Hi Tony, Congratulations on your purchase, it is not easy to find cheap units of these calipers. Tell you that they are my specialty, possibly nobody repairs this equipment except some colleagues and me. Putting the transformer at 240V does not affect the operation of the equipment since changing it at the transformer output only varies 0.5V at most, but power dissipation is greatly reduced since this equipment internally works with very high DC voltages. tall and symmetrical. If you can change the fan, I put one for personal computers (I don't remember the brand) it has white blades and gives a little more flow, but almost without noise, mine is like this and works correctly. Changing the input voltage does not change anything about the calibration, except that if you connect a 6 ½ digit you will see that it takes a little longer to heat up and the last digit will take time to stabilize due to the heat generated by the general dissipation of the power supply, including the traffic The HF generator is fine but it is not essential, they tend to fail from time to time, I have it removed from my calibrators because they generate heat and its output is not leveled to offer good precision, it is a simple signal generator. The tape system is fine, but those have really failed, in fact most users ask me to cancel it, because it gives quite a few failures. In fact, the calibrator as it is without its options has always worked very well, sometimes some oscillator capacitors and its rare transistors fail, look at the manual and comment on your concerns. A cordial greeting.
The first thing that struck me was how easy the operation appears to be. The highlight of the video was the cross referencing with all the multimeters. Now that brought a smile to my face and no doubt some challenges for you to decide on which ones to trust more. But as always Tony this was another very informative video with a very good practical demonstration on how to use it.
Very nice calibrator, Tony! I have a 5100B that I purchased in non-working condition - the only way I could afford it! I spent many hours repairing and adjusting it. The standard AC frequency spec is +/- 3% and seems to wander around a bit - I believe it is just a R/C oscillator. The wide-band output is a proper PLL and much more stable. Regards, David
@@robertfalls5876 That's true and a very good point. I didn't want Tony to fret too much about the AC frequency being off a bit on his new kit. When concerned about the exact frequency I use my HP 8165A referenced to a GPSDO as an external oscillator for the 5100B.
Congratulations that is some nice piece of kit you scored there Tony and it really looks like it is in a condition as well. The previous owner seems to have handled it with care.
@TonyAlbus Thanks. That would be interesting. I would like to see the voltage output performance, especially ac. Using the extended frequency function, too. I just got a nonworking unit. Display is okay and input functionality is okay, but it does not do anything! Time to inspect and start troubleshooting.
Thanks Scott, yes i thought so too, but i did only check DC before i switched over... it did make sense to give some breating room to the old PSU though... thanks for giving me some rest about this.!
@@TonyAlbus The AC output will be generated in much the same way as the 5200A did it, using an internal oscillator which is then amplified in a closed loop system to give the required output.
The trouble the 5100 only goes up to 3amps. Will have to build a trans-conductance amplifier. I emailed you what do you think of making a transportable audit sample for AC and DC volts ?
@@TonyAlbus Hi Tony I have managed to get mine working except for the above 200ma ranges. This works directly off the power supply without going through the regulator board. It actually passes up to 3a through a IC header plug . This is very naughty of fluke and will give trouble .
And you have that Datron... but secondhand its still 5 or 6 K, but that is what i was looking for... ended up with this one, but still a lot better then those process calibrators..although they are also not bad, just a bit limited.
@@TonyAlbus if you can find somewhere to properly calibrate your calibrator it may be worth the expense, as then you can use it to calibrate all of your other equipment. I would like to get my Datron 4700 calibrated but it is quite an expense, and trying to find somewhere relatively close in NZ that will do it (properly) is tricky.
Yes true Scott... But i like that Datron you have a lot and have been tempted to buy one, but then you come in such numbers you maybe also buy a new from Time Electronics or other less known but very good one.. but indeed it all stands or falls on a good calibration in the first place.. and so we play on... but it is fun :)
Hi, i don't have a manual called service manual. but i have a user manual with schematics. contact me by email, you find it in the About on my channel, share me a google drive or onedrive folder where i write to, and i upload it to you.
change of line voltage upset the original calibration it was set at assuming it was as you received the unit but did the previous owner change it from what it was when originally calibrated. Ask the owner )
Hi, on my 5101B the voltages and ohms test fine, but when I test amps it always says overload when I go to OPR. Would this mean that there's a faulty board?
Adjusting the oscillator frequency is not easy, although there is a method in the technical manual in this does not deepen the fine frequency adjustment. The oscillator has quite rare switching transistors, in addition to exotic capacitors not easy to find. Imagine that the frequencies that are giving you are low, if you think deeply you will realize that to increase the oscillation frequency you will have to lower the capacity of the capacitors involved in the oscillator, as these have their peculiar physical shape it will be quite difficult to achieve. If the frequency were above it would be different since some low capabilities could be added in parallel to compensate. That is why my advice is that you leave it like this, since a multimeter of 4½ digits will not distinguish the voltage difference from 400Hz to 390Hz, in itself the manual this explanation is commented on if I remember correctly. The adjustment for 20 or 50khz is allowed some hundreds of Hz of error, so in 50Hz that of 48 is not important. Greetings.
@@carterpal1974 If I have a technical information that I have been collecting for years, some information I think I have it modified with notes. Greetings.
For tests in AC almost all brands agree to do it at 400Hz, except for some advanced bank multimeters that measure up to 3 MHz, for these this calibrator does not work except for some lower frequencies. It is not very usual for multimeters in AC of 4 1/2 digitos to have a lot of precision, so they do not reach more than 100khz in AC and only certain tensions. Try to make coaxial connection cables you will avoid a lot of noise, I make them with RG58 and 1.25 meters long. In resistance measures up to 100 kohm always 4 wires. Best regards.
Hey Tony! Oh man! Heb je hier nu de heilige graal te pakken? Het definitive meetapparaat of gaat nu je spreekwoord "...a man with more will always doubt" de boel overnemen? En wat zou Marco Reps hier van zeggen? Veel vragen, maar wat een score! 👏🏻😉😜😎
@@TonyAlbus Dat zal vast maar je hebt nu toch ook een pracht exemplaar waar veel collega hobbyisten jaloers op kunnen zijn 😉Veel plezier ermee! Doen we nog eens een biertje?
Excellent! If you can afford to, !d get it it calibrated, then you can do all your equipment :) Calibration on those is not cheap though :( You also seem to have found a decent machine, as most are faulty and impossible to repair!
Hi Stephen, thank you! yes a lucky man here..it was with good pictures and tested and open for not only bid also for offer, and i just did a bit of an bold offer and they went for it... and its here... happy man :) yes calibrating it is a second....
I haven't found any that are non-repair able except for one that had dirt and snail shells inside that came from Israel. I have four working one now. I need to get rid of some.
Hi Tony, Congratulations on your purchase, it is not easy to find cheap units of these calipers. Tell you that they are my specialty, possibly nobody repairs this equipment except some colleagues and me. Putting the transformer at 240V does not affect the operation of the equipment since changing it at the transformer output only varies 0.5V at most, but power dissipation is greatly reduced since this equipment internally works with very high DC voltages. tall and symmetrical. If you can change the fan, I put one for personal computers (I don't remember the brand) it has white blades and gives a little more flow, but almost without noise, mine is like this and works correctly. Changing the input voltage does not change anything about the calibration, except that if you connect a 6 ½ digit you will see that it takes a little longer to heat up and the last digit will take time to stabilize due to the heat generated by the general dissipation of the power supply, including the traffic The HF generator is fine but it is not essential, they tend to fail from time to time, I have it removed from my calibrators because they generate heat and its output is not leveled to offer good precision, it is a simple signal generator. The tape system is fine, but those have really failed, in fact most users ask me to cancel it, because it gives quite a few failures. In fact, the calibrator as it is without its options has always worked very well, sometimes some oscillator capacitors and its rare transistors fail, look at the manual and comment on your concerns. A cordial greeting.
Thank you, good to know there are still specialist around, at some point i maybe need your help :) yes the fan is noisy, will check that..
The first thing that struck me was how easy the operation appears to be. The highlight of the video was the cross referencing with all the multimeters. Now that brought a smile to my face and no doubt some challenges for you to decide on which ones to trust more. But as always Tony this was another very informative video with a very good practical demonstration on how to use it.
Hi Ian, yes well spotted, it is so easy to operate.. i hardly read anything, i was just pushing buttons. yes the AC is going to be fun :)
Very nice calibrator, Tony! I have a 5100B that I purchased in non-working condition - the only way I could afford it! I spent many hours repairing and adjusting it. The standard AC frequency spec is +/- 3% and seems to wander around a bit - I believe it is just a R/C oscillator. The wide-band output is a proper PLL and much more stable. Regards, David
You can use a external source for the frequency reference when needed. I use my HP 3325A with a GPS source for precision.
@@robertfalls5876 Cool, i want that too! i have GPSDO..
Hi David, that is also a good find from you.. i will have a look at that externel ref.
@@robertfalls5876 That's true and a very good point. I didn't want Tony to fret too much about the AC frequency being off a bit on his new kit. When concerned about the exact frequency I use my HP 8165A referenced to a GPSDO as an external oscillator for the 5100B.
Congratulations that is some nice piece of kit you scored there Tony and it really looks like it is in a condition as well. The previous owner seems to have handled it with care.
Thank you, yes very happy about it.. we will see it a few times more in my videos :)
High Machine...!! Speechless...
Thank you Sir!
that is really nice
Thank you!
Great find!
Thank you
How about revisiting this machine? Using it with new/old equipment?
It was restored just before i bought it, so it should be still good, i must use it more in videos
@TonyAlbus Thanks. That would be interesting. I would like to see the voltage output performance, especially ac. Using the extended frequency function, too. I just got a nonworking unit. Display is okay and input functionality is okay, but it does not do anything! Time to inspect and start troubleshooting.
When doing the AC tests try a higher frequency to avoid phase issues with EMI interference, try 500Hz or so for more stable readings.
Thanks, yes will do... i have always been more focused on DC.. so your input is very welcome here.
Hi, I just bought an Fluke 5100b. So I will with big interest follow your channel if you add more in this subject
Hi Johan, it will show in my 'Fluke Friday' series for sure, more then once.
What about the AC range on yours, could you make any improvements by trimming. Mine is unstable below 100hz on voltage and current..
Nice
Thanks Chris!
Correcting the line voltage wouldn't have altered the output, you can relax about that.
Thanks Scott, yes i thought so too, but i did only check DC before i switched over... it did make sense to give some breating room to the old PSU though... thanks for giving me some rest about this.!
@@TonyAlbus The AC output will be generated in much the same way as the 5200A did it, using an internal oscillator which is then amplified in a closed loop system to give the required output.
The trouble the 5100 only goes up to 3amps. Will have to build a trans-conductance amplifier. I emailed you what do you think of making a transportable audit sample for AC and DC volts ?
3A is usualy okey for me, i have not seen your email, but thank you for trying.
@@TonyAlbus Hi Tony I have managed to get mine working except for the above 200ma ranges. This works directly off the power supply without going through the regulator board. It actually passes up to 3a through a IC header plug . This is very naughty of fluke and will give trouble .
@@mechmania8450 Perfect.
@@TonyAlbus Keep operating the 1Amp Tony to clean the relay contacts ,mine would not work till I operated them a few times.
@@mechmania8450 Thanks!
Thats the same form factor as my 5200A by the looks of it, I did 19 videos fixing that thing !
And you have that Datron... but secondhand its still 5 or 6 K, but that is what i was looking for...
ended up with this one, but still a lot better then those process calibrators..although they are also not bad, just a bit limited.
@@TonyAlbus if you can find somewhere to properly calibrate your calibrator it may be worth the expense, as then you can use it to calibrate all of your other equipment. I would like to get my Datron 4700 calibrated but it is quite an expense, and trying to find somewhere relatively close in NZ that will do it (properly) is tricky.
Yes true Scott... But i like that Datron you have a lot and have been tempted to buy one, but then you come in such numbers you maybe also buy a new from Time Electronics or other less known but very good one.. but indeed it all stands or falls on a good calibration in the first place.. and so we play on... but it is fun :)
@@TonyAlbus LOL, its funny you mention Time Electronics... I picked up something from eBay the other day :-)
@@TheDefpom i was in contact with them, but somehow it dryed up... They have very nice stuff and excist for years and years.
Tony, do you have a service manual for this?
Hi, i don't have a manual called service manual. but i have a user manual with schematics. contact me by email, you find it in the About on my channel, share me a google drive or onedrive folder where i write to, and i upload it to you.
change of line voltage upset the original calibration it was set at assuming it was as you received the unit but did the previous owner change it from what it was when originally calibrated. Ask the owner )
it should be able to handle that... line voltages are never stable.
@@TonyAlbus I did think that but what about if it was set 120 ? just curious
@@eded8045 it was set to 220.. i have here 235 almost... if it was on 120.. yes i absolutly needed change it indeed.
Hi, on my 5101B the voltages and ohms test fine, but when I test amps it always says overload when I go to OPR. Would this mean that there's a faulty board?
Are you sure you connected it correct?
Adjusting the oscillator frequency is not easy, although there is a method in the technical manual in this does not deepen the fine frequency adjustment. The oscillator has quite rare switching transistors, in addition to exotic capacitors not easy to find. Imagine that the frequencies that are giving you are low, if you think deeply you will realize that to increase the oscillation frequency you will have to lower the capacity of the capacitors involved in the oscillator, as these have their peculiar physical shape it will be quite difficult to achieve. If the frequency were above it would be different since some low capabilities could be added in parallel to compensate. That is why my advice is that you leave it like this, since a multimeter of 4½ digits will not distinguish the voltage difference from 400Hz to 390Hz, in itself the manual this explanation is commented on if I remember correctly. The adjustment for 20 or 50khz is allowed some hundreds of Hz of error, so in 50Hz that of 48 is not important. Greetings.
Thank you.. good advice! very helpful.
Do you have the technical manual ?
@@carterpal1974 If I have a technical information that I have been collecting for years, some information I think I have it modified with notes.
Greetings.
For tests in AC almost all brands agree to do it at 400Hz, except for some advanced bank multimeters that measure up to 3 MHz, for these this calibrator does not work except for some lower frequencies. It is not very usual for multimeters in AC of 4 1/2 digitos to have a lot of precision, so they do not reach more than 100khz in AC and only certain tensions. Try to make coaxial connection cables you will avoid a lot of noise, I make them with RG58 and 1.25 meters long. In resistance measures up to 100 kohm always 4 wires. Best regards.
Thank you!
So if I need to have one of my meters calibrated I can stop by? :)
Yes no problem Marnix
Hi Tony, Thanks for the video. See you at the bottom of the hole! It's going to be fun :-)
Hi Allan, yes i am affraid so :))
Hey Tony! Oh man! Heb je hier nu de heilige graal te pakken? Het definitive meetapparaat of gaat nu je spreekwoord "...a man with more will always doubt" de boel overnemen? En wat zou Marco Reps hier van zeggen? Veel vragen, maar wat een score! 👏🏻😉😜😎
Haha , nou marco reps heeftw at knapper spul, hij krijgt soms iets toegestoken van Fluke... echt super... ja lekker klooien we zien wel.
@@TonyAlbus Dat zal vast maar je hebt nu toch ook een pracht exemplaar waar veel collega hobbyisten jaloers op kunnen zijn 😉Veel plezier ermee! Doen we nog eens een biertje?
@@MarcelHuguenin Ja erg blij mee, en nu nog een beetjhe oppoetsen en verder spelen.
now you need to buy a Calibrator so you can Calibrator it
Yes the rabbit hole... i totaly misjudged this whole thing :)
😀👍 Fajny
Thank you!
Be careful how far into the volt nut territory you go... there's no coming back once you head down that path... don't ask me how I know LOL.
Hi Scott, yes i know.. i have 3 GPSDO's and 4 or 5... 6.5 DMMs i am lost :))
@@TonyAlbus Thats just how it starts.... I now have a couple of 7.5 digit meters and would love to get hold of an 8.5 digit...
LOL!!! yes i know :))) we are lost... not saveble..
Excellent! If you can afford to, !d get it it calibrated, then you can do all your equipment :) Calibration on those is not cheap though :( You also seem to have found a decent machine, as most are faulty and impossible to repair!
Hi Stephen, thank you! yes a lucky man here..it was with good pictures and tested and open for not only bid also for offer, and i just did a bit of an bold offer and they went for it... and its here... happy man :) yes calibrating it is a second....
I haven't found any that are non-repair able except for one that had dirt and snail shells inside that came from Israel. I have four working one now. I need to get rid of some.
🌟🌷🌟
thank you!