I use an old Weston iron vane AC ammeter and volt meter along with a variac on my mains supply on my bench.
Is there a way to damp the meter movement of the AC ammeter to keep it from slamming when applying a load, (switching off standby on a vacuum tube amp).
This is an iron vane movement not a D'Arsonval.
I was thinking maybe using diodes as any passive components would cause a shunt condition.
any thoughts?

thanks,

V in

 

back to back zeners can be used to clip AC peaks, but I dont know if you can find the needed 167 volt zeners.
someone with more knowledge will be along shortly.

edit: i see that you wanted to protect the ammeter and i focused on the volt meter.