Author Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread  (Read 18797344 times)

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Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #925 on: March 29, 2017, 03:33:21 am »
@xrunner: Thanks for the peek at your new addition. It can be a bit puzzling to take apart at first with the whole slide-everything-out-the-front-panel arrangement.

@mmagin: That 3478A looks to be an earlier model since it uses toroids for isolation between the two sides of the motherboard. The newer ones use optocouplers. Which does yours use?
I need to replace the battery in my 3478. It's about that old......
Sad to say I only have one :(


Oh, hmm.  Maybe the thermals of the TO-220 on the case are actually the better revision, even if it's a lower power dissipation package in general.  I'm not sure, not going to take mine apart at the moment :)
Sue AF6LJ
 

Online xrunner

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #926 on: March 29, 2017, 03:26:06 pm »
Battery swap complete.  :)

I did do it slightly differently than the other ways I've seen. To connect the temporary backup PS, I simply soldered a wire to the end of R765 that connects directly to the + side of the battery, as shown in the schematic attached. To me, that was the most direct and simplest way to do it.  :-//

I basically set my external PS to the exact voltage of the battery so it neither tried to charge or discharge, for the short amount of time it took to cut the old battery out.

All is well.  :clap:
I told my friends I could teach them to be funny, but they all just laughed at me.
 

Offline bitseekerTopic starter

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #927 on: March 29, 2017, 04:23:31 pm »
Congrats on the successful transplant, xrunner!

While Housedad seems to have the pedal to the metal with GAS, I've got too much CAF (Constant Acquisition Fatigue) in my system right now. Time to deCAF for a spell. ;D
TEA is the way. | TEA Time channel
 

Offline Berni

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #928 on: March 30, 2017, 05:09:22 am »
Well i seam to have recovered some since it has been months since the last >10kg thing arrived at my door. Tho i am still waiting for some N connector adapters to get here, oh and some gigaohm resistors, and the zenner diode kit...and some project cases.

Hm okay maybe not recovered, just shifted in to a different band.
 

Offline Brumby

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #929 on: March 30, 2017, 05:49:28 am »
A change is as good as a holiday!!
 

Offline bitseekerTopic starter

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #930 on: March 30, 2017, 06:12:20 am »
Hm okay maybe not recovered, just shifted in to a different band.

Like an excited electron. :popcorn:
TEA is the way. | TEA Time channel
 

Offline R005T3r

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #931 on: March 30, 2017, 12:01:00 pm »
I want a solder paste dispenser.... Badly...
 

Offline SingedFingers

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #932 on: March 30, 2017, 01:05:14 pm »
Well screw my TEA addiction today.

Literally everything I have touched has broken on me over the last two days. Tek 475 fan has blown up, HP3312A symmetry is shot suddenly unless you hit it a few times (suspect switch), TG210 switch has disintegrated, my E3630A is showing overload permanently and the Fluke 8021b has started the LCD leak of death.

The only thing that works that is left is all the skanky old crap I paid less than £20 for which is mainly Philips and Fluke stuff.

 :scared:
 

Online xrunner

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #933 on: March 30, 2017, 01:27:23 pm »
Well screw my TEA addiction today.

Literally everything I have touched has broken on me over the last two days. Tek 475 fan has blown up, HP3312A symmetry is shot suddenly unless you hit it a few times (suspect switch), TG210 switch has disintegrated, my E3630A is showing overload permanently and the Fluke 8021b has started the LCD leak of death.

Bummer.  :-\

I've been there though. So far I've been pretty lucky with my stuff and Ebay, but it's only a matter of time 'til it all comes crashing down.  ::)
I told my friends I could teach them to be funny, but they all just laughed at me.
 

Offline SingedFingers

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #934 on: March 30, 2017, 02:02:20 pm »
I fixed the TG210 just now. New symmetry switch was required. Ordered it yesterday arrived just after I posted that rant and already installed

On to the E3630 next...
 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #935 on: March 30, 2017, 02:25:42 pm »
Well screw my TEA addiction today.

Literally everything I have touched has broken on me over the last two days. Tek 475 fan has blown up, HP3312A symmetry is shot suddenly unless you hit it a few times (suspect switch), TG210 switch has disintegrated, my E3630A is showing overload permanently and the Fluke 8021b has started the LCD leak of death.

The only thing that works that is left is all the skanky old crap I paid less than £20 for which is mainly Philips and Fluke stuff.

 :scared:
I have had entire months like that. Having the Fesses touch of death is not the way to maintain a healthy supply of gear....

Some days your House burns up...
Some days your House burns down.....
Then there are those days that your House just burns....
Sue AF6LJ
 

Offline rrinker

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #936 on: March 30, 2017, 10:16:06 pm »
 So my GPD-3303S arrived today. A few quick tests - it's the kind with the offset spacing for the fixed third output and as expected I couldn't get it to overshoot. However, the voltages are all about .1V low - set on 5V it measures 4.9 on 3 different meters, 3.3V measures 3.2, etc.
 The other funny thing are the two adjustable outputs. With the output off, I can set both to say 10.000 volts. Turn on the outputs, output 1 drops to 9.985 or something, and output 2 rises to 10.053 or something. Confirmed with actual meter readings as well, Ch 1 is always a little low of the set point, Ch 2 is always a little high.
 I also discovered my GDM-8251A is way off in the slow acquisition mode. It disagrees with the power supply meters by as much as 100mV. At first I put it down to the supply's meters being off, but I switched over to my Fluke 45 and they agree within a few mV. Switch the 8251 to medium mode and - now it agrees with the 45 and the power supply meters, within a few mV.  The difference gets bigger at the higher voltage settings of the power supply, at around 5V and less it's dead on to 3 decimal places.
 So I guess I have some poking around to do, see if there is an adjustment to the 3rd output. Not sure if I should be concerned about the way Ch1 and Ch2 behave when switching the outputs on. That just seems weird to me. Does it in Series mode, too. In parallel it pulls both sides down to the lower of the two, which is always Ch1.

 In the meantime...hmm, what can I buy next, since obviously I didn't win a Tek scope unless I happen to get picked tomorrow. Maybe that solder/desolder station I want, though that's not exactly test equipment.

 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #937 on: March 30, 2017, 10:33:14 pm »
A good soldering station is worth a Tek Scope any day....
But for only ONE DAY then you need to get that Tek Scope and another one since sometimes one isn't enough. (sorry One is NEVER enough....)
Sue AF6LJ
 

Offline rrinker

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #938 on: March 30, 2017, 10:42:20 pm »
 If only that surplus place didn't have such ridiculous prices - I'd have a nice vintage Tek analog scope already.
Oh dear, I may be suffering from FOHETA - Fear Of Having Enough Tea Already. Or maybe just TEI - Test Equipment Indecision. Yeah, let's go with that one, the first is too scary to contemplate.
 

Online xrunner

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #939 on: March 30, 2017, 10:58:25 pm »
I also discovered my GDM-8251A is way off in the slow acquisition mode. It disagrees with the power supply meters by as much as 100mV. At first I put it down to the supply's meters being off, but I switched over to my Fluke 45 and they agree within a few mV. Switch the 8251 to medium mode and - now it agrees with the 45 and the power supply meters, within a few mV.  The difference gets bigger at the higher voltage settings of the power supply, at around 5V and less it's dead on to 3 decimal places.

I found this interesting and tried mine. I went from 10 mV to 45V and didn't find the same issue in the slow refresh mode (or the other two speeds).
I told my friends I could teach them to be funny, but they all just laughed at me.
 

Offline SingedFingers

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #940 on: March 31, 2017, 06:30:59 am »
A good soldering station is worth a Tek Scope any day....
But for only ONE DAY then you need to get that Tek Scope and another one since sometimes one isn't enough. (sorry One is NEVER enough....)

I sold my 465B to buy a Weller TCP station. Agree. Then again I already had two other scopes then :D

Have fixed the 475. Q1698 had bit the dust. Fortunately it was a 2n2907. Hoarding of old transistors pays off sometimes:

 
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Offline Cubdriver

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #941 on: March 31, 2017, 07:11:25 am »
 :-+ hoarding FTW!!  :-+

-Pat
If it jams, force it.  If it breaks, you needed a new one anyway...
 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #942 on: March 31, 2017, 12:45:02 pm »
A good soldering station is worth a Tek Scope any day....
But for only ONE DAY then you need to get that Tek Scope and another one since sometimes one isn't enough. (sorry One is NEVER enough....)

I sold my 465B to buy a Weller TCP station. Agree. Then again I already had two other scopes then :D

Have fixed the 475. Q1698 had bit the dust. Fortunately it was a 2n2907. Hoarding of old transistors pays off sometimes:


Good Deal...
Between my two Tek scopes; I suppose the one to go would be the Tek-466, but only the day I get a good 100MHZ digital scope... Having analogue storage is wonderful when you need it. The CRT in the 466 still has lots of hours left in it.
Sue AF6LJ
 

Online xrunner

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #943 on: March 31, 2017, 04:39:58 pm »
I seem to have formed an "HP" dedicated shelf, except there is an empty slot at the end.

What to do, what to do ...  :-//
I told my friends I could teach them to be funny, but they all just laughed at me.
 

Offline SingedFingers

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #944 on: March 31, 2017, 04:51:23 pm »
Clearly a 3478A belongs in there.
 
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Online MarkL

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #945 on: March 31, 2017, 05:26:52 pm »
I seem to have formed an "HP" dedicated shelf, except there is an empty slot at the end.

What to do, what to do ...  :-//
You're thinking about this the wrong way.

There's clearly enough room to move one of the shelves by one notch and get a third layer of HP in there (maybe minus the shelf support).
 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #946 on: March 31, 2017, 06:43:01 pm »
Clearly a 3478A belongs in there.
I was thinking a 3312A would go nicely over there on the end.
Sue AF6LJ
 

Offline SingedFingers

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #947 on: March 31, 2017, 06:46:29 pm »
I have an HP 3312A. I love it nearly as much as my family :)

Talking of HP, I had a moment of weakness and am now the owner of an HP 5328A counter. Nothing fancy. No C input option and no OCXO but it takes an external ref and isn't made of boiled poo like my current Heathkit IM-2410. This is for HF band stuff.

I'll post some photos when it turns up.

The bus inside the counter is exposed via card edge connectors and is well documented and I happen to have a 10MHz OCXO floating around so some magic may happen there, or a GPS reference may be purchased - haven't decided yet :)

This is a breakthrough for me. Just over two years ago I had shoddy crap test gear. It has all been replaced with good quality kit now :)
 
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Online xrunner

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #948 on: March 31, 2017, 07:08:02 pm »
Clearly a 3478A belongs in there.

There's one there, top row second from left.  :)

You're thinking about this the wrong way. There's clearly enough room to move one of the shelves by one notch and get a third layer of HP in there (maybe minus the shelf support).

The wrong way? Oh I see as in the wrong way - horizontally instead of vertically. Good idea!  8)

I was thinking a 3312A would go nicely over there on the end.

Hmmm - I could see that yea. I would also really like to have a 437B power meter, the price for one is OK but alas most don't come with the power sensor which can be as much or more than the main unit.  >:(

I told my friends I could teach them to be funny, but they all just laughed at me.
 

Offline SingedFingers

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #949 on: March 31, 2017, 07:15:25 pm »
I was going with the idea of another one for symmetry :)
 


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