Simpson 262 Series E
As long as we're talking about Simpson 260 multimeters ... I have a Simpson 262 Series E that suffered battery-failure (x2) in its former life. I'd like to put it back into service (for the reasons that Dave states, below), and aside from fixing the corrosion at the battery contacts (pointers anyone?) I've been "put off" by the problem of finding affordable modern substitutes for the pair of 15v batteries used in the higher resistance ranges. Any suggestions for a suitable substitute for the 30v (total) battery requirement? -----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic [mailto:vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org] On Behalf Of David Riley via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Monday, November 16, 2015 10:46 AM To: vcf-midatlantic Cc: David Riley Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Apple IIe Voltmeter On Nov 13, 2015, at 11:59 AM, Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
I prefer analog meters when making "runs" of comparative measurements.
It's easy to see if one reading is "more" or "less" than another, the needle is literally in different positions. I prefer them for that and, for diagnosing intermediate or "wandering" problems (or quickly checking continuity), it's MUCH easier to see a needle moving than wait for the update of an LCD.
I've found variations in current measurements among several Simpson 260 meters (and among their scales) I've acquired. My guess is that some of the shunts were "cooked" by excessive current, or corroded by time and tide. I have not yet gone to the trouble of diagnosing them, I simply use the meters that have the best readings through the procedures noted. They are cheap today.
I've definitely cooked current shunts in both digital and analog meters. Nothing is immune, even the fused ones (those fuses do have a finite blow time, which is more than enough to damage something if you accidentally touch mains).
Why? Given the "digital is better" bias these days, only a few people call out the Simpson 260 as a valued instrument - Dave McGuire for instance, in that email list we used to use.
Digital is marginally better in situations where you need to record a number, but that's really just laziness. They can actually be more precise where that matters, but it seldom does. And I like the autoranging of digital meters, but that goes back to laziness. I have a very nice Fluke 87-V that I use for just about everything, but there are a lot of times I wish I had a dependable and portable analog meter as a counterpart. - Dave
I've been "put off" by the problem of finding affordable modern substitutes for the pair of 15v batteries used in the higher resistance ranges. Any suggestions for a suitable substitute for the 30v (total) battery requirement?
What's the battery size/number? Send a picture if you're not sure. My Simpson 160 requires one Eveready #505 22.5V battery for the higher resistance readings. As long as you don't leave it on one of the resistance settings while it is sitting in your toolbox, they last for many years -- you hit the shelf life before you deplete the battery in use, in my experience. They're not super cheap and you have to buy them online, but I think I paid $10 for the battery in 2010 when I bought the meter. There are many Amazon sellers who carry old industrial batteries, I believe that's where mine came from. After 5 years, mine still reads 25.1V -- if you like the meter and feel it's worth spending a few bucks every 10 years (or more) on batteries, I'd just buy modern replacements and use it! Thanks, Jonathan
Thanks! It's been a loooooong time since I last saw the batteries in it. I suspect that it's the Eveready 417 (no longer in production) that was being used. The 411 is a close substitute (140 mAh), but at $40 for the needed pair -- not "cost effective". The 504 is smaller still (60 mAh), but ought to be shimmable; ~$16-20 for a pair. Or just don't use the higher resistance range (R10k, R100k), yes. Probably my best bet after I finish cleaning it up. At 20,000 ohms-per-volt DC I guess that it really needs the extra oomph of 30v in the higher ranges. I saved paper-route money for it (used) many decades ago. So it has sentimental value as well as practical utility. It got put away when I left home, and by the time it got pulled out of storage the batteries had all done their dirty work :-<. The only alternative that I've come up with is to stack a pile of CR1025 3V coin cells, which are pretty cheap on eBay. Unsure how much life I'll get out of them (only 30mAh), but then they're *really* cheap compared to the alternatives. Anyone tried something like that before? -----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic [mailto:vcf-midatlantic-bounces@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org] On Behalf Of Systems Glitch via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Monday, November 16, 2015 11:26 AM To: vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org Cc: Systems Glitch Subject: Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Simpson 262 Series E
I've been "put off" by the problem of finding affordable modern substitutes for the pair of 15v batteries used in the higher resistance ranges. Any suggestions for a suitable substitute for the 30v (total) battery requirement?
What's the battery size/number? Send a picture if you're not sure. My Simpson 160 requires one Eveready #505 22.5V battery for the higher resistance readings. As long as you don't leave it on one of the resistance settings while it is sitting in your toolbox, they last for many years -- you hit the shelf life before you deplete the battery in use, in my experience. They're not super cheap and you have to buy them online, but I think I paid $10 for the battery in 2010 when I bought the meter. There are many Amazon sellers who carry old industrial batteries, I believe that's where mine came from. After 5 years, mine still reads 25.1V -- if you like the meter and feel it's worth spending a few bucks every 10 years (or more) on batteries, I'd just buy modern replacements and use it! Thanks, Jonathan
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Paul Birkel -
Systems Glitch