Hello,
Recently, I acquired one of L. Ron Hubbard's E-Meters (aka "Space Cootie Detectors"). Just for laughs. I'm not posting in "laptops and portable devices" because I believe more people will see it in this forum. I plugged it in for hours, turned it on, unplugged it and turned it on, grabbed the "soup can" leads, twisted some dials, touched the alligator clips together, etc. but nothing happened. The meter needle didn't move.
(This is the Mark 5 [the early model with the hardwood case], not one of the "craptastic plastic" units they made later on.)
It has 6 rechargeable AA batteries (in series), probably Nickel Cadmium. They are quite old and corroded (from age or sitting). (Also, they are probably not the original power source, but the meter presumably worked in the current configuration). The device has a plug for 120 volts, but I can't find any internal charging circuitry. I would like to just use a battery eliminator (AC adapter) if I can.
But I can't just use any old AC adapter. After the fifth battery, some power goes to the center post of a rheostat (or potentiometer). The rest of the device takes all 6 batteries to power it.
I think I would need, effectively, TWO AC adapters. One for 6 volts (5*1.2V) and one for 1.2 or 1.5 volts. But I am not aware of any AC adapters that produce 1.5 volts.
I'd like to rehab this thing, as a project, for fun. The analog meter movement and germanium transistors (not used since the early 1960s, IIRC, with 0.6 inch exposed leads, not exactly surface mount) do NOT inspire confidence. I would like to use this lousy, ancient analog device that really doesn't do anything to detect "space cooties" or "space alien spirits" that really don't exist. Does this sound like fun to you? Well, it does to me.
Be assured, I'm not going to join Scientology and hand over $350,000 when I can just watch the South Park "Trapped in the Closet" episode instead. This is just for intellectual curiosity, soldering practice and if successful, a little fun.
I will DEFINITELY need to mark the wires when I un-solder the board from the meter movement to get this thing apart.
Any ideas on powering this unit?
Recently, I acquired one of L. Ron Hubbard's E-Meters (aka "Space Cootie Detectors"). Just for laughs. I'm not posting in "laptops and portable devices" because I believe more people will see it in this forum. I plugged it in for hours, turned it on, unplugged it and turned it on, grabbed the "soup can" leads, twisted some dials, touched the alligator clips together, etc. but nothing happened. The meter needle didn't move.
(This is the Mark 5 [the early model with the hardwood case], not one of the "craptastic plastic" units they made later on.)
It has 6 rechargeable AA batteries (in series), probably Nickel Cadmium. They are quite old and corroded (from age or sitting). (Also, they are probably not the original power source, but the meter presumably worked in the current configuration). The device has a plug for 120 volts, but I can't find any internal charging circuitry. I would like to just use a battery eliminator (AC adapter) if I can.
But I can't just use any old AC adapter. After the fifth battery, some power goes to the center post of a rheostat (or potentiometer). The rest of the device takes all 6 batteries to power it.
I think I would need, effectively, TWO AC adapters. One for 6 volts (5*1.2V) and one for 1.2 or 1.5 volts. But I am not aware of any AC adapters that produce 1.5 volts.
I'd like to rehab this thing, as a project, for fun. The analog meter movement and germanium transistors (not used since the early 1960s, IIRC, with 0.6 inch exposed leads, not exactly surface mount) do NOT inspire confidence. I would like to use this lousy, ancient analog device that really doesn't do anything to detect "space cooties" or "space alien spirits" that really don't exist. Does this sound like fun to you? Well, it does to me.
Be assured, I'm not going to join Scientology and hand over $350,000 when I can just watch the South Park "Trapped in the Closet" episode instead. This is just for intellectual curiosity, soldering practice and if successful, a little fun.
I will DEFINITELY need to mark the wires when I un-solder the board from the meter movement to get this thing apart.
Any ideas on powering this unit?
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