1920s steampunk Roller-Smith HTD circuit tester & ohmmeter
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- The Roller-Smith HTD is a simple but effective circuit tester and ohmmeter that is still accurate today, nearly a century later after it was first made. An ad announcing it is on page 4 of this radio engineering periodical from August 1927: worldradiohist...
#antique #ohmmeter #steampunk
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A true ohmage to the past!
Bet you just couldn't resist that.
I have low tolerance.
Power to you for that amazing pun!
I’ll have to remember thes jokes so I can tell my people at ohm.
Moh! Moh! Give us moh!
The fact that something that old works just as well today as it did almost 100 years ago is nothing short of impressive. The build quality alone seems so foreign in this day and age of disposable everything.
Unless it gets dropped or something it could easily work for another hundred years. Thinking about your comment I realised I am on my third big name DMM in thirty years. The first an HP just stopped working with random flashing segments after about six years. The second a Fluke kept losing segments due to worn out zebra strips. i couldn't find a supplier who would ship replacements to the U.K. The third, also a Fluke still works but I wouldn't put any money on it lasting fifty years.
To measure >10K you could connect a 10K resistor in parallel with the unknown resistor. For example a 10K and 20K in parallel should read ~6.7K. You just have to rearrange the parallel resistance formula to solve for the unknown resistor value.
This guy has been consistently cranking out content. If he keeps this up, there's no way he won't exceed 1 million subscribers.
I am thoroughly envious of your local thrift shops.
Another interesting video. Keep'em coming!
The thrifts have been very dry around here lately.
Me too. In the UK we have charity shops but they have regional sorting centres now. They sell anything they deem interesting or valuable online for maximum profit. It usually means what's in the shop is trash. It's a shame really as they no longer give anything back to the communities that support them.
@@danieljones9776 that's why I stick to shops run by small local charities. Dog rescue centres, hospices etc. I've found some good stuff in those. As you say, those run by the big national health charities like CRUK and the BHF are mainly the overpriced remnants of Grandma's closet. (Plus they treat their volunteers / lower level staff like garbage, in stark contrast to the pay and perks invariably enjoyed by the top brass.) Even our local council now puts anything good that's brought into their household waste sites on eBay :(
@@rich_edwards79 This is exactly the situation in the US. Some years ago the major thrift chains became irritating little ebays with online warehouses, so the golden era of cheap & crazy discoveries was gone. These days when items are dropped off at a local store, they're sorted and anything of worth or interest is removed and passed along to a central office. To add insult to injury, the soiled, dented garbage that remains on local shelves is now priced higher than identical new items.
@@FranklyPeetoons yep, my late wife was American and we used to love rummaging through Goodwill, the Sally Army and other places along MA Rt1 (there was a great used bookstore called 'Savers' in Danvers MA that carried a lot of vintage electrical stuff) when we were back there visiting family. Idk what the pickings are like now but I refuse to use overpriced eBay which is 3x the cost of Marketplace, Gumtree (our version of CL etc) and then has extortionate shipping fees on top. It's going to get worse too due to the inflationary / cost of living crisis forcing people to seek out lower-cost options.
I don't know about the YT algorithm,
I am middle ages and I see all you videos 😂
I'm 26, and I 100% love really old technology and equipment
What a beautiful little device! Love old mechanical gadgets, they never cease to intrigue me. Many are also perfectly viable as art.
I wasn't aware that C-size batteries dated back so far by the way. A quick search indicates that they were standardized "during the 1920s" so that's giving a lower floor of the manufacture date of your device.
See the link in the description. The Roller-Smith HTD circuit tester was introduced in 1927.
@@vwestlife Ah yes, that's my daily reminder for clicking "Show more". :)
Great PDF too, tons of cool info in there. Gonna have to dive deep into that.
The internet says, the C battery size has been standardized since the 1920s.
Who knew they had been standard that long.
I suspect that this took an old style battery that approximated a modern C size battery.
I wonder when toys started becoming batery operated as well,
I have this old train set that is incomplete, but is mostly all metal parts and you can use mains connected power supplies with them, so interesting to discover when toys and small things like this must of started becoming electric in general too.
Love to Tom Woods for taking excellent care of his mechanical equipment. 👍
Honestly, I just watch any video you upload, as I tend to find the content to be interesting, but yeah, the algorithm is a whimsical one.
It's nice to see that someone thought enough to remove the battery from it.
I find the warning about not testing blasting circuits to be far more amusing than I should. At one point, Fluke put the same warnings on at least the "intrinsically safe" versions of their meters. And as recently as the early 2000s, I drove past road construction in parts of Missouri where they were blasting and had put up the warning signs about two way radios.
Cool meter. And thank you for filming it in full screen.
I paid alot for this TV, the top and bottom of the screen are rarely used. :)
There's no point in making a widescreen video about a device that is taller than it is wide.
@@vwestlife That's true. :)
im in my 30s and a follower of yours. and yes this 100 year old tech is fascinating to me. because it gives me a little window into how things where done in the past. i skipped the video about tapes because i am a child of the 90s and have very fond memories of the format.
I'm in my 20s but still have some memories regarding cassettes. I've recently managed to sort of repair a few decks by changing belts and stuff like that, but I definitely have to recap them as soon as possible.
About the meters, I have an ancient multimeter from the 30s (voltage and amperage only) that is also surprisingly very accurate, in fact it has a mirror below the scale that would help you to better view the readout more straight, since the needle does have a bit of gap behind it. The needle has to line up exactly with the needle in the mirror so that your view is not shifted too much to the side.
I love when Vwestlife takes an old camera. No one else would do it. But he goes the extra mile to make the video even more interesting. and despite an old technology, I think that on Yt it's completely fine. neat.
Thanks VWestlife, I am now looking at collecting vintage circuit testers on ebay. I've always been a fanboy of electronics gear, and these are absolutely beautiful to look at. Fantastic video as always.
I'm 25 and I watch all your stuff indiscriminately :) It's given me great insight into what used to be just old stuff my dad keeps around and turned it into a great collection of interesting devices.
Analog meters like this are so wonderfully interactive!
That needle looks like a Breguet style watch hand.
My grandfather was of the engraving type. I have a ton of hand tools with his last name on it! Fairly unique name if someone decides to steal them.
vwestlife is /the/ top channel for listening to a man from new jersey speak softly about electronics. 10/10 will continue to watch and leave positive comments.
That's a neat machine Kevin. As always I'm always waiting Thursday for watching your new videos.
I guess ohms law is still in effect.
Also, I had a friend who would engrave
his name on his radio 📻 equipment such
as scanners and amateur radio's.
I built an Eico VTVM kit with tubes in the
1960's, 60 years ago, and my Father had
it calibrated at the electronics company
that he worked at back then, named
General Precision labs. which in 1973
moved to Little Falls, NJ, then named
Singer Kearfott, later, Please Marconi
and Hazeltine. I think today it's part of
BAE, which is here too in Nashua, NH.
It's a part of the Danish word for "poop?"
A label can easily be removed. Engraving your name into something is far more permanent. I did that with the calculator I paid over a weeks wages for in 1979.
Ingenuity ohmmeter. Great video as always.
Nice find!
Lovely old meter! Welcome to the "Double-A replacement for C cell" club, love! I've been running one of my transistor radios on AAs for years, where it should have C cells inside. I just had to make a tube, out of some rolled up printer paper to hold the smaller cells and, Voila!
Look on eBay and you can get adaptors for cheap. Some time ago I bought a set comprising of a charger, 4 x AAs, and adapters to convert them to C or D cell.
100 year old meter knew more about that 1K resistor than you. GG to it. Very cool old device.
People of all ages enjoy your videos.
I know I enjoy your videos!
Ohm my goodness
Well done matey! Honestly, I believe this will be the most handy tool you have, in your tool box!
That is so cool that older people I meant to say younger people are watching your videos I am 37 years old and I love to watch your videos I’ve never had a record player or any old computers that you show but I do like to hear about them I wish I could see them but I can’t because I am blind by listening to what you’re doing sounds Flippin awesome
I'm getting 18 in August and enjoy your videos
Best way to read that statistic is 75% of your watchers are 35 years or older.
Do not think that "only seniors watch" they are just 1/4 of your viewership.
I'm 35 by the way :)
Old electrical test equipment has a beauty and charm lacking in newer gear
this is so cool an antique piece of test equipment like this still is quite useful today and will probably still be working in 300 years.\
Ahhh, That's nice.
A century later and it's still works like a charm, very cool
Your quirky sarcasm in your videos cracks me up.
Nice find. Very sensitive meter. The oldest meter I have is a Simpson 260 analog meter from the late 70's.
I think thats what I have
Is it metal with a carying handle on the top and runs off mains electricity?
Binding posts on the front, with multiple other functions?
Mine has a plastic window
@@coolelectronics1759 My Simpson 260 analog multimeter I believe is made out of Bakelite.
you know what? I might have one of those too in my toolbox.
Is it about the size of a modern digital only deeper-fatter?
Might also need to dig that one out and check it out to see if I can still use it
Nice find and nice addition to your test instrument collection.
I have several 1920’s and 30’s radios including general coverage receivers, and they are all on the money. So much so, I was able to tell a local Am station they were slightly off frequency 🤣
Lovely meter...the motor as you turned it was acting like a little DC generator that added or subtracted from the Meyer's own power source, changing its reading. Great video as always
I have a first generation Simpson 260 meter from around 1935, or thereabouts. It is still accurate and works well, bakelite case has been repaired, but it is an antique. The internal batteries were soldered in place.
I remember seeing " Roller-Smith Co. Bethlehem, PA, U.S.A." analog meters in the railroad control operator's towers when I first hired out with the railroad as a conductor in 1975. The railroads were very slow to advance in technology. What they called a 'Computer' was nothing more than a 'IBM Card Reader' and printer. Teletype was still being used and I do remember seeing utility trucks from Western Union working on the railroad's 'Pole Lines' that they shared.
That's a lifetime + piece of equipment.
The end of the.needle.was not just a style.of the day, it helped your eyes track the needle. Made it very easy to find and helped in reducing eye strain while retaining fine / high accuracy reading of the scale.
Now I know what ohm meter to suggest on r/buy it for life for anyone looking for a meter that won't break in a year.
Nice find on that meter, it's in fantastic condition and was obviously a prized possession. One could reasonably expect that glass to be cracked or scratched, but it is immaculate!
2:41 - They still occasionally do some blasting here in CT (Fun Fact: our chief exports are rocks and residents, Florida getting most of both), and those signs are still displayed to this day whenever crews are blasting.
ANOTHER Fun Fact: When Pfizer was constructing its flagship Building 220 in Groton, CT in the late 1990s, blasting crews had set up for some work on a hot, humid summer afternoon. An unexpected thunderstorm popped up, and it was a doozy. As lightning rolled in and the sky turned yellow-gray, some charges began detonating, causing the entire workcrew to
run frantically from the site. Fortunately, there were no injuries, no property damage from the pea-size hailstorm that rolled through briefly, and life went on as normal without anyone in the public aware that anything had transpired.
Some beautiful "battle scars" on that meter, I'm assuming it's lacquer over the brass. Vintage styling that would look great on any workbench, or on display on a shelf. If it were mine it would be a display piece, it's an antique after all!
Dont think I didn't notice you rendering in 4:3. Love the attention to detail, great video
I like old stuff, but I could watch a VWestlife video about just anything.
very interesting device...they sure made things well and built to last....to think we were not even close to being around yet....i would love to go and visit the early 1900s 20s and 30s...
Really cool to see it measure exactly what is expected. Great video as always, you can make a video about any random gadget and make it interesting.
Asking someone to not do a thing is a great way to have people do that thing 2:50
Your intro is spot on, I'm 25. ;)
Not really target demographic since I can't have nostalgia for this old stuff but I just find it fascinating.
I have a 1976 triplet model 630-plc analog multimeter. Paid it 2$ in 2008. They still make them today and it costs 450$. These old equipment it soo much better. It's harder to use but you get crazy precision.
I just bought a 1981 radio shack multimeter. Has the original receipt for the meter and battery that is still in it..still good
What a find! I love that you also noticed "flash light" instead of "flashlight"! I hate that splitting of words, a club here in the UK has a board outside showing "Forth Coming Events" and it annoys me!!!
Back in the 1920s, they also wrote today as "to-day".
Now that's a device i want in my collection even though i have a perfectly good 5digit multimeter. The accuracy of this thing is good enough for my occasional repair works.
Nice test meter. Analog, you can't go wrong.
I have a voltmeter gauge that looks a lot like that.
It has 4 terminals exactly like yours on top.
Terminal #1 = - or ground
Terminal #2 = 3 volts
Terminal #3 = 60 volts
Terminal # 4 = 150 volts
The gauge says ....
DC VOLTS
S -C STROMBERG - CARLSON
1000 OHM/V
The back of it says Simpson
Made in the USA.
There's some numbers stamped on the front case. 65 6ō 63 43
I enjoy and have old meters (not this old, mind you), but I won't lie - they don't make it into my toolbox - too precious and too bulky,. But this was a really interesting look at this meter.
That's really cool. I love how that pointer looks. I think vu meters should look like this
one time i opened up and old tube multi-meter from the late 50's early 60's and it had an old energizer d battery in it and it was in perfect condition no leaks or corrosion
Nice!
At least you can't lose the instructions for this circuit tester! The new ones on Amazon usually have paper documentation that I tend to lose a lot lol
A couple of years ago I made the mistake of looking at the reviews on a Sony CD Radio Cassette still being sold in Curry's. Every other one seemed to be along the lines of "I bought this for my 90 year old Mother so she could play here Vera Lynn tapes. At one point not long ago Vera Lynn was actually the best selling cassette in the U.K. charts. There is a good chance that the purchasers themselves were in their 60s.
You know you are getting old when you realise the Boomboxes you lusted after as a teenager (but in the case of ones like the JVC M90 couldn't afford either then or now) are now forty years old.
We have an AVO electronic testmeter mk2 at work. A beautiful thing.
Probably the coolest thing about this is you potentially wouldn't see a scratchy pot on a modern digital meter.
Around 1992 I worked in an electronics company and needed to build a circuit that contained 3 ceramic 50 Ohm resistors that were about 12 inches long each. I only found 2 so when I called the manufacturer they quoted me a price of about $350-. Though the technology may seem primitive today by our standards, their prices were not. At least day you can buy an imported component for a reasonable price, but in the days when "America Was Great", so were the prices for domestically produced goods. We're better off today, flaws and all.
Analog equipment.
Its so cool.
I have an antique Ohm meter.
I wasn't sure how to hook it up.
There isn't a battery door on mine, nor are there any instructions.
Its twice the size of this one in the video.
I'll mess with it now, I think I can make it work.
Its going to be a great edition to my
antique meter panel.
Got some shango066 type of content for us today
Nice bit of kit, the OhmMeter :)
Glad to see i was part of the 3.4%
that's insane how accurate that meter is for being 90+ years old
What a fantastic find!
Wow, this is excellent. I still have an old analog multimeter from the 80's that works, but nothing close to this. You have the coolest memorabilia, Your house must look a museum. Was wondering do you still have the Tano Dragon? If so can you pull it out for Septandy since it is a Cousin of the Coco?
No, I sold the Dragon.
Everyone is waiting for you to measure a blasting cap.
Nice find
I have a multimeter from RadioShack that's over 40 years old. It was my one my older brothers.
this is awesome
And finally, I have this old case of blasting caps here. I have some long lead alligator clips, so no need to take one out of it's case...
Old Blasting Cap Meter, real Low Voltage so It Don't set off the Blasting Caps...Good for Coal Mining ....
A great civilization always has great tools !
You find the neatest things in that thrift store you visit!
Such a beautiful solid piece of kit! I doubt any of our modern digital meters will be working 100 years from now.
The 1920s circuit tester have the similar look to those modern ones I've seen, But I couldn't remember which one. =\
in principle it's not that different to some cheapo cheapo analog multimeters or in style(apart the new ones being cheapo plastic of course)
@@lasskinn474 Oh, My dad have one of these multimeters.
It's basically just like what you've mentioned. =)
I still have my old AVO meter which still works perfectly. I like the digital test equipment but still use the analog stuff.
I love the movement esp. the hand written serial number (looked hand written).
The old records one was weird, because when I first got a record player in my teens circa 2011 it was a vintage portable with 78rpm as an option. The only records that played reliably were the thick, older shellac ones. So I played the hell out of Old McDonald's farm.
my first record player was in 2002 when I was 9!
I seen one on tv and in a book in school and became facinated with the record player and records.
Someone in my community kindly donated me there old childhood fisher price suitcase player.
It was the 2speed idler wheel drive one with the combination 33 and 45 spindle platter
@@coolelectronics1759 the combo platter is a really cool way to play 45s without needing the adapters, I can't believe every turntable doesn't have that lol
@@manoflego123 right?
and gues what? my seccond player was a probably late 70s 4speed player that also had a combo platter that I got for a buck at a flea market. this was now spring 2003 It was a sears I believe, looked like a component turntable with a removable acrylic cover and everything, but it was self contained, with the plynth being made out of ABS plastic and cardboard it gave you volume/on-off and a a messed up tone controle nobs. It actually felt kinda cheesy but I bet it would still beat the cheapest crosley you can get today. That one also had a builtin speaker in the plynth and even had an index in the cover so you could play 45s with the lid closed kinda dumb as the speaker was upfiring mounted to the cheap cardboard inside and would be totally covered if you played it like that.
Cool thing though is thats how I discovered my first 78s and why those heavy old records always sounded bad with the fisherprice lol. My first and favorites was a polka instrumental sadly dropped it and lost forever I still miss those two songs on that record it had a blue label.
The other 78 I had was a red label edge chipped instrumental jaz and chaimber music type arangement with one song with piano and accordian, the other side had a 5piece jaz type band with sax I think I think the chip on that one ended up making it's way through the hole record eventially and it too had to get tossed.
It is a simply designed and effective meter. As long as you don't leave a battery in it, it should work another hundred years.
Nothing to fail if maintained properly. Unless a dingaling in the future drops it or fries the movement, it should last essentially forever. Nice find. Lucky there was no bad battery corrosion.
I've bought an old bakelite multimeter, most likely from the 1950s on a flea-market, because it was looking good. But when I was testing it, it also works great, much better than my normal digital multimeter. Which is no wonder, the old one costed new in the 1950s about 450 Deutsche Mark, (about 150 US $ then, so it would be in todays money about 1000 US $). The multimeter from China costed me only 5 Euros.
Radio waves could potentially be the same as the wireless equipment used to detonate the blast charge (although very unlikely) it is a risk. So to be on the safe side "TURN OFF YOUR RADIO TRANSMITTER" near construction site where blasting operations are taking place. True?
ElectroBOOM will love that
Nice old meter, spinning the motor is producing a small voltage, like a small generator, that is why the meter went backwards when you spun it in reverse.
Very good content.
Nice meter and simple old reliable design.
why speaker is 4ohms in DC?
It's probably more like 3.6 DCR, but this particular meter lacks a 3.6R line on the graph. ;-)
Steampunk? I thought IBM owned that, guess I'll have to use it if there's no risk of infringement
Looks like the posts nuts material is bakelite, so there is a bit of (ancient) plastic in this tester.
there are adapter cases to fit AA batteries in to use where D cell batteries are needed, I bought some to use on my cheap crappy cassette tape player and use rechargeable batteries from ikea
You grew up in the 80s/90s?? I been watching the channel for years and I always thought you were a 60-something year old man.
I watch your videos since 2013, I guess. I'm 48.
very cool stuff, that literally lasted the lifetime of its owner, they aren't making them like that nowadays