TOP ROW - Television Tube Tester

Television Tube Tester, 1966

Donor: Christopher Laing

Jefferson Laing started Laing’s Radio & TV in 1952 in a basement at 1008 Short Road. Laing’s quickly rose as a leader in the TV sales and service industry. They soon relocated to a house at 317 Balch Street, which they outgrew and replaced with a brand new building in 1966. Chriss Laing worked in his father’s business as a young man and purchased the business in 1993. After serving the Kalamazoo area for nearly 70 years, Laing’s closed in May of 2020.

Electronic Advancements

The Laings witnessed significant technological advancements in electronics. Television vacuum “tube testers” date from the late 1950s and early 1960s. A vacuum tube is a sealed-glass or metal-ceramic enclosure used in electronic circuitry. Weak, shorted, or dead tubes in a television set affected picture and sound quality and could cause other components to malfunction, so it was recommended that tubes be tested annually.

Public Consumption

It was common to see self-service U-Test-M Vacuum Tube Testers in pharmacies, hardware stores, and even supermarkets, where anyone could come in, use the tester, and even purchase new tubes from inside the tester’s cabinet. This tester was located in Laing’s Radio & TV for nearly 60 years, even after the “tube tester” days were long gone.