Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[neo]

I'll tell you what it is if i ever get it working, which is a slim chance.

Does that mean we'll never know what it is? Should we take guesses in the meantime?

If i tell you it will become a thread all it's own with better ways to do it that will confuse me. Feel free to guess, i will even go so far as to say it has a display.


In the meantime, i am fresh back from hamfest enjoy this picture of my best find. That meter bigger than my face.

[neo]

List of things bought.
Multi-meters.
Keithley 177 for $15 spot on voltage no handles
Fluke 8050A for $50 spot on voltage, fresh nicads, pristine condition, sharp LCD; original manual, test leads and test lead case complete with RF probe.
Hickok 209A  for $35 very clean though DC probe and power cord are trashed.

FC.
BK 1801 for $20 No KHz, only MHz though MHz is spot on.

Power supply.
Pyramid PS-26K for $10, is basically junk but the panel meters and transformer work.

EDIT: The psu is actually in pretty good condition, i just thought it was junk because it had a piece of something stuck in the fan making it sound like a dying cat. So filthy but functional.

[bd139]

Nice haul

[neo]

Nice haul

I took a look inside the Hickok and near as i can tell it is all original. Which despite meaning i need to restore it also means that nobody has screwed with it. Also no batteries and to my surprise the battery terminals are still shiny metal and not corroded much that i could see.

[bd139]

That's pretty lucky. That's and the 8050A being in good condition is miraculous. I always find crimes inside what I buy

[neo]

That's pretty lucky. That and the 8050A being in good condition is miraculous. I always find crimes inside what I buy

I guess i just had a lucky streak. To be entirely fair the Hickok internals look non-butchered but the probes and power cord for it are toast. The power cord needs replaced, DC probe is broke and the AC probe is missing tip.

[bitseeker]

Quite the haul there, neo. Always nice to find things haven't been futzed with inside, let alone in pristine condition.

[TiN]

I'm damned...with ESI RS925D "resistor"  .

[Mr. Scram]

Gentlemen! Welcome back to the shop. I have today a TEA especial. I was out looking for a new oscilloscope and a decent bench supply. Obviously, the logical thing for me to do was to visit eBay and buy a Fluke 87V  Apparently, I'm a big boy now, and can stick my pokey bit in whatever receptacle I please. You just can't do that for $20. You have to be real careful about the receptacles you prod at such a low price point.

In my defense, your honour, the price was decent. It's a little more than half of the listing price of a local new one without tax, and a lot less than half of the listing price with taxes added. I can deduct taxes through my company, but that's not going to happen when I buy on eBay. I can try, but that likely means becoming a subject of probe related activities myself. The Fluke is pretty much brand new, with all the accessories and documentation included, the cables still neatly tied together and the screen protector screen protecting. The only thing showing a bit of wear is the original box itself. Dating is a bit tough and because I worried I might have received one of the GSM sensitive units, I scared myself by tearing the thing apart. Luckily, I found this unit is revision 12, one better than the GSM proofed revision 11 that Dave reviewed.

I really don't need the Fluke right now, but at the same time knew I was going to buy something ostentatious sooner or later. Why waste time? Why be wasteful later, when we can be wasteful now? Carpe 87V. He who buys equipment, for which he hasn't got a use, salutes you.

[bd139]

It's cheaper to be wasteful now what with inflation, or so that's what I tell SWMBO

[xrunner]

He who buys equipment, for which he hasn't got a use, salutes you.

For those about to buy test equipment we salute you!

[AF6LJ]

Saving Test Gear
From Landfills
World Wide
This Is

Test Equipment Anonymous

[bitseeker]

Gentlemen! Welcome back to the shop. I have today a TEA especial.

Sounds like you got some skookum doobly-doos!

[Berni]

But the question is, is she a skookom choocher.

On another note i just got an Keithley 617 (As seen on the eevblog). Needs some repair to get it working tho.

[Mr. Scram]

Sounds like you got some skookum doobly-doos!

But the question is, is she a skookom choocher.

On another note i just got an Keithley 617 (As seen on the eevblog). Needs some repair to get it working tho.

In the words of our favorite pet Canadian: aaaaaaw fack yea! Even though the difference with a cheapie isn't in your face glaringly obvious, there are many niceties to enjoy. I poked it in the mains for good measure too, just to convince myself that I bought something better for a reason. Obviously, the sickness cannot be cured, only postponed, so I'm already looking at it and regretting that it does everything but data logging.

[bitseeker]

Yeah, logging is nice to have. I got a Keysight Bluetooth interface for my DMMs for wireless logging and remote viewing of measurements on a tablet. Fun stuff.

Unlimited TEA served here.

[Brumby]

I'm waiting on the delivery of an AN8008.

It's been more than a year since my last purchase. (Other budgetary priorities - but you can't abstain forever. ... Can you?)

[VK5RC]

My Name is Robert and I am a Test-aholic
I was looking at the HP 5335A and thought what was the unit 1 number below it i.e. 5334. I looked at the specs and they were pretty close and it went for about a quarter of the price of the 'popular' 5335A/B ......well.......
It works fine, no major damage - feet missing but I have some spares 
And I am a bit of an LED fan, (almost up there with Nixies )   - I don't think I will ever feel that way about LCD.
Photos prior to clean.

[bd139]

I hate LCDs. They're horrible to read. I have no love for the nixie though as they make my eyes go funny.  Analogue meters and LEDs for me!

I really like DIS1417/TIL311 displays. On the bench at the moment and another 4 in the post now:

[VK5RC]

I quite like the fuzzy look of Nixies - at my age most things are like that ! HiHi
Love those Dot LEDs as well.
I thought I should put an action shot! All those LEDS! Mmmmmmmmmmmm. 

[bd139]

Nice counters those. I had a 5328A until recently when I got fed up of it sounding like a hoover going in the background all the time!

Had the C channel and DVM options.

[Berni]

Im sure something could be done about the noise on it since it probably doesn't run that terribly hot. I did swap the fans in some of my PSUs or slow down the existing fan (And ran it full load for an hour to make sure its enough cooling)

Where i could not do that is some big boatanchor RF gear that consumes so much power that it still runs rather hot even with the "jet engine" fans blowing trough it with all there might. But at least they keep you warm in the winter.

[tggzzz]

I quite like the fuzzy look of Nixies - at my age most things are like that !

Seen at the recent Hannover Maker Faire, a working 1962 scope with integral rise-time measurement for sub-nanosecond signals.



Nice ergonomics: it highlights the 0%, 100% and the measured interval time, and also has a min/max filter. The counters are discrete transistors, the display is nixie tubes.

Naturally I didn't have my camera, so that is a stock photo.

(The latter was doubly irritating since they also had a 1.00000000kg weight in a nice display case)

[bd139]

Oh wow that's one nice scope

I bet the inside looks just as glowy and warm.

[xrunner]

My Name is Robert and I am a Test-aholic
I was looking at the HP 5335A and thought what was the unit 1 number below it i.e. 5334. I looked at the specs and they were pretty close and it went for about a quarter of the price of the 'popular' 5335A/B ......well.......
It works fine, no major damage - feet missing but I have some spares 
And I am a bit of an LED fan, (almost up there with Nixies )   - I don't think I will ever feel that way about LCD.
Photos prior to clean.

Nice - I have a very clean 5334B. If the buttons stick there are ways to fix that (mine don't any more) ...