Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tggzzz]

Anyone in the UK going to Newbury Radio Rally?

Might head down there next Sunday and see if I can wangle some TEA bargains. Bargains as "not power tested so I'm not paying that" bargains

I'll bet that you will be able to pick up an Agilent Infinium 1.5GHz scope for £250. Fails self test, unsurprisingly

[bd139]

Yeah that sounds about right. Doesn’t past self test because it fell down some stairs. 

I’m going for modest repairables and new parts mainly. Stock up on toroids and tuning caps.  I going to take an SLA and dummy load with me as well as most of the interesting rigs will run off that. Really need a better 2m rig.

[tggzzz]

I used to commute from stansted to Newbury for 3 months when I did a contract once

Whe I worked for HP there was a year when I commuted (occasionally!) from Bristol to Palo Alto.

Very do-able, provided that you are only there for one day and don't "really" timeshift. From memory of a quarter of a century ago:

• catch noon (GMT) plane from LHR
• arrive SFO 2pm (pacific time), 10pm (body)
• stay up and eat sushi in Palo Alto, go to bed 10pm (pacific time), 4am (body)
• get up 8am (pacific time) after 10 hour sleep
• meeting 9am-3pm (pacific time)
• catch return flight 6pm (pacific time), sleep on flight
• arrive LHR 10am GMT and body

Two days, and it wouldn't work.

I was eventually questioned by immigration; presumably they thought I might be carrying something. Their question and my response that convinced them I was pukka was illuminating w.r.t. their thinking. No, I'm not going to discuss that here

[bd139]

That’s a headache of a thing to cope with.

I much prefer short heavily optimised commutes. Think my best commute was Farringdon to Leyton. Managed to do that on three trains and 25 minutes. Tube to Liverpool Street, jump on train to Stratford then dive across platform onto central. Then I started working from home so now it’s wake up at 08:59 and log in 

[Specmaster]

Yeah, working from home is great in lots of ways, but there are downsides as well, kids won't be quiet while talking to customers on the phone, Work is always there and you find yourself working longer hours to meet customers expectations than you would if office based and of course SWMBO thinks that seeing as your at home, you can do some chores...... life sucks at times. I worked from home for 15 years.

[bd139]

Conversely a fund manager nearly got a fully nubbin equipped Aeron shoved up his turd chute when he tapped my shoulder once. Don’t get that at home

[Specmaster]

Conversely a fund manager nearly got a fully nubbin equipped Aeron shoved up his turd chute when he tapped my shoulder once. Don’t get that at home

That would have made his eyes water a bit [emoji23]

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

[SeanB]

I am so throughly bored I just invented a new game. Have plugged two shit DMM probes into my 15V 4A power supply and cranked the voltage up. This is then used to apply power to SMD populated boards in my junk box randomly. I picked some salvaged Lenovo docking station and motherboards for this task. Don some safety glasses and a long sleeve non flammable top when you do this.

Objective is to make as many explosions as you can in under 2 minutes. Amazing the bang a tiny SMD tant, LED, diode, MOSFET or resistor can let out. My current high score is 15 bangs out of a dead T410 dock.

This stuff was headed to the tip anyway.

Edit: very much regretting not snagging that 20V 10A HP supply the other day now. That would have made it even more dangerous

Neon sign transformer is so much more satisfying. You find out that the plastic IC cases are made from is actually conductive, and that you can draw some impressive arcs as well. Just need to have some EHT cable and be prepared to lose the active ends with time.

[bd139]

Good idea. I’ve actually got an old air ioniser somewhere. Might try that. It’s got an isolation transformer and a voltage multiplier in it.

[Mr. Scram]

Whe I worked for HP there was a year when I commuted (occasionally!) from Bristol to Palo Alto.

Very do-able, provided that you are only there for one day and don't "really" timeshift. From memory of a quarter of a century ago:

• catch noon (GMT) plane from LHR
• arrive SFO 2pm (pacific time), 10pm (body)
• stay up and eat sushi in Palo Alto, go to bed 10pm (pacific time), 4am (body)
• get up 8am (pacific time) after 10 hour sleep
• meeting 9am-3pm (pacific time)
• catch return flight 6pm (pacific time), sleep on flight
• arrive LHR 10am GMT and body

Two days, and it wouldn't work.

I was eventually questioned by immigration; presumably they thought I might be carrying something. Their question and my response that convinced them I was pukka was illuminating w.r.t. their thinking. No, I'm not going to discuss that here

Was it "Are you 'avin a giggle, you bloody rozzer?"

[tggzzz]

4 speed, high/low, overdrive. Had one myself. Ate wheel bearings once a quarter.

Yup, a series 2 (not even 2a) Land Rover.

• the gear between the halfshaft and the rear axles disintegrated. Even the mechanics commented on the noise as that entered the workshop

Transfer case idler, right ?
Yeah they beefed the shaft they ran on up in 2a and later.

Apologies for the crap description, due to tiredness and a 25 year gap

It was the rear differential gear, that "splits" and "turns" the power through 90 degrees, and allows the rear wheels to rotate at different speeds.

Can't blame the Land Rover in my case: the 4.2l Perkins diesel engine was far more powerful with far more torque

Gotcha.
They're inside the diff crown-wheel carrier and called bevel or spider gears.
Yep and they beefed them up too, for 2a maybe but definitely in Series 3.

I've always called these a spider joint; located at each end of the halfshaft.

IIRC I did 150 miles on this before I replaced it.

[tggzzz]

Whe I worked for HP there was a year when I commuted (occasionally!) from Bristol to Palo Alto.

Very do-able, provided that you are only there for one day and don't "really" timeshift. From memory of a quarter of a century ago:

• catch noon (GMT) plane from LHR
• arrive SFO 2pm (pacific time), 10pm (body)
• stay up and eat sushi in Palo Alto, go to bed 10pm (pacific time), 4am (body)
• get up 8am (pacific time) after 10 hour sleep
• meeting 9am-3pm (pacific time)
• catch return flight 6pm (pacific time), sleep on flight
• arrive LHR 10am GMT and body

Two days, and it wouldn't work.

I was eventually questioned by immigration; presumably they thought I might be carrying something. Their question and my response that convinced them I was pukka was illuminating w.r.t. their thinking. No, I'm not going to discuss that here

Was it "Are you 'avin a giggle, you bloody rozzer?"

Of course no; they were Merkins and wouldn't know what a rozzer was. It was a (loose) variant on "You've got me bang to rights, gov. How much d'yer want to sort it out then?"

(Actually they were very polite, just like those in Chichago, and unlike those in JFK.)

[bd139]

Cleaned the HP 6237B seeing as I have bugger all else to do this evening and am in OCD mode.

It's the cleanest HP supply I've ever seen! They're usually in a right state 



Edit: just noticed I forgot to do inside the binding posts 

[Cubdriver]

Cleaned the HP 6237B seeing as I have bugger all else to do this evening and am in OCD mode.

It's the cleanest HP supply I've ever seen! They're usually in a right state 



Edit: just noticed I forgot to do inside the binding posts 

Nicely done!  That looks brand spankin' new!  And you are absolutely correct, they usually are in a right state.  All too often those seen on the 'bay look like they were dropped down a mineshaft then hauled back up dragged behind a mule on a twenty foot long rope.

-Pat

[bd139]

Indeed. The last one I had, merely 350 pages ago was one of those! https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg1331584/#msg1331584

[Specmaster]

This one looks like it has rolled down the production line, well done on the clean up, you got bored of blowing shit up then so you thought that you'd clean shit up  New part arrives tomorrow?

[bd139]

Yeah completely bored of blowing shit up. New Zener tomorrow then on Tuesday I get some big ass wire wound resistors and will run it under full load for 6 hours or so and make sure it doesn’t blow up. Should be able to kick out 40W 100% duty in theory across all channels.

[Specmaster]

Just secured a nice Kyoritsu 1400 analog meter, in its original carry case as well, all for a nice low price and it looks like its in practically as new condition except for a layer or two of dirt, so tomorrow after I collect it, I'll cleaning and posting pictures of it It looks like from the research I have been able to do on it thats built like a Japanese battleship.

Love the no nonsense solid chunky engineering of this and spot the trimmers for calibration on the ranges, I don't recall seeing anything like those in a AVO model 8 even. 

[tautech]

5 KV for a HH meter is pretty impressive Spec. 

Takes a single 15V battery does it ?

[Specmaster]

5 KV for a HH meter is pretty impressive Spec. 

Takes a single 15V battery does it ?

Not sure if it takes 1.5 or 15V, these photos are some I found on line to show what its like. I get my meter tomorrow then I'll be able to answer the question. But it was the 5KV that caught my eye, I already have a TMK thats goes upto 1.5KV and an AVO model 8 that does 3KV. I don't really need this meter but it caught my eye as being rather rare, looks to be high quality and certainly looks to be even better condition than the one in these photos and then of course there's the all important price, suffice to say that I have worked the old specmaster magic again and wrangled a really good price on it, complete with its original carry case 

[Carl_Smith]

So I've noticed people on this thread tend to say they were buying or looking at items on "the bay" or other similar indirect ways of referring to the place where TEA members often spend too much time and money.  Is there a reason why people don't use the proper name for this place?

[Cubdriver]

So I've noticed people on this thread tend to say they were buying or looking at items on "the bay" or other similar indirect ways of referring to the place where TEA members often spend too much time and money.  Is there a reason why people don't use the proper name for this place?

I think it's just slang, for variery's sake.  I often call it by its proper name (evilBay).

 

-Pat

[djos]

So I've noticed people on this thread tend to say they were buying or looking at items on "the bay" or other similar indirect ways of referring to the place where TEA members often spend too much time and money.  Is there a reason why people don't use the proper name for this place?

I think it's just slang, for variery's sake.  I often call it by its proper name (evilBay).

 

-Pat

or even FleaBay. 

[bd139]

Some other forums you’re not allowed to mention eBay (due to problems with rip off merchants) so it gets renamed.

@specmaster: 5KV is pretty impressive. Not sure I’d want to be anywhere near it though with that potential floating around. I’ve had a 2.5KV kick off a tek CRT bias circuit and that wasn’t much fun.

[Specmaster]

Some other forums you’re not allowed to mention eBay (due to problems with rip off merchants) so it gets renamed.

@specmaster: 5KV is pretty impressive. Not sure I’d want to be anywhere near it though with that potential floating around. I’ve had a 2.5KV kick off a tek CRT bias circuit and that wasn’t much fun.

No, I'd treat it with a healthy respect if I was to ever require using it on anything remotely near 1kv. It would be very much hands off approach. I have an Avo 8 which will do 3kv via dedicated terminals and a TMK 700 which does 1.5kv in a similar fashion but that does have thick insulation on leads and probes. But you'd never get me to hold either in case there was a problem.

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