Shortened my repair list by one frequency counter today Added it to the list of another TEA sufferer
He laughs.
I'm not sure if it's because he has freed himself from the pressure of having it around - or because he enticed me into taking it off his hands.
It arrived today - I liked the sender name
SWMBO saw it and gave me a casual version of "the look". I turned that into a little more interest when I mentioned it was the same person who sent me
that (pointing to the Hantek) and she remembered me commenting about Bean's coffee storage. She is one of these people that tells you to go away until she has had at least her second cup in the morning. (Maybe there are some bribery opportunities if we have any further business!)
Anyway, powered it up and no display. Checked power up to the 5V rail which measured 5.016 - so all good there. Will need to pull out the schematics (thank you Bean) and a scope to go further - maybe later today, if I can.
Nice that it has a hard power switch on the front panel - but I did look twice at the mains neutral running to and from it along a pair of traces, with the low voltage circuitry just 3mm away at a couple of points. Love the die cast case and the gold traces are just beautiful. This is a very tidy unit - thank you Bean. It felt appropriate to show some respect, so I gave it a dust and a light clean with IPA - not that it really needed it.
Also, in the shelving I made for my test gear, I have a DIY cardboard box which contains my soldering gear when not in use - stands, irons, solder, flux, spare tips, etc - and the 5381 fits PERFECTLY into that space. Will find somewhere else for the soldering stuff!
This bit of kit also marks a milestone - and a confession: it's the first bit of HP test gear I have ever owned. I've had HP calculators, but they don't count. As a result, I really want to get this up and running properly - and I don't want to rush it.
My TEA has entered a new era .... or is it a new rabbit hole?