Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Mr. Scram]

I have some which look similar: a couple of flat plates with a small "hole" in between them. I suspect the "hole" is meant to slip on the end of a bog-standard circuit test probe, which has a 4mm banana plug on the other end.

Whether it is misdescribed appears subject to interpretation; I would contact the supplier so they can improve the description and provide a picture.

I checked today and you were absolutely spot on about the crocodile clips fitting on generic test probes. I'll contact the seller and see whether he can correct or clarify the description.

[bd139]

Quick jump back to the T12 portion of the thread. I didn't hit "buy" the other day when I was doing the checkout as I got distracted by the looks. This went very much in my favor as I got a $4 discount voucher this morning.

Ergo T12 DC version for £16.20  which is even more ridiculously good value for money! Hopefully I will not get a buggering from customs.

Plus I also bought 200 UV LEDs because I need to make some prototype PCBs with faster turnaround and lower cost on larger boards than OSHpark.  UV box here I come. No more 30 day turnaround. Got some photo etch resist board, developer and transparencies on the way too. Total expenditure of this project <£20 hopefully.

[Specmaster]

Yes, double walled boxing seems to be so hard for these folks, I even paid the guy extra to take his time to package it and he didn't even bother with a double box.

Unless it's really heavy don't need double boxing as long as it's well wrapped in bubble wrap and box pack with beads etc.

A fluke 5200A weighs in at 24 kg...

I can't even get the cover back on properly, the chasis is bent too much to align the cover with the chassis.

Exactly really heavy items do need double boxing or a triwall box at least, plus bubble wrap and packing beads if not foam.

[Specmaster]

Quick jump back to the T12 portion of the thread. I didn't hit "buy" the other day when I was doing the checkout as I got distracted by the looks. This went very much in my favor as I got a $4 discount voucher this morning.

Ergo T12 DC version for £16.20  which is even more ridiculously good value for money! Hopefully I will not get a buggering from customs.

Plus I also bought 200 UV LEDs because I need to make some prototype PCBs with faster turnaround and lower cost on larger boards than OSHpark.  UV box here I come. No more 30 day turnaround. Got some photo etch resist board, developer and transparencies on the way too. Total expenditure of this project <£20 hopefully.

Never been buggered yet by customs but if that floats yer boat[emoji23] they usually mark it as samples or a gift though. I suspect that a big package might get closer scrunity but I doubt the T12 will, it's so small[emoji106]

[bd139]

Fingers crossed.

I’m in Wembley ikea at the moment. Decided to upgrade some storage for once instead of test gear. Stupid stupid idea 

[Specmaster]

I quite like Ikea normally but if there one that I don't its Wembley. It seems to a bit less organised than the Lakeside one but I suspect that today its rammed solid. New storage in readiness for the flood of 2018 Ebay purchases?

[bd139]

It’s horrid I agree. Lakeside is much nicer.

This is for parts and cables. Getting some drawers for my current bench (Expedit). Apparently Kallax drawers fit it. Fingers crossed! It’s being replaced when we move and I’ll post on the bench thread. I’m just fed up of digging ziplock bags out of boxes!

[Specmaster]

I've experimenting with the organising of my little den. Transformed it from more of an office to proper bench with some of my gear stacked in front of me rather than having to get it from another part of the room each time I need it. So currently one half is work bench, the other is computer desk.

Someone is supposed to giving me a 30" monitor (not working) if and when it materialises and I can get to work again, I might have to re-organise again as current monitor is 23" and I thought 30" would make it easier to read schematics etc on screen while repairing test gear etc. 

[bd139]

Sounds good to me. Good luck with the 30" monitor - if the panels are good it should be a winner  . I had two 20" Dell Ultrasharp ones I nicked from the skip at work (big WTF throwing them out!) but got rid of them because I don't have the room. Now I've got hooked on high DPI displays so 15" retina it is (for now). Pretty good for schematics as well but don't annoy SWMBO 

[Specmaster]

15" retina "gulp" I use 23" full HD displays and yes its good for schematics if I want to zoom on and be prepared to move the page about on screen, but I could not manage on a 15" screen even if it was 4K image (eyes get a bit past their best as you age). I'm looking to display a complete page at a time on screen, large enough so that I can read values etc. Don't have to worry about SWMBO as I have the box room all to myself, complete with an A1 plotter, a fax and photocopier along with lots of other junk because it also gets used as storage room 

[Mr. Scram]

Fingers crossed.

I’m in Wembley ikea at the moment. Decided to upgrade some storage for once instead of test gear. Stupid stupid idea 

Coincidently, I've been at Ikea today too, looking at what might suitable shelving for the lab when I finally move house. I did see a system that's sturdy and suitable, but I didn't care too much for the cheap plastic bumpers. It's supposed to be lab and not a showroom, but I'd be looking at it constantly. None of the other solutions came close to the same functionality, unfortunately.

Obviously I went home having spent about twice the amount I thought I would. At the supermarket I'm typically a low single digit percentage high or low when I guesstimate the total, at Ikea I always end up buying and paying a lot more than expected. I used to call that the Ikea effect, where many small items add up to eye-watering amounts, but apparently the Ikea effect has already been coined and denotes the disproportionate attachment people have to stuff they partially built themselves.

[GreyWoolfe]

Happy Christmas to me!  My 2nd HP 3466 that was supposed to arrive next week on my birthday, showed up today.  Very well packed, wrapped up in a whole bunch of bubble wrap and in a box stuffed with newspapers to keep it from moving.  Arrived in perfect condition.  Sure enough, as the seller said, it works but the LEDs weren't tracking the settings.  A good amount of contact cleaner and copious exercising of gang switch buttons, and everything tracks as it is supposed to.  I also gave the exterior a good cleaning with Simple Green.  Red LEDs sitting on top of green VFDs on my GW Instek meter, definitely Christmasy .  I checked some voltages and resistances and all was close enough for me, I don't do anything  requiring calibrated, precision readings.  So now, there is 8 multimeters, 6 power supplies, 3 scopes, 3 function generators, 2 counters and 1 LCR meter, plus various bits and bobs.  No TEA here, just an empty bottle of SoBe water, blood orange mango flavor  .

[bd139]

Fingers crossed.

I’m in Wembley ikea at the moment. Decided to upgrade some storage for once instead of test gear. Stupid stupid idea 

Coincidently, I've been at Ikea today too, looking at what might suitable shelving for the lab when I finally move house. I did see a system that's sturdy and suitable, but I didn't care too much for the cheap plastic bumpers. It's supposed to be lab and not a showroom, but I'd be looking at it constantly. None of the other solutions came close to the same functionality, unfortunately.

Obviously I went home having spent about twice the amount I thought I would. At the supermarket I'm typically a low single digit percentage high or low when I guesstimate the total, at Ikea I always end up buying and paying a lot more than expected. I used to call that the Ikea effect, where many small items add up to eye-watering amounts, but apparently the Ikea effect has already been coined and denotes the disproportionate attachment people have to stuff they partially built themselves.

Ah I write a list before I go including shelf marks (available on web site), skip straight to the pickup area, grab the crap off the shelves then queue up at the self service checkouts. Know what I’m going to pay and can be out in 20 minutes. No Daim; no meatballs, just MDF and a backache.

That is unless SWMBO comes like today so we spent a whole hour staring at bloody tea lights and wrapping paper (which we have enough of each already to paper the house from top to bottom then burn a whole thing down already).

15" retina "gulp" I use 23" full HD displays and yes its good for schematics if I want to zoom on and be prepared to move the page about on screen, but I could not manage on a 15" screen even if it was 4K image (eyes get a bit past their best as you age). I'm looking to display a complete page at a time on screen, large enough so that I can read values etc. Don't have to worry about SWMBO as I have the box room all to myself, complete with an A1 plotter, a fax and photocopier along with lots of other junk because it also gets used as storage room 

My daily driver laptop between 2012 and 2016 was a 12” Thinkpad X201 with 1280x800 screen. 15” retina was more than enough after that.  My eyesight is still good enough to see two A4 sheets side by side fortunately. In time I’m sure it will fail as I spent 10 years in and out of moorfields eye hospital but they actually did wonders for me as I had wonky as hell eyes when I was a kid now 20/20 bar a small floater.

When I finally get my house sorted I’ve already been looking at lab furniture for my workspace. Second hand proper electronics benches got for around £100 + a transit van for the day. To buy a new one is £3k+

[Mr. Scram]

The upside is that I don't tend to spend money on items I don't need and that it's generally as cheap or cheaper than elsewhere, so it ends up working out okay. It's just that I don't go there that often and that this means there's a long list of "oh yeah I needed that too" items to pick up.

I actually don't mind browsing Ikea, I have to admit. Other shops, not so much, unless it sells tools of course. I can fondle those endlessly.

[Specmaster]

Now that I have the TF930 up on a shelf at sort of eye level when sitting down, the display is far far better and I'm really loving this counter, it is even stable at 1Hz, really cannot believe the sheer value for money this thing offers, much better than my Velleman or Black Star counters. Suddenly its not so important to illuminate the display, although this would still be better lit.

[neo]

Great now you've made me hungry for a nice, juicy, cooked to perfection bratwurst.

Then this may be helpful:
http://www.hermanzegerman.com/

Unlucky for you, Herman is in London.

Luckily i know a local Bratwurst maker that rivals Germany.

Yes, double walled boxing seems to be so hard for these folks, I even paid the guy extra to take his time to package it and he didn't even bother with a double box.

Unless it's really heavy don't need double boxing as long as it's well wrapped in bubble wrap and box pack with beads etc.

A fluke 5200A weighs in at 24 kg...

I can't even get the cover back on properly, the chasis is bent too much to align the cover with the chassis.

Exactly really heavy items do need double boxing or a triwall box at least, plus bubble wrap and packing beads if not foam.

The best packaging i ever received was on my second Fluke 8400A, in a double walled box twice its size, wrapped in foam 3 inches on either side, bubble wrapped stuffed against the front and back and then the entire box was stuffed tight with newspaper and triple taped.

[HalFET]

Yes, double walled boxing seems to be so hard for these folks, I even paid the guy extra to take his time to package it and he didn't even bother with a double box.

Unless it's really heavy don't need double boxing as long as it's well wrapped in bubble wrap and box pack with beads etc.

A fluke 5200A weighs in at 24 kg...

I can't even get the cover back on properly, the chasis is bent too much to align the cover with the chassis.

Exactly really heavy items do need double boxing or a triwall box at least, plus bubble wrap and packing beads if not foam.

The best packaging i ever received was on my second Fluke 8400A, in a double walled box twice its size, wrapped in foam 3 inches on either side, bubble wrapped stuffed against the front and back and then the entire box was stuffed tight with newspaper and triple taped.

I've made my own crates for shipping some heavy equipment before, you'd be amazed what you can do in 10 minutes with a nail gun, a rotary saw, and some scrap pallets.

[Specmaster]

Quick jump back to the T12 portion of the thread. I didn't hit "buy" the other day when I was doing the checkout as I got distracted by the looks. This went very much in my favor as I got a $4 discount voucher this morning.

Ergo T12 DC version for £16.20  which is even more ridiculously good value for money! Hopefully I will not get a buggering from customs.

Plus I also bought 200 UV LEDs because I need to make some prototype PCBs with faster turnaround and lower cost on larger boards than OSHpark.  UV box here I come. No more 30 day turnaround. Got some photo etch resist board, developer and transparencies on the way too. Total expenditure of this project <£20 hopefully.

Just found another suitable metal case for the mains driven version that uses the same extrusions as the supplied assembled version but has an extra 20mm in length which would enable the IEC socket to be linked to the circuit board via some flexible cable, thus removing the mechanical stress from being transferred to the solder joint and also has sufficient room to all effectively bond all the case back the incoming earth terminal thus removing all matters of concern with the Quicko T12-952 assembled unit. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/DIY-T12-Digital-Soldering-Iron-Station-aluminum-shell-case-with-Power-IEC-Socket-Switch-For-diy/32800389929.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.126.S0UJYm&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_3_10152_10065_10151_10344_10068_10130_10345_10324_10342_10547_10325_10343_51102_10340_10341_10548_10609_10192_10541_5130013_5000013_10190_10084_10083_10307_10301_5080013_10303_5870020_10312_10059_10313_10314_10184_10534_100031_10604_10103_10605_5060013_10594_10142_10107,searchweb201603_12,ppcSwitch_5&algo_expid=a5a2b72b-b3a0-4d78-8fa5-014848e5a0d3-17&algo_pvid=a5a2b72b-b3a0-4d78-8fa5-014848e5a0d3&rmStoreLevelAB=5 

The existing front and back plates can be retained (ideal as the cutouts are different and the power socket is different) so it would be a quick and cheap solution to all the problems, if only the shipping was quicker 

[Mr. Scram]

I've made my own crates for shipping some heavy equipment before, you'd be amazed what you can do in 10 minutes with a nail gun, a rotary saw, and some scrap pallets.

Yeah, I've been amazed at the effectiveness of 3mm thin plywood, bracing made out of thicker wood on the edges and some packing blankets.

[HalFET]

I've made my own crates for shipping some heavy equipment before, you'd be amazed what you can do in 10 minutes with a nail gun, a rotary saw, and some scrap pallets.

Yeah, I've been amazed at the effectiveness of 3mm thin plywood, bracing made out of thicker wood on the edges and some packing blankets.

Yeah 3mm of wood chipboard, plywood, or mdf does miracles when shipping heavy stuff, what also works well is the heavy honeycomb stuff. And if all else fails: silicone foam rubber!

[bitseeker]

I think I have to face that I am starting to suffer from GAS.

Welcome, TUN (you've now been named ).

But it all went downhill from there.
...
And then it all went down hill...
...

Yes. Although it's easier than having to go uphill.

The main realization I made a few days ago is that the main reason I buy this equipment is to repair and verify the other equipment I buy... which I then use to repair and veryfiy the other equipment I buy... which I then use to repair and veryfiy the other equipment I buy... which I then use to repair and veryfiy the other equipment I buy... which I then use to repair and veryfiy the other equipment I buy...

Welcome to the loop. I hope you've got a nice big bench and plenty of shelves.

[bitseeker]

Oh yes, Oh yes, Oh yes. . .!!!

And characterised by symptoms getting progressively worse. . .!!!

Wow - I hadn't looked at all the definitions in a while. Should be major drug companies developing cures for it this next year. 

LOL, yes, I've been adding things from time to time. This audience does seem ripe for pharmaceutical intervention.

[bitseeker]

UPS utterly destroyed the Fluke 5200A:( I hear lose rattling inside and it's so bent up I can't remove the guard cover anymore.

Ugh! My condolences, HalFET. Hopefully, the rattling bits are just pieces from the enclosure so you can get it up and running again with a nice "discount."

[Cerebus]

You can pack almost anything securely with just corrugated cardboard, if you know what you're doing.

Many years ago I used to work (in the computer department) for one of the UK's biggest cardboard box manufacturers. One of our biggest collective customers was the Scotch Whiskey industry. Think about it; a case of whiskey contains 12 fragile glass bottles, all of high value, collectively heavy, and completely ruined if anything breaks. They used tri-wall outers, all flaps meet* and interlocked double walled dividers the height of the case between the bottles to protect them from one another. They were some of the most expensive cases we regularly made.

If you want a good case to ship stuff in, go down to your local off-license/liquor store/supermarket and ask for some empty cases that bottles of spirits came in.

*An AFM, or all flaps meet case, is one where the inner and outer flaps that form the 'lid' are exactly half the width of the case, forming a double layer of card the full width of both top and bottom. The flaps meeting each other in the middle gives massive lateral stiffness to the case.

[beanflying]

  on the packaging job.

My Ukraine/Russian arrival last week was surrounded by 2 wraps of bubbles and then in a box with 1" foam cubes to keep it off the walls of the box. Some Sellers on evilbay do it more than right. 

I am sick and tired of straightening bent pins and pin headers on evilbay shipments  Sellers go on my shit list!