Beckman HD153 Multimeter Teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: martinr33
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 03, 2017, 09:41:17 pm
content: The Beckman HD153 doesn't seem to show up very often. This unit came from Fry's Electronics in 1988. It is an autoranging device with 1999 counts. Reads down to .01mV (100uV). This one still accurately read to 3.5 digits.Interesting features are:- calibration with two trimmers- variable tone to indicate signal magnitude - sounds like a geiger counter at 0V, and whistles at the top of the range.Here's a link to my high-res photos.https://photos.app.goo.gl/RY3Vl4KjMAkH0wIq1The fuse / shunt board has a burnt-up trace. I obviously did that. Not sure why the fuse did not go.I used a bit of Deoxit Red, followed by Deoxit Gold, to clean up the switch contacts, PCB and LCD connector. The LCD had been a bit flaky, and the power switch a bit odd - but the Deoxit fixed all of that.Overall, it is a decent meter

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2017, 01:31:58 am
content: This is a rare model; I thought Wavetek bought them out and then they went downhill afterwards.I have Beckman HD110, probably a predecessor but it's different design- bigger, a little tougher, made in USA with parts from USA. Same as their Tech 310.Excellent DMM for field work, sealed water-resistant. The A/D-to-LCD display zebra strips dry out, so I soak them in hot water and stretch a bit and good for another many years.

author: mzacharias
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2017, 04:48:46 pm
content: It was also sold as the Beckman 223 - even fewer of those around. I have an HD-153 new in the box; haven't used it. I had another anyway, then got loaded up on Flukes. Kinda hard to go back to 1999 count (nice though it is) when you have 4000 or 6000 count, and all the functionality of the 87V. Pretty good industrial design though from the 1980's. Not too many Beckman's were autoranging. I gave away the other HD-153 when I retired.

author: ModemHead
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2017, 05:31:20 pm
content: Beckman RMS225 and Wavetek HD160. Two more models in the same family, before and after the corporate change-over. 10,000-count, very sturdy, nice size and heft. Except for the resistance range, which is a bit slow and wonky, especially in the Beckman version.

author: martinr33
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2017, 06:19:43 pm
content: Interesting that Wavetek grabbed the Beckman design, and moved Beckman to a different style (I like the original Beckman style).There are a few of the original 153 style design on eBay, under the Wavetek badge. But they are black rather than yellow. I wonder if that is part of the Fluke trademark yellow initiative.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2017, 07:54:38 pm
content: Techs preferred Beckman's over Flukes (in the shop I worked in) because of the speed, faster display update, low noise A/D, lower burden R for current, and better true RMS.The true RMS averaging is slow on Flukes, ACmA it reads several mA (counts) for probably 5-10 seconds to read zero.If you're measuring AC leakage current, you couldn't do it on an 87 without dying of old age. Apologies to all the fanboys.But in a shop where you have to read voltage quickly going through a circuit board, speed matters.Wavetek let marketing take over and quickly scuttled the products, they couldn't compete with Fluke. Then Wavetek seemed to go low end.I think Meterman was another brand in all this.