I visited a yard sale this weekend and ended up pleasantly surprised right away. I’ve been hammered by shipping charges on orders lately, so I’ve been trying to get more parts locally. This applies especially so for purchases destined for destruction.

Two of the items I picked up are for just that: a broken HP laptop and iPod/iPhone stereo docking station. They were a few bucks each, and I already tore apart the laptop for parts. The dock hasn’t spilled its secrets to me yet, but it looks pretty interesting. For this post, however, I’d like to showcase the main catch of the day: a Micronta digital multimeter and related accessories (including backup accessories as well!). Everything came haphazardly packed into a well-loved leather case for 15 bucks:

The case is a lost cause, but its contents are all in great shape:

Highlights of the pile include the multimeter (Model 22-195), a logic probe and pulse kit (Models 22-304A and 22-303), multiple sets of probes and clips, and even a “Dynamic Transistor Checker” (Model 22-025).

The multimeter is especially useful to me because it fills several holes in my arsenal of tools. It can measure the current drawn by a circuit (very useful for maximizing battery life) and has a good form factor for benchtop use. The meter I currently use is a handheld model, but I almost always use it at my workbench, so it would be easy to switch to a stationary one. The Micronta meter also oozes vintage look and feel, and I’m definitely enjoying the “lab” vibe that I get from it.

The “Logic Pulser” allows you to send a simple input signal to many basic chips. The “Logic Probe” allows you to monitor an output of one of those chips. Using the two together, you can test the inputs and outputs of multiple chips quickly and easily. These are a little dated now, but many of the logic chips this tool set originally targeted are still used, especially in the hobby electronics market (including the digital logic chips of the 4000 series and 74hc series). There are often times that I need to send a simple pulse signal to some of my chips, so I’m glad this set was included in the case.

The extra test leads were also a welcome bonus. I got several “clip” style leads. Each of these has a little, spring-loaded hook that can be extended from the tip. I didn’t have any before this kit, but they seem like they’d be super helpful with testing and breadboarding. Here’s a closer look at the leads:

Definitely a successful haul in my opinion. I have several “new” tools at my disposal. I’ll be integrating the multimeter into my work area this week. I’ve continued to work on the analog board I wrote about in my previous post, so look out for another post regarding that project. Thanks for reading!

More and higher resolution photos can be found in the photo album for this week’s haul:

Weekend Haul 1