I used one of these in the army and took it for granted. I have worked at Pfizer, Grumman, Venus Scientific,Crown Fire Protection,North Hills Electronics and Component Repair Service over a twenty year plus period and never worked with anything that was even remotely as good as this. I can honestly say I have pined for the ME-26 at every workbench I ever worked at.
Lovely! Certainly would like to see the calibration please. I've very occasionally seen these on sale in the UK but I didn't realise they were an HP design.
I checked Ebay, and the prices range from $600 to $1300! You can get an H-P 410B for around half that...certainly NOT cheap, but still, the 410B IS the classic VTVM. This meter certainly appears to be the military version of that legendary VTVM.
That's what sellers are asking for them in Buy It Now listings. They normally sell for between $25 to $250 on the top end. Just search on ebay and then refine the search on the left side to only show "Sold Items". That will show you what they are really selling for. I could ask $1,000 for a piece of gravel on eBay, doesn't mean I'm going to get it. Most of the sellers have extremely high asking prices but have a best offer price. I frequently get items for 1/2 to a 1/4 of their asking price using the make offer feature.
I got one of these mil spec meters a few months ago just havent gotten around to doing anything with it yet. I hope you do the calibration, would be nice to see. There is currently one on ebay, they don't show up much!
I worked as an electronics technician for the government and used the ME-26 and repaired them for many years. A very robust meter however, a boat anchor by today's standards.
May be a boat anchor but name one modern multimeter that can measure AC at high frequencies like this one and has a N type connector adapter that can be put in a transmission line.
That seems basically the same as a HP-410B correct? I have two 410B's and they have the same basic specs and probes including the ac probe that reads up to 700 MHz, HP originally had those elimac 2-01C diode tubes specially made just for the 410B which is why they are rare and can cost as much as the whole vtvm to replace. They were later substituted with a Amperex EA53
I'd like to see this calibrated. But what I'd really like to see is how somebody who doesn't have access to high precision voltage sources could do calibrations on their own meters. I've been considering this: Thinking of making a cal box by running a small variac into an isolation transformer, and the output of that into a 12V xfmr and something out of a tube set to give maybe 400v. AC out at 0-12, 0-120 (straight from iso trans) and 0-400, then also bridge rectifiers and filters for DC outputs too. Use a "known good" meter to set the variac and use that voltage for calibration.
+Joseph Cote I just use a lab calibrated 6 1/2 digit meter as a reference standard. That's several orders of magnitude more accurate than the analog meter..
I GOT MINE THROUGH ARMY MARS IN THE LATE 70'S. IT SAID OUT OF SPEC ON AC AS I REMEMBER. LOVE THE METER. I'D LIKE TO SEE THE VIDEO YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE TUBE IN THE AC PROBE, KØOJ
Please make a video showing calibration of ME-26 D/U. I have a copy of training manual 11-6625-200-15 with calibration procedure 11-6625-624-35. I also have an AN/URM-25D signal generator. I want to use these for alignment of my military communications receivers. My ME-26 D/U is a Sentinel Electronics contract build (order DAABOS-67-C-0604) with a serial number of 994, all original. Even the paint job looks like new. I purchased both instruments cheap back in the late 1980's.
I love that Eimac micro-diode tube in the AC probe... that is so awesome it's ridiculous...lol :-D What's it's number? If the box for that little micro-tube is so big for such a tiny tube, how big are the boxes for Eimac's 3-500 and 4-1000, etc, tubes? :-)
I found it... "Eimac 2-01C'... very cool.... :-) Image: www.decadecounter.com/vta/pic/201c_sm.jpg Specs: www.tubecollectors.org/eimac/archives/2-01c(60).pdf
(continued from previous comment.) Ac ..10 meg-ohms below 100 kc, more than 01 meg-ohm at 100 mc, and 0.01 meg-ohm at 700 mc Accuracy: Dc.+3 percent of full-scale value on all ranges Ac +3 percent of full-scale value on all ranges for sinusoidal input (mid-frequency range NOTE The meter scales are calibrated to indicate 0707 of the peak voltage of a sine wave For a sine wave, the meter indication is the RMS value of the sine wave, but for a complex wave, the meter indication is not the RMS value of the complex wave. Resistance ±10 percent at center scale on RX1 range. +5 percent at center scale on all other ranges Number of tubes...5 Line-voltage input 115 or 280 volts, single phase, 50 to 1,000 cps Power consumption 40 watts
1-5. Technical Characteristics Voltage ranges: Dc 0 to 1 volt 0 to 8 volts 0 to 10 volts 0 to 00 volts 0 to 100 volts 0 to 300 volts 0 to 1,000 volts AC 0 to 1 volt 0 to 3 volts 0 to 10 volts 0 to 30 volts 0 to 100 volts 0 to 300 volts Resistance ranges 0 to 500 ohms 0 to 5,000 ohms 0 to 50,000 ohms 0 to 500,000 ohms 0 to 5 meg-ohms 0 to 500 meg-ohms Frequency range (ac voltage) ................. 20 cps to 700 mc Frequency range (AC probe) .fiat within + 1 db from 20 cps to 800 mc and + 2 db from 20 cps to 700 mc Input impedance: Dc ............................... 122 megohm
CAnt be listened , i know a lot of ppl have garbage speakers and dont hear , but its distorting all the way , i would like to help, i can , i do audio production for a long long time , but thats not the point , point is , cant listen sorry , if help is needed , dedskin at gmail com . I also have analog equipment, form 70s like this , tubes an all
Been quite a while since I bought one of these. I see them for sale all the time. It's not like they are rare. Saw 4 or 5 of them at the last hamfest I was at and I didn't buy any of them. What's rare and usually expensive is the coax transmission line tap adapter for the probe.
Please stop using filthy language Mike! Think of the children!!! Expressions such as there are : "how many of these does one really need?" will condition our young men to a degree that will have devastating consequences! And have you given any thought to us married techs/engineers??? What if my missus was in the room when this video was playing!? I either would have to house,sanity knows, how many more pairs of shoes or worse...listen to marital 'counsel' such as : "see?! even the chap on the interwebz says so!!" Toodles!! Paddy
![[Restoration]- 1960's Multimeter! Sentinel ME-26D/U](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aWgdyoJsVnI/mqdefault.jpg)
I used one of these in the army and took it for granted. I have worked at Pfizer, Grumman, Venus Scientific,Crown Fire Protection,North Hills Electronics and Component Repair Service over a twenty year plus period and never worked with anything that was even remotely as good as this. I can honestly say I have pined for the ME-26 at every workbench I ever worked at.
Lovely! Certainly would like to see the calibration please. I've very occasionally seen these on sale in the UK but I didn't realise they were an HP design.
+Andrewausfa
Yeah, it's basically a bomb proof high performance HP410 series meter. This meter was actually made by Sentinel under military contract.
You mentioned that you also have a Sylvania VTVM that is also very good. Can you tell me the model number? Thanks very much!
To think the one with the NASA plate on it might've tested components used in early spacecraft. I'm a space cadet.🚀
Oh yeah, please show us the calibration procedure. If there are any of these left I may get one.
I checked Ebay, and the prices range from $600 to $1300! You can get an H-P 410B for around half that...certainly NOT cheap, but still, the 410B IS the classic VTVM. This meter certainly appears to be the military version of that legendary VTVM.
That's what sellers are asking for them in Buy It Now listings. They normally sell for between $25 to $250 on the top end. Just search on ebay and then refine the search on the left side to only show "Sold Items". That will show you what they are really selling for. I could ask $1,000 for a piece of gravel on eBay, doesn't mean I'm going to get it. Most of the sellers have extremely high asking prices but have a best offer price. I frequently get items for 1/2 to a 1/4 of their asking price using the make offer feature.
Yes please Mike would love to see the rebuild and calibration. Is it possible to recal without your amplifier.???
Do you repair old military vtvm like the TS 505?
I got one of these mil spec meters a few months ago just havent gotten around to doing anything with it yet. I hope you do the calibration, would be nice to see. There is currently one on ebay, they don't show up much!
I worked as an electronics technician for the government and used the ME-26 and repaired them for many years. A very robust meter however, a boat anchor by today's standards.
May be a boat anchor but name one modern multimeter that can measure AC at high frequencies like this one and has a N type connector adapter that can be put in a transmission line.
Another yes for alignment procedure. I have one of these meters also.
Just picked one of these beauties up with the leads snipped :-( . Any idea where I could find any? Or any you’d be willing to sell?
That seems basically the same as a HP-410B correct? I have two 410B's and they have the same basic specs and probes including the ac probe that reads up to 700 MHz, HP originally had those elimac 2-01C diode tubes specially made just for the 410B which is why they are rare and can cost as much as the whole vtvm to replace. They were later substituted with a Amperex EA53
+K2bew
Yes, basically a beefed up 410B.
I'd like to see this calibrated. But what I'd really like to see is how somebody who doesn't have access to high precision voltage sources could do calibrations on their own meters.
I've been considering this: Thinking of making a cal box by running a small variac into an isolation transformer, and the output of that into a 12V xfmr and something out of a tube set to give maybe 400v. AC out at 0-12, 0-120 (straight from iso trans) and 0-400, then also bridge rectifiers and filters for DC outputs too. Use a "known good" meter to set the variac and use that voltage for calibration.
+Joseph Cote
I just use a lab calibrated 6 1/2 digit meter as a reference standard. That's several orders of magnitude more accurate than the analog meter..
I GOT MINE THROUGH ARMY MARS IN THE LATE 70'S. IT SAID OUT OF SPEC ON AC AS I REMEMBER. LOVE THE METER. I'D LIKE TO SEE THE VIDEO YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE TUBE IN THE AC PROBE, KØOJ
Please make a video showing calibration of ME-26 D/U. I have a copy of training manual 11-6625-200-15 with calibration procedure 11-6625-624-35. I also have an AN/URM-25D signal generator. I want to use these for alignment of my military communications receivers. My ME-26 D/U is a Sentinel Electronics contract build (order DAABOS-67-C-0604) with a serial number of 994, all original. Even the paint job looks like new. I purchased both instruments cheap back in the late 1980's.
Calibration of the meter would be nice to see. Thanks.
I love that Eimac micro-diode tube in the AC probe... that is so awesome it's ridiculous...lol :-D What's it's number?
If the box for that little micro-tube is so big for such a tiny tube, how big are the boxes for Eimac's 3-500 and 4-1000, etc, tubes? :-)
I found it... "Eimac 2-01C'... very cool.... :-)
Image: www.decadecounter.com/vta/pic/201c_sm.jpg
Specs: www.tubecollectors.org/eimac/archives/2-01c(60).pdf
Yes I would like to see the calibration.
(continued from previous comment.)
Ac ..10 meg-ohms below 100 kc,
more than 01 meg-ohm at 100 mc,
and 0.01 meg-ohm at 700 mc
Accuracy:
Dc.+3 percent of full-scale value
on all ranges
Ac +3 percent of full-scale value
on all ranges for sinusoidal input
(mid-frequency range NOTE
The meter scales are calibrated to indicate 0707 of the peak voltage of a sine wave
For a sine wave, the meter indication is the RMS value of the sine wave,
but for a complex wave, the meter indication is not the RMS value of the complex wave.
Resistance
±10 percent at center scale on RX1 range.
+5 percent at center scale on all other ranges
Number of tubes...5
Line-voltage input 115 or 280 volts, single phase, 50 to 1,000 cps
Power consumption 40 watts
That's an alien size probe there...Ouch...
1-5. Technical Characteristics
Voltage ranges:
Dc
0 to 1 volt
0 to 8 volts
0 to 10 volts
0 to 00 volts
0 to 100 volts
0 to 300 volts
0 to 1,000 volts
AC
0 to 1 volt
0 to 3 volts
0 to 10 volts
0 to 30 volts
0 to 100 volts
0 to 300 volts
Resistance ranges
0 to 500 ohms
0 to 5,000 ohms
0 to 50,000 ohms
0 to 500,000 ohms
0 to 5 meg-ohms
0 to 500 meg-ohms
Frequency range
(ac voltage) ................. 20 cps to 700 mc
Frequency range
(AC probe) .fiat within + 1 db from 20 cps to 800 mc
and + 2 db from 20 cps to 700 mc
Input impedance:
Dc ............................... 122 megohm
Do you still have an extra VTVM?
I have close to 80 VTVM's. One of the dozens of things I collect. :-)
I have a TMK 500 and a Kyoritsu
Just seen one on ebay on 3-16-23 for $1,300.
Can anyone tell me how to replace the wire inside the ohms probe? Looks as if just pushed in, but doesn't pull out.
Have you tried unscrewing it?
@Larry Richards
It's probably soldered to the tip.
S/N 6656 sitting on my bench
Hey Mike
Do you have a website? Or email?
Military uses a lot of high freq. high voltage generators especially in aviation for the APU and on aircraft equipment.
MILSPEC is good!
Looks like the HP 410
Basically it is. It's a military ruggedized version.
It should be , we taxpayers paid $10,000 for it!
CAnt be listened , i know a lot of ppl have garbage speakers and dont hear , but its distorting all the way , i would like to help, i can , i do audio production for a long long time , but thats not the point , point is , cant listen sorry , if help is needed , dedskin at gmail com . I also have analog equipment, form 70s like this , tubes an all
yea, buy more of em, in fact by em all when you see them. then none of us can enjoy having one. pshhh
Been quite a while since I bought one of these. I see them for sale all the time. It's not like they are rare. Saw 4 or 5 of them at the last hamfest I was at and I didn't buy any of them. What's rare and usually expensive is the coax transmission line tap adapter for the probe.
Please stop using filthy language Mike!
Think of the children!!! Expressions such as there are : "how many of these does one really need?" will condition our young men to a degree that will have devastating consequences!
And have you given any thought to us married techs/engineers??? What if my missus was in the room when this video was playing!?
I either would have to house,sanity knows, how many more pairs of shoes or worse...listen to marital 'counsel' such as : "see?! even the chap on the interwebz says so!!"
Toodles!!
Paddy