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Test Equipment Useful Analogue Multimeter Repair

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mfd70
(@mfd70)
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For my 14th or 15th birthday I had a Maplin analogue multimeter (a M2020S from their pre-yellow precision gold range) to replace a cheaper unit I had, it was not particularly expensive but was good quality and worked well for about fifteen years, then around the turn of the century the range selector switch shaft snapped, it looked impossible to repair and as I was almost exclusively using a digital meter, it went back in its box. Yesterday as I was clearing out the second garage, I found this meter, either bin or fix, so today I took a look.

I was able to drill a hole though the remains of the shaft all the way through the knob, then use an M3 screw to attach a spacer which I was able to attach the wiper assembly to with a nylon screw (I should have taken pictures), after installing fresh batteries I found the meter worked perfectly, so after a twenty year holiday it is back on the workbench, now although a good digital meter is invaluable and having an AVO available likewise, a compact analogue meter is very handy to have to hand, which I now have.

20220529 211209

 

 
Posted : 29/05/2022 10:08 pm
Alex728, Lloyd, ntscuser and 12 people reacted
crustytv
(@crustytv)
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Here's a 1985 article about the M-2020S, you might like for a bit of nostalgia.

mapm

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Posted : 29/05/2022 10:22 pm
mfd70
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@crustytv Very interesting, I was surprised to see the price £19.95, quite a lot in 1985, £64.41 in todays money according to google. Luckily for me, my parents realised my interest/ hobby could, at least then, provide a potential career. In June I will have spent 34 years working in electronics, audio-visual, medical, telecoms and broadcasting and enjoyed it all, sometimes despite the best efforts of management (!), I've always taken a decent wage, but never made really good money so far at least. I doubt if the same would be possible today.

 
Posted : 29/05/2022 10:41 pm
Nuvistor
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@mfd70 
I have the Precision Gold PG102, bought around 1990 give or take a year, it still works. My other meter is a Fluke 8021B, this was part of my work tool box that my employer provided in 1982, when I was made redundant in 1998 I asked could I keep the tool box and tools, they said yes, it would only go in the skip.

Both get little use these days, I just check the batteries and replace on a regular basis. The Fluke LCD is just starting to show its age with the edges darkening but it doesn’t cover the digits yet.Still has its calibration sticker from 1994, the firm probably couldn’t afford to have it rechecked after that.

 

Frank

 
Posted : 30/05/2022 6:23 am
crustytv
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In my armoury of meters, I've a Precision Gold M195, I got it from an ex field engineer.

The M195 is a hand-held Resistance, Capacitance and Inductance (LCR) measuring meter. I think it must date from the early 80's. The measurements are displayed on a 3½ digit LCD.

The meter uses a digitally generated sine-wave test signal, which is applied to the component under test as either a constant current or voltage. The voltage or current output is then rectified and analogue/digital conversion is achieved with a large-scale IC. The ranges are obtained by amplifying either the voltage across or the current through the unknown component before conversion.

Gathering dust these days.

20220530 072617

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Posted : 30/05/2022 6:31 am
Lloyd
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Nice meter, and a good repair! I had to do a similar repair to my Fluke 111 when the knob broke off, it was just a flimsy plastic hexagonal shaft, no more than 5mm diameter. I have a Precision gold meter as well, a digital one, it was the first multimeter I bought for myself probably 20 years ago now! It’s been in its box most of that time, just because someone gave me a scruffy fluke 23, so I kept the precision gold meter for best. The only analogue meter I have is a Micronta that was my Grandads, it works well, although I’ve not really used it much other than to test it.

 Regards 

Lloyd 

 
Posted : 30/05/2022 12:37 pm
Sundog
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I have a Fluke 77 that I have had since almost new. Once I touched the probe on a voltage of over 1kV and it immediately stopped working. 

It was the early days of the internet but I found an electronics News Group and posted a distress call. Amazingly a poster came back who worked for Fluke meters. He told me that there was a component that looked like a 2 Watt resistor that was actually a fusible resistor that had probably failed. I replaced it with a regular resistor of the same value and the meter worked!

I've been very careful since not to expose the meter to HV as I won't get a second chance.

 
Posted : 30/05/2022 8:16 pm
Cathovisor
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Whilst looking for some fine solder to repair a Compaq SFF motherboard where most of the 2200µF electrolytics had expelled their electrolyte, I found my very first multimeter - an Amprobe AM-2A. There are pictures of one on the Internet but mine is subtly different; the AC scale at low voltage does not align with the DC scale - I wonder if it's taking the forward voltage of the rectifier into account?

I smiled, and let it slumber on in its Halfords metal carry case. One day, I will return to it and abandon all the fancy stuff I have 🙂

 
Posted : 30/05/2022 9:09 pm
peterscott
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Being a "never throw anything away" sort of guy I still have my first multimeter too despite having acquired multiple others over the years. It is identical to this, including the case. (I don't wear nail varnish though.)

Peter

[IMG]Forum 2[/IMG]


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Posted : 31/05/2022 8:26 am
Nuvistor
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@peterscott 

The Avo Multi Minor was my meter used on outside calls for many years, served me well, robust and good enough for most uses.

Avo 8 in the workshop, never had a digital one for R&TV servicing. Analogue meters are really could for monitoring adjustments, it took me a while getting used to the Fluke when adjusting read/write heads on computer disc drives, had to take note of the slight lag in the reading.

Setting up disc drives, now there is an art that no longer required.

 

 

Frank

 
Posted : 31/05/2022 9:49 am
peterscott
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Posted by: mod

Mod Note:
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Sorry!

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Posted : 31/05/2022 9:56 am
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