Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

Walking away is good. Having a day off too. I spent most of the morning dropping chemical weapons on the plants and animals in the garden 

Edit: also our neighbour has seen a rat in the garden and is having a paddy about it. Consdering rigging up something to toast the fucker.

Which; the rat or the neighbour? 

mnem


If yer lucky, might git a twofer!!!

did not see that coming (should have). ya' made me laugh out loud. thanks dragon.

All in a day's work for a silly ol' dwagon.  Glad to be of service. 

Update time I feel after some of the juicy bits on here today, its a bit of damp squib by comparison. Yesterday the new blower motor for my car AC arrived from the father land and within 45 minutes we (my son and I) had fitted it, all working beautifully again apart from I now have an airbag error message appearing on the dash which means because I removed the glovebox, I had to disconnect the passenger airbag override switch and the cars computer monitors this and records it as a possible malfunction, so now I have find a way of resetting the error message, but boy oh boy, what joy it is to have some air in the car and how cold the AC feels now after being without it  I like the fact that the motor I purchased is identical to the one I took out, so that was win #1 and win #2 was that I saved my self a whooping big £343 doing myself.

Today the final transistors arrived for my conversion of a Hacker amp from Ge to Si devices, so I'll be starting that one soon. It'll be interesting to see just how loud it is once done because the output pair are both TO92 form, as are the rest of devices on this experiment, so no chance of putting a heat sink on them, unlike the old Ge TO1 devices. The other amp for the other Hacker radio, will be restored with Ge devices once they arrive, and a big shout to wch for his lovely assistance of some transistors in the post for that one.

All week I've been struggling with my right leg swelling up to massive tree trunk size, so a trip to see Doctor, who made a call to our local hospital and I have a leg scan on Monday for a suspected clot, and I'm not talking about me on the end of the leg either 

Then this week I sold a couple of cameras on eBay and today I scored a Technics Hi-Fi amp on eBay in need of some TLC before I stick it back on there again and tomorrow I have a 60th birthday party to attend, so its been a mixed bag this week and I'm hopeful of getting back onto the bench again and getting stuck in. 

This (and fire prevention) is why the FIRST instruction in pretty much any service procedure in any auto repair manual printed in the last 2-3 decades is "Disconnect the battery."

Congrats on the car. As always the software is the dick bit. 

   (from W1FB design notebook)Hmm perhaps I should buy a .22 (yes we are allowed them here!)

My preferred solution for a quick & dirty small transistor heat-sink is to cut 4 strips of aluminum flashing ( 0.010" semi-hard alloy aluminum sheet available as a 12-18" wide x 10-30 yard roll at any homeowner Hell for $10-20) and form it around the transistor with pliers, then drill for a pop-rivet on either side. Pot the center section with a little white goose grease, pop-rivet it together, then spread the aluminum on the outside of the pop-rivet into 8 fins. The rest of the roll is good for all sorts of other projects. 

MPS2222, 2N2222, A918s etc... any TO-1/TO-92 transistors in metal or plastic package all respond well to this treatment.

mnem
*Sticks tongue out at musicorn wife*

[Carl_Smith]

Update time I feel after some of the juicy bits on here today, its a bit of damp squib by comparison. Yesterday the new blower motor for my car AC arrived from the father land and within 45 minutes we (my son and I) had fitted it, all working beautifully again apart from I now have an airbag error message appearing on the dash which means because I removed the glovebox, I had to disconnect the passenger airbag override switch and the cars computer monitors this and records it as a possible malfunction, so now I have find a way of resetting the error message, but boy oh boy, what joy it is to have some air in the car and how cold the AC feels now after being without it  I like the fact that the motor I purchased is identical to the one I took out, so that was win #1 and win #2 was that I saved my self a whooping big £343 doing myself.

The dealer can probably reset that error message for you for £343.     

[mnementh]

   Or you may be able to reset it by disconnecting the battery overnight. Tertiary solution will be to buy a cheap bluetooth ELM327-based OBDII bug and use your phone; I have one of the first, cheapest China direct generics like this one: eBay auction: #332926980048
I chose it because even though it is large, it has the standard serial comms indicator LEDs, which is really necessary for determining whether your connection issue is bluetooth or OBDII related. 

   I use the free version of ScanMaster OBDII Check for most of my generic OBDII code diag work; it'll do a few live data but more importantly, the free version does Emissions Readiness tests, lets you view generic OBDII freeze-frame data snapshots, and it will clear codes. If the idiot devs would let you pay via PayPal instead of DEMANDING that you enable in-app purchasing, I'd have bought the full version ages ago.    It may or may not be able to reset that code; it is usually set by the body computer, which often will be kept completely on the proprietary side of the data bus. 

While it would be nice to have all the proprietary data available with the likes of the Genisys series I used to have, the tool and the subscription costs are pretty prohibitive for casual use.

Cheers,

mnem
*time to go count my scales*
 

[bd139]

I’ve got one of the ELM337 cables. Used it with multiecuscan on my horrid fiat. Not had to use it on the new one yet. Good investment generally in these modern times.

Right. Hot dog stains applied, haven’t showered for 9 months, all cash converted to 3kg of small change, practiced my old man limp, elbows sharpened, free hat applied.  (Only one of them is true). Off to hamfest! Hopefully I will get in the queue before tggzzz this time 

[tggzzz]

I’ve got one of the ELM337 cables. Used it with multiecuscan on my horrid fiat. Not had to use it on the new one yet. Good investment generally in these modern times.

Right. Hot dog stains applied, haven’t showered for 9 months, all cash converted to 3kg of small change, practiced my old man limp, elbows sharpened, free hat applied.  (Only one of them is true). Off to hamfest! Hopefully I will get in the queue before tggzzz this time 

Guaranteed: I can't be arsed. Too much time in the sun yesterday and looks like it will be more today; daughter has popped back into existence and she definitely isn't interested in going; the roadworks tipped the balance.

Hope I'm not going to be too annoyed about the consequences of your having hunter-gatherer ancestors

[bd139]

Just as well. Managed to land some good stuff thanks to your non attendance

Still going.  Everyone is late so I’m emptying peoples cars as they unload

[beanflying]

Just as well. Managed to land some good stuff thanks to your non attendance

Still going.  Everyone is late so I’m emptying peoples cars as they unload

Quick load up on cheap TDR's @tggzz isn't there 

[tggzzz]

Just as well. Managed to land some good stuff thanks to your non attendance

Still going.  Everyone is late so I’m emptying peoples cars as they unload

I don't like you anymore.

Pictures required, of course.

[tggzzz]

Just as well. Managed to land some good stuff thanks to your non attendance

Still going.  Everyone is late so I’m emptying peoples cars as they unload

Quick load up on cheap TDR's @tggzz isn't there 

That would be doing me a favour!

I forgot to mention another reason for not going: an attack of sanity/guilt over too many unfinished jobs.

Yes, last week I did put my DekaPot in a box that I got at the Frome hamfest, and did add 2mm Cu connections to minimise added resistance. But I only made minimal progress on the scanning STM, none on the Tek492 fan, and I need to work out if I ought to or must not recap the CRT PSU for my HP8562.

The STM progress was that I began to get a clue as to how the controls work, and have seen tunnelling. It also acts as a microphone with a very poor high frequency response

The next step is to figure out whether my guess about the computer interface is accurate. I'm hoping it is merely ±5V (or ±10V) in, and ±10V out. Not sure whether the ±10V out would be the tunnelling current (0-110nA, at 10nA/V) or the common-mode piezo voltage though (±150V divided by 15).

[bd139]

Done here.

Tek 475 parts mule, HP 20v 10a power supply, tek 465 and 475 full service manuals, p6105 x10 probe, drum of copper wire, trim caps and I didn’t even get to £50 spent. Was a good one

Pictures later.

[tggzzz]

Tek 475 parts mule, HP 20v 10a power supply, tek 465 and 475 full service manuals, p6105 x10 probe, drum of copper wire, trim caps and I didn’t even get to £50 spent. Was a good one

Phew. Don't need another parts mule, that PSU can bite, got a 465 service manual, don't have a 475 any more, got enough matched probes, got my 100g or 2mm copper wire on Thursday, trimcaps are always useful.

But that price was right - except for the time required to fix the bits

[Specmaster]

Update time I feel after some of the juicy bits on here today, its a bit of damp squib by comparison. Yesterday the new blower motor for my car AC arrived from the father land and within 45 minutes we (my son and I) had fitted it, all working beautifully again apart from I now have an airbag error message appearing on the dash which means because I removed the glovebox, I had to disconnect the passenger airbag override switch and the cars computer monitors this and records it as a possible malfunction, so now I have find a way of resetting the error message, but boy oh boy, what joy it is to have some air in the car and how cold the AC feels now after being without it  I like the fact that the motor I purchased is identical to the one I took out, so that was win #1 and win #2 was that I saved my self a whooping big £343 doing myself.

The dealer can probably reset that error message for you for £343.     

They can kiss my butt first 

[Specmaster]

I’ve got one of the ELM337 cables. Used it with multiecuscan on my horrid fiat. Not had to use it on the new one yet. Good investment generally in these modern times.

Right. Hot dog stains applied, haven’t showered for 9 months, all cash converted to 3kg of small change, practiced my old man limp, elbows sharpened, free hat applied.  (Only one of them is true). Off to hamfest! Hopefully I will get in the queue before tggzzz this time 

So its haven't showered for 9 months then 

Good luck, I just hope and pray that's worth while this time.

[Specmaster]

I’ve got one of the ELM337 cables. Used it with multiecuscan on my horrid fiat. Not had to use it on the new one yet. Good investment generally in these modern times.

Right. Hot dog stains applied, haven’t showered for 9 months, all cash converted to 3kg of small change, practiced my old man limp, elbows sharpened, free hat applied.  (Only one of them is true). Off to hamfest! Hopefully I will get in the queue before tggzzz this time 

Guaranteed: I can't be arsed. Too much time in the sun yesterday and looks like it will be more today; daughter has popped back into existence and she definitely isn't interested in going; the roadworks tipped the balance.

Hope I'm not going to be too annoyed about the consequences of your having hunter-gatherer ancestors

Just heard a rumour that bd's having a tow ball fitted and has burrowed a trailer because the bargains may be still be there in your absence so he indeeds to snap them up. 

[med6753]

Update time I feel after some of the juicy bits on here today, its a bit of damp squib by comparison. Yesterday the new blower motor for my car AC arrived from the father land and within 45 minutes we (my son and I) had fitted it, all working beautifully again apart from I now have an airbag error message appearing on the dash which means because I removed the glovebox, I had to disconnect the passenger airbag override switch and the cars computer monitors this and records it as a possible malfunction, so now I have find a way of resetting the error message, but boy oh boy, what joy it is to have some air in the car and how cold the AC feels now after being without it  I like the fact that the motor I purchased is identical to the one I took out, so that was win #1 and win #2 was that I saved my self a whooping big £343 doing myself.

The dealer can probably reset that error message for you for £343.     

They can kiss my butt first 

Careful, you may have to kiss THEIR behind. Most vehicles use a separate diag and reset system for the airbag unit which is INDEPENDENT of the standard OBD-II system therefore a scan tool won't touch it. Both my Honda's are like that and I suspect most others are too. You need a specialized and usually dealer only tool to reset the airbag system....AND....disconnecting the battery WON'T clear it.

[med6753]

Done here.

Tek 475 parts mule, HP 20v 10a power supply, tek 465 and 475 full service manuals, p6105 x10 probe, drum of copper wire, trim caps and I didn’t even get to £50 spent. Was a good one

Pictures later.

I thought you were done with Tek?  I know why you bought that 475 parts mule. Liar, liar...pants on fire! 

[tggzzz]

Done here.

Tek 475 parts mule, HP 20v 10a power supply, tek 465 and 475 full service manuals, p6105 x10 probe, drum of copper wire, trim caps and I didn’t even get to £50 spent. Was a good one

Pictures later.

I thought you were done with Tek?  I know why you bought that 475 parts mule. Liar, liar...pants on fire! 

"The price was right" is a classic downfall of amateur hunter-gatherers.

[tggzzz]

I’ve got one of the ELM337 cables. Used it with multiecuscan on my horrid fiat. Not had to use it on the new one yet. Good investment generally in these modern times.

Right. Hot dog stains applied, haven’t showered for 9 months, all cash converted to 3kg of small change, practiced my old man limp, elbows sharpened, free hat applied.  (Only one of them is true). Off to hamfest! Hopefully I will get in the queue before tggzzz this time 

Guaranteed: I can't be arsed. Too much time in the sun yesterday and looks like it will be more today; daughter has popped back into existence and she definitely isn't interested in going; the roadworks tipped the balance.

Hope I'm not going to be too annoyed about the consequences of your having hunter-gatherer ancestors

Just heard a rumour that bd's having a tow ball fitted and has burrowed a trailer because the bargains may be still be there in your absence so he indeeds to snap them up. 

My house is full, so anything remotely requiring a trailer is completely out of the question. Fortunately.

Oh yes, forgot another "on the to-do list". Figure out a way of spatting the leopard on my stairwell wall; been planning on doing that for decades.

[Specmaster]

Update time I feel after some of the juicy bits on here today, its a bit of damp squib by comparison. Yesterday the new blower motor for my car AC arrived from the father land and within 45 minutes we (my son and I) had fitted it, all working beautifully again apart from I now have an airbag error message appearing on the dash which means because I removed the glovebox, I had to disconnect the passenger airbag override switch and the cars computer monitors this and records it as a possible malfunction, so now I have find a way of resetting the error message, but boy oh boy, what joy it is to have some air in the car and how cold the AC feels now after being without it  I like the fact that the motor I purchased is identical to the one I took out, so that was win #1 and win #2 was that I saved my self a whooping big £343 doing myself.

The dealer can probably reset that error message for you for £343.     

They can kiss my butt first 

Careful, you may have to kiss THEIR behind. Most vehicles use a separate diag and reset system for the airbag unit which is INDEPENDENT of the standard OBD-II system therefore a scan tool won't touch it. Both my Honda's are like that and I suspect most others are too. You need a specialized and usually dealer only tool to reset the airbag system....AND....disconnecting the battery WON'T clear it.

I have a OBDII device and sees no error codes, so the Skoda Forum I belong to, the members there say I need to get myself a copy of VCDS Lite and suitable cable for around £125?

[med6753]

As I suspected, it's a separate system and your OBD-II scan tool reports no trouble. Most vehicles have an ADU (Airbag Diagnostic Unit) separate and distinct from the main engine ECU with it's own port and unique trouble codes specific to that vehicle. Therefore it usually requires a specialized tool as well as connection to the ADU port. And it's immune to attempts to reset it via battery disconnect. This is done for safety AND L-I-A-B-I-L-I-T-Y. RE: those blood sucking lawyers.   

[med6753]

And rather than spending the $160 USD for a cable you'll probably use once go to the dealer and fall on your sword and tell them what you did. If they're nice guys perhaps they will reset the ADU for free and send you on your way. Or they will be pricks and charge you the standard "diag fee" to connect up their tool to reset it.   

[bd139]

Back home now ... will post pictures in a minute. Just unloaded.

I thought you were done with Tek?  I know why you bought that 475 parts mule. Liar, liar...pants on fire! 

Because as tggzzz, the price was right. Basically it's a partially in bits 475 with shorted tant that the seller couldn't find. I've got a 465 with a BER vertical so logic says that if I put all the bits in this 475, assuming it isn't totally buggered then a working 475 may appear.

I am chuffed with the power supply. Also as tggzzz says, have to be careful with this one. It will take no prisoners. It is however a very nice RF friendly linear 10A jobby rather than a wanky noisy switcher which I have no end of trouble with.

Anyway uploading pictures...

[Specmaster]

And rather than spending the $160 USD for a cable you'll probably use once go to the dealer and fall on your sword and tell them what you did. If they're nice guys perhaps they will reset the ADU for free and send you on your way. Or they will be pricks and charge you the standard "diag fee" to connect up their tool to reset it.   

Yes I think that might be the best advice. I have identified that Ross-Tech make a tool that will do it all, access all parts of the car that other devices and that includes airbags and the ABS system as well and costs £225 delivered. Handy if I'm expecting other problems to occur that I can fix myself, but then again are any problems going to occur. Also of course, if I did buy the unit, would it add anything to the resale value of the car if and when I sold it? 

The manual did say to disconnect the battery before doing the removal of the glovebox  I should have remembered that when the battery swapped out with another fully charged one to enable me to drive home (electric steering) that I did not get any error codes and the battery was disconnected twice. I was in a rush to get to the doctors, and I got impatient and took a short cut, idiot that I am 

[Specmaster]

Back home now ... will post pictures in a minute. Just unloaded.

I thought you were done with Tek?  I know why you bought that 475 parts mule. Liar, liar...pants on fire! 

Because as tggzzz, the price was right. Basically it's a partially in bits 475 with shorted tant that the seller couldn't find. I've got a 465 with a BER vertical so logic says that if I put all the bits in this 475, assuming it isn't totally buggered then a working 475 may appear.

I am chuffed with the power supply. Also as tggzzz says, have to be careful with this one. It will take no prisoners. It is however a very nice RF friendly linear 10A jobby rather than a wanky noisy switcher which I have no end of trouble with.

Anyway uploading pictures...

Yeh, those bastard switchers are a constant source of noise and that's something you need as a ham radio operator as well. Sounds like you had a good day then but was it worth the long drive for what you brought back?

[bd139]

Definitely worth it! Here we go ... the haul:



Item one ... HP 6286A power supply. Looks around 1977. Apparently working and has the unusual carry handle although it dislocates your shoulder if you use it. We'll see. Looks in good nick. Paid £15 (!)



Proper capacitor in it:



Usual HP quality construction:



Tektronix 465 and 475 service manuals, £5 each!



I love these



475. The case is undone on this and is taped back together. Don't ask. Guess how much .... £5. Easy profit on ebay if it's a scrapper. Pull the multiplier and knobs off and you're up cash anyway. Can't lose for that price. It's very clean up front which suggests it hasn't had a terribly hard life until the last owner got at it. I'll crack it open later and see what carnage awaits.



Misc bits. 2Kg drum of enamelled copper wire, £4 - enough to keep me going until I'm dead (actually this was an SK sale so it lasted past the last owner  ). Trimmer caps, £2 a bag. Very happy with those as I needed a ton of 65pF ones for some filters. Tektronix P6105 probe - complete with indicator pin and I tested it with DMM end to end £7



Plus a burger. I don't want to talk about that 

Edit: fuck just realised I forgot to bid on the SB-104A