Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

The header page for Mouser USA is quite different (and no free shipping).

[mnementh]

That Mongolian band mentioned here before has released a new song. Cover of Metallica "Sad But True" Brilliantly done! 

https://youtu.be/QpxA_ZxGX_M

Speaking of "they just don't think the same way we do..."

I like it. Trying to grok the headspace one needs to be in to imagine heavy metal morin khuur just makes my brain hurt... but they make it work!

mnem
*pluck-twannnnnnng!*

[Specmaster]

I think I'll just leave this here.

[mnementh]

Well then... I suppose it's okay for me to put this one up here too!

mnem

[0culus]

I have one too, thanks to nixiefreqq. It works fine and I did a calibration after re-capping the PSU.

I forgot to mention one of the capacitors in my 5327B came pre-snapped off, a temporary/permanent bodge was installed as I don't have a large enough single capacitor in my stock and all proper component suppliers over here have larger minimum orders since the virus took over normality.

Mouser has a minimum to the UK? They don't here.

Yes they have a minimum of £33 for free shipping to the UK, unfortunately it takes a while before I need enough parts to make it worth while, those Nichicon BT capacitors were from the surplus stock I bought when work EOL'ed the lab.
Also keep finding suppliers have no stock of things I need too, making it harder to make an order with one company.

David

Oh OK. Free shipping isn't an option here but there is no minimum. There are several shipping choices but by far the best is UPS 2nd day at $7.99 USD. It's worth every cent because UPS is always on time unlike cheaper USPS which could be anywhere from 5 days or lost. 

Since they are right next door to me, I get super fast shipping from Mouser even with ground. I'm starting to prefer them since Digi-key has gone down the road of "marketplace" items that are not fulfilled by Digi-key. 

[nixiefreqq]

I have one too, thanks to nixiefreqq. It works fine and I did a calibration after re-capping the PSU.

I forgot to mention one of the capacitors in my 5327B came pre-snapped off, a temporary/permanent bodge was installed* as I don't have a large enough single capacitor in my stock and all proper component suppliers over here have larger minimum orders since the virus took over normality.

*with three 16V 2200uF in smurf approved color (Nichicon BT).




And yes the display perspex is cracked & the frame slightly twisted, but at least it did come with all the options.


David

words fail me.

(you could have at least blamed that on someone else.  don't all you brits have a buddy named clive that you blame shit on?  "look what that asshole clive did to my 5327")

[AVGresponding]

And something for the Fluke fanboys (still have zero Flukes here), a 8400A/FM voltmeter in the US; https://www.ebay.com/itm/353287773843

No idea how much it differs from the 8300A, but like most of those it looks to not include the ohms option.

David

Quite a few differences to the 8300A by the looks of it.

8300A has 4-wire measurement, ohms (if the module is fitted, mine doesn't     ).

External control and reference capability.



This (crappy wtf) pic was just taken now with no time for warm ups. I trust the 8300A more than the Keithley; it agrees to the LSD with my 8840A which has a recent cal.

[Robert763]

I have one too, thanks to nixiefreqq. It works fine and I did a calibration after re-capping the PSU.

I forgot to mention one of the capacitors in my 5327B came pre-snapped off, a temporary/permanent bodge was installed* as I don't have a large enough single capacitor in my stock and all proper component suppliers over here have larger minimum orders since the virus took over normality.
*with three 16V 2200uF in smurf approved color (Nichicon BT).   

mnem
...and I think this guy would def approve:   

I've got some Red Greene DVDs. I'll have to watch one now. 

[AVGresponding]

[Saskia]

fireworks prohibited over here.
Government tells us to switch on/switch off the lights in our flats to imitate some fireworks.
This gets me thinking.

4x
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Powerful-5000J-ruby-laser-Nd-yag-rod-flash-lamp-pumping-tube-NOS-IFP-5000-NOS-/113886970008

https://www.ebay.de/itm/NEW-Rod-with-mirror-300mm-30mm-for-laser-glass-Nd/143743778270?hash=item2177cbfdde:g:qj8AAOSwX1pfZMM8

Some microwave transformers, electrolytic caps, a mosfet, a 555er or a waveform generator, a mirror and a lens ?

Or am I missing something here ?

Saskia, nooo! If you cause sale of electrolytic caps to be limited to 5000µF/person/month, most of the people around here will lose any resemblance of a friendly attitude!

Don't worry, our secret service just classified me as mostly harmless.  The authorities told me when I asked about renewing my hunting license.

[AVGresponding]

Suckers... ooops, I mean, sounds right!


Now that they've been warmed up a bit, the Fluke and Keithley are better friends:

[mnementh]

   For CAD$112/US$90, this one's a keeper, I think. The different design means I can push the whole objective up in the elevator cradle like this, so none of it protrudes below the metal bracket, which means no worries aboot accidentally touching it with the hot air handset. 

I'll probably print up a ring spacer to make it easy, and to support some auxiliary lighting. As you can see here; with the elevator angled back just a wee bit, the reflection glare goes away and  I can get in there easily with elevation at ~80mm. Magnification at 80mm is approx the exact same as the other one was at 20-30mm. 

   Resolution to the PC doesn't seem as good as the other one at 20-30mm; not as crisp. But it is still more than good enough I think. Overall, this 'scope has much better usability.     Difference is this one is made to work on stuff, while the little one is just made to look at it. 

Getting back after this project. I've printed up the spacer ring; that works nicely. However, what appeared as a minor problem has gotten substantially worse. When I first got this thing, the hinge had a little bit of back forth slop that was at most an annoyance. With handling from working on the spacer ring, that got progressively worse to the point where using it made the thing flop around so much it wasn't possible to focus properly.




Here we can see the cause; that visible gap under this end of the hingepin. This hingepin has a 2-piece shank with a hollow conical collet & tapered pin to make a friction joint. I took a pic of this but the photography gods decided that one pic was going to go blooie; I'm not tearing this hinge apart to take another.




Anyhoo... the ends of the hingepin are only held fast by a single grub screw in the same thread as the m4 base screws. Without them, the hingepin is loose in the U-bracket. For some reason, they only made it with a grub screw on the one side. The other side, with that visible gap, was left to flop around unsupported. This eventually allowed the one grub screw to work looser and looser.

At first I thought someone just forgot to install 2nd grub screw but no; the hole was not threaded all the way through. A few minutes with drill & m4 tap had that sorted; however I didn't have any m4 grub screws so I made that butt-ugly little fellow from a hardened m4 bolt. Hopefully, a drop of LokTite blue on each will prove adequate to keep things from loosening up again.

Right now it has a delightfully tight hinge with absolutely zero play in any direction; I'll update here on how it holds up after I have some time to work with it.

For now, time to get some more practice in on scrap boards.

mnem

[med6753]

fireworks prohibited over here.
Government tells us to switch on/switch off the lights in our flats to imitate some fireworks.
This gets me thinking.

4x
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Powerful-5000J-ruby-laser-Nd-yag-rod-flash-lamp-pumping-tube-NOS-IFP-5000-NOS-/113886970008

https://www.ebay.de/itm/NEW-Rod-with-mirror-300mm-30mm-for-laser-glass-Nd/143743778270?hash=item2177cbfdde:g:qj8AAOSwX1pfZMM8

Some microwave transformers, electrolytic caps, a mosfet, a 555er or a waveform generator, a mirror and a lens ?

Or am I missing something here ?

Saskia, nooo! If you cause sale of electrolytic caps to be limited to 5000µF/person/month, most of the people around here will lose any resemblance of a friendly attitude!

Don't worry, our secret service just classified me as mostly harmless.  The authorities told me when I asked about renewing my hunting license.

"Mostly harmless" 

[mnementh]

mnem
...and I think this guy would def approve:   

I've got some Red Greene DVDs. I'll have to watch one now. 

I approve this expenditure of man-hours.    *rubber-stamp THUNNK!!!*

mnem

[AVGresponding]

Do any of you old folks need to go for a nap before Discord?   

[Cerebus]

Suckers... ooops, I mean, sounds right!


Now that they've been warmed up a bit, the Fluke and Keithley are better friends:

Did your camera need to warm up too before it was in focus? Or is it just manual focus, and you've sobered up since earlier?

[mnementh]

Do any of you old folks need to go for a nap before Discord?   

  Get off my lawn, you noisy-ass punk kid!

mnem
*whummp*

[SilverSolder]

[...]
I approve this expenditure of man-hours.    *rubber-stamp THUNNK!!!*

mnem

That process can be completely computerized, making it even easier and more convenient! 

[Specmaster]

Sorry everyone, but I doubt that I'll be on discord tonight either, to much to do here still, battling black mould on some window frames and also picking up my sons after his late shift at the shop he works in, before we go into tier 4 at midnight on the Covid-19 front. Covid is getting too close at home now with some In-Laws coming into contact with infected people and many people at my wife's work also being confirmed with it 

[med6753]

Do any of you old folks need to go for a nap before Discord?   

And where the hell are you?  We are on Discord.

[BU508A]

Here has somebody built a steampunk lightsaber. Wow!     



If you watch carefully one can spot some TE in the background.   

And here he is testing it:

[0culus]

Huh, so they built one that doesn't just use a tungsten rod. Interesting.

[mnementh]

[...]
I approve this expenditure of man-hours.    *rubber-stamp THUNNK!!!*

mnem

That process can be completely computerized, making it even easier and more convenient! 

What, and take away the only part of the job I actually like...?

mnem
Priorities, man!

[cyclin_al]

That is exactly why I left Toronto.  Actually, 42 minutes does not sound bad.  Over on the west side, I recall sitting on the 403 for more than an hour.
Ottawa was much better, but has also declined.  Now I live further away.

I've never understood how in a country with so much s-p-a-c-e that humanity still packs things together in a way that's guaranteed to cause congestion.

Just after WWII here in Blighty the one good thing the planners did was recognise that, in a world of motor vehicles, that was the wrong thing to do and we created the 'new towns' that were built away from other conurbations, laid out at low density, and had transport routes planned with motorised transport in mind. Planners being planners they still FSCKed it up in other ways and didn't think forward enough, but the new towns were, for a while, relatively successful.

With so much s-p-a-c-e, it was taken for granted.  Also, what attracted people to the area originally was the great farmland for growing food.  Yes, Toronto is situated on what could arguably have been the best land in the world for growing food.  At least so I am told from the family stories.   Anyways, the old farm roads became the major city roads with no updated planning at all.  Things just filled in and expanded outwards.

In current times, the planning is way way far behind.  The congestion that existed back in the '90s needed to be solved back then.  The planners are now tackling those problems, but keeping up with the growth of the 2000's, the 2010's has not even started.  Since the city has already grown up, it is too late to change a lot of things.  The thing to do is to demolish sections of the city and start over with a plan.  However, that will never work since so many people are already there and any such ideas would be political career suicide.  Move the concrete jungle (banking, business & high tech) to Sudbury and bring back farming to Toronto   Good luck...

[cyclin_al]

Any thoughts on $500 CAD for a pair of supposedly working Tek 422 & 454a scopes?
The pictures showing a trace look more like noise than an actual signal.
My thought is this price is much too high, but would half that be too much Ferengi.
I also have to consider travel distance; they are closer to Dwagon-land than to here.
Also, SWMBO would certainly object to the space taken up by two of the same thing.

I could be just looking for anything to break the drought on TE up here; a nixxie frequency counter would be a better acquisition but I still have never seen one...

How about a HP 5326B 50MHz timer counter/DVM? might need some work, some feet as it was rack mounted & replacement knob, but the listing does have "make offer". Note these later ones should be upgradeable with an oven reference (10544).
https://www.ebay.com/itm/174560313203

David

Wow!  Good catch... for some reason I did not find that one.

My searching had recently turned up a HP5327B, but does not ship to the GWN.  Those in the US can have a go:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-5327B-Timer-Counter-DVM-with-7-Digit-Nixie-Tube-Display/133490184504

@mnem or @25_CPS, any interest in the Tek 422 & 454a scope combo?  It might be closer to you than to me; listed on Kijiji

Sorry I missed this one until it showed up again in the crawl...

I'm afraid I can't right now; the 422 is just adorbs, but I literally have a corner in the living room and that's it. I'm at the point now of storing less-used gear in that shed I just built, and that was supposed to be so I could get all our bicycles and excess furniture out of a $200/mo stock & lock near the old house. 

As much as I'd love to help the guy out with some Xmas money... I need to keep it for our little monsters, I'm afraid.

mnem

Well, I think I will focus on the counter, and see if I can slightly low-ball a deal.
If there is money left over, and those scopes sit there for a while, then I might go Ferenghi low-ball.  I find the 454a has a busy cool look to it.  For now, the listing is still too new...