Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

Didn't even take the Ramco Lot number label off!
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Marconi-6200B-Microwave-Test-set-10MHz-20GHz-With-Shipping-Case/174625214300?

If you look at that seller’s sold list he’s not shifted any high rolling items yet. Well out of depth 

Ebay UK TEA search broken?
When I do a blank search in Test, Measurement & Inspection Equipment on ebay UK it takes me to ebay.com 
Happpens with new or saved searches and different browsers.
Anyone else seeing this?

Been having the same issue on ebay.com.au too for the last week or so but not on test gear. So I suspect something is a bit broken and not your account/cookies etc.

eBay QA has gone to shit recently. There’s a bug in the iOS app as well which randomly causes it to lock up solid when you do a search resulting in having to kill and reopen the damn thing. I’ve given up on the web site for searching as they keep screwing it up entirely.

[SilverSolder]

Ever since the sales/marketing departments discovered they can manipulate search results, search has been broken on most sites.

I heard a story that Google was forced to implement the "Verbatim" mode after getting a ton of complaints from people about returning search results that do not contain the search terms they had typed...

eBay search used to be really good back in the day, supporting wildcard characters and everything...   Now you are lucky to find what you're looking for.  Don't get me started on Amazon search...   search for a 4TB hard drive, and you still have to scrutinize each listing as every hard drive under the sun is returned, irrespective of any mention of 4TB...

[Kosmic]

I must stay off Ebay. I broke down. The price was right. It powers up, no error codes, good physical shape, and last cal date of 2007.

It's the same place that I bought the Fluke 8505A last year.

I think I may becoming an hp fan boy. 

Ooh nice one. They’re really nice meters. Would like one myself 

didn't some of the 3456's have fans? (and some did not?)   my 3455a has one.

no problem either way since med can just stick one on.

Early version of the 3456a had a fan like the 3455a. Was later removed by moving the power transistor at the back on the case.

Version with fan:


Later revision with no fan:


I was planning to remove the fan on mine and relocate the transistor.

[bd139]

I shall look out for a quiet one! 

[Kosmic]

I shall look out for a quiet one! 

Hp was selling a conversion kit at some point. My guess is that it was simply some wires and a aluminum plate that fit the hole in the back.

[bd139]

Quite possible. Wonder if they had an engineering change note that covered it. If you can do the conversion trivially then it would be interesting.

[Kosmic]

Quite possible. Wonder if they had an engineering change note that covered it. If you can do the conversion trivially then it would be interesting.

They had a note about that apparently. Was never able to find it unfortunately. I have a model with the fan and looked at a lot of pictures of the model with no fan and the only difference is the power supply where the transistor was moved at the back and the fan removed.

[med6753]

I just checked. The 3456A I'm getting has the transistor in back therefore no fan. 

[McBryce]

@AVG sorry, low on funds after NVIDIA/EVGA milked me for more than 2 grands ...

They didn't "milk you", you chose to buy their products.

McBryce.

[beanflying]

I just checked. The 3456A I'm getting has the transistor in back therefore no fan. 

Disappointing for us some of us would look forward to another 'special' fan mod from you

[bd139]

We can look forward to the blue paint job still though 

[med6753]

We can look forward to the blue paint job still though 

Nope, if it needs paint I already have a shade of grey that I used on the hp nixie counters.

[med6753]

I just checked. The 3456A I'm getting has the transistor in back therefore no fan. 

Disappointing for us some of us would look forward to another 'special' fan mod from you

Stop reminding everyone or else I'll be forced to post the picture again...and again....and again. 

[mnementh]

Bring it, ya blue-arsed bitch!!!

mnem
 

[bd139]

Ahh finally a T12 handle that works 

[mnementh]

mnem
*still nuking bluetooth... but an end is in sight...*

[Robert763]

I think the description for this could be... better..:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ex-Mod-Radiation-Source-1/324471944097

I've been eyeing those on ebay and the Ramco auctions but haven't seen one cheap enough. Put a lowball offer on that one and it was accepted. I'm pretty sure they are Infrared sources used for testing missile detection sustems on aircraft. I've not been able to find much out about them though. The Nato Stock Number tell me it was codified in Germany and is thermal test equipment. the associated CAGE code is for Land Instruments International Ltd, now part of Ametek. The thing that puzzles me is that the IR output window is not obvious. It might be the small end with th black plug in it, but that looks more like fixture for mounting it on a post or tripod. The body seems to have a thick rubber sleeve, maybe that slides back. The big end has a multipole connector.
If it is a missile simulator surce it should be modulated. I could be a halogen lamp and motorised shutter, modern ones use lasers.
I'll do a teardown when I get it.

[Hydron]

I think Tautech will like this one.

https://www.gunboard.de/uploads/monthly_2021_02/IMG_5996.MP4.1b8d7bd8607aafba7c4fc3d1428e1ed3.MP4

LOL but no as for my big 800mm tractor powered saw we need to dig the sawdust out from underneath it with a shovel. Was gunna build a sawdust drag out chain for it years ago but never got around to it.
It's actually a fence batten mill and can dissect logs to ~600mm but only in short lengths as its travelling bed only moves ~1500mm. Made 10's of thousands of battens with it over the years from trees with short ugly logs of no commercial value.

The handheld one is only 450mm, and $10k NZD (!!): https://youtu.be/E62P-auonrA?t=177 (probably good it's not a video of the guy's ute full of hand tools - I know my wallet would be lighter if I ran into Gaston in Auckland).

[bd139]

I think the description for this could be... better..:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ex-Mod-Radiation-Source-1/324471944097

I've been eyeing those on ebay and the Ramco auctions but haven't seen one cheap enough. Put a lowball offer on that one and it was accepted. I'm pretty sure they are Infrared sources used for testing missile detection sustems on aircraft. I've not been able to find much out about them though. The Nato Stock Number tell me it was codified in Germany and is thermal test equipment. the associated CAGE code is for Land Instruments International Ltd, now part of Ametek. The thing that puzzles me is that the IR output window is not obvious. It might be the small end with th black plug in it, but that looks more like fixture for mounting it on a post or tripod. The body seems to have a thick rubber sleeve, maybe that slides back. The big end has a multipole connector.
If it is a missile simulator surce it should be modulated. I could be a halogen lamp and motorised shutter, modern ones use lasers.
I'll do a teardown when I get it.

Interesting. Might be a calibrated IR source. Looks like Ametek seem to sell a lot of measurement stuff in the IR space. . Either way will be a good tear down.

Having actually been fairly close to the IR illumination stuff for things that go boom, the sources usually have a fairly large window on the front, a lot of electronics and a lot of optics but are tripod mounted. But it’s 1987 date coded which is before my time on that so who knows  . That is Rapier FSB2 era though. Any other hints relating to where it came from via other things in the lot?

[AVGresponding]

He listed a lot of Tornado instruments and switchgear etc at the same time, no variant details though, obviously.

I do wonder how many govmint web crawlers were triggered off his description... would have been smarter to list it as an IR source, though I suspect it will have been "demilitarised".

[mnementh]

mnem
*still nuking bluetooth... but an end is in sight...*

   

Freaking PAM8403 class-D amplifier is a little PITA; very finicky aboot capacitive loads and any real deviation from the design 4-8Ω dynamic speaker load. Mine was a simple solution, but a bit wasteful. meh. Works good enough to move to long-term usage testing; if it keeps working, will print up an enclosure and make it "a thing".

mnem
*couch tuber time widda boi*

[cyclin_al]

I think Tautech will like this one.

https://www.gunboard.de/uploads/monthly_2021_02/IMG_5996.MP4.1b8d7bd8607aafba7c4fc3d1428e1ed3.MP4

What a day. I overslept. Hubby forgot my birthday. The active probe arrived (thanks a lot, Robert !) and a quick function test gives me a square wave at the calibration contacts of the scope.
Bought some ridiculously overpriced PC card.

*sigh*

Happy birthday!  I hope that ridiculously overpriced PC card was a birthday gift to yourself?

[mnementh]

Hippo Bathday, Saskia!

mnem
*still technically today... at least in the GWN*

[Saskia]

The PC card is an EVGA RTX 3090 that I want to use for deep learning experiments and to run cuda based stuff.
Obviously it will be written off my taxes and I will also get the extended warranty to prolong its life.

I would not have bought it if I did not earn my  living with this kind of stuff ....

[mnementh]

Yeah, yeah, yeah... So how are you gonna write off the Valve INDEX and STEAM VR Library...?

mnem
No, seriously. I wanna know how...