Introduction

The AVOmeter, was the first true multimeter. It was the first portable, multi functional instrument in the history of the electrical industry. The idea came from the then head of the  General Post Office Telephones in London; Donald Macadie. He wanted to combine a voltmeter, an ammeter and an ohmmeter in one housing. For good reason, back in 1the 1920s you had three huge devices, shunt resistors and batteries carry if you wanted to measure voltages, currents and resistances.

He invented the world's first multimeter and patented his design. And because it was able to measure Amps, Volts and Ohms, Macadie called his invention AVOmeter. The rights to the brand name AVO are held by Megger today. The moving-coil type of movement for the range of measurements required at the time was ideal because of its good sensitivity, good damping, long scale arcs, low power consumption, short time period and high torque-weight ratio. With the advent of the Westinghouse copper oxide meter rectifiers available in the early 1930's the first truly universal multimeter could be realised. For many years AVO led the field in having a meter which could measure AC voltage and current as well as Resistance and the usual DC ranges. The majority of multimeters made by other manufacturers did not have this facility.

True ohmmeters (such as those originally made by Evershed and Vignoles) measures the quotient of volts and amperes, but many simple instruments merely measure the current through the unknown resistance, assuming that the voltage remains constant during the test. Such instruments should really be called resistance testers rather than ohmmeters. The AVOmeter uses this principle on the resistance ranges.

The first AVOmeter was put on sale in 1923, and although it was initially a DC-only instrument many of its features remained almost unaltered right through to the last Model 8.  In particular the mirror scale, the "smiley" meter scale, the two switches and two terminals. AVO multimeters are renowned for their reliability and robustness, the early incorporation of a mechanically operated cut out linked to the meter movement and the two switch range selection system have endeared these meters to generations of electrical and electronic engineers. By 1965, the company had already created over one million AVOmeters. The firm also produced a range of smaller multimeters, the AVO Minor and later the AVO Multiminor as well as a number of special instruments such as the Heavy Duty model. Production of the iconic model 8 meter ceased in 2008. Though known for their Avometer general purpose multimeters, they made a wide range of test gear including valve testers, oscillators and light meters.  The current range of products can bee seen at: http://www.megger.com

History, Changes and acquisitions

On 23 May 1923 the Automatic Coil Winder and Electrical Equipment Company  (ACWEECO),  was founded.  This company not only built the new multimeter but also another patented invention of Donald Macadie, an automatic coil winding machine. The works were initally at 9, Victoria St, London SW
The name AVOmeter became a registered trademark in 1924
Factory moved to new premises Winder House, Rochester Row, London SW1 in 1927
Factory moved to new premises Winder House, Douglas St, London SW1 in 1930
Factory expanded to new premises AVOCET House 92/96 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SW1 in 1939
Became a Public listed Company and renamed AVO Ltd in 1957
AVO Ltd, acquires Taylor Electrical Instruments Ltd of Slough in 1958
AVO Ltd is acquired by the Metal Industries Group together with it’s Taylor Electrical Instruments in 1959
Acquired new Land in Dover Kent for construction of New Factory in 1962
Factory in Vauxhall Bridge Rd and the New Factory at  Archcliffe Rd, Dover, Kent CT17 9EN run in Parallel 1964
Production Moved to new Dover Factory and Vauxhall Bridge Rd closed in 1966
Thorn Electrical Industries acquires Metal Industries Group in 1967 and AVO Ltd becomes part of the Thorn Group of Companies.
HW Sullivan a member of the Thorn group was incorporated into AVO Ltd in 1972
AVO Ltd acquires part of Evershed and Vignoles Ltd in 1986
After a management buyout name changed to Megger Instruments Ltd in 1987
Megger Instruments Ltd, name changed  to AVO Megger Instruments Ltd in 1991
Thyssen Bornemisza Group  took over the company together with Biddle (USA) and others in 1991
AVO Megger Instruments Ltd, name changed to AVO International Holdings Ltd in 2000
AVO International Holdings Ltd name changed to AVO International Ltd in 2002
The whole Megger Group of Companies Worldwide changed Name to the Megger Group, with the  UK Branch remaining at:
Megger Group Ltd. Archcliffe Rd. Dover. Kent CT17 9EN.

Acknowledgments

Many of these instruments are still around today and as I have a number of them I have long felt that there was a need for a site or page which covered the whole range. I have been encouraged to do something about it by Andrew Usher who also felt that there was a need for an AVO page similar to that for Simpson meters at www.simpson260.com. I have used the text file he sent me as a basis for the following pages. Images other than those of the meters in my possession have been gleaned, cleaned up and resized from various sites on the internet.