Bill Swain founded the William H. Swain Company in Sarasota, Florida back in 1965. Previous to this Bill was employed in various roles with the US military and NASA – working on guidance systems for rocket and advanced marine navigation tech for that time period.
Bill Swain developed the first DC Clamp-on Ammeters in 1965. These durable and accurate instruments were created to help pipe line operators monitor cathodic protection (CP) current flow on their lines.
Used in a wide variety of industries all over the world, Swain meters measure the magnitude and direction of current on conductors.
From the beginning Swain meters were used not only as portable DC and AC current measuring devices, but as permanently installed instruments on buried pipelines both on-shore and in sub-sea applications.
In the mid 1980’s, Swain Meters were fitted with digital LCDs. The technology remains basically the same while the meter face becomes more streamlined and user-friendly. Later models of Swain Meters in the 1990’s and 2000’s have greatly improved sensitivity (accuracy) and the technology is patented. These later models have digital LCD’s and further simplified controls.
The next meter developed is called the “AUTO MER™”. This features Auto-Zeroing and Automatic Ranging from 0 – 2.0 Amps, 0 – 20 Amps & 0 – 200 Amp ranges. Swain Meters are now packaged in a convenient, weather resistant case.
