What was your first test or measurement tool?

Why that tool?

I liked physics and my mom gave it to me on my birthday, when I was in school.

How did it help you, what project did you use it on?

I've used on test some of my early DIY projects, like audio amplifier.

Do you still have it in your collection or on your bench, or has it since been replaced?

I'm using other tools today, but it should be somewhere in my mom house.

My first measuring instrument was a short-circuit meter made during the 1st year of my pre-vocational secondary education (LTS/VMBO).

If I replace the battery it will still work, but currently I'm using a simple multimeter.

Stay Safe and best wishes for 2021, Stefan Beelen

me too!

I've often thought about building one of those.

Decade boxes !

Could be an idea for a future project14 month, if we'd find a way to keep component price low.

When I was attending high-school (which means, when I was about 15 or 16 years old), I used to work in a company in the Milan area that built multimeters and other measurement instruments. My task was to calibrate analogue multimeters, so I can assume that my first measurement tool was this one

This is from a PDF printed in 1966, which means I was using a tool that was from 15 to 20 years old... If you re thinking: "wow, that tool was really old", then have a look here https://www.ietlabs.com/1433.html.

BTW: compare the first paragraph in the description...

My first tools were a set a teacher in middle school got me from Radio shack.  It was a small soldering iron and an analog multimeter.  My father was disabled and a single parent so we did not have anything.  My friends and I would dumpster dive to find tossed tv's, radio's etc.  I used the hell out of that kit, I fixed 3 tv's and a stereo that year and used them as family Christmas presents.  I continued to use them and ran a small repair business to help pay rent and buy food for the family.  I was heart broken when I came back from basic on leave and found that my father had thrown out those two tools.  They help keep a roof over our heads and food on the table for 4 years.

When I was a teen many years ago, my father worked in an electrical supply house.  He picked up a counter demo model meter which I believe was a Simpson.  At the time, I knew very little about how it worked, but played around with it, built some kits, and slowly learned the basics.  It wasn't until years later that I got into the fire alarm trade and needed to use a multimeter.  That original one was long gone so I made an investment in a Fluke which still works to this day.

My First real Test tool was a Heathkit VOM I got at a garage sale in the 70's when I was like 10 or 11, I was already in to Forrest M Mimms Mini engineer notebooks and goofing around with 7400 logic chips a neighbor had given me to play with. 

The cheapest digital multimeter available at Canadian Tire.

For basic measurements including that all important continuity!

I don't remember specifically what project I used it on.

I still have it. Perhaps time for somerhing better.