On Feb 20, 11:35*am, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:20:06 -0800 (PST), "hr(bob) "

wrote:
It is static electricity. *Try rubbing your friendly neighborhood cat
or dog and then put your hand on the meter face. *I'd bet my pension
that you can move the needle from its normal zero point!

Well Ok. *I'll concede that it might be static electricity. Currently,
the humidity here is between 75-100% depending on who's home wx
station I want to believe:
http://www.wunderground.com/US/CA/Santa_Cruz.html
I could rub the overly friendly cat or worthless dog until my hand
tires and still not get a spark. *However, the author indicates that
his house is quite dry, but doesn't indicate if he's throwing
lightning bolts (a sure sign of static electricity). *I've seen static
electricity affect meters, but only on larger panel meters. *The
smaller meters don't seem to have enough insulating plastic to store a
big enough charge. *I have a nearby friend that has an MFJ-259B and
will do some tinkering as time permits.

--
Jeff Liebermann * *
150 Felker St #D * *http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann * * AE6KS * *831-336-2558

I can put my hand (here in the Chicago area) on the plastic face of my
multimeter, slide my index finger around in circles on the clear
plastic that is the faceplate of the meter, and get the no-input /
meter zero to go up or down 1/10 of the full-scale deflection. Of
course, it is about freezing and relative humidity is low enough that
when I slide out of my car I make sure to touch the car with my car
keys firmly grasped when I remember. Otherwise, I get a pretty good
shock.