By Crook or by Fluke

I suppose like me some of you possess a bench top multi-meter in my case it was a second hand Fluke 8010A which I purchased a number of years ago. Its a very versatile tool and whilst they are somewhat long in the tooth they stand the test of time. Apart that is for the LCD display. Even when I bought mine the display was less than crisp and over time it got more blurred and was getting to the stage where I was thinking of replacing it. But like we all do it time of need I started trolling the Internet and came across a site which among other things addressed my problem completely and provided a step by step guide to sourcing and fitting a replacement LCD So after spending just over £5 and some judicious soldering I now have a bench top meter with a crisp clear display and hopefully will endure for a good number of years. I cannot speak to highly of the web site for the assistance and support that I received.Give it a look there are other repair types mostly related to Radio Amateurs at billingtonrepairs.wordpress.com

Edited By Stuart McPherson on 11/08/2020 19:16:15

Stuart,

I have a fluke multimeter and my display has some segmente dimmed seemingly caused by the zebra strip connectors. Were you having this problem?

Thanks for the weblink

John

As you say, a bit long in the tooth but still a good bit of kit. We've always used their stuff at work. Although it's always made me laugh that when you are expected to record the way you got the results you write "Fluke!"

Still have my trusty Fluke 77 DMM from the mid '80s

Hi John

My display looked as if it was leaking and the digits were blurring and merging. The new display fixed it.

There are two common issues:

1/ Bleeding, which Stuart had, where the segmets get dark and blurry. seems to be caused by contamination of he liquid in the display.

2/ Weak or ghosting segments often cused by bad zebra strip directionally conductive rubber. This can be cured by removing , cleaning and resaeting the display, PCB and stip. Use a lint free cloth dampened with IPA to gently wipe the glass edge of the display, PCB and both edges of the strip. Don't wet the display or strip with solvent and don't touch the contact areas with bare fingers. Reassemble with care.

Flukes are great (I have 7 , the 8010A make a nice bench meter and the physically similar 8050A is more accurate with 4.5 digits instead of 3.5. There are a lot of Ex MOD Fluke 25's on the mrket at the moment. These are a rugged, waterproof autoranging meter that works well and is more accurate than their new basic models.

Robert G8RPI.

+1 for the Fluke 77, mine is still going strong after 34 years. The battery lasts for ages, I can count on one hand the number of times I have changed in it.

Peter

I have one Fluke, among several DMMs. It resides in my workshop so doesn’t get used as often as a couple others in the house. It is old, was second hand and cost next to nothing - but is reliable and accurate (possibly better than the others). Certainly not the top of their range but more than adequate for me.

Stuart, i understand the difference now.

Robert, Thanks for the info about cleaning the zebra strip and contacts. I have IPA and so when things cool down I'll try to sort out the problem.

John