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Forums » Tech and Talk » Technical » Ham Radio » Ooops, there goes my bargain DVM!
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« Happy 153rd Birthday, Nikola Tesla  

Ender3rd

join:2001-07-15
East Granby, CT
·Cox HSI

Ooops, there goes my bargain DVM!

Click for full size
Setting up for bench test
Click for full size
So far so good...
Click for full size
Meter = Fail
I had just replaced the big screen dropping resistor in my medium power AM rig, and was checking the plate voltage, the screen voltage, and the low voltage supply with 3 different meters. The yellow meter was a German made meter rated for 1000 VDC. It failed spectacularly when I advanced the variac up to my usual running voltage of 750 VDC. Looked like a book of matches lighting up inside! I paid 5 bucks for that meter (used) what a rip-off!

Ah well, it seems that you often do get what you pay for!



Rob W1AEX
--
My Jeep is not an SUV. Your SUV is not a Jeep.
permalink · 2009-06-28 14:25:59 · Print · Reply to this

accounting

join:2008-02-29
Columbus, OH

Re: Ooops, there goes my bargain DVM!

Ouch. Did you get your AM rig up and running though? Do you use the AM rig very often? Anyway, at least the volt meter that blew up was no more than five bucks.
permalink · 2009-06-28 14:42:44 · Reply to this

burner50
Pinlifter
Premium,VIP
join:2002-06-05
EN22wm		 My luck it would have happened to my fluke...
permalink · 2009-06-28 14:49:24 · Reply to this

Ender3rd

join:2001-07-15
East Granby, CT
·Cox HSI

Re: Ooops, there goes my bargain DVM!

Click for full size
It lives again...
Nah, the Fluke will hang in there. They're great meters!

Yes, the AM rig is completely restored and up and running once again. I've had a lot of fun with it on 160/75/40 meters the past couple of weeks. Amazingly, the very first contact I made with it, an SWL made an mp3 of some of the audio and emailed it to me. Doesn't sound too bad considering its age and the fact that the audio had no compression or limiting!

»members.cox.net/w1aex/V3.mp3

--
My Jeep is not an SUV. Your SUV is not a Jeep.
permalink · 2009-06-28 17:23:25 · Print · Reply to this

drjim
Premium,MVM
join:2000-06-13
Long Beach, CA
clubs:

Re: Ooops, there goes my bargain DVM!

That's your home-brew rig, isn't it?
permalink · 2009-06-28 21:04:57 · Reply to this

Ender3rd

join:2001-07-15
East Granby, CT
·Cox HSI

Re: Ooops, there goes my bargain DVM!

Click for full size
Thordarson CHT-300
That rig is actually an "evolved" Viking One. When the internal modulation transformer shorted, I stripped it down to a simple RF deck and replaced the 4D32 with three 6146B final tubes running at up to 750 VDC. I use a separate modulator deck built up with a pair of 811a's running at up to 1500 VDC into a Thordarson CHT-300 watt multi-match transformer.

The Viking used to reside in a 6 foot rack next to the homebrew transmitter, but it was really under-utilized in the basement. So, over the past month I rebuilt it into a smaller rack and moved it upstairs to the more frequently used station. My wife's only comment was, "Is that going to be staying there?"

Above is a picture of the modulation deck as it was being rebuilt.
--
My Jeep is not an SUV. Your SUV is not a Jeep.
permalink · 2009-06-28 21:31:45 · Print · Reply to this

drjim
Premium,MVM
join:2000-06-13
Long Beach, CA
clubs:

Re: Ooops, there goes my bargain DVM!

Cool! I thought the knobs and VFO dial had a familiar look to them.....
--
One man's Magic is another man's Engineering.
permalink · 2009-06-28 21:44:57 · Reply to this
SmokChsr
Who let the magic smoke out?
Premium
join:2006-03-17
Saint Augustine, FL
said by burner50 See Profile :

My luck it would have happened to my fluke...
I'd probably cry if I did that to my Fluke 8060A, Unfortunately I did do that to my Beckman a long time back. I was metering around 800VDC, and the reading kept getting lower. I pulled the meter probe back and it pulled an arc. I thought that was a bit odd so I had to try it again 2-3 times, each time it pulled an another arc. I then looked back at the meter and noticed a wisp of smoke come out. OOPS!!

Now days, if I'm going over 500V the HV probe comes out.
permalink · 2009-06-28 20:51:47 · Print · Reply to this

Eat Me

join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ		 That's just crazy. I was wondering why they're so cheap, and now I know why!
permalink · 2009-07-09 22:51:27 · Reply to this

Ender3rd

join:2001-07-15
East Granby, CT
·Cox HSI

Re: Ooops, there goes my bargain DVM!

Click for full size
The amazing FLUKE, errr... I mean FUKE DT-830B!
Very cheap indeed! The black meter shown on my bench (branded by GB Instruments) which is rated for 600 VDC appears to have nearly the same internal layout and components as the yellow meter (branded by Bosstek) which was "rated" for 1000 VDC. I have seen the same meter branded by a number of companies, so I suspect they are being stamped out somewhere in China and then re-branded. The funniest one is the FUKE DT-830B sold by some company named Hazari Products . Obviously, it would be easy to think at first glance that it is a FLUKE meter, but if you look closely, it is a FUKE. I'm sure the FLUKE Corporation loves that!
--
My Jeep is not an SUV. Your SUV is not a Jeep.
permalink · 2009-07-10 17:53:32 · Print · Reply to this

n1zuk
How About Them Raiders
Premium
join:2001-10-24
South Burlington, VT

Re: Ooops, there goes my bargain DVM!

I guess if it goes up in smoke, you can say, "What the Fuke??!!?...."
permalink · 2009-07-11 07:28:03 · Reply to this
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