So, @Oldsguy mentioned to me that he got a free analog multimeter from a friend at the cigar shop. Here's the obligatory pic:



I mentioned to him that I teach technicians about parallax error in regards to reading an analog multimeter (i.e. DVOM, BirdWatt meter for measuring VSWR, and of course dwell on a points ignition car). I mentioned to Oldsguy that I recently had a student in class (maybe a few years younger than me, late 30s) that was a self proclaimed "car guy." When I asked him if he had set dwell on one of his hot rods before. He mentioned:

"Of course, but I use feeler gauges."

I told him that point gap and dwell aren't the same measurement. Anyways...

 

A Simpson 260. Nice score.

 

My Dad gave me one of those back in the day and I was to stoopud at the time to understand what I had. There are still a few places where an analog meter is prefered to digital, but not many. I gave up my Bird Watt meter when analog cellular went away. Haven't tested a copper circuit in so long I can barely spell T1 anymore...

 

A Simpson 260 was the meter of choice back in the day, but I personally have never used 1 to set dwell on points.

 

Right you are Eric. I just use setting the dwell on a points ignition car as an example when explaining parallax error.

The gent that was a "gear head" told me about his late model Subaru build and LS swap. I guess there's not much use for setting the dwell when working on cars like that.

 

I am pleased and feel honored to have been given it. A cigar smoking friend who is also a Navy P3 veteran had an extra one and just gave it to me. I plan on cleaning it, replacing the batteries and seeing whatever else it may need soon.

 

Nice. Finding an "analog" O-scope is about as elusive these days.

 

My friend that gave me the Simpson has an analog scope, so does another member of the cigar club. I would have thought those things are as rare as hens' teeth.

 

 

I use to use my old 630D Northern Electric analog meter from the old Bell days. They were rugged and worked great. Still have it. Not sure if it is similar to the Simpson?

 

It sure looks like it had the same Baby Daddy doesn't it?

 

We still use these Simpson 260 meters in aviation. When you're looking for dropouts, or flat spots, in potentiometers it's just easier to see it when you're using one of these large analog meters. Usually we have them set up on the engine, angled so that we can see them from the cockpit, as we manipulate the controls. The needle deflection is easier to see than if you used a fancy Fluke or something like that. Well, I find it easier anyway.

Every place I've ever worked kept these things around solely for this purpose alone. We've all tried using our fancy Fluke meters for these same things but everyone agrees that they just don't give you that obvious feedback that you're looking for. You end up questioning your DMM a bit and it's not worth the frustration.

 

Calling a Simpson 260 simply an "analog multimeter" is akin to calling a Hurst/Olds simply a "Cutlass".

I have both 260 and 270, and a FLUKE 77 digital VOM. I grab the FLUKE more often simply because I leave the batteries out of the Simpsons to avoid leakage and corrosion.

I still have and use my first analog VOM, bought at Radio Shack in late 70s.

There's also an RCA Voltohmyst that's a pleasure to use, but it's 120vac powered so isn't as convenient as a battery-powered unit. Designed for bench work.

I've accumulated all kinds of vintage electric/electronic test equipment over the years. The people who used and made their living with this stuff tended to take good care of it.

Sure, any Harbor Freight DVOM will function as well and be more accurate than my vintage stuff, but it will never have the same panache and swag.

 

Radio test sets we use now cost tens of thousands of dollars, plus tens of thousands more for the software. Nevermind that Uncle Scam never gets them calibrated.

 

I am thinking that I might just clean it up and put it on the bench. I might be able to buy a replacement front bezel which shows as cracked on the upper right corner. Otherwise, I don't think I want to get into completely rebuilding it as I no longer have a decent electronics workshop with all the tools, etc and would end up just getting frustrated if I did try. I put new batteries in it and the meter will not zero or read well. It could be something simple but you never know...

 

Same here except bought in the late 80s. Very durable as long as I remember to remove the batteries so they don't leak into the innards.

 

I prefer analog to digital and I have both. For some reason, watching the needle move seems to tell me more than a bunch of digital numbers on the screen.

Randy C.

 

“Not calibrated, reference only”😂

 

me too..I prefer a moving needle. the problem is old analogs like shown here are brutally inaccurate. you can take ten of these old ones and compare against a calibrated one and you’ll get ten different readings

then calibrate them..a month later they’ll all be off again. they are temp sensitive and don’t like any bumps. when I was working as an HVAC tech we were forced to give them up because they would never pass QC. they were the best of the best at the time but unreliable and inaccurate.

do you guys even know how to calibrate them? and I don’t mean just zeroing the needle