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TWB Simpson 260 multimeter

B

bettablue

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2011
Messages
1,647
Location
Eugene, OR
Looking for a Simson 260 model mulimeter that needs a good home. I know that many of the members here have helped me out greatly, so I thought I'd try one more time. I really don't have a lot of money left from my tax return so I hope to find one I can buy for about $50.00 or so.

Including shipping, I can pay up to $65.00 right now, but I will also consider trading either 1 full height 30 Meg IBM MFM drive (No cables or controller) , or a full height 360 KB floppy.

So, if you have a these Simpson 260 that is in good shape that also needs a gew home, this is the place.

Please send a PM if interested.
 
Woo hoo! I found and bought one on E-Bay. The price was right and the shipping fast. For only a few bucks I got a really nice 260 series 6M. It was in pretty bad looking shape when it first arrived, but after a little work removing a large sticker and some tape residue that had been on the case since 1992, it looks like a brand new meter. These things just scream quality!

I'm glad I got it. It's already proving itself useful too.
 
bettablue said:
Woo hoo! I found and bought one on E-Bay. The price was right and the shipping fast. For only a few bucks I got a really nice 260 series 6M. It was in pretty bad looking shape when it first arrived, but after a little work removing a large sticker and some tape residue that had been on the case since 1992, it looks like a brand new meter. These things just scream quality!

I'm glad I got it. It's already proving itself useful too.
Click to expand...

Just curious. What are going to use the 260 for?
 
Mostly, its just preference. I use both digital and analog meters too. For the most part, I do a lot of tracing and I can watch a needle move out of the corner of my eye a lot easier than I can see numbers change on my LCD Fluke. There are times too when I want to check an AC voltage on a CD circuit. Many of today's multimeters don't do that, but the Simpson does this right out of the box.

I guess I'm old fashioned, or maybe just old. I still grab certain tools more than others, even if I have a newer, more accurate one right in front of the tool I use. Habit...

Agent Orange said:
Just curious. What are going to use the 260 for?
Click to expand...
 
bettablue said:
Mostly, its just preference. I use both digital and analog meters too. For the most part, I do a lot of tracing and I can watch a needle move out of the corner of my eye a lot easier than I can see numbers change on my LCD Fluke. There are times too when I want to check an AC voltage on a CD circuit. Many of today's multimeters don't do that, but the Simpson does this right out of the box.

I guess I'm old fashioned, or maybe just old. I still grab certain tools more than others, even if I have a newer, more accurate one right in front of the tool I use. Habit...
Click to expand...

I have a 260 that's been setting on the shelf for about 20 years or so. Okay for tuning cans and such, also for continuity checks. Do to its 20K ohms per volt sensitivity, not much good for anything else when precision measurements are required. That's why I asked.
 
Interesting. Would you be willing to sell it? Call me an old softie, but I still use my old analog meters whenever I can.
 
20K/volt is fine for TTL though...not so fine for high impedance circuits, but if one is troubleshooting old computers, it's often not an issue.

Also useful when working on vehicles!
 
Agent Orange said:
I have a 260 that's been setting on the shelf for about 20 years or so. Okay for tuning cans and such, also for continuity checks. Do to its 20K ohms per volt sensitivity, not much good for anything else when precision measurements are required. That's why I asked.
Click to expand...

Hi
What precision measurements do you do that requires an exact measurement
and what meter do you use for such.
I have 5 digit Fluke that I use when I need an exact voltage or resistance.
I use a 0.1% bridge when measuring capacitors or inductors.
I also have a number of cheap DVMs that I toss in the tool box.
Still, for most anything that doesn't require an oscilloscope I
use the 260. The others sits on the shelf or in the tool box and
gets pulled out only when specifically needed.
Other than, as was mentioned, that a analog meter can be looked at
with side vision when all that is needed is to see it wiggle, it takes
more time to interpret what a digital meter is telling you. Auto scaling
meters are even worse.
Dwight
 
Thanks Dwight, you just made a big point for me. I absolutely hate auto scaling digital meters. Sometimes I have a hell of a time reading what they're trying to tell me. And the non auto ones aren't that much better. I have a FLUKE I paid almost $300.00 for. In one case I was reading the resistance of a coil assembly for an old HAM radio. The fluke was pretty much incoherant. I read the resistance on the RX10 scale and came up with 764 ohms, but when I put it on the RX100 scale, the Fluke reat 3.14 (I just went back to recheck my readings) The same coil assembly read as 767 and 770 on the Radio Shack Micronta meter. That at least makes sense to me. Of course, there is more of a margin of error on the analog just due to the way they work. But to have the Fluke give me something so completely screwed up is not giving me a good feeling about the digital meters. I even tried another digital meter, and it was equally confusing. One reading was correct, but the other was so far off, I couldn't tell right from wrong without having the analog there to verify it.

I just bought a Simpson model 260 Series 6M. Meaning that it's a standard series 6, but it has the mirrored meter backing. Simpson meters are almost legendary for their ruggedness and accuracy. So, spending what I did for mine, I consider money well spent. I don't think $60.00 is too much to ask for the one I bought either. It's in almost new condition, no issues with the battery compartment, all the ranges work properly, and there are no obvious signs of abuse on the case. Whoever had this unit took pretty good care of it.

At this point though, I would like to close this thread. I got what I expected and more.

Thanks everyone. You're awesome.
 
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