[volt-nuts] Serious problems fluke 731A, 720 and solartron

Steve Krull steve-krull at cox.net
Fri Oct 7 13:52:14 UTC 2011 

Sorry all, that last was meant as a private reply to Joe as I'm getting 
off subject a bit...

Steve



On Fri, Oct 7, 2011 at 8:48 AM, Steve Krull wrote:

> Joe,
>
> Yes, FlightSafety it is. I took ground school in 1964/65 and then 
> discovered cars and girls. Probably should have stuck with 
> airplanes...
>
> In 20 years in the AF (8 active duty as a metrologist, 12 in the ANG 
> as an F4 simulator engineer, metrologist, and finishing in a combat 
> air control squadron) the only aircraft I ever flew in was a C-47 that 
> didn't belong to us.
>
> I now have a hearing disability that prevents me from passing a flight 
> physical so I get my flying strictly in simulators, and little enough 
> of that for the last 10 years as I was more in demand for dealing with 
> the regulatory authorities.
>
> Good luck with the meters. I got my first 3458A some years ago but was 
> forced to sell it less than a year later. My second one was discovered 
> by a stroke of luck, just after I got a 3457A and a pair of 3455A's 
> from a local aircraft manufacturer's surplus outlet. The 7081 came 
> from the same source. Those days are long gone now as they don't seem 
> to be getting rid of things as much as they either trade them in on 
> new or consign everything to a dealer who puts them on ebay.
>
> I did discover the cal key for my 7081 has disappeared so I need to 
> dig around a bit for that or look for a replacement. I almost bought 
> the 7081 manuals in paper but decided the pdf's will work for me for 
> now.
>
> Steve
>
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 10:31 PM, J. L. Trantham wrote:
>
>> Steve,
>>
>> Flight Safety?  I got my Private Pilot's license in 1968, an ATP in 
>> 1992,
>> and now about 4500 hours later I am still flying.
>>
>> I did find a 3458A that should be here next week.  It was advertised 
>> as
>> fully functional and comes with a 30 day return guarantee.  For what 
>> I paid,
>> I will be able to return it to Agilent for repair and still be ahead 
>> of what
>> I have seen on theBay.  Hopefully, all it will need is a return for
>> alignment/calibration.
>> If Solartron is 'on schedule', I should have the 7081 back before
>> Thanksgiving.  I just hope there is not hidden disaster that makes it
>> useless.
>>
>> I got the paper manuals today for the 7081 and they appear to be in 
>> good
>> condition but I am a little suspicious that they are copies rather 
>> than
>> original.  But very good condition and very legible.
>>
>> Joe
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com [mailto:volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com] 
>> On
>> Behalf Of Steve Krull
>> Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2011 8:39 PM
>> To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
>> Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] Serious problems fluke 731A, 720 and 
>> solartron
>>
>> Joe,
>>
>> Yes, aviation it is. 34 years with one of the largest trainers of 
>> corporate, commuter, private, and military pilots and mechanics, with 
>> flight attendants thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately it 
>> involves a lot of travel as I'm the interface with the aviation 
>> authorities around the globe.
>>
>> My 7081 is sitting on the bench warming up and I hope to do some 
>> comparisons against the 3458A before I get called out of the country 
>> again.
>>
>> I hope they provide a good report with the return of your meter. Let 
>> us know how it turns out.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Steve
>>
>>
>> On 10/4/2011 9:53 PM, J. L. Trantham wrote:
>>> Didier,
>>>
>>> I will upload the 7061 manual later tonight.
>>>
>>> Joe
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com 
>>> [mailto:volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com]On
>>> Behalf Of shalimr9 at gmail.com
>>> Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2011 3:07 PM
>>> To: Volt-Nuts
>>> Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] Serious problems fluke 731A, 720 and 
>>> solartron
>>>
>>> Joe,
>>>
>>> I am interested in hosting your manuals on my web site.
>>>
>>> Let me know if that's ok with you.
>>>
>>> Didier KO4BB
>>>
>>> Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless thingy while I do other things...
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: "J. L. Trantham"<jltran at att.net>
>>> Sender: volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com
>>> Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 19:41:25
>>> To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement<volt-nuts at febo.com>
>>> Reply-To: Discussion of precise voltage 
>>> measurement<volt-nuts at febo.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] Serious problems fluke 731A, 720 and 
>>> solartron
>>>
>>> Steve,
>>>
>>> You must have something to do with aviation.
>>>
>>> My meter just arrived in Oak Ridge yesterday.  Hopefully, it will be 
>>> on
>> the
>>> way to England later this week.  Their turn around time estimate is 
>>> 4
>> weeks.
>>> Hopefully, I will have it back by first part of November.
>>>
>>> I found the folks in Oak Ridge very friendly and helpful.  The lady 
>>> I
>> spoke
>>> with offered to try to find a manual for the 7081 but did not have 
>>> any.
>> She
>>> did, though, have an operating manual for the 7061 that she sent me 
>>> in
>> .PDF
>>> form.  If anyone wants it, let me know.  It is about 1 MB in size. 
>>> I have
>>> not looked to see if one is posted anywhere around the net or not.
>>>
>>> Also, I found a complete set of used manuals for the 7081 (Operating 
>>> Part
>> I,
>>> Operating Part II, and Service) at Manuals Plus and bought them. 
>>> They
>> have
>>> yet to arrive.
>>>
>>> I am anxious to see what they find in England and how it performs 
>>> when it
>>> gets back.
>>>
>>> Joe
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com 
>>> [mailto:volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com]On
>>> Behalf Of Steve Krull
>>> Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2011 1:15 PM
>>> To: volt-nuts at febo.com
>>> Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] Serious problems fluke 731A, 720 and 
>>> solartron
>>>
>>>
>>> Joe,
>>>
>>> I was within a couple of hundred yards of your 7081 this past week, 
>>> if
>>> it shipped to England without any delay! The Ametek/Solartron 
>>> building
>>> is just up the road from our pilot training center at Farnborough
>>> Airport and I was there for meetings this past week. I had intended 
>>> to
>>> wander up the road and see if there was anyone left from the test
>>> equipment group but time got away from me. The closest I got was 
>>> driving
>>> by the entrance to the industrial park.
>>>
>>> While in England I did manage, through a friend, to pick up a set of
>>> Solartron test leads with banana plugs, and he's going to see if he 
>>> can
>>> find his Kelvin clip set and probe set too. With the leads, good 
>>> food,
>>> good ale, good weather, and good company, it was a great trip. I
>>> generally have at least one meeting a year at Farnborough and 
>>> Gatwick
>>> airports so I hope to eventually make it up the road to
>>> Ametek/Solartron. Not sure if I want to take my 7081 in my luggage 
>>> but I
>>> may yet.
>>>
>>> Steve
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, Sep 25, 2011 at 11:31 AM, J. L. Trantham wrote:
>>>
>>>> Fred,
>>>>
>>>> I have recently acquired a Solartron 7081 and have had a lot of fun
>>>> getting
>>>> to know the meter.  In an effort to get it 'calibrated', I chased 
>>>> down
>>>> the
>>>> US branch of AMETEK, the company that now apparently owns 
>>>> Solartron.
>>>> I
>>>> shipped my meter to them yesterday and they will ship it to England
>>>> for
>>>> calibration, repair and alignment, as needed.  The 7081 ceased
>>>> production in
>>>> 1998 and full support ended in 2008 but it is still supported, 
>>>> 'best
>>>> endeavours'.
>>>>
>>>> When I was on the phone with them this AM to give them my credit 
>>>> card
>>>> information, I asked if they still supported the 7061, remembering
>>>> this
>>>> thread.  She said the 7061 is still on the list of supported
>>>> equipment.  So,
>>>> worst case scenario, you could contact AMETEK and see what options
>>>> might
>>>> exist for your 7061.
>>>>
>>>> Joe
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com 
>>>> [mailto:volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com]On
>>>> Behalf Of Fred Schneider
>>>> Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2011 5:35 PM
>>>> To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
>>>> Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] Serious problems fluke 731A, 720 and
>>>> solartron
>>>>
>>>> The voltage collapses. I have to measure how much but not just a 
>>>> few
>>>> uV.
>>>> More like 200 mV if I remember it right. I know it is a resitive
>>>> divider but
>>>> the influence on each other is getting worse if it is on 24/7,
>>>> another sign
>>>> something is wrong. The 1V influences akso the 10 V so you keep it
>>>> adjusting. If i set 10 V correct and then the 1 V's the 10 V is off
>>>> again.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The 845 AB had its nicads removed and they placed a big zener 
>>>> instead.
>>>> The
>>>> most important thing, I made a regulated and good filtered
>>>> powersupply. I
>>>> placed the pcb for that in the space the nicds were mounted.
>>>> I also have a HP frequency standard that had a batterybox. But they
>>>> were
>>>> dead and i did not needed that so now i build a trimble thunderbolt
>>>> into
>>>> that space and used the 100 KHz output of the HP for the 10 MHz. 
>>>> That
>>>> is the
>>>> advantage of having gear with a battery option ;-)
>>>>
>>>> I can think i can fix the solartron Problem if I can find a service
>>>> manual.
>>>> But now I can not even check the powersupply voltages because I do 
>>>> not
>>>> know
>>>> them. Filtercaps are good.
>>>>
>>>> Fred
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Fred,
>>>>>
>>>>> What happens to the 10 volt position of the Fluke 731 when you 
>>>>> attach
>>>>> a 10
>>>> MegOhm input Voltmeter ?
>>>>> I am sure you know that the 1 volt positions are just resistive
>>>>> dividers
>>>> and any loading of any kind will drop their value.
>>>>> Also, could you give details on what modifications you made to the
>>>>> 845AB ?
>>>>>
>>>>> thanks,
>>>>>
>>>>> Bill....WB6BNQ
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
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