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You are here: Home / Archives for Multimeter

Keithley 197 Repair

2013/09/06 By staze

Keithley 197Given my experience, and eventual success in repairing my now indispensable Keithley 199 Multimeter, I recently picked up a non-functional Keithley 197 Microvolt multimeter on eBay for $25. Vintage is about the same for this model and the 199, and after looking at the manual (which includes schematics), I figured it was worth the $25 to give it a go at repair. Best case, it was easy and I could turn around and sell it, or give it to a friend.

The unit arrived in relatively short order, and indeed, in all settings, the meter just read “OL”. So, first thing that told me is, processor is working. EEPROM too, more than likely. So, going by the manual, and logic, I started with the voltage rails. The 197 has a few. Basically a ±15V rails, a +10V, a +5V analog, a +5V digital, a -6.4V, and a +2V reference. All of these are regulated by diodes rather than more modern LM78xx/79xx regulators. So, going through the checklist, it soon turned up that the -15V (-V) rail was dead. At first I thought diode, but testing the diode out of circuit resulted in a working diode. So something was pulling that rail up toward ground. So, trace time.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Electronics Tagged With: Keithley 197, Multimeter, repair

Repairing Keithley 199 DMM/Scanner

2013/07/28 By staze

Keithley 199About a month ago, I purchased a broken Keithley 199 multimeter off ebay for about $70 including shipping. From everything I’d read, it was a pretty accurate 5.5 digit, 310,000 count multimeter with a nice bright LED display (as opposed to the Fluke VFD, or HP non-backlit LCD displays). Having bought sight unseen, I wasn’t sure what exactly was broken. It could just be simple user error, or something more serious, but from the age of the unit, it should be fairly repairable.

And thankfully, the manual supplied by Keithley (available here, via KO4BB, without registering), has wonderful block diagrams, layout images, and schematics. After receiving the unit, I found it was indeed non-functional, with wildly varying readings. All the buttons worked, and it would switch ranges, but the readings never worked.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Electronics Tagged With: Keithley 199, Multimeter, repair

Fluke C115 Soft Case

2013/03/15 By staze

Fluke C115I know I haven’t actually finished the review of the Fluke 189, but this review is easier. I purchased a Fluke C115 to hold the meter, and my leads (which themselves were in a Fluke C75 case). After reading several positive reviews on Amazon, I ordered one and waited my 2 days (Amazon Prime, FTW). After receiving, I can say the case is quite nice, though a BIT smaller than I thought. The C75 case fits in one of the internal pouches, and the Fluke 189 fits in another, but it’s kind of a tighter fit, and because of the hem on the pocket, taking the 189 OUT of the pocket is a bit slow (the hem can catch on the buttons of the meter).

There is a back zippered pocket that I stashed a printed copy of the manual in, and otherwise, it seems to work quite well. Light weight, pretty sturdy, and I would guess it would protect the meter should it be dropped from being carried (though I doubt it’d survive a distant fall since the 189 has a molded rubber case rather than a removable rubber one). The main flap unzips almost all the way down the sides, so it opens up pretty far, but storage IN the case if you’re using both pockets is a bit limited.

All and all, pretty happy. Just wish it was a bit bigger, or that maybe it had a handle rather than just the shoulder strap.

[xrr rating=4.5/5]

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: C115, Fluke, Multimeter

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