Hi, all.

Well, my old Radio Shack talking multi-meter (i.e. the kind they made back
in the early to mid 1990's) has finally bitten the dust.  Actually, I guess
it was my fault.  Several weeks ago, I was in a hurry, and inadvertently put
the double-a batteries in the wrong way.  When I pushed the button on the
probe for the positive lead to see if the meter was working, it started to
smell hot.  After replacing the fuse in the meter, which had been blown in
the process, I found that, even though the meter still talked, the readings
fluctuated irregularly and made no sense whatsoever.

I sent the meter off to Radio Shack, and their Fort Worth Service Center
just informed me this morning that there are no parts available to fix it.

In all honesty, I'm quite surprised that the meter didn't have sufficient
diode protection for cases where the batteries had been installed
incorrectly, but I guess that's neither here nor there at this point.

Does anyone on the list know of anyone who might be able to help repair this
meter, or is it a lost cause?

If it is a lost cause, can anyone recommend a talking multi-meter that I
might purchase?  I basically use the meter for very simple things, such as
continuity checks, and battery voltage readings.

Any help here would be appreciated.

You better believe that the next meter I get will be labeled so as to
prevent this kind of problem from happening again.  HI!  HI!  HI!

Best 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ