[Tubejunke]

That's what it reminded me of: a sewing bobbin! And I actually have a bunch of NOS components which I have never identified from I would say the 30s-50s. LOTS of old resistors that look like barbells that are all different colors with values marked on the body. I have some of these "bobbin" type and I didn't know if they were a resistor or some weird coil or even a capacitor. Thanks Findem!

So Woodchuck is my new Hickok friend. Hello Woodchuck! Are you the guy that STOLE the black face 209A recently on Ebay. I hope you are, but it made me SO jealous. I have a 209 and a 209A. Both work now, but they are silver faced. I can't find a lot of info on these and I would like to know the deal on the black face model. I don't know if it is really worth any more than the others. I just like the way it looks and one went for BEANS on Epray I guess a month or so ago. I mean in the $20-30 range when any of them are usually $70-$100. I have only been an online auction victim for about a year and the prices are certainly rising I think.

I also have a nice 203 and most recently purchased a Hickok 440 which is a non VT DC volt, millivolt, milliampere meter. Neat little thing in a nice wooden box. Also there is a 6000A tube tester and another late 40s tube tester (I think 533) which I have forgotten the model. It's the first of what became their signature line of testers during the 40s-50s. Similar models as mine are the ones that you see for a grand or so on praybay. But of course mine is the lowly less valuable unit without the MANY bells and whistles that Hickok was so great at concocting.

I would love to have one of the way out there units like the 539A, but I don't make that kind of money and that caliber of tube testing will never help me enough to justify it. But Woodchuck as Hickok men we gotta admit that it REALLY IS about overkill right? LOL! Yeah, that "bobbin" was opened up, which is why the meter would not function unless I applied current after it which I believe was to one of the large steel poles that the pointer coil moves in.

The biggest pain that I found in my final repair by replacing the movement was that the assembly that I found had been water logged and the back/scale showed it bad. I had to transfer a nice scale and chrome trim (nicer) to the beat up meter. I learned in my initial repair attempt that keeping the small needle stops in place was almost impossible. There is also alignment to think of or the whole thing is botched.

What I did was when taking apart the beat up unit I devised a tool to apply just enough super glue to hold the stops in place while the scale was being transferred. It worked, but almost became a disaster. You don't want to super glue the old scale, the stops & the movement together so you have to be really careful with the application of the glue. I think I got lucky honestly! Then, if the glue gets down in the fine threaded tap hole it starts drying as you tighten which becomes as if it were cross threaded in force required. I did it though. I don't plan on doing it again though.

Hey, if you ever come up with nice chrome meter surrounds, I could use a couple. Mine are average from what I have seen and for the age, but it would be nice to have nice chrome. That black beauty I mentioned had SLICK chrome. It must have been kept really well in a shop its whole existence! Ok man glad to meet ya! We will have to stay in touch and maybe start a Hickok or BIG meter thread!!