Simpson

Not plural, not the cartoon show, just Simpson - the meter company - the (at least partially) Wisconsin meter company.

I remember buying an HP Model 500b, a tube based frequency meter, at a hamfest in Illinois.  I eventually gutted it and was going to use it as the chassis for a bunch of  QRP accessories.  I never got farther than adding a three terminal regulator for a 12 volt supply using the filament windings of the transformer used in the 500b.

This was in the mid to late 1980s and I also remember talking to one of the techs at work (GTE in Northlake, Illinois) who was leaving for a job with a UPS company in Wisconsin.  I happened to mention that Simpson also made meters (or at least had at one time) in Wisconsin.  The next day I brought in this meter to work to show him.

The front just looks like a meter, no mention of Simpson:

But the back says Simpson, made in USA and also has a couple of Wisconsin map stamps !  :)  That's how I knew:

Here's the 500b name plate:

There's one reason why this thing is kinda dusty - I never use it.  For a while I used it at another location to power a part 15 beacon.  But my electric co-op bill went up.  Via the new fangled digital power meter on the side of the house I determined that my power supply used 5 watts (it should have been much lower).  

The only thing I can figure is that the beefy transformer for the HP 500b has a lot of magnetization current.  BTW the other windings are open, I removed the pilot lamp, the regulator ran cool to the touch - it must have been the transformer.  The transformer looks like it could power a small MOPA type transmitter without a problem.  I'm sure the entire 500b used a lot more than 5 watts due to the vacuum tube filaments if nothing else.

Anyway I didn't want to waste 5 watts continuously so I found an old wall wart for a telephone and used that as a power supply for the beacon instead.

Best Regards,
Chuck, WB9KZY
http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm