Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bitseeker]

Nice MacGyver fix. 

Thanks! 

I've used this technique before to fix brass shafts; I figured this was a good place to pass on that knowledge. Sometimes you've just gotta fix what you have; replacement is not a viable option.

Very nice, indeed. Added to the POI index.

[bitseeker]

https://youtu.be/VkTS9MYZLd4

I got my first server rack, very shortly thereafter i filled it from 16 and up. Yes i realize i lose some points for using half my test equipment space for audio but i should make them all back in style points 

I shall award style points for topping off the tower with speaker(s).

[mnementh]

Appears to have belonged to a Kree before.

I'm just watching Star Wars for the first time but so far not seen any 2465's but lots of other strange mystical things 

Hmm, I must get myself a R2D2, great companion to have in the lab.

Yeah... they recycled a lot of stuff as props in Star Wars, it was a running gag I think to find the weirdest thing to turn ordinary everyday stuff into robots, other-worldy hardware and space ships.



Guess what this became...


mnem
Hint: The ultimate hipster.

[Cerebus]

Guess what this became...

To be fair, the question ought to be "Guess what part of this became..."

I know because I used to know someone with a very similar model of Graflex camera. Those continued to get practical usage way later than their appearance might lead one to believe.

[mnementh]

Nice MacGyver fix. 

Thanks! 

I've used this technique before to fix brass shafts; I figured this was a good place to pass on that knowledge. Sometimes you've just gotta fix what you have; replacement is not a viable option.

Very nice, indeed. Added to the POI index.

Thanks! Glad if I can help somebody save one from the recycle bin!




I've reassembled and cleared the dead 2465s off to the closet for later; next on the bench is this salvaged Web Rebooter. I'll be modding it into a Power Center with a remote "Master Switch" for all my workbench;  then maybe I can get some real work done.

[EDIT]

Sonuvacrap... this thing isn't just a Web Rebooter; it's a fully functional power controller with individual control over 8 outlets and an embedded web server. I think I should see if I can resuscitate it rather than defiling the remains to make a simple relay box...

[/EDIT]


mnem
* A few volts shy of a full charge*

[bd139]

IoT alert. Kill it with fire.

Bonus points if you can modify it to turn itself off and commit electric suicide.

[Specmaster]

Nice MacGyver fix. 

Thanks! 

I've used this technique before to fix brass shafts; I figured this was a good place to pass on that knowledge. Sometimes you've just gotta fix what you have; replacement is not a viable option.

Very nice, indeed. Added to the POI index.

Thanks! Glad if I can help somebody save one from the recycle bin!




I've reassembled and cleared the dead 2465s off to the closet for later; next on the bench is this salvaged Web Rebooter. I'll be modding it into a Power Center with a remote "Master Switch" for all my workbench;  then maybe I can get some real work done.

[EDIT]

Sonuvacrap... this thing isn't just a Web Rebooter; it's a fully functional power controller with individual control over 8 outlets and an embedded web server. I think I should see if I can resuscitate it rather than defiling the remains to make a simple relay box...

[/EDIT]


mnem
* A few volts shy of a full charge*

The big clue was written on the front, Web Power Switch haha. I can see the 8 controlled sockets, I take it the 2 on the right are uncontrolled ones then?

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

[Specmaster]

IoT alert. Kill it with fire.

Bonus points if you can modify it to turn itself off and commit electric suicide.

After a new member of your newly created pyro maniacs club then eh, how about creating a YouTube channel "Will this burn or what?" [emoji23]

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

[bd139]

Don’t give me ideas

[mnementh]

(SNIP)



I've reassembled and cleared the dead 2465s off to the closet for later; next on the bench is this salvaged Web Rebooter. I'll be modding it into a Power Center with a remote "Master Switch" for all my workbench;  then maybe I can get some real work done.

[EDIT]

Sonuvacrap... this thing isn't just a Web Rebooter; it's a fully functional power controller with individual control over 8 outlets and an embedded web server. I think I should see if I can resuscitate it rather than defiling the remains to make a simple relay box...

[/EDIT]


mnem
* A few volts shy of a full charge*

The big clue was written on the front, Web Power Switch haha. I can see the 8 controlled sockets, I take it the 2 on the right are uncontrolled ones then?

From mobile device so predictive text might have struck again [emoji83]

Bite me. I didn't pay it any mind; it looked just like dozens of single-channel Network Rebooters/Ring Rebooters I've pulled from sites over the years. Even the name doesn't clearly state anything about how much control it provides; it just suggests that you can hook it to your network and turn sh** On & Off.

Honestly, given where it came from, it doesn't make any sense that they spent that kind of money on such a sophisticated bit of hardware; like putting a dress on your favorite sheep & taking it out for Italian first. 

IoT alert. Kill it with fire.

Bonus points if you can modify it to turn itself off and commit electric suicide.

If I were going to do that, I'd just lobotomize the thing as was my original plan; it drives the 8 relays with a ULN2803AG right on the relay board. Each Darlington base can be driven directly at 3-5V right up to rated output sink current of 500mA; I can close any one or all of them with a 5K resistor to the 5V feed right on the board.

I'm imagining using it to do some crazy lightshow crap, or operating a hydroponics bed. Maybe a dancing water fountain; though I think those use PWM motor controllers.

It just seems a shame to throw away all that control...


mnem
*Going to go lie down before I fall down*

[VK5RC]

Took some time out this afternoon for TEA...  and a little "MacGyver-fyin'... "

I've had this beat up old Hitachi V-212 for decades; kept it in a corner hooked up to a super simple curve tracer for quick Go/No-Go testing of various components. It's had the CH2 Voltage VAR/5X Gain knob busted off since I got it; on the very rare occasion I actually needed that function on the 'scope, I just used a pliers as most of the time it was on X-Y mode anyways.

(Snip++)

Well... As y'all know I'm hoeing out my office... and the time came this afternoon to pass final judgement on the old beast as far as "Keep or Get Rid Of". The only thing I could think of where it really shines was as a "First 'scope"; so I decided that if I could get it operating passably on all functions in an afternoon, I'd keep it for my son.


First, I put a plastic prophylactic all over the outside of the unit, since I knew I was going to be grinding and brass powder was going to go everywhere. Then I pulled out the shaft, and ground a bevel across all that was accessible using a cordless Dremel and 1/2" sanding drum.

Next, I cut apart a 4mm gold-plated banana plug to get something I could whittle down to a matching shaft diameter with a similar bevel. Resizing the shaft was done by chucking up the banana plug in a drill press then cutting it down with a cordless Dremel, then finishing with a file. Bevel was cut using cordless Dremel and same sanding drum.




Cheers,

mnem
*Goes to lie down before he falls down*

Thanks++ for the info re the technique , I have added a link to the sticky topic Vintage/Classic Chassis/Mechanical Renovation/Restoration Techniques.

[bd139]

IoT alert. Kill it with fire.

Bonus points if you can modify it to turn itself off and commit electric suicide.

If I were going to do that, I'd just lobotomize the thing as was my original plan; it drives the 8 relays with a ULN2803AG right on the relay board. Each Darlington base can be driven directly at 3-5V right up to rated output sink current of 500mA; I can close any one or all of them with a 5K resistor to the 5V feed right on the board.

I'm imagining using it to do some crazy lightshow crap, or operating a hydroponics bed. Maybe a dancing water fountain; though I think those use PWM motor controllers.

It just seems a shame to throw away all that control...

Stick a electrolytic cap in each hole and sequence it with a 4017 driven from a couple of dividers and a slow clock. Electric timed bird scarer!

[tautech]

IoT alert. Kill it with fire.

Bonus points if you can modify it to turn itself off and commit electric suicide.

If I were going to do that, I'd just lobotomize the thing as was my original plan; it drives the 8 relays with a ULN2803AG right on the relay board. Each Darlington base can be driven directly at 3-5V right up to rated output sink current of 500mA; I can close any one or all of them with a 5K resistor to the 5V feed right on the board.

I'm imagining using it to do some crazy lightshow crap, or operating a hydroponics bed. Maybe a dancing water fountain; though I think those use PWM motor controllers.

It just seems a shame to throw away all that control...

Stick a electrolytic cap in each hole and sequence it with a 4017 driven from a couple of dividers and a slow clock. Electric timed bird scarer!

You just love blowing shit up don't you !

I just blew the shit out of another IRF510. That's all 5 now gone up in smoke and I've had to order some more. Investigation points to massive overshoot on the load transformer on my single ended stage when you key the transmitter. I can just about make it out on the 465 if I turn all the lights out but it's very faint and is hitting 95 volts! I reckon it's overshooting past Vds(max) to over 100v but the scope isn't fast enough to see it. This slowly kills the IRF510 gate oxide layer and then it conducts and self destructs, violently.

Fun fun fun - off to ebay

Some might call you evil.

[bd139]

Fair evaluation

[beanflying]

Spent the afternoon drinking Coffee and building a Rough (<2%) 1-4 LED Driver/ 1-150mA Current Source.

Not productive necessarily for time and $ but there is therapy in basic Analogue bits and a Soldering Iron.

Lazy Calm Autumn day

[mnementh]

Took some time out this afternoon for TEA...  and a little "MacGyver-fyin'... "

Cheers,

mnem
*Goes to lie down before he falls down*

Thanks++ for the info re the technique , I have added a link to the sticky topic Vintage/Classic Chassis/Mechanical Renovation/Restoration Techniques.

Nice MacGyver fix. 

Thanks! 

I've used this technique before to fix brass shafts; I figured this was a good place to pass on that knowledge. Sometimes you've just gotta fix what you have; replacement is not a viable option.

Very nice, indeed. Added to the POI index.

Wow... I had no idea this little mini-DIY would be so popular. Since it is being linked to as a reference, I decided to edit it a little bit to add some detailed technique so folks have a better chance of success and to add a little common sense warning. See below for the revised portions:

[EDITED TO INTRODUCE DETAILED TECHNIQUE AND SOME COMMON SENSE]

Next, I tinned the bevel portion of original shaft and new knob; careful application of flux and working quick & hot kept solder only where I wanted it.

I'm using lead-free solder for this work; while it is harder to work with, it makes a much stronger joint in applications like this where the solder has to fill gaps. Just remember to desolder the mating surfaces clean and apply fresh flux (regular rosin flux works great) every time you make an attempt at joining the two pieces. Solder-wick clean is about right; whether you get there using solder-wick or wiping with soldering iron tip if your soldering technique is that advanced.

Then came the fun (read frustrating & repetitive) part; soldering the two together. I puttered around far too long with trying to make one of my helping hands or many vises hold the new knob just right to solder it up square & concentric and had abysmal luck.

I know, you'll probably say I'm crazy for saying this; but I've found long ago that you can get pretty damn close by feel & eyeball, as long as you can actually put fingers on the work. After dozens of attempts with vises and helping hands and holding it with hemostats, I finally gave up and did it the hard way, just like I knew I'd have to from the outset: Hold it by hand and solder it hot & quick so I could let go of it before the heat got to the part I was holding.



This method took me 3 tries before I had it nearly PERFECT.

If you don't have the correct tools (150-ish watt iron at 700 degrees F and advanced soldering skills) I recommend you do it the long hard way: Jig up the part to be repaired or use hemostats to hold the part and just be patient and willing to try dozens of times before you get it right. Your fingums will thank you for your patience.

[EDIT]

I hope this helps many others save a beloved boat anchor from the dump; a simple broken shaft should not be a death sentence for an otherwise salvageable piece of gear. I've edited again to de-emphasize dangerous soldering technique that is not crucial to repair technique; I plan to refine the DIY with a few more pics to clarify some of the "hand machining" techniques that make it feasible.

And yes, the irony at the core of this soldering technique is not lost on me; using a bigger, hotter soldering iron to prevent burning yourself does seem counter-intuitive. Such are the laws of thermodynamics in general and entropy in particular; when they get you in close-quarters combat is where they really mess with your head.   


mnem
*Advanced fabri-cobbling*

[mnementh]

IoT alert. Kill it with fire.

Bonus points if you can modify it to turn itself off and commit electric suicide.

If I were going to do that, I'd just lobotomize the thing as was my original plan; it drives the 8 relays with a ULN2803AG right on the relay board. Each Darlington base can be driven directly at 3-5V right up to rated output sink current of 500mA; I can close any one or all of them with a 5K resistor to the 5V feed right on the board.

I'm imagining using it to do some crazy lightshow crap, or operating a hydroponics bed. Maybe a dancing water fountain; though I think those use PWM motor controllers.

It just seems a shame to throw away all that control...

Stick a electrolytic cap in each hole and sequence it with a 4017 driven from a couple of dividers and a slow clock. Electric timed bird scarer!

More like random-ish electric next-door-neighbor heart-attack producer! 

Poor guy already has a pacemaker and just lost his beloved wife of 50 years over the holidays (though truth be told, he's probably still fitter and healthier in general than I am); if not a heart attack, the random-ness of the noise would definitely mess with his head. Given his current state of mind, that's probably not a good idea either...


mnem
*Tinker-ily*

[mnementh]

(SNIP)
Some might call you evil.

Fair evaluation

I don't know if I'd go THAT far... but evil-ISH... yeah, probably. 


mnem
"Do SOMETHING, even if it's wrong."

[Neomys Sapiens]

The case is showing a bad case of bromine based fire retardant ageing and the original grey now looks to be the colour of a 1970's pub toilet ceiling. You can see what I mean here (vendor's photo, cleaned up a bit):



If I'm feeling enthusiastic I may go in for trying the peroxide/UV based colour restoration - haven't decided yet.

I dunno. It kind of has that tan 70's look to it like that. I might just keep it as-is.

I think that this is regular - never saw a case from that series/manufacturer that looked different.
Reverse duck rule applies.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Well... this is new.


mnem
Ow, my spleen!

You are a tiger for punishment !
For years I wanted a 2465* but chickened out after reading the old thread on them here.


Fire tricks
We live rural and over the decades we've done all sorts of silly bugger things with Guy Fawkes season being a primary focus.....of course. It'd be just down right rude if you didn't. 

A couple of km down the road a family that's been there for nearly forever like ourselves used to fill biiiiiig plastic bags of those gasses commonly used in cutting torches with a 5A fuse wire connected to a long cable taped inside.
It was a cult thing for them every year and even their mum in her seventies ventured out to watch. 
Car battery for the energy source and they were good to go. 
Some years the results were better than others and they often caused a bit of a stir in the neighborhood especially with those that have horses. 
They only let one off each year and despite wanting/needing to improve on it some years you HAD to wait another 12 months for the next go. 
They had cracked it ~10 years back and for a last hurrah they used a whopper Kon Tiki balloon.......
That day I'd completely forgotten about Mr Fawkes and had just let the house in a shitty old Landrover I had back then when woooooooomph that gave me such a fright I had to return to the house for some essential toiletry and check the family was OK. F*****k it was loud, even for a couple of km away.
The wife just said 'that was a good one' and a day or so later when I caught up with our friends I checked the site.
~1m bare dirt circle surrounded by slowly heightening grass ~3m radius to natural where it was ~100mm high.

The proclaimed that after all those years of trying they'd 'finally got the brew right'. 
Sadly the Ma and oldest son are no longer with us. 

Then there was aerosols and dets........

What, no crater?
Meh.

[Cerebus]

The case is showing a bad case of bromine based fire retardant ageing and the original grey now looks to be the colour of a 1970's pub toilet ceiling. You can see what I mean here (vendor's photo, cleaned up a bit):



If I'm feeling enthusiastic I may go in for trying the peroxide/UV based colour restoration - haven't decided yet.

I dunno. It kind of has that tan 70's look to it like that. I might just keep it as-is.

I think that this is regular - never saw a case from that series/manufacturer that looked different.
Reverse duck rule applies.

Here's someone else's picture of one, and that's clearly grey. The heavy loading of fire retardant in some plastic enclosures for electronics of this kind of age made them go brown in very short order. Early Apple computers (e.g. Apple II) suffered horribly from this, and seeing a new one next to a year or two old one made this eminently obvious. You may have always seen Systron kit in that kind of colour, but that may mean that it was a year or two old.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Phew!
At least the mechanical side of the TM515 situation is resolved. All parts accounted for. One nut was for a guiderail, three were unattached sockets for the wire stand. But why were they loose? And where are the missing nuts and washers that once held them in place? So I'll take the plastic shroud off anyway to be on the safe side, even if there is nothing audibly loose anymore. The blue transparent plastic cover is NOT from the mainframe, NOT from a module and probably NOT connected in any way with Tektronix at all.

Sometimes refurbishing T&M gear reminds me of those safety related pictures where some USN inspection team took a P-3 apart and arrayed all 'foreign matter' neatly sorted and classified. (No sir, we have not yet established the degree of relationship between the dead rat in the left outer nacelle and the live one in the MAD tailcone.)

BTW:
Is a
Nut, Plain, Hex: 0.312"-32 x 0.438", BRS, CD PL
and a
Washer, Flat: 0.312" ID x 0.469" OD x 0.031
as well as a
Washer, Lock: 0.32" intl, 0.015" thk, STL
a common part outside Tek?
Anyone has some of those to spare?
Of course, I'm also interested in the module retainer and the 'wire bail'.

[djos]

Good news chaps, the FX951 Soldering Iron stand can be easily modified to make what is imo the best Iron stand for the FX9501 handle - I just installed the wire backwards, bent it down a bit and bent the frame upwards a bit and voila! 

[Cerebus]

BTW:
Is a
Nut, Plain, Hex: 0.312"-32 x 0.438", BRS, CD PL

That's a 5/16", 32 threads per inch (UNEF), steel nut, 7/16" thick, cadmium plated. So, yes, a commonplace, except for the last part which is somewhat of a no-no nowadays. The rest follow similarly.

[mnementh]

The case is showing a bad case of bromine based fire retardant ageing and the original grey now looks to be the colour of a 1970's pub toilet ceiling. You can see what I mean here (vendor's photo, cleaned up a bit):



If I'm feeling enthusiastic I may go in for trying the peroxide/UV based colour restoration - haven't decided yet.

I dunno. It kind of has that tan 70's look to it like that. I might just keep it as-is.

I think that this is regular - never saw a case from that series/manufacturer that looked different.
Reverse duck rule applies.

Here's someone else's picture of one, and that's clearly grey. The heavy loading of fire retardant in some plastic enclosures for electronics of this kind of age made them go brown in very short order. Early Apple computers (e.g. Apple II) suffered horribly from this, and seeing a new one next to a year or two old one made this eminently obvious. You may have always seen Systron kit in that kind of colour, but that may mean that it was a year or two old.

I just figured yours came from a "smoking home"...    Nothing a little scrubbery and some Krylon abuse can't make right as rain. 

Good news chaps, the FX951 Soldering Iron stand can be easily modified to make what is imo the best Iron stand for the FX9501 handle - I just installed the wire backwards, bent it down a bit and bent the frame upwards a bit and voila! 

 

Yeah, the whole point of these iron holders is that the hole fits the collar of the iron literally like a glove; that way the weight of the iron (or the force of your hand) is supported entirely by the handle, not the heater cartridge.

Also, when you pull it out, instead of pulling the entire length of the iron "out of the hole", you only have to pull it out a few mm and then you can just lift straight up. It is a much more natural motion, and one that greatly reduces fatigue in a production setting where repetition is the word of the day. This is one of the many things people love about their MetCal stations, and why Hakko copied the design.

Of course neither of these manufacturers planned on how these clone handles of a discontinued design and clone iron holders and even the whole stations have proliferated in the wild, where the product is a copy of a copy of a copy and any pretense at QC is at best a mental exercise rather than actual practice. And I'm sure neither of them mind that the copies don't fit or work right like the original does; not even a tiny little bit.

BTW:
Is a
Nut, Plain, Hex: 0.312"-32 x 0.438", BRS, CD PL

That's a 5/16", 32 threads per inch (UNC), steel nut, 7/16" thick, cadmium plated. So, yes, a commonplace, except for the last part which is somewhat of a no-no nowadays. The rest follow similarly.

Well, not exactly a no-no... just restricted to use in places where cad-plating's "special set of skills" are paramount; natural lubricity, resistance to gall-welding, corrosion-resistance, and especially galvanic compatibility as an intermediary between aluminum and ferrous hardware, in which case there is pretty much no substitute.

But yeah, we no longer use cad-plate interchangeably with zinc coatings like we used to.


mnem
*Checks his tracking*