The last AVO 8

[llama]

From "New Electronics" e-zine:
AVO Model 8 is retired 18/09/2008

After 57 years, the AVO Model 8 multimeter is finally being retired, with the last units leaving Megger’s Dover factory in October.
“This is, in some ways, a sad moment,” said Nick Hilditch of Megger, “but it has to be said that measurement technology has moved on a long way since the AVO 8 was designed.”
Despite rising prices, demand for the AVO Model 8 has continued, albeit at reduced levels. The decision to retire the iconic product has, however, been forced by the lack of availability of the components needed for its production.

Sorry if this is noted elsewhere - didn't spot it in "Modern"...
Graham

[ppppenguin]

I don't think I'm infringing any copyright by uploading this history of Technology newsletter. It contains an article about the end of analogue AVO.

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by ppppenguin

I don't think I'm infringing any copyright by uploading this history of Technology newsletter. It contains an article about the end of analogue AVO.

So that's it, then...

I think it's terribly sad that the movement manufacturers are a dying breed, despite having a constant annual order-book of 300-odd instruments annually. Is it because no-one wishes to learn how to do it; that it's not considered a 'worthwhile job'?

I don't entirely believe that 'parts are unobtainable'. parts will be obtainable so long as there is a market for them, and with a constant order-book, surely there's a market? I'm afraid I don't share 'Megger's' mantra that digital is 'more modern, more reliable and more effective', and I dislike those pseudo-analogue LCD displays as well. Each type of instrument has their uses.

I wonder: Will we see an increase in prices of second-hand instruments now that new ones are no longer available?

[Mike-repairman]

Very interesting; all these decades I had no idea AVO stood for Amps Volts Ohms.

Sad to see them finish production.

Guess we will all treasure our AVOs just that little bit more; a rugged little beast and still the best type of meter for many a job.

Mike.

[Aerodyne]

Thanks for taking the time to put this document up for us all, Jeffrey. As a lifelong Avo user, I have to admit that I feel rather sad as yet another important milestone in my life slips away - although I fully understand that in today's digital world, there is much less of a place for an analogue meter, no matter how good (even as good as an Avo).
I'll keep using my two model 8's though. They are familiar and reliable and they don't jump around like digital meters do, when used as output meters!
-Tony

[pmmunro]

Sad news indeed, though hardly unexpected. Like Russell, I do not entirely believe that parts could not be found, but the statement about lack of skilled people is both credible and as sad as the main theme.

The price of the meters could have some bearing on the matter as few people could justify over £700 for an Avometer when this would buy a decent 6 1/2 digit bench multimeter. It would be interesting to know the actual production cost as it is to reflect that Avometers have always cost much the same in real terms since the first ones were offered for 12 guineas in 1923.

Given the redesign for the Mark V which should have reduced costs, even allowing a more reasonable profit margin than previously possible, the £700 for the last models still seems a bit high.

When I last looked, about a year ago, GMC Instruments in Germany, Metrix in France and Simpson in the US were all producing decent analogue multimeters, so Avo were hardly the last as stated in the article.

So now we know that the concept lasted 85 years (1923 - 2008). There can be few other electronic instruments which have changed so little in that period.

PMM.

[Brased]

I wonder who the recent customers were for this instrument? Most people buying a new meter would buy a digital multimeter so presumably the AVO 8 still fulfilled some special needs. The steady demand of 200 to 300 each year suggests that it did meet some particular requirement where an analogue meter was to be preferred.

Edward

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by Brased

I wonder who the recent customers were for this instrument? Most people buying a new meter would buy a digital multimeter so presumably the AVO 8 still fulfilled some special needs. The steady demand of 200 to 300 each year suggests that it did meet some particular requirement where an analogue meter was to be preferred.

Edward

It has been suggested elsewhere on this forum that the AVO would still be in demand where drawings, circuits and handbooks specified its use. Marconi specified AVO 8 measurements on their 1989 B6127 transmitter manuals, for example.

What will happen to all the AVO mould-presses from the factory? Indeed, what has happened to the moulding presses from the AVO 7; 8 I, II, III, IV; 9 and 40? Gone to Motwane in India, perhaps? Might it be that the Avometer, like the British valve, will be reincarnated as a specialist (luxury) item produced on a small scale by enthusiasts for enthusiasts?

[Mike Phelan]

Sad. Very interesting reading, Jeffrey - thanks!
I've only got two Model 8s - the milspec one I have owned since the 1960s, and could not manage without it.

There is a place for both these and digital multimeters; of these latter I have about four scattered around the car and house.

[Colin]

Yes, it's the end of an era ... shame. I have a couple of Avo's. A mint AVO 7 in a case and an 8 MK III that gets put to work. They're a lovely instrument to use and I always enjoy getting the AVO out. Sad eh?

Thanks for posting the article Jeffery. I'm astounded that there were braille versions produced produced for blind users. The mind boggles at the thought of a blind TV engineer sorting out a problem with mains derived EHT. If he lived long enough to fix it I wonder how he would check the picture?

[Tim]

What will happen to all the AVO mould-presses from the factory? Indeed, what has happened to the moulding presses from the AVO 7; 8 I, II, III, IV; 9 and 40? Gone to Motwane in India, perhaps? Might it be that the Avometer, like the British valve, will be reincarnated as a specialist (luxury) item produced on a small scale by enthusiasts for enthusiasts?

I hope these are preserved, but all too often things like this are destroyed.

[David Simpson]

I agree with Russell, The moulds & tooling will probably be sold off cheap to India. Then, like the Austin A40, the Massey Ferguson 35 Tractor & the Lee Enfield Motorbike, the trusty AVO will be re-released as a reliable retro item. Nothing wrong with Indian electronics equipment if my Crotech 'scope is anything to go by.
Government & local authority technical training policies must bear the brunt of the blame for the lack of skilled technicians & engineers. The C & G FTC and similar qualifications, plus a decent civilian apprenticeship or forces training, has in the past, & still would in the future - provide the necessary skilled personel. Privatisation of the public utilities & out-sourcing of MOD maintainance programs has also helped towards the decline of the UK's skilled engineering workforce. Sadly too late for the AVO 8. But guys like Russell & pmmunro, and Bill Barton in Bolton,plus many others of us who hold AVO's dear, will no doubt keep maintaining them for many years to come.
Quite frankly, the thought provoking subjects raised in these forums are far more invigourating than the drivel one has to put up with in the media whenever political parties are holding their annual conferences.

Regards, David

[M0AFJ, Tim]

Try tuning up RF circuitry with a digital multimeter, then again with an AVO, see which is best, you cannot see trends with a digital.
When I was at Burndepts manufacturing comms equipment we tried DVM's and gave up.
Another bit of history passing away.

[mark pirate]

How sad to see the demise of the good old avo
I have had an avo for 30 years, never given any trouble at all.
Digital meters have their place, but remember when using trader sheets
all readings were done using an avo...
P.S. here are mine
Mark

[Sean Williams]

Just had mine calibrated (handy when your employers insist on annual calibration, and will do personal tools too....)

Anyway, the cal company were suprised just how good it was when compared to a modern unit!

They have given it a clean bill of health, and accuracy of 2% subject to reading skill!

Sad to see them go though - especially as my employers still need to replace one of mine that was stolen!

[kalee20]

Thanks Jeffrey for putting up the History of Technology newsletter. It's sad to see the passing of the AVO 8. Like other Forum members, I can't accept Megger's reasons for stopping production - parts must be available, and the people who assemble them have not changed in potential for many generations either. Though I accept the skills are harder to find ready-trained!

The AVO is a triumph of engineering, a design classic. Though, these days a cheap digital pocket meter costs 5% of the price, has comparable accuracy, bounces better if dropped, and is faster to read. Of course, for trends an analogue pointer is still best - accuracy isn't important but resolution is, and the little bar-graph displays on many, otherwise decent, digital meters can't match a moving needle.

Hopefully Avos will be around for many years. Using one is a priviledge! And now they are no longer available, we must treasure them all the more!

[SeanMcK]

Sad news, re components not being available, have a look this image......

[Peter.N.]

Very interesting that, Jeffrey. We had a model '40' when I started work in the mid '50s, it was quite prized and revered in our workshop. I couldn't get on with digital meters when they first appeared, apart from the unfamiliar display, whith which you could not reader fluctuating voltages, an inadvertant 'dab' on one of a TVs high voltage circuits would quickly dispatch them. I continued to use my analogue meters long after most people had gone digital, until one day I invested about £80 in a Fluke meter, this was some years ago, so that was quite a lot of money. I still have that meter and still use it - it appears almost indestructable! But I still have my Avo.

Peter.N.

[Tim]

I have a 1974 AVO 8 and 1951 AVO 7. The latter is very useful in instances where radios have the voltages on the Trader sheet taken with the model 7.
It's easier than using a different meter and doing the maths!