help needed with a vom

[Isaiah]

I have  Universal AvoMeter a.m. testmeter. type d ref #10s/10610
by The AUTOMATIC COIL WINDER & ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT CO. LTD.
'WINDER HOUSE' DOUGLAS STREET, LONDON S.W.1
 MADE IN ENGLAND.
 The battery is missing and it has the following printed on the back cover.

 '' WHEN THE CELL IS EXHAUSTED BEYOND THE LIMITS OF COMPENSATION, THE PLATE AT THE END OF THE METER SHOULD BE REMOVED AND A NEW CELL NO.6 REF NO,5S/2000 SUBSTITUTED .''
 Can someone tell me what the voltage this cell is and what possibly be used to substituted to make the meter work?

I have opened the compartment and it looks like it has been modifed to accept a, c or d cell but Im not sure.
  This would look good on  our bench with the antique battery chargers!
  The older the better.

[ghurd]

#6 is a big old battery.
http://www.radiolaguy.com/info/No6_A_cell.htm

Enough space in there for something like that?

G-

[dnix71]

A #6 is 1.5 volts at 1.5 amp-hours. If you are restoring antiques then http://www.radiolaguy.com/info/No.%206%20A%20battery.htm  has reproductions labels that look original.




http://www.kensclockclinic.com/SWC_power.html  sells #6 cells themselves.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Replica-6-Belknap-Crusader-Dry-Cell-Battery-/300462853911?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f4fb4f17   also here.

[Isaiah]

 I will check into these .
  The battery box is 5'' long 1 1/2 wide ,it looks like someone made a spacer out of a piece of wood to compensate for a shorter battery I think.
 Are these battery's expensive? How long do they usually last under normal usage?
 I probably could test it with a d cell and if good purchase the original for it.
 maybe we need to contact with the radio guy as we have old cb's ham etc also some that need new homes

[Rover]

I will check into these .
  The battery box is 5'' long 1 1/2 wide ,it looks like someone made a spacer out of a piece of wood to compensate for a shorter battery I think.
 Are these battery's expensive? How long do they usually last under normal usage?
 I probably could test it with a d cell and if good purchase the original for it.
 maybe we need to contact with the radio guy as we have old cb's ham etc also some that need new homes

I believe that Ghurd and Dnix have done an outstanding job of showing what the battery is , I think that they have provided you with more than enough information to find such baterries ( or equivalent) with a few google searches. Honestly I spent under a few minutes researching for your original question on the baterries, found nothing  meaningful in that short time . Kudos to Ghurd and Dnix for taking it further.

Part of the fun of dealing with antique electronics is finding stuff out, you probably could have done this on your own.

heheh I'm gathering this unit doesn't have a digital output

[ghurd]

I thought a #6 was 6V, which is how the guy in the link makes replicas.
Wiki shows a #6 as 35~40AH.

1.5V 1.5AH is more in line with a AA alkaline.
G-

[dnix71]

Is it one of these meters? The pdf manual is here: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shinjo.info%2Ffrank%2Finstruments%2FAVO%2FInstruments%2FAvometers8%2FMkI%26IIuser.pdf&ei=-uCCTNWpOYL6lwfT8bkk&usg=AFQjCNG3wpD7j6-9x2Y2yRERXnRXxd1NVA



This site and others say you need either a 15v or 22v battery to read certain scales, otherwise a common D-cell works fine. Thats the #6 you are looking to replace.
http://www.btinternet.com/~allan.isaacs/meters.html   nice pix, too.

You can make a 22v dry cell by stacking 15 button batteries in a tube.

[Isaiah]

My unit is similar to the one shown mine dose not have the binding posts at the top.
Is this meter worth trying to bring it back to life ?
It dosen't look to be in bade shape but you dont know if it has internal damage.
 Thank you guys for giving me the links to the battery's. and the links

[ghurd]

Is this meter worth trying to bring it back to life ?

Nope!
Not if you want a meter to use.

HF has a coupon to get a $10 meter for $2 right now.
It reads 1/10,000,000 of an amp, and 1/10,000 of a volt.
It tests transistors and diodes and has a dandy back lighted LCD display too.
It comes with a 9V battery.  (included)

If you want the nostalgia
then the needle on the front is just a needle on the front,
which is connected to some pretty simple stuff on the back.
It was invented when Thomas Jefferson was alive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanometer

If you just want it to make the needle semi-accurately move at a single fixed scale (not involving the switches),
to match up with the old battery charger,
that would be easy.
Simply need to make a shunt suitable to the operating parameters.

G-

[Isaiah]

I think Ill just use a "D" cell and see if there is any life in it yet and go from there.
ghurd there are things the digital models wont do!
Somethings have to have a analog meter!
 The sun can raise havoc with the screen on the digital!!! cheap one or expensive ones the sun will get.
This one will either wind up setting by A old battery charger or combiner box.
Those cheap meters the test leads leave a lot to be desired and wont be around in 50 -60 years or so.!

[wooferhound]

If you are going to measure Voltage or Current then you don't need a battery, it is only needed if you are going to measure Resistance.