“Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s not good!”
By Suzie Brady (BR Tech Support Mgr.)
I have been working in the test equipment industry for nearly 40 years and have been amazed at the technological advancements made in measuring/test and process control equipment. The equipment built back in the early years of the 1950’s – 1980’s was built rugged and made to last. It was not uncommon to get over 20 years of service from a piece of equipment. During this pre-internet era, equipment was built to supply the end user direct readings of the measurement results.
There was no software and operators truly had to understand how to set up and read the equipment. As a result, many users formed a bond with their test equipment and were not in a big hurry to upgrade or change. Often plant procedures specified a certain type of equipment, and even if it became obsolete, it was still mandated to be used.
This is where JM Test comes into play. JM Test maintains a complete service library of 1,000 of products built during that
era. We still have the capability to repair many old, obsolete units and we want to make sure our customers are aware of this. We tend to live in a throw-away society today and I’m seeing more and more test equipment get rejected simply due to being old or obsolete. JM may be able to repair and restore some of this equipment at a fraction of the cost of buying a new unit. Not only do we handle large equipment, but also small equipment such as Altek, Transmation, Ametek, Biddle, Beta, etc.
Here are a few recent samples of some of our restoration work:
Hanco NA-506 Glove Tester: 6 Position. (AKA Big Blue)
Big Blue – restoration completion in October 2020
Big Blue was a glove machine that was manufactured in 1968 that JM had purchased used back around 2008. It came with a batch of several newer (late 1970’s) glove machines which were restored and are currently in full time operation at the Baton
Rouge ESL facility. Big Blue was not needed at this time, so it spent the next 12 years in storage. Just as it was about to get turned in for scrap metal, a need arose for a glove machine at our San Angelo location. Purchasing a new glove machine at
today’s prices will cost you about $75,000 – $100,000, so it was decided to revamp Big Blue and see if we could make her work.
This was a team effort between several departments. Our Surplus department housed the unit during rebuild as well as took care of ordering needed parts. Our Manufacturing/ Maintenance dept. assisted with welding, painting, electrical rework, cleaning and testing and our Technical staff assisted with final troubleshooting, repairing circuits and operational testing.
As a result, the machine was made operational and will serve as the first multi-pair machine at the San Angelo location. This unit can test up to 6 gloves and can generate 40kV needed for class 4 work. Not only did we save money, but doing this restoration allowed for our technical staff to learn the circuitry of this machine which will allow for fast, effective troubleshooting in the future, in the event something breaks down.
I would anticipate getting another good 20 years of service out of Big Blue. Sadly, I could not locate any before pictures.
Ferr Mfg. Allen Ground Detector – Circa 1951
A customer from our Clute location recently sent us an antique ground leakage meter that they had dropped. The unit had a busted meter, several cracks in the body and missing epoxy potting in jaws. The customer really liked this instrument because the wide design of the jaws made it easy for them to perform their tests. They hadn’t located any new style
equipment that would work as efficiently as this old unit. There was absolutely no information available for this unit, so the BR Lab technical team went through the unit and was able to spec out a panel meter that would work with minimal modification. A schematic of the electronics was also developed and saved for future reference. The BR Manufacturing dept. handled the body work by sanding and repainting the unit, as well as applying special epoxy to jaw cracks and repotted the exposed jaw tips. The Technical dept. handled the meter replacement, electrical circuit repair, and operational testing of the unit. The unit was restored and fully operational.
High Current Test Set Upgrades
Here is a sample of an old Multi-Amp CB-8160 high current test set that was upgraded by our BR Lab.
Another recurring service we offer is upgrading old High Current Test Sets. Most of these units were manufactured in the 1960’s – 1980’s and the control circuitry starts acting erratic or becomes inoperative. Rather then having the customer buy a brand new unit which can easily cost $50,000, JM Test offers a refurbish program that will allow the unit to be powder coated with a customer specified color, as well as upgrading to modern digital controller for enhanced performance. This upgrade program allows the customer to have a like new unit for the fraction of the cost of buying new.
So the next time you see an old antique instrument, or even a newer style instrument that is obsolete… communicate with us at JM Test and we will certainly put our best foot forward to make your old equipment fully functional.
