Car Boot Bargains

[The Philpott]

I think if i 'did' car boot sales i would very soon run out of space! Too much temptation.

What hooked me on avometers was seeing a leather case in a skip, in the pouring rain on Mersea Island. It was in a domestic setting so i knocked on the door and was told anything and everything was FOC. Having plundered several bits and pieces including bits of dexion and boxes of cable clips, i couldn't open the leather case for 2 days as it had swollen in the rain.. but eventually it revealed a universal avominor c/w a set of leads and a calibration certificate from 1962. It worked for a while before one of the strained hairsprings detached itself and refused to reattach... I then grafted a new movement in from an ebay bitzer and it came back to life, albeit with a new serial number!

[Sparks]

I have now full restored the relay.     I tried it on 50 Volts and 100 Volts, and it works fine.     Scraped the casing down to the bare metal, smoothed it down with wet & dry paper.   Primed with red oxide, and finally sprayed it with satin black.   Cleaned up all screw terminals and replaced case fixing bolts with new 6ba brass bolts.   Made and fitted new label
You wouldn't think it dates back to 1931
Bob

[Sparks]

I found this on the car boot sale this morning.   AVO Mk1.      The price was £75, but I pointed out there was no valve-holder panel.        Eventually, I got the price down to £40, and at that stage, asked if it worked.    "Don't know, pot luck" was the reply.     I said I may give £35 for it for spares, and was told no deal.    So I said I would think about it as I walked round town.   I had hardly got ten feet away, when they relented and I got it for £35.
When I got it home, I had a dreadful job getting it open and even managed to damage the case edges in doing so.      Once I looked inside, it was pretty obvious it is a write off.    The mA/V wire-wound pot is physically damaged beyond repair, and I don't suppose spares are available.  
The good news is that the meter movement is OK, so I have a spare for my working AVO Mk1.    Also, of greater importance to me is that the tapped heater transformer is OK and that must be a very expensive piece of kit.    The rest of it doesn't seem to be in too bad condition, and I am quite happy with the purchase!    
Bob

[kalee99]

Hi all,
I cannot remember the value of that pot' but I do remember its reverse log and as rare as hens teeth.
I had a new old stock one but put it into my tester as mine was starting to unravel & go noisy.
The new one came in a mixed lot of auction items many years ago. It was new & wrapped in brown waxed paper.
Someone on here my have or know wher to get one?
Paul.

[Sparks]

It is 90 Ohms, but I did not know it was reverse log and that complicates matters. I am not all that bothered, as I can use the meter as a source of AC from two Volts up to 40 Volts, and that in itself is useful. If a pot ever does turn up, I could just put it in! I really did badly damage the front panel rim getting it out. Never come across anything jammed together so tightly before!
Bob

[Sparks]

One of the other switches was badly damaged as well, so I decided to just utilize the components, and put away some specialised parts as spares for my working valve tester.     First of all, I removed the tapped heater transformer and tested it on its own.     Perfect condition, and it has tappings for the following voltages at quite high amps:    2 - 2.5 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7.5 - 10 - 13 -16 - 20 - 26 - 30 - 35 and 40.     Also a separate winding supplying 100V, tapped at 30.      I will use this as the basis of a stand-along AC power supply.     I am sure it will be very useful.      The other transformer has tappings at 12 - 60 - 75 -90 -100 -150 - 200 - 250, so that will be every useful as well.    
Bob