George wrote:

I would (almost) bet that a "growler" is another name for a "current
sniffer". With these you inject an AC current at one node and have the
return located at some other node that is shorted to it and shouldn't be.
Then, the "current sniffer" is an inductive probe that you wave back and
forth along the wiring or trace (as the case may be) and when the tone
(growl?) changes, you've found the physical location of your short. I
believe that a company currently produces such a product under the trade
name "Tone Ohm". If you like eBay, you can frequently pick up a used GenRad
Bug Hound which is also such a device. It doesn't actually give an
empirical measurement but helps you to (physically) locate a short.

Nope, not a Tone Ohm. Go back and read some of
the other replies to find out what it is.



DDoerschuk wrote:


Fellow RCMers,

I've been reading a book from the 50's that describes different kinds
of electrical motors and how to repair/rebuild them. In one part, it
very briefly recommends using a "growler" to test an armature.
Unfortunately, the reference was short and pretty obscure, and I was
left in the dark as to what the test would even accomplish. Does
anyone know the answers to any of these questions?:
1) What does a growler measure?
2) How to you correctly use one?
3) Can you build your own?
4) Has it been replaced by a newer device? I notice that neither HP
or Fluke offer one, so I suspect it may be antiquated.

This question might be better suited for rec.electronics or something,
but I know the metalworking hobby tends to generate piles of broken
motors (got a few myself) so I thought I'd check with y'all first.

Thanks!
Dave Doerschuk