What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[Cyberdragon]

Could not resist  . The condition is good and inside it looks untouched (except that somebody did remove the old battery at some point). I have two options - either restore it as is or install a modern circuitry to make it more useful (and perhaps expand the ranges down to 1uV FS).

In that good of a condition you better leave it original, otherwise us antique nuts will have your head!

[Cubdriver]

Wow, what a steal! I don't think I've seen this version with the Nixies before.

You need to work on your nixie-fu!     (and start looking for one for your collection!  )

It was introduced in about 1972, at which point its list price was $5300.  In '77 it listed for $6300.  I'm not sure when they switched to 7 segment LEDs, probably not too long after his was built.  I have to wonder - in another 20-30 years, will people be searching for equipment with 7 segment LEDs the way our little group of nut cases seek out nixie gear?

-Pat

[bitseeker]

You need to work on your nixie-fu!     (and start looking for one for your collection!  )

Oh, noes!

I have to wonder - in another 20-30 years, will people be searching for equipment with 7 segment LEDs the way our little group of nut cases seek out nixie gear?

Nope. We'll all be looking even harder for still-working nixie gear.

[Cubdriver]

You need to work on your nixie-fu!     (and start looking for one for your collection!  )

Oh, noes!

I have to wonder - in another 20-30 years, will people be searching for equipment with 7 segment LEDs the way our little group of nut cases seek out nixie gear?

Nope. We'll all be looking even harder for still-working nixie gear.

 . I didn't mean us, necessarily, but others tired of the ubiquitous, boring dot matrix LCDs that seem to be on everything these days.

And I just looked further into the HP catalogs - the first showing the 5340A with LEDs is '83; in 1982 it still shows and specs the nixies.  IIRC I think '82 was the last year for the 5245L, too. 

-Pat

[bitseeker]

I have to wonder - in another 20-30 years, will people be searching for equipment with 7 segment LEDs the way our little group of nut cases seek out nixie gear?

Nope. We'll all be looking even harder for still-working nixie gear.

 . I didn't mean us, necessarily, but others tired of the ubiquitous, boring dot matrix LCDs that seem to be on everything these days.

Well, not long ago I got a Keithley 196 with big LED digits. I must say I quite like it. It doesn't have the glow of Panaplex, but it'll probably last a lot longer. So, perhaps when Nixie and Panaplex become too hard or troublesome to acquire, maybe there will be a "Post your LED equipment" thread.

[Cyberdragon]

Or we could learn glass working and make nixies ourselves.

[Cubdriver]

I have to wonder - in another 20-30 years, will people be searching for equipment with 7 segment LEDs the way our little group of nut cases seek out nixie gear?

Nope. We'll all be looking even harder for still-working nixie gear.

 . I didn't mean us, necessarily, but others tired of the ubiquitous, boring dot matrix LCDs that seem to be on everything these days.

Well, not long ago I got a Keithley 196 with big LED digits. I must say I quite like it. It doesn't have the glow of Panaplex, but it'll probably last a lot longer. So, perhaps when Nixie and Panaplex become too hard or troublesome to acquire, maybe there will be a "Post your LED equipment" thread.

I got a Honeywell 620B for about $30 on my last CA trip; it has big honkin' 7 segment LED digits too.  I don't have any readily available pics of it (took some, but haven't uploaded them) and it's still out there, but it's a cool old piece of hardware.  I also have a soft spot (in my skull, I'm beginning to think) for the early HP 'dot' LED displays like those in the early 3490A DMMs, and have a few instruments with them as well.

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

Or we could learn glass working and make nixies ourselves.

Don't think that doing that hasn't crossed my mind!  My ex got me into beadmaking, and it's great fun playing with molten glass.

Ex making earring beads:
https://pmanning.smugmug.com/Arts-and-Crafts/Beadmaking-videos/i-t2xGLLt/A

Tubes would be a very interesting challenge.   

-Pat

[electr_peter]

Or we could learn glass working and make nixies ourselves.

Let's start with something simple at first. Maybe try to make Darth Vader in a nixie tube?
Why not, someone already have done it.

[Back2Volts]

Not today, but some time back I got this BK Precision / Dynascan Corporation capacitance meter in an auction for around $25.  Posting now after cleaning up the  corroded battery compartment.   Seems to work, but is hard to check calibration.

The pictures are pretty poor

 

[MatthewEveritt]

Not a purchase, but still an acquisition. Coming soon to a repair thread near you, a  G & E Bradley  CT471C multimeter. Nothing much by the standards of today of course, but it does have the distinction of coming with probes to allow AC measurements up to 1GHz. Sadly the meter is stuck, and it probably has other issues besides.

[PartialDischarge]

Not a purchase, but still an acquisition. Coming soon to a repair thread near you, a  G & E Bradley  CT471C multimeter. Nothing much by the standards of today of course, but it does have the distinction of coming with probes to allow AC measurements up to 1GHz. Sadly the meter is stuck, and it probably has other issues besides.

It says tested "only to 2kv" lol. Its curious how high voltage measurements range in multimeters have gone down with time not up. Now 600-1000V is the norm

[CoffinDodger]

http://tinyurl.com/jll5dxs

But this just a bit ago.  My first tiny CNC router that'll fit well on my barracks room desk.   It may not be up to snuff immediately but as long as the frame is solid I'll be happy.  As far as i'm concerned I can upgrade steppers, controllers, etc. as I go.  The hard bit is going to be upgrading the spindle.  It states it's clamp is made for 45mm spindles.  Did some looking around the forum and the consensus seems to be 24000 RPM is the sweet spot for really fine trace work.  Every 24000 RPM spindle I've looked up seems to my around 80+ mm diameter .  SO some fabrication will be required later, that and a lot more research.  I'll be posting the aches and pains when I get hands on with it.

[poorchava]

Wiha 32316 System 4 set. They are wonderful.  Worth the price.

Sent from my HTC One M8s using Tapatalk

[MatthewEveritt]

It says tested "only to 2kv" lol. Its curious how high voltage measurements range in multimeters have gone down with time not up. Now 600-1000V is the norm

I wonder if it's anything to do with the decline of vacuum technologies? High voltage used to be a bit more commonly used.

[0xdeadbeef]

Probably more related to higher safety standards and usage of multimeters outside a strict industrial/scientific environment.

[PartialDischarge]

Probably more related to higher safety standards and usage of multimeters outside a strict industrial/scientific environment.

Totally agree, just compare an old multimeter probe with that of a fluke 123 scope, they probably cant figure how to embed the connectors deeper and deeper and put more plastic around them

[NottheDan]

Probably more related to higher safety standards and usage of multimeters outside a strict industrial/scientific environment.

Totally agree, just compare an old multimeter probe with that of a fluke 123 scope, they probably cant figure how to embed the connectors deeper and deeper and put more plastic around them

I have three sets of probes lying around here that make that quite obvious. Well, four really. A set of old AVO ones with blades for the screw-on terminals, a set with banana plugs, a set with the plastic around the connector and another set that looks almost exactly the same but if you look at the connector you see that is has a plastic tip on the end of the connector.

[vinicius.jlantunes]

Got my TI free shipping bounty -  some regulators, a couple voltage references and a MSP432 + educational boosterpack for taking an edx course.

[Hydrawerk]

I bought a Sigma 8.12 cyclocomputer.
http://www.sigmasport.com/en/produkte/fahrrad-computer/topline-2012/wired/bc812

[TheSteve]

New in package HP 11536A probe T for 15 bucks + shipping.
My 1152A active probes plug right in. Should be fun for comparing probes and such.

[PartialDischarge]

TDS744A, what a nice scope. It has however some attenuating ranges in CH1 (200mV to 1V) that don't work.
After I repair it and become acquainted with it maybe i'll upgrade it to 1ghz

[Hydrawerk]

I bought a Sigma 8.12 cyclocomputer.

Maybe you want to see how it looks in real life. I like the design in general. The text LCD is very useful. I do not need to remember some abbreviations, that are also too small! Please see the comparison between Sigma and Cateye.

https://goo.gl/photos/5y4xahMtFzPLhaZ58
https://plus.google.com/106264218831814439783/posts/bwYQyDy8QjM
(Google photos are fucked up anyway. I cannot make it appear here in my albums list.https://get.google.com/albumarchive/106264218831814439783
 Picasaweb used to be very user friendly and now it turned into shit or something. It works like a crap if you are not logged in.  )
FAQ:
Sigma sport 3000 will stay on my old bike and the mounting stuff is a bit damaged, but the unit itself works like it was new and it is built like a tank! Really impressive. I think it was manufactured in 1996.
Cateye Velo 8 has that crap abbreviations that I do not want to remember. I got it without the bike mounting stuff and sensor and these are as expensive as a new Sigma BC 8.12.

[McBryce]

I bought a Sigma 8.12 cyclocomputer.
http://www.sigmasport.com/en/produkte/fahrrad-computer/topline-2012/wired/bc812

I've one of these on my bike. Be careful of the wire connections to the bottom of the "docking station". They're pretty badly soldered, open joints with no strain relief. If you catch anything in the cable they immediately break.

McBryce.

[gamalot]

Wiha screwdriver set