For what it¡¯s worth, the Fluke 540B AC-DC Thermal Transfer Standard originally used a mercury cell. In 1993, a mod was published for Lithium plus a 317 regulator. They could get away with this because one power switch section interrupts the battery when the instrument is off.
Dave Wise
From:
[email protected] <
[email protected]> On Behalf Of Jim Adney via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2022 12:35 PM
To:
[email protected]Subject: Re: [TekScopes] Peak Detector to Validate Tek Const. Ampl. Signal Gen. (067-0532-00)
On Sun, Apr 24, 2022 at 12:57 PM, Jeff Dutky wrote:
Both versions of the manual state that the batteries should be replaced ¡°when the voltage drops below 1.33 V, or after one year¡± but I will try
adjusting the unit with the current batteries first.
I had to check w/Wikipedia, but it says the open circuit voltage of a mercury cell is 1.35 V, and that they hold their voltage very level for most of their lifetime, so perhaps 1.25 is near end of life. At any rate, we know it's old, since mercury batteries have not been made for several decades.
I wonder how we should dispose of these now?
