Nice to see your meter working well. My first one was a yellow Maplin "Precision Gold" M2020S, from 1987, and I still have it. My main meter now is a Brymen BM786.
Great to see it, I had exactly the same one as my first meter in the late 70's. Bought it from Stephenson electronics for the sum of about £15. The bit of the battery box that is missing was a strip of metal with two threaded holes in it and two screws that went through the holes in the plastic and screwed into the metal plate holes and the ends of the screws pushed on the ends of the batteries.
I brought my old analogue meter in from the shed. I remember it smoking years ago so I parked it in my tool box thinking it was knackered. Bought it when I was an apprentice mechanic back in the UK in the early 70’s. Anyways on inspection I found only one burnt resistor, it’s the one that feeds the needle movement from the switch array. The model is a C-7230 HN. Typical 2 jewel Japanese movement. It was sold under the brand name Altai. Google can’t find it at all. The only one extremely close is a Central C-7230EM. Looks identical. All the resistors inside have no colour coding, only written values on them. The batteries are AA1.5volt and the other is an obsolete Eveready B154 15 volt for the higher ohm readings I would imagine. This meter has sat through 28 winters here in Canada in an unheated shed. Temp’s getting to the minus 40’s some winters. Anyways put a AA battery in and it seems to work still. Measures low voltage and resistance. I just don’t know how to find the value of the burnt resistor to replace it. They seem all the same size, approximately 1/2 watt, wire wound style. Any chance you could advise me what to replace it with. I’m no electronics expert just thinking of maybe taking it up as a hobby now I’m retired. The range I’m told to have is 20,000 ohms per volt DC, this one is 100,000 ohms per volt. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated thanks.
Funny you mention your first multimeter experience - very similar to mine. We only had Tandy in Shrewsbury and about 1983 I bought my first digital multimeter there for around 20 pounds and it lasted me for years. I still have it and it works really well but I have now been able to afford a second hand Fluke!
That was interesting, Simon, and to add to this, my road where I was both born and brought up had shrunk by 50% when I went back to see it many years ago...a very strange effect.
Thank you for a stroll down memory lane, Simon. My first multimeter was an EICO 556 kit. Electronic Instruments Company - EICO - manufactured many kits for hobbyists. I also assembled one of their VTVM kits and a signal generator kit. I purchased them at Quement Electronics in Santa Clara, CA. As I recall it was a huge building crammed with all things electronic! Regards, David.
My first multimeter too. Mine was already branded as Standard Electric Works ST-360TR (unbelievably, you can still get it brand new after all these years ! ) I still have it, and it works (kind of...) despite a couple of close encounters with the floor in its past. It was a present from my father, it brings back a lot of memories...
That brought back memories Simon. Your first multimeter is special, like your first girlfriend. Mine (multimeter that is) was a Sanwa 360 YTR and I have recently bought several of them whenever they come up.
Nostalgia is to blame for lots of late night eBay purchases . My first multimeter from around the same era was an analogue Maplin branded one back when they were mail order only. Anyway must go as I'm looking for a Mamod steam engine! :)
I would agree ! Nostalgia isn't what it used to be ! think my first meter was an Altai one really tiny I blew it up naturally ! then I got a Russian one which I still have although I blew up the rechargeable button cells ! I never learn !
Brings back memories ... I picked up a Micronta 22-220 FET analog meter last year in original box for £12 including postage...bargain, looks like its never been used. Not as good a build quality as the Altai tho :-)
The voltages shown on 1950/1960 valve circuits would be measured by an AVO 8 which is 20K ohms per volt on the DC range. This will make the ALTAI useful for kit like the Gondolier as the loading on the cct is the same as the AVO. I also use the AVO 8 in preference to my Fluke for fault finding old semiconductor kit. As it is an analogue meter it is far easier to check transistor junctions than using a DMM. It is easy to spot a leaky junction with an analogue meter. The ALTAI AC range probably gives a mean value like the AVO 8, but I hardly use the AC range, I use my Fuke instead. I lived in Wimbledon in the 1980s , never knew about the electronics shop! I used the number 213 bus to get to New Malden! Time. it distorts the memory..
Micronta 22-201. Cant remember how much it cost, knowing Tandy it was probably too much! The original probe wires broke and I recall one of the first things I bought from Maplin when they opened their Liverpool store, was new probes
My first meter was a Technic Elem MU213 (now sold as MF-110 on Ebay) , sold in a toolbox with some screwdrivers, voltage tester (with neon bulb) and cable lug crimping pliers. When i blew up that meter, my second meter was a Micronta 22-188 digital meter with Autorange from Tandy back in the 90's. I still got this Micronta, only discolored, but working. My thirth meter was a generic digital Elro M940, now sold as the DT830(A, B, C, D) , this is probably the most sold budget digital meter in the world.
Although my childhood didn't have any multimeters, and I started with Philips multimeters in the army and Goerz Unigor in my education at uni, I do have a heart for this style of multimeter. (As you probably already knew. ;-) ) This Altai is in exceptionally good shape and a really nice addition to your collection. I wonder if it would have the Sanwa style battery contacts: A small metal bracket with two threaded holes and matching screws to push the batteries against the wired contacts. The arrangement looks a lot like the Sanwa 370 and 380. As for things getting smaller, I certainly agree. Towns, streets, cars, tools - everything seems a lot smaller and a lot less impressive over time.
I think I had the same meter but it was wearing a Micronta Badge and was my first meter. I also had a Panda meter! I remember getting it for Christmas.
What really impressed was the quality of the switch. Looks like it would be very reliable over a long period. Shame the lack of diode protection though.
Wow, looks like a Sanwa clone. Didn't know that was a thing way back then. Glad you're doing okay, haven't seen an upload for a while. I'm often bidding on things in the spare repair section on eBay. Won a Micronta (Range Doubler) for £8 the other day, turned up like brand new and unused. Useful meter though as it will do 50,000 in doubler mode. Not quite a FET meter but good enough for most things.
I had a Eagle International EP50LN that was my very first analogue multimeter until I fell off my bicycle on ice & smashed it up beneath my bicycle :( Now its Fluke 8506A & 8520A ! I wish for HP / Agilent / Keysight 3458A 🙏 used those in the UKAS Labs & in Aerospace etc industry
Thought you might have been in Dubai or Sydney hanging out with Chris. Good to see you back Simon. Stay safe be safe from UT USA. ❤️ No Simpson or Triplett analog mirror scaled yet?
I was impressed by the rotary switch as well, that was better than a micronta one i bought from tandys. I liked the black micronta with the nice scale, but the meter movement never hit it's mark unless i lightly tapped the glass with my finger a couple of times. (A bit sticky at times). That altai is a really nice find. Yes Mr flibble is cross (Mad rimmer) :-D. I still have a micronta digital meter, the grey/black type that has two knobs for function and range. It also is a long meter with a handle stand. Here is the confusing part, the smd chip in it was made by Seiko yep watch company. But that design of chip was more modern than other meters of that era. Sorry waffle mode.
Nice to see your meter working well. My first one was a yellow Maplin "Precision Gold" M2020S, from 1987, and I still have it. My main meter now is a Brymen BM786.
Loved that, like digging out an old friend you'd forgotten. Altai are still going, wholesale importer of electricals.
Great to see it, I had exactly the same one as my first meter in the late 70's. Bought it from Stephenson electronics for the sum of about £15. The bit of the battery box that is missing was a strip of metal with two threaded holes in it and two screws that went through the holes in the plastic and screwed into the metal plate holes and the ends of the screws pushed on the ends of the batteries.
I brought my old analogue meter in from the shed. I remember it smoking years ago so I parked it in my tool box thinking it was knackered. Bought it when I was an apprentice mechanic back in the UK in the early 70’s. Anyways on inspection I found only one burnt resistor, it’s the one that feeds the needle movement from the switch array. The model is a C-7230 HN. Typical 2 jewel Japanese movement. It was sold under the brand name Altai. Google can’t find it at all. The only one extremely close is a Central C-7230EM. Looks identical. All the resistors inside have no colour coding, only written values on them. The batteries are AA1.5volt and the other is an obsolete Eveready B154 15 volt for the higher ohm readings I would imagine. This meter has sat through 28 winters here in Canada in an unheated shed. Temp’s getting to the minus 40’s some winters. Anyways put a AA battery in and it seems to work still. Measures low voltage and resistance. I just don’t know how to find the value of the burnt resistor to replace it. They seem all the same size, approximately 1/2 watt, wire wound style. Any chance you could advise me what to replace it with. I’m no electronics expert just thinking of maybe taking it up as a hobby now I’m retired. The range I’m told to have is 20,000 ohms per volt DC, this one is 100,000 ohms per volt. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated thanks.
Funny you mention your first multimeter experience - very similar to mine. We only had Tandy in Shrewsbury and about 1983 I bought my first digital multimeter there for around 20 pounds and it lasted me for years. I still have it and it works really well but I have now been able to afford a second hand Fluke!
That was interesting, Simon, and to add to this, my road where I was both born and brought up had shrunk by 50% when I went back to see it many years ago...a very strange effect.
Congratulations man.
Nice having an old Analogue meter I still have all mine apart from my very first one which I blew up !
Thank you for a stroll down memory lane, Simon. My first multimeter was an EICO 556 kit. Electronic Instruments Company - EICO - manufactured many kits for hobbyists. I also assembled one of their VTVM kits and a signal generator kit. I purchased them at Quement Electronics in Santa Clara, CA. As I recall it was a huge building crammed with all things electronic! Regards, David.
Very nice Simon, thanks!
My first meter was a Altai as well, Simon. I seem to remember blowing it up eventually, as I did everything. Thanks for sharing.
We all make mistakes, often when we are young, then later on we wished we had been more carefull.
My first multimeter too. Mine was already branded as Standard Electric Works ST-360TR (unbelievably, you can still get it brand new after all these years ! ) I still have it, and it works (kind of...) despite a couple of close encounters with the floor in its past. It was a present from my father, it brings back a lot of memories...
That brought back memories Simon. Your first multimeter is special, like your first girlfriend. Mine (multimeter that is) was a Sanwa 360 YTR and I have recently bought several of them whenever they come up.
Nostalgia is to blame for lots of late night eBay purchases . My first multimeter from around the same era was an analogue Maplin branded one back when they were mail order only. Anyway must go as I'm looking for a Mamod steam engine! :)
I would agree ! Nostalgia isn't what it used to be ! think my first meter was an Altai one really tiny I blew it up naturally ! then I got a Russian one which I still have although I blew up the rechargeable button cells ! I never learn !
Brings back memories ... I picked up a Micronta 22-220 FET analog meter last year in original box for £12 including postage...bargain, looks like its never been used. Not as good a build quality as the Altai tho :-)
Great meter, have that model as a saved search on ebay. Almost as good as a VTVM.
I still have the Monarch 20k/V VOM my mom bought for me as a teenage ham in '69...a wonderful trip down memory lane!
My first multimeter was an analog Sanwa that I bought while living in Singapore. I still have it, but haven't used it in decades.
The voltages shown on 1950/1960 valve circuits would be measured by an AVO 8 which is 20K ohms per volt on the DC range. This will make the ALTAI useful for kit like the Gondolier as the loading on the cct is the same as the AVO. I also use the AVO 8 in preference to my Fluke for fault finding old semiconductor kit. As it is an analogue meter it is far easier to check transistor junctions than using a DMM. It is easy to spot a leaky junction with an analogue meter. The ALTAI AC range probably gives a mean value like the AVO 8, but I hardly use the AC range, I use my Fuke instead.
I lived in Wimbledon in the 1980s , never knew about the electronics shop! I used the number 213 bus to get to New Malden! Time. it distorts the memory..
Still got my old Micronta I bought from Tandy as a kid... still works!
Micronta 22-201. Cant remember how much it cost, knowing Tandy it was probably too much! The original probe wires broke and I recall one of the first things I bought from Maplin when they opened their Liverpool store, was new probes
My first meter was a Technic Elem MU213 (now sold as MF-110 on Ebay) , sold in a toolbox with some screwdrivers,
voltage tester (with neon bulb) and cable lug crimping pliers.
When i blew up that meter, my second meter was a Micronta 22-188 digital meter with Autorange from Tandy back in the 90's.
I still got this Micronta, only discolored, but working.
My thirth meter was a generic digital Elro M940, now sold as the DT830(A, B, C, D) , this is probably the most sold budget digital meter in the world.
Although my childhood didn't have any multimeters, and I started with Philips multimeters in the army and Goerz Unigor in my education at uni, I do have a heart for this style of multimeter. (As you probably already knew. ;-) )
This Altai is in exceptionally good shape and a really nice addition to your collection.
I wonder if it would have the Sanwa style battery contacts: A small metal bracket with two threaded holes and matching screws to push the batteries against the wired contacts. The arrangement looks a lot like the Sanwa 370 and 380.
As for things getting smaller, I certainly agree. Towns, streets, cars, tools - everything seems a lot smaller and a lot less impressive over time.
My first multimeter was a cheap one off the sunday market. It broke a few months later when I accidently dropped it on the floor!
I think I had the same meter but it was wearing a Micronta Badge and was my first meter. I also had a Panda meter! I remember getting it for Christmas.
What really impressed was the quality of the switch. Looks like it would be very reliable over a long period. Shame the lack of diode protection though.
Wow, looks like a Sanwa clone. Didn't know that was a thing way back then. Glad you're doing okay, haven't seen an upload for a while. I'm often bidding on things in the spare repair section on eBay. Won a Micronta (Range Doubler) for £8 the other day, turned up like brand new and unused. Useful meter though as it will do 50,000 in doubler mode. Not quite a FET meter but good enough for most things.
I had a Eagle International EP50LN that was my very first analogue multimeter until I fell off my bicycle on ice & smashed it up beneath my bicycle :(
Now its Fluke 8506A & 8520A !
I wish for HP / Agilent / Keysight 3458A 🙏 used those in the UKAS Labs & in Aerospace etc industry
Thought you might have been in Dubai or Sydney hanging out with Chris. Good to see you back Simon. Stay safe be safe from UT USA. ❤️ No Simpson or Triplett analog mirror scaled yet?
Have a Simpson 260. Would love Tippett!
I was impressed by the rotary switch as well, that was better than a micronta one i bought from tandys.
I liked the black micronta with the nice scale, but the meter movement never hit it's mark unless i lightly tapped the glass with my finger a couple of times. (A bit sticky at times).
That altai is a really nice find.
Yes Mr flibble is cross (Mad rimmer) :-D.
I still have a micronta digital meter, the grey/black type that has two knobs for function and range. It also is a long meter with a handle stand.
Here is the confusing part, the smd chip in it was made by Seiko yep watch company.
But that design of chip was more modern than other meters of that era.
Sorry waffle mode.
I went to my old grade school. It was tiny.
@15:00 Living dangerously there, duracells....
They will only be in there for a few hours. Hopefully they won't leak in that time!
@22:45 I think that will be reading the peak AC not the RMS, so you will get a higher reading.
Most analogue meters will read RMS by design I thought?
Anyone else thinking of Waggon Wheels... sure they shrunk in size over the decades??
Simon, everything gets smaller the older you get!!
Naughty man lol, keep it warm :)
Indeed lol.
First!
Hello stranger