Probe-holding apparatus for holding a probe for checking steam generator tubes particularly in a nuclear reactor installation

Probe-holding apparatus for holding a probe for checking steam generator tubes particularly in a nuclear reactor installation. The apparatus comprises a telescopic arm supported via a ball and socket joint from a support mounted in or near an access aperture in a chamber at one end of the steam generator. A probe guide is carried by a carriage pivotally mounted at the other end of the telescopic arm. The carriage includes an endless belt having a series of spaced projections which engage into the ends of the tubes, the projections being spaced by a distance equal to the tube pitch or a multiple thereof. The belt is driven by a stepping motor in order to move the carriage and place the probe guide opposite different ones of the tubes