good tube tester

B&K 707 is a good one, although it'll run slightly more than the $100 you mentioned. One thing to watch out for, I've been told, is that if you get a tester that handles both the output and input tubes, you want to get a tester that won't put too much juice into the 6DJ8 types (the B&K fills the bill there). I'm sure there will be some other suggestions as well.

There are a multitude of testers out there. 1st you want to buy one that tests for dynamic mutual conductance vs emission. The mutaul conductance is said to be more accurate. 2ndly make sure that the tester will test the tubes that you are working with. The older testers don't do nine pin tubes and some newer ones won't have 4 pin sockets. Make sure that the tube setting charts and manual are included. The B&K 700, 707 and 747 are some of the easiest to use. 3rd, even when the add sais that the tester works, it may not work correctly. I just picked up a B&K 747 that will not calibrate. The seller will not respond, so it's of the shop for repairs I guess. You may want to do a search in the Tube Asylum over at AudioAsylum. A lot of good advice is archived there. Ebay seems to have an endless supply of testers up for auction. Do an advanced search for "tube testers". There's always about a 100 on the list. Prices range from 10's of $ to over a 1000. I'm starting to wonder if it boils down to you get what you pay for. Take your time, and try to know what you want. Good luck, Bob D

Thanks for the suggestions, the more I looked the more I figured to ger everything I wanted in a tube tester I would be spending plenty of money. So I bought one called ACCURATE. Never heard of it but we will see what it's like.