The Simpsons

"What concerns me is not the way things are, but the way people think they are" - Epictetus

A funny cartoon that first aired in 1989 - that's an incredibly long time for a TV show to run.  I've not watched it very much, but what snippets I've seen have been hysterically funny.  This post isn't about the cartoon - sorry about that! 

This is about something that goes back a bit further than that - the 1930's.  Simpson Model 260 Multimeters.  These are the meters that I cut my teeth on as a Navy electrician.  I'm a big fan of the W2AEW YouTube Channel, and he recently made an interesting video about the Simpson 260 series of multimeters.  The video is posted below, and it's really cool and informative.

I have no reason to disagree with anything this fellow says in his video.  He seems to believe that the Series 6 (manufactured in the 1970's) is the best of the bunch.  He points out that the Series 6 has the best combination of features:  They use banana jacks, use batteries that are commonly available, and has a dedicated battery door.  Earlier versions had some drawbacks, and later versions use reverse banana jack plugs that are not widely available.

I had purchased a Simpson 260 from an online auction a year ago.  It was pretty cheap because half the leather case was missing, which is still more case than most of them have at this point.  I could not remember what series it was, so while I was on a different errand out in the shop I pulled it out. 

Yep the front cover is MIA.  I never took time to remove the old Dymo labels and clean off the adhesive that is surely underneath.   Nice layer of sawdust, too!  I also haven't checked it out electrically. 

 Hell yeah!  Series 6!  And I really had no idea which would be the most practical.  I was wanting an 8P, but "settled" for a 6.  Ha!

Anyway, at the time, I just wanted to have the good old meter that I was used to using.  That said, these can be dangerous.  I've had the ends pull out of the meter while measuring voltage in cabinets.  With these older leads, you can have exposed conductors dangling free while your attention is on your hands.  Newer meters use leads that have shielded connections on the meter end, below.

 

Anyway, it's kinda cool to see another old school guy who values things that are interesting, and that take a little more thought and care to use than a modern Digital Multimeter (DMM).

We also had a Simpson 269 in Electrical Division, but for some reason, nobody liked to use it.