Okay, I just got a few pics tonight. Tiny bit of history on the analog meters first.
The massive black one is a Simpson Model 260, it's about 45 years old. My father used it in the Air Force (Tech Sergeant, Strategic Air Command).
I inherited it about five minutes after he retired from the service. Made in Chicago.
The medium black one is a Finco Model 31201, bought new at Radio Shack in Fort Worth, Texas in 1975, for $29.95. Big bucks at the time, it's 30 years old this year. Made in Japan.
The tiny meter is your typical Radio Shack $10 meter. This little meter hates me, and the feeling is mutual. The switch contacts are a little leaf of metal riding along the PC board, and the fuse is held with half-clips soldered to the circuitboard. This meter is four years old, and is quite corroded inside, despite being kept in the same drawer with the other two meters. Made in China.
And a little babble on the digital meters:
The yellow one is a Fluke Model 179, about two years old. Coincidentally, the price was about 179. This thing is built like a tank. I use it all the time at work on motor controls, processor controls, whatever. I'm not just the admin, I also have to fix anything that breaks.
I will
not change the toner in the copier, though.
The components are mounted on top of a PCB, which is then sealed inside the white plastic cover. You can pull the fuses without slipping and dinging some SMD parts, unlike many other meters. You can pull the entire assembly from the base clamshell, but it only shows a smooth PCB with motherboard-like traces covering it. Made in Washington, USA! I can't believe it. They even do the boards here, so it's not just "assembled in USA" such as a Macintosh is- they actually build them here.
The bench meter is a Fluke 45, less than a year old. It's only 100,000 count, many bench meters are 200,000 and up. But I like it for it's dual display, you can measure voltage and current simultaneously, DC voltage and AC ripple, frequency and voltage, etc. Very handy, and the fluorescent display is a lot easier to read than an LCD. Still made in USA. I wonder how much longer, though.
Inside the RS, Finco, and 179:
RS fabrication details, 4 years old:
Finco at 30 years old:
The real deal Simpson: actual real bakelite, sewn leather handle, stainless screws, takes a 'D' cell and two 'AA' cells.
You can still buy this meter today, but the handle is now plastic, and the case is some other phenolic:
Fluke 45, with POS meter for scale:
Detail of the 260- the nomenclature is cast into the bakelite. The guts are all molded into the backside of the faceplate, and the back is essentially like a utility box, except the screw holes are deep pockets all the way to the front, rather than cast bosses on the faceplate.
This meter has lived a very hard life, and has been all over, including Europe. Still works great, and is very useful. The rotary switch mechanism is spring-loaded, with ball bearing detents and sintered bronze shaft bearings. Pretty cool stuff if you are a nerd.
