And their famous 260 meter.
The video is AI generated which I sometimes find annoyingly repetitive, but one can always employ the 1.5X speed setting to mitigate that.

 

And their famous 260 meter.
The video is AI generated which I sometimes find annoyingly repetitive, but one can always employ the 1.5X speed setting to mitigate that.

I have a Simpson meter I got it from an old buddy that passed away just a couple years ago. He had a 270 for years and I would drool over it every time I saw it. great old meters when I first started electronics as a young 14 year old I tried to get one but at the time they were out of my price range. The 270 is in perfect working condition and sits on my shelf and never gets used. but I still love the meter with it's anti parallax mirror on the dial. I used one a few times it was dificult to get a zero with the non mirrored face of the older 260's they came out with a version 2 of the 260 with a mirror on the meter face and that was much better.

 

And their famous 260 meter.
The video is AI generated which I sometimes find annoyingly repetitive, but one can always employ the 1.5X speed setting to mitigate that.

The bigger problem isn't the repetiveness, it's the basic veracity of anything that is AI generated. How much of what it generated is actually true? How much of it is just good sounding hogwash? What, if anything has been done to vet what it generated?

 

That is my biggest issue with it as well. AI can get creative with facts, pictures, etc, depending on the real intentions of the creator of this content. In other words, the video may be created with teh intention of sharing the true history of the company or add / change facts to maximize their return on investment. You don't even know if the thumbnail has an accurate picture of the (supposedly) founder of the company.

 

That is my biggest issue with it as well. AI can get creative with facts, pictures, etc, depending on the real intentions of the creator of this content. In other words, the video may be created with teh intention of sharing the true history of the company or add / change facts to maximize their return on investment. You don't even know if the thumbnail has an accurate picture of the (supposedly) founder of the company.

From what I remember and I was around when Simpson had the best meters anywhere and did for many years. companies like fluke came along and did with digital meters what Simpson had done with analog meters, made them more accurate and more reliable. They also improved greatly the input impedance of their meters. the Simpson meters had a very high input impedance. I wanted one for many years but they were out of my price range by a country mile at the time. I have since acquired a Simpson 270 series meter. It's in perfect working order and sits on a shelf by my bench. Seldom ever gets pulled out to use but I still do sometimes.

 

The bigger problem isn't the repetiveness, it's the basic veracity of anything that is AI generated. How much of what it generated is actually true? How much of it is just good sounding hogwash? What, if anything has been done to vet what it generated?

Well said. Like many here I've recently been seeing more and more stuff like this dangled before my eyes. Once youtube gets ideas about your interests, this is what happens.

One can tell when it's AI generated voice too, by the mispronunciations, I saw one a few days ago about the demise of the British pub and the English speaking narrator said "layger" rather than "larga" for the word that is spelled "lager".

I also saw one that was almost identical to one I saw the week before, no doubt based on the same AI "analysis".

I watched that Simpson one too a few days ago, but it began to feel artificial so I stopped partway through, despite the fact I love such stories.

There's a lot of old genuine stuff out there if one is willing to dig through, a channel I stumbled upon a few weeks ago is called "Asianometry" and seems to be much better than most, at least it aligns with what I've read about Cray over the years.

 

Good to know that they are still in business.

 

Here's a gem, not just about 1974 but all filmed and interviewed in 1974, fascinating, no AI in sight.

 

In Britain we had our equivalent to Simpson, the legendary AVO meter. It was technically superb but big and heavy, not ideal for hobby or general use.

 

Britain was also the source of another popular name for an instrument that I grew up using quite frequently, namely Megger.
Still going strong today. !
Credit to Sydney Evershed & Ernest Vignoles.

 

There was also a German brand that I can’t remember the name.

 

Hello,

Could it be gossen metrawatt?
https://www.gossenmetrawatt.de/en/p...-and-handheld-calibrators/analog-multimeters/

Bertus

 

I still used them in some recently decommissioned gear.


I guess it's time to cleanup and rewire that analog meter panel into the current Solar energy management system.

I never liked their digital models.

 

 

The good old days, none of this nancy boy 1.1v battery nonsense...

 

Hello,

Could it be gossen metrawatt?
https://www.gossenmetrawatt.de/en/p...-and-handheld-calibrators/analog-multimeters/

Bertus

I faintly recall that the name started with a “G”, so it should be correct.

 

In Britain we had our equivalent to Simpson, the legendary AVO meter. It was technically superb but big and heavy, not ideal for hobby or general use.

View attachment 368724

The last AVO I acquired was an 8 like in the pic but a Mk5 which has 3kV terminals at the top and either side of the dial.

Years back when fixing CRO's for a hobby it became very useful for adjusting the EHT voltages as a few CRO's used 2+kV for the EHT. Highest I measured with it was 2750V in a Telequipment D83 CRO.
You were wise to only use AVO OEM leads in good condition for such high voltage and not probe for connection but use one of the AVO probe accessories like the alligator clip and the much desired hooked grabber that looks much like an oversize scope probe grabber tip.

Finding 15V batteries at a reasonable cost was always a challenge for these old MCM's so I made a stack of 5x LR44 button cells inside some sleeving with a length of copper tube so to match the length of a 15V dry cell.

Later AVO was acquired by Megger.

 

There's a lot of old genuine stuff out there if one is willing to dig through, a channel I stumbled upon a few weeks ago is called "Asianometry" and seems to be much better than most, at least it aligns with what I've read about Cray over the years.

I was going to mention Asianometry but forgot. Several of this channel's videos align with what I know about the past and current state of the industry. I consider it a reliable and entertaining channel.

 

The last AVO I acquired was an 8 like in the pic but a Mk5 which has 3kV terminals at the top and either side of the dial.

Years back when fixing CRO's for a hobby it became very useful for adjusting the EHT voltages as a few CRO's used 2+kV for the EHT. Highest I measured with it was 2750V in a Telequipment D83 CRO.
You were wise to only use AVO OEM leads in good condition for such high voltage and not probe for connection but use one of the AVO probe accessories like the alligator clip and the much desired hooked grabber that looks much like an oversize scope probe grabber tip.

Finding 15V batteries at a reasonable cost was always a challenge for these old MCM's so I made a stack of 5x LR44 button cells inside some sleeving with a length of copper tube so to match the length of a 15V dry cell.

Later AVO was acquired by Megger.

I recall that, in fact that was the one I used back in late 70's (hobby stuff) I forgot about those other terminals but I do recall those 15v batteries, wonder if they're still made.

 

I picked up this Simpson 260 from Kijiji for $35. It came with a 270 as well that was missing the movement.
When I was assessing what repairs it needed I found a date on the circuit board 10/59, the year I was born.
The 260 had a bad solder joint on the circuit board that caused the Ohm readings to be unstable. There are
star washer between the circuit board and the meter movement studs that needed a layer of corrosion
removed to make a good connection.
Its accurate and I use it occasionally. I always take the batteries out when not in use.