Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

Maybe mrs mnem did get to him over the monitor! But what a way to go - a TEA-warriors death! Hehe.

I wish! Reality is much worse; it's been stuck in limbo after "Departure" From Lost Angeles for three days. Effed-UPS is still promising delivery tomorrow, even though they have no idea where it's been since Friday. 

I fear it's been partying all weekend in Tijuana and will arrive sometime Wednesday afternoon; hung over, half-dressed, sporting a fresh tattoo of questionable taste, and possibly pregnant. 

mnem
Just like mnem on his 18th birthday. *Bah-dump-bump...Tsssh!* 

[VK5RC]

My TEA can get from the USA to my hometown in 2days then it can take a week or two to get through our 'busy metropolis'.
Glad to see the dragon is still firing!

[mnementh]

IBM 360 Model 20 Rescue and Restoration
Documenting the recovery and restoration of an IBM System 360 Model 20 and potentially an IBM System 370 Model 125

Stumbled across this while looking for Rocket Racoon gifs... thought I'd bring it to the attention of our resident Big Blue escapee. 

mnem
*Time to feed the chilluns*

[med6753]

IBM 360 Model 20 Rescue and Restoration
Documenting the recovery and restoration of an IBM System 360 Model 20 and potentially an IBM System 370 Model 125

Stumbled across this while looking for Rocket Racoon gifs... thought I'd bring it to the attention of our resident Big Blue escapee. 

mnem
*Time to feed the chilluns*

Getting a MOD 20 up and running will be challenging enough. But a 370/125?  Good freaking luck!   

Edit....the 125 had early generation switch mode supplies called "TSR's" which stood for "Transistor Switching Regulators". My first job at Itty Bitty Morons was testing those TSR's. Baptism by fire....literally. Those TSR's used to self implode with loud bangs, smoke, and flames if you looked at them sideways.    Once you get them powered up they are fine but DON'T POWER DOWN. I can just see these guys hitting power on after 30 years sitting around. Ka-boom. 

[med6753]

Progress. The cabinet has been cleaned and scrubbed with Simple Green and dish detergent with a hot water rinse and dry. It is ready for spray paint which will be tomorrow.  I pulled the front face plate and gave it the same treatment, along with the knobs and hardware. The pots and controls got a healthy spray of dexoit. Here it is assembled minus the banana jacks. Need new ones...on order. That jagged hole on the left was someone installed a BNC jack. I will install that too. Also the CRT bezel needs to be polished and painted.   

Compare this pix with the one earlier today. A massive improvement. 

[xrunner]

I've been told I have a perfect deadpan delivery before... but I never imagined it would carry through the computer screen. Pullin' yer leg-ily, dude. 
 
mnem

Dude don't fuck with me yet about 3D printing. 

I'm still on a learning curve. I'm here like thinking you have a great suggestion about the print that I'm too dumb to get. 

[Kosmic]

Compare this pix with the one earlier today. A massive improvement. 

Wooaa good job, look a lot better 

I started to use baby wipes to clean TE. Probably not the cheapest option but already have tons at hand and it's working pretty well.

[bitseeker]

Progress. The cabinet has been cleaned and scrubbed with Simple Green and dish detergent with a hot water rinse and dry. It is ready for spray paint which will be tomorrow.  I pulled the front face plate and gave it the same treatment, along with the knobs and hardware. The pots and controls got a healthy spray of dexoit. Here it is assembled minus the banana jacks. Need new ones...on order. That jagged hole on the left was someone installed a BNC jack. I will install that too. Also the CRT bezel needs to be polished and painted.   

Compare this pix with the one earlier today. A massive improvement. 

Lookin' good, med. Nice and clean!

[bitseeker]

I've been told I have a perfect deadpan delivery before... but I never imagined it would carry through the computer screen. Pullin' yer leg-ily, dude. 
 
mnem

Dude don't fuck with me yet about 3D printing. 

I'm still on a learning curve. I'm here like thinking you have a great suggestion about the print that I'm too dumb to get. 

Was he pullin' yer leg before or is he now?

[xrunner]

Was he pullin' yer leg before or is he now?

I don't knooooooooooooooooooooooow !!!  

[mnementh]

ROFL!!! OhMyGawwd... bitseeker, I don't know whether to thank you or curse you... I laughed so hard my eyes watered, IRL. Jeebus... it hurts.

mnem

[bd139]

Progress. The cabinet has been cleaned and scrubbed with Simple Green and dish detergent with a hot water rinse and dry. It is ready for spray paint which will be tomorrow.  I pulled the front face plate and gave it the same treatment, along with the knobs and hardware. The pots and controls got a healthy spray of dexoit. Here it is assembled minus the banana jacks. Need new ones...on order. That jagged hole on the left was someone installed a BNC jack. I will install that too. Also the CRT bezel needs to be polished and painted.   

Compare this pix with the one earlier today. A massive improvement. 

That's looking absolutely amazing. nice job! Really interested to see the progress on this. There's nothing like playing inside old heathkit stuff.

Against the TEA principles of acquisition here but a number of items have now departed my collection, including Heathkit items and two amateur radio items to pay off a rather healthy chunk of the credit card bill.

Talking of which, the money sink ... progress on K2 tonight. 7 toroids wound and another 100 parts installed. Most of them are on the bottom which is kind of boring. I should have the receiver and synthesizer up and running tomorrow.



I have bought some test gear though albeit boring. I bought two 20dB attenuators and some new Fluke leads from RS. That will give me, with my existing two 20dB attenuators and the DG1022Z signal strength references from S1 (-121dBm) to S9 (-73dBm) to 15m. I'll have to use the TF2015 for 10m as the DG1022Z runs out of steam on 10m. I will buy a synthesized generator with decent attenuator if I see one cheap (HP/Marconi/R&S) to replace both.

[mnementh]

Progress. The cabinet has been cleaned and scrubbed with Simple Green and dish detergent with a hot water rinse and dry. It is ready for spray paint which will be tomorrow.  I pulled the front face plate and gave it the same treatment, along with the knobs and hardware. The pots and controls got a healthy spray of dexoit. Here it is assembled minus the banana jacks. Need new ones...on order. That jagged hole on the left was someone installed a BNC jack. I will install that too. Also the CRT bezel needs to be polished and painted.   

   Compare this pix with the one earlier today. A massive improvement. 

Already an amazing transformation!     

If it were mine... I'd seal the front around that BNC hole with tape, fill in the holes with epoxy, then find/make myself a cal sticker or "interesting" asset tag to cover the ugly.

mnem
Carry on, wayward son! 

[bitseeker]

Was he pullin' yer leg before or is he now?

I don't knooooooooooooooooooooooow !!!  

ROFL!!! OhMyGawwd... bitseeker, I don't know whether to thank you or curse you... I laughed so hard my eyes watered, IRL. Jeebus... it hurts.

mnem

I think these will be my two favorite posts for a while. Every time I read them I start laughing.

[bitseeker]

Progress.
   Compare this pix with the one earlier today. A massive improvement. 

Already an amazing transformation!     

If it were mine... I'd seal the front around that BNC hole with tape, fill in the holes with epoxy, then find/make myself a cal sticker or "interesting" asset tag to cover the ugly.

Yeah, a restoration & calibration sticker with date.

[mnementh]

Was he pullin' yer leg before or is he now?

I don't knooooooooooooooooooooooow !!!  

ROFL!!! OhMyGawwd... bitseeker, I don't know whether to thank you or curse you... I laughed so hard my eyes watered, IRL. Jeebus... it hurts.

mnem

I think these will be my two favorite posts for a while. Every time I read them I start laughing.

https://youtu.be/0k4JS4M-DHs

I know... every time I see his post I hear it in this voice, and I crack up again...

mnem
"....there.... from that bag; what's it say?!?  I CAN'T READ!!!"

[med6753]

Progress. The cabinet has been cleaned and scrubbed with Simple Green and dish detergent with a hot water rinse and dry. It is ready for spray paint which will be tomorrow.  I pulled the front face plate and gave it the same treatment, along with the knobs and hardware. The pots and controls got a healthy spray of dexoit. Here it is assembled minus the banana jacks. Need new ones...on order. That jagged hole on the left was someone installed a BNC jack. I will install that too. Also the CRT bezel needs to be polished and painted.   

   Compare this pix with the one earlier today. A massive improvement. 

Already an amazing transformation!     

If it were mine... I'd seal the front around that BNC hole with tape, fill in the holes with epoxy, then find/make myself a cal sticker or "interesting" asset tag to cover the ugly.

mnem
Carry on, wayward son! 

Cover up a bodge with another bodge? Surely you jest.    Actually I plan on using the BNC. I even polished the jack so it's nice and shiny.   

[tggzzz]

Having been diagnosed with TEAS for about a year now, I have been making notes on some side effects or, if you will, manifestations of the syndrome. For example, at hamfests I spend an inordinate amount of time looking for large, bulky electrolytic capacitors, boxes full of meters, oscilloscope probe parts, test leads, and gray knobs of a certain size while ignoring all the radios and other gear intended to actually receive or transmit RF signals, unless to or from a piece of test equipment.  I also seem to be inordinately fascinated with any sort of box that has a Tektronix, HP, or General Radio logo on it, especially if it probably doesn't work, obviously needs to be repaired, or has a sticky on it that says, make me an offer.

I dunno, is this weird?   

It is indeed weird to look for bulky electrolytic capacitors of unknown provenance.

[bd139]

I don’t know. I occasionally buy large, dangerous looking electrolytics to play with. I had one recently which was 4 inches across and about 10 inches long. Only cost a quid.

[BravoV]

I don’t know. I occasionally buy large, dangerous looking electrolytics to play with. I had one recently which was 4 inches across and about 10 inches long. Only cost a quid.

Same here, have weird unexplainable appetite, caps hoarded while ago .. 3900uF, 2200uF 400V and bunch of 50.000 uF 30V.

[bd139]

That’s a nice collection of evil that is!

I bought the one I got for doing battery contact welding but it just vaporised the nickel strip 

[beanflying]

Techie post here with a video of the process here https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/40w-300x200mm-laser-cutter-engraver-vollerun/msg2426109/#msg2426109

Just visible to the naked eye but not in a photo, subtle under flash so add some back lighting or front side engraved and make a statement?

[Specmaster]

I don’t know. I occasionally buy large, dangerous looking electrolytics to play with. I had one recently which was 4 inches across and about 10 inches long. Only cost a quid.

And it blew the shed roof off when you allowed the magic smoke release when thought that it might be fun to blow the shit out of it[emoji28][emoji28][emoji28]

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

[bd139]

I did consider it 

Video, not mine, for the uneducated on large capacitor fun:

[Specmaster]

Against the TEA principles of acquisition here but a number of items have now departed my collection, including Heathkit items and two amateur radio items to pay off a rather healthy chunk of the credit card bill.

Talking of which, the money sink ... progress on K2 tonight. 7 toroids wound and another 100 parts installed. Most of them are on the bottom which is kind of boring. I should have the receiver and synthesizer up and running tomorrow.



I have bought some test gear though albeit boring. I bought two 20dB attenuators and some new Fluke leads from RS. That will give me, with my existing two 20dB attenuators and the DG1022Z signal strength references from S1 (-121dBm) to S9 (-73dBm) to 15m. I'll have to use the TF2015 for 10m as the DG1022Z runs out of steam on 10m. I will buy a synthesized generator with decent attenuator if I see one cheap (HP/Marconi/R&S) to replace both.

That's looking really good, I never realised that you would have to wind your own toroids, would thought as a kit that they would be already wound for you?