Any old Pro’s here still use an Analogue Meter when testing semiconductor junctions?

[Reloadron]

I could locate one Simpson 260-8XPi. There used to be another Simpson model with wider scale and big enough, the connecting pins were to be inserted from sides.

That was the Simpson Model 269, I have one sitting here.

On another note I believe in the early family the Simpson Model 270 was about the same as the 260 but had the mirrored back. Same 50 uA meter movement.

Ron

 

[Dean Huster]

Where the original 260 had 3% or 2% accuracy (it's 2% these days with the series 8), the 270 was a more precise instrument having the mandatory mirrored scale and a 1% accuracy.

 

[john1]

Hi,

I still prefer the moving coil types for most stuff.
Had to bodge up a battery for my old Avo8 cos i left it on Ohms
and forgot, then its little battery died.
I used a PP9 & 2 of those small thin single cells sometimes
used in remote controls.
Taped together, they make a package that just about fits into
the battery space.
I know that comes to twelve volts, and not the proper fifteen
but it works ok with the ohms adjust up.

That Avo battery had been in there for as long as i can remember,
i was very sorry to have killed it.
I think i saw a camera battery in 'Tescos' which was fifteen volts,
but i'm not sure now, next time i'm in there i will check it out.

John : )

Yes i use moving coil meters to check diodes and transistors.
And i touch my finger tip between base and collector to see
the reading change. On older types i sometimes lick my finger
then wipe it dry so as its just a bit damp, so as to see it move.
When you have boxes of loose old crappy transistors, you can
get fairly good at doing that just picking them up and giving
a quick check before putting them to use.

John : )

 

[kiriakos-gr]

Mostly I have digital meters too.
I was always dislike the analog ones, due their confusing scale.

I changed my opinion last year that I found on Ebay one German made BBC Metrawatt MA4S.

My hobby is to repair digital photo cameras, and I needed one high quality analog,
so to be able to measure the battery consumption, and to identify problems in the cameras power boards, who causes a quick drain of the batteries.

The digital DMM was too fast or too slow, to capture small changes.
I think that we all come to agree, that we use our analog ones,
as to was a digital with smoothing mode.

By the way, I have write one review about the latest Agilent U1272A,
if some likes to take a look of it, it is at the reviews section.

https://www.electro-tech-online.com/threads/agilent-u1272a-review-by-kiriakos-triantafilloy-greece.120440/