Oldest piece of working and still used test equipment ?

N

N_Cook

Guest
I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester, today. No
particular reason , just curious, as still in perfect working order.
Had to break a seal to get inside, never needed repair by me or previous
owners, just my adapting to 9V nicad use rather than pair of unobtainable
4.5V batteries.
Made in Austria , Norma Isolationmesser 667 001
Date inside is 15 December 1965, i thought it would be 1970s
Just disintegrated foam inside, compenentry like Siemens AD130, AC153 and
OC75 all fine. Whenever I check calibration with a 1G glass cased resistor
it is the same cal setting, no switch problems or anything else.


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/
 
N_Cook <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote:

I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester
[...]
Date inside is 15 December 1965,
Click to expand...
Not sure of the exact date, but my Solartron CO 546 Audio Sig. Gen. is
probably 10 years older than that - and is still used several times a
week. It was rescued from a skip in the 1980s. I cleaned it up and
replaced the valves as a precautionary measure and have recently had to
replace one electrolytic capacitor.

Also I use a BBC audio oscillator TS/10/404 and a pair of PPM/Measuring
Sets on a daily basis. All of those appear to date from the late 1950s
or early 1960s. They have not been quite as trouble-free as the
Solartron, but most of the problems have been caused by dirty contacts
on the attenuators and pre-set pots. In the 20 years I have owned
them, they have needed one replacement valve between the whole lot.

I don't know if you would count 316 plugs and jack strips, but some of
mine are pre-war.


--
~ Adrian Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk
 
"N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote in message
news:h8qu9s$buu$1@news.eternal-september.org...
I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester, today. No
particular reason , just curious, as still in perfect working order.
Had to break a seal to get inside, never needed repair by me or previous
owners, just my adapting to 9V nicad use rather than pair of unobtainable
4.5V batteries.
Made in Austria , Norma Isolationmesser 667 001
Date inside is 15 December 1965, i thought it would be 1970s
Just disintegrated foam inside, compenentry like Siemens AD130, AC153 and
OC75 all fine. Whenever I check calibration with a 1G glass cased resistor
it is the same cal setting, no switch problems or anything else.


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/



I have an AVO transistor analyser, the data book that's with it is dated May
Click to expand...
1960 but not sure of the actual manufacturing date. It doesn't get any use
because it needs 14 U10 sized cells which are Ł4.90 each from The Small
Battery company! I suppose I could make an adapter (well, 14 of them) to use
AA cells but I just haven't got around to it.
Lovely piece of kit, built like a tank and in remarkably good condition.
Martin
--
martin<dot here>whybrow<at here>ntlworld<dot here>com
 
We still use some General Radio Stuff at work. Not GenRad or followup.
And I have a 20m (steel) tape ruler still in use from about 1930, does
this count too? :)

Greetings from Germany
Metabastler
 
Still using a Bird 80AS1 20 watt dummy load. sn 18xx. I have no idea how
old it is. Copper box with Black crackle finish and old looking deacal on
top. It is listed on the Bird website as discontinued but a pdf scan of a
two page typewritten sheet is available. It just "looks" older than any of
my 60's Bird loads. I have used it for testing at up to 500 watts for brief
tune-ups, never more than warm to the touch, and is most useful because of
its size for portable operation.
 
Metabastler <Metabastler@tee-offline.de> wrote in message
news:h8rfqh$s0l$02$1@news.t-online.com...
We still use some General Radio Stuff at work. Not GenRad or followup.
And I have a 20m (steel) tape ruler still in use from about 1930, does
this count too? :)

Greetings from Germany
Metabastler
Click to expand...

I could not find a www pic of it, so here is one

I translated the centre terminal legend of
Kriechstrom-schutz to mean earth leakage protection, it is connected to
battery negative.
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/norma.jpg
foot/inch ruler included
shiny black finish reflecting the camera
Normal 90 degree centre pivot analogue meter so the only reason for the odd
shaped bezel must be for styling

As far as ancient hand tools are concerned, this set of parallel jaw pliers,
marked date of 1918 ,Bernards of Conneticut, number 9 on here
http://www.diversed.fsnet.co.uk/tools_m.jpg
i use about every day


ETA Tool Co, Leicester, coil winding machine approx 1920s, later than 1912
anyway
http://home.graffiti.net/syxygy:graffiti.net/eta1.jpg
I resucitated from totally seized up with rust from being in a leaky garden
shed for decades, used once a month or so.

--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/
 
"N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote in message
news:h8qu9s$buu$1@news.eternal-september.org...
I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester, today. No
particular reason , just curious, as still in perfect working order.
Had to break a seal to get inside, never needed repair by me or previous
owners, just my adapting to 9V nicad use rather than pair of unobtainable
4.5V batteries.
Made in Austria , Norma Isolationmesser 667 001
Date inside is 15 December 1965, i thought it would be 1970s
Just disintegrated foam inside, compenentry like Siemens AD130, AC153 and
OC75 all fine. Whenever I check calibration with a 1G glass cased resistor
it is the same cal setting, no switch problems or anything else.


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/
Click to expand...

Many if not most of us here have old multimeters - Simpsons and the like.

I have an RCA WV-38A multimeter with documentation from 1963, a Simpson 270
Series 2 from the same year, and an AVO from about 1968 IIRC, it's a model 9
Mark IV, (like an 8 Mark 3 but the international model). They all work
perfectly. The 270 and the AVO are pretty much accurate to within the width
of the meter needle.

I use these things on a nearly daily basis.

And of course there's lots and lots of old scopes out there, many of us use
them for less critical apps (monitoring for example) where high frequency
performance isn't critical.


Mark Z.
 
N_Cook wrote:
I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester, today. No
particular reason , just curious, as still in perfect working order.
Had to break a seal to get inside, never needed repair by me or previous
owners, just my adapting to 9V nicad use rather than pair of unobtainable
4.5V batteries.
Made in Austria , Norma Isolationmesser 667 001
Date inside is 15 December 1965, i thought it would be 1970s
Just disintegrated foam inside, compenentry like Siemens AD130, AC153 and
OC75 all fine. Whenever I check calibration with a 1G glass cased resistor
it is the same cal setting, no switch problems or anything else.


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/



Well,
Click to expand...

I still use my ears and eyes, the most useful metering devices I've
got, and they are from 1961, though I'm sure that there are some in use
that are older. Some people even still use biological computer and
storage devices (brains). <G>

I've also got a late 1950's or early 1960's vintage HP 400D AC-VTVM,
but I only use it a few times a year.

Regards,
Tim Schwartz
Bristol Electronics
 
Tim Schwartz <timhhk@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:4AB21C80.90301@verizon.net...
N_Cook wrote:
I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester, today.
No
particular reason , just curious, as still in perfect working order.
Had to break a seal to get inside, never needed repair by me or previous
owners, just my adapting to 9V nicad use rather than pair of
unobtainable
4.5V batteries.
Made in Austria , Norma Isolationmesser 667 001
Date inside is 15 December 1965, i thought it would be 1970s
Just disintegrated foam inside, compenentry like Siemens AD130, AC153
and
OC75 all fine. Whenever I check calibration with a 1G glass cased
resistor
it is the same cal setting, no switch problems or anything else.


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/



Well,

I still use my ears and eyes, the most useful metering devices I've
got, and they are from 1961, though I'm sure that there are some in use
that are older. Some people even still use biological computer and
storage devices (brains). <G

I've also got a late 1950's or early 1960's vintage HP 400D AC-VTVM,
but I only use it a few times a year.

Regards,
Tim Schwartz
Bristol Electronics
Click to expand...

One of the first pieces of test gear I use on first opening a piece of kit
for repair is nasal.
 
Tim Schwartz wrote:
that are older. Some people even still use biological computer and
storage devices (brains). <G
Click to expand...
The beauty of them is that as they fade out, you don't notice. :-(

I say to people "I have a photographic memory but I ran out of film about
10 years ago".

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm@mendelson.com N3OWJ/4X1GM
 
N_Cook wrote:
I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester, today. No
particular reason , just curious, as still in perfect working order.
Had to break a seal to get inside, never needed repair by me or previous
owners, just my adapting to 9V nicad use rather than pair of unobtainable
4.5V batteries.
Made in Austria , Norma Isolationmesser 667 001
Date inside is 15 December 1965, i thought it would be 1970s
Just disintegrated foam inside, compenentry like Siemens AD130, AC153 and
OC75 all fine. Whenever I check calibration with a 1G glass cased resistor
it is the same cal setting, no switch problems or anything else.
Click to expand...
Transistors? That's almost new equipment. I'll raise you a Boonton
Megacycle meter. Tubes, cloth-insulated wire and all that.

Then an electric drill from some time in the 20's, still works just fine
and being used.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.
 
On Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:55:05 +0100, "N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk>
wrote:

I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester, today. No
particular reason , just curious, as still in perfect working order.
Had to break a seal to get inside, never needed repair by me or previous
owners, just my adapting to 9V nicad use rather than pair of unobtainable
4.5V batteries.
Made in Austria , Norma Isolationmesser 667 001
Date inside is 15 December 1965, i thought it would be 1970s
Just disintegrated foam inside, compenentry like Siemens AD130, AC153 and
OC75 all fine. Whenever I check calibration with a 1G glass cased resistor
it is the same cal setting, no switch problems or anything else.
Click to expand...
How about a 1948 Tektronix 511ad oscilloscope.
All tubes with gold wiring. Here's a link for the ad.


po3bb5l0ajllth8pm3169bv5mcqmmep73v@4ax.com

search for Tektronix scope
 
In article <h8qu9s$buu$1@news.eternal-september.org>,
"N_Cook" <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote:

I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester, today. No
particular reason , just curious, as still in perfect working order.
Had to break a seal to get inside, never needed repair by me or previous
owners, just my adapting to 9V nicad use rather than pair of unobtainable
4.5V batteries.
Made in Austria , Norma Isolationmesser 667 001
Date inside is 15 December 1965, i thought it would be 1970s
Just disintegrated foam inside, compenentry like Siemens AD130, AC153 and
OC75 all fine. Whenever I check calibration with a 1G glass cased resistor
it is the same cal setting, no switch problems or anything else.
Click to expand...
I have a perfectly functioning Simpson 260; the date written inside the
meter is 1951; it sports hand-wrapped wirewound resistors in the range
switching circuitry. Still nicely calibrated, too, according to my
digital meter.

I found the meter, in pieces, in a trashcan at RCA Broadcast in the late
'60's when I was working there-- somebody had dropped it on the concrete
floor. I took it home and repaired the case and other cracks with epoxy.

Isaac
 
On Sep 19, 11:41 pm, isw <i...@witzend.com> wrote:
In article <h8qu9s$bu...@news.eternal-september.org>,

 "N_Cook" <dive...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester, today.. No
particular reason , just curious, as still in perfect working order.
Had to break a seal to get inside, never needed repair by me or previous
owners, just my adapting to 9V nicad use rather than pair of unobtainable
4.5V batteries.
Made in Austria , Norma Isolationmesser 667 001
Date inside is 15 December 1965, i thought it would be 1970s
Just disintegrated foam inside, compenentry like Siemens AD130, AC153 and
OC75 all fine. Whenever I check calibration with a 1G glass cased resistor
it is the same cal setting, no switch problems or anything else.

I have a perfectly functioning Simpson 260; the date written inside the
meter is 1951; it sports hand-wrapped wirewound resistors in the range
switching circuitry. Still nicely calibrated, too, according to my
digital meter.

I found the meter, in pieces, in a trashcan at RCA Broadcast in the late
'60's when I was working there-- somebody had dropped it on the concrete
floor. I took it home and repaired the case and other cracks with epoxy.

Isaac
Click to expand...
Where were you when I bought 40 BC-100 modules!

Well I have a General Radio Type 1432J Decade Resistor at arms length.
Also a Tektronix 570 tube tracer, Hickok 539c tube tester, Weston 733
tube tester....I'm sure I have something older....than me! I might add
this stuff rocks! They can try and peel it from my cold dead fingers.

TMI
 
TMI wrote:
On Sep 19, 11:41 pm, isw <i...@witzend.com> wrote:
In article <h8qu9s$bu...@news.eternal-september.org>,

"N_Cook" <dive...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester, today. No
particular reason , just curious, as still in perfect working order.
Had to break a seal to get inside, never needed repair by me or previous
owners, just my adapting to 9V nicad use rather than pair of unobtainable
4.5V batteries.
Made in Austria , Norma Isolationmesser 667 001
Date inside is 15 December 1965, i thought it would be 1970s
Just disintegrated foam inside, compenentry like Siemens AD130, AC153 and
OC75 all fine. Whenever I check calibration with a 1G glass cased resistor
it is the same cal setting, no switch problems or anything else.
I have a perfectly functioning Simpson 260; the date written inside the
meter is 1951; it sports hand-wrapped wirewound resistors in the range
switching circuitry. Still nicely calibrated, too, according to my
digital meter.

I found the meter, in pieces, in a trashcan at RCA Broadcast in the late
'60's when I was working there-- somebody had dropped it on the concrete
floor. I took it home and repaired the case and other cracks with epoxy.

Isaac

Where were you when I bought 40 BC-100 modules!

Well I have a General Radio Type 1432J Decade Resistor at arms length.
Also a Tektronix 570 tube tracer, Hickok 539c tube tester, Weston 733
tube tester....I'm sure I have something older....than me! I might add
this stuff rocks! They can try and peel it from my cold dead fingers.
Click to expand...
We've got one of these and it's a lot older than I am:

http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/3nfset.jpg

By the way, this was probably the world's first successful attempt at
building an integrated circuit, in the mid 20's. The tube has multiple
sections in there along with caps and resistors. So other than the
resonant circuit, the speaker and the batteries you didn't need anything
else to build a radio:

http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/3nfcct.gif

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.
 
Joerg <invalid@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:7hqj7pF2ue5boU1@mid.individual.net...
TMI wrote:
On Sep 19, 11:41 pm, isw <i...@witzend.com> wrote:
In article <h8qu9s$bu...@news.eternal-september.org>,

"N_Cook" <dive...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
I decided to break into my 1000V DC, 10 Gigohm insulation tester,
today. No
particular reason , just curious, as still in perfect working order.
Had to break a seal to get inside, never needed repair by me or
previous
owners, just my adapting to 9V nicad use rather than pair of
unobtainable
4.5V batteries.
Made in Austria , Norma Isolationmesser 667 001
Date inside is 15 December 1965, i thought it would be 1970s
Just disintegrated foam inside, compenentry like Siemens AD130, AC153
and
OC75 all fine. Whenever I check calibration with a 1G glass cased
resistor
it is the same cal setting, no switch problems or anything else.
I have a perfectly functioning Simpson 260; the date written inside the
meter is 1951; it sports hand-wrapped wirewound resistors in the range
switching circuitry. Still nicely calibrated, too, according to my
digital meter.

I found the meter, in pieces, in a trashcan at RCA Broadcast in the
late
'60's when I was working there-- somebody had dropped it on the
concrete
floor. I took it home and repaired the case and other cracks with
epoxy.

Isaac

Where were you when I bought 40 BC-100 modules!

Well I have a General Radio Type 1432J Decade Resistor at arms length.
Also a Tektronix 570 tube tracer, Hickok 539c tube tester, Weston 733
tube tester....I'm sure I have something older....than me! I might add
this stuff rocks! They can try and peel it from my cold dead fingers.


We've got one of these and it's a lot older than I am:

http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/3nfset.jpg

By the way, this was probably the world's first successful attempt at
building an integrated circuit, in the mid 20's. The tube has multiple
sections in there along with caps and resistors. So other than the
resonant circuit, the speaker and the batteries you didn't need anything
else to build a radio:

http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/3nfcct.gif

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.
Click to expand...

By how much do you have to de-rate Rs used in a vacuum ?


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/
 
N_Cook wrote:
Joerg <invalid@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:7hqj7pF2ue5boU1@mid.individual.net...
Click to expand...
[...]

By the way, this was probably the world's first successful attempt at
building an integrated circuit, in the mid 20's. The tube has multiple
sections in there along with caps and resistors. So other than the
resonant circuit, the speaker and the batteries you didn't need anything
else to build a radio:

http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/3nfcct.gif

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.


By how much do you have to de-rate Rs used in a vacuum ?
Click to expand...
Why do you want to derate in a vacuum?

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.
 
Kai-Martin Knaak wrote:
On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:26:34 -0700, Joerg wrote:

By how much do you have to de-rate Rs used in a vacuum ?


Why do you want to derate in a vacuum?

Vacuum lacks the cooling by rising air.
Click to expand...
Ah, ok, I thought he meant the resistance. Inside a tube you have to use
a resistor that is temperatur-insensitive. When I peek into the 3NF it
looks like they are encapsulated in glass.

Resistors are staunch parts. As a teenager I worked in a company that
made specialty electric gear. One of my jobs was to braze huge brake
resistor arrays for locomotives, the size of a closet. They could get
red-hot and still perform their job.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.
 
On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:26:34 -0700, Joerg wrote:

By how much do you have to de-rate Rs used in a vacuum ?


Why do you want to derate in a vacuum?
Click to expand...
Vacuum lacks the cooling by rising air.

---<(kaimartin)>---
--
Kai-Martin Knaak tel: +49-511-762-2895
Universität Hannover, Inst. fßr Quantenoptik fax: +49-511-762-2211
Welfengarten 1, 30167 Hannover http://www.iqo.uni-hannover.de
GPG key: http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?search=Knaak+kmk&op=get
 
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