Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Robert763]

Glad I was unconscious or out during the EV debate 

Got day off today so my task is filling up Farnell and CPC baskets with more test cables and parts  . Need to do an AC cal on the 3465A as well but I don’t have the cables required at the moment 

There’s another 34401A appeared, this time a 2009 Agilent one, so I will attempt to obtain that, get it calibrated, check the HP 34401A against it and then lose that one. So keep your hands off with the competition 

They have failed to honour a sale on a 34401A in the last 12 months so don't count any chickens

[mrjoda]

I brought home some crazy shit Kepco BOP 50-8M.  An four quadrant 50V 8A (bipolar power amplifier) PSU from old times. Such a simple device with a such of variability. Unfortunetaly, programming edge connectors are missing so I have to find a adequate replacement and wire it according to manual.

Sorry but as always here, unless we can see it, it simply does not exist ! 

I was unable to upload photos from some reason. I mean in previous post. Here you go

Love the warning on the side of those big assed Mallory caps "MISAPPLICATION HAZARDOUS".

I wonder why the socket for IC24 is unpopulated? I'm assuming it works as it should?

I checked the board and the device. I have no idea why IC24 is missing. The socket looks unused but every other socket is populated. Service manual costs 200$ and I am not sure if I want to pay that much for this old device.

I will start with finding a appropriate edge connector and wire it according to operation manual (attachment, left side). If its not gonna work then I will focus on missing IC I would expect to be some single or dual opamp.

[bd139]

Glad I was unconscious or out during the EV debate 

Got day off today so my task is filling up Farnell and CPC baskets with more test cables and parts  . Need to do an AC cal on the 3465A as well but I don’t have the cables required at the moment 

There’s another 34401A appeared, this time a 2009 Agilent one, so I will attempt to obtain that, get it calibrated, check the HP 34401A against it and then lose that one. So keep your hands off with the competition 

They have failed to honour a sale on a 34401A in the last 12 months so don't count any chickens

Yea aware of that. Not bothered. It’ll be backed up by eBay’s guarantee and my credit card guarantee. If I’m not happy it’ll be returned. CC is 0% interest so I’m not risking any capital on it.

[McBryce]

Please take the EV shite to the correct part of the forum. 

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/renewable-energy/

David

I know it doesn't fit here, but it has nothing to do with renewable energy either. No one was actually discussing where the energy came from. It could have come from a coal fired powerstation.

McBryce.

[syau]

I think it is a "C" connector---very much like an "N", but a "bayonet" type.
They used to be relatively common, not so much, anymore.

I concur. C. Used on some milspec radios; there's a dipole centre in the Clansman family using it, and there was widespread use in the civil defence radio nets in Sweden from 1970 and on.

Still used on civil aircraft L-band.

Date sheet extract from Sensor System.

[tggzzz]

Oooh someone listed a 3458A for £2k auction or £3k buy it now here.

And no I'm not buying it 

It is 15 miles from me. It is tempting to go and get my voltage source calibrated again Given the last calibration was with the German PTB's 3458 at Hannover MakerFaire, I'm not sure what I'd think if the readings were radically different.

[bd139]

Oooh someone listed a 3458A for £2k auction or £3k buy it now here.

And no I'm not buying it 

It is 15 miles from me. It is tempting to go and get my voltage source calibrated again Given the last calibration was with the German PTB's 3458 at Hannover MakerFaire, I'm not sure what I'd think if the readings were radically different.

Sometimes it's best not to know 

On that does anyone know a respectable UK cal shop? My local one, Calmet, got bought out recently and now don't want to know me . I might try again as I'm not sure I got through to someone who cared enough.

[Specmaster]

Oh, come the fuck on. This isn't politics, it isn't religion. It's actual tech, and it is at least tangentially related to the core topic, in that EVs are a place we use some of the TE we like to play with. And a place where we sometimes play with our TE.

This is what I was talking about with the stupidity of "zero tolerance". You start that shit, then everybody's pet peeve becomes a 3rd rail, and before you know it this thread is gonna about as interesting as listening to fucking 11m band.

We're still talking, it's not gotten personal, and sooner or later we will self-regulate. Please take the OT-Nazi-ing to another thread.

mnem
 

And yet I give you this, thanked by a few regulars here:

Please take the EV shite to the correct part of the forum. 

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/renewable-energy/

David

Yeah it is OT yet tech too but keeps popping up with regular monotony whereas it should be in it's proper place.
Any new EV technologies might be of passing interest to us all then should also get a redirect to the proper place.

The way I look at this topic is that it is as much related to TE as are all of these what seems to be endless discussions about data centres, programming, guns, explosives, chemistry, farming, food, drinks, fishing, politics and social comment etc. Those discussions are often to be found on here, but I pull on my big boy pants and either read them in case I could actually learn something from them, or I just skip past those particular posts because I appreciate that the authors of said posts  feel that someone on this thread will find what they are saying is of interest. What I don't do is to start complaining about the posts and the posters unless they are spamming, or it starts to turn ugly and personal, but if it remains respectful of each other than no harm has been done. When I pick up a magazine or a newspaper, I don't read every item in it, instead I decide what I do wish to read, based on what catches my eye and piques my interest

I have said it before, and I'll repeat it here again now, if we adopt a zero tolerance of deviation away from all topics other than Test Equipment, that will be the day that this thread begins to wither away and slowly die as other groups have experienced.

How many of the members here who go to work, when you get there, and you see fellow workers do you all seriously expect the rest of us to believe that you never ever talk about other subjects, so let's start being a little more lenient to each other 

[AVGresponding]

I brought home some crazy shit Kepco BOP 50-8M.  An four quadrant 50V 8A (bipolar power amplifier) PSU from old times. Such a simple device with a such of variability. Unfortunetaly, programming edge connectors are missing so I have to find a adequate replacement and wire it according to manual.

Sorry but as always here, unless we can see it, it simply does not exist ! 

I was unable to upload photos from some reason. I mean in previous post. Here you go

Love the warning on the side of those big assed Mallory caps "MISAPPLICATION HAZARDOUS".

I wonder why the socket for IC24 is unpopulated? I'm assuming it works as it should?

I checked the board and the device. I have no idea why IC24 is missing. The socket looks unused but every other socket is populated. Service manual costs 200$ and I am not sure if I want to pay that much for this old device.

I will start with finding a appropriate edge connector and wire it according to operation manual (attachment, left side). If its not gonna work then I will focus on missing IC I would expect to be some single or dual opamp.

If you trace out the support circuitry it should be possible to work out what it is meant to be. Of course, it could be unpopulated due to version or development changes.

[Specmaster]

Glad I was unconscious or out during the EV debate 

Got day off today so my task is filling up Farnell and CPC baskets with more test cables and parts  . Need to do an AC cal on the 3465A as well but I don’t have the cables required at the moment 

There’s another 34401A appeared, this time a 2009 Agilent one, so I will attempt to obtain that, get it calibrated, check the HP 34401A against it and then lose that one. So keep your hands off with the competition 

They have failed to honour a sale on a 34401A in the last 12 months so don't count any chickens

Why did they do that, did it not fetch what they were hoping for, or do you think there were other reasons?

[bd139]

Glad I was unconscious or out during the EV debate 

Got day off today so my task is filling up Farnell and CPC baskets with more test cables and parts  . Need to do an AC cal on the 3465A as well but I don’t have the cables required at the moment 

There’s another 34401A appeared, this time a 2009 Agilent one, so I will attempt to obtain that, get it calibrated, check the HP 34401A against it and then lose that one. So keep your hands off with the competition 

They have failed to honour a sale on a 34401A in the last 12 months so don't count any chickens

Why did they do that, did it not fetch what they were hoping for, or do you think there were other reasons?

Probably morons. That's the default fall through answer these days.

Ok Farnell ordered. £65 on more test leads  . At least they are new shiny Pomona ones.

Edit: Oh and of course the toilet decided to crap out (pun intended) this morning so Mr Plumber is knee deep in the cistern now and I'm busting for a shit 

[AVGresponding]

The technology has existed for half a century; we could've gotten there with lead-acid tech if we actually fucking wanted to.

You serious? With lead acid? Range: 50 miles under ideal conditions. Battery weight: 2 tons.

I don't think so. 

  Most people don't need the range or power of a ICE vehicle most of the time. Even THAT 50 mile range is more than enough for a huge portion of the miles driven in the US every day; I'd bet more than half.

You're thinking of home-made golf-cart battery and forklift motor conversions from the 70s. The EV1 first-gen had lead-acid batteries and advertised 80 mile range; it was known to do much better according to users. It was literally loved by its users. Later versions used a NiMH pack which doubled that range. This technology is nearly 30 years old.

While no EV will replace all ICE vehicles, we certainly could've been MOSTLY EV long before I graduated high-school.  If we really wanted to be EV, we'd long ago have figured out a business model that makes EV the first choice for daily driving and commuting, then ICE vehicles convenient and cost-effective to "borrow" or "rent" when you really need it.

mnem
We are fucking doomed.

On the FLAT. We have a van in our fleet that has a nominal 70 mile range. In effect it is more like 20-30 miles, and there are hills it will NOT GO UP. Very fucking practical. It's a modern Nissan, so it has a Li-ion battery.

I do 35-40 miles a day to and from work, and it's ALL HILLS. My Insignia diesel can do something like 70 mpg average ON THE FLAT. In my daily use it's between 35-40 mpg depending on which hills I have to negotiate. Add to that is the purchase cost: £1250. Now, find me an equivalent electric vehicle for that price. NOT FUCKING POSSIBLE.

NB: I'm not pissed at you Mnem (for once!), I'm pissed at the stupidly polarised arguments that miss ALL OF THE MIDDLE GROUND when it comes to EVs.

His price comparison vs a petrol car based on the most expensive electricity tariff he can find is highly misleading. Most people would be able to find a cheaper tariff. For comparison against his quoted figure  of 38p/kWh I charge my car at the equivalent of 4.9p/kWh during the night or only 16p/kWh even if I charge it during the day.

And he points out that if you work from home that your electricity bills will rise. Somehow this also becomes a failing of the electric car

Maybe you can get electricity that cheap in upside-down land, but here I have to pay over 27p/kWh. Also I have nowhere to charge an electric car; I can't park outside my flat. I can't put solar panels on my roof because I don't have one.

[tggzzz]

There’s another 34401A appeared, this time a 2009 Agilent one, so I will attempt to obtain that, get it calibrated, check the HP 34401A against it and then lose that one. So keep your hands off with the competition 

Keep an eye out for  an Agilent 34410A? They are essentially the same, except the VFD has a second line with mean/min/max/stddev/count statistics. I find those stats to be a killer advantage, and wouldn't want a 34401.

[bd139]

There’s another 34401A appeared, this time a 2009 Agilent one, so I will attempt to obtain that, get it calibrated, check the HP 34401A against it and then lose that one. So keep your hands off with the competition 

Keep an eye out for  an Agilent 34410A? They are essentially the same, except the VFD has a second line with mean/min/max/stddev/count statistics. I find those stats to be a killer advantage, and wouldn't want a 34401.

Unfortunately not suitable for my requirements otherwise I would. No serial port and has a fan. The place I’m moving to I don’t want to run Ethernet around or futz with cabling so I am using a USB-serial bridge.

The USB bridge in the 34410A is unfortunately a complete unknown when it comes to Macs.

[Specmaster]

On the FLAT. We have a van in our fleet that has a nominal 70 mile range. In effect it is more like 20-30 miles, and there are hills it will NOT GO UP. Very fucking practical. It's a modern Nissan, so it has a Li-ion battery.

I do 35-40 miles a day to and from work, and it's ALL HILLS. My Insignia diesel can do something like 70 mpg average ON THE FLAT. In my daily use it's between 35-40 mpg depending on which hills I have to negotiate. Add to that is the purchase cost: £1250. Now, find me an equivalent electric vehicle for that price. NOT FUCKING POSSIBLE.

NB: I'm not pissed at you Mnem (for once!), I'm pissed at the stupidly polarised arguments that miss ALL OF THE MIDDLE GROUND when it comes to EVs.

His price comparison vs a petrol car based on the most expensive electricity tariff he can find is highly misleading. Most people would be able to find a cheaper tariff. For comparison against his quoted figure  of 38p/kWh I charge my car at the equivalent of 4.9p/kWh during the night or only 16p/kWh even if I charge it during the day.

And he points out that if you work from home that your electricity bills will rise. Somehow this also becomes a failing of the electric car

Maybe you can get electricity that cheap in upside-down land, but here I have to pay over 27p/kWh. Also I have nowhere to charge an electric car; I can't park outside my flat. I can't put solar panels on my roof because I don't have one.

Precisely, it is the middle ground that Rory Reid pointed out as being a main disadvantage of EV, such as motorway driving, little chance of getting any free energy from regenerative braking etc there as you approach bends, corners etc and also the higher average speed will also drain the battery quicker. At least it is refreshing to hear a presenter talking about real world figures and advantages / disadvantages and also taking into account the ambient temperature and whether lights and heating would be used, as these will also drain power quicker. These are not a real factor in ICE cars. Folk are so ready to quote you the headline figures without stepping back a bit and thinking it through. I still have doubts that the Governments planned date of 2030 is going to be met, but like so many Government schemes, they have grand ambitions, and are often in reality little more than political traps because the likelihood is that by the time the laws become reality, they will the responsibility of a different Government and maybe even a different political party hence where the term Yo Yo politics comes from as often the sitting administration realises the plan cannot proceed.

We will have to wait and see if the 2030 deadline is left in place or not, my money is on it either being scrapped, heavily modified or yet again just kicked further down the road.

[AVGresponding]

There’s another 34401A appeared, this time a 2009 Agilent one, so I will attempt to obtain that, get it calibrated, check the HP 34401A against it and then lose that one. So keep your hands off with the competition 

Keep an eye out for  an Agilent 34410A? They are essentially the same, except the VFD has a second line with mean/min/max/stddev/count statistics. I find those stats to be a killer advantage, and wouldn't want a 34401.

Unfortunately not suitable for my requirements otherwise I would. No serial port and has a fan. The place I’m moving to I don’t want to run Ethernet around or futz with cabling so I am using a USB-serial bridge.

The USB bridge in the 34410A is unfortunately a complete unknown when it comes to Macs.

They also command a serious price premium over a 34401, of the order of 50% or so iirc. Don't see that many of them on the bay of fleas tbh.

[bd139]

Prices are getting terrible these days on US manf stuff here. One off each of these, apart from the T-piece and terminators which are 2 off each...  £68 poof



All branded Amphenol or Pomona. None of that Pro signal crapola with no braid (I sliced a hole in the Amp BNC patches and they have good coverage)

Starting to come to terms with throwing a box of this shit out now. When the new leads turned up last time I realised how knackered the old ones were 

[Vince]

Hmmm.... those short cables with a BNC one one end and grabbers or 4mm bananas at the other, look like they would be quite useful... might get some, thanks for the idea !

[bd139]

Hmmm.... those short cables with a BNC one one end and grabbers or 4mm bananas at the other, look like they would be quite useful... might get some, thanks for the idea, added to my shopping list !

They are super useful.

Pomona 3788 -> BNC to minigrabbers
Pomona 3073 -> BNC to stackable banana plugs

You can buy crap ones for a lot less money but they are top notch quality. The last set I had were used almost daily for several years with no sign of giving up.

The banana to minigrabbers are excellent too:



Disclaimer: Pomona fanboy

[Ice-Tea]

I just dropped a rack on my face.

You should not do that.

End of message.

[AVGresponding]

I just dropped a rack on my face.

You should not do that.

End of message.

Ouch!

[bd139]

Very big ouch  . Hope you are ok!

[mansaxel]

Ok Farnell ordered. £65 on more test leads  . At least they are new shiny Pomona ones.

Good. I need some small clip-on grabbers. Hirschmann Superkleps sometimes are too big, but they're nice to have around higher voltages.

Edit: Oh and of course the toilet decided to crap out (pun intended) this morning so Mr Plumber is knee deep in the cistern now and I'm busting for a shit 

Always keep a spare loo -- we have two in the house. I have actually taken one to bits, twice. Once to find out what's wrong (a cracked valve seat that lead to a steady drizzle of water in down the bowl) and then again as the spares kit had arrived and I had to fit it (of course it was, literally, in the centre of the device, requiring complete disassembly, including removing the tank from the seat). That loo still works exactly as intended.  One of my plumbing jobs that I'm more proud of, actually.

[Brumby]

I just dropped a rack on my face.

You should not do that.

End of message.

Oh .... you didn't mean something like this ... ?

[Ice-Tea]

I just dropped a rack on my face.

You should not do that.

End of message.

Oh .... you didn't mean something like this ... ?

That was yesterday. Missed my eye by a fraction. Like yester...

Never mind.