Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

avocollector · 11th Sep 2019, 2:27 am

Won this meter a week or so ago but when it arrived it was pink - appears to be the factory colour. Does anyone know if this is correct.

Radio Wrangler · 11th Sep 2019, 6:06 am

Thought they were all beige-ish.

Can you see any unfaded plastic inside?

David

Superscope · 11th Sep 2019, 7:26 am

Seen a few Pink ones whilst Trawling round the Internet looking for a Manual,
although whether this was an original colour is had to say.

The only one I have is beige, which seems to be the normal Colour.

Plastics do have a nasty habit of fading or worse still having Black/Brown blotches appearing over time.

As Radio Wrangler suggested, it might be worthwhile having a look inside to see the
Plastic that hasn't been exposed to Sunlight and Pollution over the years.

Would be interesting to know what you find.

Ian

barrymagrec · 11th Sep 2019, 8:51 am

I seem to remember the one I used back in 1070 / 72 was pinkish.

AC/HL · 11th Sep 2019, 10:38 am

Mine's definitely grey. It was in a carry case when I bought it, which may explain why?

turretslug · 11th Sep 2019, 10:47 am

There's a MkII here that's on the pink side of beige- I suspect that they started off towards beige but head pink with sunlight etc. The MkIII was a "sensible but dull" lab grey. It's a shame that there isn't a bit more colour amongst test gear, a little while back Maplin were doing a budget analogue test meter in bright green.

Spotter moment- it's interesting to see a MkII with the printed-on-knobs range selection associated with later Selectest 50s- many have the legending fixed to the case under transparent acrylic (?) knobs. Well, they start transparent but go cloudy with age. There seem to be quite a lot of incremental detail changes of case, selector, connection post colouring and detail styling. The last Selectest 50s deleted the 2.5kV AC and DC multiplier terminal option (changing safety requirements ?) and adopted 1/3/10 ranging in a similar manner to AVO 8s.

MotorBikeLes · 11th Sep 2019, 10:02 pm

I bought a Selectest (Mk 111 I think) just about 40 years ago, and that was pink. A few years later I came across a grey coloured one which appeared to be new or nearly so, but with its glass "fallen in". I fixed the glass, everything else was as new, so at a later date I sold off the pink one. Not long ago, I was given an old AVO (8 I think), never had a big AVO before, but still not used it. If i need an analogue meter, it is always the Selectest I use. Great meters.
Les.

Lloyd 1985 · 11th Sep 2019, 10:28 pm

I’ve Got one of those too, and yes, it’s pink! It’s a very faded pink, but definitely pink! The + and - terminals have been replaced on mine. I actually used mine the other day for monitoring current on a capacitor I was attempting to reform, the nice big dial, and it not needing a battery or auto powering off inconveniently made it very useful!

Regards
Lloyd

Vintage_RC · 11th Sep 2019, 11:57 pm

My one looks just like yours avocollector. I did a write up on the forum last year about some accuracy tests I carried out and the results were impressive for a 50 year old instrument. There is also a photo of mine showing the same pink colour. Here is a link if you want to take a look:-
https://vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=149821

WME_bill · 12th Sep 2019, 10:53 am

Selectest 50. Mine is a nice light grey, with a dark grey terminal panel and a black back. No trace of a brown/geige or of pink. It is the PO 14C version, which may indicate some different manufacturing specification.
wme_bill

avocollector · 13th Sep 2019, 4:28 pm

Thanks to everybody for their contributions - it's definitely pink but it appears this was one of the original colours. I suppose it makes for added visibility on a test bench where most instruments would be grey or black. Intriguing though.

wd40addict · 13th Sep 2019, 5:12 pm

have both the Mkii (pink) and the Mkiii (grey). They obviously realised their mistake with the terminals and the later model has full depth 4mm sockets.

My Mkii probably hadn't been calibrated for years and the magnetic shunt needed a tweak as all ranges were reading low. Mkiii was fine.

avocollector · 14th Sep 2019, 10:22 pm

This thread brings me to another question people may know the answer to. Looking at the pics here of others Selectests they have mk II or mk III on the meter scale - but mine does not (see below). Does this mean it's earlier or later than the ones with the mk II or III inscriptions? thanks.

turretslug · 14th Sep 2019, 10:36 pm

It'll be earlier than a MkII- the "blind" terminal posts are a pointer here, with older test leads tending to have hooked or forked ends to be clamped by the post in the same manner as older-type AVOs with non-4mm terminals. Also, it's quite common for the first version of anything not to be labelled "MkI" etc- designers and marketing folk don't like to create an implication that an improved version might be in the pipeline! Conversely, "MkII" of any product frequently gets trumpeted from the tree-tops. Looks as though this labelled-knob presentation that was replaced by the transparent plastic with underlying labels type in MkII and MkIII versions was reverted to in the end, perhaps because of the clouding problem mentioned earlier.

11th Sep 2019, 2:27 am	#1
avocollector Heptode Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wellington, New Zealand. Posts: 653	Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? Won this meter a week or so ago but when it arrived it was pink - appears to be the factory colour. Does anyone know if this is correct. Attached Thumbnails

11th Sep 2019, 6:06 am	#2
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,874	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? Thought they were all beige-ish. Can you see any unfaded plastic inside? David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

11th Sep 2019, 7:26 am	#3
Superscope Octode Join Date: May 2017 Location: St Austell, Cornwall, UK. Posts: 1,018	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? Seen a few Pink ones whilst Trawling round the Internet looking for a Manual, although whether this was an original colour is had to say. The only one I have is beige, which seems to be the normal Colour. Plastics do have a nasty habit of fading or worse still having Black/Brown blotches appearing over time. As Radio Wrangler suggested, it might be worthwhile having a look inside to see the Plastic that hasn't been exposed to Sunlight and Pollution over the years. Would be interesting to know what you find. Ian

11th Sep 2019, 8:51 am	#4
barrymagrec Octode Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Morden, Surrey, UK. Posts: 1,558	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? I seem to remember the one I used back in 1070 / 72 was pinkish.

11th Sep 2019, 10:38 am	#5
AC/HL Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 9,642	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? Mine's definitely grey. It was in a carry case when I bought it, which may explain why?

11th Sep 2019, 10:47 am	#6
turretslug Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Surrey, UK. Posts: 4,395	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? There's a MkII here that's on the pink side of beige- I suspect that they started off towards beige but head pink with sunlight etc. The MkIII was a "sensible but dull" lab grey. It's a shame that there isn't a bit more colour amongst test gear, a little while back Maplin were doing a budget analogue test meter in bright green. Spotter moment- it's interesting to see a MkII with the printed-on-knobs range selection associated with later Selectest 50s- many have the legending fixed to the case under transparent acrylic (?) knobs. Well, they start transparent but go cloudy with age. There seem to be quite a lot of incremental detail changes of case, selector, connection post colouring and detail styling. The last Selectest 50s deleted the 2.5kV AC and DC multiplier terminal option (changing safety requirements ?) and adopted 1/3/10 ranging in a similar manner to AVO 8s.

11th Sep 2019, 10:02 pm	#7
MotorBikeLes Nonode Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Kirk Michael, Isle of Man Posts: 2,350	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? I bought a Selectest (Mk 111 I think) just about 40 years ago, and that was pink. A few years later I came across a grey coloured one which appeared to be new or nearly so, but with its glass "fallen in". I fixed the glass, everything else was as new, so at a later date I sold off the pink one. Not long ago, I was given an old AVO (8 I think), never had a big AVO before, but still not used it. If i need an analogue meter, it is always the Selectest I use. Great meters. Les.

11th Sep 2019, 10:28 pm	#8
Lloyd 1985 Nonode Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Coningsby, Lincolnshire, UK. Posts: 2,819	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? I’ve Got one of those too, and yes, it’s pink! It’s a very faded pink, but definitely pink! The + and - terminals have been replaced on mine. I actually used mine the other day for monitoring current on a capacitor I was attempting to reform, the nice big dial, and it not needing a battery or auto powering off inconveniently made it very useful! Regards Lloyd

11th Sep 2019, 11:57 pm	#9
Vintage_RC Heptode Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Twickenham, London, UK. Posts: 538	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? My one looks just like yours avocollector. I did a write up on the forum last year about some accuracy tests I carried out and the results were impressive for a 50 year old instrument. There is also a photo of mine showing the same pink colour. Here is a link if you want to take a look:- https://vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=149821 __________________ Alan G6PUB, BVWS

12th Sep 2019, 10:53 am	#10
WME_bill Octode Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Exeter, Devon, UK. Posts: 1,554	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? Selectest 50. Mine is a nice light grey, with a dark grey terminal panel and a black back. No trace of a brown/geige or of pink. It is the PO 14C version, which may indicate some different manufacturing specification. wme_bill

13th Sep 2019, 4:28 pm	#11
avocollector Heptode Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wellington, New Zealand. Posts: 653	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? Thanks to everybody for their contributions - it's definitely pink but it appears this was one of the original colours. I suppose it makes for added visibility on a test bench where most instruments would be grey or black. Intriguing though.

13th Sep 2019, 5:12 pm	#12
wd40addict Octode Join Date: May 2009 Location: Stevenage, Herts. UK. Posts: 1,518	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? have both the Mkii (pink) and the Mkiii (grey). They obviously realised their mistake with the terminals and the later model has full depth 4mm sockets. My Mkii probably hadn't been calibrated for years and the magnetic shunt needed a tweak as all ranges were reading low. Mkiii was fine.

14th Sep 2019, 10:22 pm	#13
avocollector Heptode Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wellington, New Zealand. Posts: 653	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? This thread brings me to another question people may know the answer to. Looking at the pics here of others Selectests they have mk II or mk III on the meter scale - but mine does not (see below). Does this mean it's earlier or later than the ones with the mk II or III inscriptions? thanks. Attached Thumbnails

14th Sep 2019, 10:36 pm	#14
turretslug Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Surrey, UK. Posts: 4,395	Re: Selectest 50 meter - in pink?? It'll be earlier than a MkII- the "blind" terminal posts are a pointer here, with older test leads tending to have hooked or forked ends to be clamped by the post in the same manner as older-type AVOs with non-4mm terminals. Also, it's quite common for the first version of anything not to be labelled "MkI" etc- designers and marketing folk don't like to create an implication that an improved version might be in the pipeline! Conversely, "MkII" of any product frequently gets trumpeted from the tree-tops. Looks as though this labelled-knob presentation that was replaced by the transparent plastic with underlying labels type in MkII and MkIII versions was reverted to in the end, perhaps because of the clouding problem mentioned earlier.