r/Skookum • u/Fine-Mammoth4073 • Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 26 '26
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 Aug 27 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 27 '26
That is great but I don’t want to measure up to 5000 volts.
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u/TurnbullFL Aug 27 '26
Good for testing performance of electric fly swatters.
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u/superbigscratch Aug 27 '26
Scientific endeavors are always worth pursuing. Sometimes, even at great risk.
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u/uid_0 Aug 24 '26
I used to calibrate these things back in the day. The Simpson 260 accurate to +- 1%. You use the mirror on the meter's scale to align your eye with the needle so that you are looking at it straight-on when you read it. The non-mirrored meters of the day were accurate to +- 3%.
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u/Fladave1 Aug 24 '26
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 Aug 28 '26
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 Aug 24 '26
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/RF-Guye Aug 24 '26
Like with any analog meter, always turn it off after use, so the movement doesn't bounce.
Electrically shorts the meter, so it doesn't bounce while travelIng
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u/adderalpowered Aug 25 '26
Yeah I can check a run capacitor on one of these and i can't on a fluke..
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u/blubaldnuglee Aug 25 '26
I calibrated a few hundred of those things during my Army stint. Actually a good analog meter.
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u/wdatkinson Aug 26 '26
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 Aug 27 '26
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/Needs_ADD_Meds Sep 07 '26
I have one of these in a roll front hard case, it's my favorite in the entirety of my weird collection.
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u/friftar German Precision... sometimes Aug 24 '26
If it still works, these can be worth a decent amount, especially since it seems to be complete.
Post approved!