Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[vk6zgo]

Stepdrills are much better than standard twist drills for diecast boxes and thin sheet materials. 12.7mm is of course 1/2 inch.....

And bugger all use for anything else. I'm deeply suspicious of step drills, all that rotating mass, all that stick-out, having to have lots of free space the other side of the workpiece for all the smaller steps waiting to foul on your vice or another part of the workpiece.

Add me as fan of step drills. When you need exactly what they can do, they're a godsend. I'm all with you on the potential risks, and have been exposed to consequences through my own sloppyness a couple times. Still, I like my step drill, and will keep using it.

Better for big holes in sheet metal and thin materials are Q.Max punches

Oh, yeah, once you've got them, the punch path is the one to take. I've got a small selection, among which the 22,5mm one is frequently used; makes for very nice installs of signal lamps, buttons, and similar stuff in control panels et c.

I had a few, bought back when they were too expensive for me, including a square one-------time intervened, & now I have one round one, of a size I never use!

[vk6zgo]

Some more sorting. If I do a little bit every day, I will get there.. eventually... I hope...

Have not done anything as I was so sick when I woke up, I thought it was the end for me.
Been recovering progressively today.. this evening I am back in business so I sorted some stuff.

Today was switches day !!   

Yes I know, not terribly exciting...

I had way more tactile switches than I thought ! Hundreds of the little bastard... and you would not believe just how many variations of these, are out there ! 
I tried to rationalize a bit otherwise it would take the entire 50 drawer unit to sort them.
In the end, I spread them over 4 drawers, each split in 3 sections.

Then a drawer dedicated to all the micro-switches, unsorted.

Then another drawer with misc small switches, ie not mains rater by the looks of it.

So 6 drawers worth of little switches ! 


QUESTION : I dug out some old connectors.  x3 male/female plugs. I am wondering whether I should keep the or not ?
I don't know what they are for (I didn't buy them nor salvage them, it was in an old box full of electrical stuff my dad gave me... I sorted that as well)

It looks like some old DIN style plug or something ?  Idea is to throw them away to make space, if they have no reasonable chance of being used before I die...

I am wondering if maybe this style of plug could be used in some old TE ??  Any example that would spring to mind  ??
If not, I get rid of them...

They have two pins. One is round and thin, the other is flat and beefier. See pics below.

I have a couple somewhere, & have asked myself the same question.
Deep down in the recesses of my memory, I vaguely remember them being used in some equipment half a century ago.(Yes, I am ancient!)

[vk6zgo]

QUESTION : I dug out some old connectors.  x3 male/female plugs. I am wondering whether I should keep the or not ?
I don't know what they are for (I didn't buy them nor salvage them, it was in an old box full of electrical stuff my dad gave me... I sorted that as well)

It looks like some old DIN style plug or something ?  Idea is to throw them away to make space, if they have no reasonable chance of being used before I die...

I am wondering if maybe this style of plug could be used in some old TE ??  Any example that would spring to mind  ??
If not, I get rid of them...

They have two pins. One is round and thin, the other is flat and beefier. See pics below.

Those are plugs for loudspeakers, to be exact "Lautsprecherstecker nach DIN 41529" and they are horrible!
Burn them with fire!

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lautsprecherstecker#Lautsprecherstecker_nach_DIN_41529

Aha! That's where I remember them from----They were used in A.P.O. specification "Type 3" amplifiers!
The audio input connector was even worse, made up of flat pins sandwiched between slabs of phenolic or bakelite. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!
Despite that, the "Type 3" was a good, reliable unit.

[VK5RC]

There is quite a bit of research on this, the last I remember reading was it's related to the way we form memories, and how new vs repeated experiences are laid down. Basically if you do the same thing a lot, ie get a job and commute to work, shuffle papers all day, time passes much faster than if you're doing something that's new to you, interestingly in retrospect rather than real time, which seems to slow down when you get bored doing repetitive tasks.
I'm not going to try and find the article, it was in the New Scientist, probably at least 15 years ago. There'll be much more recent research to read than that.

That does make perfect sense, given that with the insanity of the past two years on a day to day basis time has slogged, but overall it does not seem possible that two years have gone by already.

-Pat

I have seen some research that has shown we have an internal brain clock, and as you age it slows, thus the world around you appears to go faster. Falling off your bicycle etc can also temporarily speed up your clock so the world appears to go slower as you fall.

[vk6zgo]

Oooooohhh, this one is naaasstaayyy 

Definitely gonna see some dishwasher action when the wife isn't around.. 

I know it's been standard practice forever to hose down Tek's with DI water and detergent but I just can't bring myself to do it. The covers, yes. But not the internals. And I don't have the proper drying oven. I hand clean as best as I can but there will always be some vintage dirt in it.

Tek showed a complete Oscilloscope washing station in one of their publications back in the day.

[vk6zgo]

Oooooohhh, this one is naaasstaayyy 

Definitely gonna see some dishwasher action when the wife isn't around.. 

I know it's been standard practice forever to hose down Tek's with DI water and detergent but I just can't bring myself to do it. The covers, yes. But not the internals. And I don't have the proper drying oven. I hand clean as best as I can but there will always be some vintage dirt in it.

I haven't been able to bring myself to do it, either, though I routinely use solder with water soluble flux when I build boards here, then wash them with hot water in the sink and blow them dry in the garage.  Never use that solder on wire, though, and for sure wash the boards within a few days of finishing them - the flux residue MUST be cleaned off because it's hygroscopic and corrosive if left in place - discovered that the hard way at my last job when someone made a bunch of boards but didn't clean them, then they sat in stock for a few months and corroded.

One of the guys on the antique radio forum advocates using a pressure washer on really dirty old chassis, says he does it routinely in the summer, then lets them cook dry in the sun for a few days.  He suggested it to me as something to try on an old HP 330B Distortions Analyzer that will otherwise be scrap as it had a large mouse condo in it and is rather skeevy and corroded inside.  I never got to it this past summer, but may this year.  At this point I've nothing to lose as far as it goes on this piece.







-Pat

I think I'd just admit defeat on that one and donate it to the zoo as enrichment for the rodent exhibit...

I figure it's a good guinea pig to try extreme cleaning techniques on, seeing as it's so far gone at this point there's really nothing to lose, and it is a cool old piece of gear if I can fix it - it's pre-1960 based on the serial number.

-Pat

The shape of the meter bezel says that, too---I would say 1940s!

[vk6zgo]

I dunno about anyone else, but in my head I reached about 28 and stopped.  Sadly the calendar has not...  (And I often miss the passage of the entire decade from 2000-2010 - the 90s do NOT feel like they were thirty years ago, and there's no way in hell that more than two decades have passed since all the Y2k craziness.)

-Pat

Quite agree, it seemed to me that the school years just seemed to drag along so slowly as if time had been suspended, but since leaving school and entering the work place, time has been passing too quickly that I keep looking for the brakes, but there aren't any 

My theory on that is that there are several things at play.

The first is simply that as we get older, each passing year equates to a smaller percentage of the time we've been here - at the age of ten, a year is a tenth of our life; at 25 it's 0.04; by 35 it has dropped to 0.029 - each less than the last.

The other, and more prominent thing IMO is that when we're school aged, there are bigger milestones in life - using the US for example as it's what I'm familiar with, there is the start of school in September, at which point as a kid you begin looking forward to Halloween in October, then on to Thanksgiving in November, then Christmas/New Years break in December.  There (at least were) a few days off some time in Februaryish for a 'winter break', then comes Easter and finally the end of the school year in June, followed by summer vacation.  A series of very distinct milestones that are big deals as a kid and at the time, seem to take forever to come, and clearly mark the passage of time.  Now as an adult, I get up and go to work.  The year starts cold and snowy with short days and long nights and occasionally snow to shovel.  I get up and go to work.  The days begin to grow longer, the nights shorter and the snow melts.  Wow, Easter already...  I get up and go to work.  The shift in night/dark continues and it gets warm then hot out.  I get up and go to work, then cut grass and do yard work.  Then the daylight shift goes the other way and it gets cooler and I clean up leaves.  I get up and go to work.  Holy crap, how is it Thanksgiving next week?  I could have sworn it was Easter a month ago, and Halloween slipped past without me noticing!  I get up and go to work.  Wow, Christmas already?  Thanksgiving seemed like last friggin' week, FFS!!  And now it's time to remember to write a new date on things.  Where did the past year go?  It all merges into a big blur that moves ever faster, like rolling down a long hill.  Not saying it can't be a fun ride, just that it keeps getting faster.

-Pat

Here's another thing that I have never quite been able to grasp either, if I'm driving somewhere, let's say I'm driving from Chelmsford (home), to Lakenheath, something that I've done many times, why does it always without fail seem to be far quicker driving back home again afterwards 

Maybe you don't stop for a cup of coffee on the way back!

[BU508A]

Question about those metal punches (Schraublochstanzen) mentioned earlier:

There are several offers in the bay from various manufacturers (looked into the German part of ebay).
Which one do you recommend?
I've seen the following brands: RUKO, BGS, Geberit, Rothenberger

I'd like to use them for Aluminium and/or plastic stuff (polycarbonat, ABS (Bopla Euromas II for example))

Any recommendations?
For what do I have to look out?
What are the important characteristics?

Thanks.

[Vince]

Oh boy life' crap ! Look what it's doing to me !

A guy is selling a couple very decent looking old glowing Tek scopes, for dirt cheap !

A type 317M for 15 Euros

https://www.leboncoin.fr/equipements_industriels/2111398794.htm

and a 535A (somehow titled as a type 517A ?!  ) for 20 Euros !!

https://www.leboncoin.fr/equipements_industriels/2111397713.htm


But local pickup only ! He lives in the far south east of France light years away from me ! 

Actually he has been trying to sell these for at least 6 if not 12 months can't remember, must at least the third time he lists them.
The original price was very fair to being with, like 60 Euros maybe for the big type 535A or something, but looks he is so stubborn on local pickup , he keeps dropping the price now to a misery, instead of making the effort to ship  !
I guess someone half-local to him might now find the trip worthwhile.... but that can't be me sadly ! 

[tggzzz]

Oooooohhh, this one is naaasstaayyy 

Definitely gonna see some dishwasher action when the wife isn't around.. 

I know it's been standard practice forever to hose down Tek's with DI water and detergent but I just can't bring myself to do it. The covers, yes. But not the internals. And I don't have the proper drying oven. I hand clean as best as I can but there will always be some vintage dirt in it.

Tek showed a complete Oscilloscope washing station in one of their publications back in the day.

Not quite what you were thinking of, but they can also be stored under 1ft of water



Yes, there is 2kV on the focus pot, immediately behind the front panel.

[AVGresponding]

There is quite a bit of research on this, the last I remember reading was it's related to the way we form memories, and how new vs repeated experiences are laid down. Basically if you do the same thing a lot, ie get a job and commute to work, shuffle papers all day, time passes much faster than if you're doing something that's new to you, interestingly in retrospect rather than real time, which seems to slow down when you get bored doing repetitive tasks.
I'm not going to try and find the article, it was in the New Scientist, probably at least 15 years ago. There'll be much more recent research to read than that.

That does make perfect sense, given that with the insanity of the past two years on a day to day basis time has slogged, but overall it does not seem possible that two years have gone by already.

-Pat

I have seen some research that has shown we have an internal brain clock, and as you age it slows, thus the world around you appears to go faster. Falling off your bicycle etc can also temporarily speed up your clock so the world appears to go slower as you fall.

We certainly do, but that it slows? Nope, I haven't used an alarm clock in decades, I tell my brain how long I want to sleep, and it wakes on time. It's accurate to within about +/-5 minutes per hour.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Question about those metal punches (Schraublochstanzen) mentioned earlier:

There are several offers in the bay from various manufacturers (looked into the German part of ebay).
Which one do you recommend?
I've seen the following brands: RUKO, BGS, Geberit, Rothenberger

I'd like to use them for Aluminium and/or plastic stuff (polycarbonat, ABS (Bopla Euromas II for example))

Any recommendations?
For what do I have to look out?
What are the important characteristics?

Thanks.

Nice, sharp cutting edge without burrs or other irregularities
Smooth and tight fit
3-point generally better than 2-point
Exchangeable actuation screw, preferably with ball bearing

Of those mentioned, I would prefer RUKO. Except for plumbers - there Geberit and Rothenberger is standard.
Really preferred would be Greenlee or Alfra.
BGS tools are crap - they make the stuff Bauhaus sells as cheapies.

[mnementh]

On the Bench... errr, Under The Bench...? Next to the Bench...? Fuck... Okay, eventually It's gonna BE a Bench...

Y'all may have noticed the ol' tinkerdwagon hasn't been in here stirring shit up... I've been busy doin' sumthin' constructive.




Got all the bits of the Middle-Manager's-Desk-of-Doom™ down in the basement; started assembling and repairing it yesterday...




This morning, I got it roughly in place, and leveled it. Ehhh... the noid lites annoyed me last week. They had it coming. 




That allowed me measurements to get the cribbing blocks started, which was the whole reason for digging out the Tevo Tornado over the New Year.




And once we got the boi home from school, I pressed him into service to bring my filing cabinet and marble countertop down so I could get started on the backboard. Had to pull the plug on the project at this point for the night. The clip angles I had in my hardware drawer just aren't big enough; gonna have to hit Homeowner Hell tomorrow for some 4" x 4" angles.

mnem
But wait; there's MORE! 

...So once I got the backboard done, I used strips of super-sticky mounting tape under the marble countertop to anchor everything. There's a lot of weight going on there between the marble and the stacks of gear; really no need to screw stuff down.



Now it's time to scrub the worktime grubbies and a few patches of storage mildew off the marble. "Wax on... Wax off..." as Mr. Miyagi says.




Now things are starting to shape up. The Tornado was my MVP on this project; every time I needed to shim something up, I'd draw it out and let it print while I worked on other stuff. I made custom cribbing blocks for the filing cabinet, the desk, one of the shelving units and even a shim under one of the Lambdas. That let me get everything rock-solid and level. 




Next came 2 days of setting up... getting power cords on everything, custom-length  cords on the GFCI boxes and some surge suppressor outlet strips to help tame the tentacle monster under the bench.




And assembling the stacks. And a clock.




I decided to angle the wire shelves in towards the workspace to make the workflow more organic; hopefully having all that desk surface off the side for laptop/tablet etc will be enough that I don't mind the lost real estate.




It's good to see old friends again... that Hitachi V212 has been with me since uni; not my first scope, but it might've been my first scope that actually worked for a living. I think I might design and print a bezel for it once I get a bit more done on other stuff. The 3478A just goes on aboot its business, completely oblivious to the passing ages...




Well, fuckity. I know what's gonna be the first project on the new bench... 

I recapped this one.... hmmm... 2005-ish? Ahh, well. Guess it were due again. 

So... next big step will be getting all the Canada stuff from the stock & lock in Cleveland, and integrating that workbench of stuff into this one.




                        I'M BACK, BABY!!!

mnem
Oh, and wouldja lookit that. 15,000 posts.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Sure sounds like a tiring exercise! But what's a dragon without his desk, eh?

[Zucca]

Now I hope you will stay in that home for at least 5 years.

PS: Yes without 3Dprinter I can't live now. Same with me, first 3DP Printer and then the rest in my relocation.

15000? wow now bad... you deserve a new scope.

[med6753]

I had to contact Ebay directly today. I still haven't seen the refund for the Tek 7B92 plug-in. The seller told me via Ebay messages that he processed the refund. According to Ebay he did not. Fucking bastard. So Ebay is going after his sorry arse and getting me the refund.

Seller  puuri_surplus. Stay away.

Well that didn't take long. Msg from Ebay that a full refund is on the way. Turns out the seller thought he had fully processed the refund. Yea, right. Ebay set him straight. He sent me a msg apologizing for the mix up. Just consider yourself lucky that I don't post negative feedback.   

[McBryce]

I had to contact Ebay directly today. I still haven't seen the refund for the Tek 7B92 plug-in. The seller told me via Ebay messages that he processed the refund. According to Ebay he did not. Fucking bastard. So Ebay is going after his sorry arse and getting me the refund.

Seller  puuri_surplus. Stay away.

Well that didn't take long. Msg from Ebay that a full refund is on the way. Turns out the seller thought he had fully processed the refund. Yea, right. Ebay set him straight. He sent me a msg apologizing for the mix up. Just consider yourself lucky that I don't post negative feedback. 

You can't (at least not on German ebay). As soon as you raise any case / refund etc. the item is no longer shown in your bought items and there's no possibility to give feedback. It's another one of ebays methods to try to convince us that all runs smoothly at ebay and to protect their cash-cow.

McBryce.

[PA0PBZ]

When I flew over the page in order to find the last-read post...

You know that clicking the 'New' text with the orange background on the new replies page takes you to the first unread post?

--> Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread New

[vk6zgo]

Question about those metal punches (Schraublochstanzen) mentioned earlier:

There are several offers in the bay from various manufacturers (looked into the German part of ebay).
Which one do you recommend?
I've seen the following brands: RUKO, BGS, Geberit, Rothenberger

I'd like to use them for Aluminium and/or plastic stuff (polycarbonat, ABS (Bopla Euromas II for example))

Any recommendations?
For what do I have to look out?
What are the important characteristics?

Thanks.

I've used the old Q-max ones they sold in Oz with aluminium & steel.
The other brand I've seen was "Greenlee" which looked exactly like the others, so I guess they all all very similar.
One job I was at had a set of hydraulic punches, but I never saw them used, the 10 years I was there.-----I wonder what happened to them!

[AVGresponding]

When I touch a topic in the naive expectation to come to a solution today and build it, let's say, next week, I should be forewarned. Whether actual paid work is involved does not seem to be the driver here - disaster is impending.
After the story of the GPS receiver signal booster (about 2 years ago), I found time to do some measurements on the interface cable with the aim of replacing the coupled lengths of actual cable with a nice little dummy cable box.
Then I saw what makes up the model of a multiple wire shielded cable.
 
Even partial solutions seem to involve complex matrices of parameters. The measurement gives some rather straightforward data, like capacitance from a conductor against its neighbours, against the shield and against a conductor at a position across the cable. And here starts the crap. Is the capacitance across the cable real or is it made up by the various capacitances towards neighbouring conductors and the screen, and those of the neighbouring conductors as well as the one's across the cable towards the screen?
Maybe I should hit the reset button now and stay with the multiple 10m cables. Until now, I luckily told no one to expect such a box. 

No matter your level of skill, knowledge or experience, a project will expand to test your patience and analytical abilities. While you are trying to integrate the matrices of capacitance, inductance, impedance etc etc for your dummy cable box, somebody somewhere is pulling out their hair trying to make a blinky work...

[AVGresponding]

icba to do a full ebay post today, but this listing stood out as being uniquely suitable for Saskia:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224821679803

[Specmaster]

Here's another thing that I have never quite been able to grasp either, if I'm driving somewhere, let's say I'm driving from Chelmsford (home), to Lakenheath, something that I've done many times, why does it always without fail seem to be far quicker driving back home again afterwards 

Your horse smelling the stable?

[Saskia]

icba to do a full ebay post today, but this listing stood out as being uniquely suitable for Saskia:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224821679803

[Saskia]

sumtin TEA.

Only checked CV. Seems that I do get some voltage drop - 5V selected, 4.974 V at the output terminal.

Also checked with about 66 V, same result. Should be sufficient for checking pinball coils.
Maybe a bit overkill.

Boss told me that he did want to see some FPGA related results today. Need to get my FPGA test workstation up and running and install a &%$%&$ Linux.

*sigh*
What does Vitis AI run on again ? ...

[AVGresponding]

The saga of the ADF4531 return continues. Latest messages from me to the seller and their reply (which only happened after I got ebay cs involved again).

Sent by me, 31st January:

Hi,
You should have received this returned item by now, but I have not received a refund. Please update the status of this return.

thanks,

Chatted with cs on 1st February as I'd not had a reply and my patience was wearing thin (I'd mailed the thing back on the 21st). Got a reply from the seller yesterday:

New message from: ***** Top Rated Seller(101,878RedShooting Star)
Hi ***** ,

You must first close case, the system will give you a refund.

Please contact me after close case.

Look to your early reply.

Best regards.

Looks to me like they are trying to get me to throw myself under the bus. I think not.