3 ms·

Yep, it's a narrow-range (~2 ohms) precision ohm meter, specifically a Wheatstone bridge[0]. Newer models have a microcontroller. There is a teardown video[1] o

Yep, it's a narrow-range (~2 ohms) precision ohm meter, specifically a Wheatstone bridge[0]. Newer models have a microcontroller. There is a teardown video[1] of a newer model found on eBay. Scientologists spared no expense (e.g. $20 potentiometers, custom injection molded case)! There's also an older teardown and a huge amount of info from Dave Touretzky on these things [3] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatstone_bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatstone_bridge [1] https://hackaday.com/2018/07/19/whats-inside-a-scientology-e-meter/ https://hackaday.com/2018/07/19/whats-inside-a-scientology-e... [3] http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/E-Meter/ http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/E-Meter/

elkos 3y ago
Ever wonder how much it costs them to build one? Who manufactures them? Does the Church have a manufacturing arm?
- CapstanRoller 3y ago
  BOM cost is probably pretty high, but certainly not the $5k they charge. The parts are all standard, but high-end. Considering the copious amounts of hot glue, through-hole components, and the look of those copper tubes, I'm guessing they order boards from the usual suppliers then do final manufacturing in-house. The boards look wave-soldered with some hand work, the pots are definitely hand soldered, there is heat shrink tubing on a bunch of connectors (but all the pieces are cut to slightly different lengths obviously by hand) on a bunch of connectors... It looks to be on par with decent boutique analog audio gear from the 80s/90s, or careful hobbyist work. They really should be using Silastic instead of hot glue, though.
  - neuralRiot 3y ago
    $5k doesn’t sound too crazy for a custom device like this. If it were Mil-spec it would cost $20k each at least.
LinuxBender 3y ago
That third article on cmu is the one I found most interesting. Their devotion to this is wild. Training classes... and the microprocessor is to have a master auditor. It's like some kind of really devoted live action role play.

elkos 3y ago

Ever wonder how much it costs them to build one? Who manufactures them? Does the Church have a manufacturing arm?

CapstanRoller 3y ago
BOM cost is probably pretty high, but certainly not the $5k they charge. The parts are all standard, but high-end. Considering the copious amounts of hot glue, through-hole components, and the look of those copper tubes, I'm guessing they order boards from the usual suppliers then do final manufacturing in-house. The boards look wave-soldered with some hand work, the pots are definitely hand soldered, there is heat shrink tubing on a bunch of connectors (but all the pieces are cut to slightly different lengths obviously by hand) on a bunch of connectors... It looks to be on par with decent boutique analog audio gear from the 80s/90s, or careful hobbyist work. They really should be using Silastic instead of hot glue, though.
- neuralRiot 3y ago
  $5k doesn’t sound too crazy for a custom device like this. If it were Mil-spec it would cost $20k each at least.

LinuxBender 3y ago

That third article on cmu is the one I found most interesting. Their devotion to this is wild. Training classes... and the microprocessor is to have a master auditor. It's like some kind of really devoted live action role play.