07-03-2016, 09:46 PM
That's a neat job, David 
One day I'll set myself up with PCB facilities. I've certainly made them in the past, and I really enjoy the design/layout part of the process. But I don't mind Veroboard for simple one-offs - I'm used to its limitations, and spend a lot of time at the planning stage to get the layouts neat. But a PCB usually results in more compact constructions, and usually looks a lot nicer. Swings and roundabouts!
The multimeter collection is a bit out of hand. It peaked shortly after I made myself stop buying radios!
For years and years, I used an old Advance Alpha, which was only 3 digits. I still have it and one day I might photograph it and post a few details on-line, as there seems to be nothing about them available currently.
After that, I bought a unit from CPC - brand unknown - it seemed amazing at the time, being 3.75 digits and autoranging. It cost £30, which seemed like a lot to me at the time - money was extremely tight back then. It got a lot of use - indeed, I bought a couple for the workshop at work, and they were reasonably well received.
But a few years later, with a significant birthday looming, I decided to finally buy myself a Fluke. I'd used them at work for about 10 years at this point, but never owned one. What sealed it was an email from Rapid Electronics, offering "final column pricing" on anything I wanted to buy within a certain time-frame. Finally, a Fluke would be mine!
I looked at the 175 - which was at the bottom of the range, but would have been absolutely fine. But then I noticed that the 179 had a thermometer, plus a display backlight. And it's only an extra £whatever, so I might as well go for that...
Anyway, this process repeated and repeated, and before I knew it, I'd ordered the top of the range 189! I forget the price, but it would have been £300 or more. But, it's had a lot of use, and it still works perfectly, as seen in one of those photos. The only downside is the battery life.
The real shocker was just how inaccurate the no-name CPC meter was when compared to the Fluke. It was wildly wrong on several ranges, but no idea why - it had been looked after and never abused. Scary...
For years, that was fine. I picked up a vintage Philips PM2518X that was a bit kinder on batteries, and between these two, I was able to do most things. The Fluke was used whenever accuracy was required - also it was excellent for audio work as it has a 100kHz AC bandwidth and does dBm measurements. I used to take it to work several times a year because we didn't have anything good enough there. Overall, it has been a really great buy.
However, I started watching the EEVBlog videos. Not everyone is a fan of Dave Jones, but he talks a lot of sense, and he likes his test gear! And I found myself watching eBay for used Flukes at good prices - they are few and far between, but occasionally you get a bargain. For example, my 87V was £150 BIN - normally half-decent ones go for £200+, and the mint examples fetch £300 or more. The one I found was brand new and was the E2 combo kit that came with the nice case and some accessories. I sat watching it for about an hour - hoping someone else would buy it - but in the end I couldn't help myself! Check out the retail price: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/multimeter-kits/0237160/
Another example - a nice Fluke 45 bench meter for £70. These go for 2 to 3 times that amount, sometimes more. My Keithley cost a bit more, but not as much as you might think. Basically, a seller had obviously cleared out a big lab, and flooded the market with them - they probably sold 50 or more - so the prices were relatively weak. The early-birds got the best bargains - brand new in boxes and free postage. Mine was the same price, but it has been used, and postage was extra. Even so, I'm not complaining!
When I buy a new meter (or any other test gear), it has to be a bargain. I look for auctions that finish mid-afternoon on weekdays, or listings that are poorly done. I avoid the dog-fights and jump in at the last 10 seconds with what it's actually worth to me. And I try to buy things that I will actually use - which isn't as obvious a thing to say as you might think!
2 or 3 meters is easy to justify, and I frequently find myself using that many at once. Then you're in a zone where it's sort-of acceptable, because different instruments for different tasks, etc. But beyond that, it's an obsession - check this image: http://s185.photobucket.com/user/excavat...2.jpg.html
Luckily, I'm nowhere near that extreme, but I definitely need to slim down. Some of mine are regarded as "part of the collection", so aren't used in anger but are nice to own. But most of them have to earn their living.
That's just multimeters. I really need to slim down all aspects of my test gear collection, and am planning to make an effort this year
One day I'll set myself up with PCB facilities. I've certainly made them in the past, and I really enjoy the design/layout part of the process. But I don't mind Veroboard for simple one-offs - I'm used to its limitations, and spend a lot of time at the planning stage to get the layouts neat. But a PCB usually results in more compact constructions, and usually looks a lot nicer. Swings and roundabouts!
The multimeter collection is a bit out of hand. It peaked shortly after I made myself stop buying radios!
For years and years, I used an old Advance Alpha, which was only 3 digits. I still have it and one day I might photograph it and post a few details on-line, as there seems to be nothing about them available currently.
After that, I bought a unit from CPC - brand unknown - it seemed amazing at the time, being 3.75 digits and autoranging. It cost £30, which seemed like a lot to me at the time - money was extremely tight back then. It got a lot of use - indeed, I bought a couple for the workshop at work, and they were reasonably well received.
But a few years later, with a significant birthday looming, I decided to finally buy myself a Fluke. I'd used them at work for about 10 years at this point, but never owned one. What sealed it was an email from Rapid Electronics, offering "final column pricing" on anything I wanted to buy within a certain time-frame. Finally, a Fluke would be mine!
I looked at the 175 - which was at the bottom of the range, but would have been absolutely fine. But then I noticed that the 179 had a thermometer, plus a display backlight. And it's only an extra £whatever, so I might as well go for that...
Anyway, this process repeated and repeated, and before I knew it, I'd ordered the top of the range 189! I forget the price, but it would have been £300 or more. But, it's had a lot of use, and it still works perfectly, as seen in one of those photos. The only downside is the battery life.
The real shocker was just how inaccurate the no-name CPC meter was when compared to the Fluke. It was wildly wrong on several ranges, but no idea why - it had been looked after and never abused. Scary...
For years, that was fine. I picked up a vintage Philips PM2518X that was a bit kinder on batteries, and between these two, I was able to do most things. The Fluke was used whenever accuracy was required - also it was excellent for audio work as it has a 100kHz AC bandwidth and does dBm measurements. I used to take it to work several times a year because we didn't have anything good enough there. Overall, it has been a really great buy.
However, I started watching the EEVBlog videos. Not everyone is a fan of Dave Jones, but he talks a lot of sense, and he likes his test gear! And I found myself watching eBay for used Flukes at good prices - they are few and far between, but occasionally you get a bargain. For example, my 87V was £150 BIN - normally half-decent ones go for £200+, and the mint examples fetch £300 or more. The one I found was brand new and was the E2 combo kit that came with the nice case and some accessories. I sat watching it for about an hour - hoping someone else would buy it - but in the end I couldn't help myself! Check out the retail price: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/multimeter-kits/0237160/
Another example - a nice Fluke 45 bench meter for £70. These go for 2 to 3 times that amount, sometimes more. My Keithley cost a bit more, but not as much as you might think. Basically, a seller had obviously cleared out a big lab, and flooded the market with them - they probably sold 50 or more - so the prices were relatively weak. The early-birds got the best bargains - brand new in boxes and free postage. Mine was the same price, but it has been used, and postage was extra. Even so, I'm not complaining!
When I buy a new meter (or any other test gear), it has to be a bargain. I look for auctions that finish mid-afternoon on weekdays, or listings that are poorly done. I avoid the dog-fights and jump in at the last 10 seconds with what it's actually worth to me. And I try to buy things that I will actually use - which isn't as obvious a thing to say as you might think!
2 or 3 meters is easy to justify, and I frequently find myself using that many at once. Then you're in a zone where it's sort-of acceptable, because different instruments for different tasks, etc. But beyond that, it's an obsession - check this image: http://s185.photobucket.com/user/excavat...2.jpg.html
Luckily, I'm nowhere near that extreme, but I definitely need to slim down. Some of mine are regarded as "part of the collection", so aren't used in anger but are nice to own. But most of them have to earn their living.
That's just multimeters. I really need to slim down all aspects of my test gear collection, and am planning to make an effort this year
