Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[McBryce]

Details of? The Filament: PLA, 1.75mm 1kg Colour: RAL5018. First project: Print a miniature TEK 2465

McBryce.

[mansaxel]

anybody got some Solaris/Sparc media for an old Sun Ultra 10 ?

I might have something. Not that it is a sensible thing to put such old SunOS releases near a well-connected network.

goes rummaging after an ISO

[m k]

Was somebody without a power source.
AllSurplus has some in Arizona.

https://www.allsurplus.com/asset/239/21865
https://www.allsurplus.com/asset/324/21865
https://www.allsurplus.com/asset/328/21865
https://www.allsurplus.com/asset/332/21865

I have 2 or three pallets of gear inbound.  Maybe I should sit this one out...

I didn't like the situation at all when I found out how smoothly trafficers collected their nickels and dimes.
And the taxman followed.

[m k]

Just got a message from our electricity supplier: price going up from 90 to 160 euros per month. 

Our monthly fee has still been under 400€.
That's (energy + electricity tax) + (transfer + electricity tax) + sales tax.
It's also all energy of the place.

Gas is around 2€ per litre and mostly tax.

And if you didn't know, around here income tax is also + sales tax.

Be bop ba and so on.

[mansaxel]

anybody got some Solaris/Sparc media for an old Sun Ultra 10 ?

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSolaris

Very spotty UltraSparc support there, I am afraid. The only ISO Sparc dist I could find came from a German individual who is blogging quite Ostalgisch in the worst sense of the term. (for those not versed in German, people who think DDR was better, and this Putin guy seems like a nice dude..)

[wolfy007]

My latest acquisitions, saw them on gumtree, never seen the Iwatsu and so little information on the net, so obviously I had to grab it.

PS: Thankfully xdevs had a manual for the Leader.

[m k]

Whatcha been up to Vince ?
Still sorting parts, getting the garage up or fiddling with instruments ?

Been missing your updates.

Vince is lurking.

Hi, Vince.

[mnementh]

Yesterday I spot-weldet a banana contact tab of my differential probe against a grounded PSU casing with 230V AC. 



The welding is excellent. 

This little bit of accidental dissimilar metal welding got me thinking.

In electronics equipment construction I occasionally come across things that could be best done with a little bit of resistance welding of dissimilar metals. Things that come to mind include:

• Welding a grounding strap (tinned copper type) to the inside of the lid of an aluminium case.
• (Extreme case) Welding the bottom of a stud/bit of all-thread to the inside of a case for a fixing/grounding point.
• Welding a spade lug to a case for a ground bonding point.
• Tacking metal mesh (SS?) to the inside of a cooling grille (Al, Fe?) - both for ground continuity and even possibly all the mechanical support required.

That covers a range of oomph from "Probably needs some real welly and a proper discharge welder" for a stud you actually needed to have some mechanical strength to jobs you might even consider doing with a 'toy' like the capacitor discharge welders used to stick nickel strips on batteries (tacking mesh around a grille opening).

Obviously using fully fledged professional pulse resistance welders designed for the job is cheating (and expensive) but improvising with cheap automotive spot welders and battery tab welders might be an interesting area to explore.

Has anybody done any improvisations in this area? Any battle stories, bodges that turned out actually good,  experiments that failed disastrously?

[Cue stories from SeanB of exploits,  in typical South Eifrican style, with an infeasibly large stick welding supply and some innocent victim piece of equipment. ]

https://www.harborfreight.com/welding/welders/stud-spot-welders/240v-spot-welder-61206.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/welding/welders/stud-spot-welders/stud-welder-dent-repair-kit-61433.html
In terms of dollar-per-assache-saved, you probably can't beat the Horror Fraught portable Spot Welder and Body-Shop Stud welders. I've used them both; the 240V spot welder has enough oomph to burn a hole through 12-14ga sheet if you hold the trigger long enough. The stud welder will weld the studs tight enough that you can pull a hole in the sheetmetal or break the shank off the head. No reason in the world it wouldn't do the same with a m3-m5 screw. 



I've also used this with a 1F car stereo stiffening cap across the output to weld 14 or 16ga tinned copper wires (the silicone fine-strand wire I use for LiPo battery leads) to a pair of stainless steel battery clamps. It ran a bit too hot (24V/70A-ish) and I had to try several times before I got a bond without completely burning through the wire. I ran the output through two paralleled 40A foglight relays, and they held up a good 20-30 cycles before one of them zorched completely shut, by which time I'd exhausted my interest in the toy.



mnem

[Specmaster]

Anyway, couldn't resist. Tear down photos.

It's all there. The fan is all gummed up and will need cleaning/lube. Not unexpected.




Component side. A thing of beauty and easy access. Good thing because it is full of electrolytics.




This multi-multi range switch deck is jammed tight. Tried with a pair of vise grips and no good expect buggering up the shaft. Will apply lube and let it sit for a day or two.

Love those domino caps, so cool looking 

[Specmaster]

Unlike this guy, who was not properly dressed  :
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/20/finland-remi-lindholm-frozen-penis-cross-country-50km-skiing-winter-olympics

The surprising part is that it is not even the first time ... 

you think a heat pack might have sped him up ?
[/quote]
Hmm, that might have been a desirable thing under the right circumstances 

[mnementh]

Was somebody without a power source.
AllSurplus has some in Arizona.

https://www.allsurplus.com/asset/239/21865
https://www.allsurplus.com/asset/324/21865
https://www.allsurplus.com/asset/328/21865
https://www.allsurplus.com/asset/332/21865

nooooooooooo

*in stereo*

   nooooooooooo

mnem
How can I lust after those, when I already have the wall of Lambda & Tripplite...?

[Zucca]

How can I lust after those, when I already have the wall of Lambda & Tripplite...?

the PD2005 is analog porno.

[Cerebus]

anybody got some Solaris/Sparc media for an old Sun Ultra 10 ?

I might have. I certainly used to have, but they may have gone in the last purge. It'll take a few days to check - I know roughly where they are and there are another two rows of storage crates in front of the crate that will contain them if I do have them. I'm going to have to be in the mood to fight with that lot, it involves moving crates one by one out of a narrow room and then back again afterward, so logistics and mood dictate waiting for an opportunity.

[mnementh]

How can I lust after those, when I already have the wall of Lambda & Tripplite...?

the PD2005 is analog porno.

*sigh*

That it is... that is is.   

mnem
Here, have a little Miss February...

[Vince]

Whatcha been up to Vince ?
Still sorting parts, getting the garage up or fiddling with instruments ?

Been missing your updates.

I am still out there lurking.

Still unboxing/sorting/organizing the lab stuff. Getting there...
In // I am working on the bedroom. Just finished fitting the parquet, glued. Now need to oil it. Waiting for the oil to com in, then need to find a company that can rent me the machine to apply it properly.
Then find some website that can do custom plinths so I can chose the looks, thickness and height, then wait for that to be delivered, then install that. Then I can move the bed stuff from the living room into the bedroom, and the lab can reclaim that space in the living room and I can at last have space to fit all my drawer units full of stuff. Old man will be visiting in a few days and will be bring me a bunch of 45mm deep Euro size plastic bins, they fit perfectly in my shallow drawers (which he hand built for me 20 years ago...). this way I can put stuff in these drawers in a nice tidy clean looking fashion.

So the bedroom/lab are coming together at last, in the coming weeks.

Might have something to post about later today, I just received a packet...need to go pick it up at the store that received it...

[mansaxel]

anybody got some Solaris/Sparc media for an old Sun Ultra 10 ?

I might have something. Not that it is a sensible thing to put such old SunOS releases near a well-connected network.

goes rummaging after an ISO

Yes, I've got Solaris 10 Update 8. Needless to say it is quite large (just under 3GiB) and there are several known holes in that now pretty old release. PM me if you want a download link.

I stopped running Solaris when Larry wanted a new boat and blocked access to patches unless you were a paying customer.

I'd look into OpenBSD which has a current Sparc64 release and has declared support of both the Ultra 5 / 10 machine and the accelerated framebuffers one is likely to encounter on that platform; seeing as you've --IIRC -- got a 10, there should be a Creator3D card in the machine. The 13W3 connector, if present, signals this.

[mnementh]

Whatcha been up to Vince ?
Still sorting parts, getting the garage up or fiddling with instruments ?

Been missing your updates.

I am still out there lurking.   Still unboxing/sorting/organizing the lab stuff. Getting there...



In // I am working on the bedroom. Just finished fitting the parquet, glued. Now need to oil it. Waiting for the oil to com in, then need to find a company that can rent me the machine to apply it properly....

Mmmmmm... natural cork underlayment, not stoopit high-density foam and crap like they try and make you use over here. You know teh drill...

"Yeah, we can get that for ya; but it'll take 3 weeks and cost 3 times as much..." )   
"Yeah, if I wanted it made with crap, I'd hire one of your affiliate contractors to do the job."   



mnem
Carpenter-Dwagon approved.

[BU508A]

Got today an order from China of some LiPo battery packs.
The packaging was creative and did come with an explanation.

No warning signs or stickers on the outside of the air cushion envelope.



I am not sure what to make of it.

[Vince]

Whatcha been up to Vince ?
Still sorting parts, getting the garage up or fiddling with instruments ?

Been missing your updates.

I am still out there lurking.   Still unboxing/sorting/organizing the lab stuff. Getting there...



In // I am working on the bedroom. Just finished fitting the parquet, glued. Now need to oil it. Waiting for the oil to com in, then need to find a company that can rent me the machine to apply it properly....

Mmmmmm... natural cork underlayment, not stoopit high-density foam and crap like they try and make you use over here. You know teh drill...

"Yeah, we can get that for ya; but it'll take 3 weeks and cost 3 times as much..." )   
"Yeah, if I wanted it made with crap, I'd hire one of your affiliate contractors to do the job."   


mnem
Carpenter-Dwagon approved.

It's first time in my life that I install a parquet... so I learn as I go. I prefer natural materials where I can, quality factor, don't find any charm or sensuality to synthetic materials.
Cork indeed very expensive compared to synthetic stuff. 90 Euros for 10.6m2.  special glue to go with it, 90 Euros too... almost 200 Euros just for the underlayment, arf.
Then the parquet cost a little fortune too... you can stuff for 5 Euros / m2, I coughed 80 Euros / m2 for that one (some cost even more, 120, 150.... for exotic woods).
French Oak, made in France, and the top layer / wood part of it, is almost 4mm thick (14mm total thickness, some are only 12), when all the others are 2.5mm usually. So lots of "meat" to sand it if I need to get rid of an "accident", to sand it down completely to rejuvenate it in 20 years...

Total cost about 1500 Euros, so about a month worth of salary. Will take 20 years to pay for it, but at least while reimbursing it, I will be enjoying it...

[david77]

That's novel...and maybe just a bit dangerous? I don't think a few small LiPo's pose that much risk but what do they package the bigger stuff/larger shipments in? An empty PC case full of LiPo's maybe another matter.

[ch_scr]

Got today an order from China of some LiPo battery packs.
The packaging was creative and did come with an explanation.

No warning signs or stickers on the outside of the air cushion envelope.



I am not sure what to make of it.

I can see the line of thinking / discussion with the post official:
"You can't ship those lipo cells!"
"But why not, we can ship a smartphone with same battery just fine?"
"Of course, as part of a phone it is totally safe allowed!"
"What about inside a case that looks 5% like a phone?"
"Let me check my regulation... Seems fine to me..."

[BU508A]

Found a Keithley 5808 for 130 Euro. It is on the way to me. 

Farnell is asking 180 Euro for it:


Attached the data sheet

[mansaxel]

Received the 8022A and 8060A manuals. Both are in excellent condition. and are Proper Manuals, i.e there is a complete wiring diagram, a component list, and (at least for 8060A) PCB layouts in them. For the 8060A, the quick-reference leaflet also was included, in Swedish! Feeling a sudden desire to eat cookies.

[Robert763]

Got today an order from China of some LiPo battery packs.
The packaging was creative and did come with an explanation.

No warning signs or stickers on the outside of the air cushion envelope.



I am not sure what to make of it.

They are subverting the regulations. The reason you can ship equipment with cells installed is because it is assumed that the equipment is approved and meets the relevant requrements. Even then the packaging still has to be marked for lithium batteries.

[Cerebus]

n // I am working on the bedroom. Just finished fitting the parquet, glued. Now need to oil it. Waiting for the oil to com in, then need to find a company that can rent me the machine to apply it properly.

I've never even heard of someone using a machine to oil a wood floor. Perhaps they do for massive areas, but at domestic scale? For an area that small surely it's quicker and easier to just get out a rag and get onto your hands and knees?

Cerebus' standard warning about drying oils

This is folk knowledge that tends to get passed from hand to hand but for some reason is never printed as a warning on cans of drying oils used for oiling wood.

(If you already know this please ignore, but I always post this in any discussion of drying oils becuase some people don't know this, and knowing it may save a life.)

Drying oils such as Danish Oil, Tung Oil, Linseed Oil and the like can spontaneously catch fire. Rags that have been used to apply drying oils, and that still have drying oils left on them can catch fire just from being left in the open air.

The mechanism is that the increased surface area of the oil exposed to air by being soaked into a rag causes a lot of the oil to 'dry' at once. This generates heat. The heat causes the oil to 'dry' (oxidise) faster. This makes more heat, which makes the oil dry faster - you know how this one goes, it's the classic chain reaction. The heat, combined with the insulating effect of the rag's cloth can be enough to cause the rag to catch fire.

The same applies to any material such as newspaper or paper towels used to mop up spills of drying oils or used to remove excess oil from workpieces.

When using drying oils on rags and cloths always handle the rags/cloths appropriately when you have finished with them. Either thoroughly wash out rags before disposal or storage, or soak them in water and place them inside an airtight bag or container. Do not leave rags and cloths unattended for long periods (e.g. over lunch) without taking appropriate precautions to prevent them possibly catching fire, or putting them somewhere that a possible fire will not present a hazard and will be contained.