My new/old VIZ Voltohmyst

Who is VIZ Manufacturing and what were they doing making VW-98C Senior Voltohmysts?
I just got this and ran through the calibration procedures...just a touch up, really. (Very happy with it!) But nowhere does it say "RCA."

The fellow I bought it from said the ohm function was off...but check out how old the battery looks! It works fine after soldering in an new C cell. Believe it or not, there was no leakage or corrosion. Maybe the fact that the battery was soldered in helps that.

So who is VIZ?
Also, does anyone know if I can get a female connector for this probe jack so that I can build an RF probe for it without having to chang or add a new input jack to the meter? It's so clean and original that I don't want to modify anything externally if I don't have to. I have to order some caps for it, too.

A Google search on VIZ has turned up very little.  There are certainly more adept "Googlers" than I, who perhaps can shed some light on this company.

I use an RCA WV-98C Voltohmyst.  It has been my understanding that RCA did not build their own test equipment.  I am not sure just who did, but perhaps VIZ would have been one supplier.  

Regards

WC

I remember as RCA was divesting itself of various divisions, the test equipment for RCA and labeled as such suddenly became VIZ.  I can only guess they were the service instrument arm of RCA.  If you tool around on Ebay you can see similar test equipment branded both ways.

One of my old elmers had a VIZ like yours. A good find. 75x11 post makes sense as the elmer had a lot of RCA tools.

I have that model of Viz. I believe when RCA was unwisely diiversing itself of mannuafacturing such as test equipment, the test equipment devision was sold to Viz. For a short while, they made the same meter under a different name, then, made some of their own equipment of cheaper quality, and, eventually dropped test equipment totally..

Mine works fairly well, but, I think it's got a bad tube. Some of the settings are floating around as it warms up. I had already re capped it. Watch that circuit board, as it dammages easily...
I believe tube line up is 12AX7, and, 6AL5.
Uses an old top hat style silicon rectifier, which had a tendency to short, so, I replaced mine....

I don't use mine very often....

It has been my understanding that RCA did not build their own test equipment. I am not sure just who did, but perhaps VIZ would have been one supplier.


This is what my understanding is too. I have an RCA/VIZ audio generator that needs repair and I can't find the schematic for it.

Check on Ebay periodically. The manuals come up every so often.

75X11 wrote:Check on Ebay periodically.  The manuals come up every so often.

Good point!  

Service Instruments Corp. and the John F. Rider organization apparently had a hand is some of RCA's test equipment as far as design and manufacture is concerned. My understanding is that RCA, Zenith, and possibly Philco and others, each had a line of test equipment built and calibrated for aftermarket service like the ones used in the factory. This continuity was especially important in the early days of color tv. It was likely cheaper and less complicated to have an outside supplier build this equipment than to do it in-house. VIZ may have been a small, relatively obscure manufacturer who built test equipment for RCA, and possibly others. I haven't found any information on them anywhere, yet. RCA was not big on giving anybody else credit for their products. RCA may have claimed to build certain equipment, but my guess would be that a large part of it was farmed out to outside suppliers.

Regards

WC

The same situation with B&K test equipment. There are very many look-alikes.

I've got one too! I got my VIZ with the original box (had to toss it, it was so ravaged with age) and original warranty card. Gave the address to VIZ. I did a Google street view search, appears the building is now urban housing of some sort.

I did an online search and came across the companies' bones. One source said it's last main products were molded plastics and radiosondes. the radiosonde business was sold off in 1996. Another said it was manufacturing cement products. I assume that was a repurposing of the brand.

Now back to part of the original question. He was asking about the connector. I believe it was an old style microphone connector. The one I'm thinking of is of the screw on type.

Thanks for all the info, guys!
I have learned a couple things since my original post. The connector is, I believe, an Amphenol Model 80-75-MC1F, single conductor microphone connector. I found one on eBay, and have otherwise finished building and testing the accessory RF probe.

Bill...thanks! I will change the rectifier.

cheers
Rob

MEZLAW wrote:I have an RCA/VIZ audio generator that needs repair and I can't find the schematic for it.

Not this one, is it? http://bama.edebris.com/manuals/rca/wa504

That's close, mine is the WA-504B



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Viz-Test-Instruments-WA-504B-44D-Sine-Square-Wave-Audio-Generator-Used-NICE-/200898057821?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec675165d#ht_4428wt_1018

A "B"? Nobody had a "B" model--hahahaha!
Just kidding---sorry I couldn't find it for you.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VIZ-WA-504B-44D-Instruction-Manual-with-Schematic-Original-SHIPS-FREE-/261289598352?pt=BI_Books_Manuals&hash=item3cd612dd90

I saw that at ebay yesterday and I'm trying to decide if I want to spend $20 on it.

If in good shape, and, complete, that's cheap. Warning. The probe has a special switch,in hese, and, the Heathkit's, as well, that add a resistor of unknown value to dc, and, ac volts, and, short resistor out for resistance.

Bill Cahill wrote:If in good shape, and, complete, that's cheap. Warning. The probe has a special switch,in hese, and, the Heathkit's, as well, that add a resistor of unknown value to dc, and, ac volts, and, short resistor out for resistance.

The VTVM? Yeah I know, but thank you for the reminder. Both my VTVMs have their original probes with the 1MΩ isolating resistor in the tips for DC volts use.

Today I decided on one modification on this VIZ, WV-98E from original that will be useful for me. I have a Simpson vacuum tube RF probe (the kind with the 6AL5 double diode in the probe handle) that did not plug into anything I have. It uses a standard 1/4" stereo phono jack, so I installed one of those jacks in the side of the VIZ. I had to move the battery bracket for the ohms function battery over a little ways to make room for a small, auxiliary 6V filament transformer inside the meter. The existing transformer would not handle an extra filament very well, and I decided to add a dedicated transformer for the probe filament rather than upsize the existing one. This RF vacuum tube Probe is more accurate than my germanium rectifier ditto at very low RF voltages because there is no forward bias voltage to overcome. I intend to use this as my main bench meter for radio work.

I interested in 1940's VIZ radio components. Have any of you ever seen MOLDED brand wax condensers in a VIZ product. Story later.

Vis was made after molded paper caps were no longer used.. They aren't reliable, and, are always electrically leaky, and, or, shorted.

Anyone have Some good photos of MOLDED brand, wax-paper-foil condensers of the 1940's?

The first verifiable MOLDED brand wax capacitor was located in a NOS vacuum tube operated, 1945 VIZ brand, Radiosonde T-69F/AMT-2 weather transmitter, manufactured by Molded Insulation Co. est. 1943 of Philadelphia PA USA for VIZ Manufacturing est. 1933. The oil filled paper and foil condenser/capacitor is of cardboard tube construction dipped in (what appears as) yellow chlorinated wax. Radiosonde transmitters are sent aloft tethered to weather balloons by (among others) the US Army Signal Corps. The unit transmitted current weather information as determined by analog sensors. These usually have cardboard box cases to keep weight under 2lb’s.
During 1997 Sippican acquired VIZ Radiosonde business and formed VIZ Meteorological Systems Group of Sippican's Sea Air division. Then in 2004 Sippican was purchased by Lockheed Martin forming the Meteorological Systems Group of Lockheed Martin Sippican's Sea Air Systems Division. Records of VIZ production from 1933 to 1970 are no longer available for public viewing.
Currently the Molded Insulation Co. is located in Harrisburg, PA USA.

Most likely this connector although there is a less common one with a smaller diameter: Amphenol 80-75-MC1F or Switchcraft 2501F