Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tautech]

Working the intermittent sweep mag issue on the horizontal board. See schematic. I went ahead and changed Q554 betting that transistor was going leaky or weird when hot. Seems like a good candidate anyway because the sweep mag switches are in that vicinity.

The Siglent is monitoring ramp trace from A Sweep at Q543. That waveform should not vary unless the Time/Div deck is exercised. The Fluke is monitoring the +100V current.

So far.....after about 20 minutes or so.....no mag variance. Will let it run and see what happens. 

Is the little flat top on the waveform acceptable ?
IME they were always a perfect sawtooth/triangle waveform.

[Specmaster]

As promised, here are a few pics of the 85 doing voltage checks, everything works just as it should. The supplied leads were complete crap and even had a resistance of 4 ohms They are now in the bin, but I don't have a shortage of leads at the moment, so I'm OK.

The seller did say that the input jacks had been damaged, but these are available as spares, but they do not actually detract from it being used.

[Specmaster]

@bd send you one ? Have a spare 5d Mark 2 and a spare 500d ...

Will pass if it’s canon 

Got my eye on a Nikon mirrorless rabbit hole at the moment 

Yes, both are Canon bodies.

[mnementh]

Upcoming TEA(cquisition) alert - teaser pic:      Got the photo from the seller, hopefully the unit will arrive in a few days

Bonus points for recognizing the instrument or the make. (that's too easy). Won't disclose before it is on my bench.

Japan's finest spec an like Tony's?

mnem
 

[mnementh]

https://www.dx.com/p/creative-aircraft-gyro-support-car-air-outlet-mobile-phone-support-mouse-navigation-universal-bracket-2746652.html

OMG... this has to be the height of something... and the nadir of something else. It is the "connected age" equivalent of a propeller beanie; a dash-vent smartPwn holder with decorative propellers. 

There is just a universe of fail here; starting with the egregious pointlessness of it all, leading to the inevitable incapability to perform its basic function and finishing with the fact it is designed such that it will place spinning propellers right over the touchscreen. 

And somebody got paid to design this fucking thing.

mnem

[mnementh]

As promised, here are a few pics of the 85 doing voltage checks, everything works just as it should. The supplied leads were complete crap and even had a resistance of 4 ohms They are now in the bin, but I don't have a shortage of leads at the moment, so I'm OK.

   The seller did say that the input jacks had been damaged, but these are available as spares, but they do not actually detract from it being used.

Yeah, it looks like he tried to patch it with heat-shrink like I did the first time I broke one.

It actually does affect usability; when the contacts inevitably spread, it will get intermittent and eventually one half will break off. Then it will fail to detect wrong lead placement as it is supposed to warn you aboot. The latter is why the contact ring is split into two halves this way.

You want to get a new one on the way ASAP; this will quickly become a favorite tool and it deserves to be properly maintained.

mnem
 

[med6753]

Is the little flat top on the waveform acceptable ?
IME they were always a perfect sawtooth/triangle waveform.

It is a perfect sawtooth. At the point it was measured it's inverted and agrees with the pulse shown on the schematic.

[bd139]

As promised, here are a few pics of the 85 doing voltage checks, everything works just as it should. The supplied leads were complete crap and even had a resistance of 4 ohms They are now in the bin, but I don't have a shortage of leads at the moment, so I'm OK.

The seller did say that the input jacks had been damaged, but these are available as spares, but they do not actually detract from it being used.

Ah yes common failure mode on these. The last 87 I had suffered the same problems and I replaced them.

Unfortunately fairly expensive to replace 

[AaronLee]

I may have finally had a break thru.  The Type 547 ran as shown in the prior entry for over 2.5 hours without a hitch. It appears I was right about Q554 causing the intermittent sweep mag issue.

Back on it's feet as shown here. I can't proceed with re-building the vertical until the parts arrive. And it appears that the critical 105V zener won't show up until next week. I'll probably keep powering it up for periods to be absolutely certain all other issues are finally fixed.

Beautiful scope. Probably a stupid newbie question, but what are the yellow caps on the trigger input/output/etc. for?

[BU508A]

I may have finally had a break thru.  The Type 547 ran as shown in the prior entry for over 2.5 hours without a hitch. It appears I was right about Q554 causing the intermittent sweep mag issue.

Back on it's feet as shown here. I can't proceed with re-building the vertical until the parts arrive. And it appears that the critical 105V zener won't show up until next week. I'll probably keep powering it up for periods to be absolutely certain all other issues are finally fixed.

Beautiful scope. Probably a stupid newbie question, but what are the yellow caps on the trigger input/output/etc. for?

They are protective caps, protecting the BNC connectors.

Edit:
Can be found here for example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/121136673516

[mnementh]

Protects them from splatter when...

mnem
... never mind.

[med6753]

As promised, here are a few pics of the 85 doing voltage checks, everything works just as it should. The supplied leads were complete crap and even had a resistance of 4 ohms They are now in the bin, but I don't have a shortage of leads at the moment, so I'm OK.

The seller did say that the input jacks had been damaged, but these are available as spares, but they do not actually detract from it being used.

Ah yes common failure mode on these. The last 87 I had suffered the same problems and I replaced them.

Unfortunately fairly expensive to replace 

Geez, I'm surrounded by Gorillas who break Fluke input terminals. Never broke a one and mine is 24 years old.

Do you drag it around by the test leads caveman style? 

[mnementh]

Nah, that's not the real thing.

Also, as I commented on the video, a clock that does not talk NTP or PTP (and no %&€&%(#"%€ SNTP, if I may, please. ), or has a GNSS rx, should at least have a 10MHz/1PPS ref input so it'll actually show the time instead of an opinion. Seriously underwhelmed by most such designer efforts.

Fully agree. My (diy) clocks usually understand DCF77 (built-in receicer or input for demodulated pulses), my proprietary CAN "homebus" protocol, GPS PPS + NMEA, or NTP (broadcast by a local server).

Right on brothers! I mean, if it's more than ±100ns from UTC can you really call it a clock? Amiright, eh? 

It just means the display is more than 30m from the clock element (c~=1ns/ft)

And before my inner vision a virtual Grace Hopper appears holding 30cm of wire and exclaiming 'THIS is one nanosecond!'

In vacuum only.

Of course. And in Austria it is a mere 5cm.  (Huuusch, huuuusch...)

Hey... I came here from Texas, where everything is bigger, all the womens are beeyootiful, and every man has at least one nanosecond.

mnem
"Here; hold muh beer and watch this!"

[mnementh]

As promised, here are a few pics of the 85 doing voltage checks, everything works just as it should. The supplied leads were complete crap and even had a resistance of 4 ohms They are now in the bin, but I don't have a shortage of leads at the moment, so I'm OK.

The seller did say that the input jacks had been damaged, but these are available as spares, but they do not actually detract from it being used.

Ah yes common failure mode on these. The last 87 I had suffered the same problems and I replaced them.

Unfortunately fairly expensive to replace 

Geez, I'm surrounded by Gorillas who break Fluke input terminals. Never broke a one and mine is 24 years old.

Do you drag it around by the test leads caveman style? 

Just like yer woman does with you, big guy. 

mnem
we all know you like it rough...

[factory]

Upcoming TEA(cquisition) alert - teaser pic:      Got the photo from the seller, hopefully the unit will arrive in a few days

Bonus points for recognizing the instrument or the make. (that's too easy). Won't disclose before it is on my bench.

Japan's finest spec an like Tony's?

mnem
 

Looks like a Yokogawa scope to me, has a floppy drive to the right of the LCD screen but not the DL15xx series or earlier as they are CRT based, must be a later one from DL16xx or DL17xx series but I've not seen inside one of them.

David

[tautech]

Is the little flat top on the waveform acceptable ?
IME they were always a perfect sawtooth/triangle waveform.

It is a perfect sawtooth. At the point it was measured it's inverted and agrees with the pulse shown on the schematic.

OK so you are happy with it then.
Yes I saw some schematic waveforms had flat tops of varying degrees where they sometimes are post s/div settings whereas at the root of the sweep generator they should be a perfect triangle which is where I normally checked for the few I fixed that were without a sweep at all.
Carry on....... 

[Specmaster]

As promised, here are a few pics of the 85 doing voltage checks, everything works just as it should. The supplied leads were complete crap and even had a resistance of 4 ohms They are now in the bin, but I don't have a shortage of leads at the moment, so I'm OK.

   The seller did say that the input jacks had been damaged, but these are available as spares, but they do not actually detract from it being used.

Yeah, it looks like he tried to patch it with heat-shrink like I did the first time I broke one.

It actually does affect usability; when the contacts inevitably spread, it will get intermittent and eventually one half will break off. Then it will fail to detect wrong lead placement as it is supposed to warn you aboot. The latter is why the contact ring is split into two halves this way.

You want to get a new one on the way ASAP; this will quickly become a favorite tool and it deserves to be properly maintained.

mnem
 

I already have taken steps towards fixing that aspect, more on that later as it unfolds  , but I think you are mistaken on the warning system for the incorrect lead / switch position, the manual only makes mention of that for current jacks and is only operated by a lead being inserted in either of these jacks and the switch being in the incorrect position for the lead position. That means that this feature will still operate even if current is being measured, but the input jack selected could mean the meter could be overloaded, i.e., the lead is in the Amps jack, but the switch is in the uA position, the alert is still operational

[mnementh]

As promised, here are a few pics of the 85 doing voltage checks, everything works just as it should. The supplied leads were complete crap and even had a resistance of 4 ohms They are now in the bin, but I don't have a shortage of leads at the moment, so I'm OK.

The seller did say that the input jacks had been damaged, but these are available as spares, but they do not actually detract from it being used.

Ah yes common failure mode on these. The last 87 I had suffered the same problems and I replaced them.

Unfortunately fairly expensive to replace 

      https://www.ebay.com/itm/262483877746

This one looks like the genuine article; single-piece overmolded red plastic, not multipart grey plastic like the Chinese knockoffs, and I'm pretty sure I recognize the username. Funny, the cheap knockoffs cost more than this guy now. Saw a couple at $50 plus shipping. 

mnem
 

[bd139]

By the time it gets here that’s £45 spent 

[mnementh]

As promised, here are a few pics of the 85 doing voltage checks, everything works just as it should. The supplied leads were complete crap and even had a resistance of 4 ohms They are now in the bin, but I don't have a shortage of leads at the moment, so I'm OK.

   The seller did say that the input jacks had been damaged, but these are available as spares, but they do not actually detract from it being used.

Yeah, it looks like he tried to patch it with heat-shrink like I did the first time I broke one.

It actually does affect usability; when the contacts inevitably spread, it will get intermittent and eventually one half will break off. Then it will fail to detect wrong lead placement as it is supposed to warn you aboot. The latter is why the contact ring is split into two halves this way.

You want to get a new one on the way ASAP; this will quickly become a favorite tool and it deserves to be properly maintained.

mnem
 

I already have taken steps towards fixing that aspect, more on that later as it unfolds  , but I think you are mistaken on the warning system for the incorrect lead / switch position, the manual only makes mention of that for current jacks and is only operated by a lead being inserted in either of these jacks and the switch being in the incorrect position for the lead position. That means that this feature will still operate even if current is being measured, but the input jack selected could mean the meter could be overloaded, i.e., the lead is in the Amps jack, but the switch is in the uA position, the alert is still operational

The split contact is how it knows there's a lead plugged into the connector. When you open her up you'll see what I'm talking aboot; the two halves have separate traces. If you're plugged into Ω/V and turn it to A/mA/uA it warns you too.

Like I said; once they spread, contact becomes intermittent and eventually one breaks off completely. Obvi, the ones that get used all the time die first.

This is part of the cost of ownership on these beasts; despite all med's arguments to the contrary, it is a common failure mode and most of the [FLUKE] pirates know to look for it. That is probably the reason you got it at the price you got it.

Don't let it stop you from fixing it properly and loving it tho. It's a great meter and I still miss my 87 from time to time.

mnem
 

[mnementh]

By the time it gets here that’s £45 spent 

Yup. That's why the [FLUKE] flipper-pirates weren't interested.

mnem
 

[Specmaster]

As promised, here are a few pics of the 85 doing voltage checks, everything works just as it should. The supplied leads were complete crap and even had a resistance of 4 ohms They are now in the bin, but I don't have a shortage of leads at the moment, so I'm OK.

The seller did say that the input jacks had been damaged, but these are available as spares, but they do not actually detract from it being used.

Ah yes common failure mode on these. The last 87 I had suffered the same problems and I replaced them.

Unfortunately fairly expensive to replace 

      https://www.ebay.com/itm/262483877746

This one looks like the genuine article; single-piece overmolded red plastic, not multipart grey plastic like the Chinese knockoffs, and I'm pretty sure I recognize the username. Funny, the cheap knockoffs cost more than this guy now. Saw a couple at $50 plus shipping. 

mnem
 

That is the correct one OK, but the price equates to £34.65 with shipping then there is the risk of customs duty to be paid on top, that is more than 60% of the price I paid for the complete 85  As I said, it does work perfectly OK as it is and should continue to do so forever and a day. If my plan comes to fruition, I'll explain how I intend to put that small defect right when it happens. 

[mansaxel]

Right on brothers! I mean, if it's more than ±100ns from UTC can you really call it a clock? Amiright, eh? 

I'm friends with a bunch of the people who make UTC(SP) and distribute it to the country as "Swedish normal time" (although it's still UTC on the wire, of course).  They scratch the smiley from above. 100ns is a lot of deviation to them.

[mnementh]

      https://www.ebay.com/itm/262483877746

This one looks like the genuine article; single-piece overmolded red plastic, not multipart grey plastic like the Chinese knockoffs, and I'm pretty sure I recognize the username. Funny, the cheap knockoffs cost more than this guy now. Saw a couple at $50 plus shipping. 

mnem
 

That is the correct one OK, but the price equates to £34.65 with shipping then there is the risk of customs duty to be paid on top, that is more than 60% of the price I paid for the complete 85  As I said, it does work perfectly OK as it is and should continue to do so forever and a day. If my plan comes to fruition, I'll explain how I intend to put that small defect right when it happens. 

Yeah, I tried heat-shrink and CA as well as a bit of semi-rigid spray bottle tubing I found that was exactly the right diameter to fit over the contacts. Nothing stays put. The problem is that the overmolded plastic actually supports the contacts, not the other way around.

I don't know if that guy will ever be able to get genuine [FLUKE] connector bridges again once those sell out. Myself, I'd just suck it up and do the fix right. That meter is worth it.

If you pot the sockets with epoxy such that sleeved leads can no longer be used, the [FLUKE] gods will smite you, and I will cheer.

mnem
 

[BU508A]

Just sniped ten LM723H/883Q NOS from National for ca. 17.50 Euro (plus shipping).   

https://www.ebay.de/itm/402994733209