triplett 630-pl rebuild

[Sparky_Freak]

i bought a vintage meter (triplett 630-pl) i tried to repair it but i too apart the switch and can't put it together properly    :rant:not sure wat to do first vintage multimeter paid $40 US for it pls help

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Can we get a picture of the back side of the switch?

Bob

[Sparky_Freak]

hi thanks for ur reply i updated my original post with pictures

[uncle_bob]

Hi

It's been a while since I've had my 630 apart, but I don't see anything obvious there in terms of the switch. I do see that a lot of work has been done on the meter over the years. What exactly is the problem?

Bob

[Sparky_Freak]

good day thanks again for ur help but it seems tat the mechanical switch it self is broken cause all the resistors are fine so think i should look for a cheap multimeter  for parts  but i fell inlove with this tool

[uncle_bob]

Hi

I'd bet that the switch is not the problem. It's a mechanical beast and you should be able to see it move / operate. Anything that is wrong with it is going to be pretty obvious.

I would start looking at all those wires that appear to have been added after the fact. They may be the problem.

Here's where to start:

As you (gently) shake the meter, the needle on the meter should move back and forth a bit. If it does not, it needs some work.

You need both a 1.5V battery *and* a 30V battery to get it all working. The 1.5V is a corner store item. The 30V battery may cost you as much as that meter did.

There are manuals for these on the web. Google will track them down. They have schematics that will show you what the meter had in it when it was new. From that you may be able to figure out what somebody did to the poor thing.

=====

All that said, you should be able to get a pretty good little DVM for what you paid for that VOM. I like old analog meters a lot. I do understand your desire to get that one working. I would be careful about putting a lot into it. If it's your only meter, (hate to say it) the DVM is likely to do more for you ...

In terms of what to shop for in a handheld DVM ... I have always been sold on Fluke. I will say that I have seen no-name meters that (for the money) do quite well. My only concern with a no-name is the next one I buy being anything at all like the last one I bought.

This is one example that I came across in about 30 seconds of research:

http://www.tequipment.net/ExtechEX420.asp?v=7231

No direct experience with it at all. It sure looks like a lot of bang for the buck. I'd bet there is a thread (and maybe a video) about it or something similar around here.


Bob

[Sparky_Freak]

thank you bob for ur help i will take all ur advise into consideration i don't think i want to spend any more money on the tripplet plus i own a fluke 115 dmm i love it once again thank u for ur time

[FlyingHacker]

Let me know if you need pics or more info.

I bought a 630 off ebay that ended up being trash (tons of leakage destroying precision resistors, and the glass broke in shipment so I actually got it refunded).

Mine is not of much use, but the switch is still together. I did get a nice model 631 combo VM/VTVM, and got that guy working great. I should post some pics.

Anyway, let me know if you need pics or something.

[Sparky_Freak]

i don t think i can fix it i think i am better off just cutting my loses and maybe when i am like 50 consider fixing it lol but thank u for ur help