Shop Tips - Meter Stand

5 Sep 2015

While nearly all of my handheld meters have a built in, hinged, panel in the back that can be used as a stand I have never been happy with the stability of these panels. There are several handheld meters, in the shop, that have been designated as "bench meters". For these converts to bench meter status I have come up with a very inexpensive way to make them more stable and readable. The simple metal Bookend, available at all office supply stores makes a perfect frame on which to mount the hand held meters.

I usually bend the upright piece back at an angle to produce a better viewing angle of the meter's display. The meter itself is held to the bookend using a large nylon strap that loops through the built in stand of the meter.

Here you can see the angle of the bend that was made to the bookend. The nylon strap pulls tightly enough against the built in stand so that the meter is well secured and the function knob of the meter can be turned easily without shifting the meter's position on the stand. Here is a detail picture of how the strap engages the built in stand.

As a final touch sticky rubber feet are added to the base of the bookend so that the meter doesn't slide on the bench when the wires are pulled or repositioned.

What happens when the meter is suddenly needed as a portable meter again? The nylon strap easily slides off the bookend and the meter once again changes back to a mobile handheld meter. The meter and bookend combination even has a convenient place to hold the wires.

Just as an aside for new electronics people, experience has taught me, that for longevity, probe wires should always be stored straight or in large loops. Never wind the test leads in small loops or around the probes themselves.

Here are examples of good and bad probe storage techniques:

BAD

GOOD:

And

Incidentally, all the meters in this picture are mounted to the bookends. The letters on the stands are printed on photo paper and glued to magnetic material so that they can be moved around. You can see more choices on the shelving above the meters. I use these to remind my old brain what parameter each meter is currently set up to measure. This helps but doesn't completely prevent me from taking voltage readings with an ammeter or an ohmmeter and is particularly useful when I have two or three meters in use simultaneously on an experiment.

John

Top Comments

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dougw over 9 years ago

Interesting to see how others solve this issue.
One of my favourite solutions is shown here - it uses a $1 hockey puck as a nice solid non-slip base. It fits the meter snugly enough that the base comes with the meter if you pick up the meter. Note how it raises the meter just enough for the leads to have a reasonable radius. Actually the only reason why I still use this old low cost meter is because the stand works so well. I have discovered hockey pucks are surprisingly easy to carve....they also make good business card holders.
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jw0752 over 9 years ago in reply to dougw

I would have never thought to use a hockey puck. I will have to get one and do some experimenting. Thanks Douglas.
John
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mcb1 over 9 years ago in reply to jw0752

Another use for a hockey puck....
I saw them used on jacks and stands to prevent damaging the paintwork.
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=316877&stc=1&d=1324330398

Cheers
Mark
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dougw over 9 years ago in reply to jw0752

I use a puck as a base for one of my small alligator clip "3rd hands" - it has great stability.
I also stack them up to create solid hand rests at various heights when soldering.
They also get used as quick clamps for holding cables in position while soldering.
My bench has half a dozen pucks on it or near it - they just seem to have the right size, weight and material properties (and cost) to find many uses.
You can drill them and use them to hold pens and screw drivers etc.
If I had a better way to machine them, I would find a lot more uses.
If you are machining them, try freezing them first - you will get a cleaner cut.
Doug
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jw0752 over 9 years ago in reply to dougw

Hi Douglas,
Awesome shop tip. I like the idea about stacking them. I am frequently looking for things to raise or prop up my work. I also like the concept of freezing them before machining them. I am on my way to Dicks Sporting to buy the first Hockey Pucks I have ever bought.
John
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jw0752 over 9 years ago in reply to dougw

Hi Douglas,
Awesome shop tip. I like the idea about stacking them. I am frequently looking for things to raise or prop up my work. I also like the concept of freezing them before machining them. I am on my way to Dicks Sporting to buy the first Hockey Pucks I have ever bought.
John
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