Well, I sort of stumbled onto Hickok equipment as old repairmen retired or died. A friend of mine has long run a sort of TV repair and lots of other junk setup in a local flea market. He doesn't do the repairs there. It's just where he turns over sets that quite often he'd found on the side of the road. Back in the CRT days, I don't think I ever paid for a good color TV! LOL!
Anyway, this guy had compiled a small storage warehouse full of stuff found and/or given to him. The stuff ranged from the 40s to this century. He gave me quite a bit of vintage repair equipment and a couple of old sets. This Hickok 209A VTVM I have owned for several years is one thing which I was taken with immediately. It's the Titanic of meters (but in a good way) and bears a notoriety for high quality, accuracy and just being HUGE! The 209 series as best I know started in the mid to late 40s and ran to what I am dealing with in the B and C series which I believe were both made into the 60s.
This C series that I am trying to save is interesting in that it only utilizes one tube as opposed to I think 4 in the older models. I assume the tube is a rectifier for measuring AC voltages. I may well be wrong. It's a bit smaller and lighter, but bears the mammoth meter movement that is around 9 inches diagonal or near it. At any rate, the thing surely is worth purchasing a replacement meter IF the B model bolts to a C model and of course the electrical specs match. Frankly I'm more worried about the physical dimensions and mounting config. than the electrical as that can be tweaked.
I found a .pdf file that is a Hickok catalog which must be from 1964, but it doesn't even acknowledge the C model. Only the B as I believe the C and final model came a year or two later. The company made it into later decades, but like so many manufacturers of old they seem to have not faired well in the eras' of making cheap equipment (in Japan) to be sold in greater numbers with lower prices. At least that's what I've seen in the few later meters I've checked out which goes into the DVOM era.
I have pictured the A model in silver and black face. Didn't see a pic of the C, so I found one that looks to be the cover of a manual. Beauties!!!
My bet is this swap I'm worried about will work. Maybe the other Hickok fan/member will soon drop by....
