What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[pcprogrammer]

I bought a lot of stuff for playing with lithium ion batteries.

An ATORCH DL24 150W electronic load. https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005005210461952.html Have to verify its accuracy. Definitely not good for the internal resistance as it seems to report it to high.

A cheap battery spot welder. https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005006437044413.html Works pretty well. On max (5) it burns through 0.1mm nickel strip, but on 3 it makes a nice weld.

A Liitokala Lii-500 battery charger. https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005005343417996.html Got this one because it has internal resistance measuring, but it looks like it is not very good at it. Reading is to low. For charging and discharging it works fine.

A Liitokala Lii-M4S battery charger. https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005006437015680.html Got this one because it has a storage function, where it charges or discharges a battery to 80% capacity. The test function of this one is better than the Lii-500 test function. It reports both the discharge and the new charge capacity. Have to verify its accuracy too.

A YR1035+ internal resistance meter. https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005006706324000.html Got this one for a more reliable internal resistance measurement. A friend of mine recommended it and I also found it mentioned on several forums as being a nice instrument. Have to do some tests with it.

A very nice 4 wire holder for batteries to do measurements. https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/4001322976384.html This one can be used with the YR1035+. Actually got two of these but replaced the cable with thicker wires for the current flow, to be used with the ATORCH DL24 electronic load. It is nice and sturdy and makes testing a battery easy.

Aliexpress made me customer of the month. 

[Gyro]

A Tinsley 3504D 1k resistance standard, from out local 'antiques emporium'.

It seems to be in good condition, oil filled and sealed, no signs of leakage. No signs of Mercury amalgam on the studs either. It is as close to 1k as I can reliably measure and the "Grade S" seems to be a good sign. I don't suppose anyone has any Tinsley catalogues or datasheets from that era?

[Jackster]

Just picked this wave solder machine up for £80 (including VAT).
I spent more on new ratchet straps to load it on a trailer 

The lot included 2 assembly desks, 4 PCB transport units, wave outboard PCB transport unit and a cooling desk.
Oh and the wave solder machine with 400KG of tin in it!


Turned it on, took about 4 hours to warm up.
Works fine and the solder looks good. Sent some off for inspection.

The liquid lines for flux and cleaner need replacing as they have perished. The PCB rail on the wave needed adjusting as the chain was stuck and the gears were not correctly meshing. Other than that. Just needs a clean.

I was going to buy this same machine, new model but basically the same, this summer with the other kit for about £30k. So I just saved myself £29,500 after costs...

Bargain of 2024?

Points if you notice the fuckup with the trailer...

[wkb]

80 quid? But why? Scrap value would be higher, not even counting the tin you mention. 

[SiliconWizard]

80 quid? But why? Scrap value would be higher, not even counting the tin you mention. 

Getting rid of this would cost the seller big bucks. This way he gets rid of it and gets 80 bucks along the way.

[Jackster]

Scrap man near me would pick this sort of thing up with a grab truck and knock off the collection from the weigh in.
I believe they thought it would go for a few grand which is why it was up for auction.

The two SMT lines went for £3-4k afaik. They were only worth the scrap value as they are from 2003-2006. Not sure why someone paid that much for them...

[wkb]

Well, same here. They would come pick it up and you would get some £ for it for sure. Heck, they even drive by for picking up an old washing machine. Ok, helps that they are like 1 km away 

[nctnico]

Points if you notice the fuckup with the trailer...

License plate not matching the car? Unless the trailer has its own license plate like many countries made mandatory.

[PA0PBZ]

Points if you notice the fuckup with the trailer...

License plate not matching the car? Unless the trailer has its own license plate like many countries made mandatory.

Or the big piece of metal (driving plate?) not really immobilized

[tautech]

Points if you notice the fuckup with the trailer...

Here in NZ you have trailer and car/truck/whatever license plates and they can be mixed around however you like.
Even for the big rigs......

[Kim Christensen]

Or the big piece of metal (driving plate?) not really immobilized

The whole thing is not really strapped down properly. Those straps going over the top aren't going to stop the load from shifting forward under heavy braking.

[Jackster]

Here in the UK, the trailer must have the same plate as the vehicle.

Or the big piece of metal (driving plate?) not really immobilized

The whole thing is not really strapped down properly. Those straps going over the top aren't going to stop the load from shifting forward under heavy braking.

Good thing they are just to keep the lids from popping open while moving.

The big straps at the bottom did all the heavy lifting here. They are directly attached to the load to prevent it from moving on the bed.
I also fitted a header board at the front of the machine after this photo was taken.

The only thing I didn't do was account for the higher center of gravity.
An additional 2 larger straps with friction matting or netting should have been used over the machine to counter any tilting forces the load would have experienced during transport.
Luckily my trip back was at 20-40mph the whole way and on straight roads.

[Gixy]

Here in the UK, the trailer must have the same plate as the vehicle

Here in France, the trailer must have its own plate if weighting more than 1000kg.

[veedub565]

Took a chance on a spares/repair EPM series power meter (£200) and a 8482A power sensor. (£120). Both tested working fine, and after a cleanup look good as new.

[gamalot]

That "菲利普" stamp is interesting. 

[veedub565]

Yeah no idea what or who the stamp is

[gamalot]

Yeah no idea what or who the stamp is

It's 'Philip' in Chinese.

[veedub565]

Ohh   thanks

well it seems to work ok

[Oldtestgear]

Confession time.

I occasionally do a basic test on RF sensors for Dave Scott (scotttrade12 on eBay).  I used the stamp because it was less easy to copy than my signature. The sensors are tested in Torquay as per the form. I do not test any other gear he sells. If there is no paperwork shown with the sensor then I have not tested it.

Hope this is clear.
Phil

[gamalot]

Micronix MSA538 - a handheld device that is too large and too heavy for me.   

You can see it compared to my largest handheld multimeter in the picture.

[DiTBho]

I have a crazy nostalgia for the 90s and early 2000s
I used to listen to their songs on the radio back then
so I bought two Garbage albums 
(only 4 UKP, each CD, on eBay)

[selcuk]

A 15cm hot plate from Aliexpress. Cost is around 65$ including shipment and taxes.

[Jackster]

A 15cm hot plate from Aliexpress. Cost is around 65$ including shipment and taxes.

These things are great but make sure the earth is connected correctly and not floating or just shoved in the corner next to a stud.
Mine was like that when I got it on Amazon...

[BennoG]

Keithley 2000 from eBay need some repairs.

[selcuk]

These things are great but make sure the earth is connected correctly and not floating or just shoved in the corner next to a stud.
Mine was like that when I got it on Amazon...

Thanks for the warning. Now I'm checking the cable connections. PE cable is mounted over the paint but that screw is connected to a metal distance between top and bottom body. I'd better scratch the paint. I tested the continuity between top plate and earth pin and that is fine.