Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Mr. Scram]

To everybody ...

There's a difference between addressing a situation and not being calm. You've got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette. It's just removing the eggshell from the omelette, that's all.

[tautech]

And if I didn't have a dealer signature it would have been just another valid members question.
Get off your high horse !

As I said, that'd be just another valid member's question if you didn't have a history of injecting the brand into any discussion you can. Instead of me getting off my high horse, how about you owning up to what you do?

Oh FFS, where did I mention the brand I represent ?

So I pop into a thread and all you can see is my signature ? Really ? 
Have you had a bad day or something ? Or are you stalking me ?

[med6753]

I'm back from Colorado and when I got home my pre-retirement gift to myself had been delivered! ............

And one with this big bright display didn't even get a look in ? 

Actually I did consider the Siglent. But there's no stock in the USA with a 1 to 3 month order lead time. 

[bd139]

There's a difference between addressing a situation and not being calm. You've got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette. It's just removing the eggshell from the omelette, that's all.

You don't remove the eggshell from the omlette by taking a shit in it.

Can you both take this elsewhere.

[Mr. Scram]

Oh FFS, where did I mention the brand I represent ?

So I pop into a thread and all you can see is my signature ? Really ? 
Have you had a bad day or something ? Or are you stalking me ?

Are we going to pretend that's not a Siglent interface and you weren't plugging it? Come on, let's not pretend. Everyone understands what's going on. We get that you're trying to make a living pushing these boxes. It'd just be nice if it were a bit less incessant. That's all. No need for all the emotion.

It's probably a good idea to also emphasize this isn't a one time deal. It's a long standing pattern that's being addressed.

[Specmaster]

And if I didn't have a dealer signature it would have been just another valid members question.
Get off your high horse !

As I said, that'd be just another valid member's question if you didn't have a history of injecting the brand into any discussion you can. Instead of me getting off my high horse, how about you owning up to what you do?

Oh FFS, where did I mention the brand I represent ?

So I pop into a thread and all you can see is my signature ? Really ? 
Have you had a bad day or something ? Or are you stalking me ?

Well to be perfectly honest, I didn't even twig that it was Siglent, I just took it as a an alternative display which is what I suspect was your intention 

[Specmaster]

Oh FFS, where did I mention the brand I represent ?

So I pop into a thread and all you can see is my signature ? Really ? 
Have you had a bad day or something ? Or are you stalking me ?

Are we going to pretend that's not a Siglent interface and you weren't plugging it? Come on, let's not pretend. Everyone understands what's going on. We get that you're trying to make a living pushing these boxes. It'd just be nice if it were a bit less incessant. That's all. No need for all the emotion.

It's probably a good idea to also emphasize this isn't a one time deal. It's a long standing pattern that's being addressed.

I think in fairness, it was just an alternative display rather than a sales pitch, the logistics are not in meds favour anyway seeing as he lives in USA and tautech is in New Zealand and tautech will already be well aware of this 

[Mr. Scram]

You don't remove the eggshell from the omlette by taking a shit in it.

Can you both take this elsewhere.

I'm sorry if someone's feelings got hurt by pointing out the obvious. Improving the SNR ratio benefits everyone, even if it rocks the boat a bit right now. Although the rocking mostly seems to stem from it hurting when a sore spot is touched. I hope that when emotions have calmed a bit, people will find it really has been intended as constructive criticism.

[Mr. Scram]

I think in fairness, it was just an alternative display rather than a sales pitch, the logistics are not in meds favour anyway seeing as he lives in USA and tautech is in New Zealand and tautech will already be well aware of this 

It's not just this single example. I can understand people will feel I'm pressing the issue if they think it's just about a single post. Unfortunately emotions have made it into something much bigger than it should have been.

[bd139]

It may be obvious but the SnR in this thread is pretty low anyway. The point is that adding more noise to get rid of noise isn’t going to work. Have a word on the side or report it to mods if you have a problem.

Incidentally I don’t have a problem with it. My view on Siglent is pretty clear however.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Oh yes, right. 
Did you even look at the foot of this pic to see what other gear Med has ?

We both know exactly what you're doing, so let's not belittle each other. Providing functional information to people who are looking for are have purchased devices is fine and sometimes even very welcome, but the insistent pushing of a brand is just spam. What use is it questioning someone's choice when he already has something he's obviously very happy with on his desk? You could argue "just curiosity" if the brand you're pushing wasn't so obviously injected into any and every conversation, whether it's suitable or not.

Don't get me wrong, you're occasionally helpful. It'd just be nice if you could tone down the sales pitch. You seem to be hurting the brand more than you're helping it anyway.

And I thought I was the only one annoyed by it.

[med6753]

I don't mind that tautech brought up the Siglent because had it been available I would have ordered it. I think it has a much better display than the Rigol....which it turns out don't work anyway.

To everybody ...

I like cats but them are some ugly ass kittens. They are the new "designer" series with the pug noses and cropped ears. Some people think it's cute. It's not.   

 

[bd139]

Perhaps I inflamed it with the fugly kitties

Incidentally if I had to pick between the rigol or the siglent I’d choose an HP 

[Mr. Scram]

And I thought I was the only one annoyed by it.

You're certainly not, but unfortunately mentioning it seems to raise all kinds of hell.

[med6753]

Perhaps I inflamed it with the fugly kitties

Incidentally if I had to pick between the rigol or the siglent I’d choose an HP 

 

[Wolfgang]

Oh yes, right. 
Did you even look at the foot of this pic to see what other gear Med has ?

We both know exactly what you're doing, so let's not belittle each other. Providing functional information to people who are looking for are have purchased devices is fine and sometimes even very welcome, but the insistent pushing of a brand is just spam. What use is it questioning someone's choice when he already has something he's obviously very happy with on his desk? You could argue "just curiosity" if the brand you're pushing wasn't so obviously injected into any and every conversation, whether it's suitable or not.

Don't get me wrong, you're occasionally helpful. It'd just be nice if you could tone down the sales pitch. You seem to be hurting the brand more than you're helping it anyway.

And I thought I was the only one annoyed by it.

If the only tool you have is a hammer every problem looks like a nail.

[Mr. Scram]

It may be obvious but the SnR in this thread is pretty low anyway. The point is that adding more noise to get rid of noise isn’t going to work. Have a word on the side or report it to mods if you have a problem.

Incidentally I don’t have a problem with it. My view on Siglent is pretty clear however.

The added noise is temporary, the improvement hopefully permanent. I feel discussing issues as adults is preferred over calling the forum police. That's more of a last resort measure and they're busy fending off the spammers anyway.

[Specmaster]

Perhaps I inflamed it with the fugly kitties

Incidentally if I had to pick between the rigol or the siglent I’d choose an HP 

 

Snap on that brother 

[Mr. Scram]

If the only tool you have is a hammer every problem looks like a nail.

That's probably an apt reference. I assume it's more a case of different viewpoints than malicious intent, which is probably where part of the emotion comes from. I was just out to highlight the other viewpoint.

[med6753]

It may be obvious but the SnR in this thread is pretty low anyway. The point is that adding more noise to get rid of noise isn’t going to work. Have a word on the side or report it to mods if you have a problem.

Incidentally I don’t have a problem with it. My view on Siglent is pretty clear however.

The added noise is temporary, the improvement hopefully permanent. I feel discussing issues as adults is preferred over calling the forum police. That's more of a last resort measure and they're busy fending off the spammers anyway.

I'm not taking sides in that discussion at all but let me just say that your annoyance should have been taken to PM's rather than out in the open.

[tautech]

Actually I did consider the Siglent. But there's no stock in the USA with a 1 to 3 month order lead time. 

I can check on this if you like, that sort of lead time seems stupid for a popular model.

[tggzzz]

Perhaps I inflamed it with the fugly kitties

Incidentally if I had to pick between the rigol or the siglent I’d choose an HP 

Quite right. About the brands that is.

Quite wrong about the cats. Pictures like that momentarily raise my blood pressure, since they remind me of the reaction they would cause in my daughter's dog.

It is a Jack Russell with a bit of dachsund, so it can see them lurking under cars - and by Dog does it pull hard and suddenly! Off lead, despite only having 6"/15cm legs, it can really shift. Chasing a ball it peaks at 36km/h; yes I did strap a GPS receiver to his harness Yup, that's test equipment on legs.

[med6753]

Actually I did consider the Siglent. But there's no stock in the USA with a 1 to 3 month order lead time. 

I can check on this if you like, that sort of lead time seems stupid for a popular model.

I would appreciate that.   Amazon says it's a 1 to 3 month order time. If there's an alternate and reliable source I would certainly consider it.

[tautech]

Actually I did consider the Siglent. But there's no stock in the USA with a 1 to 3 month order lead time. 

I can check on this if you like, that sort of lead time seems stupid for a popular model.

I would appreciate that.   Amazon says it's a 1 to 3 month order time. If there's an alternate and reliable source I would certainly consider it.

Going on their website Saelig certainly indicates 4-6 weeks delay however there's no similar indication in the USA shop:
https://store.siglentamerica.com/product/sdm3055/

Anyways, email sent to US GM to find the current state of affairs. 
Might get an answer before the end of your Friday whereas it's already Sat here.

[Berni]

Boat anchor warning

So i have got around to fixing my HP 8566B Spectrum analyzer (100Hz to 22GHz). I have been putting it off because this is a real heavyweight category boat anchor at 50kg.

The symptoms ware that upon applying power the fans spin up regardless of the power switch position and nothing lights up on the front panel. After some investigation i found that the bottom RF section does this even when nothing else is plugged into it.



Well after a consultation with the service manual i found a blown fuse for the 22V standby supply. Turns out this supply is responsible for switching some relays according to the front panel power switch. Yes that's right, a spectrum analyzer from 1980 has a soft power switch.



I couldn't find a 1A replacement fuse in the right size so i stuck in a 2A one and the symptoms disappeared and i had a LED lit on the 22V rail. Woho! So because i didn't want to leave the wrong fuse in i simply soldered the caps of the large glass fuse to a smaller 1A fuse so that it would fit inside. This is only 24V DC at low current so the large glass fuse really is not nececery.



Alright get the behemoth back into its rack and hook it up. Powers on just fine now. Winner winner chicken di...wait.. REF UNLOCK. You bastard.. yep waveform is definitely dancing around on the screen. At this point i was genuinely worried as the clock synthesis circuitry is a huge complicated mess spread over like 4 or 5 cards in the card cage.



Oh phew... turns out the problem was that the BNC jumper cable in the back that loops back the internal 10MHz OCXO reference back in has gotten a bad connection. No error messages anymore and waveform is stable. Now we do have chicken dinner