Fluke 45 DMM parts on last time buy

[JW]

Just a heads up on this DMM. I was ordering a new VFD tube for a repair on
a Fluke 45, Fluke stated to me that parts for this unit were on a last
time buy. If you have a dim display, you might want to buy a spare before
they're all gone. Part was $36 and change. Well worth the cost to keep
these running.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

Running a magnet over the front of the tube

I can understand running the heaters at a higher voltage to increase their
emission, but what effect would a magnet have?

 

[KR]

On Jun 9, 7:33 pm, JW <n...@dev.null> wrote:

Just a heads up on this DMM. I was ordering a new VFD tube for a repair on
a Fluke 45, Fluke stated to me that parts for this unit were on a last
time buy. If you have a dim display, you might want to buy a spare before
they're all gone. Part was $36 and change. Well worth the cost to keep
these running.

While it is is preferable in this case to just spend the $36 and
replace the tube,
out if interest, there are 2 things that you can try with VFD's, if
you can't get a replacement tube

Running a magnet over the front of the tube

Disconnecting the tube and putting a higher than the normal heater
voltage (50% more from memory) across the heater filament (usually the
heater is connected to the pins at the ends of the VFD tube) to heat
them to a little over a dull red colour for a few seconds (you then
connect back to the normal heater supply) can restore brightness for
some extra life.