Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[neo]

See the thing is they happen to use an annoying size, i found it once but i can't remember how.

[bd139]

8000A is a 1/4" x 1" Littelfuse AGX2 2A one.

I have an 8000A here but it's one sick little bastard. I might have to buy another one but I fear that will be a sick little bastard and then I'm going to have meter vomit everywhere.

[bitseeker]

Have just cancelled my house sale. Whole fucking chain has fallen to bits. So far about £3000 down the shitter

Sorry to hear that, bd. Real estate is crazy in the US, too. Foreign investors and all.

You're right about stuff being bigger. For what I was going to pay for a house in Staines, I can get a 7 bedroom detached house with double garage in Lincolnshire. That's a whole double garage to fill with crap! 

7-bedroom house! So, you can have three labs, right?

Whatcha mean, "fill with crap!" It's lovely TEA goodness.

[bitseeker]

I’ve always thought that HP screws rust faster than a Lada.

Yeah, the screws and the threaded GPIB studs.

[Specmaster]

RS stock both for certain. The one in your 8010A is an HRC and will set you back some cash. Farnell sell them individually.

Back on the subject of the T12 soldering stuff. Got my little 100W boost converter from China this morning. Have hooked it up to the T12 and a hefty new 13.8v radio power supply (20A) to see what sort of load I am likely to see and it can’t deiver more than 16v into the T12 without stalling and whining away like mad. Total shit. Widlarizing the turd tomorrow. I stuffed a fat 15000uF 50v cap across the input as well and that didn’t even help.

Get the larger case and the Quicko mains power supply and use the front control panel from the one you got, or get a large hefty power supply from Maplin that can give 20v or more at 4A, no more problems then. 

[bd139]

Yep. Just ordered another entire kit. Not like I’m going to have to buy fitted curtains now

Main idea was to try and run my entire life off a 12v DC supply in the shack backed up by solar. Alas no shack now so mains it is.

[Specmaster]

Yep. Just ordered another entire kit. Not like I’m going to have to buy fitted curtains now

Main idea was to try and run my entire life off a 12v DC supply in the shack backed up by solar. Alas no shack now so mains it is.

True, but don't forget the fitted carpets that you wont be buying now, so that new keysight scope may have gotten a little bit closer now as well?

[bd139]

Don’t give me ideas

I actually figured I can get away with an old 100MHz analogue that can just about see a 144Mhz signal and a low speed digital scope. If I buy old ones I get quality (as described in zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance rather than the traditional version) which is not something I get from new kit which is disposable. You have to want to use it and feel connected to it.

Basically I don’t want to be a Prius driver

[Specmaster]

Don’t give me ideas

I actually figured I can get away with an old 100MHz analogue that can just about see a 144Mhz signal and a low speed digital scope. If I buy old ones I get quality (as described in zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance rather than the traditional version) which is not something I get from new kit which is disposable. You have to want to use it and feel connected to it.

Basically I don’t want to be a Prius driver

Well you've got your 100MHz analogue scope now, so thats 1 down and 1 to go 

[mnementh]

Yes, but you'll need more than that to calibrate a ratiometric perfection tattler.


mnem
Have you hugged your 2465 today? 

[AF6LJ]

Don’t give me ideas

I actually figured I can get away with an old 100MHz analogue that can just about see a 144Mhz signal and a low speed digital scope. If I buy old ones I get quality (as described in zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance rather than the traditional version) which is not something I get from new kit which is disposable. You have to want to use it and feel connected to it.

Basically I don’t want to be a Prius driver

Now there is a man after my heart....
Your test equipment should have personality and a soul made of real Tek, HP or Fluke Iron.

[Cubdriver]

Don’t give me ideas

I actually figured I can get away with an old 100MHz analogue that can just about see a 144Mhz signal and a low speed digital scope. If I buy old ones I get quality (as described in zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance rather than the traditional version) which is not something I get from new kit which is disposable. You have to want to use it and feel connected to it.

Basically I don’t want to be a Prius driver

Now there is a man after my heart....
Your test equipment should have personality and a soul made of real Tek, HP or Fluke Iron.

Amen!   

-Pat

[Brumby]

Apologies for the length - but these are not simple conditions.....

And inaccurate !

No, no, no!  How can it be inaccurate?  Nothing I said there was wrong - nor was it exclusive of other maladies.

However, some of those satisfied with this are conflicted when they encounter manufacturer issues - such as Siglent  Tektronix rust. 

FYI
Siglent don't have a monopoly on chassis rust, which BTW on cut panel edges goes no further due to the cathodic protection of the zinc plating.

I've never seen any rust in a Siglent chassis but I don't teardown each instrument I sell and a Tektronix TDS2012B that was my first DSO has very noticeable rust on the guillotined chassis edges, which again goes no further due to the same zinc plating protection.

As this Tek is older than any equipment Siglent has ever built, Tektronix are really the marketplace leaders in chassis rust.       

How about making it brand agnostic? I changed it thusly: "However, some of those satisfied with this are conflicted when they encounter manufacturer issues - such as chassis rust."

I suppose you could - but my inclusion was just one example - which I took from Dave's teardowns.  You could add to this to make a list

I think he was referring in particular to the phenomenon of Siglent gear coming NIB from an authorized vendor with rust on large areas of chassis parts and undersides of covers due to their use of cheapest possible unplated cold-roll steel sheet; something I have yet to encounter on HP or Tek gear. I've seen this in ProTek "scholastic grade" gear as well.

IMO, specifying it as "Siglent Rust" is quite reasonable IN CONTEXT.

That was the intention.

[beanflying]

Wonder if my unreal and awesome working 'Agilent final seal' will get gpib adapter rust     

On the siglent thing they clearly have had form in the past but they seem to just be getting better and better. But absolutely reputation will take time to mend.

[Specmaster]

Don’t give me ideas

I actually figured I can get away with an old 100MHz analogue that can just about see a 144Mhz signal and a low speed digital scope. If I buy old ones I get quality (as described in zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance rather than the traditional version) which is not something I get from new kit which is disposable. You have to want to use it and feel connected to it.

Basically I don’t want to be a Prius driver

Now there is a man after my heart....
Your test equipment should have personality and a soul made of real Tek, HP or Fluke Iron.

Haha, I'm on my way then, currently the owner of 4 Fluke meters and 1 HP scope and a meter, Tek is still on the list to get.

[tggzzz]

You're right about stuff being bigger. For what I was going to pay for a house in Staines, I can get a 7 bedroom detached house with double garage in Lincolnshire.

You realise there's a reason for that, don't you!

I've found a nice place: 4 miles from the city centre, with farms, deer and peregrines between me and the city. The city has two universities and hence a nice zing to the place, and has recently been voted one of the hippest cities. Plus the food/restuarants are excellent, and wonderful countryside is nearby.

On the downside, unlike flatland, there are limited conversations about wheat and brussel sprouts, and there is less sky.

[tggzzz]

I actually figured I can get away with an old 100MHz analogue that can just about see a 144Mhz signal and a low speed digital scope. If I buy old ones I get quality (as described in zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance rather than the traditional version) which is not something I get from new kit which is disposable. You have to want to use it and feel connected to it.

Basically I don’t want to be a Prius driver

... the sound of enlightenment

[bd139]

You're right about stuff being bigger. For what I was going to pay for a house in Staines, I can get a 7 bedroom detached house with double garage in Lincolnshire.

You realise there's a reason for that, don't you!

I've found a nice place: 4 miles from the city centre, with farms, deer and peregrines between me and the city. The city has two universities and hence a nice zing to the place, and has recently been voted one of the hippest cities. Plus the food/restuarants are excellent, and wonderful countryside is nearby.

On the downside, unlike flatland, there are limited conversations about wheat and brussel sprouts, and there is less sky.

That sounds like the perfect compromise. I used to live just outside Nottingham (Radcliffe on Trent) and had a similar situation a long time ago but local work dried up so we bailed out back to London. This was before the rise of working from home.

My eldest, who is now much much older had a problem. When we were pushing her around in her buggy, old ladies kept giving her pound coins when we weren't looking for a few seconds. This inevitably nearly turned into a choking hazard. That and some of the locals you just can't understand. I assume that they were talking about wheat and sprouts too

... the sound of enlightenment

It's a warm fuzzy noise.

On the subject of quality items, get it while it's hot: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152816088283

Got mine    RS are selling these at about £46 a pop with VAT at the moment.



Yes solderless breadboards suck but this sucks the least out of all of them and I do use them regularly for quick test runs on ideas and bias calculations / sanity checks etc. Every single hole contains the connector equivalent of a Moray Eel.

[med6753]

Time and date                                       Place                           Message
Friday, Feb 2, 2018 5:16 AM                   NEWBURGH , NY           At local FedEx facility
Thursday, Feb 1, 2018 8:20 PM           EDISON , NJ                   Departed FedEx location
Thursday, Feb 1, 2018 4:09 PM           EDISON , NJ                   Arrived at FedEx location
Wednesday, Jan 31, 2018 11:57 PM    LIBERTY TWP , PA           In transit
Wednesday, Jan 31, 2018 11:39 AM    LA SALLE , IL               In transit
Tuesday, Jan 30, 2018 11:37 PM           BRADY , NE                   In transit
Tuesday, Jan 30, 2018 11:36 AM           NORTH SALT LAKE , UT    Departed FedEx location
Tuesday, Jan 30, 2018 2:05 AM           NORTH SALT LAKE , UT    Arrived at FedEx location
Monday, Jan 29, 2018 9:53 PM           POCATELLO , ID            Left FedEx origin facility
Monday, Jan 29, 2018 7:35 PM           POCATELLO , ID            Arrived at FedEx location
Monday, Jan 29, 2018 5:23 PM           POCATELLO , ID            Picked up

The Fluke 8800A has been banging around in Fed Ex trucks for 5 days in it's 2000 mile trek from Idaho to New York.
I hope it was packed well. I should get it today. Getting anxious.  It's at the local Fed Ex facility.

Edit.....it's out for delivery

[Specmaster]

That and some of the locals you just can't understand. I assume that they were talking about wheat and sprouts too

I used to live in Haverhill for a few years until I had problems and moved back to Chelmsford, Haverhill is basically a Suffolk village that was turned into a London over spill town and there the original inhabitants who were also hard to understand but after living and working among them, you get tuned into them, were basically talking about the pesky Londoners moving in and taking over, building all of those houses and factory's, ruining life as they knew it.

That was a good few years ago now, in those days I had a Vanden Plas Princess 3 Litre and the Suez Canal problem was happening, petrol rationing was introduced and in the garage of the that came with the house, was an abandoned bubble car which I restored and sold the Princess and ran the bubble car, went from around 14mpg to nearer 100mpg, great.

[bd139]

Not sure what time that was but I actually worked in Haverhill for a couple of months back in the early 00’s for a pharmaceutical research company. No one who worked there lived in Haverhill. Most were from Cambridge/Sudbury and Bury. Some had lived there but bailed out.   I was warned off it with similar advice that I’d be assimilated and that there were a large amount of chavs breeding from the commuters second generation. Trouble I would expect as well.

Nice motors

I was driving my Ford Orion then

[TheUnnamedNewbie]

Well, the net stage in my lab table upgrade happened today. But, it revealed that I had a lot more space. Clearly, it is a sign from the heavens that I am to invest in expanding my collection of gear.

Forgive the dark image, I'm still in the process of installing more lighting (read: I messed up the exposure on the camera and can't be bothered to go back in and fix it).



Next up are a R&S 20 V 10 A powersupply that is broken, and a 1.2 GHz counter (that is also broken).

But there are some 4 digit 1 RU multimeters on ebay... as well as some 5 1/2 digit ones... might be a good erm, investment.

[Specmaster]

What a fantastic working space you have there, most of us would kill for that kind of environment i think.  

[tggzzz]

Yes solderless breadboards suck but this sucks the least out of all of them and I do use them regularly for quick test runs on ideas and bias calculations / sanity checks etc.

Oooh. You're going to have lots of fun debugging a solderless breadboard 

Coincidentally I'm giving a "skillshare" at the local hackspace next week, on "Prototyping Circuits: Easy Cheap Fast Reliable Techniques - or - Solderless Breadboards are the Work of the Devil".

[Brumby]

I got curious....