On Sun, 09 Oct 2005 02:18:05 GMT, Bill Janssen
wrote:

My scrap yard friend had/has a meter with two probes that when applied
to an unknown metal will, from the needle defection, tell what the metal
might be.
I assume it measures the thermoelectric effect The meter is seriously
damaged and is
probably not repairable

Their meter is now broken and they asked me to repair or find another.
The broken one was manufactured by Chemet Products of San Francisco.
That company seems to no longer exist.

So, does anyone know of a similar meter. I don't even know how to search
on Google for such a device. Mainly I don't know what to call it.

Bill K7NOM

This is a pure guess based on zero evidence!

If I've guessed the right system it's the electrodes that are
special and the meter's pretty standard. I would expect one
electrode to be a solid metal contact and the other to be some
sort of electrolyte pad - perhaps a bit like a Q-tip dunked in
saline solution.

Dependent on the contact potential of the test metal this
"battery" will develop up to about a volt with a source impedance
of tens or hundreds of ohms. A a typical 1mA 100ohm meter should
be OK with enough series resistance added to bring it down to the
same sensitivity as the original meter.

As a very long shot - are you sure the meter's dud? A
completely dried out electrode pad would also give nil reading.

Jim