r/Skookum • u/Fine-Mammoth4073 • 8d ago
Simpson voltage meter
Just found this in a old building is it worth anything it is still in its leather box and has all its parts
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u/androgenoide 8d ago
The Simpson 260 is an older model (original design from the 1930's) that is still in production. It may need some routine maintenance (new ohms range batteries and new test leads) but is unlikely to be non-functional. It lacks some of the bells and whistles of a new digital meter but tends to be very dependable and you may find niche uses where it's better than a newer design.
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u/superbigscratch 6d ago
The D’Arsonval movement responds VFD output voltages exactly as the motor does. The movement is essentially a tiny motor so voltage readings are what the motor connected to the drive is seeing. You don’t need a low pass filter like some DMMs have built in.
It does take a bit of know how to read the meter correctly but once you get that figured out it’s easy.
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u/androgenoide 6d ago
And the response is much faster than a digital meter. A short pulse that would be invisible on a digital meter can often be seen as a brief "kick" to the needle.
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u/Lancewater 8d ago
I own one of these and several other old meters. Are both leads in there? If they aren’t dry rotted and someone didnt leave a battery in the battery compartment to corrode thats probably a higher end Simpson 260.
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u/Murky-Resident-3082 8d ago
When i open the lid and get a whiff of its aged electronics smell it makes me think of my grandpa
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u/Dry-Leave-4070 8d ago
My favorite meter for troubleshooting. I like to see what the analog needle is telling me. Call me Analog Man! 🤣👍🏻🍻
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u/TurnbullFL 8d ago
That is a nice one, but the Series 5 is the most desirable because it will measure up to 5000 Volts.
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u/superbigscratch 6d ago
That is great but I don’t want to measure up to 5000 volts.
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u/TurnbullFL 5d ago
Good for testing performance of electric fly swatters.
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u/superbigscratch 5d ago
Scientific endeavors are always worth pursuing. Sometimes, even at great risk.
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u/Fladave1 8d ago
I use my 260 more than my high end Flukes. Rarely does one need the accuracy of a DVM for basic troubleshoting
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u/skinwill 5d ago
Nothing beats a mechanical movement at seeing a charge curve. Makes it easy to do quick sanity checks on large filter caps.
Those infernal auto-ranging LCD bar graphs just aren’t the same.
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u/porcomaster 8d ago
Looks like a series 6, probably from 60 dollars to a few hundred, depending on condition.
Edit: my bad it says on display series 8
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u/blubaldnuglee 8d ago
I calibrated a few hundred of those things during my Army stint. Actually a good analog meter.
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u/wdatkinson 7d ago
Grew up with one of those. Although ours had a Transit marking on the 500ma setting used when transporting the meter, if memory serves.
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u/autochthonously 5d ago
If you are an enthusiast, do not sell the meter! The movement on those meters are very sensitive and highly useful to check other meter movements.
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u/friftar German Precision... sometimes 8d ago
If it still works, these can be worth a decent amount, especially since it seems to be complete.
Post approved!