Simpson 260 VOM Pick from Belton Hamfest

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I've been wanting to get an analog multi-meter to help test the Drake TR4-cw.   A few weeks ago I saw Bob Heil (SK) K9EID using a Simpson 260 in one of his Ham Nation vides hosted on You tube and knew I wanted one.  I found plenty of high priced Simpsons online, but after a few low bids I lost each of the online auctions to collectors who outbid me the last minute.  I decided to wait and hoped to find something locally at one of the upcoming Hamfests.

It didn't take long -- I actually saw two at the Belton Hamfest a few weeks ago.  After some quick haggling with the seller I got one that needed from TLC for $25.  The only catch was that the he said "It should work, but its got a lot of battery corrosion that needs to be cleaned up before you use it."   Not knowing exactly what to expect, I knew the price was right and paid the guy- worst case I figured this would be a fun repair project.

I got it home and opened it up,  sure enough there was a ton a acid corrosion on almost every battery terminal.  I found a copy of the operating manual from Simpson to confirm which model I have.  Its a Series II, manufactured in February of 195x according to the very faint date stamp inside the case.

I sanded and brushed the contacts but the meter didn't work.   It requires 4 AA batteries and 1 D sized battery.   Since all of the contacts were severely corroded, and I realized sandpaper and de-oxit wouldn't cut it.   Good reason to get this high speed rotary tool with from Amazon that was bundled with a nice set of accessory tool tips.  

I removed the spring clips, soaked them in a solution of baking soda and water.  I used the rotary tool to polish all contacts back to a shiny brass surface.  I tested all the connections for continuity and found a few additional problems - one of the ground wires had come loose from the wafer on the rotary selector switch.  Easily resoldered.   The positive (red) pin lead  failed a continuity tests.  So I trimmed and resolder both pin leads and put everything back together for final testing. 

It was exciting to finally see the needle swoop across the meter face.  DC and AC both tested accurately.  The meter face is very crips easy and read.   So with a little patience and some TLC I've got a nice analog meter, and cordless high speed rotary tool to boot!

73 Chris de WX7V







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