05-08-2011, 08:25 AM
A really nice find Alan, and bargain too! Even the meter on it's own was a steal at that price, but better still with the little box. Obviously home made to a good standard, perhaps by a field service engineer who had to buy his own kit, so wanted to protect it from the daily rigours of being in his toolkit. I recall some Multiminors being in a black soft plastic case (not very durable) along with the test leads, and others being in a hard leather tan case, rather like its big brother, the AVO8.
As to the wooden case, you might want to leave it alone, with its patina being testament to a hard working life, but if you wanted to freshen it up, rather than resort to using abrasives, you can get a product which Liberon makes known as ‘Libnet’ - a wax and polish remover, which gets rid of everyday grime. It will remove smoke stains, dirt and old wax without harming the original finish. It should not raise the grain or lift veneers and can be used on the most delicate of surfaces and can also be used to remove a build up of layers of wax, leaving the surface ready for re-finishing, and is approved by the Guild of Master Craftsmen. It can use on French polishes, varnish, lacquer and oil finishes, and is useful for cleaning old radio cabinets where it’s desired to not remove all of the lacquer, but just clean and preserve what’s there, without resorting to more drastic cleaning and stripping. You could then apply pastewax to give the box a nice sheen.
http://www.restexpress.co.uk/acatalog/Li...mover.html
Obviously if you don’t want to go to the expense of buying Libnet, turps on a lint-free cloth will probably clean it up nicely.
As to the test leads, I think they’re a goner, and given that you got such a bargain with the meter, maybe if you intend to use it regularly, it might be worth getting some new ones, but top of the range ones are eye-wateringly expensive, so I guess it would have to be Maplin, Rapid e-bay etc!
I only recall having seen the original black Multi-Minor of this particular model, which I've had since 1961 IIRC, and the lighter coloured MK4 that you have - I don't reall a MK2 or MK3. I think the term 'Multi-Minor' was used on a previous much older model by Avo - a 'squarish' rather than oblong meter.
I always liked the scale, which is nice and clear, but it's a pity that they didn't fit a cut-out to pretect the meter if inadvertently applied to the mains on the Ohms range, though I guess it was intended as a budget meter to be used with care. Mine is now over 50 years old, and because it was an expensive acquisition and my first bit of decent test gear, I've looked after it. I mentioned earlier, that when Multi-Minors were issued to BG service engineers at the company's expense, that they lasted about 3 months, leading to them being supreceded by a BG purpose designed 'numpty-proof' meter.
Enjoy the meter!
David
As to the wooden case, you might want to leave it alone, with its patina being testament to a hard working life, but if you wanted to freshen it up, rather than resort to using abrasives, you can get a product which Liberon makes known as ‘Libnet’ - a wax and polish remover, which gets rid of everyday grime. It will remove smoke stains, dirt and old wax without harming the original finish. It should not raise the grain or lift veneers and can be used on the most delicate of surfaces and can also be used to remove a build up of layers of wax, leaving the surface ready for re-finishing, and is approved by the Guild of Master Craftsmen. It can use on French polishes, varnish, lacquer and oil finishes, and is useful for cleaning old radio cabinets where it’s desired to not remove all of the lacquer, but just clean and preserve what’s there, without resorting to more drastic cleaning and stripping. You could then apply pastewax to give the box a nice sheen.
http://www.restexpress.co.uk/acatalog/Li...mover.html
Obviously if you don’t want to go to the expense of buying Libnet, turps on a lint-free cloth will probably clean it up nicely.
As to the test leads, I think they’re a goner, and given that you got such a bargain with the meter, maybe if you intend to use it regularly, it might be worth getting some new ones, but top of the range ones are eye-wateringly expensive, so I guess it would have to be Maplin, Rapid e-bay etc!
I only recall having seen the original black Multi-Minor of this particular model, which I've had since 1961 IIRC, and the lighter coloured MK4 that you have - I don't reall a MK2 or MK3. I think the term 'Multi-Minor' was used on a previous much older model by Avo - a 'squarish' rather than oblong meter.
I always liked the scale, which is nice and clear, but it's a pity that they didn't fit a cut-out to pretect the meter if inadvertently applied to the mains on the Ohms range, though I guess it was intended as a budget meter to be used with care. Mine is now over 50 years old, and because it was an expensive acquisition and my first bit of decent test gear, I've looked after it. I mentioned earlier, that when Multi-Minors were issued to BG service engineers at the company's expense, that they lasted about 3 months, leading to them being supreceded by a BG purpose designed 'numpty-proof' meter.
Enjoy the meter!
David
