Amprobe AM-59 partial teardown

[jtstowell]

I promised a teardown of this meter, purchased for $25 off of ebay, but I am chickening out a little bit: The board is snapped on to the case pretty strongly, and given that there is already some evidence of physical damage, I'm hesitant to apply the force that seems necessary pry it out and up, so I won't be able to post the front side of the board.

• The included probes are Fluke branded, and quite nice
• The holster is incredibly dirty
• The LCD plexiglass cover is scratched up a bit, but everything is still readable
• There was something rattling inside
• The rotary switch is able to rotate counter-clockwise beyond the OFF setting (the chipset doesn't seem to enjoy this)

In terms of accuracy, it seems okay within my capability to test (agrees with other meters in terms of resistance, current, voltage, and capacitance).

Opening it up:

• It uses what look like ceramic fuses.
• It looks as though one of the screws was over-tightened at some point, causing the screw well to break off from the rear casing.
• A loose plastic piece was found (source of the rattling); I suspect it may have something to do with the rotary dial not stopping where it ought to

-Tom

[Hydrawerk]

http://www.brymen.com/product-html/cata620/Bm620s.htm
This is a rebranded Brymen BM629. It is not produced any more.

[PedroDaGr8]

http://www.brymen.com/product-html/cata620/Bm620s.htm
This is a rebranded Brymen BM629. It is not produced any more.

I knew it was a Brymen IMMEDIATELY from that selector switch. HAs that old model Brymen feel to it.

[retiredcaps]

I promised a teardown of this meter, purchased for $25 off of ebay,

Thanks for the pictures and teardown.

For those wondering, it came from this thread

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/has-anyone-ever-heard-of-the-greenlee-93-105-rmsa/

The rotary switch is able to rotate counter-clockwise beyond the OFF setting (the chipset doesn't seem to enjoy this.

Too bad it is damaged like that.  Now you will have to be careful using this meter.

In terms of accuracy, it seems okay within my capability to test (agrees with other meters in terms of resistance, current, voltage, and capacitance).

Good to hear it matches a recently calibrated meter.

For $25, I think you got a good sibling to go with the BM235 especially give this meter costs the same as shipping for Dave's meter from Australia to USA.  This can be your rugged/outside meter while the BM235 stays indoor and clean?

[retiredcaps]

Another one in the same family, AM-56, ended today in the same $25 (including shipping/handling) range.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/122020524276

For $25, I think these are good deals.

[jtstowell]

For $25, I think you got a good sibling to go with the BM235 especially give this meter costs the same as shipping for Dave's meter from Australia to USA.  This can be your rugged/outside meter while the BM235 stays indoor and clean?

It's definitely a good meter and was a good deal. My thinking at the moment is that I'll try to clean it up and keep it in my lab area, primarily for safety reasons: I'm not sure what might happen with that rotary switch in an invalid position (the input impedance might be low on some of the invalid settings), and I wouldn't want someone to pick it up and use it, potentially injuring themselves.

It would be nice to have a meter at work, for the odd situation when one comes in handy. That is what I had been thinking for this AM-59. The min-max-average capability is what sold me on it--what a fantastic feature! 

I should get rid of one of my other meters (I counted through them all and 10 seems like a reasonable ceiling ) and locate another meter with min-max-average. I'm not leaving my BM235 at work...

[retiredcaps]

I should get rid of one of my other meters (I counted through them all and 10 seems like a reasonable ceiling ) and locate another meter with min-max-average.

10?  You should participate in this thread ...

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/show-your-multimeter!/

[retiredcaps]

I have the same Radio Shack meter that uses 2 AA cells.  At less than 1mA current draw and assuming 2500mAh AA cells, it gets 2500 hours of runtime. 

[jtstowell]

I have the same Radio Shack meter that uses 2 AA cells.  At less than 1mA current draw and assuming 2500mAh AA cells, it gets 2500 hours of runtime. 

A very trusty meter. Has survived significant abuse with no more damage than a blown fuse here and there.