I'm looking to buy a tube tester and would like to make it a bit future proof to my buying habits. Before researching the testers, I never knew that 12 pin tubes existed. I'm talking about 6KD6 compactron type tubes. Does anybody here use them, design with them, etc.? Has anybody even seen a piece of audio equipment that does use them? I'm guessing that I won't ever need to test them, but would like to know more about them before I dismiss them.

Compactron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would doubt you'll find many testers that test these. They weren't made for very long, so testers would need to be from the same era. They were basically a way to cram a bunch of tubes into one to take up a little less space.

I've never seen a commercial amp that uses these. They are good for DIY since they are super cheap, but they are otherwise nothing special. At any rate, with a couple of clip leads, a multimeter, and a bench power supply, you can measure everything a tube tester can -- in fact more, and more accurately.

Pete Millett has used them I know. Guess that is to be expected.

Thanks. I didn't realize how cheap they were. Doh! I should have checked. For their price, I can afford a bad tube from time to time. I was looking at a tester that can test everything from 4 pin tubes up to the compactrons. Of course, it was more than I wanted to spend. No I don't have to. Yay!

Dude, they're still designing new tubes -- I just read a one-paragraph article about either Svetlana or Sovtek releasing a new tube...and an amp to go with it. So good luck with that.

Just buy what you think you need and don't worry about it. Things always change.