Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Cubdriver]

If you want to get yourself in trouble, go here and start downloading catalogs.

http://www.hparchive.com/hp_catalogs.htm

Those from the sixties and early seventies will provide the most search fodder for nixie addicts.

Your counter must be later than ’72 and earlier than '77 (the two I looked at), because the '72 didn't show the opt 011 oscillator, and by '77 there was no more option 1 - that catalog states that all of them come with 8 digits.

-Pat

[bitseeker]

Damn, dude - I just looked at the 'bay, and if that's the one I think it is, you stole it!!  REALLY nice score!!

Thanks, Pat. I was really reluctant to go for it since there was no activity on it. I was the only one with a watch on. Perhaps it was because it was listed several times before at a much higher (though not terrible) starting price.

If you want to get yourself in trouble, go here and start downloading catalogs.

http://www.hparchive.com/hp_catalogs.htm

Those from the sixties and early seventies will provide the most search fodder for nixie addicts.

Just what I needed. I shall peruse them with care.

Your counter must be later than ’72 and earlier than '77 (the two I looked at), because the '72 didn't show the opt 011 oscillator, and by '77 there was no more option 1 - that catalog states that all of them come with 8 digits.

Very interesting. The manuals I've seen must've been for the earlier models (no 011).

[Cubdriver]

That one's not in my search anymore as it's usually maxed out and I need to prune something every time something else catches my eye, otherwise you might have had some competition.   

Oh, and if you want to really get in trouble by way of the catalogs, do what I foolishly did and start tracking down and buying the hard copies! They don't seem terribly expensive at typically about $20 a copy, but that cost is just the beginning!!   

Based on the auction photos, it looks a little dirty, but I bet it will clean up nicely with a little elbow grease.  I've found that taking the sheet metal panels off and soaking them in hot water with some ammonia and dish detergent cleans them up quite effectively.  I scrub them with a fingernail brush, and hit them with a sponge as well.

I see it looks to have its feet in addition to its badge, too - excellentl!

-Pat

[VK5RC]

BEWARE bitseeker of the evil Cubdriver tempting the youth of today with the 'pornographic' publications of the past (known as the HP Journal) or even more seriously the Catalogues!
I now realise a NEED for 5327, I have the 5326 and the 5328. I must resist..............
Nice find bitseeker.

Seriously I have just found my first ever crystal failure (in a Yaesu transceiver FT 101, the LSB oscillator) when it has turned into a DC resistor of 260 . It is in a weird HC6U carrier, 3181.5kHz and has a very low equiv series resistance ~40 when working properly, the only way is a whole board - they are available. I might try a newer crystal with a bit of circuit bodging.

[bd139]

I'm forever buggering up crystals. I didn't know you could make them hot until recently 

I found a few as well, particularly in Heathkit stuff, that you have to give a flick to get to oscillate or they get fussy about load capacitance. Found a local guy who makes them to order in the end for a small fortune which solved that problem.

[Berni]

Seriously I have just found my first ever crystal failure (in a Yaesu transceiver FT 101, the LSB oscillator) when it has turned into a DC resistor of 260 . It is in a weird HC6U carrier, 3181.5kHz and has a very low equiv series resistance ~40 when working properly, the only way is a whole board - they are available. I might try a newer crystal with a bit of circuit bodging.

I found a dead crystal in my keithley electometer. That one was completely open circuit. Used a really odd ball frequency too in a weird big can so finding a replacement was quite a search.

[Specmaster]

I'm forever buggering up crystals. I didn't know you could make them hot until recently 

I found a few as well, particularly in Heathkit stuff, that you have to give a flick to get to oscillate or they get fussy about load capacitance. Found a local guy who makes them to order in the end for a small fortune which solved that problem.

How did you manage to do that, wack it across an output of an amplifier to use as a mini speaker  Seriously though how you check a crystal is OK? 

[bd139]

I'm forever buggering up crystals. I didn't know you could make them hot until recently 

I found a few as well, particularly in Heathkit stuff, that you have to give a flick to get to oscillate or they get fussy about load capacitance. Found a local guy who makes them to order in the end for a small fortune which solved that problem.

How did you manage to do that, wack it across an output of an amplifier to use as a mini speaker  Seriously though how you check a crystal is OK? 

Well if you add a lot of feedback to a crystal it can get hot. Usually this knackers it permanently. This was in a poor attempt to make a VXO with a 12AT7 valve. I managed to blow up the valve, three crystals and zap myself twice in the process. Then I crawled back to transistors with my tail between my legs.

How do you test a crystal is ok? Two options: built a crystal activity test rig or build a simple oscillator and connect it to a counter. I did the latter and it looks like the following. There's a 2 pin jumper that allows you to chuck 33pF in series so you can measure motional parameters from frequency shift to build crystal filters.



Edit: btw the rationale behind the above is that crystal filters are bloody expensive so (£100+ for a decent CW one) so I'd rather buy a shit ton of crystals from aliexpress (200 off so far) and knock my own ones out through selection.

Reference articles:

https://www.arrl.org/files/file/QEX_Next_Issue/Nov-Dec_2009/QEX_Nov-Dec_09_Feature.pdf

[ChrisLX200]

Yep, I've made a crystal tester circuit too - and then there's also the [inevitable] Chinese gadget that does the job...

[mnementh]

So... did you test the crystal in your crystal tester before you used it to test other crystals? 


mnem
*Crawls back into my hole*

[bd139]

And that's how you become a time nut. Clearly to test a crystal you need a GPS disciplined oscillator attached to a counter to make sure the counter is counting correctly

Or you lucky Americans who can just zero beat WWV

[mnementh]

And that's how you become a time nut. Clearly to test a crystal you need a GPS disciplined oscillator attached to a counter to make sure the counter is counting correctly

Or you lucky Americans who can just zero beat WWV

...sounds kinky. I'll shoot video for social media... 


mnem
"Oh, I beat my knee with a monkey wrench, cuz it feels so good when I stop..."

[Specmaster]

Yep, I've made a crystal tester circuit too - and then there's also the [inevitable] Chinese gadget that does the job...

Interesting, how accurate is it?

[Cerebus]

And that's how you become a time nut. Clearly to test a crystal you need a GPS disciplined oscillator attached to a counter to make sure the counter is counting correctly

Or you lucky Americans who can just zero beat WWV

No, you use the GPSDO as the master clock input to your VNA, and then test the crystal with that. Obviously after calibrating the VNA with a set of metrology grade connectors (short, open) and air line, all of which you check with a laser interferometer, that you check with a maser interferometer, that you phase lock to your GPSDO. 

[Specmaster]

Good news, my rather scruffy pair of Fluke 27's arrived today, 2 days ahead of when they were scheduled, thanks RM. Anyway I tested them out before cleaning and all yellow one was pretty good but the latest one, CAT3 was all over the shop. Anyway, stripped them down, cleaned switch contacts with Servisol Super 10 and the input sockets connections on the PCB with a fibre class pencil and the screws.

Cleaned the cases with bathroom cleaner and a toothbrush, dried and re-assembled them and tested against known values and they were .001v out and the resistance ranges was equally out buy .001 ohms so pretty good.

Here's some before and after shots and before they were looking like proper dog turds and now they look like the muts nuts as their always licking them. So I'm still looking for a 27 case so that I can stick the 25's guts in it and then I have 3 pretty good meters that are pretty much bang on the money as calibration as there is only 1 count out between all three of them so I'm a happy bunny.

[xrunner]

Good job on the clean-up. 

[bd139]

Looking good! Makes me want a 25

[Specmaster]

Why a 25 and not a 27? Extra functions then.

[bd139]

Cheaper

How about this for a stupid end price: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F112770528191

[ChrisLX200]

Yep, I've made a crystal tester circuit too - and then there's also the [inevitable] Chinese gadget that does the job...

Interesting, how accurate is it?

It's as good as I could measure down to its last digit (based on my Tek scope readout and Racal 1998). I've since bought a Racal 2022 counter so I guess I should re-test the thing to confirm that. Doesn't do high frequency though, quoted 20MHz tops but it does go a bit higher than that.

[ChrisLX200]

Cheaper

How about this for a stupid end price: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F112770528191

Jeezus, someone really wanted that!

[Specmaster]

That's just so crazy, how does that compare to yours now that you've cleaned it up a bit?

Its in beautiful condition though, looks like not been used more then a few hours, wonder if the bidders were buying on behalf of a museum, that might explain the high price.

[bd139]

It’s a storage scope which is the only reason I can think of. Problem is there is a superior 7623 floating around on eBay for weeks which didn’t even get a look in.

[bitseeker]

That one's not in my search anymore as it's usually maxed out and I need to prune something every time something else catches my eye, otherwise you might have had some competition.   

Oh! Lucky me.

Oh, and if you want to really get in trouble by way of the catalogs, do what I foolishly did and start tracking down and buying the hard copies! They don't seem terribly expensive at typically about $20 a copy, but that cost is just the beginning!!   

LOL! Nope, I'm OK with the soft copies even though paper is nicer for browsing.

Based on the auction photos, it looks a little dirty, but I bet it will clean up nicely with a little elbow grease.  I've found that taking the sheet metal panels off and soaking them in hot water with some ammonia and dish detergent cleans them up quite effectively.  I scrub them with a fingernail brush, and hit them with a sponge as well.

For how long do you soak them? The sticky surface on my 3468A multimeter took several rounds of scrubbing to get clean. Pretty stubborn stuff.

I see it looks to have its feet in addition to its badge, too - excellentl!

Yep, it sure did look that way. Maybe the tilting bails, too. That'd be great as I don't have extra feet for HP stuff of this vintage.

[bitseeker]

BEWARE bitseeker of the evil Cubdriver tempting the youth of today with the 'pornographic' publications of the past (known as the HP Journal) or even more seriously the Catalogues!

Haha! He's quite the enabler. Kind of appropriate the "driver" in his name.

I now realise a NEED for 5327, I have the 5326 and the 5328. I must resist..............
Nice find bitseeker.

Thanks. So what's your newly realized need relative to the 5326 and 5328? 500 MHz? The 5328 has nice plug-in options.