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04/20/24 at 00:10:24

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Meter(s) (Read 7119 times)

martin

Senior Member

Posts: 95

Meter(s)
03/24/16 at 06:19:21

Hey, I'm doing a ZKIT1 and I'd love to include meters for the power tubes. As a person with very limited knowledge/experience I feel like I need help!

I hate to make things so wide open, but there's so much I don't know and I figure it's worth it to ask here instead of reinventing the wheel... And risk it falling off the axle. Embarrassed

If I can get a sort of a-z beginner's level assist that would be really great. Thanks!!!

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Core32 Seasoned Member Posts: 1858	Re: Meter(s) Reply #1 - 03/24/16 at 14:09:32 I did not have enough room on my panel for two meters so I use a switch in line to allow me to look at each one individually. Here is a diagram of how I did it:
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martin

Senior Member

Posts: 95

Re: Meter(s)
Reply #2 - 03/25/16 at 02:18:04

Core32, I sure appreciate your help and (so far anyway ;)) patience with so many of the questions I've had.

I'm only beginning to learn how to read a schematic so after looking it over I think I've got a basic idea of how you were able to make it work with a meter. I don't know how to read well enough to understand how the pins on the tubes are represented though. How do I read that? And to check in to see if I'm getting at least some of it, am I correct that there are 8 pins in the schematic rather than 9? I'm pretty sure at least one of the 9 pins isn't used - is that right?

Thanks!

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Core32

Seasoned Member

Posts: 1858

Re: Meter(s)
Reply #3 - 03/25/16 at 12:44:09

Martin,
Sorry about that. I had forgotten that the pin numbers are hidden unless I click on them in my schematic toll, one at a time.
Here is a diagram that should help.
Use the picture on the right and compare it to my symbol and see if it makes sense.
I think the socket they show on the far left is also correct.
In my case, pins 1 and 8 are not connected to anything, leave those socket pins un-wired but I am using pin 6. Since pin 3 is the one connected to the meter via my switch, that's the one you should be concerned with.

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martin

Senior Member

Posts: 95

Re: Meter(s)
Reply #4 - 03/25/16 at 12:51:11

Thank you Core32!

If I understand correctly, this is what I'll do:

Pin 3 from each power tube to one connection (this would be positive, right?) on each meter. The other side of each meter (negative?) goes through a 1000uf capacitor and a 150 5w resistor (wired parallel?) to chassis ground. What do the capacitor and resistor do, and will I need one set for each meter?

One more question for now… What specs will be important in the meters I get for this? For example, will a 0-10 amp meter work?

Thanks again; I really appreciate your help! This has been a great experience so far because I'm at a point in life where I've been able to overcome my conditioned resistance to learning :D and I'm really getting a lot out of beginning to learn electronics.

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Core32

Seasoned Member

Posts: 1858

Re: Meter(s)
Reply #5 - 03/25/16 at 21:55:59

Martin,
For some reason I was not receiving notifications from this thread. Sorry.
So, no. That meter range would be too high and you would barely see a needle move at the currents these amps pull.
I used this one:
http://www.partsconnexion.com/CONNEX-75111.html

They also have a square flanged one of the same reading if you like that look better. Round fit my top panel better.
Yes. If you are doing dual meters without the switch then pin 3 of each tube socket goes to the positive of it's respective meter. Then just wire the individual meter (-) negatives back to the socket holes for their respective pin 3s on the board.
So you will not need to add any components. They are already part of the ZKIT-1 board.

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martin Senior Member Posts: 95	Re: Meter(s) Reply #6 - 03/27/16 at 04:05:28 Thank you yet again Core32. I've ordered 2 of the round meters. I'm really looking forward to hearing (lol, and seeing) how things turn out.
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