Checking out some recent acquisitions - #8 - Two EICO 147a Signal Tracers
Monday, March 2, 2026 at 06:39:45
This past weekend, I took some materials over to the Early Television Museum in Hilliard, Ohio. This consisted of some of the things you’ve seen here, including the big TRF radio that had a bad output transformer, as well as some other equipment that hopefully they can get a few bucks out of. If you’re in this area and have an interest in older technology - or simply would like to see some of the marvels of previous ages - this is an excellent stop and I highly suggest it.
However…when I was there last year for their fall swap, there was an EICO 147a tracer sitting amongst the other items. I assumed that it was part of the auction material and didn’t pay any attention to it - but it was still sitting there when I was on site this past Saturday. There was also a second unit, quite dirty. I made an offer on both, we agreed, and I took them home.
Why? I don’t know. I’m a silly little wereboar, I guess.
So, what did I get?
Here’s the clean unit. What caught my eye was the addition of the eye-tube cover someone put on there in years past.
It’s got a little dirt and grime, but overall is in great shape for a garage find. The inside of the cabinet is in equally decent condition. A little surface discoloration, but nothing I’m concerned about.
The outside of the cabinet has the normal scuffs and dirt. A quick wash with some 409 will take care of that.
The inside of the unit is equally clean. Tube lineup is two original EICO branded tubes, along with a GE tube in the 6AQ5 position. As this is the power output, it was probably the first to go. Also of note here is the choke wrapping - it’s peeling away, but that’s not a big deal as that’s just the outer wrapper.
This one may have been a factory build, or a good kit builder. The bottom layout is fairly clean and everything is well soldered.
Everything here is all disc capacitors save the big molded near the top, and of course the electrolytic. So, does it work?
Sure does. The eye is even in pretty good shape. It’s fairly bright and has a defined shadow.
I let this one run for a while, it seems to be in great shape for the age. The filter didn’t get warm, it’s got ample gain, and everything seems to be in order. I didn’t do any measurements on resistors, but I would suspect them to be out of tolerance, so it may get a partial rebuild later on. In all, this was a good purchase for the price of both.
On to the second unit. This one is dirty, and looks like it might be a smoker’s choice. That brown glaze on the front gives it away, although there’s not a lot of any kind of smell on it.
The cabinet on this one is a bit rougher inside and out. Some of the rubber feet are laying inside.
The back has a modification - a previous owner installed a mini Hubbel twist-lock plug and socket. The cord is a polarized SPT-3 unit, so the last time this was touched was probably sometime in the late 70s or early 80s. They did a decent job of the mod, so no real tears shed here. I hate to see chassis and cabinet drilled out like this, but it’s from a past owner so there’s nothing I can do with it.
This unit had a mess of cables stuck in the handle, including a cable with that ever-popular RF connector attached to it.
They’re all in just this side of ready to crumble condition. They’re connectors for reuse, not useful cables right now.
Top of the chassis is cleaner than the outside would lead you to believe. The getter on the 6AQ5 is black, this thing has some hours on it.
But the bottom definitely shows this one was a kit. The layout is very loose, wires everywhere. It doesn’t look anywhere near as good as the other unit.
So, does this one work?
Yep, it does. It’s hot and has good gain, like the other unit. The eye on this one, however, is very weak and doesn’t have a well defined anything. I could just barely see the shadow, but the camera almost smears it out of existence. This one definitely saw some use, and was probably just left on all the time. While it works, it’s probably going to go on the shelf as a spare or a later rebuild. I do have some new eyes, so who knows where this one will end up.
In all, I think this was a great purchase (even if I didn’t need it!) and it helps the museum with a bit of funds and, as the curator on duty Saturday said: “less things I have to move!”
Stay tuned, the cleaner unit is going to get some touch-up in the next few months.
Next part of this series: Coming sometime.
Previous part of this series: https://wereboar.com … um-rectifier-tester/