Old Fluke Multimeters

[drtaylor]

Hi YashEE,

The resistor originally was a carbon composition that has really good protection properties, but otherwise a poor performer. Metal oxide resistors might not be as safe in this application. Carbon Comp (not to be confused with carbon film) resistors are still manufactured by Ohmite and probably a few others.

The 430V Axial leaded varistors are no longer available. I suggest getting 10mm disc types and squeezing them in. Any voltage rating from 380 to 430 should work as long as you replace all of them so that they match.

[YashEE]

Thank you drtaylor for re-posting your cogent pointers here (I was asked to delete my duplicate post on the 8060A topic)

Cheers,
Ya.

Hi YashEE,

The resistor originally was a carbon composition that has really good protection properties, but otherwise a poor performer. Metal oxide resistors might not be as safe in this application. Carbon Comp (not to be confused with carbon film) resistors are still manufactured by Ohmite and probably a few others.

The 430V Axial leaded varistors are no longer available. I suggest getting 10mm disc types and squeezing them in. Any voltage rating from 380 to 430 should work as long as you replace all of them so that they match.

[wiss]

Got my 8062 

28:50 € shipped from Austria, picked it up about 18:00 today, now its slightly passed 20:00.

Some external cleaning with soap.
Cleaning of the MCU-connector with IPA.
Tried to pull out the LCD but it was rather not wanting to give away, but after that the LCD worked properly again!

[retiredcaps]

Tried to pull out the LCD but it was rather not wanting to give away, but after that the LCD worked properly again!

If those caps are the originals, change them now because they will leak.  The caps look like they were made 1985 month 5?

[wiss]

Tried to pull out the LCD but it was rather not wanting to give away, but after that the LCD worked properly again!

If those caps are the originals, change them now because they will leak.  The caps look like they were made 1985 month 5?

It looks very clean now, but it's on the todo-list (I have the ordering-numbers for caps that fit)

A few weeks ago, at work, I repaired a 8060 at which had 5 or 6 caps vomit over the board (ugly!). Those (that barfed) were darker in colour than these, some of the still intact caps were the same colour as in mine, are the light-blue ones better than the dark blue ones?

That 8060 is from -81 or -82, it has more caps than listed in the manual one can download, does anyone have scans of manuals for the older versions?
My 8062 is older than what is covered by the web-manual also.

[retiredcaps]

My 8062 is older than what is covered by the web-manual also.

I have a hard copy IBM manual that is dated Feb 1982.  If you need a scan, I can do it over the weekend.

I found a 8062A pdf manual that is dated March 1982.

http://exodus.poly.edu/~kurt/manuals/manuals/Fluke/FLUKE%208062A%20Instruction.pdf

[IconicPCB]

I am looking for an 8050A transformer for Australian conditions.
( what seemed like a bargain ebay new old stock is turning into a nightmare)

[drtaylor]

I have a limited number of original 8060A Manuals (~10) that I will part with for the cost of postage, packaging materials, and gas. These have full schematics and troubleshooting guides.  I'd be happy to sign them if you want me to. Please send requests privately.

[wiss]

I have a limited number of original 8060A Manuals (~10) that I will part with for the cost of postage, packaging materials, and gas. These have full schematics and troubleshooting guides.  I'd be happy to sign them if you want me to. Please send requests privately.

Wow! Me! Me!

[xwarp]

Hey Dr. Taylor,

Did you happen to see my previous post?

[idpromnut]

*nudge* Just wanted to see if Dave Taylor has msg'd anyone else since Oct 3rd, I haven't heard anything from him in PM nor here… hope all is OK!

[PedroDaGr8]

*nudge* Just wanted to see if Dave Taylor has msg'd anyone else since Oct 3rd, I haven't heard anything from him in PM nor here… hope all is OK!

he was last active Nov. 13 according to his profile.

[radhaz]

Here's how I cleaned several of mine.

[PeteJE]

So excited to have two of these on the way to me:

1 - a completely reconditioned (cleaned all around, re-caped, tested for cal) 8060A (paid $120)
2 - a working, original (not reconditioned) ibm blue 8060AA (ebay win at $60)

They are perfect for my diy audio building (I used to use one when I worked in recording studios during more analog days).  Only need the one, but couldn't resist picking up the AA model when it came up on ebay - this thread is directly responsible, lol.

[PeteJE]

Here's how I cleaned several of mine.

What cleaning solution did you use, would be safe?

[radhaz]

I used LusterClean. All the metal parts came out shiny, and all the switches now work perfectly. These were meters my company used for calibration of products, and were quite dirty. I also re-soldered the banana jacks, as they all had cracked solder.
I may resubmit one to the cal lab to see if they will calibrate it. They had rejected these meters as malfunctioning.

[kwochele]

Hi,

Hopefully I am going about this post correctly, if not I plead newbie status.

I have been caught up collecting, repairing, and cleaning vintage Fluke meters.  I am currently working on a Fluke 8060A/AA IBM meter.  The capacitors have been replaced, the circuit board cleaned, the display connections cleaned and I even changed the processor.

It seems to work fine for the functions checked, except for reading a DC voltage.   When it sits next to another 8060 it will read the exact same voltage but only after r a few seconds.   In my setup, I have two 8060s connected to a D cell battery.  When I turn both 8060s on they go through the self test.  One 8060 will almost immediately read 1.5620 volts while the one I am working on jumps around a bit then settles at a voltage slightly higher or lower than 1.5620 (-1.5616 to 1.5635) then after a couple of seconds (approx 5 seconds) the meter will read 1.5620.  I can watch the last two digits increment or decrements by one during that time until it reads 1.5620 +/-.0001.   Cycling power the meter settles to 1.5620 faster unless it is off for a length of time.   Swapping the leads produces the same symptom, that is after a few seconds it will read -1.5619 volts.

Any suggestions of what to check are appreciated.

Thank you.  Ken

[TerraHertz]

What a great thread! But kind of worrying - it started in Oct 2013, runs to 13 pages, and drtaylor's last post was in Oct 2014 (on my birthday!), and yet I can't recall ever seeing this thread before just now. Conclusion: I must be getting Alzheimer's, as it doesn't seem possible I could have kept missing it every visit, for a year.

Anyway, here's my small collection of Fluke meters. Some a little out of cal on DC V apparently.
Now to PM drtaylor about one of those manuals. Hopefully he's OK.

How sad! He designed some beautiful instruments, that sold many tens of thousands, enjoyed by engineers and techs worldwide, made Fluke millions probably, but because of that 'engineers have their (lowly) place' thing, he's not wealthy and still has to work. Never got that yacht unlike the probably useless salesman, and now apparently doesn't even have his own nice big, secure workshop. If having boxes of his memento stuff subjected to wifely toss-out predations is anything to judge by.

Life is not fair.

Edit: Now I just have to get an 8060A. No choice.

[Excavatoree]

Nice old 77 with the unfused 10A range, and 73 with only the 10 A range.  (You need an older 21 with only the low current range to go with it.)

My boss at the electronic shop had a 77 like that one.  It was the first Fluke I had seen.

[retiredcaps]

Any suggestions of what to check are appreciated.

Obviously, drtaylor and others are the experts here, but I have some suggestions to at least get the discussion started?

1) When I repaired my 8060A, ACV was way off.  It turned out that the capacitor right next to the pot had leaked and while I cleaned up the pcb with IPA and replaced the capacitor, the electrolyte had wicked its way up to the ACV pot.  A couple of turns left and right fixed that problem.  Maybe give your DCV pots a couple of turns left and right?
2) I don't have a lot of equipment with the push button/switch arrangement, but from what I have read, if they are 20+ years old, they can potentially affect readings and require cleaning.
3) Does the last digit fluctation happen if you use the 20V range?  You lose a digit of resolution, but I'm curious if it happens on the 20V range.
4) Have you checked the soldering on the input jacks?  Have you tried cleaning them with a q-tip and IPA?

[idpromnut]

Now to PM drtaylor about one of those manuals. Hopefully he's OK.

I had PM'd him a while back about getting a manual (I apparently was the first to take him up on his offer) but I never heard back from him after I sent him my address info to get the postage amount. I PM'd him a couple of months after to follow up and still nothing. I am actually kind of worried that something has happened to him, although hopefully nothing serious.

[xrunner]

Here's my collection. All in pretty much mint condition. I also have one other 8000A but it's got a problem I have yet to isolate. I think it's the analog IC which I haven't found available yet. 

[kwochele]

Hi Retiredcaps,

Thank you for responding.

1) When the meter first powered on, the DCV was off and I used R5 to set it.  However it was not calibrating consistently until I replaced the Measurement Acquisition Chip (MAC) from a donor 8060.  After replacing the MAC the meter always settled to the value I set using R5.   After replacing the MAC, I cleaned the circuit board including the calibration pots using a can of Radio Shack’s Electronics Cleaner. 

2) I heavily sprayed the switches but I did not disassemble them.  I found an entry online that mentioned the snap rings could be removed to examine and clean the contacts.  I still need to do that.

3) The last digit does fluctuate on the 20V.   When I turn on the meter at the 20V selection connected to the D Cell (pretty confident the battery is 1.5620V based on my other meters) the 8060A/AA meter jumps to “-OL” then 1.574 after the display test and then immediately to 1.540, 1.548, 1.553 then it will count approximately 1 count per second 1.554, 1.555., etc until it reaches 1.560.  I noticed my second 8060 starts out the same way it just reaches the final value quicker.

4) The input jacks look good and I cleaned them with both WD-40 and then the Electronic cleaner.

Since it does eventually read the correct value after 5 – 10 seconds, could this be normal?

Thanks,

Ken

[lowimpedance]

Any suggestions of what to check are appreciated.

Obviously, drtaylor and others are the experts here, but I have some suggestions to at least get the discussion started?

1) When I repaired my 8060A, ACV was way off.  It turned out that the capacitor right next to the pot had leaked and while I cleaned up the pcb with IPA and replaced the capacitor, the electrolyte had wicked its way up to the ACV pot.  A couple of turns left and right fixed that problem.  Maybe give your DCV pots a couple of turns left and right?
2) I don't have a lot of equipment with the push button/switch arrangement, but from what I have read, if they are 20+ years old, they can potentially affect readings and require cleaning.
3) Does the last digit fluctation happen if you use the 20V range?  You lose a digit of resolution, but I'm curious if it happens on the 20V range.
4) Have you checked the soldering on the input jacks?  Have you tried cleaning them with a q-tip and IPA?

 Couple more things to check would be that the negative volts rail is stable (U4 and caps) and possibly a dodgy socket for the main 40 pin MAC chip.

Oh also did you have any leaking electrolytics ?.

[ModemHead]

3) The last digit does fluctuate on the 20V.   When I turn on the meter at the 20V selection connected to the D Cell (pretty confident the battery is 1.5620V based on my other meters) the 8060A/AA meter jumps to “-OL” then 1.574 after the display test and then immediately to 1.540, 1.548, 1.553 then it will count approximately 1 count per second 1.554, 1.555., etc until it reaches 1.560.  I noticed my second 8060 starts out the same way it just reaches the final value quicker.

4) The input jacks look good and I cleaned them with both WD-40 and then the Electronic cleaner.

Since it does eventually read the correct value after 5 – 10 seconds, could this be normal?

This has all the hallmarks of a contaminated PCB, assuming you have taken care of any leaking caps and made sure the power supplies are OK.  I do not like the sound of WD40 (or Radio Shack electronics cleaner, either) anywhere near the inside of this meter, it is very susceptible to developing leakage currents due to PCB contamination.  Dunk the whole thing in 91% or better IPA, scrub what you can get to with a brush, then allow to dry overnight.  A fan is a good thing.  I'd remove the MAC first, and make sure the socket is clean.  Scrub the MAC with IPA too.