Just procured this one from Stephen Savell Is there a user manual available at all . I realise it may need recapping but I am looking forward to using this.

Palec ET-3 What?

I have a VCT Circa 1938 and that's a valve & circuit tester (with the optional (overhauled) 6V Vibrator PSU) I did service a newer variant of this with a 6X5 (mine has 1V). The latter had only two paper caps which got binned.

Marc

Hello Marcc I just emailed you a photo.

Photo received: Message sent.

Its a pure Valve tester which the VCT isn't. It may be a newer thing as it has higher heater / filament volts & the sockets for miniature valves, should that be original?

Clearly VCT and it are not designed for the same purpose. VCT is designed to be a traveller and able to be used where there was no reticulated mains: That's why the two in the photo's sent have 6V PSU's to hook to the car batteries of the era.

I still have a tractor that is 6V and operational.

Marc

I can see what you mean about the miniature socket. It certainly looks out of place . I have studied it a bit and can see that it would be fairly easy to use. I downloaded a few user manuals last night and could easily pick up the jist of whats happening.

Edit/ I just looked at one on radio museum and the miniature socket is standard.

It obviously pre-dates B9A but that 7 pin miniature does look ruthless and ruins the design symmetry (aesthetics)

I don't think we need photos here of the VCT's I sent you. The VCT has an adjustment (taps) for line voltage to keep it accurate and as intimated is a Mutlti-function instrument, which would have not been cheap at 17 pound 17 Shillings before tax. in 1938 (my version)

VCT has a Volt meter four ranges DC /AC to 1kV; four ranges mA to 250mA; Low ohms (bonding) & by 1, & by 10.

Additional: Output (Audio; for alignment) 25V & 250V electrolytic test (225V) Paper cap (HV) test (Neon flash method).

As said, entirely different niche in the market.

Marc

that 7 pin miniature does look ruthless and ruins the design symmetry (aesthetics)

Symmetry-wise I reckon it nicely balances the bulb on the left. However being aluminium it does tend to stand out among the black sockets.

What are the two silver sockets ( one either side of the meter ) am I guessing correctly that they are for the top caps or is it something else?

That's the problem with that extroverted socket, it draws the eye straight to it.

Yes! The two shiny sockets will likely be for top caps. Another other difference from VCT is the Loctal socket not withstanding variations in sockets in VCT.

The VCT has a nacelle that not only has the batteries, but will hold cables, but nothing that can short the batteries.

Marc

Is there a circuit available for the VCT Palec tester??. I would love to get hold of one.

I have had one for years and often used the 6V vibrator function but of late with fully sealed 12V battery tops 6V was becoming hard to find.

Used it in the field needing a multimeter/insulation tests when trouble shooting drive in speaker reticulation..would drive my little Morris Minor down to where I was working, pop the bonnet & tap off the required 6V with an extension cable & go to work.

Would often hammer the poor battery by using a Scope iron tapping off 4V to feed that so I could unsolder the post top connections.

Now it sits on bench just mainly to provide good insulation tests or forming new electrolytics.

Lindsay

Do have: Original manual is about 12Meg. & there is a supplement plus other bits & pieces.

Main difference in mine is is uses 1V & the others use a different vibrator & half of a 6X5. I rewired mine mains side & it uses a safer IEC socket inside the battery box.

Marc

Info sent, I do love the genius in only having pretty much all black & purple wires in mine, doesn't that make wire tracing fun.

You can actually use the insulation tester for leakage testing caps as well and that does include the one In the Kettering Ignition, they also leak & fail and can actually have a significant effect on the spark.

It is not actually in there to quench the spark: It is a critical part in developing the spark.

Watch the fingers on that cap & insulation testing set of plugs. There is abt 225VDC on them, but it is only capable of very low current. But! There is a warning in the manual about that.

I find IC clip leads ideal for this area of testing and also for monitoring, as they neatly hold onto a wire or component lead and that leaves hands free and fingers out of the danger zones.

PA amps are the ones to watch: Many of them have some savage volts on their "B" rails & plates. Not a place for Newbies. One here has 300V on the plates of the PP valves: But! The transformer is capable of around 500mA DC, or more and that is a potential killer.

Marc

Thanks Marcc,

Circuits received & very helpful indeed. I have had this VCT unit since 1959 but never could locate any documentation so to test valves I would try a known good one in it & then document the relative settings the good valve showed & slowly over the years built up a reasonable listing.
But as luck would always have it there was always one valve that I needed to check & had no known good ones.

What you sent me IS a great help & much appreciated.

Yep, the 225 (odd) V DC does give you a bit of a start when careless...been nipped many times with the Palec.

Some of the ex drive in power amps have extremely nasty HT rails & the Westrex 100W 100V line things had 4 x KT66 in parallel pushpull running just on 600V on the HT rail so I was always ultra careful around them when trouble shooting. They were lethal & could take a healthy bite out of a miss placed meter probe if you managed to ground that HT rail with it.

This forum is an absolute goldmine of info & never ceases to amaze me how a forum member will want some obscure bit of info & within a short space of time another member comes up with the goods. A Brilliant forum to be a member of.

Lindsay