anyone else like using 'older' test gear like AVO meters?

[ghostman11]

a little while ago i was a tinkering and although i have a pretty good DMM i borrowed a AVO meter to do a little job,
there is something about the feel of this kind of old test gear i really like. does anyone collect or regualy use oder gear? and whats your thoughts on it?
i also have a realy old function generator and again it works well and has a good feel on the switches etc. ok by modern standards it dosnt has all the bell's and whistles but it has a feel of quality it ints nicely made wooden case with a little glass front. what my dad would have called built by people that care!
so anyone else prefer the older stuff or is it just old godgers like me lol.
so what old test gear do you have and use

 

[ericgibbs]

hi Jason.

The oldest piece of test gear that I have, thats still in working order is ME.

I dont have a glass front but I suspect I will be getting a wooden case shortly!

Eric

 

[ghostman11]

hi Jason.

The oldest piece of test gear that I have, thats still in working order is ME.

I dont have a glass front but I suspect I will be getting a wooden case shortly!

Eric

LMAO you dont get off that easy!! i am sure the electrotech lot will club together have you embalmed and fit a pic! that way you can still post from your wooden case

 

[Reloadron]

Yeah, I have some older pieces of test, measurement and diagnostic equipment I still cling to and use. Unfortunately many really nice things from work were trashed during an absence I had. I have over the years managed many "dumpster" rescues of good stuff.

Eric, you aren't going anywhere.

Ron

 

[squishy36]

I'm still using Heathkit equipment I built in the 1970's and my beloved HP 3400A was manufactured in the year I started college in the 1960's -- and it still works great. I like equipment that a) works and b) helps me make good decisions; its age is secondary. One nice feature about some older equipment is that it's possible that you can get a schematic for it and you can repair them when they break.

 

[Reloadron]

That HP3400A is a great true RMS volt meter and look ma no tubes.

The mention of the kits made me remember the several Knight Kits and a few Eico kits still adorning this place. My first amateur transmitter that was not war surplus was a Heathkit DX40 built from a kit in the early 60s.

Ron

 

[carbonzit]

Just to clear things up, when you Brits use the quaint term AVO, is that the same thing as our VOM (volt-ohm-milliammeter)? I'd never run across the term "AVO" before I joined this board.

 

[ericgibbs]

Just to clear things up, when you Brits use the quaint term AVO, is that the same thing as our VOM (volt-ohm-milliammeter)? I'd never run across the term "AVO" before I joined this board.

hi cz,
This is it, a great meter for its time. model 8 and model 9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avometer

 

[tvtech]

Only an Analogue Meter can test semiconductor junctions reliably 100% of the time.

I do not care for brand or make. Digital does not cut it.

Simple as that.

I would rather be using a simple Analogue than a complicated Digital when fault finding.

Digital is for New Designs.
Analogue is for repairing.

I have to keep repeating this message. Until people get the "message". Analogue will never lie to you. Best ever in a repair environment.
Digital, however, is another animal when it comes to repairs. Great for new developments....in my experience, very bad in a repair enviroments.

They lie no matter the money or brand. They were built as development tools. Not repair tools.

Around 20 Years of fixing TV's. I only trust Analogue. Digital is a no go for me.

Think folks
TV Tech

 

[squishy36]

That HP3400A is a great true RMS volt meter and look ma no tubes.

My 3400 has a couple of tubes in it, although it does warm up surprisingly quickly. I also have an HP 428B, a clamp on current meter I used in the 1970's and came to really like. It was another HP instrument that continued to use vacuum tubes in production long after most everything else (excluding TVs and scopes) had switched to transistors. I got the thing for new condition on ebay for $50 and it works perfectly. But it took 5 years of waiting on ebay until I found one in good condition with a working probe -- and I was the only bidder!

 

[kiriakos-gr]

I would love more my analog MetraWatt MA4S if it had an ESR function too, but its an industrial version,
and has many voltage and ampere ranges.

About analogue TV repairs, no one knowledgeable can say the opposite, even the repair manuals advices for one multimeter with 3Mohm minimum internal resistance.
But the latest Agilent U1272A found lots bad capacitors on the B&O LX2502 that I am trying to restore, and so I love it too.

 

[carbonzit]

Just to clear things up, when you Brits use the quaint term AVO, is that the same thing as our VOM (volt-ohm-milliammeter)? I'd never run across the term "AVO" before I joined this board.

hi cz,
This is it, a great meter for its time. model 8 and model 9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avometer

So now I'm more confused than before. Is "AVO" a brand name or a generic name (like VOM)? Sounds like it's the name of a specific brand.

And yes, those are very nice looking meters. Reminds me of my old Simpson VOM that fell on a concrete floor ...

 

[carbonzit]

About analogue TV repairs, no one knowledgeable can say the opposite, even the repair manuals advices for one multimeter with 3Mohm minimum internal resistance.

But the only meters that will have that high an impedance will be either digital ones or VTVMs. What I consider a multimeter is a VOM without any amplification, which will only have an input impedance on the order of 20K-50KΩ/V.

 

[ericgibbs]

So now I'm more confused than before. Is "AVO" a brand name or a generic name (like VOM)? Sounds like it's the name of a specific brand.

And yes, those are very nice looking meters. Reminds me of my old Simpson VOM that fell on a concrete floor ...

cz,
Like the link says A-mps V-olts O-hms , its a Brand name, it was a very popular meter.

 

[ghostman11]

DOH!!!!!!!!!!! i never made the link eric between the name and what it stood for! fantastic meters really solid built, i am on the look out for one but they seem to fetch silly money when complete in the origanal leather case.

 

[kiriakos-gr]

But the only meters that will have that high an impedance will be either digital ones or VTVMs. What I consider a multimeter is a VOM without any amplification, which will only have an input impedance on the order of 20K-50KΩ/V.

Like in everything, there was high quality and modern analog meters out there, with the proper impedance, but they was very costly.

The BBC Metrawatt MA4S haves silver plated PCB.

Pictures can be found here... https://www.electro-tech-online.com/threads/analog-meter.17567/

 

[Neil Groves]

A very interesting thread, i agree that the feel of using an analogue meter really can't be beat, i recently bought an all singing all dancing digital job though and love it to bits for it's ease of reading the display, if i don't care about accuracy and just need an idea of voltage, current or resistance, then i use my little analogue meter every time, mainly co's it reminds me of when i started electronics as a hobby 33 years ago as a 14 year old, If i need more accuracy or need frequency, Cap test or tran test, then i have to fire up my new gem.

actually i dug out my first analogue meter at my mums a couple of years ago when i visited, it no longer works since the probe sockets are worn but someday i intend to fix it.

Neil.

 

[tvtech]

I was a bit harsh with my post about Digital Meters and testing junctions. It is true though. Only an Analogue can give true results. Every time.

I would happily use the cheapest Analogue anytime over the most expensive Digital Meter around. Analogue loads the junction. Puts some current through it. If the junction is faulty/going faulty..the Analogue will show it.

The Digital meter will not. No matter the brand. It is a development and not a repair tool.

FWIW or For What It's Worth: Please listen..........

That has been my experience in around 20 Years of TV repairs and around 35 Years in Electronics. Analogue has never let me down ever with junction testing. And as a TV Tech...I speak the truth only. No BS here.

Cheers
TV TECH

 

[ghostman11]

I was a bit harsh with my post about Digital Meters and testing junctions. It is true though. Only an Analogue can give true results. Every time.

I would happily use the cheapest Analogue anytime over the most expensive Digital Meter around. Analogue loads the junction. Puts some current through it. If the junction is faulty/going faulty..the Analogue will show it.

The Digital meter will not. No matter the brand. It is a development and not a repair tool.

FWIW or For What It's Worth: Please listen..........

That has been my experience in around 20 Years of TV repairs and around 35 Years in Electronics. Analogue has never let me down ever with junction testing. And as a TV Tech...I speak the truth only. No BS here.

Cheers
TV TECH

yeah but for me when all is said and done you just cant beat watching that little needle wiggle the fact it does the job better is merely a bonus lol

 

[Neil Groves]

Both have their place in the workshop, but there really isn't anything like watching that needle swing across the face of a dial, on the case of wiggling needles, i always admired the old style VU meters on the front of older style hi fi units, leds just don't cut it.

Neil.