Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bitseeker]

No wonder those knobs looked familiar, but I just couldn't quite put my mental finger on it when I saw the photos in your earlier post about the scope. Yep, they're from the modern version. That's neat. So, when you later upgrade to a DSOX, you'll have lots of spare knobs for it.

Getting parts from Keysight can be an interesting experience. In my case, perseverance paid off, but it took a few months. I look forward to reading your story.

[JPortici]

It needs assistance (doesn't boot)
but for 150 britbucks inc. shipping.. how could i leave it there, with no bids?

to say that it is big it is an understatement.
it is HUGE. way huge-r than tek mainframes.
and heavier, too but at least with big size comes a big CRT, unlike with tek

Wow I just bought a scope off Ebay too, yours is way hugerer than mine. 

Start a repair thread if you can!

and now it's working

[WastelandTek]

Hi, I'm WastelandTek, and I havent purchased a piece of gear for...10 days

[Cubdriver]

Hi, I'm WastelandTek, and I havent purchased a piece of gear for...10 days

Damned slacker!!  What are you waiting for?!?   

-Pat

[smurph]

It needs assistance (doesn't boot)
but for 150 britbucks inc. shipping.. how could i leave it there, with no bids?

to say that it is big it is an understatement.
it is HUGE. way huge-r than tek mainframes.
and heavier, too but at least with big size comes a big CRT, unlike with tek

Wow I just bought a scope off Ebay too, yours is way hugerer than mine. 

Start a repair thread if you can!

and now it's working

Awesome!!!!  Don't you just love getting a fixer-upper (And I do mean "upper" in the sense of your addiction) that works out.  Lucky for us, when the unit doesn't turn on one day, they get rid of it.  People used to try and fix these things before scrapping them.  Not any more.  Good news for us!

One of the biggest issues seems to be dead NVRAM batteries.  Most equipment will display an error and out the door they go!  Solder a new battery in, maybe do some calibration routine (which causes more TE to be obtained), and working!  I have had at least two piece of TE with this issue from my latest binge.  But then...  sometimes they are hopeless causes too.  But knowing that risk and then getting one back working makes it all the more sweet.

So a TE addiction could possibly be related to a gambling addiction...  Ugh oh!

Steve

[smurph]

Hi, I'm WastelandTek, and I havent purchased a piece of gear for...10 days

Damned slacker!!  What are you waiting for?!?   

-Pat

Yeah!  It has only been less than 4 hours for me.  I'm still ganked up!

Steve

[WastelandTek]

Hi, I'm WastelandTek, and I havent purchased a piece of gear for...10 days

Damned slacker!!  What are you waiting for?!?   

-Pat

uhhhhh...   payday?

[bitseeker]

I hadn't bought TE for a while (more than 1.5 months), but then an HP 3469A came along. Not that I need another DMM (bench or handheld), but it's different, came with a printed operating/service manual, and the price was right. So, now I have too many + 1 multimeters.

[xrunner]

I hadn't bought TE for a while (more than 1.5 months), but then an HP 3469A came along. Not that I need another DMM (bench or handheld), but it's different, came with a printed operating/service manual, and the price was right. So, now I have too many + 1 multimeters.

I just looked that one up. Hadn't seen it before. Does it have the red LED "dots" for the display? That's a cool look. Is it working or do you have another project in this one?

[bitseeker]

Yeah, I've seen some of the "B" series ones, but rarely an "A" and no scanned manuals. How could I resist such a mysterious little beast? The operating condition was "unknown", but it has all its buttons, switches, and the HP logo/badge. It's on its way, so I'll post more about it when it arrives.

[Cubdriver]

Yeah, I've seen some of the "B" series ones, but rarely an "A" and no scanned manuals. How could I resist such a mysterious little beast? The operating condition was "unknown", but it has all its buttons, switches, and the HP logo/badge. It's on its way, so I'll post more about it when it arrives.

Very cool.  There is certainly a dearth of photos of the 'A' model on the net.  Nice find!  The form factor looks like the smaller analog meters, but with a digital readout.  Interesting piece of history in the transition to lower profile bench DMMs.

-Pat

[JPortici]

It needs assistance (doesn't boot)
but for 150 britbucks inc. shipping.. how could i leave it there, with no bids?

to say that it is big it is an understatement.
it is HUGE. way huge-r than tek mainframes.
and heavier, too but at least with big size comes a big CRT, unlike with tek

Wow I just bought a scope off Ebay too, yours is way hugerer than mine. 

Start a repair thread if you can!

and now it's working

Awesome!!!!  Don't you just love getting a fixer-upper (And I do mean "upper" in the sense of your addiction) that works out.  Lucky for us, when the unit doesn't turn on one day, they get rid of it.  People used to try and fix these things before scrapping them.  Not any more.  Good news for us!

One of the biggest issues seems to be dead NVRAM batteries.  Most equipment will display an error and out the door they go!  Solder a new battery in, maybe do some calibration routine (which causes more TE to be obtained), and working!  I have had at least two piece of TE with this issue from my latest binge.  But then...  sometimes they are hopeless causes too.  But knowing that risk and then getting one back working makes it all the more sweet.

So a TE addiction could possibly be related to a gambling addiction...  Ugh oh!

Steve

In my case the mainframe's problem was on the crt video cable assembly/driver. A ""gentle"" hit on the side made it work again.

Then i had to go away for vacations D:

Well yes, there is still a lot to do like actually fixing the problem, cleaning all the encoders and switches, upgrading the fans with sonething with a bearable noise level and checking the plugins, if the self cal every couple of minutes is correct and why it changes the amplitude scale on its own...
Photos will come

But i knew i could make it, picking up something for peanuts and an easy fix

[VK5RC]

I have been very good (or bad depending on how you look at it)- but saw in an old HP catalogue what looked interesting to me - an HP 8901A Modulation Analyzer.
One is now winging its way to the Great Southern Land

[xrunner]

I have been very good (or bad depending on how you look at it)- but saw in an old HP catalogue what looked interesting to me - an HP 8901A Modulation Analyzer.
One is now winging its way to the Great Southern Land

Big Iron! Be nice for deviation measurements around here.

[bitseeker]

That looks mighty hefty!

[AF6LJ]

That looks mighty hefty!

They are not that heave, a friend has one on his job bench..
I recently helped him rearrange his bench, the only thing that weighed of any consequence was the broken HP-8569 I removed from his bench. (65LBS)

[WastelandTek]

my god...it's full of stars

[smurph]

That looks mighty hefty!

They are not that heave, a friend has one on his job bench..
I recently helped him rearrange his bench, the only thing that weighed of any consequence was the broken HP-8569 I removed from his bench. (65LBS)

The Fluke 6080 I just got weighed in at a solid 70 lbs.  And then there is the Tek 492 "portable" spectrum analyzer that weighs 54 lbs.  Amazing what we consider portable now days is different than when these things were made!  These old things can be portable "if you must" and have hand trucks.   

Steve

[bitseeker]

Yeah, it's portable, alright, compared to a mainframe computer I suppose.

Which reminds me of this chap.

45 minutes:


Or the short version (16 min):

[VK5RC]

@W-Tek   HiHi, my life is closer to...... open the pod bay doors Hal.....

[smurph]

OMG!  That was me 30 years ago!  Only I brought a Motorola MVME88k mainframe home with me.  Not nearly as big.  But still BIG by even Y2K standards.  I got it from the Motorola office in Darmstadt, Germany.  I had stopped in there one trip to talk to those guys and ended up walking out (figuratively) with the thing.  Same procedure.  Take it apart, move it in separate trips.  Then had it shipped to the US via sea freight container.  I still have that monster sitting right next to me.    It weighs about 400 lbs.

Somehow, I now find myself wanting a S890.  Man, I really have mainframe envy now!  I'm just glad that kid doesn't have a test equipment addiction...  yet.  We couldn't compete with him if he did. 

I have to hand it to his parents, being so supportive and all.  I had to wait until I got out of the house before I could pull something like that off. 

Steve

[Berni]

They are not that heave, a friend has one on his job bench..
I recently helped him rearrange his bench, the only thing that weighed of any consequence was the broken HP-8569 I removed from his bench. (65LBS)

The Fluke 6080 I just got weighed in at a solid 70 lbs.  And then there is the Tek 492 "portable" spectrum analyzer that weighs 54 lbs.  Amazing what we consider portable now days is different than when these things were made!  These old things can be portable "if you must" and have hand trucks.   

Steve

My working HP 8566B (22GHz SA) is perfectly portable within the same room, it sits in a U42 server rack that is on caster wheels.

[AF6LJ]

Yeah, it's portable, alright, compared to a mainframe computer I suppose.

Which reminds me of this chap.

45 minutes:


Or the short version (16 min):

The equivalent to this in amateur radio is when a ham buys a broadcast transmitter.

[bitseeker]

The equivalent to this in amateur radio is when a ham buys a broadcast transmitter.

Ah, yes. Doesn't Paul Carlson have one or a part of one? I think it was a night transmitter or something.

[WastelandTek]

The equivalent to this in amateur radio is when a ham buys a broadcast transmitter.

Ah, yes. Doesn't Paul Carlson have one or a part of one? I think it was a night transmitter or something.

yes, and the TWO Tek 500 series scopes hanging from the ceiling, that guy's shack is off the freaking hook