Author Topic: "GREAT" Meter! The HP 419A DC Null Voltmeter, [RESTORATION]  (Read 10624 times)

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Offline ArthurDent

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Re: "GREAT" Meter! The HP 419A DC Null Voltmeter, [RESTORATION]
« Reply #25 on: May 22, 2020, 05:35:58 pm »
My HP 419A is basically unmodified except for the new batteries I put in some time ago. I bought four of the 5 cell AA NiCd battery packs on eBay designed for phone use and they fit in nicely and work well. Here is a Youtube link of the meter comparing two 10.00000 volt LTZ1000ACH references with the null meter set for 3uV full scale. Also added a photo of the replacement batteries in place.



 
 
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Offline kj7e

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Re: "GREAT" Meter! The HP 419A DC Null Voltmeter, [RESTORATION]
« Reply #26 on: May 08, 2021, 02:20:05 am »
Ill join the fun here;

 

Offline kj7e

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Re: "GREAT" Meter! The HP 419A DC Null Voltmeter, [RESTORATION]
« Reply #27 on: May 09, 2021, 12:46:39 pm »
Made a battery pack for mine using 20x 300ma 2/3 AAA NiCad's.  Found a bunch on eBay for cheep with tabs, total $15.  Center tapped it since the meter needs + and - 13v from the pack.  Fits great and works great.  The charger circuit provides about 10mA in trickle, about 18mA in fast charge mode.  The meter draws about 5mA in operation leaving 5Aa from the charger circuit to trickle charge.   With a bit of hot glue and some foam laying around it made a nice pack.  Lots of clearance with the AC fuse and well protected now.


The last problem to fix on mine, replacing the 1.35v mercury Buck supply battery.  After some testing I decided to use a CR123a lithium cell with a 2.7k series resistor to bring the battery back to within range and show proper full scale.  The current draw is about 650uA, so a 1.5Ah CR123a should run for well over 2000 hours.  Easy to find, cheep and good long life stability.  Holders are available, I'm going to try to mount this near the original mercury battery location.

« Last Edit: May 11, 2021, 11:15:08 am by kj7e »
 
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Offline kj7e

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Re: "GREAT" Meter! The HP 419A DC Null Voltmeter, [RESTORATION]
« Reply #28 on: May 12, 2021, 11:21:26 pm »
Replaced the buck supply battery with a 3v CR123a lithium cell, a 2.7k series resistor brought down the current to match the original 1.35v mercury cell.  At full lock, the meter will just peg at 300mv per the battery test in the manual. 


 
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Offline justanothername

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Re: "GREAT" Meter! The HP 419A DC Null Voltmeter, [RESTORATION]
« Reply #29 on: June 15, 2021, 07:40:26 pm »
Hi.
Just a quick story about my HP 419a. I bought it a week ago on ebay. Marked as defective because of leaked batteries.
That was true. Quite a mess. Most of the time went into cleaning everything up with gloves and so on.
I found replacement cells that fit with just minor adjustments to the plastic holder. They also have similar electrical specifications:

https://at.rs-online.com/web/p/knopfzellen-akkus/0525815

Instead of the mercury cell, I just used a sr44 cell, it has a flat discharge curve. I mounted it with a holder to a pcb and glued that in.
The drop to 1.35V, I did with a simple schottky diode. Seems to work.

https://at.rs-online.com/web/p/batteriehalter/6142330
https://at.rs-online.com/web/p/knopfzellen-batterien/0593423

After installing the new batteries, the meter worked instantly. As far as I can tell on all ranges.
M.
« Last Edit: June 15, 2021, 08:08:44 pm by justanothername »
 

Offline telliz

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Re: "GREAT" Meter! The HP 419A DC Null Voltmeter, [RESTORATION]
« Reply #30 on: August 06, 2021, 01:54:17 pm »
You asked me to take a look at the power. I didn't because the neon lights were on and their waveforms were perfect. Instead, I started disassembling the device to get at the additives he identified as problematic. During my disassembly, I checked for continuity and on tutorials of essayup.com to make sure I hadn't severed the connections. To my horror, I noticed that the now converted impartial battery percentage was no longer attached to the toolbox. Have you gotten away with this mistake correctly for years? It does not matter. The impartial attachment of the battery to the case stopped the vibrations.
 

Offline eti

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Re: "GREAT" Meter! The HP 419A DC Null Voltmeter, [RESTORATION]
« Reply #31 on: December 01, 2022, 08:01:01 am »
I found the comment about Paul Carlson “not understanding” neons, earlier in the thread, amusing and ridiculous in its assumption. Just because someone specialises in a certain electronic technology type, how on earth a stranger is able to ascertain that this is ALL they know about, is daft. If I’ve ever seen an expert of experts in electronics, it’s Mr Carlson.

Assumption is the mother of all %^%#%# as we know.
 

Offline Dave Wise

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Re: "GREAT" Meter! The HP 419A DC Null Voltmeter, [RESTORATION]
« Reply #32 on: December 08, 2022, 05:15:52 pm »
I have two 740B's.  Some years ago I built chopper modules using H11F1 photoFETs, but matching temperature coefficients is really tedious, so I decided to try a hybrid approach, with photocell modulator and photoFET demodulator.

I made a board which fits on the chopper module.  It should work on the 419 and 3420 as well as the 740 and 741.

PLEASE POST PICTURES OF THE 419A CHOPPER MODULE, showing the demod-side terminals.  Thanks.  I may need to modify the board layout.  Or just tell me.  True or false: the demod side has terminals in all four corners.

I will post a writeup soon, at topic "Hewlett Packard 740B DC Standard Digital Voltmeter (and 740A)".  It retrofits LEDs in place of neon, with several axes of adjustment for timing and light level so you can get the most out of your particular photocells.  It also retrofits photoFETs in place of the demodulator photocells.  Removing two photocells lets you pick the best parts for the modulator.

My 740B's yielded twelve good cells out of eighteen total.  The remaining six relax to high resistance too slowly to give adequate efficiency at the chopping rate.  This degradation in loop gain can cause slow response on sensitive ranges.  In some cases, large input signal makes the output drop to zero ("foldback") or even reverse.

I hope it's useful.

Dave Wise

(I find Carlson unwatchable; he trumpets falsehoods with narcissistic confidence.)
« Last Edit: December 08, 2022, 06:30:42 pm by Dave Wise »
 

Offline Dave Wise

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Re: "GREAT" Meter! The HP 419A DC Null Voltmeter, [RESTORATION]
« Reply #33 on: December 12, 2022, 10:42:57 pm »
All materials posted at topic, "Hewlett Packard 740B DC Standard Digital Voltmeter (and 740A)".
 


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