Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

That’s a lot of MHz there! 

I fear I have started turning into that guy but with 465/475s. If I see one on Sunday I’ll prnbably nab it.

[bitseeker]

Ok so 33120A arrived. Works perfectly - display bright and working fine.

Really dirty, covered in stickers and the fan is knackered though so I will strip it down, clean it and replace that. Fan is a standard Delta one which is typically obsolete but Sunon do one with same dimensions and airflow which is only 12dB (bugger all) so I will install one of them: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/axial-fans/8114144/



Me happy 

Very good. Thanks for the fan info. Mine's getting noisy.

Ok have stripped it down (don't turn it on, take it apart!) and found no major crimes other than the encoder knob being bodged pretty badly and the fan being duff. No sign of any repairs on the output side of things which is a common failure. Keysight still stock the knobs so I will buy a couple of them I think for stock.

It has the panel cutouts for the TCXO option and the board connector (SMB by the looks).

Yep, those are the requisite cutouts for the Option 001 board's BNCs. You did good, bd.

Edit: damn I love HP / Agilent / Keysight. Phoned them up, answered by human straight away, took order for parts over phone.

+1: I've also had good experiences with Keysight, except for the time I asked for something for which they didn't yet have a process to fulfill. That was a bit of an ordeal, but it was sorted eventually.

I bought two knobs (incase I munt the replacement in the future) and they were £2.28 each 

Yeah, knobs are one of the few spare parts that for some reason don't carry the usual hefty "spare-parts tax."

[tggzzz]

That’s a lot of MHz there! 

I fear I have started turning into that guy but with 465/475s. If I see one on Sunday I’ll prnbably nab it.

Or 2445/2465s with one 475 in my case. (Oh bugger, I've remembered a 465B in the queue).

Sunday at Coulsdon, I presume?

[bitseeker]

Someone is selling original sealed manuals on ebay so I might grab that as well. I'm sure there's a TEA term for obsessive completeness.

My offering:

OCR - Obsessive Completeness Response.  This insidious affliction starts out with an acquisition of test gear that is often found to be in excellent condition - even if beneath stickers, dirt and dust.  The trigger is usually the desire to add a missing component, such as a lead, manual or carry case that would have been included in the original equipment purchase or from an optional accessory.  Once this trigger has been initiated, sufferers continue with an unsuppressible drive until there is nothing missing.  Extreme cases have been known to not rest until original twist-ties, cable ties and mains plug protectors have been obtained.

Added. Thanks for reminding me that I hadn't yet added NUTS. That's now in as well, using Mr. Scram's expansion of the acronym and Carl Smith's definition.

[xrunner]

Anyone ever used an hp 8904A Multifunction Synthesizer? I've recently seen a bunch of 'em on Ebay and got me a service manual to read up on it. They seem to be going for ~ $250 - $299 and most look to be in really good shape. Only thing is the battery like some other hp units of that vintage needs to be checked and probably replaced, but I've been there done that on other models.

[0culus]

That’s a lot of MHz there! 

I fear I have started turning into that guy but with 465/475s. If I see one on Sunday I’ll prnbably nab it.

Or 2445/2465s with one 475 in my case. (Oh bugger, I've remembered a 465B in the queue).

Sunday at Coulsdon, I presume?

I want to get a 2467 to go with my 2465. 

[tautech]

Anyone ever used an hp 8904A Multifunction Synthesizer?

Isn't that what we now just call an AWG ?

[bitseeker]

Well cleaned the 33120A (only the front at the moment). Isopropyl and kitchen towel did the trick. Thanks mnementh. No terry available here. Tried old t-shirt but that was too linty.

Looks like new! For stubborn stains on those bumpers (and the similar large ones on E3631A, E364xA), I use a degreaser and/or melamine sponge. The texture rapidly wears down the melamine, but that's better than the inverse.

Still will keep the replacement ones as Keysight only had 27 in stock and they are probably the last ones on the planet other than ebay bastards selling them for $50 or something stupid.

Good idea. Also, the parts prices at Keysight go up over time, so it doesn't hurt to have some stashed for your own gear.

[xrunner]

Anyone ever used an hp 8904A Multifunction Synthesizer?

Isn't that what we now just call an AWG ?

Well in effect it seems so. It looks like it has the ability to make some very complex modulations by summing together several internal waveforms, which in effect could be designed as an arbitrary waveform on a computer.

But ...    I don't have one so why not? 

Looks like new! For stubborn stains on those bumpers (and the similar large ones on E3631A, E364xA), I use a degreaser and/or melamine sponge. The texture rapidly wears down the melamine, but that's better than the inverse.

Yes very good job!

[bitseeker]

One of my fixes for knobs with cracked hubs like you're describing is to glue as you've done, then 2-4 lines of CA on the outside along the long axis of the hub, then slip a length of heat-shrink over it all and hit it with the heat gun. The CA on the outside dries almost instantly, but watch out for CA creeping inside the hub. When it's all dry ( you can test with a Q-Tip swab to be sure ), trim the excess HS tubing off the end and good for another couple decades unless some college kid gets a-hold of it. 

I was thinking heat shrink tubing, too. Good idea, the CA reinforcement. I shall keep that in mind.

[bitseeker]

Happiness is:



Straight eights! 

Woohoo! Looking good.

I'm hoping to dig into the dead Nixie digit on my 5321A this weekend. So much to do...

[Neomys Sapiens]

Anyone ever used an hp 8904A Multifunction Synthesizer?

A very handy instrument. And it has some interesting options. They are not even totally exclusive, like the 'Universal Signal Source' wonderkludge. The is a brochure brochure that explains them nicely. (tried to enclose in split .rar, was denied - send PM, I could mail it)

[Mr. Scram]

I hadn't realized the 33120A comes with a fan. That's a bit of a drawback, as I enjoy my fanless equipment. On the other hand, there's a fair chance something else is already making a racket. Both an oscilloscope or power supply are likely to be in operation.

[mnementh]

No Pornoma though 

I am starting to sound like a fanboy.

   These are amazing quality for the price. 8 meters of 13ga silicone wire has some gravitas.    322g or so of it.    And oh so slinky...

I have no problem with Pomona... I have a few Pomona leads. I just need more than I can afford from them. So, I bought parts to make what I need instead.

Part of me is cringing at the idea of cutting them into thirds as was/is my plan...    Not sure I can go through with it... at least until I have some project where I NEED 6 or 8 of these heavy-ass patch cords. 

mnem
*Wired*

[xrunner]

A very handy instrument. And it has some interesting options. They are not even totally exclusive, like the 'Universal Signal Source' wonderkludge. The is a brochure brochure that explains them nicely. (tried to enclose in split .rar, was denied - send PM, I could mail it)

OK I got the brochure from the Keysight page for it. I am going to review it as I watch Monday Night football. 

[Neomys Sapiens]

A very handy instrument. And it has some interesting options. They are not even totally exclusive, like the 'Universal Signal Source' wonderkludge. The is a brochure brochure that explains them nicely. (tried to enclose in split .rar, was denied - send PM, I could mail it)

OK I got the brochure from the Keysight page for it. I am going to review it as I watch Monday Night football. 

'Monday Night Football' is some silly or filthy euphemism, isn't it?

[xrunner]

'Monday Night Football' is some silly or filthy euphemism, isn't it?

Oh no it's a real thing over here a weekly football game played every Monday night with a true football (oval-shaped). 

[GregDunn]

At the Iowa fest someone had a Tek 7000 series scope with a box of spare plugins for $200.  I stared at it for a long time but ultimately I just don't have any space to set one of them up - let alone store the plugins.  No idea if it was even working, but I know there are several people on here who would have tripped all over themselves to grab it anyway.   

[GregDunn]

'Monday Night Football' is some silly or filthy euphemism, isn't it?

Oh no it's a real thing over here a weekly football game played every Monday night with a true football (oval-shaped). 

I think that's called a "throwball".   

[tautech]

Anyone ever used an hp 8904A Multifunction Synthesizer?

A very handy instrument. And it has some interesting options. They are not even totally exclusive, like the 'Universal Signal Source' wonderkludge. The is a brochure brochure that explains them nicely. (tried to enclose in split .rar, was denied - send PM, I could mail it)

You can but you need use tricks to bluff SMF that it's a permitted file type.
So just use <filename>.rar.txt or similar.
Best to add a note in the post to remove the last file extension used. 

[Neomys Sapiens]

You can but you need use tricks to bluff SMF that it's a permitted file type.
So just use <filename>.rar.txt or similar.
Best to add a note in the post to remove the last file extension used. 

That idea occured to me after I posted, but I wasn't sure if I would not draw fire about it.

[tautech]

You can but you need use tricks to bluff SMF that it's a permitted file type.
So just use <filename>.rar.txt or similar.
Best to add a note in the post to remove the last file extension used. 

That idea occured to me after I posted, but I wasn't sure if I would not draw fire about it.

It's frequently done but then again we need consider how we are using Daves server....for big files sometimes there's a better way.

[Mr. Scram]

It's frequently done but then again we need consider how we are using Daves server....for big files sometimes there's a better way.

External links almost always break sooner or later. Having a file available in the future can be a very good thing.

[mnementh]

   These are amazing quality for the price.(SNIP) Part of me is cringing at the idea of cutting them into thirds as was/is my plan...    Not sure I can go through with it... at least until I have some project where I NEED 6 or 8 of these heavy-ass patch cords. 

mnem
*Wired*

Okay... I managed to make the first cut. I was wibbling just like this guy... 

mnem
*Crawling off to meet my doom*

[bitseeker]

Anyone ever used an hp 8904A Multifunction Synthesizer? I've recently seen a bunch of 'em on Ebay and got me a service manual to read up on it. They seem to be going for ~ $250 - $299 and most look to be in really good shape. Only thing is the battery like some other hp units of that vintage needs to be checked and probably replaced, but I've been there done that on other models.

I've seen them, but haven't used one. I wasn't sure what I'd use it for. I have a 15 MHz single-channel AWG, a 16 MHz dual-channel AWG, a 25 MHz dual-channel AWG, and a 50 MHz single-channel analog function and pulse gen.

What are your plans for it? (Look for ones with the optional second channel.)