Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

What good cop would NOT have their handcuffs at the ready? 

Inactive approach: Knowing she has them, and hoping she'll use them.

Proactive approach: Putting them in service yourself, and inviting her to come get them.   

Cooperative approach: Use your own on one wrist, and invite her to make a matching set.

mnem
Better to beg forgiveness than permission. More fun too. 

[Specmaster]

There will be no TEA for me starting tomorrow and for a few days. The lady cop is coming up for a few days. She's finally feeling better after her on the job injury in the beginning of February. And she's scheduled to go back to work on March 26th pending approval from command.

It will be good to see her. Go to dinner, have some laughs and enjoy her company. Maybe she'll handcuff me to the bed. One can only hope. 

This demands a proactive approach: bring your own handcuffs. 

mnem
Of course I have my own... who doesn't? 

I found that showing up with them suggestively dangling off one wrist works fairly well.

But that could also carry a risk of being handcuffed to ones bed while the lady watches her favorite soaps in peace downstairs 

[mnementh]

"Fortune favors the bold."

mnem
"I do my best work in the dark."

[Specmaster]

They ain’t paid because they’re good at the job. They’re paid because they’re cheap.

I was in a meeting once with an HR team about recruitment and it drifted off to more operational things which I find it hard to give a crap about. The question was posed “how do we stop people masturbating in the toilets?” (no joke and they left a mess on numerous occasions). The reply of “stop hiring wankers because they’re cheap” was not appreciated. Alas I learned a lot about HR and how incompetent muppets ended up with a job then. And it was HR that were first in the door.

Cheap is a relative term. Typical pay for that gig is still 32-38K + full Medical around here, or approx $15/hr.

Having spent over a year just recently working my tail-scales off as a truly skilled IT Repair Tech for ~$17/hr, knowing that these useless holes in the air can keep their job kindof gives me a massive case of "Why the fuck bother?" 

mnem
Knowing stuff: The surest way to be underpaid & overworked.

I hear yeh bro, problem is that is how the world works. If you are good with figures, then it seems becoming a banker or a trader is where you'll end up, being paid a fffing fortune while bringing the world into a global slump and still keeping your job and benefits. Being an engineer, keeping the world going by designing, fixing the worlds systems to keep life as we know it going, gets you held down and overworked and overstressed, and our only perk if you call it a perk, being able to sign another's passport application as an upright and much respected citizen in the same vein as a Doctor, Teacher, Bank Manager or Policeman, ya right 

[bd139]

There's a graphic which describes my particular profession perfectly:



Anyway, TEA related again, I bought yet another scope .... 2225 with wonky focus. Looks like the pot works after interrogating the seller so this will be the very common problem of naff HV divider resistors. And yes it's a keeper. I want a working, reliable, analogue scope for some projects as the X-Y mode on them is so much better than the digital scopes. X-Y required for scope bouncy ball, the half built spectrum analyser (well collection of parts) and derivates of those.

So that's: working TDS210, working DS1054Z, duff 475A, duff 465, duff 2235, duff 2225. 6 scopes it is 

Edit: I'm also working on a project plan to fix all of them properly and bring them up to top form.

[med6753]

So that's: working TDS210, working DS1054Z, duff 475A, duff 465, duff 2235, duff 2225. 6 scopes it is 

Edit: I'm also working on a project plan to fix all of them properly and bring them up to top form.

Yea, right.  We've heard that before. 

[Specmaster]

Yes we have but you forget SWMBO is no longer a factor so he can and is enjoying his new found freedom, for a while at least 

[Neomys Sapiens]

It’s the floor I worry about when collecting equipment. I was sitting round a friend’s maisonette years ago and the TV disappeared through the floor 

Where I currently live, the downstairs floor is solid concrete. Joy to 1950’s ex local authority housing. Nuclear bomb and scope proof.

Hmm perhaps I should get a 7704 and matching trolley 

Nooo. 7104 and matching 7834 (with the carts, of course)!

[Neomys Sapiens]

And as a byproduct, your life would gain a totally new meaning. Just think of the great days of plugin-hunting which you'll have! Oh, don't forget a new shelf for the manuals.

[bd139]

Don’t get me started on the manuals. My watch list is full of them 

Got to play with the DS1054Z for a bit. All good and working. First project is 475A timebase refurb!

[0culus]

And as a byproduct, your life would gain a totally new meaning. Just think of the great days of plugin-hunting which you'll have! Oh, don't forget a new shelf for the manuals.

One day, I want one of the old beast Tek scopes. I keep my hopes up that I'll be able to find a triple nickel. Will double as a nice lab heater too. 

[mnementh]

There's a graphic which describes my particular profession perfectly:   

welll... since my wife's "spirit animal" is the unicorn, I'm not going there. Besides, it fer sherr isn't mythical beast poop I shovel... just plain old garden variety dumbass bullshit, and usually a whole fucking herd's worth. 

mnem
When the HALO drop is the "quiet" part of your job, you need a new profession.

[Neomys Sapiens]

There's a graphic which describes my particular profession perfectly:

No matter how pointy the horse,
amount and consistence of the manure will be the same.

[Inverted18650]

What up T.E.A.! I shoot 30 mins of footage for the new channel and will be able to finish the filming, edit, and upload it to the new YT channel. Pretty stoked to see how warmly/ coldly its received. The 1st video will cover a bit of kit nowhere else has featured yet so at least I'll have that going for me.

I have still been reading and trying to like as a guest (lol) and following everyone else's projects. Im being careful not to spend too much time here and draw any more bad vibes. I have enough of my own and only want happy thoughts sent my way from now on...lol.

I see some other users do the multi quote reply threads and I will try that out to continue and show my support for everyone here because you all are like family for me, great minds as they, cut their ears off   

Much Love

[0culus]

Looking forward to seeing it! I always enjoy seeing your posts here.

[mnementh]

Much as I love Van Gogh in all his aspects, I don't know that I believe his was the greatest example to set forth to others; while to feel so powerfully about anything and to live as he did was surely a wondrous thing, we mere mortal humans were never meant to live long burning so bright or so dark as he.

mnem
"For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." ~ Vincent Van Gogh

[mnementh]

Made the mistake of following somebody's link to The Daily WTF?! on my way to bed... next thing I know, it's pushing midnight and my cynicism is at 110% overcharge. 

Think I'm gonna go lie down bedfore I fall down...

mnem
 

   

Harrow (unregistered) 2019-03-11
    Reply

    I only saw God once, He was waiting in line to use the keypunch.

    Thought he was a Programmer I guess.    (SNIP)

 ooOOooGa (unregistered) in reply to thegoryone 2019-03-12
Reply

"Come on Mike, just read any line with SQL."

They are hard to see through all the tears. The mind-numbing headaches that it causes don't help either.

  thegoryone (nodebb)
  i'll concede that point without argument

    Rich (unregistered) 2019-03-12
    Reply

    Makes me wonder, could God write a program even HE couldn't debug?

Pages: 1

[beanflying]

So Unicorn Poo a little Bondage for the day eclectic and just a little disturbing

Time to join @Inverted in getting back to TEA or more correctly TEA Support. Found the few minutes today to finish a little BNC-Scope probe adapter I started weeks ago. Suits  4.8-5mm barrel Probes so Hantek/Clones, Migsig and a bunch of others. I will most likely get around to a 'nice' version with a 3D printed sleeve to extend the probe support a bit more again.

BNC-SMA with the sma threads removed back to brass. 6mm Knurl Nut. A few inches of Nichrome (not worried about the tiny resistance in the scheme of things). Wind the spring to 4.5mm and solder one side. Unwind a few spots on the Knurl Nut so the probe takes a bit of a wiggle to insert and solder wire number 2 in that spot. Sweat the Knurl Nut onto the modded SMA section and use.

EDIT Rough as guts 3D printed cover for the prototype works a treat the bulges are caused by the dodgy lumps of solder

Quick test to 40 MHz looks good and even when bumped or wiggled still makes good contact. Waveform is full bandwidth no averaging so nice and noise free.

[Brumby]

Please excuse this rant - but I'm really pissed off at the moment....

About 6 months ago, I lent some computer gear to a charity on an indefinite loan.  They never used it.  They also stopped being a charity.

About 3 weeks ago, I had a need that this equipment could fill, so I politely asked for it back.  It took a couple of trips to get all the pieces, but just today I was in the process of putting this gear together and found the graphics card had been removed! 


Never lending shit again.

[0culus]

Never lend people tools. It just doesn't end well.

[PrecisionAnalytic]

Hi, I'm a TEA.

I just received the Fluke 8840A after some SAD.  Paid ~$50 total US.  I'm struggling not to buy more and already have items I need to pay for though almost DBA is helping to ease the struggle in purchasing more.  Going through the logical mind RRT is helping with the wise mind and emotional magnification as well.  Keeping the MIPS at bay... though I am craving bad.  I exported the list to an xls just to be safe as always.

I actually paid for manuals too for some other equipment that I am wanting bad and not sharing since I don't own yet so suffering from SECRET.  This is getting serious.

OK... deep breath... situational awareness... alternate thought...

The Fluke 8840A looked beat up like I'm not sure who didn't know how to use a philips head screwdriver and isn't a member of PETTE. 

I powered this puppy (or older dog that is still a puppy to me) On after opening up to find the Front Rear Inputs button floating around inside along with a foot from the rear bottom right side.  PETTE TEST moment.

Otherwise, everything looked right on the inside.  Feels good... especially after some photos... even bad ones to zoom in and see if I spot any corrosion.

Then I panic'ed.  I think I am inpatient... then not sure if patient enough... then forgot to read the manual to see if there is an auto self test calibration or something.  Then found I just need to hold the SRQ button down for 3 seconds.  Whew... no errors or is there some bs going on because the 200mV and 2V readings are not stable at all and keep going negative.  Just continually drifting negative.  Why negative?  What in the environment, boundary or internal system is causing negative!  Why negative?   

20V does similar slower if I go in this order.  If I go to 200V then down to 20V... no issues... spot on 0. 

So, why is the 2V and 200mV reading going negative and all the self calibration tests pass or looks like passes (can error reporting be hidden?)?

I don't have a tolerance like some of the real hard core.  I'm like off the wagon and back on thanks to a conservative administration that got lewd.  Smiley kiss but nice wasn't helping and was like the BUSTED image with most the females in my life... though more aggressive with tranquilizers and I can't remember.  One... it was really bad.

I'm back in a safer place with no support at least other than support that is considerably minding not my business as much.  So I can play again like I'm an adult and somewhat serious... at least technically... indoors.

Any ideas?  Am I premature expectationitis and need to slow down and wait for the test equipment to equillibriate or is my feeling that anxiety high is correct?

I need more practice... so I figured this is a safe environment even though public to ask.

[PrecisionAnalytic]

Leakage? Cap charging? Relays? Contacts? Switches? Temperature... I don't believe temp... maybe.  I need to read into more.  I'm going to lube up the easy stuff first... smooth the ruffles down.  Brush off some flakiness first.

[bd139]

Never lend people tools. It just doesn't end well.

Yes. I only lend people I hate the tools I’ve ruined 

[tggzzz]

Made the mistake of following somebody's link to The Daily WTF?! on my way to bed... next thing I know, it's pushing midnight and my cynicism is at 110% overcharge. 

They have an RSS feed, thus making it easier to feel superior or "there but the grade of god go I", depending on your temperament.

For more serious and important points, there's nothing to beat comp.risks. It has been going since 1985, is well moderated, low volume, and the SNR is impressively high. Often the posts end with "What could possibly go wrong?".

[VK5RC]

I must admit to being pretty tight arsed when it comes to tools, my best mate is a real shocker when it comes to tools - his shed is just one big draw of semi-rusty stuff. No order, he never cleans a tool, everything is covered in paint splatters or grease. I remember driving into his farm property and finding several tools along the in road - he had left them on the back of the trailer - with the tail gate down, he has even left a chainsaw out overnight in rain!
But he would do anything to help you.