Analog Test Meter - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Bryan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 05, 2013, 11:59:35 am
content: Anybody still use these, seems they can sometimes be the tester of choice for testing certain components such as Schottky diodes etc.. where a traditional digital multimeter can not test for leakage.

author: digsys
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 05, 2013, 01:30:31 pm
content: I still often buy and use them. There are many cases where they are invaluable looking for "pulses" or changesin pulse trains. Digital readouts are useless in these cases and the so called "analogue bar graphs" are justpointless. Often, I have little interest in actual values, just need to see a constant visual pattern. Plus, I can"see" changes in M/S ratios and missing "bits". Lots of people still use them.

author: dzseki
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 05, 2013, 05:21:18 pm
content: I also have an old passive analog multimeter, what I really like about it that it is foolproof, I can measure high-voltage with it without any fear (I have seen dying DMM from the corona spark...) plus my analog meter has 20000Ohm/V input resistance so in 1000V range it has double input resistance than a conventional DMM.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 05, 2013, 05:33:49 pm
content: I have one and use it regularly. Its an old AVO still accurate despite being over 30 years old does not need batteries for most scales, clearances are measured in inches and not mm has a gas tight and blast proof metal case and an overload trip so no expensive fuses to blow.

author: Dawn
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2013, 03:32:03 am
content: Until a DMM's bar graph or pseudo analog display can mimic a meter movement that I can see tiny dips when the next stage is going into resonance, I'll consider taking analogs off the bench. My primary DMM does have an analog meter that's part of an integrator stage off the A/D converter. I works, but it's small and hard to see. Nothing like a good analog meter face you can see. Still have 360's and 630's on the benches and keep two HP-410c's alive, one with the solid state card, my 40 year old Volt Ohmyst (that's just how long I owned it) and a B&K 290 I recently rebuilt because I still run into situations that I need to bias the movement to a center zero. I keep the rest in a cabinet if I need them to keep down the clutter and free up real estate.It's a shame that more advanced transistorized/FET VM's never got their due. There were some great lab designs by HP like the '427 and others, some later ones with advanced DMM like features such as autopolarity, meter hold (max) and higher frequency limits similar to vtvms. Early designs left a bad impression with respect to RF sensitivity, stability, and overall unreliability. By the time they matured into serious instruments beyond lab versions, they were eclipsed by DMM's. That would be a neat thread regarding some of the rather unknown or obscure electronic VM's that were advanced instruments. We had a few in the states. I've always wondered what was developed across the pond that we never seen. Regarding VOM's, the first time I ever seen an AVO was one brought down by a Canadian engineer that worked on a project with us. We never seen anyting so beautiful in a vom outside of something military. Even though we've had Megger/Biddle here, to my knowledge, they never imported them and most folks never seen one except for the net.

author: Bryan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2013, 07:45:00 am
content: What do you think of these 2. Seem ok for purposes that a DMM can not do.http://dx.com/p/pro-skit-mt-2017-4-5-lcd-protective-function-analog-multimeter-green-white-225706http://www.ebay.com/itm/Volt-Ohm-Amp-AC-DC-Meter-Gauge-Analog-Multimeter-Battery-Tester-Black-/321061439169?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac0c0c6c1

author: dzseki
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2013, 08:05:36 am
content: Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather buy a used vintage analog multimeter than a new from China, I have the impression that the Chinise analog multimeters are the absolute lowest-end of the kind. A properly built vintage multimeter is always a kind of masterpiece regarding the construction, and they are cheap today as well.

author: markce
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2013, 10:04:07 am
content: Started using an old analog multimeter again, after blowing a couple of fuses in a Fluke.In that case, I was looking for current change anyway. My analog meter has an automatic fuse.

author: Bryan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2013, 10:15:50 am
content: Quote from: dzseki on August 06, 2013, 08:05:36 amHave seen quite a few Simpson Analog multimeters on EBay.

author: dzseki
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2013, 10:44:46 am
content: For buying from internet, always ask the seller (if the instrument is used) to put the multimeter in to the highest DC current range, because the measuring shunt esentially shorts the coil of the galvanometer, hence damping its movement.

author: KJDS
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2013, 11:31:12 am
content: I've a few Avo 8s of various types lying around. It's rare that I use them, but there are times when they're invaluable.

author: PA4TIM
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2013, 11:31:34 am
content: I have a whole bunch of analog meters, from a 1920,s watchmeter, vacuum tibecmeters including a 1949 GR and a HP410 , avo ct-38, FET meters, electrometers and detectors upto 1uV fullscale meters. simpson, avo, philips, etc. I love them but except for the nulldetectors and a unigor with 50uA scale I never use them. For adjusting purpose to find peak they can be handy but most have terrible low bandwidths. I use a HP3400 for that.I can do everything with my digital meters. They are much faster. I dead stable needle on an AVO 8 is not hard to get, but for the same thing on my Keithley 2000 i need a serious voltreference.analog meters are naturely damping and slow but early and cheap DMM can be even more slow.