The Mighty Meter
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2024
- A household test meter probably from the 1970s or 1980s.
Basically a continuity tester and two voltage ranges. Also has a mains test plug.
Still in the original box. The test leads have been damaged due to a reaction with the expanded polystyrene packaging.
Website with more info and instruction book: xo4.uk?TmM
I have a Mighty Meter, I am a retired refrigeration electrician, It was bought for me as a joke for a retirement present. Thanks for the demo, now I know how to use it 'safely'!
Mind you don't gas yourself with it ;)
My old employer gave us a Mighty Meter for good safety performance (300 of us). Our electrical engineer was not impressed but 40 odd years on mine is still going strong. I keep it in my study and use it to test batteries, fuses etc. I have other modern multi-meters in the garage which only get used on rare occasions. For me the MM has been and remains a useful tool.
Honestly a $2 ebay battery tester would be slightly better since it actually loads the batteries a bit, is only 1/20th of the size and has more convenient contacts for most batteries. I'm sure this one still works of course and the nostalgia alone might be rather joyful :)
How nice to see the Mighty Meter, I have had one since early 1980's and it still work perfectly, I've used it when I used to carry out my own car maintenance various jobs around the home and now using it to check circuits on my model railway.
It was a very useful and affordable Home tester for the None technician,
The mains plug unit is for checking mains socket wiring.
Very simple to use and very reliable.
I still have the on I got for my Dad 30+ years ago, to save me going round with the multimeter.
I couldn't bring myself to throw it out when he died.
This was Pre the sealed-mouded rubish age, when people wired their own.
Now they buy and pray!
Brilliant ! works well for its jobs. 40 odd years on, tons of solder or not and its still working. nice piece john ward.
It has been more than 6 hours that i have sit and constantly watching your videos John.
Thanks internet. Thanks youtube. Thanks John.
All this 6 hours i have been constantly thinking how my poor dad learned these stuffs without internet. How lucky we are that we live in this age.
Love your videos from Iran.
I have just acquired one of these, in the same box, complete with white sticky stuff on the cables - thanks for that knowledge because I was a bit mystified. The unit is basic but as a continuity tester is fine, and the fuse tester is handy. It has limitations of course. Loved reading these comments. All very informative and helpful.
Nice Channel John.
As others have said the zero adjust is purely for the resistance/continuity range. it is easy to be scathing but sometimes a cheap and nasty meter that is with you in the car is more useful than the £300 Fluke that you left at home. I personally would keep this handy meter and actually use it. AA batteries can be readily borrowed from a tv remote control or similar....
You do realize that these days $10-15 buys you a relatively competent, relatively safe actual multimeter that has accuracy, digital readout and many more ranges over this thing? Something like a ut33 or ut133 series, or several others. Input protection is... Well, it exists, which is more than you can say for this heap o' junk.
Even in its day, this was *not* a competent meter. And unless it was much cheaper than it looks like, it wasn't value for money either. Nobody's comparing it to a Fluke 87V and jeering that it doesn't measure up. (Hah. I crack me up.)
+Jasper Janssen I am not saying it is a wonderful device, but it is still usable. I have a number of "high end" multimeters but often a simple meter is enough. I would be lying if I claimed that I had never benefitted from the input protection of modern meters but rarely.
Those cheap meters are notorious for failing (they are garbage). They won't last decades like the Mighty Meter.
Yes, that's the other good thing about them. Experience in meter repair *and* regular replacement schedule! What's not to love?
There's a couple on eBay for not a lot of money
Awwwww cute cat! I like that it comes with a free neon night light!
It was affordable, simple, and useful for many household electrical problems of the time. I don't see a problem here... Why the condescending attitude?
Obviously, it was not designed for serious hobbyists. But it had its own target market.
Robert Cartier I agree. Besides unlike most products nowadays it is clearly marked "not for main" where you can buy a so called cat iv multimeter of ebay for £20, the product is honest on it limitations.
I agree.
It was a very useful tester for the None technician,
The mains plug unit is for checking mains socket wiring.
Very simple to use and very reliable.
I still have the on I got for my Dad 30+ years ago,
I couldn't bring myself to throw it out.
This was Pre the mouded rubish age, when people wired their own.
Now they buy and pray!
Fair comments it was designed as a non technical peace of mind
Usefull for the 1970s power cuts which happened only to often
Why, it is junk. More a kids toy.
@@Solocat1 it can indeed be useful for testing batteries in toys, but for it to be a toy it would need some more protection. Anyway, I don't understand JW's and your attitude regarding this meter. Especially compared to some cheap and cheerful multimeters that claim to do much more and even be safe on the mains but are actually of comparable or worse quality, this is actually a very useful and honest tool.
things were like that in the pre digital age, nice reminder of how far we've come in relatively few years :)
Decent analogue test meters with multiple functions have actually been around since before WWII....it's fair to say that they were somewhat heavy, expensive and unforgiving of mistakes by today's standards though.
You're not fully equipped unless you have a good digital multimeter and a good analogue one- they both do things that the other can't.
I suppose as far as a car glovebox goes.....a mighty meter is unlikely to get stolen. (If your car was stolen the meter would probably be found at the side of the road later on..)
Probably still better quality than a lot of Chinese stuff sold on eBay.
Fantastic bit of kit for its day, presumably not too expensive, the design of that manual is a real timewarp
I have a 2014-2015 meter, I bought from Harbor Freight in the United States. They sell it for around $25. It's a good size meter, (90 mm.X 195 mm.) It's a manual meter with a big rubber protection case that surrounds it . CEN-TECH 61593. Its build quality is similar to this. Absolutely no protection!
It has a Hand soldered board inside.
for something out of the 70's its probably a pretty good build going by my memory of things, welded up by housewives if its anything like my uncles business at the time. reminds me of radio shack stuff right up to the millenium with the silver stickers and blobbly soldering. the socket tester seems to do most things and back then the whole unit is probably more than most site sparkys would use. could have been a lot worse.
My dearly departed dad was the owner of one of these, back in the day. I have it now, one of a few items of his that I cling on to. I use it occasionally, in his memory, along with his many other workshop tools.
I like the newer meters for testing Christmas lights.
even a cheap low voltage meter with (NCV) no contact voltage, can get you in the general area of the burt out bulb on the Christmas lights.
Big Time Saver nowadays!
I'm reading a lot of IMHO subjective (and snide) comments, this seems to me to be a relatively competant low budget household test tool from the days before the safety police had total power.
MrSwanley I agree completely. Its basic, and does a basic job.
MrSwanley I'm with you - I really don't quite understand the point of taking an old instrument and applying current day's standards to it. It appears to be just an opportunity to show how clever and well-informed Mr Ward is - and yet why would he purchase such a device knowing how old it obviously was.
Typically, I thought that the instruction manual was very sensible in pointing out the use of the low voltage for testing, since it applies equally to modern simple test meters other than the 'Megga' type, so again I see no reason for 'snide' comments.
Don Johnson Actually Mr Ward has lots of interesting videos contrasting old and modern standards. I do see a point to it. My mention of snide remarks referred more to of some of the posts I've been reading here, the "ha ha it's so bad it made me laugh" sort of thing. In fact the construction seems reasonable for what was obviously a cheap device even for a less enlightened time. For that matter, go compare a modern automotive battery tester agains a modern Fluke multimeter - of /course/ they are going to be in different classes.
I worked many years ago in a prison workshop that made this tester up in 1982.
@Chris Collins I was on the works dept staff it was quite a secure job in the 80s. And I was not long out my Apprenticeship. Remember 1 in ten UB40.
@Chris Collins Thats Before Clovid interesting times again.
I got one of these one Christmas from my granddad. I would think that must have been somewhere between 84-88 - couldn't have been before 84 as I was overseas. I managed to blow it up soon after getting it by connecting the test probes to the mains (via the 15V test socket and a bayonet light fitting). It shows you that all those safety warnings don't work for kids - tell them not to do something, and you can be sure as hell that they'll go and do it :) I still have the thing in my wardrobe for some reason! This brings back memories! Thanks
Great film. Cheers! I've just acquired one of these in a box of assorted shite and it intrigued me enough to do a search.
Cool looking tester, definitely needs better probes!
Needs a bigger meter for more Precision points for measuring.
Ha,ha. That is the sort of thing my grandfather would have bought !
Noticed the mains socket tester had sheathed pins, maybe that would help date it? (I seem to recall they were an 80s innovation?)
***** Sleeved pins were apparently introduced in 1984, so the device is 1980s at the oldest.
The movement seems to be date coded 1981. 1984 seems a bit late, but not entirely impossible.
It looks like a 6th form project; and reminds me when my A Level Technology teacher showed us a Duracell torch (with the swivelling head) and said "isn't it wonderful?!" I knew then I was destined to be a technologist rather than a technology fan.
One of my uncles had one of those meters, I can remember him telling me he'd bought it and that he would "get some information on how to use it" but never actually took it out of its box. I suppose it had a few uses for testing fuses and batteries and such but as you say, it's not really a serious piece of test gear. It was probably advertised in the old reader's digest magazines or something targeted at non technical folks.
The knob will be for the continuity reading when you short the probes.
Amazed that it had an LED!!
Just found your channel John! Brilliant! It's Alan Partridge does electronics! :-)
I had one of these as a kid, pretty neat !
nice cat
They were made up in Glen Parva Young Offenders Borstal in 1982 Workshop 2 by the Inmates. was the Largest Young Prison then in Europe .
I'm gonna keep my eyes peeled for one of these at car boots.
yes.this was a very limited device.focused at a not tradesperson,to check a fuse or battery.ok for that.in a dark workshop the Orange colour you could find it working on your reliant robin.The Hp7 battery was a forrunner to the AA cell.leaky zinc chloride chemistry.I think these were from Woolworths.ive one somewere.There was no protection.The colour is a bit phycological.Orange!black.danger.wasps and bees.Also a range of intrinsically pro devices were that colour.So it made it look more matcho.But it did what it was meant to do
5:22, for those of you who wanted to see the cat again.
Wow how things have changed !
I love the appliance test warning that made me laugh to the point of hurting ,anyways love watching your vids very informative and well spoken.
Nothing like mine although 99.9% of mine are not for for my subscribers .
I knew my dad bought one in the 1970s ? I just found it. I will keep it just for looking at :-)
I also found a very old inline mains speed controller British made I will upload a picture of it for you.
(2:50) - No money?
How disappointing !
>
It was used. Maybe the cables came in plastic bags, now discarded. Simple and maybe useful for some people.
Is there anything you can't find fault with?
+cremationpete Maybe. Just hasn't been discovered yet.
+cremationpete Everything I've seen him review so far has had numerous faults that NEEDED pointing out, as far as I can tell.
It would be interesting if you designed a line of converter plugs, given the issues you've found with previous models.
Well said , that fellow is a cynic .
Nice video Very instructive Electricity kills :-) I truly wonder how I got to my current age working with that bad evil stuff.
8:45 Little knob for zero adjust - doesn't appear to do anything...
...cos you're not using it correctly - which is a bit of a surprise really from you.
Anything electrical "Made in the UK" Works at all, Doesn't say "Lucas" or leak oil should be gold plated and enshrined in the UK version of The Smithsonian.
bullhornzz Err, in industrial applications the U.K. could make high quality, long life and reliable electrical equipment. Of course, this equipment was not cheap. In my job, some equipment commissioned more than 40 years ago is still operational. And it's still reliable.
It does have a 70s' and Bond Bug feel about it. :-)
A can vaguely remember these from the 80s. I'm sure they were in the Argos catalogue.
So it's essentially a cheap arse PAT tester, among a couple other applications?
Orange & Brown ( + Black) were very much used & hip into 1970s
What's the cat's name ?
We need more videos including cat.
Dear John I too have a MM and having trouble getting a zs reading....any suggestions
Almost before flat pins and fused plugs were invented ...............
And chips were made of potato .... 5p a bag...............free salt and vinegar. :-)
I broke my dad's putting it over two phases (didn't know any better). The needle eneded up stuck at the end of its travel.
So PVC degrades if it is in contact with polystyrene, but is there a problem with electrical cables being in contact with expanding builders foam?
Expanding foam is usually based on polyurethane and doesn't react with PVC. The rigid PIR insulation boards like Celotex are not a problem either. However surrounding cables with insulation reduces their current capacity significantly so that still needs to be considered.
Thank you, and happy new year
can you do a review on the installation tester benning it130 and or the it101?
Looks like it was made for an old Soviet bomb shelter. Hopefully you didn't get carried away testing it, and burn it up. Enjoy your narrations and your videos.
Made by Lucas the prince of darkness, and used by British Leyland to test their fine range of motor vehicles. I'm surprised it hasn't got a manual choke
Jesus this guy would wear a hard hat rubber gloves and boots a high viz jacket goggles and ear defenders to change a torch battery
it's funny how it describes itself as mighty but mabe it means mighty limited.
It's not solid enough to be used by stereotypical builders. But no, this meter was a joke when it was new as well.
Nothing wrong with the item just the snotty git reviewing it.
Snotty git? That’s the legend JW. Consistently provides BBC ironic tone and knows his stuff. Get some Kleenex and watch some more, you’ll warm to him.
It has a basic 3d printed look about it. It's before its time. 😆
How did you happen upon "The Mighty Meter"?
nodriveknowitall Found on ebay
lol done zero adjust wrong.
Your meant to short test leads then zero it out
That would be for nulling the leads on an ohm meter all this tester does is indicate that there is continuity
Dan Reeves yes well zero adjust will still max movement.
Josh C Yes, it should be the maximum deflection setting with the leads shorted, it's described on page 24 of the instructions. (Instructions can be downloaded, link in the video description)
Who's talking about that no one uses mighty meter 😂
Now at the end of the video you forgot to put is the part where you do hook it up to the mains and blow it up, then throw it in the bin where it belongs, but not after blasting the meter open circuit, poping the batteries, poping the led and resistor, blasting the tracks off the board, and burning out the test leads. that's might meter destruction.
HP7s, my wife refuses to call AA batteries anything else. People look at her like she is mad, she is. Don’t worry she will never see this comment so I’m safe.
That's a mighty meter, really mighty useless, it's marketed too those non-electricians/technicians/engineers that really have no knowledge of electricity or electronics what so ever. The battery tester would be handy thou for testing 1.5V cells or perhaps the 9V PP3 non-rechargeables , but nothing much else. cool video.
Ward was Born Offended...lol
LITTLE DYNAMITE
Looks like it was made by a toy company.
And we say the modern Chinese stuff is badly made... the old (cheap) British stuff was very nearly as bad :)
There's a historical connection.
what an awful device!!