EEVblog 1578 - No one can be told what the Metrix is. 

Oh no! He turned it on before he took it apart! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... MASS HYSTERIA!

A lifetime in electronics and can still get excited about a multimeter - Dave’s the real deal!!

Your enthusiasm is always contagious! Thanks for your continued work and sharing of knowledge. 😊

I have three of these (MX56's & MX44) bought dirt cheap on fleabay 15+ years ago as I could'nt afford a Fluke! and all still going strong, really great meters!

About 5 years ago I've found 2 benchtop Metrix multimeters in the dumpster. One was from the late 80s or early 90s and one was from the late 2000s. The multimeter from the late 2000s worked straight out of the bin and was at that time just recently calibrated. I don't know the reason why that company dumped this perfectly working multimeter. Maybe they changed their equipment due to some business deal... whatever. The other and older multimeter however did need a bit of repair and calibration. First problem was an almost dead capacitor in the (linear) power supply. Further because that multimeter had no auto-range, there were a lot of mechanically interlocked buttons. Like in a tape deck. A little bit of contact cleaning chemicals fixed that problem. But the meter was still a little bit off the ranges. And all was left were these annoying carbon trim pots. I've spent a lot of time to get all ranges in DC/AC /resistance and whatnot to be perfect as sensible. And five years later: Both of them are still working perfectly and are in use almost daily. Once every year I'm checking the accuracy and calibration myself. And they are everlasting workhorses.

Orange/yellow and gray, this looks familiar, right? Not sure if Fluke had that color scheme back then. Almost revolutionary for the time it hit the market! Autoranging, bargraph, lockable test leads, waterproofing ... Definitely a thing of beauty and a joy for ever. I love how the battery and fuse compartment was designed on this thing, though I'd rather have a screw entry. The molded jacks are great as well, absolutely fantastic for ingress protection! I use the same type of surgical spatula as a spudger. "Tighter than Ethel Granger's laces!". That's what she said. Electronics to EEVBlog, other stuff to EEVBlog2, and EEVDiscover for science and space related stuff. I'd use a helitrim (multiturn trimpot) for calibration, if mechanically possible. Getting in there for calibration would be cumbersome though. Still wondering why the engineers who designed it didn't choose multiturn from the get go.

My dad used to work at ITT Courier (In the US/Arizona) as a test tech back in the 70s, using high voltage probes to inject voltages and test for ESD tolerance, among other things. They used to throw enormous yearly family picnics, with lots of great food, music, and for some reason a million dollars in cash in a glass case (With a bunch of armed guards). I really enjoyed one of their factory tours where they showed off wave soldering machines, among other cool stuff. Eventually, they offshored everything, and my dad was given the choice of moving to Asia or to lose his job- we stayed in the USA.

they were so dominant in my country (tunisia) that we dont call them multimeters , we call the metrix you might have a fluke or any other brand , but we still call it metrix regardless when you want your friend to hand you the multimeter you just say "hand me the metrix"

I have the same meter as my main multimeter. Mine came from the SNCF (the French rail company). I repaired some older instruments from Métrix and it is always well documented, easy to access and robust.

I remember Metrix from school a looooong time ago, and I ive not for away from where they were manufactured in France. If I'm not mistaken at some point they also had the coat of arm of Savoie (french region where the company was founded) printed on them. The Company original name was CARTEX (as per the Metrix museum sayings) and the brand still exists within the Chauvin-Arnoux company. It was so popular in France that when refering to multimeters we regularly used the term "Metrix" for whatever multimeter brand.

For those tinkering with old carbon trimmers: you need to cycle the trimmer back and forth a dozen times or so to knock off currosion and debris from the area the trimmer wants to be for proper tuning. Then a quick blast of air to clear out anything that's been knocked loose. That should cure the problem Dave was having where the trimmer would jump from under to over but would not hit or stay where it needed to be. That position was most likely very vlose to the factory setting, so the gunk would build around that contact spot.

“Tight as a nun’s nasty”. 😂

No one can be... told, what the Metrix is, you have to see it for yourself. So it's good that you made a video about it.

Chauvin Arnoux still manufacture most of their test gear in France (near Annecy). Their new portable oscilloscopes are awesome!

Of all the meters you've torn down, this has got to be one of the most innovative designs, especially for its time. I guess it was always a niche unit because of the high price point? I'd love to see more stuff like this.

Glad to see an actual chip rather than a blob.

I'd probably smack the thing on the bench a few times in different directions, then check the calibration again. If any shift, then clean the trimpots and calibrate it again.

The Chauvin Arnoux PDF catalog says that “in 1964, ITT International took over” Metrix, and that it “joined the Chauvin Arnoux Group in 1997”.

I gave one of these to a friend of mine last year, he's really happy with it.

As soon as saw the meter screwdriver coming in for the adjustment, I was thinking this should be interesting; plastic or isolated is the way to go on those.

Metrix meters are still very common and popular here with electricians - and even second hand quite expensive. Never understood why, but they are quite OK-ish and for sure have all certifications and approval marks and conform to all the standards in the EU yada yada. Metrix was in fact a competitor of Chauvin Arnoux, they bought Metrix (Compagnie Générale de Métrologie) late 90s. Metrix itself was AFAIR part of ITT since 60s.

"Tight as a nun's nasty" - Dave Jones, I LOVE IT LOL!!!

I still have an MX56 and use it and love it. They were not cheap, I think around $800 in the day. One thing I never liked was unplugging the leads. You had to push really hard on the latch and pull hard on the plug. Once not so long ago I slipped and damaged the plug. Sad day and a new set of OEM leads cost too much. That it has survived for so long while not being treated gently speaks loudly to the value of all the environmental protection incorporated in the design.

The folding stand (which is missing on yours) can be removed and has a spudger moulded into it to remove the front panel.

I have an ASYC II model sold by B&K. It's a 50,000 count model that I purchased in around 2002. 21 years of reliable service!!

I have a MX 57EX, my first meter that measured AC+DC in both voltage and current however, the max current is 500mA.

I recall using ITT semiconductors. Actually 1N4148. I also remember one marvelous analog VOM from Matrix. I saw it at one of my early work places. What made that marvelous was the input resistance. Rather than the common "standard" 10k / V, it sported 40k /V. A further specialty was that it had no zero adjustment knob for the ohms. Every range was spot on without any tweaking. How was that done? Oh, yeah! It used a mercury battery for the ohms ranges source. Of course, those batteries were at some point banned. Which reminds me of another great instrument, which I bought much later at some flea market, as non-working. It was a photo exposure meter, Gossen Lunasix that also used a mercury battery. Obviously that was the only reason why it was declared non-working.

I have one of these still new in the box that I bought from AEMC on clearance about 10 years ago. Mine doesn't have any branding beside Metrix on the front panel. The box lists the model as MX44B cat# 7900.04. Mine has "Made in France" on the back and category ratings on the front of CAT II 1000V CAT III 600V. It also have an additional REL button between the range and hold buttons. I popped it open for a quick look and the back of the main board has a different layout, if i were to guess they probably redesigned it at some point to get the creapage and clearance distances compliance for the category ratings. Mine is also very close in color to Fluke yellow. Pretty solid looking meter but it have been stored and ignored for all of the Fluke meters I have kicking around.

When I was a kid in upper-east Tennessee in the '70s, our local telephone company, GTE (General Telephone & Electronics Corp.), rented ITT telephones to us, rather than the more-or-less standard Western Electric models. They were very robust, well-made, reliable telephones. I don't recall ever having had a problem with any of them. GTE was the largest of the relatively few independent telephone companies operating in the USA back then. So ITT (International Telephone & Telegraph), rather than Western Electric, was GTE's equipment supplier. Oddly enough, the phones were all basically clones (appearance-wise) of AT&T's Western Electric models. GTE apparently ceased operations in 1982, shortly before AT&T was de-monopolifidated.

Clean the display window... clean the display window... Was going through my head...

Thank you Dave. This video was very helpful and educational. Now I know that I can calibrate my multimeters if needed. Good knowledge for my Electronics Lab.

The PCB looks gorgeous.

How do you trim it? Holes in the PCB - you can put the LCD back on and access those trimmers from the other side.

I have had a Metrix instrument since at least 1986. In the meantime, I've already bought at least two new ones, but I'm still using the old Metrix. Great stuff!

This looks like an inspiration for Fluke, build wise. And color wise, too :)

I've got an ABB M2005 meter rescued from an electronics recycling skip, tempted to tear it down now.

Dig that Bladerunner 80's look. The new stuff looks like c%%ap. Would it kill you to give it a wipe down with soap before you demo it?

Sure would like to 'ave a look at one of the NEW Metrix multimeters and see what they're up these days!

I have an old metrix, and it was made in France, made in Savoie to be precise...

Thanks Dave

What a piece of junk! They were even too cheap to pay for screws. Notice how most posting below got theirs from a dumpster or Fleabay. What annoys me most is that they used the model name starting with "MX". This should be reserved for the 1980's Hickok MX-333. A truly great VOM. The makers of the Metrix MX44, I spit in their general direction!

An autoranging meter in the mid-80s? Dang...I'd have lusted too, if I'd known such things existed then.

The address you showed for ITT (Slough, Berkshire) is definitely in the UK not US! I drove there today - 30 mins out of London!

ITT was everywhere. They owned lots of subsidiaries all over the world. In Germany they owned at least Standard Elektrik Lorentz and Intermetall. In The Netherlands they owned something with Standard in the name as well. In the UK they had at least a consumer electronics branch, etc.

A most interesting multimeter. 🥰 Thank you.

I bet they needed to mold the jacks in to achieve the IP rating, cool meter love the teardown

My vote is for anything electronic to be on the main channel. 👍

The Bugatti of Multimeters, CA5293.

2:08 Interesting how (I assume) back then the plug layout was mirrored from what it now. V/ohms on left, common, then high current on right.

all dmm's should be without screws for fuses and batteries

That thing or its slightly bigger brother looks to have feature-parity with an 87-V, and that's brilliant. e: having seen the internal construction, this beats the pants off a Fluke.

You are not opening it correctly. I have had that multimeter for 30 years and it continues working like the first day. The tool to lift the battery compartment and the banana cover is the same foot of the multimeter that is removed and with the two support tips. They are the ones that are inserted into the plastic cover by levering on both sides of the cover and grabbing the cover by itself. You have to use the multimeter support foot itself, extracting it and using it as a disassembly tool, that's what it's ok for.

I think I had a BK Precision very much like this. I think it was 40,000 cnt and trms. From decades ago.

@9:02 LOL what did he say ....lol tight as what.....😮

They made a very nice hybrid oscilloscope which I believe was based on a Philips reference design. Hybrid because it starts up in analog mode and can be switched into digital if needed. I have the 20MHz model.

Looks like the display can be pressed down with the thinner part in the middle, nice solid piece.

There’s a scratch on the multimeter’s screen. I thought I had screwed my tablet 😂

Unscrewing the screwless multimeter.

Give someone a ceramic screwdriver to him.

i have a metrix multimeter at home which looks similar, got it second-hand, but still strong after the better part of a decade. Metrix did make some very groovy-looking measuring devices (checkout the MTX3252 digital oscilloscope for example)

Link to eBay auction?

@0:31 I wonder which notified body certified the DMM for explosive atmospheres?

At 2:40 - The host is talking about the owner of the Metrix brand is a French company and ITT a US company. ITT stands for international telephone and telegraph a telecommunication company that during the 1900s acquired hundreds of other companies during its rapid acquisition period (including such diverse companies as Telephonica and a portion of Bell Telephone and Focke-Wulf). One of which must have been Metrix's parent company.

If my memory serves me right ITT later became Alcatel, then Alcatel-Lucent ("ALU"), know it is Nokia. This all applies at least for the Telco and Network business sector. And yes, Lucent and now Nokia own the Bell Labs and thus invented the transistor ;-)

10-10-10-10-10s across the board! Get huh!

"Metrix seems to have like the clip thing really down path"

I got a similar on from Radio Shack.

I use a metrix 3291 every day, it's a very good multimeter with usefull fonctions, pwm, cap, current clamp with the scale you want, etc...... But i want a fluke 289 😢😢

No Dave, it's not simplistic. That word doesn't mean what you think it does.

I don't understand the part about not being able to plug your leads in at 4:00. Can't you just plug them in after you open it?

9:23 "I can feel it coming ... that's what she said" 🤔

I have a MX20, which has only one trimmer pot. And it uses 2 AA batteries.

"Tight as a nun's nasty", well that was a first time hearing it 🤣

I came here for the multimeter surgery, but stayed for the slang, "Tight as a nuns nasty" was my favorite!

What if I plugged it in without the securex plastic piece

Very nice. I am from Europe, but pretty young (born 1985), I think I heard of Metrix, but always assumed it is some generic and cheap brand. (Well maybe now they are or not). But this one definitively looks nice, especially for the time.

شكرا على الفيديو .أنه يشبه من الداخل معمل tes فأعتقد مصنع بتايوان

A meter for students at the ITT school?

At least MX57EX is 50000 count.

BTW, I noticed that RU-vid unsubscribed from your channel. (so I re-subscribed.) I haven't been here in a while and I suspect that RU-vid is automatically unsubscribing people if they don't visit a channel for a while.

B&K Precision 5300 series

I hate this kind of trimmers. If weakened, they would get turned a bit just by a relatively small stress. Like in this case I would guess by falling the meter from a bench.

Hi Dave! How's your internet doing? 🤔😧

Metrix?.. Oh My god!?,

Oh no! I thought crypto was supposed to save the internet, but it went out in Australia instead!

Long live the FLUKE !

Pronounced shovan r nu, and met as in met someone, not me as in look at me, then rix. I have a couple of Chauvin Arnoux meters from their existing range and they are excellent, but expensive.

9:23 lol

I HATE these battery holders! One incorrect connection and the meter is fried...

👍👍

clean the bloody thing..

😀👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Wanna join the legion?

What's with the Willy Wonka clip? Why is everyone suddenly including random movie clips/quotes in their videos? Is this a new youtube requirement or something?

Had to stop watching after the third offhand misogynistic aside. Do better, please, Dave.

Never liked chinese way of thinking in electronics.