Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Kosmic]

One set of calibration resistors ordered. Sigh. You people are a bad influence. 

Crap...  Don't buy 'em all out now... haha   

If they're going to be that popular I don't mind just ordering like four or five sets for us Canuckistanians, it says only six of of the twin sets left after EE4all's purchase...

Haha the seller is going to wonder what happen today they have been sitting there for some time.

[bd139]

Mixed success with the Gamers Choiceᵀᴹ HP 54615B, the replacement monitor IC arrived today, it didn't cure the fault though, although after a while of trying to get the H-hold to work it suddenly locked.  Great I thought and put the cover back on only for the problem it to reappear.  Again removed the cover, tried to find out the problem and it suddenly came good again, this time it continued to work after sliding the cover back on (no screws fitted).

As least I could now use it, I gave it a check with the HP sweeper, seems to be working on both inputs up to 500MHz. 



Oddly the built in game works without the cartridge installed. 


David

Great news. Glad that worked out in the end 

[Kosmic]

Mixed success with the Gamers Choiceᵀᴹ HP 54615B, the replacement monitor IC arrived today, it didn't cure the fault though, although after a while of trying to get the H-hold to work it suddenly locked.  Great I thought and put the cover back on only for the problem it to reappear.  Again removed the cover, tried to find out the problem and it suddenly came good again, this time it continued to work after sliding the cover back on (no screws fitted).

As least I could now use it, I gave it a check with the HP sweeper, seems to be working on both inputs up to 500MHz. 



Oddly the built in game works without the cartridge installed. 


David

I had a similar problem with a CRT monitor once. Annoyingly, it fixed itself by relocating the cable of the flyback transfo. I should have investigated a little bit more but decided to call it a day and closed back the instrument.

[Specmaster]

Edit: anyone near Carlisle? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203276157425

Without lockdown that might have triggered a nice short holiday

Those Tek generators are tempting along with the SE Labs DVM, but unless the lockdown ends soon it's a non starter though, police are randomly stopping non-local vehicles here & issuing fines.
Plus my van really needs a proper service, don't think they did bugger all to it last year.

David

Police are using their ANPRS equipped cars to spot vehicles that are not locally registered. I don’t think that visiting family that are not local to you would be an acceptable excuse either. So if your vehicle is not registered in the area, you’re at a very high risk of being pulled over.

[mnementh]

One set of calibration resistors ordered. Sigh. You people are a bad influence. 

Crap...  Don't buy 'em all out now... haha      If they're going to be that popular I don't mind just ordering like four or five sets for us Canuckistanians, it says only six of of the twin sets left after EE4all's purchase...

Oklay... I ordered a couple sets for myself, and the seller said he would add a order at asking price to mine. I offered that to Al, but he's gone silent running. 

mnem
mooo...?

[Saskia]

filed a buyer protection thingie with paypal just out of spite and to make sure I get my money back.

[BU508A]

One set of calibration resistors ordered. Sigh. You people are a bad influence. 

Crap...  Don't buy 'em all out now... haha      If they're going to be that popular I don't mind just ordering like four or five sets for us Canuckistanians, it says only six of of the twin sets left after EE4all's purchase...

Oklay... I ordered a couple sets for myself, and the seller said he would add a order at asking price to mine. I offered that to Al, but he's gone silent running. 

mnem
mooo...?

Perhaps he is visiting Mike & The Mechanics...?


*duckandrun*

[med6753]

Edit: anyone near Carlisle? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203276157425

Without lockdown that might have triggered a nice short holiday

Those Tek generators are tempting along with the SE Labs DVM, but unless the lockdown ends soon it's a non starter though, police are randomly stopping non-local vehicles here & issuing fines.
Plus my van really needs a proper service, don't think they did bugger all to it last year.

David

Police are using their ANPRS equipped cars to spot vehicles that are not locally registered. I don’t think that visiting family that are not local to you would be an acceptable excuse either. So if your vehicle is not registered in the area, you’re at a very high risk of being pulled over.

That shit would not fly here. The cops would have the ACLU up their arse in about 10 seconds. Having a license plate outside a "local area" is not reasonable cause to get pulled over. Besides, define "local area". How big is it? A road? A town? A county? State? 

ACLU = American Civil Liberties Union.

[BU508A]

I found some Vishay SMD precision resistor on ebay. 0.01% 2ppm tempco max. They sell between 15$ and 35$ new on mouser.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Calibration-Resistor-Standards-Vishay-01-2ppm-SMD-Laser-Trimmed-Kit/124549960880

Seller is asking 15$ for 14 pieces (around 1$ each) but he accepted my offer at 10$.

Cool find! I've sent an offer to the seller of 10$ per item and asking for 2 items.
If the offer is getting accepted, I'll sell here one item. Will keep you updated.

My offer has been accepted. Curious, if it will be here by the 27th of February.

[drussell]

Oklay... I ordered a couple sets for myself, and the seller said he would add a order at asking price to mine. I offered that to Al, but he's gone silent running. 

Yeah, when he disappeared I ordered several extra sets as well, so if anyone in Canada still needs some I will have them available to anyone who wants some for about what, $20 including postage to anywhere in Canada?  Maybe $25 max, I'll have to figure it out exactly but for anyone in Canada, I will have extra sets.

The eBay dude has a bunch more and he's re-listing them so it's not like it's an end-of-life crisis.

[Cerebus]

So, the cat's asleep, SWMBO's asleep, so I finally get some peace and quiet to finish the calibration cycle on that HP 66312A with a run through the official "verification" procedure from the manual.

So, results:

Test Description	Minimum Spec	Recorded Results	Maximum Spec
Voltage Programming and Measurement
Low Voltage out	-10mV	779uV	+10mV	PASS
- front panel measurement error	Vout-3mV	+221uV	Vout+3mV	PASS
High Voltage Out	19.980V	19.999V	20.020V	PASS
- front panel measurement error	Vout-9mV	0mV	Vout+9mV	PASS
Current Programming and Measurement (High Range)
Low Current Out	-1mA	615uA	+1mA	PASS
High Current Out	1.998A	1.999 94A	2.002A	PASS
- front panel measurement error	Iout-4.5mA	+143uA	Iout+4.5mA	PASS
Current Measurement (Low Range)
Low Current measurement error	Iout-2.5uA	+720nA	Iout+2.5uA	PASS
High Current measurement error	Iout-22.5uA	+1uA	Iout+22.5uA	PASS
Current Sink Measurement
Low Current Sink measurement error	Iout-22.5uA	-4uA	Iout+22.5uA	PASS
High Current Sink measurement error	Iout-4.85mA	-100uA	Iout+4.85mA	PASS

Given that this is an HP badged unit, which dates it to the 1999 name change to Agilent or earlier, making this unit at least 21-22 years old, I'd say that was a very creditable performance. All specs met, most by a decent margin. I certainly don't exceed the specifications that you'd have expected me to meet 21 years ago, not by a long chalk. It'll be interesting to repeat this in a year's time and see if it's drifted. At this age, I suspect that all the drift has happened, or at least all the major sources of it.

So, at the cost of £160 all told, a little help from Robert with some spare binding posts, and a bit of (mostly friendly ) hissing and spitting from Anders when he was beaten to it, I'm a very happy man.

[Cerebus]

Police are using their ANPRS equipped cars to spot vehicles that are not locally registered.

As I understand it that would be a breach of the police code of practice for use of ANPR which restricts its use to serious crime and untaxed and/or uninsured vehicles. Not that following codes of practice or even refraining from actively committing criminal offences has ever stopped the police doing whatever they feel like when it suits them. For instance, I personally know of a case where the Met said they couldn't use APNR to trace the perpetrators of a road rage incident that ended in a 'crimed' ABH assault because that crime didn't meet the level of 'seriousness' required under the code of practice before they could look at APNR records for the section of road in question, even in a narrow time window.

[vk6zgo]

So the "Radiation source" arrived from ebay seller Scotttrade12 today. The packing was c*%p in the bottom of  thin box with amothe old box crushed on top  Good job it's not a delicate optical instrument -not.
Anyway preditions were correct, it is an IR source with the output from the pointy end. First photo is with rubber armour removed. With the metal output tube removed you can see the output "window", photo 2. It looks like a random fibre opic bundle. Applying an external light source confirms this, photo 3. The electronics pull out of the back. Nothing special at all, Photo 4. The electro-optics are at the front a ring of 12 small emitters with filters wired as two lots of 6 plus an unfiltered photodiode in the middle, presumably feedback. The two sets of emitters might be different wavelengths. Photo 5. Trouble is the emitters are potted with hard compound into the black block of Delrin like plastic. Going to be hard to dig one out. The emitters and photodiode are coupled to 13 small fibre bundles. The fibre coupler mixes the 12 outputs in a random manner. Photo 6 with external illumination at the "output".
Interesting but not a lot of use.

Oh, I don't know. Could be quite a bit of fun, depending where you live.

Just wait for the next flight of whatevers to take off for exercises, and give them some unexpected excitement...

Hell NO
1/ It does not have the range (only  couple of metres
2/ It would only get a reaction from a military aircraft with a missile warning system
3/ As an aerospace professional they would (rightly) lock me up

NEVER direct any electromagnetic source at any aircraft!

Any?
Hams regularly use aircraft enhancement to increase VHF/ UHF range.

Aircraft used to fly across the path of Studio to Transmitter Links, causing "flutter" of the received pix & at worst, sync loss.

[vk6zgo]

Edit: anyone near Carlisle? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203276157425

Without lockdown that might have triggered a nice short holiday

Might have even been worth a 24hr flight, though the excess baggage would have been a bit of a stretch on the way home.

As an aside, back in the day, I often thought that  instead of waiting for a couple of months for needed special components from "the Old Dart" to be placed in the very bottom of a container, & make their leisurely way to Oz by sea, it would be worthwhile making the air trip to "buy 'em across the counter!"

[Kosmic]

I found some Vishay SMD precision resistor on ebay. 0.01% 2ppm tempco max. They sell between 15$ and 35$ new on mouser.   

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Calibration-Resistor-Standards-Vishay-01-2ppm-SMD-Laser-Trimmed-Kit/124549960880

Seller is asking 15$ for 14 pieces (around 1$ each) but he accepted my offer at 10$.

Good find!  Do you think you could add another set to your order?  I assume local shipping would be less than the $23CAD that they are asking for...?

Sorry my offer was accepted and it's already marked as shipped. I paid quickly this morning while attending a boring meeting

   Shit shit shit shit shit... I bought 2 orders at $44 shipped ($11 offered) to make another resistance PCB and paid before I saw your post. 

Fuck... we coulda saved like $20-30 on shipping by going in together... woulda still been cheaper even with the $10 duty.

mnem
 

Could be interesting to make a PCB for those. You use the base of a metal hammond box and the PCB screw on top. components inside and connectors outside.

Also, I'm almost tempted to put 4 in a series-parallel architecture to improve tolerance to 0.005%. Assuming those resistors were not binned.

If tempco is randomly distributed that would improve too. But I don't think it is.

[vk6zgo]

Well, this I didn't expect. The Aussies are always regaling us with tales of the countryside on fire, and of course it happens here too, but not normally in winter after a week of freezing temperatures, rain and snow standing across most of the UK.

A huge fire has broken out across an area of moorland in Dartmoor, Devon.
Rob Steemson, Dartmoor national Park emergency officer, estimated the blaze to be about 5km (3.1 miles) wide and continuing to spread.
Mr Steemson said the fire, which could be seen about 20 miles away in Plymouth, was being stoked by fierce south-westerly winds.

I noticed a report of similar wildfires in the western isles of Scotland this morning after reading the about the lowest temperatures for many years.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-56021899

David

I was wondering if it might be happening in places with deposits of peat, as I seem to remember reports of similar happenings in Ireland.

But, on second thoughts, if it is very cold with no possibility of rain, dry vegetation could still burn, anyway.

Really strange things happen-------- many years ago in the tropical North of Western Australia, I recall seeing lightning strikes setting fire to the stuff they call "cane grass" up there, in the middle of a torrential downpour.

[mnementh]

Could be interesting to make a PCB for those. You use the base of a metal hammond box and the PCB screw on top. components inside and connectors outside.

...Also, I'm almost tempted to put 4 in a series-parallel architecture to improve tolerance to 0.005%. Assuming those resistors were not binned. If tempco is randomly distributed that would improve too. But I don't think it is.

Yeah, it's my plan to do a similar architecture to my old board; such that I can put them in series and/or parallel to get a good spread from 50Ω up to almost 400MΩ Plus, I think I have a couple 0.01% 1Ω resistors I've collected here somewhere; no idea of the tempco tho.

mnem
  *tsssst*

[Cerebus]

Well, this I didn't expect. The Aussies are always regaling us with tales of the countryside on fire, and of course it happens here too, but not normally in winter after a week of freezing temperatures, rain and snow standing across most of the UK.

A huge fire has broken out across an area of moorland in Dartmoor, Devon.
Rob Steemson, Dartmoor national Park emergency officer, estimated the blaze to be about 5km (3.1 miles) wide and continuing to spread.
Mr Steemson said the fire, which could be seen about 20 miles away in Plymouth, was being stoked by fierce south-westerly winds.

I noticed a report of similar wildfires in the western isles of Scotland this morning after reading the about the lowest temperatures for many years.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-56021899

David

I was wondering if it might be happening in places with deposits of peat, as I seem to remember reports of similar happenings in Ireland.

But, on second thoughts, if it is very cold with no possibility of rain, dry vegetation could still burn, anyway.

Really strange things happen-------- many years ago in the tropical North of Western Australia, I recall seeing lightning strikes setting fire to the stuff they call "cane grass" up there, in the middle of a torrential downpour.

The explanation given for the fires in Scotland is that the persistent cold weather has dried out the heather, leaving something highly flammable lying about despite much being currently covered in snow. The physics makes sense, but it runs counter to one's instinctive expectation that things covered in snow aren't prime fodder for a wildfire. West county moorland is quite similar, vegetation wise, to the Western Isles (of Scotland).

[syau]

One set of calibration resistors ordered. Sigh. You people are a bad influence. 

Crap...  Don't buy 'em all out now... haha   

If they're going to be that popular I don't mind just ordering like four or five sets for us Canuckistanians, it says only six of of the twin sets left after EE4all's purchase...

Haha the seller is going to wonder what happen today they have been sitting there for some time.

When I try to purchase 4 set, it show 5 set available. After purchasing, it show more than 10 set available. 

[cyclin_al]

Oklay... I ordered a couple sets for myself, and the seller said he would add a order at asking price to mine. I offered that to Al, but he's gone silent running. 

Yeah, when he disappeared I ordered several extra sets as well, so if anyone in Canada still needs some I will have them available to anyone who wants some for about what, $20 including postage to anywhere in Canada?  Maybe $25 max, I'll have to figure it out exactly but for anyone in Canada, I will have extra sets.

The eBay dude has a bunch more and he's re-listing them so it's not like it's an end-of-life crisis.

Woah!  That all happened so fast.  I was only gone for a short bit to eat supper and play a couple of rounds of Uno (Minecraft version printed cards) with the family.
Thanks to mnementh for hooking me up; texting reached me more quickly than PMs here.
Sorry drussell for not getting you hooked up as part of a group; I would have if the timing was a bit more relaxed.

I like the PCB idea as already suggested.  The idea of putting together a PCB was going through my head while waiting for a 7yo to brush his teeth...

[cyclin_al]

One set of calibration resistors ordered. Sigh. You people are a bad influence. 

Crap...  Don't buy 'em all out now... haha      If they're going to be that popular I don't mind just ordering like four or five sets for us Canuckistanians, it says only six of of the twin sets left after EE4all's purchase...

Oklay... I ordered a couple sets for myself, and the seller said he would add a order at asking price to mine. I offered that to Al, but he's gone silent running. 

mnem
mooo...?

Perhaps he is visiting Mike & The Mechanics...?


*duckandrun*

I have not listened to that song in a long time 

since the song references fighting, this is more relevant tonight for enforcing bedtime.


EDIT:  My turn to ..... *duckandrun*

[mnementh]

mnem
*toddles off to ded*

[mansaxel]

Police are using their ANPRS equipped cars to spot vehicles that are not locally registered. I don’t think that visiting family that are not local to you would be an acceptable excuse either. So if your vehicle is not registered in the area, you’re at a very high risk of being pulled over.

That shit would not fly here. The cops would have the ACLU up their arse in about 10 seconds. Having a license plate outside a "local area" is not reasonable cause to get pulled over. Besides, define "local area". How big is it? A road? A town? A county? State? 

ACLU = American Civil Liberties Union.

Similar here. We're free to travel in-country but are told that we should think quite hard about if it's necessary before doing so, and the implication is that it seldom is.   However, there are stronger laws in place for no longer than a year that maybe can be used to introduce a travel ban.

[drussell]

Haha the seller is going to wonder what happen today they have been sitting there for some time.

When I try to purchase 4 set, it show 5 set available. After purchasing, it show more than 10 set available. 

That's because I ordered the last 5 sets from the original listing but the guy said he has more and offered to throw in a couple more.   

The seller has more stock so he re-listed additional sets of them.  I didn't ask how many he has total.   

Anyone in Canada who wants a set when they arrive, just hit me up with a PM.  I could even split up a set if anyone wants just singles of each value instead of two sets.

[drussell]

Just joined the forum, but I needed to join this thread already. I have half a dozen projects hanging around, and so what do I do? Of course, I "accidentally" bought a HP 8663A on a good deal, and a broken Marconi to fix. You know...just to make sure the project list is fat and healthy.

And I will need to carry the 8663a up to the second floor. 

One set of calibration resistors ordered. Sigh. You people are a bad influence. 

Indeed!  You might as well get used to it, though...   

From somewhere way, way off in the distance I can hear mnementh shouting:

^{"One of us!  One Of Us!!  ONE OF US!!!"}