Let's See Your Vintage Electronic Testing Equipment

[Mike'smeatshop]

A few weeks ago, I won a Biddle megger at an auction.
Output voltage is a little over 500 volts. Shows the correct reading testing a 1 megohm resistor.
Hope to find a copy of an original owners manual.
EDIT: Just found that it was probably manufactured in the late 1970s.

Great find. What is the blue handle for?

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

Yep. Hair checks out for late '70s-early '80s!

Here's my only "vintage" meter I have around the shop:





Sperry Instruments "Snap 6" AC Volt, Amp and Ohmmeter. I don't have the leads, which screw into the back. We used this for years for diagnosing pump motors around the brewery, mostly as a clamp-on ammeter. It was superseded by a Fluke 112 and various kit for it.

I wonder how far back in history till the amp probe got used?

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Great find. What is the blue handle for?

Hand crank to generate the voltage.

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

Hand crank to generate the voltage.

Thats what I thought. First for everything. Thanks.

 

[humber2]

A few weeks ago, I won a Biddle megger at an auction.
Output voltage is a little over 500 volts. Shows the correct reading testing a 1 megohm resistor.
Hope to find a copy of an original owners manual.
EDIT: Just found that it was probably manufactured in the late 1970s.

Google 70143 megger manual

Or

Wm6 megger manual

For more information, WM6 is an updated version with 200 megohm scale, very little difference otherwise.

 

[Beerhippie]

I wonder how far back in history till the amp probe got used?

Amp probe is the inductive clamp. We used it a lot back when. PITA when working on a 3-phase motor and comparing the three windings, as you have to separate the three feeds in the little connection box to fit that big clamp around each one.

I don't think the leads would be used for Amps, unless an external ballast was used.

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

Amp probe is the inductive clamp. We used it a lot back when. PITA when working on a 3-phase motor and comparing the three windings, as you have to separate the three feeds in the little connection box to fit that big clamp around each one.

I don't think the leads would be used for Amps, unless an external ballast was used.

Ya but you got to have one on single phase motors. HVAC.

 

[WildBill]

I got a bunch of these from a local college, the date is when they were last calibrated. They sat in a locked lab cabinet for 35 years or so. Nobody knew who locked it, where the key was, or what was in it. Bought a whole box of misc ones for $25, mostly these two models. Somebody was smart enough to pull the batteries, which was awesome.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Yep. Hair checks out for late '70s-early '80s!

Here's my only "vintage" meter I have around the shop:





Sperry Instruments "Snap 6" AC Volt, Amp and Ohmmeter. I don't have the leads, which screw into the back. We used this for years for diagnosing pump motors around the brewery, mostly as a clamp-on ammeter. It was superseded by a Fluke 112 and various kit for it.

The rotating meter head was a nice feature. Kept the readout in sight without holding the meter.

 

[Zebedeewesty]

Found this in a drawer in mum's garage. Not found any leads for it yet but there's a few dozen leads in another drawer.

 

[Mintgrun]

I picked up a pair of thermometers and tucked them away for safe keeping. I hope to have a need for such careful measuring someday.

 

[joel63]

I wonder how far back in history till the amp probe got used?

The Sperry was a nice amp clamp meter in its day.
I used an AMP PROBE RS3, but I would have used the Sperry if I could have afforded it.

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

The Sperry was a nice amp clamp meter in its day.
I used an AMP PROBE RS3, but I would have used the Sperry if I could have afforded it.

What years did you use those? I used Fluke for years and they did me well. Starting in 1990s.

 

[joel63]

I started using them in 1972. They were the most commonly used meters at the time.
A bit before the digital revolution.

 

[Beerhippie]

What years did you use those? I used Fluke for years and they did me well. Starting in 1990s.

We used the Sperry back in the '90s and '00s, until we hired an employee whose father was a high-mucky-muck with Fluke. He gave us several multi-meters and accessories--including an inductive Amp clamp. The Sperry became a wall-hanger after that. It's hanging on the wall right next to my desk right now. I still use the Sperry occasionally, as the clamp is smaller than the Fluke and fits tighter spaces.

 

[tool_scrounge]

Fluke 515A portable calibrator, 1970s vintage

From https://www.radiomuseum.org

“The Fluke Model 515A enables the field checking and/or calibration of the dc voltage, ac voltage and resistance ranges of high accuracy voltmeters and multimeters. The model 515A provides standards for dc voltage, ac voltage and resistance which maintain the basic accuracy over the temperature range of 23°C +/- 5°C. Self contained NiCa batteries permit operation at sites remote from ac power, and also permit operating temperature of the unit to be maintained while in transit. Up to eight hours of battery operation is available from a single charge.

DC voltage outputs are selectable in the ranges of 0-999 microvolts(continuous),100 millivolts to 1 volt in 100 mV steps,1V to 10 V in 1 volt steps, and 100 V.

AC voltages are selectable 1,10 and 100 Vrms at 400Hz,10Vrms at 4kHz,and 10Vrms at 50kHz.

Resistance is selectable at zero,10,100,1K,10K,100K,1M and 10 Mohms. All pushbutton selection switches are mechanically interlocked so that only a single function can be selected.”



I have tested a lot of older and current Fluke meters with the calibrator. All the Fluke meters were well within specification when compared to the calibrator. I was surprised on how closely they all matched.

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

Fluke 515A portable calibrator, 1970s vintage

From https://www.radiomuseum.org

“The Fluke Model 515A enables the field checking and/or calibration of the dc voltage, ac voltage and resistance ranges of high accuracy voltmeters and multimeters. The model 515A provides standards for dc voltage, ac voltage and resistance which maintain the basic accuracy over the temperature range of 23°C +/- 5°C. Self contained NiCa batteries permit operation at sites remote from ac power, and also permit operating temperature of the unit to be maintained while in transit. Up to eight hours of battery operation is available from a single charge.

DC voltage outputs are selectable in the ranges of 0-999 microvolts(continuous),100 millivolts to 1 volt in 100 mV steps,1V to 10 V in 1 volt steps, and 100 V.

AC voltages are selectable 1,10 and 100 Vrms at 400Hz,10Vrms at 4kHz,and 10Vrms at 50kHz.

Resistance is selectable at zero,10,100,1K,10K,100K,1M and 10 Mohms. All pushbutton selection switches are mechanically interlocked so that only a single function can be selected.”



I have tested a lot of older and current Fluke meters with the calibrator. All the Fluke meters were well within specification when compared to the calibrator. I was surprised on how closely they all matched.

That is a gem. That is something the Ky Public Service Commision would have here in Ky. Very cool.

 

[WisJim]

Here's my old Tong Test clamp ammeter. I used it for checking power output of old wind turbines and current to inverters on off-grid power systems. With the 3 heads I have, my ranges are 0-50 A, 0-200 A and 0-500 Amps.

 

[jdepiero]

A few on my shelf.

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

A few on my shelf.

Do you still color code your wiring? I like to.

 

[jdepiero]

Do you still color code your wiring? I like to.

yep!

 

[Beerhippie]

Anyone interested in this?





The cabinet is locked with no key, so no idea what's inside. The place it's at is asking $50, but it's been there for a decade or so and the new owners are trying to move some of the stock. I'll bet it would walk for half or less.

If anyone's interested, let me know.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

Anyone interested in this?





The cabinet is locked with no key, so no idea what's inside. The place it's at is asking $50, but it's been there for a decade or so and the new owners are trying to move some of the stock. I'll bet it would walk for half or less.

If anyone's interested, let me know.

I’d have to pick the lock to see what’s inside. Even though it might be Capone’s vault.

 

[Rod N]

My father's old testers that I will keep forever.

 

[Blue Chips]

I just saw this thread.

This General Electric Company "Thomson Indicating Wattmeter, No. 14721" might be the oldest test instrument in my stable, with a patent date of February 11, 1896. It states: "Potential Limit 150 Volts" and "Current Limit 2 Amps." The two pairs of terminal posts are labeled "P" and "N." I haven't tried it, and I probably won't, but I suspect it still works. The needle movement is still smooth and free.

 

[George C George]

Here’s my contribution…too spooky to test with.

When I first started working in my Father's shop he bought an Allen set on a rack that had casters. It included the meter shown with ammeter and voltmeter. The other half of the set had a cam angle meter and a tachometer. I wish I still had them as times. When he retired and I went to Alaska for a few years he took half of the equipment and I took half. I still have most of my half, but some members of my family who weren't friends took his equipment when he passed away. By the time I returned to the lower 48 nothing was left and no one knew anything!
That is life!

 

[bctexas]

Anyone interested in this?





The cabinet is locked with no key, so no idea what's inside. The place it's at is asking $50, but it's been there for a decade or so and the new owners are trying to move some of the stock. I'll bet it would walk for half or less.

If anyone's interested, let me know.

Yer killin me. If that wasn't 2000 miles away I would add that to the collection in an instant..... *sigh*

 

[Beerhippie]

Yer killin me. If that wasn't 2000 miles away I would add that to the collection in an instant..... *sigh*

Road trip!

I once did Big Bend TX to Portland OR in two 1,100-mile days on a bike. My *** hurts just thinking about it. Still better than the three days on the way down in a '48 Willy's PU at 45 mph....

 

[johnre]

I guess 26 years old makes it an antique, but still, it doesn't seem to be that old:



The price was right - I'm a long term employee, and we have a great surplus equipment store. Came with the front protective cover; I've got eyes out for some P6139 probes; these will get the full 500 MHz this thing is capable of. No batteries, but I could make a set: I wouldn't do the NiCd it came with originally.

And it's the original TDS 3054 model, so no flash drive on it. But it has a serial communications / GPIB adapter, as well as a 3.5" floppy drive - and I still have a USB device to 3.5" floppy adapter and some spare floppies, so I have two ways to offload waveforms!

 

[don long]

I like the looks of the SUN testing equipment and their cabinets. Mine sits in my 30's garage over in the corner waiting for some love

 

[DCJets]

Yer killin me. If that wasn't 2000 miles away I would add that to the collection in an instant..... *sigh*

If it were just 2000 miles without that ocean inbetween, I'd be already in the way...

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a Kal L10 inductive timing light I’ve had for quite a few years.
-Don

 

[Ayrhead]

And a couple more…

I recently pickup up some more old testers from a gentleman’s grandfathers personal collection. These were used by him back in the day…

 

[Ayrhead]

I recently pickup up some more old testers from a gentleman’s grandfathers personal collection. These were used by him back in the day…

The remaining pictures of his meters. They seemed to have been taken care very well as the dates on the dual meter are in the late 1880’s and early 1890’s…