EEVblog #482 - Retro Iskra Multimeter Teardown

[bitwelder]

Digital electronics was bloody expensive in communist countries in 1980s.

I'm pretty sure it was.
Some time ago I watched the story of the Galaxija, the Yugoslavian Z80-based computer from a video of 29C3 meetings:
and as its wikipedia page reports:

In the early eighties, various laws in Yugoslavia prevented importing computers into the country. At the same time, even the cheapest computers available in the West were nearing average monthly salaries.

So from me full respect to the local engineers for what they could do with what was available.

[jantb]

Hi
"IRAN" for Inspect,Repair As Necessary!
And please do use it when its ok for the job at hand.
These displays sends out positve waves instead of the icecold LCD.

So from me full respect to the local engineers for what they could do with what was available.

Thanks for bringing things into the right perspective.
Anyone still remembering  the cold war ? or am i just an old.....   Grrrr..

Jan

[Azhar]

Don't take it apart please!

[virtual_m]

Yup this multimeter came from where i live. Iskra was a huge company that made everything from lighting fixtures to car alternators to angle grinders, phones, capacitors, multimeters, large industrial control systems etc.

They are still around today, but they are not doing anywhere as well as back then.

But please don't rip that thing apart, the stone age construction of the thing is a thing of beauty in its own way while also being in such good nick.

..and quality of their products was great... It's not unusual to find 30-40 years (or more) old electronic equipment made by Iskra that still works fine...

Dave, big  from Montenegro.
(btw Montenegro is also one of ex Yugoslavian republic)

[Hydrawerk]

Digimer 10 is still quite popular at my university. 

[Aleks]

I'm in my final under graduate studies in Electronics and Radio Engineering in Macedonia, and Iskra gear is very common in the electronics lab :-) Ranging from voltmeters, function generators, RLC bridges etc.. I'll try to post some pictures when I have the time to take them

[Hydrawerk]

A lovely BK2-6 Soviet voltmeter from the 1970s with a special mechanical-digital display. I am not sure how this works.
http://sfrolov.livejournal.com/128894.html

These are not nixie tubes.
Meanwhile in USA: http://www.hpmemory.org/wb_pages/wall_b_page_14b.htm