Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tggzzz]

Indeed. I actually found Bud Light here in a supermarket the other day. We're going down hill now.

Try Coors. Don't buy more than one bottle/can.

Basically it is like Asda ready meals: you wonder how hungry/thirsty you really are, and whether you want to finish it.

[bd139]

Haha I know exactly what you mean about Asda meals. SWMBO bought an Asda lasagne a few months back and I think I ate about two mouthfuls, gave up and had cereal for dinner. Because there’s five of us, the economics around ready meals doesn’t usually work so we tend to just make everything from scratch and it’s hard going back to muck tubs.

[bd139]

Friday morning TEA...

My local petrol station, rather surprisingly considering the type of supplier, has a massive RS advert running for free stuff:



And we have the new toy

[med6753]

Friday morning TEA...

And we have the new toy

Does it work or need repair?

[bd139]

Surprisingly it's absolutely fine!

BNCs on channel 1/2 are a little wobbly so will need resoldering or replacement but that's it. Screen is bright enough to leave the CCFL alone.



It's not actually a bad little scope. Totally silent which is nice.

[Ero-Shan]

To bring things back on topic...

I just scored this thing for cheap:



Its quite the boat anchor at 27kg (59lb) and 4 triax connectors on the back (Good thing i have cables for it). However the problem is that the damn thing does not work.

Repair thread: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hp-4145b-semiconductor-analyzer-repair-with-photos-(display-garbage-dead-rom)/

If our definition of 'cheap'  is not too far apart, I'm all envy now!
In this case however, I'd rather envy you than having to find a place to put it. 

What a beautiful boat anchor that is. Congratulations!

[Ero-Shan]

While we're on topic ...

I was just writing my last findings in the 464 repair thread when the postman rang twice.  Really. First he brought what should have been delivered yesterday, a few minutes later what was announced to be here not before tomorrow. So it kind of evens out.

First, another pulse generator (had only one). 'No use' is no excuse!



It's of 1970's vintage, and you can be sure I'm going to post some Pr0n! (With the width= attribute in the img tag, everybody should be happy.)

And my second Schurig counter. This will further strengthen my foothold in Nixieland.



Both devices sport their own interpretation of a mains connector:



With the repair job of the 464 occupying my whole lab, I now have to take pictures in my living room ... 

[bd139]

Nice pictures

My lab is my living room

[tautech]

Surprisingly it's absolutely fine!

BNCs on channel 1/2 are a little wobbly so will need resoldering or replacement but that's it. Screen is bright enough to leave the CCFL alone.



It's not actually a bad little scope. Totally silent which is nice.

Check the PSU for ripple, fix the BNC's then boot it out the door before you get attached to it ! 

[bd139]

That’s the plan. But it’s soooo hard not getting attached.

Escaped already. Hiding somewhere else with air con today

[med6753]

Nice pictures

My lab is my living room

Agreed. Nice pictures. Really like that pulse generator.

And Ero-Shan....no shame in the lab in the living room. Mine takes up almost a third of it. 

[Berni]

If our definition of 'cheap'  is not too far apart, I'm all envy now!
In this case however, I'd rather envy you than having to find a place to put it. 

What a beautiful boat anchor that is. Congratulations!

It was about 130 bucks i think.

So far the repair bill is a new character ROM chip for 25 bucks including shipping. Hopefully the rest of it works fine. As for a place to put it well.. my 42U server rack is full, but i can probably make some room in it.

While we're on topic ...

I was just writing my last findings in the 464 repair thread when the postman rang twice.  Really. First he brought what should have been delivered yesterday, a few minutes later what was announced to be here not before tomorrow. So it kind of evens out.

First, another pulse generator (had only one). 'No use' is no excuse!

It's of 1970's vintage, and you can be sure I'm going to post some Pr0n! (With the width= attribute in the img tag, everybody should be happy.)

Oooh all those knobs, i quite like the look of it. My pulse generator is a HP 8082A, doesn't look as intimidating with its more spread out smaller switches but is still very oldschool.

Nice pictures

My lab is my living room

Agreed. Nice pictures. Really like that pulse generator.

And Ero-Shan....no shame in the lab in the living room. Mine takes up almost a third of it. 

Looks like your lab is starting to overflow those stealthy cupboards above the bench. Can't just hide the lab by closing them anymore.

[Ero-Shan]

Nice pictures

My lab is my living room

Agreed. Nice pictures. Really like that pulse generator.

And Ero-Shan....no shame in the lab in the living room. Mine takes up almost a third of it. 

With a well organized, tidy lab like yours no one can argue. Your desk looks a bit narrow (depth-wise) to me. I've already expanded mine and still would like a bit more. It's a total mess right now, but I did clean it up just before I started that 464 repair job. You have to believe me.

[tggzzz]

First, another pulse generator (had only one). 'No use' is no excuse!



It's of 1970's vintage, and you can be sure I'm going to post some Pr0n! (With the width= attribute in the img tag, everybody should be happy.)

Well if you want pulsepron, how about my 1967/1969 Tek 115?:

• double pulses, if you need them
• variable rise and falltimes - much more useful and interesting
• gorgeous internals, including hidden tunnel diodes
• 908pF 400V capacitors, amongst other non-standard values

These aren't my photos; you can see them at https://www.flickr.com/photos/anachrocomputer/albums/72157690644170820/with/40065812140/ with much more TEApron in other albums.

[med6753]

Nice pictures

My lab is my living room

Agreed. Nice pictures. Really like that pulse generator.

And Ero-Shan....no shame in the lab in the living room. Mine takes up almost a third of it. 

With a well organized, tidy lab like yours no one can argue. Your desk looks a bit narrow (depth-wise) to me. I've already expanded mine and still would like a bit more. It's a total mess right now, but I did clean it up just before I started that 464 repair job. You have to believe me.
 

Yes, I am limited in depth but I make due with what I have. I can expand easily length wise by removing the equipment if necessary. And I have the flexibility of a scope cart that I built and specifically designed it to accommodate all types of scopes. It comes in real handy when I have something large on the bench and I need to probe it. 

[med6753]

First, another pulse generator (had only one). 'No use' is no excuse!


It's of 1970's vintage, and you can be sure I'm going to post some Pr0n! (With the width= attribute in the img tag, everybody should be happy.)

Well if you want pulsepron, how about my 1967/1969 Tek 115?:

• double pulses, if you need them
• variable rise and falltimes - much more useful and interesting
• gorgeous internals, including hidden tunnel diodes
• 908pF 400V capacitors, amongst other non-standard values

These aren't my photos; you can see them at

I wish I could find a 115 at a reasonable price. It is a requirement to really verify the accuracy of my 2465's.

[tggzzz]

First, another pulse generator (had only one). 'No use' is no excuse!


It's of 1970's vintage, and you can be sure I'm going to post some Pr0n! (With the width= attribute in the img tag, everybody should be happy.)

Well if you want pulsepron, how about my 1967/1969 Tek 115?:

• double pulses, if you need them
• variable rise and falltimes - much more useful and interesting
• gorgeous internals, including hidden tunnel diodes
• 908pF 400V capacitors, amongst other non-standard values

These aren't my photos; you can see them at

I wish I could find a 115 at a reasonable price. It is a requirement to really verify the accuracy of my 2465's.

Mine cost £5 at a provincial hamfest, but I had to bodge replace a calibration trimpot that had disintegrated.

I also got a Tek 2901 time mark generator and Tek curve tracer plugin; I had to beat the vendor up to £7 for those. The 2901 works but has a very toasted PCB and disintegrating PCB connector.

I think I'll try and flog a spare Tek 1502 short-range TDR at Sunday's hamfest. Hams might appreciate being able to measure where and how badly their cable/connector/load is "suboptimal".

It is pleasant to be able to show something working in a car boot in the middle of a field/car part I hope it doesn't rain because, despite being nominally waterproof to a depth of 1ft, I haven't sealed it up - and I don't fancy the -2kV on the front panel intensity/focus pots

[med6753]

Those are good scores.  There's a Tek 115 on Ebay right now for $140 USD. I suppose given their capability that might be a reasonable price but at this moment I ain't biting.

[Berni]

With a well organized, tidy lab like yours no one can argue. Your desk looks a bit narrow (depth-wise) to me. I've already expanded mine and still would like a bit more. It's a total mess right now, but I did clean it up just before I started that 464 repair job. You have to believe me.

Still tidier than mine.

Here is what it looks like right now mid repair.

[AF6LJ]

Nice Gear folks.
 

[bd139]

You lot and your fancy "space". Wish I had some 

[tggzzz]

You lot and your fancy "space". Wish I had some 

Don't be naive. Space is a temporary illusion, waiting to be filled.

Thnik how much money you save because you don't have any (more) space.

[Specmaster]

You lot and your fancy "space". Wish I had some 

Don't be naive. Space is a temporary illusion, waiting to be filled.

Thnik how much money you save because you don't have any (more) space.

I'm having a clear out and as soon as I space I find something to fill it again [emoji848]

[Ero-Shan]

With a well organized, tidy lab like yours no one can argue. Your desk looks a bit narrow (depth-wise) to me. I've already expanded mine and still would like a bit more. It's a total mess right now, but I did clean it up just before I started that 464 repair job. You have to believe me.

Still tidier than mine.

Here is what it looks like right now mid repair.

Only by a small margin. Had I left the 464 on the desk, it would have looked just the same.

Coming to think of it, finding sufficient space and rigging for a repair is one of the harder things of the whole job. Even with a small unit like the Tek DC505A that I repaired last autumn, I was constantly fighting. You needn't just the very deep TM50x for supply and that cable harness to let you approach the device outside, no, there's 2 PCB attached to each other with that awfully yucky ribbon cable like thing. And this not being enough, 2 medium power transistors are screwed to the lower frame as a heat sink.All the cables entangle everything (without being provoked!), and when you move a PCB just a little so you can measure at another spot, there's an immediate danger of the other PCB losing its delicate balance and tripping over the blank aluminum and shorting who-knows-what.
It appears I'm still traumatized by that experience. 

[BillB]

You lot and your fancy "space". Wish I had some 

Don't be naive. Space is a temporary illusion, waiting to be filled.

Yeah, it seems like the void for a given piece of gear is merely a "hole" in the workspace substrate.  Hole can appear, and even migrate, but will eventually meet a piece of gear.