Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tautech]

I think that should be the official TEA anthem, might it get added to the POI etc?

I had a 'you can never leave' moment in this thread when I moved it into the Supporter Lounge while I was shifting 'What's this Move Topic icon all about ?' around the forum to get some exposure for that new forum feature:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/what_s-this-move-topic-icon-all-about/msg1449924/#msg1449924

Thankfully Simon came to my rescue and moved it to where it was accessible again. 

So I've beat ya's all to it but by all means it's appropriate for the TEA thread too. 

[Brumby]

I think that should be the official TEA anthem, might it get added to the POI etc?

While watching that, I had a hankering ....

If I had an appropriate set of clips, I would put together a video to match the music and lyric.

Maybe a TEA project....? 

[URI]

I bought a Seaward RCD tester RC750 with case on *bay yesterday (£20).   
Was sitting there -no one wanted it and the seller had re-listed it several times over the last months.
Yesterday I bid the minimum price, was the only bidder and won (~£32 including shipping). Paid instantly.

This very morning I find the transaction cancelled by the seller saying it's no longer available because it was water damaged in the meantime.      

I can't really believe that this is actually true because the seller didn't proof this e.g. with photos nor give me a chance to react to this information -perhaps (he couldn't know) I would be still interested in the device? -In fact I am -because there's not much to get damaged -no ferreous parts in it that could rust away. I would try to repair it.   

I'll try to get an answer from him before I try to give him negative feedback. 

That's a bummer. I experienced that only twice. Where is the seller from?

Thank you for your support. 
The seller is from Great Britain. Doesn't help actually since...

If he is from continental europe, tell him right away that you'll initiate a criminal procedure, as you suspect fraud. The worst thing that could happen is that the case will be closed. The advantage is that it doesn't cost you anything. Except maybe a personal trip to the next Kripo office specializing on business and E-crime. Precinct cops might try to weasel out of it.

..I got my money back and the "only" thing I'm pissed off is the fact he cancelled the action. So police won't do anything about it since I can't proof that he's a liar.
Secondly *bay has a link to the cancelled auction that reads as one could veto the cancellation but in fact following it there's nothing you can veto anything.   

So I don't do anything about it cause the hassle isn't worth it. Sad but true.

As I already wrote: Money saved for the next RCD Tester to come.

Always look on the bright side of life..!   

[tggzzz]

@tggzzz, here is a screen print of my shipment, this the one I received after my item arrived in the uk and the 13ten is shown in a different colour and clicking that opened a further page and from that another page which had the infor I was after.

Thanks.  I don't see anything like that. It that in an email message or order history?

All I can see is (latest email (dated 12th) plus two order history screenshots):

Have you tried clicking on the "See full tracking history"?

Yes, and the result is in t2.jpg => no joy.

I think it is significant that the ebay chat CSR couldn't find the info, and has hopefully punted it to the GSP team.

Well if it's any consolation, everytime my imports end up with 13ten, they do seem to sit there for about 3 to 4 days with no updates and then you will get an update informing you that its with the destination courier and when you check with the appointed courier, they've only been advised that its there to collect. After a couple more days you should get another update saying that has been sorted at the national hub, when you get that update, its then normally the following day its delivered to you. To avoid confusion, you have to keep checking the tracking info for updates and follow the chain as I did, otherwise the next thing you know is a knock on the door with your parcel. It's after that do you get an email about it and that justs states good news etc, your parcel has been delivered 

Fleabay customer help have replied with a magic number for the 13ten website. The number is nothing like any of the other magic numbers supplied by fleabay.

The current status is "12/09/2018 10:50:57    Awaiting parcel (DATA received) 13ten", which doesn't match fleabay's email (5 days ago) stating
"We are writing to inform you that your recent purchase through the Global Shipping Programme has cleared customs and is now out for delivery with the courier."

Sigh. Victor Meldrew is becoming my hero, or at least I'm beginning to emulate him.

[Mr. Scram]

That's a bummer. I experienced that only twice. Where is the seller from?
If he is from continental europe, tell him right away that you'll initiate a criminal procedure, as you suspect fraud. The worst thing that could happen is that the case will be closed. The advantage is that it doesn't cost you anything. Except maybe a personal trip to the next Kripo office specializing on business and E-crime. Precinct cops might try to weasel out of it.

I'm not even sure there is a crime. I suspect that the police won't be very interested.

[bd139]

TEA anthem candidate based on the amount of broken stuff we all seem to buy 

That's a bummer. I experienced that only twice. Where is the seller from?
If he is from continental europe, tell him right away that you'll initiate a criminal procedure, as you suspect fraud. The worst thing that could happen is that the case will be closed. The advantage is that it doesn't cost you anything. Except maybe a personal trip to the next Kripo office specializing on business and E-crime. Precinct cops might try to weasel out of it.

I'm not even sure there is a crime. I suspect that the police won't be very interested.

It's not a crime. A seller can withdraw from a sale contract without notice any time before the goods are actually handed over.

[Specmaster]

Fleabay customer help have replied with a magic number for the 13ten website. The number is nothing like any of the other magic numbers supplied by fleabay.

The current status is "12/09/2018 10:50:57    Awaiting parcel (DATA received) 13ten", which doesn't match fleabay's email (5 days ago) stating
"We are writing to inform you that your recent purchase through the Global Shipping Programme has cleared customs and is now out for delivery with the courier."

Sigh. Victor Meldrew is becoming my hero, or at least I'm beginning to emulate him.

Arh yes, I understand, that means that as far as Ebay are concerned, it has landed here on UK soil and been processed through customs and that it now technically with the courier for delivery. What that actually means is that it has cleared customs and the paperwork work has been electronically sent to the courier (13ten) but is physically waiting to be collected from the airport and transported to their depot in South Normanton. From their it will be allocated to another courier like DPD, Hermes or Yodel, who will then again receive notification electronically, and then they will have to collect it, take to their national sorting hub, who will then send it your local depot and then it will be sent to you.

The good news is that once it reaches the final couriers national hub, its usually 24 hours or less before you receive it. 

[Mr. Scram]

It's not a crime. A seller can withdraw from a sale contract without notice any time before the goods are actually handed over.

Under eBay rules, you mean? Things prohibited by eBay rules would be a civil case at worst. Police won't touch those.

[bd139]

It's not a crime. A seller can withdraw from a sale contract without notice any time before the goods are actually handed over.

Under eBay rules, you mean? Things prohibited by eBay rules would be a civil case at worst. Police won't touch those.

Both under ebay rules and from a civil case. You can actually terminate the contract with the buyer on ebay. That is allowed. In fact I've done it before when the buyer turned out to be an asshat (no I won't find some random planks and work out how to get a two ton Fiat into the back of a 7.5 ton luton van so your hooky friend can drive it back to the Ukraine).

[Mr. Scram]

Both under ebay rules and from a civil case. You can actually terminate the contract with the buyer on ebay. That is allowed. In fact I've done it before when the buyer turned out to be an asshat (no I won't find some random planks and work out how to get a two ton Fiat into the back of a 7.5 ton luton van so your hooky friend can drive it back to the Ukraine).

The potential for a civil case depends on the country you're in. Laws can be identical or wildly different in different places. Even eBay rules about where legal cases are to be fought out can be nullified by local law prohibiting such stipulations.

[Specmaster]

no I won't find some random planks and work out how to get a two ton Fiat into the back of a 7.5 ton luton van so your hooky friend can drive it back to the Ukraine.

I never knew that they made armour plated Fiats I must have been asleep when that happened, always though they made like the first Kia's out of metal as thin as that on a coke can (friend had a Kia Sportage and you could push on a wing and it would give like a coke can, fortunately it always popped out again) 

[bd139]

Both under ebay rules and from a civil case. You can actually terminate the contract with the buyer on ebay. That is allowed. In fact I've done it before when the buyer turned out to be an asshat (no I won't find some random planks and work out how to get a two ton Fiat into the back of a 7.5 ton luton van so your hooky friend can drive it back to the Ukraine).

The potential for a civil case depends on the country you're in. Laws can be identical or wildly different in different places. Even eBay rules about where legal cases are to be fought out can be nullified by local law prohibiting such stipulations.

Not really. eBay / paypal acts as an escrow agency to normalise the transactions between different legal systems. This is one reason GSP exists.

no I won't find some random planks and work out how to get a two ton Fiat into the back of a 7.5 ton luton van so your hooky friend can drive it back to the Ukraine.

I never knew that they made armour plated Fiats I must have been asleep when that happened, always though they made like the first Kia's out of metal as thin as that on a coke can (friend had a Kia Sportage and you could push on a wing and it would give like a coke can, fortunately it always popped out again) 

TBH it was made of pretty hefty steel. A friend has a Kia 7 seat people carrier and it weighs less than my C3 does so that I can believe

[Mr. Scram]

Not really. eBay / paypal acts as an escrow agency to normalise the transactions between different legal systems. This is one reason GSP exists.

TBH it was made of pretty hefty steel. A friend has a Kia 7 seat people carrier and it weighs less than my C3 does so that I can believe

Local law trumps eBay regulations. They undoubtedly spend eye-watering amounts of money on smart people that know to find the loopholes, but they also seem to occasionally overstep their legal boundaries or are at least well into the grey areas. They probably bank on people not wanting to go up against a legal behemoth like eBay and drop kicking anyone who's stupid enough to try.

[bd139]

Quick but lame find and fix...

When I was packing something to send earlier using a reused box, I found nested in the packaging a Tenma 72-10390A DMM I didn't even notice. These are shitty little DT830 variants selling for £15 a go inc VAT. This one was marked up as "RMA" on the side of it and I think it had just been wedged in the box as packaging or cheaper than disposal. As expected it didn't work but it was boxed with all accessories including a thermocouple and slightly better than average for the class probes. This had never even been used. Figured it was worth a shot fixing it as it wsa probably a trivial manufacturing error.

I cracked it open and took a look just to see what the failure mode was. I found HRC fuses and MOVs in it though which was a surprise. Didn't take any photos. Sorry. But it was dead as a dodo. Poked the LCD screen and half the screen sprung into action. Interesting. Took the display module off and found the culprit. The mounting pin hole for the LCD module and one of the pads had solder on them. This resulted in the display backplane not being connected. Doh! Cleaned these out with some braid quick and threw it back together and it works perfectly!



Lame as I said but another DMM for ancillary work that cost £0.

[Specmaster]

Quick but lame find and fix...

When I was packing something to send earlier using a reused box, I found nested in the packaging a Tenma 72-10390A DMM I didn't even notice. These are shitty little DT830 variants selling for £15 a go inc VAT. This one was marked up as "RMA" on the side of it and I think it had just been wedged in the box as packaging or cheaper than disposal. As expected it didn't work but it was boxed with all accessories including a thermocouple and slightly better than average for the class probes. This had never even been used. Figured it was worth a shot fixing it as it wsa probably a trivial manufacturing error.

I cracked it open and took a look just to see what the failure mode was. I found HRC fuses and MOVs in it though which was a surprise. Didn't take any photos. Sorry. But it was dead as a dodo. Poked the LCD screen and half the screen sprung into action. Interesting. Took the display module off and found the culprit. The mounting pin hole for the LCD module and one of the pads had solder on them. This resulted in the display backplane not being connected. Doh! Cleaned these out with some braid quick and threw it back together and it works perfectly!



Lame as I said but another DMM for ancillary work that cost £0.

Far cheaper than a visit to Harbour Freight as well.

[mnementh]

"...Mirrors on the ceiling,
& pink champagne on ice.
Then she said,
'We are all just prisoners here; of our own device...' "

https://youtu.be/ahdkigY8h6w

mnem
"....'Relax' said the night man,
'We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave...'

I think that should be the official TEA anthem, might it get added to the POI etc?

I had a 'you can never leave' moment in this thread when I moved it into the Supporter Lounge while I was shifting 'What's this Move Topic icon all about ?' around the forum to get some exposure for that new forum feature:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/what_s-this-move-topic-icon-all-about/msg1449924/#msg1449924

Thankfully Simon came to my rescue and moved it to where it was accessible again. 

So I've beat ya's all to it but by all means it's appropriate for the TEA thread too. 

While watching that, I had a hankering ....

If I had an appropriate set of clips, I would put together a video to match the music and lyric.

Maybe a TEA project....? 

I just posted this 'cuz it fit the moment, and that was a particularly fine performance from when they were still "The Eagles" rather than the Glenn Frey Traveling Spectacle...

I didn't know it was going to turn into a "Thing"....  Carry on!!! 

Quick but lame find and fix...

When I was packing something to send earlier using a reused box, I found nested in the packaging a Tenma 72-10390A DMM I didn't even notice. These are shitty little DT830 variants selling for £15 a go inc VAT. This one was marked up as "RMA" on the side of it and I think it had just been wedged in the box as packaging or cheaper than disposal. As expected it didn't work but it was boxed with all accessories including a thermocouple and slightly better than average for the class probes. This had never even been used. Figured it was worth a shot fixing it as it wsa probably a trivial manufacturing error.

I cracked it open and took a look just to see what the failure mode was. I found HRC fuses and MOVs in it though which was a surprise. Didn't take any photos. Sorry. But it was dead as a dodo. Poked the LCD screen and half the screen sprung into action. Interesting. Took the display module off and found the culprit. The mounting pin hole for the LCD module and one of the pads had solder on them. This resulted in the display backplane not being connected. Doh! Cleaned these out with some braid quick and threw it back together and it works perfectly!

Lame as I said but another DMM for ancillary work that cost £0.

Hey, an "expendable" meter for £0.00 instead of £15.00 is still a win... especially if it saves a £1000.00 meter when you wanna do something stoopid... 

mnem
*Still battling the evil Lord SketchUp and his Idea-Crushing Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy*

[bitseeker]

New York Airshow today at Stewart Airport in Newburgh, NY. A few pictures.

Cool. Added to the PoI index.

[bitseeker]

I think that should be the official TEA anthem, might it get added to the POI etc?

Added. I seem to recall the association being made in passing in the not too distant past. So, unless something better comes along. It's now the anthem.

[bitseeker]

I think that should be the official TEA anthem, might it get added to the POI etc?

While watching that, I had a hankering ....

If I had an appropriate set of clips, I would put together a video to match the music and lyric.

Maybe a TEA project....? 

That could be the first candidate to replace the current video in PoI.

[bitseeker]

Personal Question:

Does somebody that has actually built some circuits and projects can still be a TEA (see my profile) ?

Built circuits and projects? Absolutely! Those are two of many potential triggers.

Need I be concerned ?

Depends.

Is it contageous ? 

Many forms are. By the looks of this thread, probably most are highly contageous. One can catch it from seeing photos and even reading words on a screen.

... I must confess that I did not follow the 12 commandments properly. I did build stuff even with a modest set of T&M equipment. Maybe I'm a lighter case then, or the TEA virus has a variant with a long incubation time. 

Some varieties are slow to exhibit symptoms. By the time they do, they're well ingrained into your psyche.

"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate."

[Cerebus]

... rather than the Glenn Frey Traveling Spectacle...

Sounds like motorized eyeglasses for the ageing dissipated rockstar. Essential accessory, a large bottle of Mick and Ron's Patent Prostate Reviver — "For when the groupies say yes, but your body says no".

[Specmaster]

I think that should be the official TEA anthem, might it get added to the POI etc?

Added. I seem to recall the association being made in passing in the not too distant past. So, unless something better comes along. It's now the anthem.

Great, what a great group party this is, just don't forget to bring your own "wine because they haven't had that spirit since 1969"

[bitseeker]

"...Mirrors on the ceiling,
& pink champagne on ice.
Then she said,
'We are all just prisoners here; of our own device...' "

https://youtu.be/ahdkigY8h6w

mnem
"....'Relax' said the night man,
'We are programmed to receive.
You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave...'

I added your excerpts, too, just in case someone hasn't heard the song before (is that even possible ) or doesn't catch onto the connection.

[Specmaster]

@mnementh Here is a something that might be good for your 3D printing?

[bitseeker]

Great, what a great group party this is, just don't forget to bring your own "wine because they haven't had that spirit since 1969"

Yep, might as well get comfortable. You'll be here a while.