Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Zucca]

My wife confessed me yesterday she took the first 2,5mm DC jack power supply ding she found in my lab.
Input specs. 5VDC 800mA CC. The tossed in 12VAC.

Here what she killed:

- Lipo battery BMS Mosfets in the battery
- FP6298 FeelingTechnology Boost reg on the board
- a % charge battery display board. This was showing how much juice was left... but they did not even bother to write it in the manual.... I understood it by rev eng... nuts.

According with my rev eng, she not only connected the wrong AC DC converter, but with that connected she shoved that battery into the device spreading the 12VAC into the VBatt-GND lines... 

BTW this is the chinesium toy

money shot:


hard to see in the pic, but they soldered thin magnetic wire from the main board to the oscillating/floating leveler LED/LASER block   

[VK5RC]

What is this stuff you call ice and snow? Today's minimum 25C max 38C!
Best investment was 8kW of solar panels - takes out the big 'electrickery' bills.

Pffffft .... today's maximum was -24C.

Faucet for filling the dog's water bucket was frozen.  I never get time to tinker with what *I* want to play with...

I have never had to live in a cold place - just skiing trips so it seems fun to put on snow chains etc (for a while)😂
The problem with heat over 35C is it traps you inside probably as much as really cold weather - either way you go stir crazy.

I laughed so hard about the comments re IEC power cords - I agree they breed but I have a bunch of USA cords - so they can congregate to a 'rare' type - but useless nonetheless.

[0culus]

What is this stuff you call ice and snow? Today's minimum 25C max 38C!
Best investment was 8kW of solar panels - takes out the big 'electrickery' bills.

Pffffft .... today's maximum was -24C.

Faucet for filling the dog's water bucket was frozen.  I never get time to tinker with what *I* want to play with...

I have never had to live in a cold place - just skiing trips so it seems fun to put on snow chains etc (for a while)😂
The problem with heat over 35C is it traps you inside probably as much as really cold weather - either way you go stir crazy.

I laughed so hard about the comments re IEC power cords - I agree they breed but I have a bunch of USA cords - so they can congregate to a 'rare' type - but useless nonetheless.

Yeah, but you can go and have fun in the cold unless it's -40F on the prairie with wind chill to -60 or worse. Otherwise, dress properly and you can have a good time (I enjoy snowshoeing personally...x country skiing....well let's just say I spent more time on my ass than I did skiing.) 

[factory]

Yokogawa/HP YHP 4440B decade capacitor teardown.












David

[tggzzz]

Arrival on Monday from Mouser:
some SMD prototype PCBs. Got the hint from the captain. Thanks again. 

Neat, and not extortionately expensive Others available
https://www.mouser.co.uk/c/tools-supplies/prototyping-products/?m=BusBoard%20Prototype%20Systems&type=Surface%20Mount

The datasheet is good, showing how components fit on the different pad sizes
https://www.mouser.co.uk/datasheet/2/58/BPS-DAT-(SMTpads)-Datasheet-766091.pdf
The 50x50 pads might also be useful for some components.

[Peter_O]

A nice little HP10430A miniature passive 500MHz probe just arrived to match my HP 54504A.
Found it for 20 Euros. 

Can you measure the probe barrel diameter with the hook grabber removed ?
Why ?
I have some tiny 2 leg grabber probe hats I think will fit these probes.
Yours if they match and you want them for the postage costs.

It's 2.4mm

~3.3mm is the probe hole opening where they would press together.
The 2 leg grabber end is 20mm long metal tube and 2.4mm diameter.....pretty sure these with fit your probe.
No markings except for a tiny HP logo.

Very fine grabber whiskers, as fine as Tek grabbers although the metal barrel on these is certainly not ideal for use in confined spaces. 
I have 2 and both can go to new homes as I have no use for them and they've been in my probe accessory box for years.
Free to anyone that's prepared to just pay postage.

I'd rather see them go to 2 recipients......

Thx a lot for the offer and taking the effort, Tautech!

I did some research on the web but found not one clue about matching 2 leg grabbers für the HP10430A. No picture, no list. No hint inside the pare part and accessories listing within the manual either.

So we have to rely on the measurements, see picture below.

In case it fits the next question is the shipping from NZ to DE, I've no idea.
I've no immediate need for that a two-leg, on the other hand it would be a responsible step to keep equipment together 'for the next generation'. 

[tautech]

A nice little HP10430A miniature passive 500MHz probe just arrived to match my HP 54504A.
Found it for 20 Euros. 

Can you measure the probe barrel diameter with the hook grabber removed ?
Why ?
I have some tiny 2 leg grabber probe hats I think will fit these probes.
Yours if they match and you want them for the postage costs.

It's 2.4mm

~3.3mm is the probe hole opening where they would press together.
The 2 leg grabber end is 20mm long metal tube and 2.4mm diameter.....pretty sure these with fit your probe.
No markings except for a tiny HP logo.

Very fine grabber whiskers, as fine as Tek grabbers although the metal barrel on these is certainly not ideal for use in confined spaces. 
I have 2 and both can go to new homes as I have no use for them and they've been in my probe accessory box for years.
Free to anyone that's prepared to just pay postage.

I'd rather see them go to 2 recipients......

Thx a lot for the offer and taking the effort, Tautech!

I did some research on the web but found not one clue about matching 2 leg grabbers für the HP10430A. No picture, no list. No hint inside the pare part and accessories listing within the manual either.

So we have to rely on the measurements, see picture below.

In case it fits the next question is the shipping from NZ to DE, I've no idea.
I've no immediate need for that a two-leg, on the other hand it would be a responsible step to keep equipment together 'for the next generation'. 

I can get some costs next time we're at the PO.
Online guesstimator says ~$12 however buttering up our PO lady might get a better price.

Measure 20mm higher up the probe to be sure it will fit in the 3.3mm hole.

PS. ~20mm probe (plus tip) insertion is all that's needed to fully extend the grabber legs.

I'm quite sure your grabber hook hat will be quite fine anyways however the 2 leg grabbers in these are really fine and might get you out of a jam if you haven't got any fine grabbers like Tek ones. They're only disadvantage is the shank is metal so care is needed with where they might be used.

Had them so long I now have no memory where they came from.....it's a real bugger this getting old. 

[m k]

fun and games and Murphy hitting me in the crotch  ...
coolant warning light came back on yesterday on that Volvo again. Coolant missing.
all that while I still had to return the trailer ...

my former neighbor gave me his car and I was able to get rid of the trailer. scrawled back to the Mechanik who said that he was refusing further work on the car. he said that he suspected a ruptured head or head gasket. that would coincide with the white fog coming Out of the exhaust.
FML

How much white, how it smells, sweet?
Missing coolant went somewhere, can you find any traces?

T-64

mechanic said: into the burning chamber, i.e. the cylinder. I returned the car to the dealer and asked him to fix it.
He is required to give 12 months warranty, so we'll see.

Very good.
Hopefully it's a mild fight.

OT,
T-64 has an opposite piston engine.
Sort of a reverse boxer.

[Ice-Tea]

So, uh...

[BU508A]

So, uh...

You need a syringe to get this magic smoke back. Ask Cerebus for support.   

[Specmaster]

So, uh...

Magic smoke released

[tggzzz]

So, uh...

Solartron 7075?

The socket looks easy to obtain. (You can even obtain replacements for a 7081's socket, which is combined with a voltage selector and fuse!)

[Ice-Tea]

So, uh...

Solartron 7075?

The socket looks easy to obtain. (You can even obtain replacements for a 7081's socket, which is combined with a voltage selector and fuse!)

7055. Shouldn't be too hard, but I don't have my replacement stock here. Worries for another day.. 

[BU508A]

Entertaining video about building a sorting machine for coins. 
Please note the installation of motherboards on the wall of his lab. 

[mansaxel]

I like the post it "Sicherheits-Disketten. Eine Sorge weniger"

The post-it lasted longer, both in usefulness and longevity, than the floppy.

[Vince]

My preferred storage solution for such things - which includes all kinds of cables and plug-packs - is to put each set into a zip-lock bag.  You can then dump all these into any storage container you like and they will never get tangled.  Also far easier and quicker to sort through them - and FAR less likely to get damaged.

Here's a random sample from my unsorted  container.   

I used to do this as well... until my collections reached "fills a storage tote" size. When the pile is that dense, you can't see the trees for the forest and all definition of what the cables are gets lost in the silvery fog of the ziplock bags.



My solution is gardening ties. These come in a bulk container with a cutter as seen above. This means you get exactly the length you want, and if you need to tie a cable to a thing it belongs to, you're covered there too. They're usually available in a package of 100m of tie for $4-8, but I've even bought them from the Dollar Store.

mnem

I did try just that 3 years ago when I filled this container of power cords in preparation for the house move. Didn't work. Ties are way to fragile and often broke/snapped while I was tightening them onto the cord. Those that managed to survive the tightening, snapped a short while later on their own once in the box, or when digging into the cords to pick one up. Maybe the French fries ties are more fragile than the Canadian ones, I don't know, but they are what they are... I think I used them none the less but not for power cords, rather for the container of plug packs, as their wire is very thin and flexible in comparison to a beefy power cord.  So IIRC these ties worked fine for the plug packs.. though I don't really know because 3 years later I have not yet had a reason to look at them yet. Maybe they have snapped by now.

I could use just a bit of solid core electrical wire, of appropriate gauge/section, that would not break., I guess.

Problem with power cords I find is that if you put just one little tie in the middle, it's not enough to keep the ends/loops tight together, so that makes them take more space, and makes them prone to get entangled to some degree. The crapper/stiffer the cord, the worse it gets.
Putting the cord in a zip bag would cure that problem. I don't have as many cords as you do so not a cost issue here.

Plus, I am realizing that even once the garage is constructed, I still won't have that much space to devote to the lab or related storage. So I am now already trying to rationalize / diminish my pile of junk.
So I think I might throw away half of the power cords, because I will never use half of them. All my TE already has a power cord, the container is therefore only there to get me out of trouble for the odd old/used TE that would not come with a cord.... also of course need a few for test purposes and general fucking around, but that's about it. I don't need a full box of them, not even remotely.
So will sort through them, and make a selection.

Same with the loud speakers.. a container full of them, from all the old CRT or LCD TVs, mostly, that I took apart. I kept them originally thinking I could have some fun testing them once I get an LCR meter, to see if the were really 8 or 16 or XYZ impedance... but I don't need 100 speakers for that...
I am not even in audio stuff at all ! Other than this old Becker car stereo project I talked earlier about... but even for that I don't need speakers any more ! Now that I have a CD player/amp/loud speakers in the lab to listen to music, and an extra RCA audio cable hooked to TAPE2 input of the amp for testing audio appliances... I can use that for the Becker stereo as well !
So.. why would I even need to keep speakers around at all... OK it's fun to play with them with the sig gen or god knows what weird experiment.. and who knows maybe once I start actually designing and making stuff, I might want to add a little speaker in a project to give me some sound effects, who knows... so OK, I am good with keeping a handful of speakers, a few small ones from modernish flat TVs, and one large/medium one, OK.... but any more is just waste of space.  They are all crappy speakers anyway. If I ever need one for a project I am sure I could get one of the appropriate size for a just few bucks anyway, so no need to stock up on them    A few yes, a container full no...
I would try to see if I can salvage the magnets from them though, you never have enough magnets ! 

Same for the tiny DC motors I extracted from CD players or inkjet printers or tape players... a whole box of them, probably 100 or so, or a bit more... that's ridiculous. I will probably never use any of them. So again I will keep a few and dispose of the rest...

The only power cord I would eventually actually want to have many of... are those I don't have ! American cords for my old glowing Tek scopes ! 20 scopes, only one cord !!! And it's not in good shape... it's 60 years old after all. But even those cables, I don't need 20 of them... it's not like I would want, or even technically be capable, of powering them all at the same time ! 

I only work or use, one at a given time. OK worse case two or three maybe in the future... like say a scope + my 575 curve tracer + this little type 1121 stand-alone pre-amp I just bought. So worst case I might need an extra US cord or two... but that's about it. Plus I can always convert my Tek scopes to IEC sockets anyway. Pre-amp nope, not enough space in the chassis for that, but the bigger 500 series scopes, no problem. One of them has already been converted by the previous owner. From what I see, plenty of room and quite straight-forward to do.

Anyway... today is power cord sorting day...

[nfmax]

My preferred storage solution for such things - which includes all kinds of cables and plug-packs - is to put each set into a zip-lock bag.  You can then dump all these into any storage container you like and they will never get tangled.  Also far easier and quicker to sort through them - and FAR less likely to get damaged.

Here's a random sample from my unsorted  container.

I use this technique, but with an extra twist. I include a piece of coloured cardboard (cut from surplus lever arch file divider tabs) in each bag. This keeps the bags 'flat' and makes them easier to file in a drawer. You can also colour-code cable types, and/or stick a label on the card (not on the bag, where it may peel off). This makes it easier to round up all the test leads again after they have been out to play on the bench.

[xrunner]

I did try just that 3 years ago when I filled this container of power cords in preparation for the house move. Didn't work. Ties are way to fragile and often broke/snapped while I was tightening them onto the cord. Those that managed to survive the tightening, snapped a short while later on their own once in the box, or when digging into the cords to pick one up. Maybe the French fries ties are more fragile than the Canadian ones, I don't know, but they are what they are... I think I used them none the less but not for power cords, rather for the container of plug packs, as their wire is very thin and flexible in comparison to a beefy power cord.  So IIRC these ties worked fine for the plug packs.. though I don't really know because 3 years later I have not yet had a reason to look at them yet. Maybe they have snapped by now.

I don't like wire ties either. Much prefer hook & loop straps.  Home Depot has a cheap pack with around 50 gray and 50 black on two different rolls. They are around 6" long and you can cut them smaller they work just as good. Price is very reasonable but I don't remember how much. Only way to fly for me.

[Ice-Tea]

Another Solatron blew when I wasn't looking. A Philips arb has 70mv offset that won't react to trim pots. That's 0/3 so far.

[Zucca]

That's pretty typical.
Barrel jacks get used for almost any voltage / polarity / AC or DC in nearly any size, so there's nothing that hinders you to use the wrong adapter.
For technical people like the most of us here, it's not a big deal to find the correct wall wart for a gadget, since we do understand and know what could go wrong. Many non-technical people (and some technical, too) that I know religiously keep each wall wart adapter (physically or mentally) tied to the gadget it came with, some people practice this with standard IEC power cords, too.
Now if a person of the latter type mixes up with the first type (e.g. I'm sorting the wall adapters by output voltage, and not by gadget they belong to), confusion and damage is pre-programmed.
Anyway, though USB is pretty common with 5V, I prefer barrel jacks over USB connectors, as they are more robust.

It should also common sense to put some protection components if you use the 2.5mm barrel jobby. I give you the 1 dollar extra no problem, but please design it well.

[McBryce]

Entertaining video about building a sorting machine for coins. 
Please note the installation of motherboards on the wall of his lab. 

His machine is a bit misleading. The wooden section has no part in the sorting. The coins were sorted at the top before entering the "maze".

McBryce.

[mnementh]

I did try just that 3 years ago when I filled this container of power cords in preparation for the house move. Didn't work. Ties are way to fragile and often broke/snapped while I was tightening them onto the cord. Those that managed to survive the tightening, snapped a short while later on their own once in the box, or when digging into the cords to pick one up. Maybe the French fries ties are more fragile than the Canadian ones, I don't know, but they are what they are... I think I used them none the less but not for power cords, rather for the container of plug packs, as their wire is very thin and flexible in comparison to a beefy power cord.  So IIRC these ties worked fine for the plug packs.. though I don't really know because 3 years later I have not yet had a reason to look at them yet. Maybe they have snapped by now.

I don't like wire ties either. Much prefer hook & loop straps.  Home Depot has a cheap pack with around 50 gray and 50 black on two different rolls. They are around 6" long and you can cut them smaller they work just as good. Price is very reasonable but I don't remember how much. Only way to fly for me.

I use those very ones for cords on tools and the cables I keep in my "Go bag" and laptop bag. Actually, pretty much any cord I use frequently; as they have a little loop so you can actually attach them to the cable.

IEC/heavy power cords... actually any heavy cord or cable you actually give a damn about... are best stored coiled, not squished flat. Squishing them flat puts permanent kinks in the cord every n inches, which is just a PITA. If they came to you this way, well... my condolences.  Storing them coiled is much easier to tie, plus they stack vertically on a bench or in a drawer very tidily.

   That said... if you must make them so they're bundled flat-ish instead of coiled, there is a different technique which is almost as kind to the cord and almost as compact as squishing: the old "figure 8 cord wrap".

Essentially, you coil the cord into a circle approx 20-30% smaller than the length you want the bundle to be.

Align the ends so they overlap on the same side of the loop, then twist the coil into a figure 8.

Now, wrap your garden tie around the "waist" of the figure 8. If you aligned the ends properly when you started, the plug and the IEC socket will now be held snugly right at the wire tie.

If you are handling thick or otherwise unwieldy cable, don't be afraid to use enough of the gardening tie to go around the cable twice or 3x. Every additional loop makes it twice as strong as the first.

I like the fact that gardening tie lets you get exactly the length of tie you need, but the main reason I prefer it is cost vs attrition: My collection of cables isn't just my personal hoard; they're work supplies that get "deployed" as part of my work and as needed by friends and family. I can shrug off  a penny or two worth of garden tie a lot easier than a Velcro tie that costs a dime or a quarter, especially if the job needs a half-dozen of assorted cables.

   And finally... for large cables/long extension cords, I prefer bobble ties, aka ball bungees. *snerk* 

It is my understanding these were first developed for tarp canopies, but they are one of the handiest things on the planet, and can be bought as most Homeowner Hell type stores in large quantities for cheap; like 25 pieces/$10.

They're often most useful where you find yourself wishing for "a 3rd hand"; one of my worst "misuses" is to temporarily defeat the dead-man lever on my lawnmower when I'm on flat level terrain so my hands can get a rest, and so I can let it run at idle for a few minutes to cool down/temperature equalize before I put it away.

mnem

[Ice-Tea]

Oh, scratch that. Found the right trimpot for the PM519. Only single turn jobby so 5mV offset is the best I can get from it. I can live with that.

That makes 1/3.

[mnementh]

Entertaining video about building a sorting machine for coins. 
Please note the installation of motherboards on the wall of his lab. 

His machine is a bit misleading. The wooden section has no part in the sorting. The coins were sorted at the top before entering the "maze".

McBryce.

Not exactly true. While mostly interesting in a Pachinko Machine manner, the last bit of sorting is done in the plastic windows. There are 8 slots, 4 layers. Each layer routes its respective coins to the correct slot in order based on value.

Which is part of the sorting process; without doing so, that top "sorting/counting" section would just dump them into piles based on physical size rather than monetary value.

mnem
 

[Specmaster]

My preferred storage solution for such things - which includes all kinds of cables and plug-packs - is to put each set into a zip-lock bag.  You can then dump all these into any storage container you like and they will never get tangled.  Also far easier and quicker to sort through them - and FAR less likely to get damaged.

Here's a random sample from my unsorted  container.   

I used to do this as well... until my collections reached "fills a storage tote" size. When the pile is that dense, you can't see the trees for the forest and all definition of what the cables are gets lost in the silvery fog of the ziplock bags.



My solution is gardening ties. These come in a bulk container with a cutter as seen above. This means you get exactly the length you want, and if you need to tie a cable to a thing it belongs to, you're covered there too. They're usually available in a package of 100m of tie for $4-8, but I've even bought them from the Dollar Store.

mnem

I did try just that 3 years ago when I filled this container of power cords in preparation for the house move. Didn't work. Ties are way to fragile and often broke/snapped while I was tightening them onto the cord. Those that managed to survive the tightening, snapped a short while later on their own once in the box, or when digging into the cords to pick one up. Maybe the French fries ties are more fragile than the Canadian ones, I don't know, but they are what they are... I think I used them none the less but not for power cords, rather for the container of plug packs, as their wire is very thin and flexible in comparison to a beefy power cord.  So IIRC these ties worked fine for the plug packs.. though I don't really know because 3 years later I have not yet had a reason to look at them yet. Maybe they have snapped by now.

You need to go to a garden centre, they sell the same thing but with stronger wire inside. Designed to hold plants to stakes etc, that will not break, trust me, its very strong.