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Old 6th Dec 2019, 1:46 am   #21
ajgriff
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

You could always ring and see if they have an early case with window. It looks like the company is selling used parts from dismantled meters. Do be wary of shipping costs and any import charges that may apply.

Alan
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Old 10th Dec 2019, 7:22 pm   #22
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

Any luck?
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Old 10th Dec 2019, 7:30 pm   #23
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

Oh, sorry, I forgot to feed back on this.

I emailed the UK service dept for Fluke in Norwich again, specifically asking if they had any scrapped units from which they could trawl parts to cosmetically restore the unit if I sent it to them to repair.

This time I got a nice reply from an actual human being who went into some detail, but said that regrettably they did not have any suitable parts donors, nor did they have internal access to new replacement parts themselves - apparently the 77 series II came to end of support in 2005, quite some time ago.

I did also get a rather terse reply from the USA supplier suggesting I contact Fluke. I think with that source it's a case of if they've got it they've got it, but if they haven't they haven't.

It looks to me as though the 77 series 1 possibly uses the same physical casing as the early series II and maybe you can confirm that, although of course it's still an early series II, with the logo and model version printed on the inside of the display window, that I need.
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Old 10th Dec 2019, 11:49 pm   #24
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

My series 1 appears to use the same case as the early one, you'd have to physically try one to be sure though. The printing is on the window as well. Only minor cosmetic differences externally, but only one fuse.
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Old 11th Dec 2019, 1:27 am   #25
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

A Series I top case will indeed fit an early Series II bottom case like your's but not the later version. The main differences are cosmetic as Bill says and can be summarised as follows:

1. The SI case is a darker shade of grey.

2. The legends on the windows are a bit different in terms of the Fluke logo and for SI meters don't make reference to any kind of series as it wasn't regarded as a series as such at that stage.

3. The Range/Touch Hold legends are in the top right hand corner of the main case on the SI meters. They are half way down on the right of the SII and are in a different but clearer format.

4. The fusing information pointing to the plug sockets may be different on an SI case depending upon when the original meter was manufactured as there were modifications made during the production run. This can cause confusion for a user that may have safety implications.

5. The button in the centre of the range control knob is grey on the SI and yellow on the SII. It's easy to swap the knobs though.

6. Internally the SII doesn't have a fuse holder for a spare low current fuse next to the battery box.

The attached photos (readily to hand) might help but ignore the RS designation on the SI and the non-original FLUKE label on the SII which is my creation to conceal damage by a hot needle fiend.

As it happens I may have come up with a proper SII solution and will post/PM more details during the next couple of days.

Alan
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Old 11th Dec 2019, 8:02 am   #26
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

I have a 77 series 3.... which I got some years ago to replace my series 1. This has no button at all so presumably is a totally different beast. All in good condition apart from the wrap round protector which has distorted at some time - and yes it has survived the drop test.

Dave
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Old 11th Dec 2019, 10:57 am   #27
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

I don't have any experience of the SIII but the case mouldings are indeed quite different from the previous versions. I guess the design could be described as 'ergonomic' rather than 'brick'.

I think all Fluke meters from this period are pretty robust and will take a lot of abuse without much complaint.

Alan
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Old 11th Dec 2019, 11:27 am   #28
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

I have a faulty Fluke 77 Series 2 that has a dodgy PCB. Case & display are good. Definitely a sensible way to get an otherwise working one back to good health.
I am sure that i will never get around to having another look at it.

£15 plus postage would make me happy. Obviously I will retest the display if anyone wants it.
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Old 11th Dec 2019, 11:51 am   #29
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

Providing that Oldtestgear's meter looks like the one on the left in the attached photo it could be that SiriusHardware's search is over.

Alan
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Old 11th Dec 2019, 12:13 pm   #30
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

It looks like the one on the right. Are there differences apart from the range hold symbol? Always handy to know these subtle differences.

Thanks in advance.

Phil
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Old 11th Dec 2019, 1:50 pm   #31
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

...So close .

Unfortunately it's the one on the left in the image in post #29 that I need, partly because on that version the logo is printed on the (missing) display window rather than on the display as it is on the late version. But thanks, Oldtestgear, for offering to make that one available.
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Old 11th Dec 2019, 1:57 pm   #32
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldtestgear View Post
Are there differences apart from the range hold symbol?
Have a look at post #1. People who know me say that I have a habit of making simple things sound complicated!

Alan
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Old 11th Dec 2019, 6:01 pm   #33
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

I'm grateful for that detailed first post because without it I would undoubtedly have seized the opportunity to acquire Oldtestgear's unit, thinking that all Fluke 77 series IIs were surely equal.
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Old 27th Dec 2019, 3:33 pm   #34
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

This is embarrassing, but I now have new information which leads me to wonder if the meter I am trying to restore is a Fluke 75 rather than a Fluke 77!

This came about because I found that someone at work is still using a near-identical Fluke to the one I am trying to restore, and it is a Fluke 75 rather than a Fluke 77. Historically, the company tended to buy meters in small batches rather than singles, so this meter is likely to be a close contemporary of the Fluke 75 which is still in use and therefore may actually be a Fluke 75 series II.

As has been mentioned earlier, the logo / model identification on the original meter is entirely missing and I identified it as a Fluke 77 from web images, but I now find that as with the Fluke 77, there are at least two slightly visually different versions of the 75 series II, and this meter could just as easily be a 75, probably an 'early' version.

I do at least have the unit's serial number, so is there any online site or other resource into which I could put that in order to make a definitive identification of the model number?
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Old 27th Dec 2019, 5:07 pm   #35
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

This is testing my knowledge to the limit but I think the only substantive difference between Series II 75s and 77s (apart from the logos) was the specified accuracy of the DCV ranges. Presumably this was a case of processor selection when they came off the production line as the rest of the components had the same specifications in both meter designations. I guess the slightly less accurate 75s were a bit cheaper.

For the record Series I meters are easy to distinguish from one another as the 75 didn't have the 'touch hold' option.

As for serial numbers I'm fairly sure that Fluke has never published any information on the subject and as you've already found Fluke's service staff are unlikely to be able to help. My experience would suggest that 75s and 77s were not allocated separate blocks of numbers which doesn't help either.

The only other thing to bear in mind is that Series II 75s sold in much smaller numbers than 77s and finding the correct window is likely to be a real challenge akin to solving an Agatha Christie mystery after reading the first chapter.

Alan
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Old 27th Dec 2019, 7:01 pm   #36
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

Just remembered that 77s were supplied complete with holsters whereas 75s weren't which will have added to the price differential. Yet again this probably won't help much in this instance.

Alan
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Old 29th Dec 2019, 10:24 pm   #37
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

Thanks for the thoughts, but both meters - the 75 which is still in use - and the unidentified meter which may or may not be a 75 or a 77 - both have the official grey rubber holsters.

I'm wondering if I could get away with going to a Fluke website and trying to submit a repair request, maybe any such site will identify the unit, only to tell me, of course, that the units are obsolete and no longer supported. But at least then I would know which model it was.

I don't have either meter to hand at the moment - if they were both obtained at the same time their serial numbers may be quite close together, and that would lend weight to the idea that maybe they were the same model, ordered at the same time. I'll have to wait until we are back at work (after New Year) before I can check the s/n on the one at work.
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Old 30th Dec 2019, 6:23 am   #38
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

From what I can tell Series II meters were generally supplied with the 'new' yellow holster which was to become a Fluke theme for many years thereafter. However the drab grey and yellow holsters are interchangeable.

Contacting Fluke again is worth a try I guess.

Alan
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Old 2nd Jan 2020, 6:09 pm   #39
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Default Re: Fluke 77 Series II Repair Using Donor

I've now been able to compare the serial numbers of the meter which is known to be a Fluke 75 and the meter requiring restoration. The serial numbers are in sequence with only the last digit different! (One ends 1117, the other 1118, with the early part of the serial number identical on both).

With this in mind, I think it is incredibly unlikely that the unidentified meter is not also a Fluke 75 series II (early). Which means I now have to start searching all over again.
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