Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[VK5RC]

Re the Domain Analyzer, aren't the higher end frequency counters doing the same, they time-stamp their samples, start and finish, the 53230A even has some inbuilt histograms but also trend data. Can be locked to 10MHz reference, ~25pS accuracy. Below is a shot of one of the histograms.
For a LOT less $, the Time Interval Counter, TICC from TAPR, does almost the same thing but you have to write your own analysis software - but I betcha some nice bugger has already 'been there done that'.
Rob

[beanflying]

A few small and mainly contained fires 30km away from here but the smell of burnt Aussie Forrest is in the air. Very mild day and little wind so the crews should get it sorted. 

New Toy unboxing too 

Nice one.    In 2016 I've bought the same drill press, too.
Never regretted it to buy one.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/what-did-you-buy-today-post-your-latest-purchase!/msg940871/#msg940871

Not TEA and from a few days ago but would you have any thoughts on these mods for the Bosch? Because I know better than their designers and Engineers after a week 

The modded/optional base is so I can drill holes in larger sheets as the 100mm throat is fairly limiting (sort of the wood version of a magnetic base drill) and remove the wheel because it kind of sucks.

Idle Bean and Fusion 360 while the varnish dried and G&T's were consumed .....

[Zucca]

beanflying, when I seen the writings BOSCH on green I run like Forrest.
BOSCH must be only on blue background, right med?

Nice project, you will surely improve the PBD40.

BTW: Why that wheel (pulled from a woking baby trolley) on the side? I can't stand it
--> eBay auction: #223821805665

[BU508A]

The modded/optional base is so I can drill holes in larger sheets as the 100mm throat is fairly limiting (sort of the wood version of a magnetic base drill) and remove the wheel because it kind of sucks.

To be honest: I'm quite happy with my PBD40 as it is. I do like the wheel and I never had issues with the 100mm throat.
I'm using it mainly for drilling holes in cases or some copper or aluminium barrels. I do not use it for larger work.

The only thing I would appreciate is, if the laser would be adjustable. Or can be changed for a green one.
But this is not very high on my list of things whichs annoys me.

Sorry for not being helpful.

[BU508A]

beanflying, when I seen the writings BOSCH on green I run like Forrest.
BOSCH must be only on blue background, right med?

I would have bought the blue version. Unfortunately, there is no blue version available.
And the machines from Flott are way too expensive.

https://www.flott.de/en/flott/products-metal-machine-tools/flott-drilling-machinery/

[beanflying]

I had my Orbital Sander disc fly apart yesterday and the chunk of rubber at speed hit my fair and square in the guts  Bruised and scraped but no lasting damage so I have been looking at some Bosch Blue eBay auction: #362716678756 Still not available in Oz but it won't be cheap.

Fairly expensive but cheaper than Festertool.

The old sander is in the bin with the lead removed 

For just Electronics use neither the wheel or base would be an issue but I am used to three legged drills I guess too.

edit sparing you all my pastey white and now purple belly flesh...

[mansaxel]

The modded/optional base is so I can drill holes in larger sheets as the 100mm throat is fairly limiting (sort of the wood version of a magnetic base drill) and remove the wheel because it kind of sucks.

To be honest: I'm quite happy with my PBD40 as it is.

I got an Ixion like this one used (and the current bid level on that specimen is quite tolerable.) This, just like TE, is an area where the advanced hobbyist is much better off with used pro gear from anno dazumal than the modern toys.

Having said that, I'm not immune to looking for a stand for my Proxxon drill, which will be excellent for those small jobs.

Bonus with the Ixion is that you get to have to arrange for Drehstrom (three-phase) to the workshop. A rite of passage not unrelated to enheavyment.

[Zucca]

Bonus with the Ixion is that you get to have to arrange for Drehstrom (three-phase) to the workshop. A rite of passage not unrelated to enheavyment.

99% a stupid idea: two wire 220VAC --> variable frequency drives --> can I do something with a 380VAC Motor?

[kj7e]

Yeah, 300+ pieces I feel a bit better about my "collection". Speaking of which, I just added a 53310A to it.



So, what modern equipment is used nowadays in lieu of the functionality of the 53310A?

Let me know if you need any help with it.  I also have a spare power supply laying around.

[mansaxel]

99% a stupid idea: two wire 220VAC --> variable frequency drives --> can I do something with a 380VAC Motor?

I do believe you can. People who have no 3ph at home in the machinist community (like most of US and some other 3rd world countries) seem to have abandoned rotary converters (the true enheavyment solution) for VFDen. A quick googling gives this, for instance.

But, there might be issues with voltage, so one perhaps needs a transformer to step up, or find a motor that can be connected for 3-phase 220V Delta-coupling.

[kj7e]

The HP 8920A with its cloths off is a sexy beast.  Its one densely built 40lb package.  Found a proper front cover, and option 004 signaling board (CTCSS, DCS ... encode/decode) from Amtronix, talked to the owner and he made me a good deal on the parts.
http://www.amtronix.com/usequip1.htm

I was wanting an IFR-1200s Supper for a while, love analog meters and the simplicity of use, had an IFR-1500 at a previous job and have an IFR-1200 at work now.  But the 8920a is regarded superior for both accuracy and reliability over the IFR's.  Only complaints are some dont find the 8920's menu driven interface intuitive, playing with it last night I had no problems with it.  Ran a cal routine on the OCXO ref and internal voltage ref.  Found the internal test, status and calibration menus easy to use.  Operation didn't take me long to figure out, but I did have to lookup how to enable the tracking gen.  Glad I went with the 8920 over the IFR, that and the price was a win.

[mnementh]

Watch out, they might try to take their equipment back later      https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/ebays-outback6-lawyered-up-and-is-attempting-to-claw-back-equipment-they-sold/

That was quite an exceptional set of circumstances. Keysight is still trying to get those unauthorized equipment resales recovered last I saw.

Yeah I know I was just joking. Outback is a huge equipment seller on ebay.

I know. I was just providing some context for others and sharing my surprise that it's still ongoing. What a mess.

Has any kind of plausible explanation for this charlie-foxtrot surfaced? I followed for a while out of voyeuristic perversity; but the story long ago used up my available store of outrage, so I lost interest. I get the feeling this was one of those bureaucratic "left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing" scenarios gone horribly wrong... but you know they're probably going to hang that millstone around the neck of some poor suffering bastard who had a "way above my pay grade" problem dumped in his lap due to administrative dereliction. 

mnem

[med6753]

Has any kind of plausible explanation for this charlie-foxtrot surfaced? I followed for a while out of voyeuristic perversity; but the story long ago used up my available store of outrage, so I lost interest. I get the feeling this was one of those bureaucratic "left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing" scenarios gone horribly wrong... but you know they're probably going to hang that millstone around the neck of some poor suffering bastard who had a "way above my pay grade" problem dumped in his lap due to administrative dereliction. 

mnem

Of course it will. You know as well as I that shit always rolls down hill. The real responsible career red tape bureaucrat will escape the carnage.

BTW...that was your 5555th post.   

[mnementh]

   ?         

The music was composed by Walt Kraemer, arranged by Ed Bogas, vocals by The Pointer Sisters (all 4 of them). It was recorded in 1976 and it debuted in Feb '77. A segment for number one was never produced.

 

mnem
*education-ily*

[AVGresponding]

99% a stupid idea: two wire 220VAC --> variable frequency drives --> can I do something with a 380VAC Motor?

I do believe you can. People who have no 3ph at home in the machinist community (like most of US and some other 3rd world countries) seem to have abandoned rotary converters (the true enheavyment solution) for VFDen. A quick googling gives this, for instance.

But, there might be issues with voltage, so one perhaps needs a transformer to step up, or find a motor that can be connected for 3-phase 220V Delta-coupling.

I have a 4kW IMO Jaguar one I am saving for just such a rainy day   

Also have a 22kW one from the same strip-out, can never make up my mind whether to fleabay it or strip it for parts (some huge caps in it amongst other things).

Incidentally the 4kW one needs a passive filter network on the output (which I also have   ), and the thing weighs 20kg if it weighs an ounce, very big components in it.

[mnementh]

Yeah, just remember that caps are livestock; their value in the stockpile is temporally dependent. 

mnem
*back to the bench*

[Alfons]

Fairly expensive but cheaper than Festertool.

Festertool? Festool?

[BU508A]

Fairly expensive but cheaper than Festertool.

Festertool? Festool?

Fester. With a tool.

[mnementh]

Has any kind of plausible explanation for this charlie-foxtrot surfaced? I followed for a while out of voyeuristic perversity; but the story long ago used up my available store of outrage, so I lost interest. I get the feeling this was one of those bureaucratic "left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing" scenarios gone horribly wrong... but you know they're probably going to hang that millstone around the neck of some poor suffering bastard who had a "way above my pay grade" problem dumped in his lap due to administrative dereliction. 

mnem

Of course it will. You know as well as I that shit always rolls down hill. The real responsible career red tape bureaucrat will escape the carnage.

BTW...that was your 5555th post. 

w00t! Serendipitously, I just gave my son four $5 bills; we're trying out an "allowance program" on him to try and teach him to save up for Pokemon.





Well, ALMOST always.    https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a25387/poop-camera-elephant/

mnem
Of course it would be The BeeB.

[AVGresponding]

Yeah, just remember that caps are livestock; their value in the stockpile is temporally dependent. 

mnem
*back to the bench*

In my experience, good quality ones last, and last, and last...

(with the proviso of not being thermally or ripple-y bullied ofc).

As an example, I will say that most of my years as a hobbyist have been on little more than zero budget at best; consequently many of my components are reclaimed from scrapped gear.

I recently had cause to require a 470uF cap of decent tolerance to prove a point. The one that metered out best, ie bang on 470uF as it happens, was an old (and I mean old, 30 years at least) Rubycon. No chance of remembering what I culled it from, save to say that the lack of fade on the heatshrink hints it hasn't been sat next to anything hot, at least.

Now, I didn't specifically measure the leakage current approaching its rating (40V iirc), but I can say the leakage current must be tiny as I was using it in a CMOS 555 timer circuit with very high value resistors, in the low-multi-mega-ohm range, and it did indeed function correctly (the circuit in question had a 11.7VDC supply) and thusly prove my point about leakage current in CMOS 555 circuits...

Come to think of it, I should re-measure it, with my now operational 4 wire LCR meter   

Just remembered also, a work colleague has found me a nice new toy from a strip out; a neon sign transformer with 2x 5kV secondaries. Time to make a Jacob's Ladder!
 

[med6753]

Now that the 535A is pretty much done I was left with the dilemma as to where will the monster reside? I didn't want to leave it on the cart since that's specifically for the 7904 and the 7000 series plug-ins. And it had to be somewhere where it would be relatively easy to service without jack assing it around. Here's what I decided upon....

The 2465 DMS which previously occupied that corner has been moved. The 535A fits nicely. It's a good thing I built bench 2 strong. 



A size perspective. It even makes the 7904 look small.



Discovered something interesting about the trigger in these older scopes that don't use a tunnel diode in their circuitry. And at first it didn't make sense until I RTFM. For repetitive signals below approx 5 MHz the preferred method is set the Triggering Mode to “Auto”. Set the Stability to “Preset”. In this mode the trigger is completely automatic and stable. The Triggering Level control has no effect, unlike more modern scopes. But the Trigger Slope, either + or – does work.

For signals above approx 5MHz set the Trigger Mode to either AC or DC and now the Stability and Triggering Level now come into play. Although with the CA plug-in in Alternate Mode this is the preferred trigger method regardless of the signal frequency. And again, it does work well.       



The spare CA plug-in has been shipped. But it's coming from Oregon via USPS economy which means pony express cross country. Projected delivery not until this Wednesday.   

[mnementh]

I had my Orbital Sander disc fly apart yesterday and the chunk of rubber at speed hit my fair and square in the guts  Bruised and scraped but no lasting damage so I have been looking at some Bosch Blue eBay auction: #362716678756 Still not available in Oz but it won't be cheap. Fairly expensive but cheaper than Festertool.  The old sander is in the bin with the lead removed 

For just Electronics use neither the wheel or base would be an issue but I am used to three legged drills I guess too. edit sparing you all my pastey white and now purple belly flesh... 

Why the eff would you NOT just replace the pad?

It is considered a "consumable supply"; its usefulness as a pad expired long before it started to chunk out, and it's not the grinder's fault you abused it long after it should've been retired. 

Or is the dead horse a depiction of you having a "mnem moment" and beating the whole tool to death in a fit of pain & outrage...? 

mnem
I'm gonna plead the fitfth...

[bitseeker]

Yeah, 300+ pieces I feel a bit better about my "collection". Speaking of which, I just added a 53310A to it.

Let me know if you need any help with it.  I also have a spare power supply laying around.

Thanks, kj7e. Your info on the trigger gave me the nudge to snag it. If I run into any issues with that or something else crops up, I'll ping you (here or in PM).

The one I got doesn't have the oven reference, but I've got projects to put together a GPSDO and convert a quad-output black level generator into a distribution amp. So, the culmination of those will be a nice time base for the MDA and my counters and SA.

I'm not becoming a time nut...I'm not becoming a time nut...I'm not...

[mnementh]

Yeah, just remember that caps are livestock; their value in the stockpile is temporally dependent. 

mnem
*back to the bench*

In my experience, good quality ones last, and last, and last...   (with the proviso of not being thermally or ripple-y bullied ofc).   As an example, I will say that most of my years as a hobbyist have been on little more than zero budget at best; consequently many of my components are reclaimed from scrapped gear.

I recently had cause to require a 470uF cap of decent tolerance to prove a point. The one that metered out best, ie bang on 470uF as it happens, was an old (and I mean old, 30 years at least) Rubycon. No chance of remembering what I culled it from, save to say that the lack of fade on the heatshrink hints it hasn't been sat next to anything hot, at least.

Now, I didn't specifically measure the leakage current approaching its rating (40V iirc), but I can say the leakage current must be tiny as I was using it in a CMOS 555 timer circuit with very high value resistors, in the low-multi-mega-ohm range, and it did indeed function correctly (the circuit in question had a 11.7VDC supply) and thusly prove my point about leakage current in CMOS 555 circuits...

Come to think of it, I should re-measure it, with my now operational 4 wire LCR meter       Just remembered also, a work colleague has found me a nice new toy from a strip out; a neon sign transformer with 2x 5kV secondaries. Time to make a Jacob's Ladder!   

If USED regularly, I'll agree. Not so much when left sitting around the basement, etc for years on end. And any caps made in the last 2 decades... no fucking comparison to the industrial-duty caps of yesteryear.

mnem
 

[beanflying]

Because you cant get a new pad to replace it with so it is dead and flogged  . A replacement Ryobi with variable speed is about $70USD locally much as I would like the Bosch gear drive the extra $ are a bit tough to justify.