PICdude wrote:
> I was basing that price on being able to find "decent" handhelds for  =

> $40-ish -- IIRC "RSR" (which I've had before), "BK Precision", and  =

> hoping that I can get the same thing in just a different form factor.   =

> The radio shack DMM has been working decently for some time now, but  =

> has no stand to hold it up.

Ah -- I didn't spot that you were looking for benchtops.

If you can live with "used", there are a lot of Solartron 7150 and =

7150Plus bench DMMs on the used market at the moment. I snagged one for =

myself, and it works fine. You'll need to build a calibration plug =

(basically a 2.5mm jackplug with the contacts shorted) and run a "Cal =

Refresh" the first time you power it up (the EAROM only stores data for =

about five years), and you also might want to swap the power input =

filter (a =A325 Schaffner thing that tends to blow up after ~10-15 years).

If you're cheap and don't need the voltage-switching feature, you can =

(just about) fit a standard IEC filter and some wire splices (I'd be =

tempted to use a few blade-type crimp connector male-to-male adapters). =

You'll just need to fill a ~1-inch gap on the back panel... Swapping the =

Schaffner box out is a straight 1-to-1 swap and IIRC can be done with a =

screwdriver and a pair of needle-nose pliers.

They're old (1980s), but they're 6.something digit, do all the standard =

stuff (resistance, continuity, volts-AC and volts-DC), have a software =

measurement-averaging feature, and the AC measurement is true-RMS.

Expect to pay around =A340 tops. I paid about that for mine, then got =

utterly gouged on the postage...

>  Last week
> one of my high-school students couldn't get glue (cyanoacrylate) out  =

> of the tube, squeezed it like crazy (don't get me started), and it  =

> burst over various things, including one DMM.

Ugh....
I've found the best way to deal with that is to jam a panel pin (or a =

cheap bradawl) into the nozzle of the glue bottle. You're not /supposed/ =

to do it, but it sure as hell works!

-- =

Phil.
piclist@philpem.me.uk
http://www.philpem.me.uk/

-- =

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