Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Saskia]

Spaghetti Carbonara a la Skippy or Croc are quite nice.
Tastes like chicken ...

[mansaxel]

I mean, yeah... SMF is a steaming pile of kludge, but this particular issue relates to poor server/propagation management, not that particular bit of steam.

Regardless, it violates the principle of least surprise. And, that it needs to be done (though it does not seem to help 100%) speaks volumes of the underlying code quality.  I think it is safe to assume I come here not for the software quality but for the company.

[Saskia]

uggaaaahhhh

after some hulking I got it inside ...

Have to say I admire your motivation for these things....
People make fun of me collecting these old glowing Tek scopes, 25 of them or so, but that entire collection takes less space than a couple of your arcade or pinball machines...and I can conveniently stack them on (sturdy...) shelves to make the collection compact.

Your toys take so much space and weight/energy that you really must be in deep love with them for sure.... and you keep buying more and more of them as well, it's still growing !!! 

Ever considered moving in the country side to get a hangar/old barn to have lots of cheap space to store all that, and allow for long term expansion of the collection ?! 

There is no cheap space to store them all, real estate went over the top over here.

my old flat is corrently on the market. It took 4 days to find a bidder who offered just about 5% below what I was asking. 2 room (not bedroom, room) appartments go for 150k - 350k in this area.

Completely nuts.


Did some pinball tetris today. The Judge Dredd pb has been set up so far, even tho it is not yet operational. Now the next task is to juggle the arcade machines and the Festool stuff outta da way so that I can get the pins setup and make room for the next 4 coming in 

[Vince]

" Next 4 coming in " ?! 

At this rate of acquisition, how many days or weeks will it take before your new house is already full ?!

Have you measured it ? Once you gret these 4, how many more machines can you still fit in this house ?

At some point you will have no choice but stop buying them... especially since you said real estate is so expensive where you are 

I know that I am now starting to make decisions on collecting old stuff. House is small.
I now become more and more picky about what I buy, and pretty much now am  thinking of getting into the " You are allowed to buy this piece of gear only if you sell/get rid of another one " habit.

[Saskia]

oh, those 4 I already own. They are in storage about 500 km further down south, however the guy who gave them asylum (he's CEO of an industrial plant building company with 500 employees) will retire and I have to clean out the 20 cubic meters of storage space I have at his place.
NO, I am NOT looking forward to this. I will need to sell off some stuff, and I will also *NEED* to make room for a small workshop. Currently I don't have space. As in: really honestly not.

It seems to me that my cocktail tables will need to go. At least some of them. My Arcade1ups are not too heavy, so there is a chance to lug them upstairs and create an Arcade1up /retro computing refugium.

There is absolutely no way we can lug a pinball machine upstairs. Nada, zilch, zero.
Furthermore, our ceiling is wooden so I don't want to put anything that heavy upstairs.

Yes, our house is full. The realtor laughed at us when we said that we will fill it up in the blink of an eye. I would not have thought that we are so out of reserves ... we have 192 square meters at ground level and 80 sumthang upstairs.

Which means that I need to restore and sell off some of those pins.
*sigh*

[med6753]

It seems space is a rare commodity for many of us. I have the same issue....I'm out of it. I honestly don't know where I'm going to put the Type 105 once I complete the restoration. For now it appears it will go on the floor under bench 2 which is less than ideal but have no choice.

Of course I thought about that issue when I saw it on Ebay but went for it anyway. Addictions always rule. 

[Specmaster]

It seems space is a rare commodity for many of us. I have the same issue....I'm out of it. I honestly don't know where I'm going to put the Type 105 once I complete the restoration. For now it appears it will go on the floor under bench 2 which is less than ideal but have no choice.

Of course I thought about that issue when I saw it on Ebay but went for it anyway. Addictions always rule. 

I'm beginning to think that for many of us, the time has come when we really need to think carefully about the way forward and I think we need to play to our strengths.

What we all like doing is restoring things back to being a useable working item once again, so I'm thinking along the lines of buying at the right price point, restoring and then passing on at the right price again to fund the purchase of the next project and cover the costs of the parts fitted etc. We get to perhaps make a small profit if lucky, but more importantly we have the satisfaction of knowing that we saved something from becoming landfill, and the pleasure of the repair process itself. And maybe along the way we get the chance to exchange the gear that we use for the diagnosing and repair of said items for the items that we have just repaired / restored?

Seems to me a logical step when space prevents any further acquisitions, we will be improving our skills even more and keeping our favourite hobby alive and our brains active, particulary when having retired so no full time job to keep minds alert? 

[mansaxel]

Space, the final frontier.

I'm currently considering a major shop reorganisation. I've bought some 19" rails to start the process. (Actually, a big cleanup is in store first, but I need a goal..) I'm going to aim for a special mains supply in the form of isolation transformer and variac, all built into a 19" 6HE Baugruppenträger (DIN Eurocard frame). In addition, in anticipation of more 19" boat anchors, I'm going to reform the shelving to take all 19" slots; since I've got two [hp] 6200 series supplies, they're going in 2HE together, as soon as I have bought the rack mount kit (there is NOS available). Likewise, I've got some slightly newer half-width [hp] TE, and they'll live on shelves or rack mounted if I can find the kits. Long-term, I'd like to get a 19" frame for my 500 Series modules too.

This will not help much with shop place for storing less prioritised instruments, but it's a step in organisation direction. I'll try to get rid of the stack of storage bins on the floor in the workshop, and once that's done I can better use the secondary bench I've installed. 

Then comes the rest of the garage...

[Saskia]

If space was the final frontier it would be possible to beam stuff I cannot store myself into the expanse and pull it back out the moment I need it 

Will set up some Ikea IVAR and Billy today to continue organizing my stuff.
Got a Festool Sortainer incl. Inserts to organize my pinball spares.

Need to also reorganize my reloading bench due to current world events. Better have and not need than the other way around.

[med6753]

It seems space is a rare commodity for many of us. I have the same issue....I'm out of it. I honestly don't know where I'm going to put the Type 105 once I complete the restoration. For now it appears it will go on the floor under bench 2 which is less than ideal but have no choice.

Of course I thought about that issue when I saw it on Ebay but went for it anyway. Addictions always rule. 

I'm beginning to think that for many of us, the time has come when we really need to think carefully about the way forward and I think we need to play to our strengths.

What we all like doing is restoring things back to being a useable working item once again, so I'm thinking along the lines of buying at the right price point, restoring and then passing on at the right price again to fund the purchase of the next project and cover the costs of the parts fitted etc. We get to perhaps make a small profit if lucky, but more importantly we have the satisfaction of knowing that we saved something from becoming landfill, and the pleasure of the repair process itself. And maybe along the way we get the chance to exchange the gear that we use for the diagnosing and repair of said items for the items that we have just repaired / restored?

Seems to me a logical step when space prevents any further acquisitions, we will be improving our skills even more and keeping our favourite hobby alive and our brains active, particulary when having retired so no full time job to keep minds alert?

Stop using that dirty word.......sell. 

[Saskia]

oh, I will sell some stuff. Most definitely.

After restauration. Doing the restore bit will improve my wood working, mechanical, electronics skills. It will justify my workshop. And will help pay for it.

I will sell my Grand Lizard and the Jokerz!
That much is certain. I may sell the Bram Stokers Dracula and the flintstones if someone offers me > 4k. Twilight Zone, Roadshow, Fish Tales, Earth Shaker are keepers.
Price for the Judge Dredd: 4k.

I may even sell some of my TE.
Such as the GW Instek AFG 2225, some sowdering stuff, maybe even a (Odin beware !) Oscilloscope or DMM.
Why ?
Cuz I got more than I can reasonably use.

And I got a Keithley restauration project which will show up at my doorstep sooner or later after a fellow member entertained silly offers.

[mnementh]

And I shall eat my steak tartare...

Real Men eat shark tartare. 

Dragons don't eat shark; professional courtesy. 

mnem

Would you fancy a "Crocodile burger"?

I have had gator... greasy, rubbery and taste halfway between catfish and a really tough overcooked turkey leg; you know, when the muscle is almost turned to wood...? That. No interest in repeating the experience. I imagine that's what a dragon steak would taste like... 

mnem

[m k]

Space, the final frontier.

I'm currently considering a major shop reorganisation. I've bought some 19" rails to start the process. (Actually, a big cleanup is in store first, but I need a goal..) I'm going to aim for a special mains supply in the form of isolation transformer and variac, all built into a 19" 6HE Baugruppenträger (DIN Eurocard frame). In addition, in anticipation of more 19" boat anchors, I'm going to reform the shelving to take all 19" slots; since I've got two [hp] 6200 series supplies, they're going in 2HE together, as soon as I have bought the rack mount kit (there is NOS available). Likewise, I've got some slightly newer half-width [hp] TE, and they'll live on shelves or rack mounted if I can find the kits. Long-term, I'd like to get a 19" frame for my 500 Series modules too.

This will not help much with shop place for storing less prioritised instruments, but it's a step in organisation direction. I'll try to get rid of the stack of storage bins on the floor in the workshop, and once that's done I can better use the secondary bench I've installed. 

Then comes the rest of the garage...

Are you generally satisfied with the electricity you are receiving?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/144358449038

[capt bullshot]

Space, the final frontier.

I'm currently considering a major shop reorganisation. I've bought some 19" rails to start the process. (Actually, a big cleanup is in store first, but I need a goal..) I'm going to aim for a special mains supply in the form of isolation transformer and variac, all built into a 19" 6HE Baugruppenträger (DIN Eurocard frame). In addition, in anticipation of more 19" boat anchors, I'm going to reform the shelving to take all 19" slots; since I've got two [hp] 6200 series supplies, they're going in 2HE together, as soon as I have bought the rack mount kit (there is NOS available). Likewise, I've got some slightly newer half-width [hp] TE, and they'll live on shelves or rack mounted if I can find the kits. Long-term, I'd like to get a 19" frame for my 500 Series modules too.

This will not help much with shop place for storing less prioritised instruments, but it's a step in organisation direction. I'll try to get rid of the stack of storage bins on the floor in the workshop, and once that's done I can better use the secondary bench I've installed. 

Then comes the rest of the garage...

Are you generally satisfied with the electricity you are receiving?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/144358449038

It says "Linienschreiber" that was translated to "line recorder". Basically meaning it records data by drawing lines onto an endless paper strip. It doesn't have necessarily a relation with line power.
Leo translates it to "continuous line recorder". I might call it a paper strip chart recorder.

[m k]

I also had some doubts, it has mV under kW and 1000 under 150.

Edit,
it's adjustable and much smaller than I thought, almost like a pocket size.
(joke dried)

[mnementh]

...Yes, our house is full. The realtor laughed at us when we said that we will fill it up in the blink of an eye. I would not have thought that we are so out of reserves ... we have 192 square meters at ground level and 80 sumthang upstairs.

Which means that I need to restore and sell off some of those pins.   *sigh*

Same here. While old and a bit run-down, this place is effing huge. 4 1/2 bedrooms, formal living room off the kitchen, 2 full baths & 4 floors, counting basement and huge attic.

But... we had pared 3 households (mine, hers, ours and my mom's)  down to 1½ when we left Tejas; then just a couple weeks ago added another ½ a household from the GWN adventure.  Of course, when you're emptying a trailer you do not make best use of the space; you drop a stack with the handtruck and get the next so you can return the trailer on time, and now we have the 2 main floors full of stacked bins with barely walking space from the front of the house to the back.

Due to my limited ability to remain vertical and the boi having hardcore homework load trying to catch up, just a little nibbling at the edges so far as I'm able while the kids are at school; now that the must do now stuff has been completed, maybe we'll get some progress in the next few weeks.



Right now, all the food-service shelving units that should be in the garage full of my welding/auto mechanicking crap are stacked up outside the garage; I need to empty all the furniture out of there and treat the mold so it can be redeployed and we have our normal furniture again and  ...

mnem
I fucking hate moving.   

[Saskia]

...Yes, our house is full. The realtor laughed at us when we said that we will fill it up in the blink of an eye. I would not have thought that we are so out of reserves ... we have 192 square meters at ground level and 80 sumthang upstairs.

Which means that I need to restore and sell off some of those pins.   *sigh*

Same here. While old and a bit run-down, this place is effing huge. 4 1/2 bedrooms, formal living room off the kitchen, 2 full baths & 4 floors, counting basement and huge attic.

But... we had pared 3 households (mine, hers, ours and my mom's)  down to 1½ when we left Tejas; then just a couple weeks ago added another ½ a household from the GWN adventure.  Of course, when you're emptying a trailer you do not make best use of the space; you drop a stack with the handtruck and get the next so you can return the trailer on time, and now we have the 2 main floors full of stacked bins with barely walking space from the front of the house to the back.

Due to my limited ability to remain vertical and the boi having hardcore homework load trying to catch up, just a little nibbling at the edges so far as I'm able while the kids are at school; now that the must do now stuff has been completed, maybe we'll get some progress in the next few weeks.

Right now, all the food-service shelving units that should be in the garage full of my welding/auto mechanicking crap are stacked up outside the garage; I need to empty all the furniture out of there and treat the mold so it can be redeployed and we have our normal furniture again and   ...

mnem
I fucking hate moving.   

This sounds sooooooo familiar.

had a look at our garden shack yesterday (another 16 sqm) where I had temporarily stored some of my stuff.
The rain during most of Feb plus the sun shining on the bloody door plus the fact that we could not keep it sealed when moving stuff in and out resulted in the door warping.
Eff.
I either need a new door or take this apart, replace the warped pieces, and put it back together.
I also need to do my VAT (GST) declaration and my income tax for 2020 and 2021. Plus do all the paperwork to get my stuff back on track.

Found a solution for Hubby's Viking war axe display problem. He will inherit my old Marantz shop display rack (~  200 lbs) which has a decent base and is sturdy enough to display his 40+ kgs of collected iron war-ware.

Will set up a book shelf later today and lug the Ivar upstairs.

Still need to tend to paperwork later today, but would very much like to play a game of Trog! in between. Let's hope that the board survived the move.

[mnementh]

Its Saturday which means discord tonight, I shall try to be there this time 

Despite stated best intentions someone should give you a reminder poke ! 

bd139 indicated he'd be participating again.

Discord HOOOOooOOO!   

Discord was... interesting. I popped in and out as able while shifting some stuff around the house; and a wild Specmaster appeared!!! 

mnem
shoulda gone right out and bought a lottery ticket...   

[mnementh]

I mean, yeah... SMF is a steaming pile of kludge, but this particular issue relates to poor server/propagation management, not that particular bit of steam.

Regardless, it violates the principle of least surprise. And, that it needs to be done (though it does not seem to help 100%) speaks volumes of the underlying code quality.  I think it is safe to assume I come here not for the software quality but for the company.

Yebbutt... for someone who appreciates the virtues of FOSS, seems to me you'd be more than willing to deal with occasionally having to do the work by hand. I mean, [inline imaging] is just a convenience added to SMF for (l)users who can't be arsed to think and learn a few simple keystrokes... 

mnem
 

[BU508A]

Discord was... interesting. I popped in and out as able while shifting some stuff around the house; and a wild Specmaster appeared!!! 

bitseeker showed up as well. Lots of Great Old Ones were around. :-)

[Saskia]

ok, the ZD-987 that I got Friday has already been sold ...

even tho it is chinesium ...
incroyable ...

[Saskia]

Trog!

One of my alltime favorites. Fortunately the PCB survived, even tho it had a few startup issues. Like completely garbled graphics.

[mansaxel]

Then comes the rest of the garage...

Are you generally satisfied with the electricity you are receiving?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/144358449038

It says "Linienschreiber" that was translated to "line recorder".

If I want, I can pick those values off my smart meter using RS232. I have a project to do that, actually.

If that's not enough, I'll buy an used Janitza power monitor and poll it frequently.

[Ice-Tea]

I just realized I have no idea how to use a VNA.

Unrelated: anyone have good source on Instapak or equivalent packaging material?

[mansaxel]

Yebbutt... for someone who appreciates the virtues of FOSS, seems to me you'd be more than willing to deal with occasionally having to do the work by hand. I mean, [inline imaging] is just a convenience added to SMF for (l)users who can't be arsed to think and learn a few simple keystrokes... 

If I have to fuss that much to include a fucking image, I actually CBA. What I should do, is to fix TLS (because HTTP img tags in TLS served HTML is not kosher.) on my web server, because as things stand today, copying the image into the AFS volume that the web server can read from, and then IMG-tag that link is orders of magnitude better. Also, I can make images as large and plentiful as I want. (Poor Vince!)

Now, there's a Sunday project.

*goes away to mess with an apache config*