Heathkit Model IM-5284 Multi-Meter From 1979
Added 2024-07-09 19:07:56 +0000 UTCI had to make corrections and re-edit the video, re-upload and whatnot...
A blast from the past that will be making you nostalgic for the days when every measurement you took was just about "-ish". Also I explore a Radio Shack Model 22-211A for a fair comparison. Enjoy!
Comments
I had that exact same clamshell multimeter from Radio Shack! If I remember correctly, a friend of mine loaned it to me and never asked for it back, so after a couple of years it just defaulted to being mine. I'm pretty sure that would have been in the mid 80s. That, and so many other things I had acquired, were unceremoniously trashed in the year 2000 when my father paid some local junk hauler to clean out his basement. I was living in Florida at the time. He asked what I wanted to keep and I said "everything!" and he thought I was kidding. I never quite forgave him for that. I lost everything from that multimeter to a functioning PDP-11/03L (complete with dual 8" floppy drives!) and a VT-102 terminal, in a 6-foot 19" rack.
Circuitmike
2024-07-31 17:53:33 +0000 UTChttps://www.rsp-italy.it/Electronics/Kits/_contents/Heathkit/Kits/Heathkit%20IM-5284%20Multimeter.pdf
Donald J Arndt
2024-07-12 14:44:30 +0000 UTCAll measurements are -ish, of course. We just think three decimals of output is meaningful now!
John Verne
2024-07-10 16:54:19 +0000 UTCWe have digital displays on every kind of test equipment now, but I like to remind people that the readings are still "-ish".
Robert Sanges
2024-07-10 12:07:08 +0000 UTCFran, did I miss something? When you measured the resistor it seemed to be muck less than 14.88. more like 4-point something.
James Ekins
2024-07-10 02:35:59 +0000 UTCWow! A real acid flashback! I assembled one of these in the same year +/- 1 year. I had forgotten about it, but the little circuit board and wafer switches brought all the memories back. I think this is one of four Heathkit products I assembled. Heathkit even had a store(s) in the Chicago area and I remember that if I got stuck, the adult professionals would be able to point out what I wired incorrectly right away. Can you imagine that kind of tech support today? Thanks Fran for the memories. Unfortunately, my memory doesn't recall what I did with it.
Matt Wietlispach
2024-07-09 23:26:14 +0000 UTCCarbon composite resistors *lose* resistance over time? The few I have replaced were open, ergo they gained infinite resistance. π But please confirm your observations Fran, I'm open to new data.
Bob Zox
2024-07-09 23:04:34 +0000 UTCEven though the readings aren't the most accurate, the cool looking analogue displays make up for it. The little Radio Shack one is nifty. I like that you have a tub of "about to explode" alkaline batteries. π
Motten
2024-07-09 22:46:17 +0000 UTCIsh is the mantra I live by.
David Peaker
2024-07-09 22:07:23 +0000 UTC"Good enough for Australia!"
Keri Szafir
2024-07-09 21:31:59 +0000 UTCβJust about β-ishββl Ainβt that the truth! π
Fred Patton
2024-07-09 20:30:57 +0000 UTC
