Good Source for Nice Analog Panel Ammeters for 833C Build?

[Magz]

Gathering parts for my 833C monoblocks build, and I'm having trouble finding suitable panel ammeters. I've found these lower range units from PE that could work if I want to monitor the driver:

Velleman AIM6050 50mA DC Panel Meter 320-234


and these for the power tube from a company I've never heard of:

DC 0-300mA Analog Panel Meter

Those above would work, but I don't much like the cheap look and the asian characters on the faceplate (NTTAWWT!).


Digikey has some digital LCD and LED meters that are very expensive, and I'd rather have a dial-type anyway:

CUB4I000 Red Lion Controls | RLC144-ND | DigiKey


Anyone know a good source for reasonably priced, dial-type sort of stylish panel ammeters? I actually have one I found at a flea market a while back, but I need two for the monoblocks.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[the_manta]

reasonably priced, dial-type sort of stylish panel ammeters?
Hardly possible to fulfill all of these requirements

Building an 833C amp will cost a lot of money. Why not invest a bit in some nice meters ? Simpson is a US company and also produces in the USA. They have very nice meters and really good quality:
http://www.simpsonelectric.com/index.asp?p=Products&id=18

It's your choice. YOu can also go the chinese way:
mablexporting.com
mablexporting.com
mablexporting.com
I don't know how it is possible to sell an analog meter for 3$ (As a student, I can't even get a meal for that money) and still earn some $$$ with that. But these meters seem to work fine. Lots of people use them for their projects.

 

[MelB]

Try your luck on ebay for a pair of Simpsons. the_manta is correct!

 

[Magz]

reasonably priced, dial-type sort of stylish panel ammeters?
Hardly possible to fulfill all of these requirements

Building an 833C amp will cost a lot of money. Why not invest a bit in some nice meters ? Simpson is a US company and also produces in the USA. They have very nice meters and really good quality:
http://www.simpsonelectric.com/index.asp?p=Products&id=18

It's your choice. YOu can also go the chinese way:
mablexporting.com
mablexporting.com
mablexporting.com
I don't know how it is possible to sell an analog meter for 3$ (As a student, I can't even get a meal for that money) and still earn some $$$ with that. But these meters seem to work fine. Lots of people use them for their projects.

Thanks for the link, I'm thinking the round style is kind of nice looking.

Actually, the one I got from the flea market is a Simpson...I wonder if they have a match still available...

Tell me about the cost of an 833C - especially when you want to run it at 2300VDC B+ as I will be!

Still it will be a lot less than a WAVAC...and with quite a bit more power.

 

[ktuuri]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/150702080146?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649


Check these meters out, the guy has quite a few.
I have bought 4 off him, NOS new, 2 were in sealed box for the 0-100ma meters..

 

[Magz]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/150702080146?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649


Check these meters out, the guy has quite a few.
I have bought 4 off him, NOS new, 2 were in sealed box for the 0-100ma meters..

Thanks. Those look nice for the lower range. I still need 0-300mA for the power tube, so Simpson it will be.

 

[CarlyBoy]

How 'bout these (from partsconnexion.com)?

 

[Magz]

Again, not high enough range. I need to go to ~300mA. Thanks, though!

I'm going for the Simpsons. It's a drop in the bucket cost-wise compared to the rest of the parts

 

[Miles Prower]

I got this one from Fair Radio: NOS, 0 -- 100uA, totally unused (still had the protective jumper installed). Looks like a 1940s, aviation meter.

I installed this meter since this project uses fixed bias on the finals, and it's most helpful for bias current balance. I used 10R current sense resistors in the cathode lead. I rigged up a 100mA CCS to calibrate the sense resistors. Put a 100K pot in series with the meter and adjusted for full deflection. Measured series resistance, and it came to ~7.0K. Connecting two 12K metal films in parallel with a 1.0K in series came to within a couple of ohms of the required series resistor, so the meter reads accurately, and not just a balance indicator.

 

[jackinnj]

Almost any panel meter can be converted to the range you need. If you have a 0-50uA meter and want to make it 0-300mA use the "shunt" method:

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

If you have a 0-300A meter, remove the internal shunt to determine its range.

For meter faces, there's a free-ware program from Tonne Software -- or you can buy a key for more advanced features. It's good enough for the ARRL to include it with the ARRL Handbook CD-ROM, and I've used it for projects around here (although my version is 2.40)

Meter - meterscale drawing program from Tonne Software

 

[HollowState]

Surely you have searched eBay. There are literally thousands of "panel meter"s listed. Exclude words like "digital" & "LED" to see only analog types.

 

[grhughes]

Industrial Round Series

I've been using HOYT meters. They made many for Westrex and Western Electric gear. They have many models including round but they aren't cheap. Ray

 

[Magz]

Surely you have searched eBay. There are literally thousands of "panel meter"s listed. Exclude words like "digital" & "LED" to see only analog types.

I was trying to avoid ebay and get something nice that I could be sure was new and would work accurately.

I also didn't want to spend a lot of time working up a shunt circuit and making a new dial face...the amp project itself will be challenging enough!

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! As I said, the round Simpsons look like they'll do just fine.