Well, the package arrived yesterday and I was happy to see it was in better condition than described by the seller. Very little staining and no physical damage. I opened the battery compartment half expecting to find a crusty old battery in there that had long ago given up its contents to the battery connection wires. Surprise! It was clean as new.
I popped in a new 9v battery and with a bit of hesitation, switched it on. No sparks, pops, or blank screens. I carefully rotated each dial through its settings and found he meter responsive. So far, so good. I set it to VAC and tested the mains at a nearby receptacle. 123v and some change. Precisely what I got from the Greenlee/Brymen when I tested it in the same receptacle a few weeks ago. I then set it to VDC and set the range dial to 2v and metered a AAA battery. 1.688v. I suppose new alkaline batteries are charged slightly over what we think of as normal. I then tested the same battery with the Greenlee and got a reading of 1.684v. So it looks like the meter functions as it should.
Next, I did what all good EEVblog members should do and took it apart. Very straight forward. Two screws in the back and the case came apart. Removing the front dials was just as easy. Friction fit on the rotary shafts. Just be gentle. The board will remove with two small Philips screws but I have not done it yet since my precision screwdrivers were not to hand at the moment. Surprisingly there were very few crusties or other signs of ageing in there. The high current shunt is pretty large piece of copper looking wire and I was surprised to see a 10Ka, 600v rated Buss brand fuse for the high amperage over current protection. A much smaller glass fuse protects the lower amperage side of things. Heck, there was even a spare for the latter in the battery compartment! All in all a pretty good piece of kit for $7.99. I will try to get some open case photos posted up.