This Soar meter was also branded Dick Smith in Australia, so I'm not sure how my cousin got the Soar branded version here ua-cam.com/video/I6C0HnkR7EM/v-deo.html
Rod Irving Electronics in Melbourne sold the Soar version in their Thornbury store and possibly other retailers sold it. Mine is still going fine although the battery door is loose.
I am no expert, but i thought maybe the original LC was hygroscopic and therefor increased in volume and changed it's viscosity. The most important question is "how was it sealed in the first place" because you have all the the parts you need to make a display except the fluid and what ever held it in place.
That liquid inside _was_ probably actual LC mixture, unless this thing got immersed in something else at some point. I worked for HP labs in the UK for 15 years, and we were regularly filling the space between two sheets of either glass or plastic with LC, and yes, it is a liquid. You need to space the two substrates with spacer dots or other structures which give you the right gap ( in the order of a few microns). We used a UV curable glue around the edges to seal the innards off. We relied on capillary action to pull a _tiny_ amount of LC into the 'cell'. So some sort of glue has disappeared from your dmm display I would think, it shouldn't be all loose like that...haha. You could rebuild it with the right LC mixture, and the right sized spacers between the layers - if you get this wrong, you'd get too much or too little contrast, and you might even get weird colours ! What's likely to happen if you don;t do this in a cleanroom is that you'll get MASSIVE particles in the gap, and all sorts of pretty effects but prob. no actual useful display.
@@noakeswalker The battery juice has seeped between the plates. When Dave disassembles it and cleans the plates, you can see in the reflection that the transparent segment electrodes are corroded in some spots.
@@pault6533 If he is lucky, won't need a custom LCD. There are cheap multimeters with basically the same LCD, if he can find one with the same size where the connections are on the other edge, he can make a flex PCB or the thinnest FR4 laying underneath the LCD as an interconnect between the display and the board, while correcting the pinout.
That's partly why I stopped using Alkaline batteries and switched over to bare Lithium-ion cells in my flashlights and DIY electronics projects, just so I don't risk it getting annihilated by "Alkaleak" cells.
C'mon man... if anything is worthy of a restoration it's your first DMM! Just bite the bullet, create the new LCD and restore that thing to its former glory!
If you have the schematic for the LCD some manufacturers might have one off the shelf that's "close enough". You might have the wrong image for the low battery indicator or another non number indicator but the numbers might work.
Back in the early 1980s, I was in 7th or 8th grade and the hot meter was the 4.5 digit fluke 8060a. Well beyond what I could ever buy, so my first fluke was an 87 III. About 2 months ago, I found an 8060a in the e-waste and resurrected it. Brought back so many memories.
I think the liquid from the battery seeped due to capillary effects between the glass sheets (the liquid something as shown in the video) and also dissolves the glue that holds the glass together. Normal LC liquid is an extremely thin film.
I am by no means an expert, but if I were to think of why they constructed the polarizer between the two sheets of glass, I think it would be to electrically isolate the two electrodes? The capacitive effect will still work with the polarizer because well... it's an electric field. They also might have used use a simple method like vacuum welding, where it's like a suction cup. Take a flat piece of plastic, apply water on a flat surface, press down the flat plastic on the wet surface and it will stick to it because of the vacuum created. They could of course have simply glued it and the glue had just fallen off as well.
I suspect it's likely the later, a glue line that has just disintergrated wiht time and possibly some checmical interaction with the battery corrosion.
I had a ME532 back in the 80s, autoranging was rare at the time on budget meters and it was a step up from my Fluke 8020 clone. That meter lasted over 15 years, helped fix countless items of audio and lighting equipment on the bench and on the road. I've used a Fluke 77 since, the guy who sold it to me wasn't in good health, and is no longer with us. Kinda sad when a tech moves on his DMM..a defining moment.
My first meter was the same Tandy analog meter. Yes, it served me well also. I still have it. It's in one of my tool boxes inside the box it came in. They are good meters. Brings back a lot of memories.
That is sooo cool man! My cousin did similar things with me to when i was young. Ive always been inlove with electronics since i was a kid to lol! I really love this n the stories behind your multi meters. 💯😎👌🏼
I wish I could afford a digital multimeter of any kind. I love working with electronics but very difficult only using a test light. Love your channel been watching for years learnt a lot. Thank you good sir.
I bet the battery juice has attacked this LCD. You might get a generic 3 1/2 digit multimeter LCD with the same size where the connections are on the other edge, and make a flex PCB that connects the new LCD to the board while correcting the pinout.
Check Tim Hunkin's secret life of the digital watch. He sandwiches two conductive glass plates, puts a bead of liquid crystal across the top and it wicks into the middle and then he turns it on and off with a pair of sunglass lenses as polarizers.
If you can find a pair of NOS elliot lucas pliers they are worth their weight in gold. Sheffield steel. The edges stay sharp and the joint is smoothly machined. The best you can get.
Seen LCDs in old cars do that but I suspect those happened due to extreme temperature swings (-40 during the winter and up to 20-30 C when it's running) and the generally high humidity that is inside vehicles. Never on anything like that. Edit: On the subject of finding a suitable donor - I replied with a link on your comment about not finding it over on X
This item has sentimental value. Of course you reverse engineer the LCD and bring it back to life. This DMM is (for Dave) a thing of beauty and a joy forever :D
Replace the LCD with some surface mount green LEDs on a board? Modern LEDs don't need much current to glow visibly (especially the green ones), in fact have provision to add series resistors in case it gets too bright.
Radio Museum organisation has a few exact models online. Has an author also whom documented it. Was made in the early 1980’s with a few models within the collection.
I have a 1982 SOAR digital multimeter and a 1989 Fluke 73. The SOAR works perfectly after 42 years, the Fluke's LCD display has faded and is difficult to read.
I still have my first DMM. A Micronta 22-198 which I bought in 1980. Still works 100%. Some really nice features to it too. Super smooth and seperate function and range switches, tool-less battery replacement, the fuse accessible in the battery compartment and capable of using an external power source. I once left in on the dash of may car on a sunny day. The only thing that happened to it was the front legend sticker (thick aluminum BTW) curled up a little, but it stuck back down.
Hi Dave, I have an idea for you to try. You mentioned those custom factory LCD probably from China and I did watch your custom multimeter display you made some years ago and I know its possible. So my idea for you is to write to them and ask them "-can you repair this old LCD for me? " also changing that plastic polarizer with a new one, and all they have to do is to add that liquid crystal, the polarizer and to properly glue those 2 pieces of glass again. Also, maybe to add a better contact strip band. You should also tell them you used their services once and you would be very glad if they could help you with this little thing here. Also, if they will tell you that they "dont do this" then see if they can point you to who can, because they know between them better than us. This is my idea for you. Never be shy to ask - is my motto. Haha. Good luck ! I know you can.
Would be nice to try and setup a breadboard with some normal 7 segment led modules, just to see if you could make a permanent solution as replacement of the LCD. I assume that would be way more easily achievable, and certainly cost way less than trying to source another LCD.
Hi Dave, much the same for me , I have one of these in good condition still working well for me. Also have a Fluke of the same vintage working as it should…. ( limited calibration ) brilliant 😊
nice Dave my first Analog meter was a radio shack meter but my first digital meter was from Sears it worked very well I got my first fluke model 77 in the 1980s and still use it I later got fluke 87 .
I wonder if an LCD maker could fix it for you if given the 2 glass parts? Worth asking. If that was a no go, you could get some of the glue that is used for LCD construction and try gluing the 2 glass parts together yourself with a very thin bead around 2 sides and the bottom edge. Then if that seemed to go ok and left the necessary tiny gap between the 2 sheets you could try putting LCD fluid in by capillary action with the open edge upwards. If you got that far then finally seal the top edge with glue and add the reflector and polarizer. You'd need some sort of jig to hold the glass parts in proper alignment to glue them which might be the hardest part of trying yourself. Best bet is someone to put it back together for you or just wait for one on ebay.
Nice! Walk down memory lane + a great explanation for those playing at home! I wonder if they used a hydrophilic compound applied to the substrate to contain the liquid crystal?
Dave can fix this! Dave can fix this! Dave can fix this! I imagine you can construct the "well" sides using a thin bead of flexible adhesive. Maybe silicone, if resistant to everything and not polluting the liquid and really good sticking properties. I would probably apply the adhesive around the edges, leaving a small opening on the right side for the air to escape. Then you can set it all up with liquid and close the glass halves from the left to the right, squeezing the air out before the adhesive opening is forced shut at the end when the two pieces of glass are pressed coplanar, left to right. Just my 2 cents...
I bought my first multimeter in the late 70's. It still works fine. Needs calibration perhaps. My first DMM works fine as well. It is from late 80's. My first oscillosope (Heathkit O-12) is from late 50's, even if I got it just 35 years ago. It works fine as well, but I recapped it ten years ago, whether it needed it or not. Tubes are still original ones.
Basically adhesion force keep two glasses sticked to each other. Already there is a housing and it is aligning and fixing the glasses from x,y,z axis. The electrolytic liquid is still pretty interesting.
Heh. I built the kit version of that Micronta when i was a kid. I think it was the second one i built. Bought the kit with paper route money. I believe that the LCD had a bead of sealant around the perimeter between the two pieces of glass, which leaked/disintegrated. Back in the 70's, you could get liquid crystals that had an acrylic panel with a vinyl sticker over the back. The sticker confined the liquid crystal fluid in a circular spot behind the plexiglass. The fluid would change color as you squished it around the back. Think "giant squeezable mood ring". Get some 3M 5200 marine sealant and a syringe to make a little ridge, add the fluid, and sandwich it in.
Dave you have some top-notch universities around Sydney with serious EE programs and clean rooms. LCD tech should be among their career tracks. You must have some EE students among your fanbase, with access to the LCD lab, and would freely offer to re-assemble that basic LCD. Maybe your trip to the uni is another video?
If the glass doesn't have any explicit spacers on the edge then it's most likely the type that uses microspheres in the liquid to achieve a specific spacing, and then it would have been sealed around the edge with something like a space-filling adhesive, in this case probably a cheap glue which the battery juice dissolved with ease.
Seems to me about 70-80% of the "engineering" is done, you just have to piece it together with contemporary components, like a new polarizer, zebra strip, and LC fluid. I'm rootin' for ya, Dave. I hope you attempt it.
Not a bad meter by the looks of it. I got my first one a few years earlier, in kit form. And back then, autoranging wasn’t a common feature on digital multimeters, not the more affordable ones.
That LCD looks a lot like the one in the $7 Harbor freight meter. I think you’ve probably got a couple of those kicking around, could be worth a shot at checking to see if it would work. They are so cheap I usually buy them as gifts for friends I’ve taught about electronics. In my years of doing electronics I’ve learned that any meter is better than no meter. The only bummer about those meters is no audible continuity. I actually work in the same industry as Big Clive, so I’ve taught many technicians about electronics especially the specialized systems used in the entertainment industry. Having a multimeter is so useful for troubleshooting any electrical issues you might run into as an entertainment technician.
I feel like it would be cheaper for Dave to just design a completely new meter board and guts using an off the shelf display to at least "replicate" the old case. It's not like it has a lot of options, turning it's capabilities noted by the switches should be a bit cheaper than the one off LCD. You still get to use your old kid case but it's safer and will work once again. Basically re-gut it.
the simplest way of fixing the meter could be just to decode segment multiplexing signal and convert it to led, , 3d print outlines and place black out film on top i know that wouldn't be the same but could look cool, kind of a rebel way of doing things, it could be also possible to just find a digital clock or modern multimeter and rewire it to work if the number pattern wasn't too different, who knows maybe those dm830b would finaly be usefull for something
I have a pair of the same Elliot Lucas pliers and long nose set for good measure - well over 50 years old, also have the 25 watt Solon soldering iron from the same era.
It would be an interesting video just to attempt to fix it or get it to display anything. Doesn't have to be perfect. But great for demonstrating how they really function.
My first DMM somewhere in the 80s was a DanaMeter. Was made so tough, the sales folks would toss it across the room and then take a measurement. It lasted more than 20 years. Same LCD type. Funny, I still have the fancy leather case.
Nice video, they drive those lcd with ac current it will be a nice upgrade if u can read the output with a microcontrôleur and use. Oled display to show the results.
My very first digital one is long dead, killed by a camera high voltage flash (didn't do it myself though). My second one though, Beckman Circuitmate DM23, bought 1989, is still in action.
Simpson 260 Series 8 supremacy! I have multiple DMMs as well, but still reach for my 260 more than any of the others. I have a Leumy? Maybe? That is also a "scope" that works great for testing hall effect switches, VFDs sometimes, and keeping an eye on our 80hp rotary phase converter.
SOAR built quite some good stuff, and also sold their meters to other brands. The Soar 5430 (still got one of those) is more or less the Yokogawa 7541, the Panasonic VP-2662A and ... the Rohde & Schwarz UDL44. Too bad they vanished in the 90s.
"2 jewels" on the analog multimeter is probably referencing the bearings for the needle. Such tiny bearings are called jewels and are often made from ruby. Clickspring had a video about it recently.
My Dad has one that looks just like it except his is a cream color and was sold through Radio Shack it is a Micronta. He is in his 70's and it still works.
Update, it works fine but the lcd is different to yours. I'll have a look around in my box of old meters, I'm sure there was another soar. If it's got the same lcd and nobody else in the comments beats me to it you're welcome to it.
If you had an LCD with at least somewhat matching symbols, wouldn't it be possible to cut the traces and "rewire" them to go into the right corresponding place on the new LCD?
This Soar meter was also branded Dick Smith in Australia, so I'm not sure how my cousin got the Soar branded version here ua-cam.com/video/I6C0HnkR7EM/v-deo.html
Respect for the 80085 :P
some things never get old huh
Rod Irving Electronics in Melbourne sold the Soar version in their Thornbury store and possibly other retailers sold it. Mine is still going fine although the battery door is loose.
it looks so close to the hioki 3212 i have one its from the 80s
I have one of these SOAR Corporation meters or very similar to it complete with the pleather carry case.
I am no expert, but i thought maybe the original LC was hygroscopic and therefor increased in volume and changed it's viscosity.
The most important question is "how was it sealed in the first place" because you have all the the parts you need to make a display except the fluid and what ever held it in place.
That liquid inside _was_ probably actual LC mixture, unless this thing got immersed in something else at some point. I worked for HP labs in the UK for 15 years, and we were regularly filling the space between two sheets of either glass or plastic with LC, and yes, it is a liquid. You need to space the two substrates with spacer dots or other structures which give you the right gap ( in the order of a few microns). We used a UV curable glue around the edges to seal the innards off. We relied on capillary action to pull a _tiny_ amount of LC into the 'cell'. So some sort of glue has disappeared from your dmm display I would think, it shouldn't be all loose like that...haha.
You could rebuild it with the right LC mixture, and the right sized spacers between the layers - if you get this wrong, you'd get too much or too little contrast, and you might even get weird colours ! What's likely to happen if you don;t do this in a cleanroom is that you'll get MASSIVE particles in the gap, and all sorts of pretty effects but prob. no actual
useful display.
@@noakeswalker The battery juice has seeped between the plates. When Dave disassembles it and cleans the plates, you can see in the reflection that the transparent segment electrodes are corroded in some spots.
Thanks. Yeah I was thinking it wouldn't be that easy.
Applied science did his own lcd. If i remember correctly the hard part was the glass conductor. Worth taking a look on his video.
That video made me wonder if Dave would be able to fix his by looking at how Applied Science made theirs.
Yeah, send it to Ben Krasnow! Partnership!
It's much more realistic to develop adapter on mictrocontroller to some another modern display
Ben from Applied Sciences made an electro illumination display not and LCD. He made a replica DSKY for Curious Marc
@@Heckatomba It's called "DIY custom LCD" about ten years old.
Hold onto it. PCB Way will make your custom LCD someday soon.
@@pault6533 If he is lucky, won't need a custom LCD. There are cheap multimeters with basically the same LCD, if he can find one with the same size where the connections are on the other edge, he can make a flex PCB or the thinnest FR4 laying underneath the LCD as an interconnect between the display and the board, while correcting the pinout.
Don't let your dmm down!!! Restore it, first the pcb, second the case, third the display. Its like an old friend,!!!!!
Keep the case. Battle scars of the past!
please fix it, this would be a great series
Apparently UA-cam's porn bots are very interested in you fixing this meter. They're really into EEVBLOG.
Haha, too funny!
All the comments I've loaded so far are from bots.
We are too early!
@@tuttocrafting They literally appear within seconds, I don't even have enough time to refresh the page.
@@EEVblog That is exactly why I believe UA-cam owns them. For god knows what reason. Engagement ?
@@EEVblogsad situation. They must have some sort of feed or they keeps polling for new videos.
What a mess.
I bet that leaky battery nailed it. Lots of damage to the board, and the electrolyte is very alkaline
Quite possible it ate away the glue on the LCD.
@@EEVblogAlmost surely.
That's partly why I stopped using Alkaline batteries and switched over to bare Lithium-ion cells in my flashlights and DIY electronics projects, just so I don't risk it getting annihilated by "Alkaleak" cells.
@@Dr_Mario2007 Ni-MH don't leak either. Those are just fine as well
@@aleksandersats9577 Sorry, but yes, they can and do leak. There are plenty of older PC motherboards that have been killed by leaking NiMH batteries.
The diodes were cut in order to test them on the bd without removing the PCB. Apparently they were good so they got soldered back together.
C'mon man... if anything is worthy of a restoration it's your first DMM! Just bite the bullet, create the new LCD and restore that thing to its former glory!
If you have the schematic for the LCD some manufacturers might have one off the shelf that's "close enough". You might have the wrong image for the low battery indicator or another non number indicator but the numbers might work.
Yeah, I'm thinking this might be possible if it uses the same chipset then it's likely the pinout might be the same.
Back in the early 1980s, I was in 7th or 8th grade and the hot meter was the 4.5 digit fluke 8060a. Well beyond what I could ever buy, so my first fluke was an 87 III.
About 2 months ago, I found an 8060a in the e-waste and resurrected it.
Brought back so many memories.
I stuck around for an enjoyable 20 minutes and would like to see you give it go fixing the whole unit. Marvelous.
A pinball repair technician!!! Original pliers! Favorite screwdriver!
I love it!
Maybe work with your LCD vendor to see if they would sponsor a video to show how LCDs are made. Maybe they would be willing to do it for free.
The pinball repair tech was actually Doc Brown.
I think the liquid from the battery seeped due to capillary effects between the glass sheets (the liquid something as shown in the video) and also dissolves the glue that holds the glass together. Normal LC liquid is an extremely thin film.
Yeah, probably he most likely explaination
Hahaha love the 80085 on the calculator, brought back memories lol
Good work mate 🤙🏼🇦🇺
that was battery juice...not liquid crystals...
...nice to see glass with etched electrical traces making a return in processor chip manufacturering
I am by no means an expert, but if I were to think of why they constructed the polarizer between the two sheets of glass, I think it would be to electrically isolate the two electrodes? The capacitive effect will still work with the polarizer because well... it's an electric field. They also might have used use a simple method like vacuum welding, where it's like a suction cup. Take a flat piece of plastic, apply water on a flat surface, press down the flat plastic on the wet surface and it will stick to it because of the vacuum created. They could of course have simply glued it and the glue had just fallen off as well.
I suspect it's likely the later, a glue line that has just disintergrated wiht time and possibly some checmical interaction with the battery corrosion.
I had a ME532 back in the 80s, autoranging was rare at the time on budget meters and it was a step up from my Fluke 8020 clone.
That meter lasted over 15 years, helped fix countless items of audio and lighting equipment on the bench and on the road.
I've used a Fluke 77 since, the guy who sold it to me wasn't in good health, and is no longer with us. Kinda sad when a tech moves on his DMM..a defining moment.
8:51 you can see the 2 vias that jump to the blackplane for the two commons. Right under the mVA.
My first meter was the same Tandy analog meter. Yes, it served me well also. I still have it. It's in one of my tool boxes inside the box it came in. They are good meters. Brings back a lot of memories.
That is sooo cool man! My cousin did similar things with me to when i was young. Ive always been inlove with electronics since i was a kid to lol! I really love this n the stories behind your multi meters. 💯😎👌🏼
im very sure ben from applied science can make you anew one in his garage
I wish I could afford a digital multimeter of any kind. I love working with electronics but very difficult only using a test light. Love your channel been watching for years learnt a lot. Thank you good sir.
I love multimeter teardowns AND repairs. I rarely find any channel with this kind of content :D
It would be rather interesting to see u succeed in repairing this. Good applied skills that would be.
I bet the battery juice has attacked this LCD. You might get a generic 3 1/2 digit multimeter LCD with the same size where the connections are on the other edge, and make a flex PCB that connects the new LCD to the board while correcting the pinout.
Check Tim Hunkin's secret life of the digital watch. He sandwiches two conductive glass plates, puts a bead of liquid crystal across the top and it wicks into the middle and then he turns it on and off with a pair of sunglass lenses as polarizers.
Tim Hunkin is an absolute champion. His channel is awesome.
If you can find a pair of NOS elliot lucas pliers they are worth their weight in gold. Sheffield steel. The edges stay sharp and the joint is smoothly machined. The best you can get.
I feel like somebody will send you parts in mailbag
Dave I'd love to see you restore this meter, even in some creative way. Neat video :)
Fascinating teardown, thanks Dave! Yeah, fix it!
*FIX IT!* We all know you can do it
Seen LCDs in old cars do that but I suspect those happened due to extreme temperature swings (-40 during the winter and up to 20-30 C when it's running) and the generally high humidity that is inside vehicles. Never on anything like that.
Edit: On the subject of finding a suitable donor - I replied with a link on your comment about not finding it over on X
Cmon dave you have to fix it... Childhood memories!! You can't let them go!
This item has sentimental value. Of course you reverse engineer the LCD and bring it back to life. This DMM is (for Dave) a thing of beauty and a joy forever :D
Replace the LCD with some surface mount green LEDs on a board? Modern LEDs don't need much current to glow visibly (especially the green ones), in fact have provision to add series resistors in case it gets too bright.
Radio Museum organisation has a few exact models online. Has an author also whom documented it. Was made in the early 1980’s with a few models within the collection.
Can't wait for part duo...
I have a 1982 SOAR digital multimeter and a 1989 Fluke 73. The SOAR works perfectly after 42 years, the Fluke's LCD display has faded and is difficult to read.
Must've had Duraleak batteries inside... The worst batteries ever.
I still have my first DMM. A Micronta 22-198 which I bought in 1980. Still works 100%. Some really nice features to it too. Super smooth and seperate function and range switches, tool-less battery replacement, the fuse accessible in the battery compartment and capable of using an external power source. I once left in on the dash of may car on a sunny day. The only thing that happened to it was the front legend sticker (thick aluminum BTW) curled up a little, but it stuck back down.
That micronta model was also my first analog meter. My first digital was a Sinclair with a Red led display
Hi Dave, I have an idea for you to try. You mentioned those custom factory LCD probably from China and I did watch your custom multimeter display you made some years ago and I know its possible. So my idea for you is to write to them and ask them "-can you repair this old LCD for me? " also changing that plastic polarizer with a new one, and all they have to do is to add that liquid crystal, the polarizer and to properly glue those 2 pieces of glass again. Also, maybe to add a better contact strip band. You should also tell them you used their services once and you would be very glad if they could help you with this little thing here. Also, if they will tell you that they "dont do this" then see if they can point you to who can, because they know between them better than us. This is my idea for you. Never be shy to ask - is my motto. Haha. Good luck ! I know you can.
Would be nice to try and setup a breadboard with some normal 7 segment led modules, just to see if you could make a permanent solution as replacement of the LCD.
I assume that would be way more easily achievable, and certainly cost way less than trying to source another LCD.
I had that Tandy meter too, as a kid. RIP SOAR
I'm not surprised the current draw is lower than specified, max current will only be drawn under ohms mode with shorted leads.
Use a micro to read the pins going to the LCD. Then write an LCD emulator, that displays the output on a modern high res OLED display 😂
Sacrilege!
SOAR CWY-550 looks like the same LCD.
Hi Dave, much the same for me , I have one of these in good condition still working well for me. Also have a Fluke of the same vintage working as it should…. ( limited calibration ) brilliant 😊
nice Dave my first Analog meter was a radio shack meter but my first digital meter was from Sears it worked very well I got my first fluke model 77 in the 1980s and still use it I later got fluke 87 .
I wonder if an LCD maker could fix it for you if given the 2 glass parts? Worth asking. If that was a no go, you could get some of the glue that is used for LCD construction and try gluing the 2 glass parts together yourself with a very thin bead around 2 sides and the bottom edge. Then if that seemed to go ok and left the necessary tiny gap between the 2 sheets you could try putting LCD fluid in by capillary action with the open edge upwards. If you got that far then finally seal the top edge with glue and add the reflector and polarizer. You'd need some sort of jig to hold the glass parts in proper alignment to glue them which might be the hardest part of trying yourself. Best bet is someone to put it back together for you or just wait for one on ebay.
We had the same first multimeter! You never forget your first.
Nice! Walk down memory lane + a great explanation for those playing at home!
I wonder if they used a hydrophilic compound applied to the substrate to contain the liquid crystal?
Dave can fix this! Dave can fix this! Dave can fix this! I imagine you can construct the "well" sides using a thin bead of flexible adhesive. Maybe silicone, if resistant to everything and not polluting the liquid and really good sticking properties. I would probably apply the adhesive around the edges, leaving a small opening on the right side for the air to escape. Then you can set it all up with liquid and close the glass halves from the left to the right, squeezing the air out before the adhesive opening is forced shut at the end when the two pieces of glass are pressed coplanar, left to right. Just my 2 cents...
Yeah, do the liquid crystal thing, that will be super interesting 🎉
I bought my first multimeter in the late 70's. It still works fine. Needs calibration perhaps. My first DMM works fine as well. It is from late 80's. My first oscillosope (Heathkit O-12) is from late 50's, even if I got it just 35 years ago. It works fine as well, but I recapped it ten years ago, whether it needed it or not. Tubes are still original ones.
Basically adhesion force keep two glasses sticked to each other. Already there is a housing and it is aligning and fixing the glasses from x,y,z axis. The electrolytic liquid is still pretty interesting.
Heh. I built the kit version of that Micronta when i was a kid. I think it was the second one i built. Bought the kit with paper route money.
I believe that the LCD had a bead of sealant around the perimeter between the two pieces of glass, which leaked/disintegrated.
Back in the 70's, you could get liquid crystals that had an acrylic panel with a vinyl sticker over the back. The sticker confined the liquid crystal fluid in a circular spot behind the plexiglass. The fluid would change color as you squished it around the back. Think "giant squeezable mood ring".
Get some 3M 5200 marine sealant and a syringe to make a little ridge, add the fluid, and sandwich it in.
Wow I still have my Tandy RS multimeter from the 70s as well the same one Dave and still working
Dave you have some top-notch universities around Sydney with serious EE programs and clean rooms. LCD tech should be among their career tracks. You must have some EE students among your fanbase, with access to the LCD lab, and would freely offer to re-assemble that basic LCD. Maybe your trip to the uni is another video?
If the glass doesn't have any explicit spacers on the edge then it's most likely the type that uses microspheres in the liquid to achieve a specific spacing, and then it would have been sealed around the edge with something like a space-filling adhesive, in this case probably a cheap glue which the battery juice dissolved with ease.
Seems to me about 70-80% of the "engineering" is done, you just have to piece it together with contemporary components, like a new polarizer, zebra strip, and LC fluid. I'm rootin' for ya, Dave. I hope you attempt it.
Not a bad meter by the looks of it. I got my first one a few years earlier, in kit form. And back then, autoranging wasn’t a common feature on digital multimeters, not the more affordable ones.
That LCD looks a lot like the one in the $7 Harbor freight meter. I think you’ve probably got a couple of those kicking around, could be worth a shot at checking to see if it would work. They are so cheap I usually buy them as gifts for friends I’ve taught about electronics. In my years of doing electronics I’ve learned that any meter is better than no meter. The only bummer about those meters is no audible continuity. I actually work in the same industry as Big Clive, so I’ve taught many technicians about electronics especially the specialized systems used in the entertainment industry. Having a multimeter is so useful for troubleshooting any electrical issues you might run into as an entertainment technician.
At the time, LCD screens were super high-tech devices and likely the original way they were cobbled together.
I feel like it would be cheaper for Dave to just design a completely new meter board and guts using an off the shelf display to at least "replicate" the old case. It's not like it has a lot of options, turning it's capabilities noted by the switches should be a bit cheaper than the one off LCD. You still get to use your old kid case but it's safer and will work once again. Basically re-gut it.
the simplest way of fixing the meter could be just to decode segment multiplexing signal and convert it to led, , 3d print outlines and place black out film on top
i know that wouldn't be the same but could look cool, kind of a rebel way of doing things, it could be also possible to just find a digital clock or modern multimeter and rewire it to work if the number pattern wasn't too different, who knows maybe those dm830b would finaly be usefull for something
I think the best option to repair it would be to make an adapter PCB for an off the shelf LCD or one harvested from a cheap multimeter.
I have a pair of the same Elliot Lucas pliers and long nose set for good measure - well over 50 years old, also have the 25 watt Solon soldering iron from the same era.
Showed it twice to prove it's not a fluke. 😅
I reckon you should have a go at fixing this LCD with some film and some fluid, worth a shot and it'll be very interesting to watch!
It would be an interesting video just to attempt to fix it or get it to display anything.
Doesn't have to be perfect. But great for demonstrating how they really function.
i had the same Micronta analogue meter as my first meter too :) Still got it.. the original test leads are long gone of course
How about making an led version. Bit of 3d printing to make a light mask then whip up a circuit to drive the LEDs from the LCD signals.🤔
I'd have thought everything was based on the legendary ICL7106 31/2 digit ADC and LCD driver ID back then. Surprised me.
the gray color capacitor is usually leaky. from my vintage repair experience.
Absolutely happy you did this video. Kinda would have been disappointed if you didn't.
My first DMM somewhere in the 80s was a DanaMeter. Was made so tough, the sales folks would toss it across the room and then take a measurement. It lasted more than 20 years. Same LCD type. Funny, I still have the fancy leather case.
Nice video, they drive those lcd with ac current it will be a nice upgrade if u can read the output with a microcontrôleur and use. Oled display to show the results.
My very first digital one is long dead, killed by a camera high voltage flash (didn't do it myself though). My second one though, Beckman Circuitmate DM23, bought 1989, is still in action.
Simpson 260 Series 8 supremacy!
I have multiple DMMs as well, but still reach for my 260 more than any of the others. I have a Leumy? Maybe? That is also a "scope" that works great for testing hall effect switches, VFDs sometimes, and keeping an eye on our 80hp rotary phase converter.
Fill with new lcd juice and glue the panel closed.
@@voltare2amstereo The transparent electrodes are corroded. Battery juice has seeped in-between the glass plates.
I would love to see an attempt and filling it back up with crystal and givin' her a go.
Yes, it's fixiable, go on, please)
SOAR built quite some good stuff, and also sold their meters to other brands. The Soar 5430 (still got one of those) is more or less the Yokogawa 7541, the Panasonic VP-2662A and ... the Rohde & Schwarz UDL44. Too bad they vanished in the 90s.
"2 jewels" on the analog multimeter is probably referencing the bearings for the needle. Such tiny bearings are called jewels and are often made from ruby. Clickspring had a video about it recently.
Not probaby, that's exactly what it refers to.
similar to jewels in a watch
That is the only thing it could be refering to :)
My Dad has one that looks just like it except his is a cream color and was sold through Radio Shack it is a Micronta. He is in his 70's and it still works.
Is liquid crystal fluid the same as the one that goes into blinkers?
No, blinker fluid in cars, due to the large volume needed has to have antifungal chemicals in it. Sony learned that long go on rear projection TVs.
I have an old soar 3220 dmm with bargraph, it's not bad at all, keep it in the car for unexpected occasions. Will have to check the batteries
Update, it works fine but the lcd is different to yours. I'll have a look around in my box of old meters, I'm sure there was another soar. If it's got the same lcd and nobody else in the comments beats me to it you're welcome to it.
Taking an old LCD apart and maybe removing it's liquid?
What a lovely example of LCD rot...
If you had an LCD with at least somewhat matching symbols, wouldn't it be possible to cut the traces and "rewire" them to go into the right corresponding place on the new LCD?
I was hoping for a "Retro future" polarizer replacement and fix.
Dave you can harvest enough liquid crystal from modern RGB LCDs to run that, Not the easiest way but the most available one ...
Isn't the liquid just held in with surface tension and capillary, maybe a bit of static interaction with the polarising film?
Have you got anything better to do than replace/repair the screen?
My first DMM was a Rotokit & LED, and all the liquid is still in the display.