I’m calling BS on this entire website!

[lapm]

Just reading these sort of threads is enough to infect person... Im still very early in my collection, but last summer i bought hot air station, why? Because i wanted one in case of smd repair work. And have not used it once since got it... Excuses i make to hurt my wallet...

Constantly fighting urge t get more... 

[Cubdriver]

Just reading these sort of threads is enough to infect person... Im still very early in my collection, but last summer i bought hot air station, why? Because i wanted one in case of smd repair work. And have not used it once since got it... Excuses i make to hurt my wallet...

Constantly fighting urge t get more... 

Yes, but now you have one, and it is better to have it and not need it than the other way 'round...  (This is a mantra that test gear addicts put to very good use for justification of purchases.)

-Pat

[Russ]

Hello all Addicts

   For what I am currently doing, my Eevblog/Brymen 235 should be more than sufficient. So why am I getting all hot and bothered over the 121GW model? 

Russ

[neo]

Hello all Addicts

   For what I am currently doing, my Eevblog/Brymen 235 should be more than sufficient. So why am I getting all hot and bothered over the 121GW model? 

Russ

I would guess that it might be because it appeals to you and you don't have one yet. 

[Russ]

Hello all Addicts

   For what I am currently doing, my Eevblog/Brymen 235 should be more than sufficient. So why am I getting all hot and bothered over the 121GW model? 

Russ

I would guess that it might be because it appeals to you and you don't have one yet. 

   Exactly. Dammit! I’ll find a way to justify acquiring one. And guys are not helping at all with this new addiction. 

[neo]

Hello all Addicts

   For what I am currently doing, my Eevblog/Brymen 235 should be more than sufficient. So why am I getting all hot and bothered over the 121GW model? 

Russ

I would guess that it might be because it appeals to you and you don't have one yet. 

   Exactly. Dammit! I’ll find a way to justify acquiring one. And guys are not helping at all with this new addiction. 

Oh, you wanted help escaping your addiction? See, i thought you said you needed help embracing your addiction! 

[Specmaster]

Hello all Addicts

   For what I am currently doing, my Eevblog/Brymen 235 should be more than sufficient. So why am I getting all hot and bothered over the 121GW model? 

Russ

Because your suffering from that well known zero syndrome, where you convince yourself that you simply can't manage without the extra digit or two.

[glarsson]

Because your suffering from that well known zero syndrome, where you convince yourself that you simply can't manage without the extra digit or two.

That syndrome has three stages.
Stage 1: Need moar digits.
Stage 2: Moar digits must show 0, e.g. 10.000 000 000 000 MHz or 5.0000000V.
Stage 3: Moar test equipment to verify stage 2.

[flowbee64]

Have you checked the expiration date on those caps?   After all, they are filled with organic polymers that have a shelf life.

Perhaps an additional LCR meter should be added to your collection.....

[Cubdriver]

Hello all Addicts

   For what I am currently doing, my Eevblog/Brymen 235 should be more than sufficient. So why am I getting all hot and bothered over the 121GW model? 

Russ

I would guess that it might be because it appeals to you and you don't have at least one yet. 

Slight correction added above.   

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

Hello all Addicts

   For what I am currently doing, my Eevblog/Brymen 235 should be more than sufficient. So why am I getting all hot and bothered over the 121GW model? 

Russ

I would guess that it might be because it appeals to you and you don't have one yet. 

   Exactly. Dammit! I’ll find a way to justify acquiring one. And guys are not helping at all with this new addiction. 

Yes we are.  You want to buy more stuff, right?  See?  We're helping.  (We're just a bit 'unconventional' in our help.)   

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

Have you checked the expiration date on those caps?   After all, they are filled with organic polymers that have a shelf life.

Perhaps an additional LCR meter should be added to your collection.....

Definitely!!  A very useful bit of kit, especially once we get you buying old stuff to restore.

-Pat

[Specmaster]

Have you checked the expiration date on those caps?   After all, they are filled with organic polymers that have a shelf life.

Perhaps an additional LCR meter should be added to your collection.....

Definitely!!  A very useful bit of kit, especially once we get you buying old stuff to restore.

-Pat

you're not kidding, I'm waiting on my 4th LCR meter / tester arriving  Keep looking for that holy grail, the perfect in circuit tester 

[Mr. Scram]

you're not kidding, I'm waiting on my 4th LCR meter / tester arriving  Keep looking for that holy grail, the perfect in circuit tester 

Do proper in circuit testers even exist? I gather the surrounding circuit will always interfere with the measurements taken.

[Cubdriver]

you're not kidding, I'm waiting on my 4th LCR meter / tester arriving  Keep looking for that holy grail, the perfect in circuit tester 

   Yeah, I have like four of them, too.

-Pat

[Russ]

   Is there a Psychiatrist in the group? 

Russ

[Cubdriver]

you're not kidding, I'm waiting on my 4th LCR meter / tester arriving  Keep looking for that holy grail, the perfect in circuit tester 

   Yeah, I have like four of them, too.

-Pat

Correction - five.  I forgot about the ESI 251 I got a few months back because it has a panaplex display.     Actually, I suppose technically six, as I have a Smart Tweezer hiding here somewhere, too.

Ai yi yi!!

-Pat

[BrianHG]

Because your suffering from that well known zero syndrome, where you convince yourself that you simply can't manage without the extra digit or two.

That syndrome has three stages.
Stage 1: Need moar digits.
Stage 2: Moar digits must show 0, e.g. 10.000 000 000 000 MHz or 5.0000000V.
Stage 3: Moar test equipment to verify stage 2.

Crap, why cant you guys be satisfied with the absolute pure true analog definition of one of these:

It's time to put away your  toys and upgrade to the reality of a real mechanical device showing you the true force made by the voltage your measuring in the physical realm...

[tautech]

   Is there a Psychiatrist in the group? 

Russ

I'll volunteer !

Russ, lie on my couch and let me massage your wallet. 

[Specmaster]

Because your suffering from that well known zero syndrome, where you convince yourself that you simply can't manage without the extra digit or two.

That syndrome has three stages.
Stage 1: Need moar digits.
Stage 2: Moar digits must show 0, e.g. 10.000 000 000 000 MHz or 5.0000000V.
Stage 3: Moar test equipment to verify stage 2.

Crap, why cant you guys be satisfied with the absolute pure true analog definition of one of these:

It's time to put away your  toys and upgrade to the reality of a real mechanical device showing you the true force made by the voltage your measuring in the physical realm...

Yep, I very much doubt that voltnuttery existed back when analogue meters was the only game in town. Digital has a lot to answer for in my opinion [emoji23]

[tggzzz]

Yep, I very much doubt that voltnuttery existed back when analogue meters was the only game in town. Digital has a lot to answer for in my opinion [emoji23]

Of course it did!

I have working high-performance equipment from the 1940s and 1950s (saturated Weston standard cells and a 7-decade KVD respectively).

At school we routinely measured voltages to 0.1% using only a metre ruler, a resistance wire, a standard cell, and a sensitive galvanometer. Normal analogue meters were 2%, and DMMs were unknown.

But none of us could afford the equipment, just as now none of us can afford the equipment for, say, mmwave RF. Hence the aphorism in my .sig

[bd139]

But none of us could afford the equipment, just as now none of us can afford the equipment for, say, mmwave RF. Hence the aphorism in my .sig

This is a very important point really. I make it an objective of mine to be able to solve all problems I have with much simpler equipment as well as commercial gear I purchase and repair, hence why I build things occasionally. This is resulting in a cache of small gadgets and primitive implementations of commercial gear. This entirely takes the repair, purchase and depreciation cycle away and teaches you how to get from A-B using more fundamental abstractions. At some point I probably won’t be able to afford the equipment that I have and I’d like to continue doing what I like doing so I can shed it without fear of leaving myself a black hole in a problem domain. Plus it’s not worth selling any home built gear; it’s worth pretty much nothing.

An example, can I afford a tracking spectrum analyser? No I can’t. I can however afford to build a rudementary one and keep it alive forever. They’re pretty much just signal generators with receivers with power meter which I’ve built a few of each already.

[glarsson]

Yep, I very much doubt that voltnuttery existed back when analogue meters was the only game in town.

It did. Look at the left piece of paper stuck to the meter. Someone calibrated this thing.

[bd139]

It still does. I calibrated my home built voltmeter with a home built REF02 (top spec one) reference and a high linearity divider with a ten turn bourns pot (high end one - cost more than the bloody meter did) and a vernier dial

I will do a separate thread on this at some point. I wrote some software which draws the dial based on the calibration data as well

[Specmaster]

The whole point of calibrating or needing a calibrated analogue meter is debatable, certainly beyond a known set point that aligns perfectly with a division mark on the scale as one persons judgement on a portion of a section between two such divisions is subjective. On the other hand, digital meter that particular error is thus removed, even a cheap arse meter will read on a low scale to at least a 1/100th of a division.  With 4,5,6,7,and 8 digit meters are even worse, there is no such subjectiveness, it is what it reads and if it reads 95uV then you really want to know that it is 95uV and not 95mV for example.

I'm not aware of any analogue multimeter that claims to have an accuracy anywhere near that of say 4 digit reasonable multimeter, even with an anti parallax mirror the closest I think you can get would be .1 of volt.

So yes, it was possible to calibrate analogue meters and indeed was a requirement to check other meters against to ensure that 15v was the as 15v on another meter surely but digital meters have moved the game on to far more significant digits and different calibration standards surely???