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LAN_403

Sulaiman

Sat Aug 08 2009, 08:13AM

Registered Member #162 Joined: Mon Feb 13 2006, 10:25AM
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3141

That is (was) a useful little meter.
Since the case/glass isn't broken it should be easily repaired,
If you carefuly dis-assemble it and inspect the meter movement you will probably be able to partially unscrew one of the pivot bearings,
re-align the pivot and tighten (carefully so as not to crush the pivot points) the bearing again.
OR
it may just need the pointer to be bent up a little to be clear of the scale.
Worth a try..

Steve Conner

Sat Aug 08 2009, 10:29AM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

That's too bad Matt, mine survived the post just fine :) The slugs I got with it measure 1kW and 5kW up to 2.5MHz, so I'm on the lookout for some more ham-friendly ones.

You should be able to fix the meter movement. Check to see if any balance weights got knocked off or the pointer got bent. Or find out how many microamps FSD it is and replace it. Also the circuit in these meters is really simple, you can modify it to work with a different FSD. A Bird meter might work, the scale looks similar.

Proud Mary

Sat Aug 08 2009, 11:16AM

Registered Member #543 Joined: Tue Feb 20 2007, 04:26PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4992

Perhaps the meter washed ashore on an uninhabited island with Harrison Ford following a flaming, cartwheeling 'plane crash at sea... writing "fragile handle with care" on your parcel has no influence on the people who chuck them onto conveyor belts, sometimes missing the belt in their haste so the parcels land on the concrete floor....

It might be cheaper to buy a second-hand Avo Model 8 Mk5 on ebay, which can measure up to 3kV, and goes for about Â£30, say $50. In the Thermionic Age, it was the one indispensable diagnostic tool. Of course it doesn't have Zin = 10M which you find on even the cheapest DMM today, but the fact that it will read out to 3kV may still make it attractive to some 4HV members.

Kizmo

Sat Aug 08 2009, 03:42PM

Registered Member #599 Joined: Thu Mar 22 2007, 07:40PM
Location: Northern Finland, Rovaniemi
Posts: 624

I've heard rumours that someone is still building high power spark gap coil with very high speed rotary...

Well.. who knows

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Sat Aug 08 2009, 10:46PM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

I've ordered a meter for my own version, I just don't know if I can make all of the increments coincide with the reading, I hope I can.

The meter thats blown is a 50uA meter. I'm looking around for a similar one, but 50uA is tough fo find, and the dimensions are going to be hard to find since this is circa '80 made in Japan.

I'm looking for another meter to replace it now, and this one will probably have to collect dust for a while.

I will look into meter surgery, I'm just not that good at it. This time however will require extreme patience and care because these meters are that rare now, the Z version anyway.

The saddest part is this is a calibration standard! Yaesu is using them right now to cal their radios, there just aren't any parts. ~_~

Are you sure you want a conductive flywheel that you can't isolate from the HV supply?

I would also suggest using set screws instead of hex bolts.

Also, since you're doing high speed, the arc length is actually longer at slower speeds. At higher speeds you'll get a plasma flume sort of like a flyback, hope that's what you're going for.

Kizmo

Sat Aug 08 2009, 11:14PM

Registered Member #599 Joined: Thu Mar 22 2007, 07:40PM
Location: Northern Finland, Rovaniemi
Posts: 624

Hazmatt_(The Underdog) wrote ...

Are you sure you want a conductive flywheel that you can't isolate from the HV supply?

I would also suggest using set screws instead of hex bolts.

Also, since you're doing high speed, the arc length is actually longer at slower speeds. At higher speeds you'll get a plasma flume sort of like a flyback, hope that's what you're going for.

Im not even trying to isolate electrodes from disk (large aluminum disk makes great heatsink). My idea is to machine insulated bearing holders and piece of plastic shaft between motor and rotary. Fully metal disk is way more stable and completely vibration free (machining tolerance is less than +-0.01mm). Flying electrodes are 8mm tungsten carbide and stationary electrodes will be 10mm. All i want is rotary that will last forever

I know, theoretical max for this disk will be 12500rpm (1667bps) but with my largest coil (15kVA DC resonant charcing coil) I wont be using much more than 400-600bps. I just want to overdesign things for large headroom just in case... :)

This was just quick setup and i used screws i had laying around. Will buy some proper setscrews monday

If it's worth of doing, its worth of overdoing

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Mon Aug 10 2009, 09:17PM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

Well'p I just got back from the post office and they need to have all the recipts and proof of purchase before they're willing to release any money. On top of that they want to KEEP my meter which they broke.

So to hell with them!

I've already contacted 5 places for repairs and they can't do it, including Yaesu.

I want to start a repair business, charge what I want $100 / hour and minimum billing of 3 hours. Then SUE the Post Office for the repair bill.

Insured for $150 doesn't mean anything.

When the Government STEALS from you its called INSURANCE. When YOU STEAL from the Government its called FRAUD.

klugesmith

Tue Aug 11 2009, 02:43AM

Registered Member #2099 Joined: Wed Apr 29 2009, 12:22AM
Location: Los Altos, California
Posts: 1716

Hazmatt_(The Underdog) wrote ...

Well'p I just got back from the post office and they need to have all the recipts and proof of purchase before they're willing

??? In OP you said it was UPS that abused your package. In other threads here, we've seen complaints against UPS, not the U S Postal Service. How many inches of packing/padding did your shipper have between the meter and the box?

Robert2

Tue Aug 11 2009, 10:13AM

Registered Member #1773 Joined: Tue Oct 21 2008, 06:56PM
Location: Poland
Posts: 93

I planed make drsstc :)

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Tue Aug 11 2009, 11:07PM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

I'm sorry, I meant US Postal Service. USPS.

There was about 6" of padding all around, in packing peanuts too! But the package suffered a huge fall. The edge was accordian-ed in, but you had to look for it to see it. So the fall dislocated the movement.

I haven't opened up the meter yet, but I still feel like SUING the USPS for repairs!

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