Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[BU508A]

Having to call someone in Germany (from Canada) to order some connectors is not necessarily my definition of easy. On top of that my German is pretty rusty 

"Easy" would be readily available at digikey, mouser or arrow. Unfortunatly it's not the case 

There is an office in Toronto:

https://www.fischerconnectors.com/global/en/locations/ontario

[mnementh]

Toronto...? If there's anything an IRL set of hands would help with, lemme know K. 

mnem
*researching power suck-pply issues on an old Toshiba TV*

[SilverSolder]

@BU508A: See below.

@SilverSolder: Yeah, I think they rebrand those in the US as RICCAR. I had one as my "under-workbench" unit for years as it would suck up 16mm ball-bearings but it ran so quiet the only sound you could hear was the air rushing at the nozzle. It had both a cyclonic chamber and a large bag-style HEPA filter, which meant you didn't want to suck up anything bigger than a blob of solder tho; a handfull of screws would rattle around in there like a swarm of angry pixies for several minutes before the last one exited into the bag.

That one got lost in the last move; this move I Goodwill-ed the hose for it. 

mnem
 

RICCAR appears to be US made,  which is unusual - https://www.sensualappealblog.com/riccar-vacuum-reviews/

Attempting to stay on topic:  -  is it actually a good idea to use a vacuum cleaner to clean out electronic equipment, or do they generate too much static voltage to be safe?

[Kosmic]

Having to call someone in Germany (from Canada) to order some connectors is not necessarily my definition of easy. On top of that my German is pretty rusty 

"Easy" would be readily available at digikey, mouser or arrow. Unfortunatly it's not the case 

There is an office in Toronto:

https://www.fischerconnectors.com/global/en/locations/ontario

Well ok … I need to improve my google foo 

Will check with them if they can supply the part. Thanks!

[tggzzz]

Having to call someone in Germany (from Canada) to order some connectors is not necessarily my definition of easy. On top of that my German is pretty rusty 

"Easy" would be readily available at digikey, mouser or arrow. Unfortunatly it's not the case 

There is an office in Toronto:

https://www.fischerconnectors.com/global/en/locations/ontario

Well ok … I need to improve my google foo 

Will check with them if they can supply the part. Thanks!

I'll bet they will supply 10 of them. Post your findings.

As I wrote...
"The connectors are easy to find. The problem is the cost and especially the minimum order quantity FFI see https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/group-buy-fischer-connector-plug-s104-a053-130/msg1538426/#msg1538426 "

[BU508A]

For my lab I have this buddy:



https://www.ebay.com/itm/183981295432

[worsthorse]

My fan service procedure is here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/tektronix-2465b-oscilloscope-teardown/msg1863828/#msg1863828

Useful, easy to miss or not find, bookmarked.

@tggzzz, @med, @mnen - thanks for the pointers. I skimming through the sixty five    pages of 2465 teardown thread and have been through the tekscope (and other lists).  Truth is, the amount of information to sort through is rather overwhelming, and that has fed my tendency to rely on "don't fix it if it ain't broke" driven procrastination.

Given the noise and symptoms though, I clearly need to repair/rebuild the fan in both. If I don't I end up with a bigger problem. I am guessing that I also need to fix the fan control board on the 485. Both units need a recap and the 485 has, at the least, sticky pushbutton switches and a couple of burned out lights. And no sense in taking either of them apart and not addressing the recap.

Time for me to graduate from fixing TMxxx plugins and Tek calibration generators and take on more complicated gear, I guess. Will start sifting through the threads, figure out what I need, and build a plan of attack.  I don't know which scope I will do first as it isn't clear that one is actually any harder to work on than the other.

[BU508A]

@tggzzz, @med, @mnen - thanks for the pointers. I skimming through the sixty five    pages of 2465 teardown thread and have been through the tekscope (and other lists).  Truth is, the amount of information to sort through is rather overwhelming, and that has fed my tendency to rely on "don't fix it if it ain't broke" driven procrastination.

The more important question is: have you read all 1741 pages of the TEA thread?   

[Specmaster]

Vacuum cleaner are now a part of TEA? 

Yep, a vacuum cleaner is an important tool in the workshop and so is in most peoples opinion, while not technically TEA, is close enough but is also part of what we call "water cooler" chatter and as such might just be of interest to others and as always, it was. That's why this particular thread is now I believe the most popular thread of the forum, we are relaxed to an extent about we chat about here.

[AVGresponding]

Vacuum cleaner are now a part of TEA? 

Yep, a vacuum cleaner is an important tool in the workshop and so is in most peoples opinion, while not technically TEA, is close enough but is also part of what we call "water cooler" chatter and as such might just be of interest to others and as always, it was. That's why this particular thread is now I believe the most popular thread of the forum, we are relaxed to an extent about we chat about here.

Exactly so! Mine is a 30+ year old Philips cylinder unit and is essential for sucking the yucky fuzz out of old TE and desktop PCs alike. Sometimes I even vac the floor with it...

Oh, and if anyone is interested in setting up a group buy for some of those Fischer connectors, let me know, I'll be in for a couple.

[Specmaster]

Update on the Samsung CLP-315W printer, the donor printer arrived today and I'm surprised that arrived without major damage is not packed well enough for the journey in view. Packed on its side  so loads of toner had spilled out all over the place, so I had to get the vacuum out and clean the bugger up before I could open it to inspect its inerts. Swapped the imaging drum and transfer belt over and now its as good as new. 
 
So now do I dump the old printer or attempt repair the transfer belt by stripping it down and looking at its rollers and blades, the imaging drum is easy to restore as there are suppliers of new drums on the web but not the transfer belts?.

[GreyWoolfe]

Vacuum cleaner are now a part of TEA? 

Absolutely.  You need it to vacuum up the small IC chips before you step on them barefoot.

[nfmax]

+1 for Sebo vacuum cleaners

[nfmax]

Vacuum cleaner are now a part of TEA? 

Yep, a vacuum cleaner is an important tool in the workshop and so is in most peoples opinion, while not technically TEA, is close enough but is also part of what we call "water cooler" chatter and as such might just be of interest to others and as always, it was. That's why this particular thread is now I believe the most popular thread of the forum, we are relaxed to an extent about we chat about here.

For sweeping up the snipped wire ends, solder splashes, and other miscellaneous crap off the lab bench, I use a paperhanging brush. Also great for dusting off control-knob-encrusted equipment panels

[URI]

[..]
That [vac] got lost in the last move; this move I Goodwill-ed the hose for it. 

Move..  -How's your status becoming a canadian, btw?       

[tggzzz]

Oh, and if anyone is interested in setting up a group buy for some of those Fischer connectors, let me know, I'll be in for a couple.

You might like to add that request to this thread: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/group-buy-fischer-connector-plug-s104-a053-130/msg1538426/#msg1538426

[mnementh]

@BU508A: See below.

@SilverSolder: Yeah, I think they rebrand those in the US as RICCAR. I had one as my "under-workbench" unit for years as it would suck up 16mm ball-bearings but it ran so quiet the only sound you could hear was the air rushing at the nozzle. It had both a cyclonic chamber and a large bag-style HEPA filter, which meant you didn't want to suck up anything bigger than a blob of solder tho; a handfull of screws would rattle around in there like a swarm of angry pixies for several minutes before the last one exited into the bag.

That one got lost in the last move; this move I Goodwill-ed the hose for it. 

mnem
 

RICCAR appears to be US made,  which is unusual - https://www.sensualappealblog.com/riccar-vacuum-reviews/

Attempting to stay on topic:  -  is it actually a good idea to use a vacuum cleaner to clean out electronic equipment, or do they generate too much static voltage to be safe?

Huh... interesting to know about the RICCAR units. Going by the name (and how much yours looks like my old one) I just assumed it had to be imported.     And looking at that advert site, I'm bummed all over again about misplacing mine now; it was a damned fine dirt-sucker.

Low-velocity, high-volume (dirt-sucker in BLOW mode) is the preferred method for quick dusting out PCs/servers/switches in every IT Dept I've worked at. Compressed air from a local compressor can create some fair amount of static charge in theory; in practice much likelier is contamination with airborne rusty water mist unless you run air filtration/dessicant cartridges. That combined with a ground strap on the metal part of your air nozzle has so far proven safe for my own use, while providing the required force to dislodge really stubborn dust elephants and rhinos. You know the kind I'm talking about. 

Alternately, the dirt-sicker and natural-bristle paintbrush (NOT nylon or polyester... NO-O-O-O!!!) method is my second (third?) choice for when I'm in the client's office and don't want to make a mess. As always, the important thing is to always make sure YOU are grounded/discharged before handling the electronics, and try to avoid touching anything semiconductor with the tip of the hose (metal or plastic) in case of static discharge.

We were issued little Hurricane brand cordless blower units at the last regular gig I had... they made a lot of noise but weren't very effective, even compared to the cheapest Shop-Vac in blow mode.

mnem
*currently shopping snow tires*

[mnementh]

[..]
That [vac] got lost in the last move; this move I Goodwill-ed the hose for it. 

Move..  -How's your status becoming a canadian, btw?       

grrrrr. That is all. 

mnem
*back to the grind*

[mansaxel]

I had a similar experience but at only 80km/hr, the meat transport guy forgot to lock the rear door of his truck, distributing freshly butchered cow carcases across the road. Dodged most but a bit of rib got a back tyre - $250 bucks later - but no other damage!
I still recall the cars weaving across the road in front of me!

I once hit a decomposing rabbit with a lawn mower. Very. Bad. Idea. I was sick for an hour.

[mansaxel]

Off Topic.

Someone mentioned that they had just purchased a new vacuum cleaner, the same one that they saw a lot hotel cleaners dragging around, which one was it please? Our Dyson has just gone for posh shit again, 2nd power unit in a short time and its not worth buying another?

That who was Cerebus, and Miele was the brand.  Me, I'd buy an Euroclean (Electrolux pro model) or Nilfisk. But that is very Scandinavian of me.  As to Miele, I've got one, but I've also got a Hugin, ie. the swedish COOP whitegoods brand of yesteryear. The suck control dial went out long ago (broken plastic bit), but it was easy to set to "Max". The rest of the machine just keeps on sucking. As it should. Going on 20 years now.  The Miele is probably about the same age, but it's broken in a few annoying places (bent tube nozzle that is attached to the hose and the parking clip that holds the hose/tubefloor-nozzle tidy onto the machine in storage). The suck, though, is brilliant.

[mansaxel]

Back in the day, there were bagless Nilfisks:

That is just after Fisker & Nielsen stopped making motorcycles, I guess.

[mansaxel]

Attempting to stay on topic:  -  is it actually a good idea to use a vacuum cleaner to clean out electronic equipment, or do they generate too much static voltage to be safe?

At a very previous job, (middle 90s) we had a copier service guy do a service call during which he forgot to take his very specialized and expensive ESD-safe vacuum cleaner with him as he left. We waited several weeks but he did not reappear, so we started to use it. Quite useful, especially as we were a sound and lights shop, with lots of fan-cooled devices to clean out.

Yes, it is a good idea to use a vac to clean electronics, but better have one that is ESD safe. Or, be very mindful of ESD procedure.

[Carl_Smith]

So this isn't mine.  It's just a random photo that came through my Twitter feed but I thought you guys might see it:



From: https://twitter.com/petmar0/status/1199368877538459648

[SilverSolder]

So this isn't mine.  It's just a random photo that came through my Twitter feed but I thought you guys might see it:

(Attachment Link)

From: https://twitter.com/petmar0/status/1199368877538459648

It has that "lived in" look...

[Cerebus]

It has that "lived in" look...

Did I hear my face mentioned?