cluster ignition without fuse?

Hi, Steve,

Yeah, I was afraid of that. I have an old one that was pretty good in its day, but needs replacing, and I haven't done any of the legwork yet to know whether it's gonna cost me 40 bucks or two hundred.

Doug

Reply to
Doug Sams
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day, but needs

gonna cost me 40 bucks

Stay away from Radio Shack digital multimeters - even the high-end ones.

The latest Chinese-made models they have been selling look, and operate, just great (at first), but have an Achille's heel in that their test lead sockets contain flimsy, brittle plastic pieces that break off after a few insert/extract cycles, rendering them useless.

Reply to
Eekamouse

Why stay away?

Why not take delight in buying one and returning it after it breaks for a new one over and over again for months until they correct the problem?

Reply to
Fred Shecter

one over and over

Because Radio Shack's DMM warrantee is only 90 days. My own DMM broke after about

6 months, after only a few dozen remove/insert cycles, which is probably typical usage, IMO.

I have it jury rigged now- it works o.k., but if I accidentally remove the negative lead from its socket, getting it back in takes a minor surgical procedure.

The weak point is a plastic sleeve that contains the female prongs inside the socket; it is made of thin, brittle plastic. Once this breaks, the prongs are succeptible to bending or breaking when trying to insert the male end of the test lead, and must be precisely straightened into just the right position before attempting to insert the test lead.

The other thing that miffs me about this meter- the fuses are internally mounted on the PC board, and can't be reached without opening the case, which involves removing the screws and separating the case halves, meaning the 9V battery has to be taken out, and putting strain on the cable that connects the PC board to the display....

Reply to
Eekamouse

A good four wire ohm meter is a bit expensive. A purpose built igniter tester is even more so. That is why I designed and built my own. 0.000 to 1.999 Ohms range. Very handy. Plans on my web site of course. :-)

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I am sure there are copies elsewhere too.

I cut the leads on the igniter side of the paper strip, wrap one blue and one red wire wrap wire, and then solder. With a heat sink protecting the bridgewire and pyrogen.

Reply to
David Schultz

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