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I vote for the power supply. You've done a lot of scopes and meters recently. As always, the best channel hands down :^)

That's a top tip to use a current limiting resistor to check an analog meter

You are the Bob Ross of electronics. I have been watching you for years and I find your videos both relaxing and informative. Your channel is what makes youtube a great platform.

Whenever I see Stark instruments I think of Tony Stark. It's perfect for working with spark reactors, and it's big enough to read easily while he's wearing helmet for his Iron Man suit.

Mr Carlson, your videos are the best! It’s probably a remedial subject, but I would love to see a detailed discussion on capacitors. Describe their function, how they behave in circuit, and why the specific type was chosen for a given application.

Stark was just planning ahead and knew that in the future someone would invent the internet and they just wanted to make sure there would be a nice easy VTVM for all of us watching over your shoulder to read with ease.

So, Paul, you asked whether you should show us the GE Oscillograph or the Eico Power supply in the next video - I say YES! I barely had time to enjoy half my coffee and the video was over - make the video longer and show us both!! This video was great - I am attracted to any old equipment with big, interesting meters and this one knocked it out of the park. Can hardly wait to see this one powered up and working as designed. Thank you for sharing your time, knowledge, and the seemingly never-ending supply of potential projects.

Mr. Carlson, I've been obsessed with watching your videos lately. I'm a younger person and you have really sparked my interest in all these vintage electronics. I've learned so much from you and I really appreciate the detail and effort you put into the videos. Thanks!

Great video Paul, that Stark meter is really cool. As for videos I think what would be cool is possibly working on and troubleshooting some more modern electronics with your vintage test gear. I loved those types of videos when you did them.

I have always enjoyed watching Mr. Carlson's Lab tutorial videos! It's not only well made but he imparts good advice n technical knowledge to viewers! He takes the trouble to explain in depth his testing methods thus giving viewers good understanding of the concepts! Thank you Mr. Carlson for these learning videos! Keep them coming!

I’m going to have to look at that capacitor tester on patron. I’ve used several series and parallel esr test meters over the years. And each one has its own unique design pros and cons. This one has my attention due to the way it tests the circuit. Will definitely become one and check out more. When one has time, I love to have fun in the lab! I love the time you take and are very informative about the fundamental and critical points in a circuit or design. That make it all the more interesting! TY

I enjoyed how excited you were to show us this meter. Im new to this channel and new to electronics in general but learning more everyday. Thanks for your commitment to delivering content that your clearly passionate about.

Great looking meter. I hope it climbs your priority list, Paul. See how accurate you can get it. That Eico power supply looks like an interesting "what's Inside" video candidate. Lots of rain in the area for a couple of days.....I know you'll be in the lab. :-)

I love big meters. I just rebuilt a Jackson Model 709 which is huge and I love my reliable RCA Master Voltohmyst. I rebuilt both thanks to the confidence you gave me to tackle the project through these videos. So thanks much!

I have the Hickok version of the VTVM and look forward to seeing you repair and rebuild this so that I can follow along at home. I am also patron and appreciate your attention to detail as well as your sharing of knowledge.

OMG crazy big is an overstatement. Yikes that's definitely the largest vtvm I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing Paul.

I am really looking forward to watching you restore this VTVM.

That is a nice meter. one of the first pieces of test equipment that I restored was an Eico 249. It's till on my workbench and I use it frequently.

Wifes name and pic. Mark here. My dad repaired TV's when I was a kid, I helped at times. I vote Eico as I have a few of my dads old Eico units on display in my music room. Thanks Mr. Carson from just north of Los Angeles, CA. Peace

WOW that's one huge dial Paul, oh thanks for the resister trick. Stay well Electro Dude! TFS, GB :)

love your Channel. I'm not a component guy at all. But watching it I'm slowly learning. ty!

That meter face is massive. Has that deco aesthetic I'd expect to see on an old power plant control panel in an urbex exploration or something. Lovely tool to score! Have an Eico 221 that I enjoy. Thought I saw one in your collection, too.

Hi Paul, great video. I almost laughed when you pull out that drive-in movie screen sized meter. It makes me so happy to see you pull out these unobtanium devices. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, love of old gear, and great sense of humor. Cheers Paul, I enjoy everything you do. I have some great gear like the HP 400C, and the Heathkit Mod. IP-17 HV supply, both fully restored, thank you for inspiration and knowledge. P.S. I have a strange love for power supplies, especially high powered or high voltage power supplies in particular. My vote is for the Power Supply.

The TV shop where I worked in 1978-1980 had a RCA Master Volt-Ohmist, a VTVM about that size. A beautiful piece of equipment. My favorite equipment in that shop.

Found this while looking for a calibration procedure for the Hickok 209A I'm rebuilding. It's nearly an exact match. Different jacks, jacks and switches in different places. Replaced the caps, then the meter quit working. I screamed a little, might have even cried. I opened the meter and found the an old wooden bobbin wire wound resistor inside, it was broke at the end, so thankfully it was an easy fix. Making a copy of a Heathkit probe shell, yes the 6al5 tube fits fine. Found the right sized aluminum tube and 3d printed ends out of petg plastic. Had lots of issues finding the 4 pin plug for the probe, the common ones that look like it and used for Ham mics are clocked different, and can't be changed. Hopefully it's close to replacing my NRI VTVM on the bench.

Great video. Looking forward to seeing the meter in action. As for which machine to investigate next, my vote is for the box with the large proboscis.

The "talking while you're going along" is part of the experience, haha

Love this, what a fantastic piece of equipment.

In fact, you are right the picture does not do it justice, its a big meter in the external shape and in the interior design as well. Getting a device that is a quarter of this quality now is like asking for the impossible Thanks for the posting this video Paul, it's great as always

I Recall having seen a similar sized meter and movement on an old mechanic's bay car 'analyser' but that's about it! Wow that thing is almost comical. :D - Thanks for another great vintage electronics video!

I found this exact same stark voltmeter at a thrift store in Owen Sound ON, Serial no 165!

Thanks for reminding me I have to replace a couple of sockets in my stark tube tester. Cheers and thanks Mr. Carlson. I love seeing this near mint vintage gear. My stuff's getting worn.I can almost smell the "virginity" of those fantastic devices.

Every time he Post I loose a hour of my life. Sometimes more. But to me it’s not a waste. man I love this channel

👋 Hey😊 I really really love you diving into very old radio sets 20’s and 30’ plus…the wood encased radios that spell character!!! I guess you could say antiques roadshow meets antiques radio fixer…. Can’t get enough of it plus the history of the radio ❤️ it all. Just the other day while watching KZfaq there was a ad for I think it was vacuum two parts and circuits etc. and my eyes bugged out I know some of them are $30 for vacuum tubes but I saw some that were in the thousands of dollars. It would be interesting to tell you watchers how much these things cost and if they’re still making them and why they are making them. You are truly the Leonardo da Vinci in your chosen field of electronics. Perhaps you can also mention what it would take to restore a radio both financially and in parts… you might get viewers looking up in their attic and pulling out an old radio and getting it restored knowing the relative cost for such a venture. I like what you doing I also like history but that’s just me keep up the good work 😊🥰👍👍🇨🇦🇬🇧

Great meter and video...thanks! I saw a Hickok 209A at a swap meet and had to have it - the Hickok is a little fancier/less industrial looking. Restored and built a replica probe as it was missing. Got a couple of the probes cases left and probably won't use them - if you're interested, I'll send them to you. Guess these were intended for classroom settings where visibility from a distance was important.

Nice! I picked up a Simpson 269 a few years ago. That’s similar to the 260, but it’s meter movement is much larger than that of the 260. Even that is only half the size of the meter you have (and, of course, the 269 is not a VTVM). I like those large meters since they provide a little more precision for interpolation. I’m surprised they didn’t put the mirror strip on that one to avoid parallax errors.

That meter looks about as large as a portable TV's screen! I would love to see an analysis on that wacky oscilloscope. Looks like someone loved it and didn't want to let it go when the original CRT died, so they replaced it with whatever they had on hand.

Thank you for sharing this great video Stark made some fairly good equipment for their price range .I use one of their RF signal generator's when doing radio alignment !

I like that this vtvm has a DC Zero Center function.

Paul, thank you for another of your outstanding videos. I am in awe of your knowledge! 73, AA4EZ

Beautiful condition! That paint is perfect.

i don't understand none of what you show and tell but you do have my full attention I think I get it .

Nice Explain & Very Good Information Thank You.

i love the cb radio fixes - esp the newer stuff that comes to you not working - and u fix it and then we get to hear voices from across the world

I just come across the HICKOK 209A VTVM version as you mentioned. I thought it was so interesting with the huge meter, I had to grab it. It's not in nearly as good of shape as your Stark though. So glad you are going to restore this one. I have not even cleaned to old corroded cells out of mine yet. I vote power supply on the next instrument to look at!

Hey Carlson excellent work as always. Thanks 👍

You certainly have alot of neet old electric equipment, that giant volt meter goes well with your collection!👍

Another great video. I vote for the strange looking scope to see next. Thanks again!

I suspect that the meter sat on a shelf off the workbench to save space. The large dial face made for easy reading at a distance. Beautifully built instrument. Thanks for the video.

In High school I did Radio & TV repair and we had a giant meter like that so our teacher Mr. Sloane could make measurements / demos and we could all see what he was doing.

Paul! You are definitely the VTVM guy! 👍

Thank you so much for all the things you've taught me.

New subscriber, I am on the ground floor, just bought my first soldering iron. I don’t care what you do next, just want to see your hands doing it! Mr. Carlsons hands lab! 😁👊🏻

That was fun, Paul! Thank you. No more glasses while probing on the bench ;-) 73 de Olaf

With a nod to Terry over at D-Lab, that VTVM is definitely Boat-Anchor class. It's HUGE.

That meter is huge, perfect for us old folk 😄 Thanks Paul.

It’s definitely a stark contrast to the other meters !

When I started in our calibration department we had a Cambridge reflecting dynamometer Wattmeter it had a moving assembly with a mirror attachment the scale was 9 feet long It was used as a reference standard for Wattmeter calibration

جزاك الله خير أخي والله بتابعك من مصر ما شاء الله عليك ربنا يزيدك من علمه

I was so impressed with this meter that I chased down a Hickok 209A VTVM and purchased it. It is complete with the probe set, thankfully! The schematics for the Stark and the Hickok appear to be identical.

I have the Hickok version of this meter - can't wait to watch!

Thanks for another great video. I vote for the high voltage power supply, the scope a close 2nd. I look forward the all three.

Mister you are the class nothing else !! Eric from France

"Stark" is Hickok assembled in Canada. You can spot family resemblance with ease. Same knobs and finish as on Hickok testers. Canadians also usually where adding little twist, like 533A variant with old Euro sockets added like P8 ad Rilmlock

At 11:35 the Hickok VTVM with large meter is a model 225K. No need for reading glasses there either. The power supply looks like a next look see.

I thought the EICO Model 249 I found at a Ham swap meet for $5.00 was large. This Stark has that beat. I have not seen any of this brand here in the US. Thanks for sharing! As for what to show next? Both appeal so I will watch what you post. I will say this has inspired me to look into the EICO 249 as the next project.

Hi Paul, the power supply for sure! 😁 Great video as usual!

Awesome video, I would like to see the Oscillograaf next ! 😀

I'm glad that (very nice) unit landed on your desk instead of a novice experimenter's learning experience.

Hello! I would venture a guess that the meter you show in this episode was made for instructional purposes. If an instructor was doing demonstrations for a class it would be very good to have that oversized meter for the class to see. I think that their would be more interesting discoveries in the osclligraph but would watch both!

You motivated me to hike through my pasture to an old school bus where some radios and meters are stored. Hickok 209 A. I agree. I like the switch layout on your meter better. The nostalgia for phenolic resin aroma is admirable. Do you remember the first time you smelled a flaming selenium rectifier? (1964 for me). If I become a patreon member, is there a way to DM you to discuss deeper electrical/math analysis on the 3-6-9 antenna? Many Blessings and continued success to you.

I have the hickock one. I’ve been waiting for this… Cheers j

I have the Hickok 209A. The Stark is basically just a rebadged version of it. They didn't even change the control placement. Stark did the same with some of their other equipment as well.

starting with the biggest resistor reminds me of the safety tip for voltage checking on setting the meter to the highest value and then working back if you do not know what is on a circuit.

Nice video and good tips. We want to see both, the power supply and the oscillograph. Thanks.

Years ago I built a little 0-10mA + 0-1000µA current source for the exact purpose of checking meter movements. Basically a pair of AAAs and some 20-turn pots. Have to laugh at what at first glance looks like your DMM saying "ouch" as well. :)

Great video, as always. Let's see the power supply next.

Love your work 👌

Paul, you're lucky your meter works. I just finished recapping my Hickok 209A, checked the transformer, and DC supply. I put the tubes back in and... nothing! It turns out the series compensation resistor inside the meter is open. It's hair thin wire. One end had broken off. The movement itself is good. I jumpered across the resistor. I'm going to put a potentiometer in series with the meter and determine what value of resistor I need and install it externally in series with the meter.

I think those large meters were intended for classrooms or teaching labs so several people could see it from a distance.

Nice one!!

CRTs are always great to look at.👍

Adam decades ago I once had a Hickok 209 VTVM which was very similar to the one you showed here. Might have had an even larger meter.

I like that oscillograph with the cute little CRT.

Paul, while these "Let's Look Inside..." videos are extremely interesting, please sprinkle in some restorations too, *IF* your new workshop(s) are set-up well enough yet to do so. These videos are too much like teasers! ;) As far as choosing which "Let's Look Inside..." video to do next, I'd have to choose that very old looking oscillograph with the cardboard bezel around the tube just sticking out of the front of the case (which looks awfully risky to the tube!). My next choice might be the off-screen high-voltage power supply since while I've been inside "regular" bench PSUs, I've not looked inside high-voltage units, or even ever seen one (microwave ovens not included).

thank you for asking, what I would like to see in the next video is this meter restoration

Paul, I must selfishly vote for a restoration video of this VTVM since I just scored a Hickok 209a at the fall swap meet. It is a gorgeous thing, all black and chrome, just like my Harley! Sadly, no probes.

Looks about the EICO 249 that I picked up a decade ago. I've got an even larger one that has a sweep about the size of the entire box you're holding, but it's in storage and I can't remember the manufacturer.

wow that's a beauty

It was (is?) VERY nice to have a large meter like that if doing repetitive testing or calibration 8 hours a day as a job. Most of us use meters sporadically for troubleshooting or occasionally maybe calibrating something and don't mind a little difficulty reading a meter (or small and/or dim and/or non-contrasty digital display). So, we don't tend to think "size matters".

What a great vtvm to have on the bench.

Jackson makes a large meter similar to this stark, I have a B & K 177/V-95 with a large meter that I would like to have working, but I can't figure out what is wrong with it. I have a vision problem and would like to have this working so I can see the small divisions on a VTVM. I had a Knight like you have and it somehow got lost when I left home many years ago.

Wow - what a big VTVM. You could store 10 DVMs in the same lab space . I wonder what that thing cost back in the day. For the next project, I vote for the Eico PS.

The oscillograph would be great, anything tube related is always interesting!

Hi, very interesting big multimeter model. I have the Hickok 209A that is similar.

I vote for the Stark, but I hope you will post all of those . I’ve an Eico 249 VTVM that looks massive as this. Let us see how precise you can get it, please!

I would like to see the EICO power supply, I have one and mine works good. I was wondering about the filtering in these.

Great meter for viewing from far-away.Please show a rebuild on the power supply.

How about digging out that Eddystone receiver you showed us in your lab tours a while ago? Please!