@ frozenfrogz
I have a mains operated 240 volt Fluke 8050A I was using just a few days ago, and verify it's still doing its job properly etc and have never noticed any "gentle ’tick’ noise every couple of minutes"
I'll get it out later today to check for that, and reply back.
Edit: No 'tick' noise here, just a wee small transformer hum when held up close, and no relays that I can see inside.
What switch mode/s or conditions does it do the ticking business? Is yours a mains or battery operated type? If it's a battery type perhaps it's a charging/ switching sound? just guessing
Mine is surprisingly still up to spec on all ranges, but not sure if the RMS AC reading 'may' be a few volts off compared with other RMS meters.
Difficult to verify which meter is the spec winner when using slightly flat top 240 volt mains power as a reference/comparison.
I'll have to do it with a function gen and see how my meters really fare one day.
It’s mains only, no batteries inside, the 'tick' appears when it is plugged in. There is no difference in the different mode selections and whether the unit is powered on, or off.
I will take it apart in the next couple of days and patiently wait for the 'ticks' to appear and localize its origin.
I have scanned a write-up I did long ago that explains some hidden features of the 8060A. The illustrations aren't there, but there is sufficient text to explain them. I think these all work...there's always a possibility that the software was modified to eliminate these special features. I also scanned a summary of power up features which shows the ratio mode and the switch test - Useful for troubleshooting.
It’s mains only, no batteries inside, the 'tick' appears when it is plugged in. There is no difference in the different mode selections and whether the unit is powered on, or off.
Can't hear anything from any of mine. (My hearing is not the best, though.) Both battery and non-battery models use low-voltage power switching, so maybe something to do with the transformer.
Or.... GET OUT NOW!
Thanks Dr T, love those those old typewritten app notes
I have scanned a write-up I did long ago that explains some hidden features of the 8060A. The illustrations aren't there, but there is sufficient text to explain them. I think these all work...there's always a possibility that the software was modified to eliminate these special features. I also scanned a summary of power up features which shows the ratio mode and the switch test - Useful for troubleshooting.
Re 8050 Tick
I too don't hear anything on my 8050 (at 120VAC). I would suspect intermittent arcing in the AC supply components which are aggravated by the 240VAC typical European mains. The transformer might have a worn winding that arcs occasionally causing a tick. Check all input components and look for carbonized PCB areas. I've also known old electrolytic caps to tick, caused by arcing across the insulator, but that's less likely. If it's the transformer, you should be able to observe a glitch monitoring the secondary AC across the bridge. If the transformer is bad you're probably out of luck for fixing it.
Hi Drtaylor, one more question:
In the switch test diagnostic of the 8060A, the buttons each have a binary value when depressed, 8, 4, 2, and 1, respectively. The sum of the depressed buttons is displayed, so dB+REL displays a 5 for example. But these can sum together to higher than 9: in hexadecimal notation, you would still have just one digit, but it goes to 0xA, 0xB, etc.
The 8060A doesn't display "A" on the 7-segment display, it looks more like "o". Was this o symbol used for any actual purpose? It seems strange for its only purpose in life to be a diagnostic!
All the -guilty till proven innocent- electrolytic capacitors are Nichicon brand btw, they are the originals and look like they were installed last week!
The date code on your main IC is 0696 suggesting June 1996. So your 8060A isn't as old as some reported here with leaking capacitors. In Modemhead's blog, his main IC is date coded 8244 suggesting 1982 week 44.
So it is possible that as the 8060A was nearing year 2000 that Fluke starting using name brand capacitors like Nichicon.
Thanks Dr T, love those those old typewritten app notes
Hey Saturation (great handle), That document was actually written in a word processor that ran on a PDP11 minicomputer. It was printed on a shared dot-matrix printer that you had to walk to the IT department to pick up. I have forgotten the name of the software (maybe Word 11), but it was typical for the time. You had to embed control characters to do things like Bold, italic, change size, change font, etc. Definitely not WYSIWYG. But I wrote all the original text for the 8060 and 8062 on that word processor.
During my packing up I have found documents that include the original specifications write-up, a competitive analysis, an interesting (at least to me) document that was written to describe the new MAC IC. I recall I wrote this because there was an effort to simplify the MAC which would have cut out several features. Luckily that never happened. I'll attach that document since I have it here in my hand. I also found field sales manuals and a bunch of the original sales cut sheets. I'll post those as well. 8050 owners might enjoy the specs comparison in the 8050-8060 Sales Brochure. Early 80s tech at its finest!
I had to split up the 8050-8060 brochure to fit it under 1MB and still have it readable. PM me if you want a higher resolution file.
I remain amazed that there is so much interest in this old stuff.
Hi Drtaylor, one more question:
In the switch test diagnostic of the 8060A, the buttons each have a binary value when depressed, 8, 4, 2, and 1, respectively. The sum of the depressed buttons is displayed, so dB+REL displays a 5 for example. But these can sum together to higher than 9: in hexadecimal notation, you would still have just one digit, but it goes to 0xA, 0xB, etc.
The 8060A doesn't display "A" on the 7-segment display, it looks more like "o". Was this o symbol used for any actual purpose? It seems strange for its only purpose in life to be a diagnostic!
Sorry helius, the only purpose is to test the switches. It tests the elastomeric rubber switches and the digital poles on the main mechanical switch. So as far as a test goes, it cannot test all the poles of the Centralab switch, only the poles used by the MAC to set mode and A/D range. There was no attempt to use binary combined switches. I believe the 'o' represented an unsupported combination. Remember how small the code space was. I still consider it a miracle of embedded coding. The late great Tom Weismann (RIP dear friend) was the software engineer, and it was all written in 4-bit assembly! Tom and I bounced ideas back and forth how much we could cram in. I only regret we did not have room for more reference impedances like we did in the 8050 and the 8920. But we did cram a lot of stuff in there.
Re 8050 Tick – I too don't hear anything on my 8050 (at 120VAC).
Now, that I figured out where the sound comes from, I feel a little stupid. It turns out, the 8050A did not produce the 'tick'
-> It is coming from my SP-1010DR desoldering station!
Since I added the 8050A, I had to also add a multi-outlet power strip to have enough free sockets for the meter and some other gear. The 8050A sits right above the SP-1010DR, which was only plugged in when in use (I had to unplug some other device when desoldering, because of to few power outlets). Now with the power strip in place, all instruments are plugged in at the same time and I never suspected the SP-1010DR to be the culprit.
But anyway: Thank you for your suggestions. Hunting down what makes it tick will continue...
Also: Thank you for sharing the old documents. I really enjoy looking into special bonus information like this, plus the way the headlines and texts are set in these old brochures are very appealing
Ha, been there a few times, playing the 'what's that NEW noise?!' game..
oh well, at least you know for sure that the ticking doesn't mean time may be running out on the 8050
@
helius, thanks for the heads up, I was multitasking on a few fixits and forgot to peek under the shield before re-assembly. Will get onto it asap and add a couple more photos.
Forgot to add, I ever so gently isoprop cleaned the 8060A board contacts which mate with the 4 rubber buttons,
and a
slight dab on the small rubber strip on the display, and its board contacts.
I think the meter 'seems' a wee bit quicker or more responsive now (?!)
It still has killa specs on all ranges and easily keeps pace compared with it's cocky nephews 189 and 289
EDIT: added 'under the shield' pic to the photos above, there is an orange Nichicon cap residing there, and no capacitor issue
I remain amazed that there is so much interest in this old stuff.
Not at all. The specs of these meters are still competitive with the latest Flukes, 0.05% DC accuracy is better than most new meters on the market today.
The push-button design is interesting, reliability/confidence factor is top-notch. What more could you ask for in a multimeter?
I'd like to own one one day but they're fast turning into expensive collector's items.
Whoever scores those meters better bid on a roll of grey duct duck tape too,
the bottom row meters appear to be missing battery covers.
Honest straight up Ebayer >
"Untested / Offered AS-IS / Parts or Repair Only / Cosmetics As Pictured / Does Not Include Warranty,
WARRANTY - No Warranty / Offered ASIS / Returns Not Accepted" That Ebayer has loads of other cool stuff too
Whoever scores those meters better bid on a roll of grey duct duck tape too,
the bottom row meters appear to be missing battery covers.
Yeah, I noticed that. A couple of them have broken switches as well.
Honest straight up Ebayer > "Untested / Offered AS-IS / Parts or Repair Only / Cosmetics As Pictured / Does Not Include Warranty,
WARRANTY - No Warranty / Offered ASIS / Returns Not Accepted"
you won't be lacking in spare parts when you've got 35 of them to mix/match. I'm sure you could get 20+ good ones.
MUST. RESIST. THE. TEMPTATION.
MUST. RESIST. THE. TEMPTATION.
It's easy for
me to resist because it would cost a fortune to get them to my country and it I'd have to charge other people a fortune to send them back again.
I'll happily send some hypnotic brain waves your way though. Let's start with this:
They look to be in pretty good condition. Just those 12 are probably worth the asking price.
It's easy for me to resist because it would cost a fortune to get them to my country and it I'd have to charge other people a fortune to send them back again.
It's 115$ USD shipping to me...
I don't think I'm the right person to do this.
Nice collection, but $600, that's way too much...
1/4 of quantity for 1/4 of price would be much more interesting for me.
It's easy for me to resist because it would cost a fortune to get them to my country and it I'd have to charge other people a fortune to send them back again.
It's 115$ USD shipping to me...
Only $115?
Fine, it may not be that much considering the volume being shipped.
. Who would want one though? Are there enough takers here to take a risk on them? *listens*
I guess we could do a sort of 'kickstarter' here on EEVBLOG.
If I can get a few 'pledges' together in PMs and people Paypal me some money then I could buy that lot and divvy them up. Postage at cost (approx 13 Euros to Europe, 21 Euros to USA).
I suspect most people (eg. me) would want the 8060A and there's 12 of them that look in good condition they could work out around $40 each. After that the bench meters...and the rest. It could work out, make me an offer!
The real problem would be if they decide to sting me for import tax+charges. That could add $10 to every one of those meters and the math starts to break down.
I guess it's really best if somebody from the USA could do this. They can pay a mere $30 shipping (if they live in the right state) and there's zero risk of paying any import tax.
The real problem would be if they decide to sting me for import tax+charges. That could add $10 to every one of those meters and the math starts to break down.
I guess it's really best if somebody from the USA could do this. They can pay a mere $30 shipping (if they live in the right state) and there's zero risk of paying any import tax.
This is my worry as well. I don't mind doing this (as the shipping seems cheaper for me than to Fungus), but again I would need to see at least a bit of interest (than 2 members)
Hardly worth the trouble.
The only ones remotely interesting are the twelve 8060A and the 8062A, with no guarantee that they won't be DOA.
The rest will be near impossible to get rid of.
Rather buy a 8060A that has been refurbished and tested for less than 100$ on eBay, if you're after some measurement nostalgia.