Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[AF6LJ]

Right, so I spent some money at the Contained Store and re-did the lower shelf with deeper shelving. I was able to get the new 5316B on the shelf along with what I already had. TEST has been satisfied - for the time being.

Funny thing is though, I seem to have created more slots. 

Now I have to fill them up! 

Yes you DO have to fill them,
Remember Nature Abhors A Vacuum..

[Berni]

Look on the bright side, you know have a choice between getting a half rack or full rack width piece of gear. Makes for a wider search space on ebay for a fitting bargain.

[TiN]

TiN Are you leading a new trend pressure-nuts?
VK5RC

That remain to be veiled for time being

... too much else going on/unfinished projects.

You violated first rule of TEA, never, ever let other unfinished projects stop from making new unfinished projects! The flow must go on. After X amount of acquisitions you will magically find yourself in position, that previous unfinished projects will become automatically finished, or in better case somebody else's new unfinished projects, and we get new TEA minions... 

[bitseeker]

You violated first rule of TEA, never, ever let other unfinished projects stop from making new unfinished projects! The flow must go on. After X amount of acquisitions you will magically find yourself in position, that previous unfinished projects will become automatically finished, or in better case somebody else's new unfinished projects, and we get new TEA minions... 

Woah...

[AF6LJ]

TiN Are you leading a new trend pressure-nuts?
VK5RC

That remain to be veiled for time being

... too much else going on/unfinished projects.

You violated first rule of TEA, never, ever let other unfinished projects stop from making new unfinished projects! The flow must go on. After X amount of acquisitions you will magically find yourself in position, that previous unfinished projects will become automatically finished, or in better case somebody else's new unfinished projects, and we get new TEA minions... 

Well Done... 

[HighVoltage]

I'm hopeless.... Fluke 719  ...

I find them extremely overpriced but one day I will also get one ...

[HighVoltage]

I just updated the firmware on all of my four Keysight handheld meters with an IR to USB cable.

And while I was perfectly happy with these meters, I started browsing the sales sites, I found that one can equip each meter with a Bluetooth adapter and a remote watching device for 4 meters at a time. \
Hmm, I guess I will place an order on Monday.
(May be I get a discount when buying 4 Bluetooth adapters?)

[xrunner]

I just updated the firmware on all of my four Keysight handheld meters with an IR to USB cable.

Ooh Aaw 

I love the design of those meters and especially the display on the U1253B. 

[VK5RC]

TiN; Thanks - I don't need to feel so guilty about stuff I haven't done
+1 re the U1253B display - its great when there is s**t everywhere and the meter has got bumped and off angle . Its my go to meter.

[AF6LJ]

I just updated the firmware on all of my four Keysight handheld meters with an IR to USB cable.

And while I was perfectly happy with these meters, I started browsing the sales sites, I found that one can equip each meter with a Bluetooth adapter and a remote watching device for 4 meters at a time. \
Hmm, I guess I will place an order on Monday.
(May be I get a discount when buying 4 Bluetooth adapters?)

I need to get one of those...
My prototype Becman (now Wavetek) RMS-225 is twenty six years old......
I cannot complain the price was right...
$0.00 USD...

[bitseeker]

Yeah, OLED screens have amazing contrast and viewing angles. My old first-gen Galaxy smartphone has an OLED screen. Really pops.

However, the price of the current score on U1252B DMMs was too good to pass up.

[mtdoc]

We're on our annual big city vacation to Portland this week. Today was TEA day. I did my annual trip to Surplus Gizmos and despite numerous temptations as seen in the first 2 photos, I managed to escape only spending $7 on a large 4 conductor 10 AWG cable I plan to use to make a generator cord with.

But nearby I stopped to pick up a Tek 475 that I spotted on Craigslist. Ryan, a very nice test engineer from Maxim had a few 475's each with issues and each for only $35 each. Since I already have one at home that has one non-functioning channel, I figured I could justify buying one more at that price as a parts donor if nothing else. It turned out to be one in reasonably good condition. A quick test showed decent traces on both channels but with some issues.  But for $35....how could I not take it!

Ryan had a whole garage full of gear - much of it old ham gear but also some test gear which he apparently diverted from a fate in the Maxim dumpsters.  I spotted a stack of 5 Data Precision 8200 voltage/current calibrators which he said he planned to sell after he'd had a chance to test them, etc. Since i expressed an interest we powered them up. All powered up fine but all had some issues with inconsistent or no response to knob/pot turning - they'd been used via GPIB only apparently. With my wife and kids waiting and no time to do any real testing, he convinced me that I needed 2 of them and for $20 each how could I say no....

[Cubdriver]

That's a great haul!!!!  Those DP 8200s look great!  Find out if he wants to unload another one    - I'd be happy to take one off his hands.   

Unfortunately, my travels don't ever take me to Portland...  (Perhaps that's a good thing..)

-Pat

[mtdoc]

That's a great haul!!!!  Those DP 8200s look great!  Find out if he wants to unload another one    - I'd be happy to take one off his hands.   

Unfortunately, my travels don't ever take me to Portland...  (Perhaps that's a good thing..)

-Pat

In addition to the 3 I didn't take, he said he had others stored elsewhere. Unfortunately, he did not sound too interested in dealing with shipping, etc.  But it wouldn't hurt to ask. Here's his Craigslist listing. You could try contacting him through that.

BTW, he also mentioned he had other stuff - power supplies, old Fluke bench meters, etc.  I did not have a chance to look at any of that, both because my wife and kids were waiting and because I was afraid that if I even started down that road, I would have have risked having a full on GAS attack!  I went there telling myself i was going to buy one $35 scope. All in all I'm pretty proud of the self restraint I showed. One day at a time... It's a good thing I live 4 1/2 hours away and am headed home tomorrow though

[Cubdriver]

LOL - stop on your way home and grab another one and I'll pay YOU to ship it!   

(I'd get in a lot of trouble if I lived out that way!!)

[mtdoc]

 Asking others to score your drugs test equipment for you now, are we?   

Ha! No, if I did that then I'd really be an enabler!

[Brumby]

But nearby I stopped to pick up a Tek 475 that I spotted on Craigslist. Ryan, a very nice test engineer from Maxim had a few 475's each with issues and each for only $35 each. Since I already have one at home that has one non-functioning channel, I figured I could justify buying one more at that price as a parts donor if nothing else. It turned out to be one in reasonably good condition. A quick test showed decent traces on both channels but with some issues.  But for $35....how could I not take it!

I'm feeling a hunger.

Ryan had a whole garage full of gear - much of it old ham gear but also some test gear which he apparently diverted from a fate in the Maxim dumpsters.  I spotted a stack of 5 Data Precision 8200 voltage/current calibrators which he said he planned to sell after he'd had a chance to test them, etc. Since i expressed an interest we powered them up. All powered up fine but all had some issues with inconsistent or no response to knob/pot turning - they'd been used via GPIB only apparently. With my wife and kids waiting and no time to do any real testing, he convinced me that I needed 2 of them and for $20 each how could I say no....

Enough!  You are killing me!!!!

[xrunner]

LOL - stop on your way home and grab another one and I'll pay YOU to ship it!   

(I'd get in a lot of trouble if I lived out that way!!)

Tell him to get two and ship you two, then I'll pay you to ship me one of the two ! 

[AF6LJ]

That's a great haul!!!!  Those DP 8200s look great!  Find out if he wants to unload another one    - I'd be happy to take one off his hands.   

Unfortunately, my travels don't ever take me to Portland...  (Perhaps that's a good thing..)

-Pat

Agreed Great Haul....
And everyone should have a Tek-475.

[tggzzz]

And everyone should have a Tek-475.

You misspelled 485 

I'll be selling my 475+DM44 at the end of the month, I hope.

[BravoV]

And everyone should have a Tek-475.

You misspelled 485 

I'll be selling my 475+DM44 at the end of the month, I hope.

Sigh .... locally, I have an offering for both 465B + 485 , which I keep postponing for quite sometimes now ....   

Every times whenever I read someone talk about these 2, that offer keeps banging and torturing my hoarding nerves ... 

[bitseeker]

@mtdoc, that's some impressive restraint you're exhibiting. I guess it's a good thing you weren't alone.

It sounds like Ryan should just load up a truck full of gear and head down the coast, selling off test and ham equipment along the way. The TEA Tour West, 2017.

[tggzzz]

And everyone should have a Tek-475.

You misspelled 485 

I'll be selling my 475+DM44 at the end of the month, I hope.

Sigh .... locally, I have an offering for both 465B + 485 , which I keep postponing for quite sometimes now ....   

Every times whenever I read someone talk about these 2, that offer keeps banging and torturing my hoarding nerves ... 

I also have two 465s (not 465Bs) to unload 

Shame you're on the wrong side of the planet. Maybe if/when I visit Borabudur...

[xrunner]

I'm brainstorming a little (yea I know most people think my brain is a storm anyway). What to get next?

I'm thinking something along the lines of the Tek TM500 Series plug-ins. In the lab I worked in, we had those all over the place. We had the two different types of DMMs, the pulse generator, the scope, the dual PS, frequency counter, among others. I remember using the GPIB from a PC - I think it was running a Pentium - to get data back from the DM5010 DMM. Ah the good old days. There's still lots of them available on Ebay. I even saw some new old stock TM503 mainframes.

I think that sounds like a really neat idea don't you. 

(yea I know - that's like asking a heroin addict if he wants another hit)

[bitseeker]

Sounds good to me. I remember using some of those in university engineering and physics lab classes.