Weber Bias Rite

[iggs]

Hey all,

I'd like to be able to check the bias myself and as much as I'd like to think that I'm pretty good with electronics, I don't feel right poking around an amp with dmm probes.

I was looking into getting the Bias Rite ... any opinions, info or reviews? Any other (better) tools? Both of my amps are fixed bias, push-pull, class A/B dual output tube based, with KT66 and EL34 respectively.

Thanks!

[Blue Strat]

Bias Rite is as good as any of the similar bias probes out there. I use one.

[iggs]

Originally Posted by Blue Strat

Bias Rite is as good as any of the similar bias probes out there. I use one.

That's good enough endorsment for me! :AOK

Thanks Mike.

[SteveStrat]

Hey Mike, speaking of amp biasing. I have an old Heath kit Oscilloscope that I inherited from my late uncle. I’ve always wondered about using it to bias my amps.
Is this something that’s fairly easy to do once you figure out the oscilloscope?
How much do you gain by using an oscilloscope versus a bias probe?

Anybody know where I can find manuals for Heath kit gear?

Steve

[GenoBluzGtr]

I have one that works great. It's very simple and straightforward.

I would recommend getting the Plate Voltage option, because you can't really set accurate bias without checking the Plate Voltage anyway... might as well be able to do it with a simple switch on a single meter.

[KeithC]

+1 on the Bias Rite and +1 for the plate voltage option :AOK

[JWR]

I use one with the plate voltage option. I also use the Bias calculator on the Weber site as a guide.

[mmorse]

Originally Posted by JWR

I use one with the plate voltage option. I also use the Bias calculator on the Weber site as a guide.

+1 on that.That's exactly how I bias my amps.

[Blue Strat]

Originally Posted by SteveStrat

Hey Mike, speaking of amp biasing. I have an old Heath kit Oscilloscope that I inherited from my late uncle. I’ve always wondered about using it to bias my amps.
Is this something that’s fairly easy to do once you figure out the oscilloscope?
How much do you gain by using an oscilloscope versus a bias probe?

Anybody know where I can find manuals for Heath kit gear?

Steve

I'll bet that most Heath manuals are available. Have you tried Google? I'll bet they're out there.

There are lots of opinions on biasing. Mine is that using a scope is a waste of time. They certainly have other useful applications for amp tweakers, though.

[SteveStrat]

Thanks for the info Mike. I haven't done any looking online yet, I should though.

Steve

[Jube2550]

I've been waiting over 4 weeks for mine and the website was not clear to me about why the plate voltage is an option or how to order but I requested it. They are out of octal pin bases.

[Blue Strat]

Originally Posted by Jube2550

I've been waiting over 4 weeks for mine and the website was not clear to me about why the plate voltage is an option or how to order but I requested it. They are out of octal pin bases.

4 weeks? Yikes! I guess that's the price of success.

[Jube2550]

Yeah, I'm really suprised. All of my recent pedal purchases have come timely and I never thought a bias probe would take this long. It's been a week since I've heard anything and the last email said they had the octal bases on what sounded like a backorder They didn't bill me though so that was good.

[Buckeyedog]

I've been waiting about 3 weeks and Ted e-mailed and said it would be shipped late last week. Don't know if I'm supposed to get a "shipping notice" or not, but I haven't yet. I'm anxious to get it though!!

[Hacksaw]

Stevestrat, I get my heathkit manuals here http://www.w7fg.com/ maybe they will have what you are looking for :-) in fact I just bought one for a Ta-16 heathkit amp.