Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[GreyWoolfe]

RIP Icom IC-7000. Doesn't even turn on now that I reassembled it.  Pretty sure I was sold a half dead transceiver for way too much money at hamfest anyway, so no huge loss taking it apart. But since this is also my only transceiver, so much for plans to get on the air soon. 

If you are looking for an HF radio, I have access to an ICOM 751 that belongs to a silent key.  Be in the neighborhood of $400 plus shipping and I can collect and test if there is an interest.  Also have a working 7000 with the matching LDG autotuner that is missing the interconnect cable for $600 plus shipping.  Not that I am trying to temp you or anything.  I would never do that.  Not in a 1,000,000 years.    I won't even mention the ICOM 7600.

[Cubdriver]

What are those white barrel shaped objects with the wires coming out of the top? 

They are reed relays for range selection.  I see them in a lot of the HP meters.

-Pat

[factory]

The first tear-down from this lot. A HP 3480B, made in 1970 last calibrated by HP themselves in 1972. I got some pictures before taking the caps out but they are all terrible.

There is an entire HP journal devoted to the HP 3480A/B, the Janaury 1971 edition;
http://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1971-01.pdf

Looks very nice, if I ever find one over here I may have to add it to my collection.

They even did a version (with 3485A scanner module) that fits into one of the digital recorders.

David

[mnementh]

In other News...

I have a surfeit of PC goodness to play around with now; not only did my $40 1KW (!!!) Crypto PSU arrive, so has my replacement AIO Liquid Cooler.

I'm trying to set up a test bed for load testing vs ripple/noise; so far having trouble getting anything meaningful that isn't full of common mode noise. I'll cogitate on it some more, then bring whatever results I can to witness for your perusal.

mnem
SQWEEEEEE!!!

[Specmaster]

Has anyone here just purchased a reasonable Tek 222 scout off eBay? I was bidding on it but suddenly it went for silly money considering it could not even be powered up to be photographed working as it mo battery or power pack either, it went for £48.77 plus p&p 

So was it someone from here, if so I hope it is a total brick inside  and I hope that you'll be keeping us all informed with the progress of returning it to life again. 

[med6753]

What are those white barrel shaped objects with the wires coming out of the top? 

They are reed relays for range selection.  I see them in a lot of the HP meters.

-Pat

OK, that makes sense.  And it also explains all the cautions about dust, contamination, and finger prints. That's a VERY high impedance area.

[med6753]

Has anyone here just purchased a reasonable Tek 222 scout off eBay? I was bidding on it but suddenly it went for silly money considering it could not even be powered up to be photographed working as it mo battery or power pack either, it went for £48.77 plus p&p 

So was it someone from here, if so I hope it is a total brick inside  and I hope that you'll be keeping us all informed with the progress of returning it to life again. 

$63 USD ain't that bad. I'd pay it. You have to remember, you are also paying for the "cute" factor. But how much is the p&p?

And no, it wasn't me that outbid you. 

[bd139]

Wasn't me. I skipped that on the basis it probably would have gone for more.

Was outbid on a TDS220 the other day at £155 (I put in £130). I was going to swap it out for the TDS210 and then flog that for £180 BIN 

[Specmaster]

Has anyone here just purchased a reasonable Tek 222 scout off eBay? I was bidding on it but suddenly it went for silly money considering it could not even be powered up to be photographed working as it mo battery or power pack either, it went for £48.77 plus p&p 

So was it someone from here, if so I hope it is a total brick inside  and I hope that you'll be keeping us all informed with the progress of returning it to life again. 

$63 USD ain't that bad. I'd pay it. You have to remember, you are also paying for the "cute" factor. But how much is the p&p?

And no, it wasn't me that outbid you. 

P&p was £5, I'd have gone higher if it was shown working to some degree but as it was, it had a broken screen cover, and the seller had no way of powering it up so it could have been total toast inside or robbed for some unobtainable part to keep another going, who knows.

[Specmaster]

Wasn't me. I skipped that on the basis it probably would have gone for more.

Was outbid on a TDS220 the other day at £155 (I put in £130). I was going to swap it out for the TDS210 and then flog that for £180 BIN 

Oh, I too was going for that TDS220 but decided that that was getting a bit rich so I bailed as well.  If I won it I was planning on doing the same thing as well with the TDS210:-DD

[Neomys Sapiens]

Especially considering what you lady does, I imagine your ears are also open.

She's NYPD and I'm at minimum 75 miles north of NYC so unfortunately too far away to pick up. And I'm just running the whip antenna anyway. But it's good enough to pick up all of my county. Especially since one of the repeaters is only 2 miles away. 

Come on, BOS/PSB-Dx is a thing! Get a nice LogPer or a directional array! I was having Frankfurt and Karlsruhe regular except in inclement weather - with a discone!

[Specmaster]

You know, my second thought was nuvistors too but what threw me was the large strap attached to the top plate implying high current and nuvistors are not high current devices. So it's a tuned circuit?

   It is tuned.

Looking at the circuit it multiplies the 100MHz to 500MHz so X5. Needs some black magic to get to 500MHZ which is why it is how it is

Looks like tuned push-pull with 500MHz tank. The tank inductor is the bent bit of metal (L61/62) tuned with the butterfly cap. Input signal is coupled to it via the wire loop generating two 180 degree out of phase signals so it can shift a lot of current very quickly (required for high delta-V at 500MHz)

   So the reason that inductor looks like a tuning fork is because it's all a resonant assembly; the same way the cycloid cavity is tuned in an old RADAR magnetron?

That is fucking AWRESOME! Black Magic indeed; right up there with the Flux Capacitor! 

It is even better. Here's a pic I didn't post, because it gave too much of a hint about the components, not that that impeded bd139

Pay careful attention to the single turn L69 (or is it L70?) in/under the main stirrup. I don't even want to touch that! Manufacturing and QA must have been fun, possibly little more than "copy this gold example".

1974 is missing ! 

Well, what happened in 1971 then, did they go on strike for best part of the year? 

For some reason they didn't publish one in 1974, and the 1971 one was a supplement to the 1970, and is the very thin magazine-sized one next to it.  (I wound up with two copies of the '72 one because the guy I bought it from on the bay accidentally sent me one with a bunch of pictures cut out - it came from a used TE dealer who apparently used to make their own catalog, scrap-book style.  He then sent a replacement, but I couldn't bear to toss the old one as its /mostly/ there.)

-Pat

#Yeah, noticed that 1971 was very thin, hence my comment about striking, thought they had no time left to include the current range so only produced a supplement showcasing the new editions 

[Specmaster]

In other News...

I have a surfeit of PC goodness to play around with now; not only did my $40 1KW (!!!) Crypto PSU arrive, so has my replacement AIO Liquis Cooler.

I'm trying to set up a test bed for load testing vs ripple/noise; so far having trouble getting anything meaningful that isn;t full of common mode noise. I'll cogitate on it some more, then bring whatever results I can to witness for your perusal.

mnem
SQWEEEEEE!!!

Yeah those double radiators kick ass, I have same size rad in my rig and it is so quiet and cool as well, but  :wtf:a 1KW psu, man alive I thought that my 850W one was a bit OTT but then, it never hurts to have a massive power reserve IMO. PSU will also run quiet and cool as a result 

[Cubdriver]

Well, what happened in 1971 then, did they go on strike for best part of the year? 

For some reason they didn't publish one in 1974, and the 1971 one was a supplement to the 1970, and is the very thin magazine-sized one next to it.  (I wound up with two copies of the '72 one because the guy I bought it from on the bay accidentally sent me one with a bunch of pictures cut out - it came from a used TE dealer who apparently used to make their own catalog, scrap-book style.  He then sent a replacement, but I couldn't bear to toss the old one as its /mostly/ there.)

-Pat

Yeah, noticed that 1971 was very thin, hence my comment about striking, thought they had no time left to include the current range so only produced a supplement showcasing the new editions 

I figured you'd seen it hiding there, but wasn't 100% certain, so...  I'm not sure what lead to the supplement only edition - perhaps 1970 was a lean year, or perhaps someone new decided it was a good way to save some $$ rather than putting out the normal 350+ page hardcover book they'd done since 1965.  I think the lack of one in '74 was due to the recession in the US caused in part by the 1973 oil crisis and the goings on with Watergate, but am not certain.  I was 8-9 at the time, so my recollections are hazy.  I mainly remember being pissed that the Watergate hearings were preempting the cartoons I normally watched!   

-Pat

[med6753]

Especially considering what you lady does, I imagine your ears are also open.

She's NYPD and I'm at minimum 75 miles north of NYC so unfortunately too far away to pick up. And I'm just running the whip antenna anyway. But it's good enough to pick up all of my county. Especially since one of the repeaters is only 2 miles away. 

Come on, BOS/PSB-Dx is a thing! Get a nice LogPer or a directional array! I was having Frankfurt and Karlsruhe regular except in inclement weather - with a discone!

I'm sure the landlord will get a little pissy if I start erecting antennas on his roof. 

[mnementh]

Wasn't me. I skipped that on the basis it probably would have gone for more.

Was outbid on a TDS220 the other day at £155 (I put in £130). I was going to swap it out for the TDS210 and then flog that for £180 BIN 

Oh, I too was going for that TDS220 but decided that that was getting a bit rich so I bailed as well.  If I won it I was planning on doing the same thing as well with the TDS210:-DD

*Huggles his 1054Z 1104Z close*   

mnem
Laugh all you like; it's paid for. And it has paid for itself. 

[mnementh]

In other News...

I have a surfeit of PC goodness to play around with now; not only did my $40 1KW (!!!) Crypto PSU arrive, so has my replacement AIO Liquis Cooler.

I'm trying to set up a test bed for load testing vs ripple/noise; so far having trouble getting anything meaningful that isn;t full of common mode noise. I'll cogitate on it some more, then bring whatever results I can to witness for your perusal.

mnem
SQWEEEEEE!!!

Yeah those double radiators kick ass, I have same size rad in my rig and it is so quiet and cool as well, but  :wtf:a 1KW psu, man alive I thought that my 850W one was a bit OTT but then, it never hurts to have a massive power reserve IMO. PSU will also run quiet and cool as a result 

Dude... I was looking at PWM fans for my existing cooler, and even no-name POSes were $15. Evidently "120mm PWM with LED" is a fucking "Thing" right now.    So yeah, not my old-school Silent Copper, but how could I pass up a 240mm AIO for $45 net?

Same thing with the PSU... I was looking at extension cable sets for $25-35. This is a completely modular PSU, with all the extra long cables for GPU Crypto-mining PLUS 6... count 'em 6!!! Dual-gang 8-pin PCIe cables for $40. DELIVERED.

And the cables match the ones I've already been sleeving up for everything else, so the only real wasted time/energy was the work rebuilding/sleeving my OCZ PSU.

I'm still working on the test setup; I have oodles of pics and I'll post them too. I was expecting a total POS (well, actually, I was expecting it to be a tentacle monster, NOT truly modular, which it actually is) but it is no POS.

Cheers,

mnem
*tzzt*

[Dwaine]

RIP Icom IC-7000. Doesn't even turn on now that I reassembled it.  Pretty sure I was sold a half dead transceiver for way too much money at hamfest anyway, so no huge loss taking it apart. But since this is also my only transceiver, so much for plans to get on the air soon. 

If you are looking for an HF radio, I have access to an ICOM 751 that belongs to a silent key.  Be in the neighborhood of $400 plus shipping and I can collect and test if there is an interest.  Also have a working 7000 with the matching LDG autotuner that is missing the interconnect cable for $600 plus shipping.  Not that I am trying to temp you or anything.  I would never do that.  Not in a 1,000,000 years.    I won't even mention the ICOM 7600.

I bought an ICOM 7000 that had the infamous no output.   I sent it to ICOM to get the driver boards replaced.   It's been in my car running trouble free since.  I really like the rig, since I can hook the RCA output to my LCD screen in the dash.  I had more trouble with the LDG autotunner, which does not work when it get really cold out in the winter.

[Specmaster]

My PSU is also modular, all sleeved in black and I too have loads of cables left over from the build. That's the best bit of a fully modular system, only fit the actual cables required so you get a neater install and greatly enhanced airflow as a result of less clutter, just goes to prove the old saying on this occasion, that "Less is more"

I have had my current rig now for about 5 years and I'm still very pleased with it but I am on my second liquid cooling system, the first on was a Corsair single rad jobbie and it became very noisy on the pump so I evicted it and replaced with  the current one about 3 years ago and it's been good.

Meanwhile in other news, I'm very pleased with my new keyboard, it's been rated as one of the top 5 gaming boards and I've seen it listed for far more than I paid for it, almost 5 times the price I paid and well over $140 USD so I'm feeling pretty stoked at the moment

Might even look at fitting some LEDs in the case now, just because I sort of like the colours on the keyboard and think it might just look pretty cool just around the inside of the side window. I purchased a few RGB LED strips a couple of years and their controllers and never used them anywhere, so I might see if I can fit them in the case.

I've always been a sucker for Christmas lights ever since my childhood, so I might indulge myself a bit more now.

[med6753]

Meanwhile in other news, I'm very pleased with my new keyboard, it's been rated as one of the top 5 gaming boards and I've seen it listed for far more than I paid for it, almost 5 times the price I paid and well over $140 USD so I'm feeling pretty stoked at the moment

Might even look at fitting some LEDs in the case now, just because I sort of like the colours on the keyboard and think it might just look pretty cool just around the inside of the side window. I purchased a few RGB LED strips a couple of years and their controllers and never used them anywhere, so I might see if I can fit them in the case.

I've always been a sucker for Christmas lights ever since my childhood, so I might indulge myself a bit more now.

Careful or you'll slide down that slippery slope like my gamer neighbor. And that's a giant rabbit hole with no end. You'll stay up all night conversing loudly with your gamer buddies. Twinkies will be your meal of choice. Don't work. Don't shower. Waddle on the scale at about 400 pounds. Belly so huge you don't know if the family jewels still exist. The model of our new society.     

[VK5RC]

I had an icom 5100 in my last car for a few years, in summer here - inside a parked car, 60C is not uncommon - it just kept going, at those temps the lcd isn't readable until it cools down a little, the touch screen seemed to lose its calibration - but otherwise great gear.

[Brumby]

Have had a quick look at my "new" 5381A and looks like I'm going to have some fun.

Tracked through the display driving circuitry and found the 7442 that is the digit drive decoder had perfect input signals, but 5 of the 7 output lines used were sitting at 5V.  The other 2 showing pulses switching between 4.8 and 5V.  Not very useful.  Could it be that I just need to replace a 7442?

In checking the segment drive circuitry, I didn't find any pulses.  So then I started by looking at the input circuitry, using the Hantek's 1kHz probe calibration signal as a source.  I lost the signal around Q4 and I didn't like the signal that came out of Q5 (amplitude looked too low).  Will need to have a closer look.

Then I went to the timebase oscillator which uses a MK5009P and found the crystal very happily running at its nominal 1MHz - but the output at pin 1 was sitting solidly at 0.13V.  I might pull the 7404 it feeds into in the desperate hope there is a fault with the 7404 that's holding the output low.  If it's the MK500P, then it looks like they are around, but not in great numbers.  If you want a laugh - have a look at the one offering on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/143112726483


This has been an interesting experience.  I haven't done a troubleshoot like this for far too long.  So many cobwebs...

[Brumby]

Just pulled the 7404 - I have timebase pulses! ... and they match the gate times when that switch is operated - bonus!

I know I have some 7404's around .... somewhere ....

[beanflying]

Good job you have got further in a day than I 'felt' the need to in 6 months 

I have a few 7404 circa 1978 vintage IC's I could have included 

[Brumby]

I think the ones I have might be a better match ... circa 1975, I think.