Author Archives: modemhead

About modemhead

Fixologist and multimeter junkie.

Boo!

Posted on October 31, 2013 by modemhead

Not much repair activity lately, but in honor of Halloween, note that a photo gallery of cheap multimeters of the “Harbor Fright” variety has been posted.  New also is a quick look inside the Weston 6100 Roadrunner.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Leave a comment

Fluke 26-III Corrosion Repair

Posted on September 8, 2013 by modemhead

The Fluke 26-III and 79-III models are identical except for the model number.  This model adds some extra features not available on the 77-III (and its identical twin the 23-III), like frequency and capacitance measurement, 4000 counts vs. 3200, RMS … Continue reading →

Posted in Repair | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Ideal Carbon Footprint

Posted on August 18, 2013 by modemhead

No this is not about green energy or climate change.  It’s about DMM repair, of course.  I found it interesting for two reasons, the fact that a very simple fault almost escaped detection, and that the root cause was, while … Continue reading →

Posted in Repair | Tagged | 5 Comments

Fluke 80-series Faded LCD Segments

Posted on August 11, 2013 by modemhead

This is probably the single most common problem with older Fluke DMMs such as the 83, 85, 87, and 88 models.  Referred to as “faded digits”, “faded segments” or “fading display”, it happens when the connections between the printed circuit … Continue reading →

Posted in How-To, Repair | Tagged , , , | 93 Comments

Fluke 170-series Kickstand Repair

Posted on August 4, 2013 by modemhead

Does your Fluke 179 have a loose kickstand (tilt stand, tilting bail) that pops out whenever you try to prop it up for use on the workbench?  Blog reader LDSisHere from over at badcaps.net contacted me with this problem, and … Continue reading →

Posted in How-To, Reader-contributed, Repair | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Fluke 87 Fusible Resistor

Posted on July 30, 2013 by modemhead

Properly-designed multimeters that are suitable for professional and trade use have a number of components, usually near their input jacks, that are for the sole purpose of protecting both the user and (secondarily) the multimeter itself from over-voltage and over-current … Continue reading →

Posted in How-To, Repair | Tagged , , , | 41 Comments