# Vintage testers



## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Seen some of those with the name and number for the supply house printed on the side.


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## 350X (May 20, 2016)

MechanicalDVR said:


> Seen some of those with the name and number for the supply house printed on the side.




That's interesting. The brown one says "eagle" & imo was built to last. They have a neat glow. Luckily my father-in-law(73 yrs) takes good care of everything. His dad was a career electrician at a big pulp mill in Lewiston. I wish the leads on today's testers where this durable. 


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

350X said:


> That's interesting. The brown one says "eagle" & imo was built to last. They have a neat glow. Luckily my father-in-law(73 yrs) takes good care of everything. His dad was a career electrician at a big pulp mill in Lewiston. I wish the leads on today's testers where this durable.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


He isn't all that much older than I am. I have some family handtools that go back to the early 1800's in very good shape. Some of those old leads were asbestos jacketed.


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## 350X (May 20, 2016)

MechanicalDVR said:


> He isn't all that much older than I am. I have some family handtools that go back to the early 1800's in very good shape. Some of those old leads were asbestos jacketed.




Asbestos! Well that's no good. I'll keep them in his tool pouch hanging on the wall. Thanks for letting me know. 
Good for you and your old tools. Sounds like your family takes good care also. I like and collect lots of vintage items. Most valued are the ones from my family. 


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

350X said:


> Asbestos! Well that's no good. I'll keep them in his tool pouch hanging on the wall. Thanks for letting me know.
> Good for you and your old tools. Sounds like your family takes good care also. I like and collect lots of vintage items. Most valued are the ones from my family.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yup, there is nothing like the sense of history in antiques.


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## JRaef (Mar 23, 2009)

<Shudders> Antiques??? Holy crap, I think I still have mine in my tool bag!


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

JRaef said:


> <Shudders> Antiques??? Holy crap, I think I still have mine in my tool bag!


The black one looks 60s vintage the other with the fuzzy wire jacket looks way older.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

350X said:


> Asbestos! Well that's no good.


LOL don't sweat it, unless you put this tester in a crack pipe and smoke it the asbestos probably isn't going to hurt you  

I grab these old testers when ever I see them, leftovers in old hardware stores, etc. I keep one in the laptop bag, coat pockets, other places so you might have a tester when you don't have a tester with you.


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## varmit (Apr 19, 2009)

The brown "Eagle " brand tester, was sold until at least, the mid 70s. I have owned a couple of those. There is probably one in an old tool box of mine somewhere.


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

Their too complicated !

:jester:


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## Frizratz (Jul 14, 2014)

They are good for old work, un-identified or colorless wires to determine the hot and neutral. 
You can touch one lead to a wire and put the other on your finger.
If it is the hot wire it will glow. Barely but it will glow.


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## canbug (Dec 31, 2015)

I built one of those in high school shop class! Around 1980.
Probably still have it buried somewhere.

Tim.


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## fdew (Mar 26, 2009)

Frizratz said:


> They are good for old work, un-identified or colorless wires to determine the hot and neutral.
> You can touch one lead to a wire and put the other on your finger.
> If it is the hot wire it will glow. Barely but it will glow.


There is a guy on another forum who has invented a improvement of the old 3 light plug in tester based on touching a screw on the tester body. The big improvement is that it can detect a outlet wired reverse polarity bootleg ground. These test "OK" with a normal tester and are dangerous.


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## petepdx (May 13, 2015)

No battery required


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## electricguy (Mar 22, 2007)

JRaef said:


> <Shudders> Antiques??? Holy crap, I think I still have mine in my tool bag!


Ditto


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## dmxtothemax (Jun 15, 2010)

350X said:


> View attachment 81418
> 
> My wife's grandpa used these.
> 
> ...



Althou these testers may be simple
they are still prone to false positives
as they are nothing more than a small neon lamp
probably with a current limiting resisitor as well
but they need bugger all current to work
typically around half a milli-amp.
so false positives are easily possible.

but did they care about phantom voltages back then ?
probably not !


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