Thanks for the replies and advice gents
I have a desoldering gun which comes out for jobs that need better and quicker results than wick, pump and ouch methods.
I didn't want to make work for myself changing out parts on a meter that works fine and may not have cap leakage issues at all = yet.
I'm hoping I got one of the last made ones with ummm.. better batch quality caps (wishful thinking?)
After seeing the cool fixit work by Mr. ModemHead at
http://mrmodemhead.com/blog/ibm-8060aaa-fluke-8060a-refurbish/ I will pull the 8060A apart asap, take a good look inside and see what the deal is.
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@ frozenfrogz
I have a mains operated 240 volt Fluke 8050A I was using just a few days ago, and verify it's still doing its job properly etc and have never noticed any "gentle ’tick’ noise every couple of minutes"
I'll get it out later today to check for that, and reply back.
Edit: No 'tick' noise here, just a wee small transformer hum when held up close, and no relays that I can see inside.
What switch mode/s or conditions does it do the ticking business? Is yours a mains or battery operated type? If it's a battery type perhaps it's a charging/ switching sound? just guessing
Mine is surprisingly still up to spec on all ranges, but not sure if the RMS AC reading 'may' be a few volts off compared with other RMS meters.
Difficult to verify which meter is the spec winner when using slightly flat top 240 volt mains power as a reference/comparison.
I'll have to do it with a function gen and see how my meters really fare one day.
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Edit: My 8050A reads about 2 to 3 volts higher when in the 750v AC range, when measuring MAINS voltages above 200v. It may be within close spec anyway at that range and waveform response.
In all the other AC ranges (200v and below) the readings match up closely with other verified meters.
It's not worth a cal or hunting down an internal pot to tweak, when all I do is subtract 2 to 3 volts from the display when in that highest 750v range, if necessary (not).
The 8050A is THE easiest piece of gear to access afaik if anything needs attention. One rear screw magically holds it all together.