter.

[Myles B. Astor]

That will work for sure. Can't beat it for $4 bucks...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41wwcrMXojL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Know people who use this to keep track of the number of hours on their cartridge too :)

[rlw3]

sharp idea i was going to count phono preamp hours. i have a koetsu signature cart that is 10 years old but with very low hours. it sounds pretty good has not changed to my ears but i could be wrong. does the 10 years of age bring its own set of problems?

[nz022]

Know people who use this to keep track of the number of hours on their cartridge too :)

This is old school standby contractor device used for counting items to bid on a project. Now most use digital devices.

[rlw3]

But then you have to replace batteries and worry about battery leakage. I wanted a manual solution without these problems.

[MyPal]

ENM LCD hour meter connected to the 5v trigger out port. These meters have EPMROM memory & will maintain the count perpetually. Lots of AA members use them but most use the AC hard wired variety.

McIntosh gear has trigger out ports. I hang these off basically all my equipment.

I made 15cm trigger connectors using shielded 4 core microphone cable, viablue plugs, cable pants, spade connectors, Techflex Flexo Conductive, heat shrink.

[rlw3]

ENM LCD hour meter connected to the 5v trigger out port. These meters have EPMROM memory & will maintain the count perpetually. Lots of AA members use them but most use the AC hard wired variety.

McIntosh gear has trigger out ports. I hang these off basically all my equipment.

I made 15cm trigger connectors using shielded 4 core microphone cable, viablue plugs, cable pants, spade connectors, Techflex Flexo Conductive, heat shrink.

Looks interesting.how much are they and can they be manually reset to zero when you change tubes? Thanks ray

[Masterlu]

ENM LCD hour meter connected to the 5v trigger out port. These meters have EPMROM memory & will maintain the count perpetually. Lots of AA members use them but most use the AC hard wired variety.

McIntosh gear has trigger out ports. I hang these off basically all my equipment.

I made 15cm trigger connectors using shielded 4 core microphone cable, viablue plugs, cable pants, spade connectors, Techflex Flexo Conductive, heat shrink.

+1

http://www.audioaficionado.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=20232&stc=1&d=1349310642

I just write down the hours when something is done; powercord upgrade, tubes replaced, etc.

[MyPal]

Looks interesting.how much are they and can they be manually reset to zero when you change tubes? Thanks ray


You can buy direct for around $30 each but I have seen them as low as $16. I don't believe the version I have are resettable however, you can request this by special order.

I put a small dymo label on mine indicating any baselines if there is a tube change etc.