Analog multimeters...... are the cheap-o's okay.....

[james_s]

I haven't owned an analog meter in many years. I would say there is not much point in most people owning one, but if you want one for the nostalgia factor you may as well look for a nice older one like classic Simpson. I haven't looked lately but not too long ago those could be had for a song because so few people want them anymore.

[BeBuLamar]

I haven't owned an analog meter in many years. I would say there is not much point in most people owning one, but if you want one for the nostalgia factor you may as well look for a nice older one like classic Simpson. I haven't looked lately but not too long ago those could be had for a song because so few people want them anymore.

Not for a song! They command quite high prices on Ebay.

[james_s]

I just had a look at sold examples of the Simpson 260 on ebay. They're more expensive than they used to be, but there are still quite a few decent looking ones that sold for <$50 and a few for <$25 so they are out there.

[BeBuLamar]

I already have a Simpson 260. Checking Ebay makes me tempted to get that Triplett 630 for $59.

[jonpaul]

Simpson: Many types and options, mirror scale and protection are préfet models, later versions have a 1x 2X switch at the bottom.

Triplett: Excellent and similar to Simpson, highly recommended.

BOTH: Beware of damaged movements (sticky needle) and corroded ohms batteries, many have been dropped the Bakelite cases split and chip.

The best are the later models, in carry cases.

have paid $10..35 at ham Fleas and $25..65 on epay.

VERY easy to break cases if shipped poorly packaged.

Jon

[jonpaul]

High voltage work can easily damage or kill any DVM.

We had jobs at 3, 12 and 55 kV.



The Analog meters may pin, but have no ICs to get static damage.

Jon

[Old Printer]

I bought a beautiful Simpson 260-7 for $25 on Craigslist plus a four hour round trip to pick it up. I just really wanted it, but rarely use it. Takes a lot of looking and eBay is a tough place to get a great deal.

[David Aurora]

I keep a cheapie on the bench for one thing that it always trumps my digital meters for- low mental bandwidth, non-detailed observations of things either going up or down. The main example being sitting on the output of the variac/dim bulb tester. I also have digital metering there, but almost never look at it. If I'm winding something up slowly or powering something up in an unknown state, THAT is the meter I'm watching because I don't want to be subconsciously interpreting numbers, I just want a fast, clear visual indicator of the voltage going one way or the other. And no, for my money a bar graph on a DMM isn't on the same level.

I also have a couple good analog bench meters that are ALWAYS in use for audio signal measurement (both have volts and decibels on the scales). DMM's just don't feel right for the task, again, it's a mental bandwidth thing. I want to see at a glance if I moved 3dB without doing maths (and again, dB readout on a DMM just ain't the same)

[Ed.Kloonk]

I keep a cheapie on the bench for one thing that it always trumps my digital meters for- low mental bandwidth, non-detailed observations of things either going up or down.

Digital kiddies will never understand. The posture of a row of needles can tell you so much.

[ataradov]

Digital kiddies will never understand. The posture of a row of needles can tell you so much.

Bar graphs exist, graphing multimeters exist.

[EPAIII]

I am sure our OP is totally confused by now. This is one of "those" questions.

I am going to throw in another fact. I have owned several DMMs. My first one is one of those probe shaped meters. The specs weren't great, but when I first saw it I just had to have one. I guess it was cute. Well, now it went belly up a couple of years ago and is simply not repairable. I wouldn't even know where to start looking for parts. And I'm sure I can get a new DMM for less.

My second DMM is a Simpson 461. It is a nice meter and I really liked it. But it also went belly up a few years ago. And while I am sure Simpson can provide a schematic and parts, it too would be difficult and probably not economical to repair. It's sitting on a shelf. I may open it up one day to see what can be done, but for now I bought a Flute and just moved on.

On the other hand, I have repaired several Simpson 260 analog meters. For the most part you don't need to go to the manufacturer for parts. Except for things like the main switch or the meter movement, generic parts are just fine. And Simpson DOES still have parts for these meters, even the ones that are decades old. Of course, this availability of parts does not apply to a meter, analog or digital, purchased at Harbor Freight, a home center, Radio Shack, etc. Their stuff is in the "throw away tin can" league.

So if longevity and being repairable are considerations, then I think that analog is at least a bit ahead.

[SmallCog]

I just find a needle easier to see some transient states/conditions.

The sorts of things that can be difficult to catch on a digital meter, especially if it is around the change of range

Given I’m just looking for a change, not a precise number, a cheap meter is fine.

The one I use at work is an old Avo that I pulled out of a bin, the one at home is off eBay.

These aren’t tools I use regularly, and they’re tools I can live without (eg doing field repairs) but they are useful in their own way.

[rsjsouza]

(..)
But it seems like my only options are the really old Simpson one (a VOM?), and seriously vintage stuff or really cheap looking stuff.

Is there any reason I shouldn't get one of the $10 ones? I figure this is maybe for checking some zener diodes and resistance every now and then, nothing serious and definitely no high voltage or AC measurement beyond a couple volts peak to peak.
(...)

Simpson still makes the 260, but it's not cheap. I watch Craigslist for a variety of things and see older good quality analog meters show up for good prices. I have a thing for quality tools, and if patient, I usually find an excellent deal on good quality gear.

I can't stress this enough. If you are looking for an analog, the new stuff is just so badly built that it is quite difficult to swallow. The used way (especially in local trade sites) is the best venue to pursue.

If you are looking new, the reputable brands are still quite good. For example, Sanwa is a great brand - their YX-360TRF and YX-361TR are evolutions of their classic old YX-360TR and still great meters that should last quite some time. Their product line has even some others quite interesting. However, they are not really cheap.

Good luck in your search!

P.S. I won't dive into the whole analog/digital discussion. This is debated to death in all electronics forums since the dawn of the internet.

[Ed.Kloonk]

P.S. I won't dive into the whole analog/digital discussion. This is debated to death in all electronics forums since the dawn of the internet.

You're no fun!

 

[MarkKn]

I have been wondering how many digits of accuracy one could say about an analogue meter? Even one of those simpson ones with a mirror behind the needle for accuracy. As a kid I had a 20,000 ohms per volt cheap one, and I imagine my 4.5 digit meters are a huge step up.

[Kleinstein]

The accuracy / linearity specs of the analog meter movements is usually in the 1-3% range. The specs are usually proportional to full scale error, though some of the actual error is more proportional to the actual reading.  So the specs tend to be a bit pessimistic at the lower end of the range, but the accuracy can still be pretty poor there. So this is something like 2 digits equivalent accuracy. However with a reasonable large movements one can still resolve (see if the needle moves) a little better. Many analog meters also had 1:3:10 or even 1:2:5 ranges at least for voltage, but rarely for the current.

This is for DC voltage readings. AC has additional errors, often quite a bit, especially at the lower end. The nonlinear part can drift with temperature and age (Ge diodes).
The resistor ranges often have a very nonlinear more log like scale with some 2-3 decades for the full scale. So 1% error in the deflection can translate to some 5% of the resistance.

The input impedance can be anoying for the lower voltage ranges. It is less of a problem and sometimes even better for the higher voltage. For the 1000 V range the 20Kohm/V gives 20 M. 

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

I agree that the inexpensive new analog multimeters are not very good at all.
The main consideration an any multimeter is the input impedance. Low input impedance will not give good results with low volts and will "load down" a circuit.
In general digital multimeters have much higher input impedance than analog. There are exceptions, there are analog multimeters that have FET inputs. These are kind of halfway things.
On any Darsonval Movement the best you can do is get three digits. So with an analog meter you are stuck with that. Also the analog meter works best at midpoint. Just a property of this meter.
IN general the digital meters are much more accurate and probably easier for people to use. In general analog meters will not measure low ohms well and not measure anything at all below 1 ohm.
They are also not good at below one volt, again,in general.
I have several analog and digital meters.
For Fun look at this: A pretty nice "analog meter"

http://www.nj7p.org/Manuals/PDFs/Military/TO%2033A1-12-933-11%201-May-87%20K4XL.pdf

[Vtile]

On previous post do contain many statements that could be proven to be wrong.
Eg. Taken a analog meter that measures resistance (and only resistance) down to 0.001 ohms with resolution in four digits with guaranteed (basic) accuracy of 0.15%+0.01ohms.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/ln-test-set-5430-am/

 

[EEVblog_Fan]

 According to Dave's blogs, he recommends to buy high quality meters (maybe Fluke?)because they are safe to use in measuring High Voltages and Currents, meaning theyare made with safety in mind!  If ya gonna  buy cheap ones, dont use them for measuringHigh Power Outputs! or else prepare to die.

[SmallCog]

Today I scored a Dick Smith Electronics DSE Q-1000 analogue meter out of a dumpster, it will most likely replace the eBay one I have at home.

Seemed serendipitous given this topic

The 1000 presumably relates to its 1000V DC rating, which I'm considering (carefully) testing just for fun if I can find some suitably small banana plugs (no leads in the dumpster)

Whilst I have no fear of whacking 1000V into this thing under controlled conditions, I'd obviously only use it for non hazardous voltages!

[Kleinstein]

On previous post do contain many statements that could be proven to be wrong.
Eg. Taken a analog meter that measures resistance (and only resistance) down to 0.001 ohms with resolution in four digits with guaranteed (basic) accuracy of 0.15%+0.01ohms.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/ln-test-set-5430-am/

 

That meter is more like a resistor bridge with analog indication of the residual deviation. So most of the resolution is digital from the switches. One could consider this an in between of a digital and analog meter.

Most of the handheld meters are also not really suitable to mesure below 1 ohm, though they may resolve 0.1 ohm - this is just a limitation of a 2 wire measurement. My older Russian made analog meter has  a low ohms range with the smallest tick at 1 ohm. Such ranges are not that uncommon, though likely not found with the very cheap ones.
For DC there is not real problem with low voltages. For the current ranges they need resonable sensitivity (e.g. 100 mV range). There were even speciallized analog meters that were sensitive enough to read thermocouples (e.g. 1 or 10 mV full scale) without amplification.
There is usually a problem with low voltage AC - this can be quite limited. Some also leave out AC current because of this.

The  Dick Smith Electronics DSE Q-1000 looks like one of the more cheaper ones with rather limited ranges. In parts this is more like a cost thing to keep the switch positions small, not a common limitation.