Although the term ‘Iron Curtain’ from the Cold War brings to mind something like the Berlin Wall and its forbidding No Man’s Land, there was still active trade between the Soviet Union and the West. This included devices like the M4100/4 insulation tester that the [Three-phase] YouTube channel recently looked at, after previously poking at a 1967 USSR resistance bridge.
This particular unit dates to 1985, and comes in a rather nice-looking case that somewhat looks like bakelite. It’s rated for up to 1 gigaohm, putting out 1,000 V by using the crank handle. Because of the pristine condition of the entire unit, including seals, it was decided to not look at the internals but only test its functionality.
After running through the basic usage of the insulation tester it’s hooked up to a range of testing devices, which shows that it seems to be mostly still in working condition. The first issue noticed was that the crank handle-based generator was a bit tired, so that it never quite hit the maximum voltage.
With no parallax correction and no known last calibration date, it still measured to about 10% of the actual value in some tests initially, but in later tests it was significantly off from the expected value. At this point the device was suspected of being faulty, but it defied being easily opened, so any repair will have to be put off for now. That said, it being in such good condition raises the prospect of it being an easy repair, hopefully in an upcoming video.
“nice-looking case that somewhat looks like bakelite”
That is just because it IS bakelite. Late bakelite is pitch black and very uniform in texture and color. Also typical from bakelite production are the integrated labels. No need for white paint because the shape of the edges render a shine and easy reading in most conditions. And: what else than bakelite as excellent , cheap, easy to form, strong and not so heavy material for the time ?
Instead of bakelite (which is resin, very toxic when shredded) you can use ABS – it can be 3D printed or induction molded. Or PA6 nylon which is human-neutral (used for manufacturing medicine machines in hospitals)… choices are very, you just need to use your brain.
Still all microplastics.
A Soviet megger! It needs a brand name. I suggest Меггерски.
Haha. Meggerski. I knew I learned Cyrillic for a reason.
Dial indicator with no mirror 😂 Perfect example of soviet “engineering”, on par with Elbrus, T-14 Atrapa and other analo-govnety which only served to fill pockets of Putin’s cronies…
I came here when there were only 3 comments, as soon as I did read the title I was like : I pretty sure one of the comments is about politics. Damn I’m good, don’t bother to reply, I won’t be here to read it :)
Ooooh! Soviet Bakelite! Now that’s a treasure. Do you know how they made that stuff? The dissolved amber from the Amber Room in phthalates , mixed in carbon black from power plant waste and molded it.