Can you help? E- meter mark 5 question.

[Bird88]

I'm hoping someone can help me with this. I recently purhased a british e-meter mark V. And am having trouble getting it working. When i bought it i was ensured that it worked, though the guy i bought it off was not a scientologist and claimed not to know much about it, as it was his dad's.

The meter came as just the box with the leads with the clamps on the end and No can's.
The gist of it was that he said that soup cans worked better and were what his father used it with and that it just likely needed new batteries, and that once could attach any soup can's to the clamps and it should be operational.

I tried this, put new batteries, in it, attached can's to the clamps. And for the life of me i can't even tell if the thing works or not. As it makes no indication that it turns on, no matter what i try to do with it, ive turned all the knobs, the batteries are in the right way, and no matter what i do with the can's the dial will not budge move from its set position. Needless to say i'm pretty disapointed.
Does anyone here have any ideas, am i doing something wrong? Is there a way to test if the meter works, Did i get bad advice, is there a way to get it working, or do i just own a faulty piece of machinery?

PS: I attached a picture of the meter, and the can's how i have it set up, hopefully that can help in allowing someone to provide with me an answer.

Thank you.

 

[programmer_guy]

You could also PM Arnie (lermanet_com) or Paul (DullOldFart) for help.

Once you get that e-meter running, I suggest that you get smaller diameter cans... they work better for skin contact area and are much more comfortable to hold.

 

[CO2]

My wife and I own a couple of meters that look like that. They were made in the late 1960s, early 1970s, if memory serves me.

The battery that it came from the factory with, was a rechargeable battery. After forty years, I think our batteries may not work, although I haven't tried in a decade.

the battery was charged by what I used to call a "cheater" cord. It was a straight line from 120 volt electrical outlet to the meter. TVs in the 1950s always used them.

The accompanying text with the above photo identifies this as a Heathkit 89-3 line cord. I got this photo from this link:

http://www.ultrawebb.com/OHP/cord.htm

I am thinking that what you need, in no particular order, is for you to buy a cheater cord, or have an e meter service technician take a look, get your battery charged, and then try it. We always have used Campbell's Soup cans.

If your battery is good, it is uncharged. If your battery is bad, it needs to be replaced, and then charged.

There are several reputable e meter repair people, who have active businesses. Terril Park (on ESMB) can probably give you names and contact info. You can PM him. he is in London, England, but is familiar with many folk across the globe.

 

[Bird88]

Thanks for the tip on the smaller cans sir ,Though the problem is i'm not even sure if it runs to begin with . Is there a test or standard thing one can do, like if you turn a knob a certain way the dial will move. So one can know if its operational. You'd think if i put in batteries and toyed around with it enough something would happen, but yeah it doesnt seem to want to do anything. and i just want to know if it works.

 

[Bird88]

Hi CO2,
Thanks for the history lesson, yeah its from around that era. only this e-meter runs on double A batteries , 5 of them. And does not have a cord input. or anywhere i could insert a heathkit, the only output it has is for the can's leads with clamps.

 

[Lermanet_com]

I'm hoping someone can help me with this. I recently purhased a british e-meter mark V. And am having trouble getting it working. When i bought it i was ensured that it worked, though the guy i bought it off was not a scientologist and claimed not to know much about it, as it was his dad's.

The meter came as just the box with the leads with the clamps on the end and No can's.
The gist of it was that he said that soup cans worked better and were what his father used it with and that it just likely needed new batteries, and that once could attach any soup can's to the clamps and it should be operational.

I tried this, put new batteries, in it, attached can's to the clamps. And for the life of me i can't even tell if the thing works or not. As it makes no indication that it turns on, no matter what i try to do with it, ive turned all the knobs, the batteries are in the right way, and no matter what i do with the can's the dial will not budge move from its set position. Needless to say i'm pretty disappointed.
Does anyone here have any ideas, am i doing something wrong? Is there a way to test if the meter works, Did i get bad advice, is there a way to get it working, or do i just own a faulty piece of machinery?

PS: I attached a picture of the meter, and the can's how i have it set up, hopefully that can help in allowing someone to provide with me an answer.

Thank you.

When you turn the bottom middle knob to TEST the needle should goto full scale regardless of other knob positions if batteries are okay..

With nothing plugged into cans socket (just a phone plug - as in telephone type) and the meter on SET position you adjust the trim knob bottom right to bring the needle to the SET position.. and you are now have a fancy religious artifact ohmeter that gives you 80 ua to tickle your fancy


The batteries were just a couple of double aa sized ni-cads heat shrinked together, all connected in series
you will have to replace the batteries. and you don't need a 'reputable' service technician...

Standard 1.2 Volt nicads work in yours... for 6V total.


Ni-cads last a long time but not 40 years...

The charging circuit was a capacitor and a diode in series with that cheater cord...behind where it plugs in - crude, cheap but worked on either 120 US or 240 UK volts

Arnie Lerma

Note: Electrical tape, when used by linemen, they use a LOT of it, BUT for tiny low voltage connections, it will just fall off after a while cause you only need a bit of it...... An old juke box repairman explained to me to ALWAYS use masking tape... it hardens up over the years and never falls off and is just FINE for low voltage.

 

[Panda Termint]

There is a position labelled Test on the knob under the dial. If the needle doesn't snap to the right when you switch it to Test, something is wrong or the batteries are flat.

 

[Bird88]

Thanks Panda, i thought i read that somewhere, and yes when i try that nothing happens and the needle doesnt move like you'd imagine it should. So atleast i know now, that its not a functional e-meter.

 

[dchoiceisalwaysrs]

I am curious Arnie. Assuming Bird88 has the good batteries in properly and since the test feature does not work. Let's say the plugged in leads were clipped together at some time in the past what would short out first, or what component would be damaged from such action? Perhaps just a diode or a resister blown and need replacing?

When you turn the bottom middle knob to TEST the needle should goto full scale regardless of other knob positions if batteries are okay..

With nothing plugged into cans socket (just a phone plug - as in telephone type) and the meter on SET position you adjust the trim knob bottom right to bring the needle to the SET position.. and you are now have a fancy religious artifact ohmeter that gives you 80 ua to tickle your fancy


The batteries were just a couple of double aa sized ni-cads heat shrinked together, all connected in series
you will have to replace the batteries. and you don't need a 'reputable' service technician...
You can replace the battery pack with 3 aa cell* (Or a two and single holder in series, red to black...) battery holder and the just tape it up and secure it with a wire tie. They sell 3 ni cads together for some cordless phones, just cut off the connecter and connect red to red and black to black. But a bit of masking tape*(note) on the connections so they dont short out..


Ni-cads last a long time but not 40 years...

The charging circuit was a capacitor and a diode in series with that cheater cord...behind where it plugs in - crude, cheap but worked on either 120 US or 240 UK volts

Arnie Lerma

Note: Electrical tape, when used by linemen, they use a LOT of it, BUT for tiny low voltage connections, it will just fall off after a while cause you only need a bit of it...... An old juke box repairman explained to me to ALWAYS use masking tape... it hardens up over the years and never falls off and is just FINE for low voltage.

 

[Lermanet_com]

I am curious Arnie. Assuming Bird88 has the good batteries in properly and since the test feature does not work. Let's say the plugged in leads were clipped together at some time in the past what would short out first, or what component would be damaged from such action? Perhaps just a diode or a resister blown and need replacing?

if the batteries are new, THEN it is likely just corrosion. or a broken solder joint from being dropped.... or even a broken meter movement...the needle physically can't move cause it has jumped out of its bearing or the taut band is broken (suspension) if when he adjusts the meter movement screw the needle should move a bit so its not resting against the left limit, if he can do this then the movement is likely okay... Corrosion in the SET TRANSIT TEST switch also or just a broken wire...

He ought to open the case and spend a few minutes just looking at the circuit board under good light, that was the 1st thing you are supposed to do before you reach for any test equipment or $10 Voltmeter...

I don't recall what kind of movement bearing the Brit Mark V used...in US we used a taught band meter, a miniature torsion bar suspension like in a old volkswagen beetle. the adjust screw might be under the cover face plate.

EDIT: and re bad diode... the diode will only burn out if the capacitor in series with the mains plug is shorted out, caps do go bad from old age sometimes.. but its likely a mechanical problem, nothing in those old meters was running anywhere near its safe operating limit...

 

[Panda Termint]

^^^Agreed^^^

 

[Panda Termint]

Thanks Panda, i thought i read that somewhere, and yes when i try that nothing happens and the needle doesnt move like you'd imagine it should. So atleast i know now, that its not a functional e-meter.

They're pretty easy to fix. As Arnie said, it's most likely corrosion or a dry/broken solder joint.

 

[Lermanet_com]

They're pretty easy to fix. As Arnie said, it's most likely corrosion or a dry/broken solder joint.

especially if it was stored in a garage or uninsulated attic space for a few decades...

 

[CO2]

especially if it was stored in a garage or uninsulated attic space for a few decades...

Who would do a thing like that?

oooh!


I would.

Mine's in the barn.

 

[Dulloldfart]

You could also PM Arnie (lermanet_com) or Paul (DullOldFart) for help.

Arnie, not me. I've played around with using meters a lot, but I know next to nothing about what's inside the meter case.

Paul

 

[Ralph Hilton]

That doesn't look like a Mk 5. It looks like the earlier Mk 4 with non rechargeable AA batteries and no mains connector. The meter movement is pivot and jewell rather than taut band. Standard alkaline 1.5 volt battery should be used not nicads which are lower voltage. I would check the circuit board and wiring for corrosion as it is around 50 years old. The switches could also be corroded inside and defective. The potentiometers are probably noisy. Where to get it repaired would depend on your location.