Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

Nope, over this side of the pond we use words wisely and so a spanner is something that is used on nuts and bolts and a wrench is something that we normally reserve for pipe work such as a plumber would use a wrench to screw pipes together etc. 

Over here that is also called a pipe wrench. More specifically the picture I showed is referred to as a "combination wrench" in that open end on one side and boxed on the other. Then there are "open end wrenches" that are open on each side with 2 different sizes. Then the "adjustable wrench" which is self explanatory.

Use words wisely? More like "quaint" to me. Especially parts of a car.

Bonnet is a hood
Boot is a trunk
Saloon is a station wagon.
Petrol is gas
More I can't think of right now
And when I was in the UK when a 2 lane highway became a 4 lane highway it was a "Dual carriage way". How quaint. I half expected to see the queen being drawn by her carriage. 

[beanflying]

Still have my Grandfathers BA big boy spanners and my fathers baby instrument making ones for no real reason other than 'quaint' value.

Think of us poor Aussies have had to suffer the duality of Yank and Pommie TV in our heads.

Ute - Pickup

@Brumby you need to show her a pretty Lissajous patterns and to do that if it means a new dual channel function generator then you may as well be hung for a sheep not just a lamb. 

[Brumby]

That will be achieved by a 150Hz sine wave from my home built sine wave generator on the X axis and my finger on the probe for the Y.

Yeah - it may look crappy, but it is interactive!

[Specmaster]

Nope, over this side of the pond we use words wisely and so a spanner is something that is used on nuts and bolts and a wrench is something that we normally reserve for pipe work such as a plumber would use a wrench to screw pipes together etc. 

Over here that is also called a pipe wrench. More specifically the picture I showed is referred to as a "combination wrench" in that open end on one side and boxed on the other. Then there are "open end wrenches" that are open on each side with 2 different sizes. Then the "adjustable wrench" which is self explanatory.

Use words wisely? More like "quaint" to me. Especially parts of a car.

Bonnet is a hood
Boot is a trunk
Saloon is a station wagon.
Petrol is gas
More I can't think of right now
And when I was in the UK when a 2 lane highway became a 4 lane highway it was a "Dual carriage way". How quaint. I half expected to see the queen being drawn by her carriage. 

No No,
Estate = station wagon
Saloon = Sedan

[Housedad]

 "drawn by her carriage."

Wouldn't that be painful?

[Specmaster]

"drawn by her carriage."

Wouldn't that be painful?

I didn't think she had the kind of carriage to which you refer [emoji1787][emoji1787]

[tautech]

Gosh, you know I can't remember the last time I had to use my BA spanners / sockets, back in the day they were my most used spanners 

Luckily for me but not for him I inherited my father in-laws BA 1/4” drive socket set and Stahlwille brand no less !   

[GreyWoolfe]

I had a set of steel ramps I picked up from a yard sale.  Had them for years.  I gave them away as I am at a point where I can't lay flat on the ground under a car any longer, I get nauseous and light headed.  I can't even do my own oil changes any more.  If I can sit or stand, I can work, just can't lay down.

By the way, X--awesome layout.

I'm the same, it must be age related and it is so difficult to get up again these days, I need a set of ramps or similar to lift me up from the floor, having dodgy knee does little to help either 
[/quote]

Age, just turned 62 this past Friday, and weight probably, quite overweight.  I don't even like laying flat in bed, I have to have a pillow under my head.  I could also use a ramp or rapid jack to get my fat tail off the ground.  I have had knee surgery but it was done by a very good surgeon so there are minimal issues.

Bonnet is a hood
Boot is a trunk
Saloon is a station wagon.
Petrol is gas
More I can't think of right now
And when I was in the UK when a 2 lane highway became a 4 lane highway it was a "Dual carriage way". How quaint. I half expected to see the queen being drawn by her carriage. 

No No,
Estate = station wagon
Saloon = Sedan

[/quote]

I have seen station wagons called shooting brakes and don't forget wing for fender.    By the say, saloons are bars. Oh wait, bars are pubs.

[bd139]

Well this year is shit so far. Outbid on one amateur radio auction, two test gear auctions, RS delivered a whole consignment of parts to someone three doors away who is on holiday until March (apparently according to another neighbour) and I had to return my new MacBook because the keyboard started bouncing keys and was basically totally unusable after only two weeks

[mansaxel]

Nope, over this side of the pond we use words wisely and so a spanner is something that is used on nuts and bolts and a wrench is something that we normally reserve for pipe work such as a plumber would use a wrench to screw pipes together etc. 

That is, to be as straightly translated as possible, a "Pipe pliers", "Rörtång" in swedish, but yes, the term "pipe wrench" is acceptable. Swedish invention, actually. The pictured item is an overseas copy; the swedish Wikipedia article has a better picture of a real one. Yes, quality matters, and even despite Bahco having been sold to the owners of the much inferior brand Snap-on and the name is used to peddle shit to people, the Bahco pipe wrenches are the only usable ones.  But for fixed spanners, only the German brands count today. Vintage, pre-sellout Bahco has collector value.

[URI]

Woooh, ...

I'm not trying to copy bd but I wasn't writing here
1. because of touring parents/parents in law over X-Mas
2. had a few days marriage-on-hold after a hefty marital argument that kept me away from TEA and anything other too.   
3. have to catch up all the postings   

Fixed that second issue now I hope. A marriage [EDIT]seems to be is real work sometimes.

...third item now fulfilled.   
The slightly off topic postings made it easier than it would have been with only TEA-related ones.   

@ 0culus: I bought a HP 5006A Signature Analyzer about a year ago. See my postings from #1 and #2.
If you'd like to repair your probe head, you could reuse the switch cap and the missing half of the case from a HP 546A Logic Pulser: They share the same mechanical parts. If you're lucky you'll find a defective but mechanically complete one for a small amount.
I haven't really used my signature analyzer for repair purposes yet -only looked for signatures in an old HP function generator -and found out that my service manual (containing signatures for trouble shooting) doesn't match my very instrument.   
I wonder if it will ever be useful for me...

@ bd139: I hope your dishwasher problem works out fine for you in the end...

@ med6753: Nice work bench expansion! Looks very fine made and also very practical! 

@ mnementh:

Now I know where and why...   

@ beanflying: Nice pictures of pure electrotechnical porn showing muirhead decade switches. They seem to come from the days of no cost cutting(R) where Test Equipment was built to last.   

@ Specmaster: How do you like your new a set of smart tweezers from Iso-Tech? Have you tested it yet? (Not sure, have you received it already?)

@ Kosmic: [HP  5335a] Happy catch considering you bought it as non working, congrats!   

Well this year is shit so far. Outbid on one amateur radio auction, two test gear auctions, RS delivered a whole consignment of parts to someone three doors away who is on holiday until March (apparently according to another neighbour) and I had to return my new MacBook because the keyboard started bouncing keys and was basically totally unusable after only two weeks

I hope the year will get better for you, bd! 
Someone who accepts a delivery for a neighbour knowing he will be away after that for a period of time is an idiot or a dickhead in my opinion. Inexcusable. I feel with you.

[..] I bought a HP 53132A universal counter today.   
[..] I've already checked the possibilities to pimp it with OXCO and 3rd GHz-input..       

Oh da**ed, it's still marked as prepared for shipping (shipping label created).

TEA again: I'm currently looking for a sig gen because I realised I can't do complete performance and functional tests of all of my counters (225MHz/300MHz) with my equipment.
The highest frequency I can generate is 80MHz (HP 3335A) but I would need at least 300MHz.   
If I'd pimp my new HP 53132A with the 3rd channel option (3GHz) I'd need a sig gen going up to at least 3 GHz..      

[Mr. Scram]

Over here that is also called a pipe wrench. More specifically the picture I showed is referred to as a "combination wrench" in that open end on one side and boxed on the other. Then there are "open end wrenches" that are open on each side with 2 different sizes. Then the "adjustable wrench" which is self explanatory.

Use words wisely? More like "quaint" to me. Especially parts of a car.

Bonnet is a hood
Boot is a trunk
Saloon is a station wagon.
Petrol is gas
More I can't think of right now
And when I was in the UK when a 2 lane highway became a 4 lane highway it was a "Dual carriage way". How quaint. I half expected to see the queen being drawn by her carriage. 

Too bad you missed the Queen. Better luck next time.

[Kosmic]

TEA again: I'm currently looking for a sig gen because I realised I can't do complete performance and functional tests of all of my counters (225MHz/300MHz) with my equipment.
The highest frequency I can generate is 80MHz (HP 3335A) but I would need at least 300MHz.   
If I'd pimp my new HP  with the 3rd channel option (3GHz) I'd need a sig gen going up to at least 3 GHz..      

Why limiting yourself to 3Ghz ? The 53132A has a 12.4Ghz extension for the third channel 

Look like a great counter!

[med6753]

Over here that is also called a pipe wrench. More specifically the picture I showed is referred to as a "combination wrench" in that open end on one side and boxed on the other. Then there are "open end wrenches" that are open on each side with 2 different sizes. Then the "adjustable wrench" which is self explanatory.

Use words wisely? More like "quaint" to me. Especially parts of a car.

Bonnet is a hood
Boot is a trunk
Saloon is a station wagon.
Petrol is gas
More I can't think of right now
And when I was in the UK when a 2 lane highway became a 4 lane highway it was a "Dual carriage way". How quaint. I half expected to see the queen being drawn by her carriage. 

Too bad you missed the Queen. Better luck next time.

I was going to post a retort about what I really thought of royalty but I thought better of it and deleted it. Too political and it might offend my British friends. I shall keep it to myself.   

[URI]

TEA again: I'm currently looking for a sig gen because I realised I can't do complete performance and functional tests of all of my counters (225MHz/300MHz) with my equipment.
The highest frequency I can generate is 80MHz (HP 3335A) but I would need at least 300MHz.   
If I'd pimp my new HP  with the 3rd channel option (3GHz) I'd need a sig gen going up to at least 3 GHz..      

Why limiting yourself to 3Ghz ? The 53132A has a 12.4Ghz extension for the third channel 

You're a devil!      

One reason: Affordable signal generators that go that high are so hard to find.   
And more: Affordable signal generators that cover frequencies from ~80Mhz all the way up to >12.4GHz are even harder to find..
And the extra HF accessories I'll need.   

That's like a lathe you can just afford and when you've got it right in your shop you realize that you need a whole lot of additional tools and accessories that easily cost as much as the machine itself..   

[Mr. Scram]

I was going to post a retort about what I really thought of royalty but I thought better of it and deleted it. Too political and it might offend my British friends. I shall keep it to myself.

I admit, having a Queen isn't as good as having a president. That's bound to result in well chosen competent leaders every time.

[Wolfgang]

My suggestion: Elect a queen for four year terms.  You can still have all this high-quality entertainment plus she's gone in case she does not perform 

[GregDunn]

"Democracy can't work. Mathematicians, peasants, and animals, that's all there is - so democracy, a theory based on the assumption that mathematicians and peasants are equal, can never work. Wisdom is not additive; its maximum is that of the wisest man in a given group."  -- Robert Heinlein

[med6753]

I was going to post a retort about what I really thought of royalty but I thought better of it and deleted it. Too political and it might offend my British friends. I shall keep it to myself.

I admit, having a Queen isn't as good as having a president. That's bound to result in well chosen competent leaders every time.

Touche. And I admit, without any sarcasm, that our current "competent" leader is a complete a-hole and embarrassment.   

[Wolfgang]

The fitness of a given state is defined by the maximum incompetence of a leader that they can still survive 

[beanflying]

If only unelecting the Queen was as easy at that. Last time we tried to remove her one of her Fanboy's wrote the question put to the voters on keeping her or have another non specific alternative. Like sheep just over 50% voted to keep it 'safe'

Time to track down some replacements for the evil Tantulums in my 6632B unless I get sidetracked and go looking for Sig Gens to fill a gap

[Wolfgang]

If only unelecting the Queen was as easy at that. Last time we tried to remove her one of her Fanboy's wrote the question put to the voters on keeping her or have another non specific alternative. Like sheep just over 50% voted to keep it 'safe'

Time to track down some replacements for the evil Tantulums in my 6632B unless I get sidetracked and go looking for Sig Gens to fill a gap

Think of the economical consequences of such a plan ! A *ton* of trash newspapers would run out of high quality entertainment and die. 

[bd139]

Had some tea time today and have written a list of objective purchases, or a new year’s resolution list for 2019... here we go:

1. Synthesised RF signal generator good to 1.2GHz
2. 34401A
3. Decent modernish SA, HP/Agilent
4. 53181A
5. E3632A if one comes along
6. 200Mhz tek digital scope if one comes along.

One moon needs to be screwed to a stick 

[beanflying]

Think of the economical consequences of such a plan ! A *ton* of trash newspapers would run out of high quality entertainment and die. 

The world is currently supplying so much rich content for ridicule at present the Royals are just a bonus. King Chuck when and if he ever gets a go will see the numbers shift in a hurry.

Had some tea time today and have written a list of objective purchases, or a new year’s resolution list for 2019... here we go:

1. Synthesised RF signal generator good to 1.2GHz

I have one of these coming in https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OLED-display-ADF4350-137-5MHZ-4-4GHZ-Signal-generator-frequency-RF-signal-source/332673615638?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 in a week or so. I need to fill the gap under it and get a something better than my 30Meg Feeltech.

[bd139]

I looked at them but discounted due to missing decent output attenuation. More Marconi 2019A or HP 8657B type generators. Something that goes down to -120dBm at least before it even leaves the box. Need to so receiver sensitivity testing.