Fluke Friday - Going through the Fluke Collection

[Zenith]

The dunny rolls the old Oz "PMG's Dept" bought were so hard on the bum, nobody would have dreamt of stealing them.

This was in 1970 and it was Bronko brand. It was nothing like the toilet tissue you buy today, it was like grease-proof paper and I'd say a step down from newspaper.

When I mentioned the "This is government property" lettering to friends, one of them said, "More incentive to wipe your arse on it then".

[25 CPS]

Did Fluke make a version of the 8060A style multimeters with the drawbar levers down the left side but in a dark brown or black case instead of the usual beige?

I don't have a good picture of the meter itself but there was one or a knockoff in a picture I took a number of years ago of a workshop in a branch plant. I never used this meter while I was there, just the resident technician's 8060A which was my introduction to that type of meter. The one in the dark case was someone else's.

Edit:

I went back to the picture I was looking at and cropped it down on the meter. It certainly looks like one of the drawbar lever Flukes but I've never seen one with a black case like that before or since:



It looks sharp. If the opportunity to get one for my own collection comes up, I'll be jumping.

Edit 2:

I jumped.

[TonyAlbus]

FlukeFriday (E10) Scopemeter 97 and 92B-Serie II :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zdYyARUDCQ

front.jpg

[mnementh]

Yeeeeah... ScopeMeters are best appreciated just the way I'm doing right now: From the other side of a computer screen.

mnem
wouldja like flies widdat...?

[Robert]

There are scopemeters and there are scopemeters.The original Phillips models are OK (screens are poor by modern standards). So are the Fluke 199C onwards. I presume you are refering to the 123 scopemeters which would be beter named Meterscopes.

[mnementh]

I've tried to use several, from the older "creamed spinach" to a couple of the newer full color LCD models... and none of them had what I would call a proper scope UI. Just plain aggravating AF to use.

I'd literally rather have the FNIRSI pos.

mnem

[bd139]

Current Fluke collection attached. Some HP and TTi and Farnell leaking around the edges.

Fluke 75 original
Fluke 75 series II (I think)
Fluke 25
Fluke 8010A
Fluke 8050A (completely deceased - waiting for new guts to appear cheaply)

IMG_4073.jpg

[Specmaster]

Current Fluke collection attached. Some HP and TTi and Farnell leaking around the edges.

Fluke 75 original
Fluke 75 series II (I think)
Fluke 25
Fluke 8010A
Fluke 8050A (completely deceased - waiting for new guts to appear cheaply)

IMG_4073.jpg

I bet all of those Flukes all give the same readings as well.

[bd139]

Current Fluke collection attached. Some HP and TTi and Farnell leaking around the edges.

Fluke 75 original
Fluke 75 series II (I think)
Fluke 25
Fluke 8010A
Fluke 8050A (completely deceased - waiting for new guts to appear cheaply)

IMG_4073.jpg

I bet all of those Flukes all give the same readings as well.

I will find out this weekend if I get a few minutes

[25 CPS]

I've tried to use several, from the older "creamed spinach" to a couple of the newer full color LCD models... and none of them had what I would call a proper scope UI. Just plain aggravating AF to use.

I'd literally rather have the FNIRSI pos.

mnem

For what it's worth, I've been finding the portable handheld scopemeter type devices are a different animal of their own. The Agilent/Keysight ones I've used are very similar to the way the Flukes I've encountered and neither operate the same way bench oscilloscopes do, or the way either bench or handheld DMMs do. They really are a category of their own and I've found it helps if you go into using one of them with that in mind.

I wonder how often scopemeters get used as DMMs in the field? When you think about it, these are very large, very expensive, very cumbersome multimeters that tie up an expensive piece of gear when used as such, and most people that need to have a Scopemeter would probably already have DMMs.

[25 CPS]

It's time for some Fluke FriedDay!



It started off well enough. The package was delivered while I was in the shower and still there when I got out.

I found what appears to be the meter similar to the model in that Windsor maintenance shop picture for very cheap and that's what was in the parcel:

I went back to the picture I was looking at and cropped it down on the meter. It certainly looks like one of the drawbar lever Flukes but I've never seen one with a black case like that before or since:



It looks sharp. If the opportunity to get one for my own collection comes up, I'll be jumping.

Edit 2:

I jumped.

This one isn't in the greatest shape though. The LCD display is starting to go so I'll have to look into an eventual replacement and the kickstand is missing. Either I'll find a parts donor for this one or it could become a parts unit for a future one in better condition, but in the meantime, I've got an example of a dark coloured drawbar Fluke in the collection. Looking at the pictures, the one in Windsor doesn't appear to have as many functions since the area down the right side of the legend is empty compared to this D802.



I started to check it out. This is the unregulated nominal 12.6 V AC output on an Elenco Precision XP-720 power supply. The output's a bit high since the incoming line is sitting at 124 volts right now. This is as far as I got due to Fluke FridDay getting underway. Magic smoke started happening so I had a fast hunt and cut the power to the source.



I got the XP-720 out and managed to get a picture while there was still some smoke coming out. See the fine whisps coming out the top vent?







It looks like the culprit is the filter capacitor on the left which is bulging pretty conspicuously. It's a 4700 uF, 16 volt capacitor. I hope it's on the 5 V DC rail and the two 35 volt capacitors on the 15 volt rails and not a miswire. This was a factory wired kit. Sayal Electronics had two of these left in stock when I bought it, one unassembled kit and one that had already been wired and the person at the counter was having a serious problem with the different inventory codes for the two takes on the same product and it ended up settling at "Do you want it or not?" about the factory wired version and I ended up caving in and taking it. I don't know if it was assembled by Sayal Electronics or Elenco. I'm also not sure it's the right capacitor in general based on the different footprint outlined on the board. I'm going to have to go through this vs. the assembly instructions to make sure everything's ok before ordering parts to repair it. I think it'll be fitting to use the new Fluke D802 during this repair since the power supply bailed out while I was giving it its initial checkout.

And that's Fluke FriedDay.

[Cubdriver]

At least you caught the cap before it completely grenaded (though it might not have - perhaps it was done venting. I do look forward to hearing how close to its rated voltage it was being run at - 16 is on the low side...

Congrats on the dark Fluke - don't recall ever seeing one of the side-button ones in that case color.

-Pat

[25 CPS]

At least you caught the cap before it completely grenaded (though it might not have - perhaps it was done venting. I do look forward to hearing how close to its rated voltage it was being run at - 16 is on the low side...

Congrats on the dark Fluke - don't recall ever seeing one of the side-button ones in that case color.

-Pat

It is a neat meter. It's too bad the one I got isn't in better shape but for the price, I can't complain. The dark coloured meters do seem to be uncommon compared to the regular ones. The only other one I've ever seen in person is the one that someone had in the maintenance shop a few years ago in Windsor and there weren't very many pictures of them when I stared researching them online. It makes the IBM branded 8060A look relatively common. Is there a website somewhere that has a reference of vintage Fluke multimeter models? I haven't found a comprehensive listing of them anywhere so trying to look things like this up hasn't been straightforward.

As for the Elenco power supply, I'm sure Elenco sourced the cheapest, nastiest parts for those. I was talking with one of my friends earlier this evening and he suggested going for breakfast in the morning to catch up and suggested the Russell Williams* family restaurant in Burlington so a plan started coming together. I've been there twice for dinner but never had breakfast there so that'll be good to try - and it's also a few km away from Sayal Electronics so I'll stop by there after to pick up a replacement capacitor and diodes. I posted the schematic in the TEA thread and highlighted the bulging capacitor. There's nothing to limit current between the diode bridge and the capacitor so if it shorted out hard, it could've damaged diodes as well and I haven't checked those yet.

* The name's an unfortunate co-incidence, the restaurant's been around a lot longer than the serial killer.

[Robert]

If a diode has gone short it is just as likely a diode failed first and blew the cap.
Very hard to tell.

[25 CPS]

I did some digging around online and as it's been when I've looked up other obscure products, it's period publications that have been scanned in that have contained the most information. It turns out the D802 is the middle meter in a small range of three handhelds dark case meters with a D800 and D804 model on either side plus two bench meters:

https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-U ... e-0002.pdf

$258.95 + 7% PST in August, 1981 at Arkon Electronics, 409 Queen St. West in Toronto, so this was a local store's ad, and the address would put them just down the street a bit from Active Surplus (gone) and Atlas Tool & Machinery (moved way out to the far west end on Islington Ave. below The Queensway). I vaguely remember the name but don't think I ever stepped in there. I flipped through several of the other pages of the magazine and a good number of the other advertisements made me nostalgic for the Toronto of the 80s. If you're from there and you remember when subway trains were red and police cars were yellow, you know what I mean.

If a diode has gone short it is just as likely a diode failed first and blew the cap.
Very hard to tell.

It's entirely possible. Or the capacitor could be the only part in there that's failed. I went for breakfast with a friend of mine who's an electrician at the infamous unfortunately named (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/col-russ ... e-1.913312) Russell Williams Family Restaurant like we planned then visited the local Sayal Electronics store where I picked up a full set of electrolytic capacitors to recap the whole thing if need be as well as 1N5400 diodes. The two of us did a few other things and I got home a lot later than I expected and I haven't had a chance to dive into it yet. I may or may not get to it tomorrow before football practice depending on some other errands I need to get done. Monday is a public holiday here so if I don't get to it tomorrow morning before football practice, I'll dig into it then and then I'll have a full damage report.

[mansaxel]

For what it's worth, I've been finding the portable handheld scopemeter type devices are a different animal of their own. The Agilent/Keysight ones I've used are very similar to the way the Flukes I've encountered and neither operate the same way bench oscilloscopes do, or the way either bench or handheld DMMs do. They really are a category of their own and I've found it helps if you go into using one of them with that in mind.

They are different, so yes, the key is to look at it as a DMM with pictures. I'd say.

Also, the 123 (I own a very, very, low serial number, from the first production batch) is labeled Industrial ScopeMeter. It is not thought of as a lab instrument, even though it has the usual Fluke dependable BAMishness. It is an instrument for those whose bench is filthy and full of metalworking tools, hydraulic fluid, and so on. It is for those who set up VFD's and need something better than a multimeter.

I wonder how often scopemeters get used as DMMs in the field? When you think about it, these are very large, very expensive, very cumbersome multimeters that tie up an expensive piece of gear when used as such, and most people that need to have a Scopemeter would probably already have DMMs.

I've hardly ever had to do that, because I always carried another Fluke or similar with me. But, when you have the 123, and you need more than a DMM, it's really a life saver to have a near-scope that'll hang over the top of the door to a switching cabinet. (The tilting stand has a stair stepping on the inside that makes it hang more securely over for instance a cabinet door.

But, I do always start out with it as a DMM. (with pictures) Put it in AC volts mode, and start poking, looking at both the digital measurement and the waveform. The fact that it is insulated and floating is very, very handy too. I really had to learn the art of safe scope probing with a grounded instrument all over when I got the 465 (after a very long time with the 123).

In conclusion, haters gonna hate. But the 123 is a very useful instrument, if you let it work where it is intended.

[mansaxel]

In conclusion, haters gonna hate. But the 123 is a very useful instrument, if you let it work where it is intended.

And now I also own the serial interface cable for it. This is a new era of awesome.

[TonyAlbus]

Its Friday, Fluke Friday, Episode 11, the Fluke Scopemeters 120 and 190 Serie.
FlukeFriday (E11) Scopemeter 123 and 192 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20_QyYVPbGY

front.jpg

[Cubdriver]

I jumped on one of the IBM 8060s today - watched it then shortly thereafter got an offer knocking 20% off the price so like a bull to a waving cape...

Pics in the listing were pretty soft; hopefully they're not covering up a disaster. Fingers crossed. It should be here by the middle of next week.

-Pat

[mnementh]

*takes a quick look on fleabay for an example*

Yeeg... I certainly hope that putrid lilac color is the result of decades of fading... I'd hate to think someone actually chose that color and thought it was a good idea...

mnem

[25 CPS]

I jumped on one of the IBM 8060s today - watched it then shortly thereafter got an offer knocking 20% off the price so like a bull to a waving cape...

Pics in the listing were pretty soft; hopefully they're not covering up a disaster. Fingers crossed. It should be here by the middle of next week.

-Pat

Cool! Those are neat meters and I hope yours is in good condition when it arrives.

Here are a couple of pictures of mine. I’m posting from my phone since I’m at work so hopefully the images work out properly:

[Cubdriver]

Mine is unfortunately sans case, but I’m hopeful it’ll be in decent shape otherwise.

Pics when it gets here.

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

The Fluke/IBM 8060A/AA arrived today. I'm happy; it's very clean and in excellent condition in my eyes. Other than a small crack at the top right corner (mentioned by the seller), it looks near new.

At some point I'll open it and reinforce that spot with some UV cured adhesive, but for now I'll leave it alone.



Did some quick resistance checks; an indicated 7.771kΩ against a 7.778kΩ standard is close enough for a handheld meter that's likely several decades old at this point is ok in my book.


Did a few voltage checks against a Data Precision 3500; it's within a half a volt at 125 V and above, and tens of mV at 25 V




I want to open it up to check for cap leakage and get a better idea of its age, but that will be a task for another day.

-Pat

[25 CPS]

That's a beautiful meter! I'm glad you were able to get it and it arrived in good shape.

The corners of the seam between the two halves of the cases on these seem to be susceptible to having little chunks taken out of them. One of my 8060A has something similar on the bottom right.



I've seen pictures of others where the corner parts of the seam has chips out or cracks starting in them so there must've been a design or manufacturing issue that caused a bit of weakness in those parts of the case.

[Cubdriver]

Maybe too close a fit at the overlapping part, combined with a structure that permits the halves to move relative to one another so if it's dropped and hits the corner the resulting deflection causes the outer part to be displaced and the thin overlapping part hits the thicker inner part of the meter bottom, and gets snapped off? I notice that if I apply pressure back and forth, the upper half will shift slightly relative to the lower, and I'd imagine an impact with the floor on the corner would deflect things enough to cause breakage of the thin overlap.

-Pat