Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Kosmic]

Oh, never thought that would be the case. I'll do those checks in the morning now, time for bed. Just noticed Kosmic is having issues with his tinySA, perhaps I'd better to retain my larger signal generators for the time being, I was thinking of flipping them on the bay of evil to finance the cost of the tinySA, I have 2 RF generators and an audio one that I was going flip. The TTi TG120 20MHz function generator is also a pretty good audio generator and I'm keeping that. 

It's not me on the video. I don't have a TinySa yet 

Found this guy on youtube when I was looking for videos about the TinyVNA.

that's because what you were looking for is a NanoVNA. Or a MiniVNA. 

mnem
 

All the same to me... it's a small VNA 

[0culus]

Thanks to a referral from a forum member who used to be local to me, I went out on a TEA expedition today and came back with two new toys...well, really a toy and a living museum piece that is large and extremely heavy. Pics later! 

@bitseeker, this is definitely one for the POI I think. I am now the proud owner of a Tek 519 oscilloscope. Yep, you read that right. The 519. Huge, heavy, lots of toobs, high bandwidth. No vertical amplifiers. Replaced in the catalog by the 7104 (which I also own). Why, you ask? Why not? 

And I also picked up a 577D1 curve tracer, unfortunately sans any test fixtures for the 177, but I can deal with that later. Both items work.

[mnementh]

Oh fuck... somehow I formatted the card in my camera... and it was full of dozens of pics I just shot of the PSU I'm working on. 

mnem

[Specmaster]

Oh fuck... somehow I formatted the card in my camera... and it was full of dozens of pics I just shot of the PSU I'm working on. 

mnem

You might be able to restore them if you don't write anything to the card, stick it into a card reader on the PC and download a rescue program to read through the file remnants on the card. I think if succesful, it will present you with a list of files with the first character missing and you just need to replace the question mark for each file with the missing character which might be "i" if the normal file name for your photos is "IMG and then numbers" for example.

[bd139]

Thanks to a referral from a forum member who used to be local to me, I went out on a TEA expedition today and came back with two new toys...well, really a toy and a living museum piece that is large and extremely heavy. Pics later! 

@bitseeker, this is definitely one for the POI I think. I am now the proud owner of a Tek 519 oscilloscope. Yep, you read that right. The 519. Huge, heavy, lots of toobs, high bandwidth. No vertical amplifiers. Replaced in the catalog by the 7104 (which I also own). Why, you ask? Why not? 

And I also picked up a 577D1 curve tracer, unfortunately sans any test fixtures for the 177, but I can deal with that later. Both items work.

Holy crap a 519. That’s a jackpot for a tek collector.

[Cerebus]

Oh fuck... somehow I formatted the card in my camera... and it was full of dozens of pics I just shot of the PSU I'm working on. 

mnem

You haven't perchance acquired a secondhand pair of gloves from BD "PF" 139 have you?

[Specmaster]

Ok that's weird indeed as those are about right. It does look like something is pulling voltages around.

Can you check the voltages on pins 2 and 3 of IC7 using the same process. Pin 2 should be the measured current and Pin 3 should be the desired current. I suspect this is going to be an issue with C18, C19 or the MUX pulling them down via IPHI. I would go ahead and replace them if you haven't already and the 4052.

Think cheapest 1 off qty of 4052 is bitsbox: https://www.bitsbox.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=140_157&products_id=1104

Early indications are pointing towards the 4052, extracted C18 and checked it, and it is 1uF @50V  with ESR of 6.2 , seems to be just perfect. Strangely although the schematic shows a C19, the parts list does not and neither does the variations table for the single units 310 and 320. The spot on the PCB looks as if it was never fitted so I'm going to have to call TTi again on Monday, unless anyone here has a PL310 with version 4 boards who could advise if it is fitted on the Main PCB  and its value at all?

[med6753]

Thanks to a referral from a forum member who used to be local to me, I went out on a TEA expedition today and came back with two new toys...well, really a toy and a living museum piece that is large and extremely heavy. Pics later! 

@bitseeker, this is definitely one for the POI I think. I am now the proud owner of a Tek 519 oscilloscope. Yep, you read that right. The 519. Huge, heavy, lots of toobs, high bandwidth. No vertical amplifiers. Replaced in the catalog by the 7104 (which I also own). Why, you ask? Why not? 

And I also picked up a 577D1 curve tracer, unfortunately sans any test fixtures for the 177, but I can deal with that later. Both items work.

Holy crap a 519. That’s a jackpot for a tek collector.

Indeed. But surprisingly I'm not really interested in having one due to their limited usefulness. Definitely neat though and look at those plated GR connectors. 

[0culus]

Thanks to a referral from a forum member who used to be local to me, I went out on a TEA expedition today and came back with two new toys...well, really a toy and a living museum piece that is large and extremely heavy. Pics later! 

@bitseeker, this is definitely one for the POI I think. I am now the proud owner of a Tek 519 oscilloscope. Yep, you read that right. The 519. Huge, heavy, lots of toobs, high bandwidth. No vertical amplifiers. Replaced in the catalog by the 7104 (which I also own). Why, you ask? Why not? 

And I also picked up a 577D1 curve tracer, unfortunately sans any test fixtures for the 177, but I can deal with that later. Both items work.

Holy crap a 519. That’s a jackpot for a tek collector.

Indeed. But surprisingly I'm not really interested in having one due to their limited usefulness. Definitely neat though and look at those plated GR connectors. 

Yeah, this is definitely more of a "collection" purchase than "super useful in my lab" purchase.

[med6753]

Thanks to a referral from a forum member who used to be local to me, I went out on a TEA expedition today and came back with two new toys...well, really a toy and a living museum piece that is large and extremely heavy. Pics later! 

@bitseeker, this is definitely one for the POI I think. I am now the proud owner of a Tek 519 oscilloscope. Yep, you read that right. The 519. Huge, heavy, lots of toobs, high bandwidth. No vertical amplifiers. Replaced in the catalog by the 7104 (which I also own). Why, you ask? Why not? 

And I also picked up a 577D1 curve tracer, unfortunately sans any test fixtures for the 177, but I can deal with that later. Both items work.

Holy crap a 519. That’s a jackpot for a tek collector.

Indeed. But surprisingly I'm not really interested in having one due to their limited usefulness. Definitely neat though and look at those plated GR connectors. 

Yeah, this is definitely more of a "collection" purchase than "super useful in my lab" purchase.

Now if it were a 7104 with low hours it would be a different story. 

Why does that 519 have such a huge fan motor? It doesn't have all that many tubes in it when compared to say a 585 or 545. 

[0culus]

Thanks to a referral from a forum member who used to be local to me, I went out on a TEA expedition today and came back with two new toys...well, really a toy and a living museum piece that is large and extremely heavy. Pics later! 

@bitseeker, this is definitely one for the POI I think. I am now the proud owner of a Tek 519 oscilloscope. Yep, you read that right. The 519. Huge, heavy, lots of toobs, high bandwidth. No vertical amplifiers. Replaced in the catalog by the 7104 (which I also own). Why, you ask? Why not? 

And I also picked up a 577D1 curve tracer, unfortunately sans any test fixtures for the 177, but I can deal with that later. Both items work.

Holy crap a 519. That’s a jackpot for a tek collector.

Indeed. But surprisingly I'm not really interested in having one due to their limited usefulness. Definitely neat though and look at those plated GR connectors. 

Yeah, this is definitely more of a "collection" purchase than "super useful in my lab" purchase.

Now if it were a 7104 with low hours it would be a different story. 

Why does that 519 have such a huge fan motor? It doesn't have all that many tubes in it when compared to say a 585 or 545.

Well, I have one of those too! 

The blower is mainly for the 4CX250 tube, which needs forced air cooling. It circulates air throughout the chassis as well.

[med6753]

Well, I have one of those too! 

The blower is mainly for the 4CX250 tube, which needs forced air cooling. It circulates air throughout the chassis as well.

Oh OK, I didn't realize it had a RF power amp tube in it. But I looked quickly at the specs for a 4CX250 and it's only rated up to 500MHz CW. So now I'm curious and gonna pull up a schematic. 

[mnementh]

Oh fuck... somehow I formatted the card in my camera... and it was full of dozens of pics I just shot of the PSU I'm working on. 

mnem

You might be able to restore them if you don't write anything to the card, stick it into a card reader on the PC and download a rescue program to read through the file remnants on the card. I think if succesful, it will present you with a list of files with the first character missing and you just need to replace the question mark for each file with the missing character which might be "i" if the normal file name for your photos is "IMG and then numbers" for example.

Yup... iCare file recovery off CNET. Worked a treat; now building a post with lotza pix.

mnem
 

[Kosmic]

Your approach was probably more interesting to be fair. Most of the best things around that club happened when I woke up somewhere random at about 11 am the next morning 

If you don't know whose underwear you're in when you wake up, it was a good night. 

mnem
*poot*

Well it definitely depends on your taste. Personally, If I would wake up with mens underwear that are not mine I would be deeply perturbed.

[0culus]

Well, I have one of those too! 

The blower is mainly for the 4CX250 tube, which needs forced air cooling. It circulates air throughout the chassis as well.

Oh OK, I didn't realize it had a RF power amp tube in it. But I looked quickly at the specs for a 4CX250 and it's only rated up to 500MHz CW. So now I'm curious and gonna pull up a schematic. 

I do believe it is part of the time base generator circuit. Why (Cliff Moulton, the designer of the 519) chose an RF power tube is probably a story in itself. Unfortunately, looks like he passed some years back.

[med6753]

Well, I have one of those too! 

The blower is mainly for the 4CX250 tube, which needs forced air cooling. It circulates air throughout the chassis as well.

Oh OK, I didn't realize it had a RF power amp tube in it. But I looked quickly at the specs for a 4CX250 and it's only rated up to 500MHz CW. So now I'm curious and gonna pull up a schematic. 

I do believe it is part of the time base generator circuit. Why (Cliff Moulton, the designer of the 519) chose an RF power tube is probably a story in itself. Unfortunately, looks like he passed some years back.

Yep, I just figured that out. It's used in the sweep circuit. Makes perfect sense. 

[mnementh]

                              

Finally got some workable endpieces for the PSU of Doom™, so spent some time making up connectors & adapters. I think the pix should be pretty self-explanatory in this space. Idiot light is RED for Fault, GREEN for Power Good. I omitted the Blue element for sanity's sake. Pix of various connectors are for the trade with another TEA member. 

Sound level is noticeably decreased with both endpieces... but I am still working on a new tailpiece design which is more similar in style to the nosepiece. Hopefully it will also be a bit mo quiet-ahh.

mnem
 

[Mr. Scram]

Well it definitely depends on your taste. Personally, If I would wake up with mens underwear that are not mine I would be deeply perturbed.

No more than 20 cm deep, at most. Variety is the spice of life!

[mnementh]

Your approach was probably more interesting to be fair. Most of the best things around that club happened when I woke up somewhere random at about 11 am the next morning 

If you don't know whose underwear you're in when you wake up, it was a good night. 

mnem
*poot*

Well it definitely depends on your taste. Personally, If I would wake up with mens underwear that are not mine I would be deeply perturbed.

Ehh. 

mnem
*toddles off to ded*

[med6753]

Finally got some workable endpieces for the PSU of Doom™, so spent some time making up connectors & adapters. I think the pix should be pretty self-explanatory in this space. Idiot light is RED for Fault, GREEN for Power Good. I omitted the Blue element for sanity's sake. Pix of various connectors are for the trade with another TEA member. 

Sound level is noticeably decreased with both endpieces... but I am still working on a new tailpiece design which is more similar in style to the nosepiece. Hopefully it will also be a bit mo quiet-ahh.

mnem
 

Interesting concept. But doesn't having only fixed +3.3V and +14.1V outputs limit it's usefulness?

[mansaxel]

That looks, and sounds, like Throbing Gristle taking afternoon tea with the vicar.

Did anyone say we need some discipline in here?

Yeah, I'm quite well informed on the Slimelight. Never actually been there personally, but I've loads of friends who were habitués of there and have seen the photos. Not really a nightclub person me, more smoky late night "dive bar" - to which end I've probably drunk in every dubious basement, attic or backstreet bar in London, straight, gay, legal, likely-to-be-raided-any-minute, the lot.

I spent a good chunk of the late 80s / early 90s working in nightclubs and similar places -- lucky evenings I'd be doing live sound, bad evenings I'd be babysitting the lowest life form known to a sound system, the DJ⁰.

Wore me off of the "loud music and dancing" part thoroughly, it did. If I go out these days, I'd rather be able to talk to my company, and hear them, as well.

0: The standard term in the business when you're supplying the sound system and the band brings an engineer is that the system suppliers' engineer is the "babysitter". Once everything works and the local quirks are explained, it mostly is smooth sailing.
When you have a DJ on, the "parenting part" becomes more of a focus.

[AVGresponding]

Is this going to be the limo for your daughters wedding? So it is being hired or have you purchased an end of leasing life Merc?

Yes, and it's a near brand-new hire car.

Mercedes just dropped off my purchase list, at least any post Y2K ones anyway.

[Robert763]

Ok that's weird indeed as those are about right. It does look like something is pulling voltages around.

Can you check the voltages on pins 2 and 3 of IC7 using the same process. Pin 2 should be the measured current and Pin 3 should be the desired current. I suspect this is going to be an issue with C18, C19 or the MUX pulling them down via IPHI. I would go ahead and replace them if you haven't already and the 4052.

Think cheapest 1 off qty of 4052 is bitsbox: https://www.bitsbox.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=140_157&products_id=1104

Early indications are pointing towards the 4052, extracted C18 and checked it, and it is 1uF @50V  with ESR of 6.2 , seems to be just perfect. Strangely although the schematic shows a C19, the parts list does not and neither does the variations table for the single units 310 and 320. The spot on the PCB looks as if it was never fitted so I'm going to have to call TTi again on Monday, unless anyone here has a PL310 with version 4 boards who could advise if it is fitted on the Main PCB  and its value at all?

Ahem,
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg3278010/#msg3278010

The voltages measured indicate leakage currents........

[tonyalbus]

Mailman will bring a Siglent SDG1010 to my door 
found it on the our local ebay... contacted the guy  and got a nice deal.. almost like new... lets see how it really looks when it arrives.

i have seen some trick if you load in a csv it sould go to 50 Mhz... any of you know more tricks/hacks for it? 

Thanks!

Pictures coming.....

[edit] @tautech or @rf-loop  .. do you have some magic firmware ?       (cat in booth look)

[Ice-Tea]

Hmm Nice Pye 6001 instrument switches. Total switch resistance 700 microhms, variablity 20 microhms. I a CAM-Metric decade box by the look of it.

A cookie for your it is!