Maplin Precision Gold

Many of these earlier Precision Gold meters used the Intersil ICL7106 single chip meter solution, which had 0.25 % basic DC accuracy. These meters provided very accurate and reliable measurements at a fraction of the cost of some of the higher-end meters. In fact, my very first digital meter was a Maplin meter, because it was affordable. As a young whippersnapper, I frequently visited their fine establishment after school, and remember admiring their meters.

This meter was broken as it had been overloaded, and there were signs that the previous owner had tried to repair it, however I was able to sort it out quickly and now it is as good as new.

What I love about these old Maplin meters is that they used discrete integrated circuits, which made them very simple to repair. Today, if you need a replacement, you can still buy the Intersil ICL7106 chip on eBay for a few pounds.

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