Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bitseeker]

My bank account says I need to sell my 8656B.  Even though it's been sitting on my bench for a while now, getting in the way of everything - I don't feel like selling it.  Everything seems to be working, but I don't have the gear to do full testing.  The only thing that seems to be missing is calibration, but if I get a GPSDO and it comes within spec against that, then I'll be happy.

But... but... I don't really need it and I'm not likely to get much real use out of it.

There again, it is the first bit of functional HP test gear I have owned... and it does look nice.

If the books aren't balancing and you can fetch a good price for it, you do what you have to. The ideal result is that you satisfy the books and still have money left over to buy your second and/or third HP test gear that will be more useful to you.

Of course, as 0culus said, there's always the risk you'll later regret parting with it, but you wouldn't be the first one to experience that. Been there. Got the not-quite-as-good replacement for the nicer-item-I-previously-sold.

Unless you're really hard up, I'd say keep it. Never know when you might get rid of it then regret it later. Obviously, basic living should take precendence (bitseeker, are there rules for that?  ) but all things being equal I like my collection of classic HP test gear. Perhaps it's not the latest and greatest, but it's a throwback to an era when companies (especially Bill and Dave's) built good stuff.

I didn't *need* an 8664A signal generator, for example. My 8657A does just fine for the stuff I do now, but the 8664 is objectively much better and has a few features that the 8657 misses.

Rules? Well, he who cringes and sells today, lives to buy more anyway.

[0culus]

My bank account says I need to sell my 8656B.  Even though it's been sitting on my bench for a while now, getting in the way of everything - I don't feel like selling it.  Everything seems to be working, but I don't have the gear to do full testing.  The only thing that seems to be missing is calibration, but if I get a GPSDO and it comes within spec against that, then I'll be happy.

But... but... I don't really need it and I'm not likely to get much real use out of it.

There again, it is the first bit of functional HP test gear I have owned... and it does look nice.

If the books aren't balancing and you can fetch a good price for it, you do what you have to. The ideal result is that you satisfy the books and still have money left over to buy your second and/or third HP test gear that will be more useful to you.

Of course, as 0culus said, there's always the risk you'll later regret parting with it, but you wouldn't be the first one to experience that. Been there. Got the not-quite-as-good replacement for the nicer-item-I-previously-sold.

Unless you're really hard up, I'd say keep it. Never know when you might get rid of it then regret it later. Obviously, basic living should take precendence (bitseeker, are there rules for that?  ) but all things being equal I like my collection of classic HP test gear. Perhaps it's not the latest and greatest, but it's a throwback to an era when companies (especially Bill and Dave's) built good stuff.

I didn't *need* an 8664A signal generator, for example. My 8657A does just fine for the stuff I do now, but the 8664 is objectively much better and has a few features that the 8657 misses.

Rules? Well, he who cringes and sells today, lives to buy more anyway.

HA! I like that rule.

Of course being able to balance the books takes precendence...and YMMV, but for me I'd first get rid of all the services. Netflix, amazon prime, etc. I'm keeping the latter another year since the prime shipping is pretty good in my area and it might come in handy with a move coming up. But after that, I'm getting rid of it. It went up again and I paid $125 this time. 

[neo]

This question seems appropriate here.  Okay all, what is the one piece of TE that really got you started, the one piece that amazed you and made you want more.

For me, I was 10 years old and met a local HAM (Peter Griesbaum, WA7IFZ) who I would chat with on 10m SSB.  He heard me complain about the Heathkit 0-12 scope that I could not get to work and offered me an HP 175A scope.  The HP had the same 2 channel 40MHz vertical plug-ins and sweep delay shown in this photo (not my old scope).  I was not able to carry it by myself, had my mom drive me by a strangers house after school to pick up this beast and put in the back of her 1982 Toyota corolla.  We became very good friends and he was the one who taught me electronics.

Amazing question, i wish i had a cool answer. Truth is stranger is fiction though, i just started one day. Slow at first, we all have to crawl before we walk, walk before we can run. I started out with a crazy handful of nothing and built my lab from scratch with an ever expanding march for better. Literally teaching myself everything i know (and i DO mean EVERYTHING) and buying or making the tools needed for the next useful experiment.

As for a single item that got me started? There wasn't anything really. Bought a shed, full of old stuff. Junk and treasures both.

Bonus fact; I stuck a wall wort cord in my mouth as a baby, little lasting effect. Since then I've blown myself to kingdom come and back with mains voltage a few times.

I highly doubt it would have been possible without folks like you all, but then again I'm stubborn enough lack of any help might have just raised the difficulty. Thanks for all the free knowledge.

[0culus]

neo, I know people who stuck their mother's bobby pins in outlets as children and lived to tell about it. The story is usually along the lines of "I stuck it in there, and suddenly I was on my back in the middle of the room with a serious buzz". 

[neo]

neo, I know people who stuck their mother's bobby pins in outlets as children and lived to tell about it. The story is usually along the lines of "I stuck it in there, and suddenly I was on my back in the middle of the room with a serious buzz". 

Working on an electric outlet as a teen i turned off the breaker and set to work, to change it. Next thing i know I'm sitting on the floor, across the room with a broke window showing where i hit the wall. I seem to remember seeing a pair of pearly gates. Damn grateful that Peter was slacking off that day.

Now if you asked why the shock was so violent as to send me across the (admittedly small) room and crack a window I couldn't tell you, probably some idiot wired it wrong. Seems plausible since it wasn't even on the right breaker.

[0culus]

neo, I know people who stuck their mother's bobby pins in outlets as children and lived to tell about it. The story is usually along the lines of "I stuck it in there, and suddenly I was on my back in the middle of the room with a serious buzz". 

Working on an electric outlet as a teen i turned off the breaker and set to work, to change it. Next thing i know I'm sitting on the floor, across the room with a broke window showing where i hit the wall. I seem to remember seeing a pair of pearly gates. Damn grateful that Peter was slacking off that day.

Now if you asked why the shock was so violent as to send me across the (admittedly small) room and crack a window I couldn't tell you, probably some idiot wired it wrong. Seems plausible since it wasn't even on the right breaker.

Damn. Just goes to show why doubling checking everything is important.

[neo]

Damn. Just goes to show why doubling checking everything is important.

The Russians, despite their flaws, got at least one thing right. Trust, but verify.

[beanflying]

Last minor tickle I got was finishing off some wiring on an extension that had remained unconnected for 8 or 9 years at my Dads house. He and a mate of his both ex Electricians and ex teachers of the same had managed to wire an active supply into an Earth on the formally unconnected section Took me much searching to figure out the cock up after I stopped swearing. Neither took responsibility for it either  Miss you Dad really I do 

Electricians have bad wiring, Plumbers have leaky taps, mechanics drive old clunkers and Architects have unfinished houses .....

[Brumby]

Electricians have bad wiring, Plumbers have leaky taps, mechanics drive old clunkers and Architects have unfinished houses .....

That's so true.  I once drove past a house that had some really dodgy looking external wiring.  I said to myself, "That place has to belong to an electrician."  As I drew level with the driveway, I saw a van advertising his Electrical Contractor services.

[neo]

Electricians have bad wiring, Plumbers have leaky taps, mechanics drive old clunkers and Architects have unfinished houses .....

God help me then, I am all those things...... 

[kj7e]

First, I apologize for those with dial up internet. 

Finished replacing all of the Electrolytics in my HP 6227B, works like a dream!  Extremely clean output now.

All of the caps that were replaced;


less than 100uV ripple at max load (2.2a, ~20v);


I found a local guy who had an original manual, sweet!


Just something pleasing about this photo;




Blue caps re the replacements;

[TERRA Operative]

Those tantalums you pulled out (the six small silver ones) might be worth testing and keeping if they are ok, they are expensive to buy new...

Here's my monthly boat anchor purchase I just won on Yahoo Auctions, yet another HP behemoth to add to the pile of stuff to restore...
A HP 3325A Function Gen. Hopefully it mostly works so I don't have to kick it too hard to get it going... 
 

[kj7e]

Those tantalums you pulled out (the six small silver ones) might be worth testing and keeping if they are ok, they are expensive to buy new...

Here's my monthly boat anchor purchase I just won on Yahoo Auctions, yet another HP behemoth to add to the pile of stuff to restore...
A HP 3325A Function Gen. Hopefully it mostly works so I don't have to kick it too hard to get it going... 

They are not tantalum, but old Sprague aluminum electrolytics, I did test every cap, most are dead, the rest are weak.

Example, this is a 5uF cap;

[TERRA Operative]

Ah cool, They looked suspiciously like the tantalums that HP seemed to love using around this vintage.

[med6753]

Damn. Just goes to show why doubling checking everything is important.

The Russians, despite their flaws, got at least one thing right. Trust, but verify.

Sorry, but that's incorrect. It was President Reagan who said that with respect to his talks with the Russians. 

[neo]

Sorry, but that's incorrect. It was President Reagan who said that with respect to his talks with the Russians.

Not to argue but Wikipedia lists it as a Russian proverb used by Reagan.

[med6753]

Sorry, but that's incorrect. It was President Reagan who said that with respect to his talks with the Russians.

Not to argue but Wikipedia lists it as a Russian proverb used by Reagan.

Interesting, did not know that part. I recall he said it several times. Apparently he was using it to leverage his negotiations with the Russians because they could NOT be trusted. Smart cookie he was. 

And I stand corrected. (Actually I'm sitting) 

 

[tggzzz]

Well... I bought the 1503. How could I resist?

It doesn't have the paper plotter, which is good since the paper is unobtanium.

Woo, a trace!   The power supply is showing 24VDC  and about 150mA current draw.

150mA sounds reasonable, but isn't it a 12V battery? The switching PSU should have prevented startup if the battery voltage is >~15V.

[mnementh]

There's a 320V 6209B up on ebay UK as well for £70 if anyone wants it. I want it but I'm getting out of budget now and need some Kempton money still. Plus I'll never use it or kill myself with it.

There was.

This place is dangerous, I really have to stop coming here!

I listen to the Retrocomputing Roundtable podcast with a group of guys that talk about their old Commodore 64s and Apple II's and stuff.  They usually have segment about interesting eBay finds in the world of retro-computing.  And it's not uncommon for one of the guys to buy an eBay item that someone else is talking about, right while they are recording the podcast.   

Speaking of which: https://www.ebay.com/itm/273769246076

Somebody give it some love, ehh? Y'all know these are tinkerdwagon-proof... it's 11th hour time; literally. 

mnem

[bd139]

ebay alert:

UK - Fluke 8860A 5.5 digit. Working apparently. £60 including delivery.

I would but I've got a perfectly good 3478A

[med6753]

Speaking of which: https://www.ebay.com/itm/273769246076

Somebody give it some love, ehh? Y'all know these are tinkerdwagon-proof... it's 11th hour time; literally. 

mnem

It's beat to shit and the bezel around the CRT is broken. No thanks. 

[mnementh]

No, it's endless. It could be worse...we could have GLaDOS on a potato battery on the way down...



 

Heh... was just playing the "Cooperative play" version of this with my son; the other day we dusted off Portal 2 and his XBOX. And we just started Futurama over from the beginning, now that all the Disney stuff (we just finished rewatching Clone Wars) is going away to THEIR streaming service.

   Fuck off and DIE, Disney. You can rot in hell along with CBS.

Yeah, Amazon has great customer service, but their packing is as bad as, if not worse than, eBay slackers. A big box, throw your stuff in, a toss a pillow on top. It's shake-n-bake all the way to your house. Apparently, it's cheaper to refund your money than to pack things properly. Ah, the joys of large-scale statistics. I wonder if they have actuaries like the insurance industry.

Well, remember though... everything THEY HANDLE is NIB. In packaging that already survived the trip in a shipping container on the slow boat from China. What they send YOU is minimum double-boxed, and MOST of the time there's enough CA Air pillows to minimize the shakes.
Agreed on all your other points though. 

I guess I've been unlucky. All the packages I recall receiving have had the items inside the shipping box, granted each item usually in its own retail (not suitable for shipping) packaging, completely loose with a single air pillow thrown on top as a token gesture. The worst case, though, was when they shipped cartons of soy milk in the same box with bags of chips (a.k.a., crisps) and boxes of crackers, all bouncing around together. They must've come from a nearby warehouse since nothing was pulverized.

   EEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!

Thanks for confirming my worst fears about Amazon Pantry.  I've avoided ordering from them imagining EXACTLY this scenario.  When your warehouse workers have to pee in a soda bottle to keep up with your batshit crazy metrics instead of taking a bathroom break... you know their reserves of "Gives A Shit" are in the negative numbers. And obvi, if they're peeing in a soda bottle, how can they wash their hands before handling your food order?

Rules? Well, he who cringes and sells today, lives to buy more anyway.

HA! I like that rule.

Of course being able to balance the books takes precendence...and YMMV, but for me I'd first get rid of all the services. Netflix, amazon prime, etc. I'm keeping the latter another year since the prime shipping is pretty good in my area and it might come in handy with a move coming up. But after that, I'm getting rid of it. It went up again and I paid $125 this time. 

Naaahhh... I use too many of their streaming services. (Listening to Prime Music right now) But then, I pay monthly too; $11.90 is a lot easier to swallow. I look at it as one of my 3 streaming services, that I get a "twofer" on. Prime shipping is just a nice perq on top of that. 

mnem
*So Amazon's bitch*

[med6753]

I get my coffee from Prime Pantry and it's reasonably packed and the best part is it's $2 USD cheaper/container than my supermarket.

[mnementh]

Ewwww!!!

med drinks pee-coffeee!!! 

mnem
 

[mnementh]

neo, I know people who stuck their mother's bobby pins in outlets as children and lived to tell about it. The story is usually along the lines of "I stuck it in there, and suddenly I was on my back in the middle of the room with a serious buzz". 

Working on an electric outlet as a teen i turned off the breaker and set to work, to change it. Next thing i know I'm sitting on the floor, across the room with a broke window showing where i hit the wall. I seem to remember seeing a pair of pearly gates. Damn grateful that Peter was slacking off that day.

Now if you asked why the shock was so violent as to send me across the (admittedly small) room and crack a window I couldn't tell you, probably some idiot wired it wrong. Seems plausible since it wasn't even on the right breaker.

Pfffttt!!! Slackers!!! I've been lit up more times than Tim Taylor. 60KV from projection sets, 100KV from MSD ignition on dragsters... almost lost a finger with an arc across 440V where was supposed to be 220V turned off. Would've been a scorched nub but for luck and freaking crazy thick elephant-hide calluses all over my mechanic hands; I've seen pictures of almost identical incidents where people lost the whole first joint of a finger.   

Worst though was in my 20s when I became the path of least resistance for a microwave oven transformer; 3200V from the palm of one hand to the other. I know this, because I was measuring it with my Probulator.    Everything clenched up tight; it was like a vibrating, searing-hot river flowing down my left arm, through my chest and out to my right arm. Yes, I could FEEL that the flow was VERY directional.   

I remember thinking "So this is how it ends... collapsed over a table in a motorhome for the sake of a $200 nukebox..." and then concentrating with all my might to make my legs take a step backwards. Time telescoped just like in the movies; I could feel sweat start to bead up on my forehead as I concentrated, but it felt like it was being painted there by some unseen hand, one molecule at a time.   

To this day I don't know if I did it by force of will or if it was just chance and gravity working to make me fall out of circuit; afterwards I laid there on my back on the floor for about 10 minutes, listening to my heart pounding and just being glad of the fact. Without thinking I dragged a forearm across my forehead expecting the usual drenching of sweat, but my head was barely damp. "Huh...." I sighed, then cringed at the ache even that small movement cost me. That ache lasted literally a week, and later I developed stitches of bruising across the inside of both arms. 

You know the old saw about how "It's not the volts; it's the amps that kills you"... I know it was 3200 volts; but how many amps?

Enough to cook a fucking turkey, that's how many.

mnem

"Electrons may be very, very small; but when they gang up on you, they ALWAYS win." ~me