New Computer Test - TekPower TP8250 Multimeter Demo

[@BjornV78]

A extra note on analog meters when working on vintage stuff. Most manuals on alignment of vintage devices like radio's, amplifiers, receivers etc.... where made for using a analog meter. Because most analog meters have a lower impedance compared to digital meters, the loading of the meter on the circuit is incalculated in the alignment values. Some manuals have a note, that says what the impedance was of the meter, when the manual was writing. A extra advantage of the lower impedance of a analog meter compared to most digital meters, is that when working with mains voltage, Ghost voltages are almost reduced to zero. What i mean is, when you have 2 conductors isolated from eachother, and only one has a voltage of let say 100V on it, that due capacitive coupling a part of this voltage can be transfered to the other conductor. When using a digital meter, it will show you let say 60 or 70V of Ghost voltage. When doing the exact same measuring with a analog meter, the meter shows zero volt. Offcourse a digital meter can also have a Lo-Z (Low Impedance) setting , but not all digital meters have this feature. Fluke has a "Low impedance adapter" (partnr SV225) which is a plugin box, that convert almost every high impedance digital meter to a low impedance meter. This adapter has only a 3,3Kohm resistor and a PTC inside to do this job.

[@hullinstruments]

Great comment and lots of info. Thank you

[@poormanselectronicsbench2021]

@ 14:00 Is that meter reading conductance instead of resistance, but displaying it on a resistance scale? And shouldn't it be zero'ed out with the leads shorted to the 0 ohm mark on the left instead of zeroing it on the open circuit/100 ohm end of the scale?

[@kenrolle2338]

Glad to see some people still use analog voms thought I was old fashioned. I can think of a dozen advantages they have over digital.

[@robharley9838]

Well done as usual Tony! I learned a few things. I'd love to see your take on the Sanwa EM7000. Thanks for your great content!

[@briangoldberg4439]

I have got so much hate on the eevblog for buying an analog meter. I purchased the Sanwa EM7000 and I love it for so many things. If you are working on CRT TVs and old audio equipment, it's sooooo much easier to watch the analog needle to tweak things. Watching a digital readout go up and down and skip past a target level is not intuitive for me whatsoever. I also have a DMM for when it makes sense, but a good analog meter is an absolute must for me in so many situations.

[@mrhuffler9791]

An analog meter is definitely an asset for some kinds of voltage/current monitoring. 😉😉

[@I967]

You have to remember that upwards of 80% of commenters on any online forum are there just to babble, having an opinion on everything. And they simply MUST comment, even if it isn't constructive. Also emotionalism is prominent. Which is strange, as one would expect mostly male user base on eevblog. You can find useful information on online forums, but it is far and in between.

[@RensePosthumus]

Very nice video, thankx. I also have TP8206L, no null-scale but a very handy EBC-tester for transistors also measuring If and Ia. I use the TP88250 the most due to the null-scale.

[@Homer19521]

Great vid as always. The knob needs some whiteout on the pointer embossment. Too bad very few sites have these in stock.

[@LeviBulger]

The Null feature makes this meter awesome for guitar work. Can check the polarity of pickups without having to remove the pickups. You can technically do it on most digital meters but ive found they often give bad results.

[@harryshector]

Analog meter accuracy is expressed as a percentage of full scale. Therefore, they are most accurate at full scale, not at mid-scale. 2% of 10 volts at full scale is a significantly smaller error than 2% of 10 volts at 5 volts, or mid-scale.

[@I967]

That is correct, but you are limited by how close is the range to what you are measuring. From the Operator's manual for Sanwa 430-ES multitester: To obtain accurate reading, a range most approximate to the value being checked should be used allowing the pointer to fall within the right hand half of the scale to read. For instance, 1.5 volts is checked on the 3 volt range: a higher range reads less accurately. For resistance, use a range which will allow the pointer to fall near the middle of the ohm scale.

[@I967]

Analog meters are nice and useful. The debate around them is the same like comparing ereaders/books or vinyl/digital. What is better depends on what you want from it. I don't see these technologies as one above the other, superseding the previous one, for me they coexist. An analog meter is useful for some things and a digital meter is useful for other things. An eReader is practical and lightweight when I'm travelling, a traditional book is better for research, studying and making notes. All kinds of technologies can be useful, if you know their limitations.

[@radio-ged4626]

My old boss back in the 1980's had a Simpson meter - I was quite jealous. You don't see them all that often in the UK. I have an AVO 7 as a moving needle or "analogue" meter if you prefer. I only use it for aligning radios or general indication.

[@zulumax1]

I have never seen a null meter on a small portable meter, I have always used a VTVM for that. Very cool feature!

[@Prozacel]

Hello Tony! Can you make a short video about comparing capacitor messurement and the results between Sencore meter and others cap meters ? Best regards from Romania!

[@zulumax1]

50 uA is another cool feature. I use 100 uA scale and a power supply in series to check the low leakage orange capacitors. Need to measure no more than 2 uA at 16 V for the ones on the motor servo board on a Pioneer RT-707 for example. Yes they do get changed, but I just get curious how the old caps held up.

[@karllangeveld6449]

Good video, Tony. Some thoughts: Some of the old ‘analog bricks’ tend to be more accurate than the new ones. I bought a Goertz Unigor1 on a flea market for €6. It was a gamble, it was made in 1960 in Vienna, Austria. To my surprise, it’s about as accurate as it’s spec sheet, 1% for DC, 1.5 for AC. This one is over 60 years old. Also, I really don’t get why modern analog meters still do resistance measurement. Any cheap digital meter does a better job. Leaving resistance out would eliminate a complicated non-linear scale, mostly on the top of the meter and some switch positions, that could be used much better, it would also eliminate the AA batteries, that will leak sooner or later. The one exception I found is the Gossen Metrawatt M102A. Google it for fun. Again, still a great video!

[@hestheMaster]

My TekPower TP 7050 serves me well. Nice to have a larger meter scale .

[@typohits8213]

When you zero the ohmmeter, the leads are already in the circuit, so you have compensated for their resistance. The only resistance you are adding is the circuit under test. This is not true for the DM scale, since it is set with the circuit open,. Lead resistance is a factor for most DVMs since they read maximum with the circuit open, and don't usually have an adjustment for setting zero with the probes shorted. (Some fancier DVMs do have a zero adjustment on very low ohms) On all two-lead ohmmeters, there can be some measurement variability, especially with inexpensive probes, in the form of contact resistance between the probe tips and the metal of the circuit you are measuring.

[@xraytonyb]

Thanks for pointing that out. You are correct. Sorry to anyone out there for the confusion :)

[@poormanselectronicsbench2021]

A lot of DMM's above the "Harbor Freight Free" level have a "Zero" , "Relative" , or "Delta" button that allows you to zero out resistance, volt and current measuring with the leads shorted, and it will let you eliminate most of the error the test leads will introduce doing a low resistance measurement.

[@zulumax1]

I have a Simpson 260 from 1938. It has the pin type meter leads and the batteries are soldered in, using 4 AA batteries. I don't think I would solder in Lithium batteries into this, they may not like the heat. It is more of a shelf queen, it is very accurate, but I am afraid to use it and damage it.

[@treadmillrepair754]

Someone knows something about the right jack who show 100 ohms?

[@somebodyx]

I have a Proskit MT-2017 which is good value for money too

[@Tysman909]

Cool I have a tek power also a TP 8260L

[@markanderson350]

I had several meters as a child, including a 260. I have no idea where they went after i moved out as a teen in a nasty parental divorce i had a Heathkit fet one in a tough case and a science fair kit meter yiu actually put the tubing on bare wire.

[@MrRenics]

The Chinese tester YX-360TRe-b is undoubtedly better organized and at a lower price point.

[@davidlong1786]

No NULL feature though.

[@treadmillrepair754]

@@davidlong1786 Yes, no null option, in these days this is very important because most electronics comes with negative and positive voltages inside.

[@davidlong1786]

@@treadmillrepair754 The null option is useful for setting a zero point in a radio tuner with differential design. Measuring positive and negative voltages isn't hard just using the usual way by setting the correct dial setting on the VOM and switching the leads.

[@LeviBulger]

@@MrRenics The Null option is so useful.

[@MrRenics]

@@LeviBulger Why the hell do I need it? If it’s useful to you, then use it. 🤣😂

[@mackfisher4487]

Tony do you want to tell us about your computer.

[@jdmccorful]

Interesting. For a decent little meter check out the Sanwa 21C or the Sanwa 506. Would love to see you demo the 7000. Thanks for your time.