Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[0culus]

Need some opinions, I would like to pick up an Analog scope, no real need, just would like to have.  Prefer 4 channel and would like measurements, 100MHz min, no need for anything over 200.  Looking at the Tek 2247's and 2252's.  Yea or Nay or should I look at another model?

Been very happy with my 2465B...if you want I can point you at the guy I bought mine from on ebay. He refurbs and calibrates them, so you aren't buying a project.

If you're looking for Tek, I've communicated several times with user 2465b on eBay... He's a Tek nut and retired Tek tech; he helped me greatly when I was rebuilding my first 2465. I bought a few parts from him at reasonable prices, he didn't mind helping a guy DIY, and he was actually proactive with warnings about pitfalls and proper handling of those parts.

There is a seller on fleabay who reportedly rebadges 2445s as 2465s and, IIRC, puts cal stickers over everything to prevent them being opened and checked and refunds claimed.

I have no direct experience, do not know which vendor it is, but it may be worth doing some googling, particularly on the TekScopes group.

I found it: https://groups.io/g/TekScopes/topic/2465b_vs_2467/7652505?p=Created,,,20,1,0,0&jump=1

Looks like it’s the same guy. On one hand this does piss me off but I measured the 3 dB point on mine and it’s well over 400 MHz and I’ve never had a performance issue that would indicate I was working with a scope of half the bandwidth.  [edit] I just computed it again, using 6 divisions... so 20*log10(6 divisions/ approx 4.25 divisions) = 2.9952 dB down at 550 MHz. Not bad. 

[med6753]

Need some opinions, I would like to pick up an Analog scope, no real need, just would like to have.  Prefer 4 channel and would like measurements, 100MHz min, no need for anything over 200.  Looking at the Tek 2247's and 2252's.  Yea or Nay or should I look at another model?

Been very happy with my 2465B...if you want I can point you at the guy I bought mine from on ebay. He refurbs and calibrates them, so you aren't buying a project.

If you're looking for Tek, I've communicated several times with user 2465b on eBay... He's a Tek nut and retired Tek tech; he helped me greatly when I was rebuilding my first 2465. I bought a few parts from him at reasonable prices, he didn't mind helping a guy DIY, and he was actually proactive with warnings about pitfalls and proper handling of those parts.

There is a seller on fleabay who reportedly rebadges 2445s as 2465s and, IIRC, puts cal stickers over everything to prevent them being opened and checked and refunds claimed.

I have no direct experience, do not know which vendor it is, but it may be worth doing some googling, particularly on the TekScopes group.

I found it: https://groups.io/g/TekScopes/topic/2465b_vs_2467/7652505?p=Created,,,20,1,0,0&jump=1

Looks like it’s the same guy. On one hand this does piss me off but I measured the 3 dB point on mine and it’s well over 400 MHz and I’ve never had a performance issue that would indicate I was working with a scope of half the bandwidth.  [edit] I just computed it again, using 6 divisions... so 20*log10(6 divisions/ approx 4.25 divisions) = 2.9952 dB down at 550 MHz. Not bad.

Wow, I just read most of that thread. I was not aware of this guy rebadging 2445's to 2465's. Certainly not very ethical if he doesn't do full disclosure. I'm glad both my 2465's are "genuine" because they were surplussed directly from the original corporate owners. 

[bd139]

Always happy when I build things using manhattan construction. ESR meter power supply and oscillator completed and tested. 100.7KHz which is pretty good for no brand film caps



This is optimised for minimal space as it's going in a tiddle little enclosure, not HF performance and low inductance for ref. Need to cram it in a 1x3" hole and keep it under 3/4" high.

Also one of the best things I have ever bought happens to be that red/blue wire. It was 4 way stiff ribbon cable. About 10m of it for £1 at a hamfest. Perfect for panel / general wiring.

[med6753]

Nope. 

Oh my arachnophobia!

Sorry, I'm with Bean and VK5RC

They might look imposing, but I like them.  They eat bugs.

You guys in Oz have more poisonous and deadly creepy crawlers running around than the rest of the world combined so you're used to running across stuff like that. That would not fly (or crawl) here. 

[tggzzz]

Need some opinions, I would like to pick up an Analog scope, no real need, just would like to have.  Prefer 4 channel and would like measurements, 100MHz min, no need for anything over 200.  Looking at the Tek 2247's and 2252's.  Yea or Nay or should I look at another model?

Been very happy with my 2465B...if you want I can point you at the guy I bought mine from on ebay. He refurbs and calibrates them, so you aren't buying a project.

If you're looking for Tek, I've communicated several times with user 2465b on eBay... He's a Tek nut and retired Tek tech; he helped me greatly when I was rebuilding my first 2465. I bought a few parts from him at reasonable prices, he didn't mind helping a guy DIY, and he was actually proactive with warnings about pitfalls and proper handling of those parts.

There is a seller on fleabay who reportedly rebadges 2445s as 2465s and, IIRC, puts cal stickers over everything to prevent them being opened and checked and refunds claimed.

I have no direct experience, do not know which vendor it is, but it may be worth doing some googling, particularly on the TekScopes group.

I found it: https://groups.io/g/TekScopes/topic/2465b_vs_2467/7652505?p=Created,,,20,1,0,0&jump=1

Looks like it’s the same guy. On one hand this does piss me off but I measured the 3 dB point on mine and it’s well over 400 MHz and I’ve never had a performance issue that would indicate I was working with a scope of half the bandwidth.  [edit] I just computed it again, using 6 divisions... so 20*log10(6 divisions/ approx 4.25 divisions) = 2.9952 dB down at 550 MHz. Not bad.

According to that thread, the conversion consists of removing circuits that compensate for the non-linear phase response of the delay line. That would not show up in tests using a sine wave generator, but would show up in the step response.

[mnementh]

Nope.        

Just for you, med: 

mnem

[mnementh]

Need some opinions, I would like to pick up an Analog scope, no real need, just would like to have.  Prefer 4 channel and would like measurements, 100MHz min, no need for anything over 200.  Looking at the Tek 2247's and 2252's.  Yea or Nay or should I look at another model?

Been very happy with my 2465B...if you want I can point you at the guy I bought mine from on ebay. He refurbs and calibrates them, so you aren't buying a project.

If you're looking for Tek, I've communicated several times with user 2465b on eBay... He's a Tek nut and retired Tek tech; he helped me greatly when I was rebuilding my first 2465. I bought a few parts from him at reasonable prices, he didn't mind helping a guy DIY, and he was actually proactive with warnings about pitfalls and proper handling of those parts.

There is a seller on fleabay who reportedly rebadges 2445s as 2465s and, IIRC, puts cal stickers over everything to prevent them being opened and checked and refunds claimed.

I have no direct experience, do not know which vendor it is, but it may be worth doing some googling, particularly on the TekScopes group.

I found it: https://groups.io/g/TekScopes/topic/2465b_vs_2467/7652505?p=Created,,,20,1,0,0&jump=1

Looks like it’s the same guy. On one hand this does piss me off but I measured the 3 dB point on mine and it’s well over 400 MHz and I’ve never had a performance issue that would indicate I was working with a scope of half the bandwidth.  [edit] I just computed it again, using 6 divisions... so 20*log10(6 divisions/ approx 4.25 divisions) = 2.9952 dB down at 550 MHz. Not bad.

Wow, I just read most of that thread. I was not aware of this guy rebadging 2445's to 2465's. Certainly not very ethical if he doesn't do full disclosure. I'm glad both my 2465's are "genuine" because they were surplussed directly from the original corporate owners.

Wow. Obviously the guy's getting desperate for stock... but that's no fucking excuse. 

Even if the PCB were identical between the 2465 and the 2445, we all know that Tek was the KING of custom-binned parts. There's no knowing exactly what else is different between a real 2465 and his imposter units. And it's not like he's even claiming to "retro-fit the 2465 compensator circuit" to these units... he's just claiming what's in there is garbage and ripping it out.

My experience with this guy was much earlier than this post; I guess he turned a-hole when his little niche started shrinking... 

Damn... and he was one of my favorite "good eBay community" stories; those have become few and far between of late. One story fewer now...  

mnem
My world just got a little smaller this morning.

[mnementh]

The Dangers of cleaning up in Oz due to heart stoppage. Hi Hairy Legs 
   This little guy now running free in the Garden where it belongs.

Nice to let the spider free, even nicer looking after a parent!
-Rob

Ditto. I like spiders. Not well enough to willingly live with them, but well enough to escort them politely from my home. And Mosquito Hawks. Any creature willing to evolve into THAT to eat mosquitoes has earned their place in the food chain.

And kudos on looking after mum. Been dere, dunnat. It's one of the hardest, and one of the most rewarding life choices one can make. 

mnem
Fuck nursing homes. The best of them are still warehousing networks.

[tggzzz]

And kudos on looking after mum. Been dere, dunnat. It's one of the hardest, and one of the most rewarding life choices one can make. 

Advice from a nurse, acting in a professional capacity: "Keep a pillow handy. When necessary, bury your head in it and scream".

Fuck nursing homes. The best of them are still warehousing networks.

With luck, by the time nursing homes are needed, "warehousing" isn't completely inappropriate.

Heart attacks have their advantages, pneumonia used to be known as "the old persons' friend".

[worsthorse]

My "bad habits" lie in my "use-case thinking" where the DE-5000 is concerned; I keep falling back on thinking of it as a portable capacitance meter, like all my other meters that have this feature built-in. What I need to do... am TRYING to teach myself to do... is to think of it as what it REALLY IS: a handheld LCR Substitution Bridge with fully automated setup. When you realize this... truly grok in fullness... THEN it becomes a truly amazing piece of kit, especially at the sub-$100 price point. You can let it run in auto-LCR mode, or you can toggle between Cap Analyzer, Inductor Analyzer, Ultra-Low Resistance and ESR in Parallel or Series substitution modes.

These last two I'm STILL learning new ways to use; I've never had a device that does these modes so easily that it actually becomes a useful diag tool rather than the usual "Okay, I've tried testing all the easy ways, lets set up and test this way and do the math."

I am so guilty of this. I learned how to use the gear on my bench in 1980. When I started doing bench work again, I just picked up where I left off, as if nothing changed between 1990 and today.  I really need to take some time to learn how to properly use the test equipment I have now.  The DE-5000 is a great example. I regularly use about ten percent of what it is capable of doing because I am freakin' lazy. I should take a week or two and tutor myself into the current decade, or at least the last one, on this front. 

And kudos on looking after mum. Been dere, dunnat. It's one of the hardest, and one of the most rewarding life choices one can make. 

We spent five years helping to care for my wife's dad and it was, really, a remarkable time. Now we are in that part of life with my folks and, honestly, even when it is heartbreaking, I am grateful in most every moment.  We've been really fortunate; so far, we haven't had to deal with a nursing home decision.

Now home, dealing with backed up chores, and so on. Of course, while I was gone the TG501 arrived and it is in as bad shape as the photos suggested. Now I have two, and between them, should be able to turn out one good one. Photos later.

Always happy when I build things using manhattan construction. ESR meter power supply and oscillator completed and tested. 100.7KHz which is pretty good for no brand film caps



This is optimised for minimal space as it's going in a tiddle little enclosure, not HF performance and low inductance for ref. Need to cram it in a 1x3" hole and keep it under 3/4" high.

Also one of the best things I have ever bought happens to be that red/blue wire. It was 4 way stiff ribbon cable. About 10m of it for £1 at a hamfest. Perfect for panel / general wiring.

Man, that looks great. Nice work.

[bd139]

Has changed a lot since then 

Finished the ESR meter with only parts I had on hand

Firstly construction went well. Manhattan board complete and under test. Worked properly first time. The heat shrunk blobs are hand selected resistor combinations for 3 ohms and 30 ohms respectively.



An hour, some digging in the cupboard and some overkill later, we have an enclosure as well. The packaging is very much a compromise - the objective here is to cost precisely £0. Please excuse the shitty metalwork. Squint a bit and it won't offend the eyes as much 



Calibration was done against a set of series/parallel resistor combinations:



Quick test against a new panasonic capacitor. Looking good:



Test against the ancient Dubilier capacitor. Not quite as bad as first thought but I really wouldn't want to leave this in circuit



Job done.

Edit: I gave up on trying to knacker some capacitors to test as I kept just pushing them too far and blowing the shit out of them

[med6753]

Looks good and as usual you can't seem to build something unless you have fireworks to go with it. 

[bd139]

Blowing stuff up is half the fun 

[mnementh]

And kudos on looking after mum. Been dere, dunnat. It's one of the hardest, and one of the most rewarding life choices one can make. 

Advice from a nurse, acting in a professional capacity: "Keep a pillow handy. When necessary, bury your head in it and scream".

Fuck nursing homes. The best of them are still warehousing networks.

With luck, by the time nursing homes are needed, "warehousing" isn't completely inappropriate.

Heart attacks have their advantages, pneumonia used to be known as "the old persons' friend".

I hope you understand I mean no disparagement of your occupation; quite the opposite: I know intimately the horrors anyone who does this sees, lives and does their best to keep to themselves. In the best of circumstances you live a constant double-bind on a dozen different fronts, and sooner or later it does catch up with you, no matter how hard you compartmentalize.

My mother did: ER nursing, Convalescent Care, Psych Nursing, Respiratory Rehab, and PT. Every discipline has it's own horrors, but they all boil down to some utterly sociopathic aspect of the same social disease: our for-profit medical care "system" and the bureaucracy it has spawned.

Like TEA, to be a nurse "Masochism is not only endemic, it is required." 

The problem with the "warehousing" template is that our medical care "system" applies this template to ALL users, in all aspects of medical care, as it is the most efficient means of separating the person from their money (or the money they represent to the system) with the least expenditure from the system. Individual needs and quality of life are at best a tertiary consideration any more, even in the best facilities. The worst are fucking meat grinders.

The nurses are those who must somehow face both the infernal engines of bureaucracy and the weakness of mortal flesh and reconcile; it is a task none take up for the money, that is certain. 

Yes; my mother intimated the same to me about pneumonia and heart attacks; also relating to me the Inuit custom of the elderly to go "sit on the ice" when they felt their time had come. I have no doubt she chose her time in this manner; she had the knowledge and the will to do so. Crazy wicked smart that woman was; she did everything she could to prepare "Mother Nature's Son" for her passing. And all she could to prepare me for a life without her in a world that she knew was "outright crazy and getting crazier by the day".

Thank you for heeding the call as she did; thank you for taking up that mantle. 

mnem
*Namaste'* "Peace be with you, my friend."

[BravoV]

New toy arrived, I assume this thingy will blink my led much better than my 555 signal generator right ?




1st mandatory screens when it arrived, so far so good.

[0culus]

Need some opinions, I would like to pick up an Analog scope, no real need, just would like to have.  Prefer 4 channel and would like measurements, 100MHz min, no need for anything over 200.  Looking at the Tek 2247's and 2252's.  Yea or Nay or should I look at another model?

Been very happy with my 2465B...if you want I can point you at the guy I bought mine from on ebay. He refurbs and calibrates them, so you aren't buying a project.

If you're looking for Tek, I've communicated several times with user 2465b on eBay... He's a Tek nut and retired Tek tech; he helped me greatly when I was rebuilding my first 2465. I bought a few parts from him at reasonable prices, he didn't mind helping a guy DIY, and he was actually proactive with warnings about pitfalls and proper handling of those parts.

There is a seller on fleabay who reportedly rebadges 2445s as 2465s and, IIRC, puts cal stickers over everything to prevent them being opened and checked and refunds claimed.

I have no direct experience, do not know which vendor it is, but it may be worth doing some googling, particularly on the TekScopes group.

I found it: https://groups.io/g/TekScopes/topic/2465b_vs_2467/7652505?p=Created,,,20,1,0,0&jump=1

Looks like it’s the same guy. On one hand this does piss me off but I measured the 3 dB point on mine and it’s well over 400 MHz and I’ve never had a performance issue that would indicate I was working with a scope of half the bandwidth.  [edit] I just computed it again, using 6 divisions... so 20*log10(6 divisions/ approx 4.25 divisions) = 2.9952 dB down at 550 MHz. Not bad.

According to that thread, the conversion consists of removing circuits that compensate for the non-linear phase response of the delay line. That would not show up in tests using a sine wave generator, but would show up in the step response.

Probably true. I don't have a fast enough way to generate pulses to test that though. I understand, at the factory, they used some kind of tunnel diode setup.

[bd139]

found a replacement neon for my HP 6284A finally. Took ages. It's an A1H neon which is impossible to find in the UK. Turns out that it's also an SX6s which is available on ebay fortunately here for £4 for a 5 pack. Phew - thought I was going to have to invoke an american supplier over that one.

Auction with SX6s in it: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222115042772

[Specmaster]

@mnem, I couldn't agree more with you here, I had to do that for my Mother and I was with her at the very end. It was my Mother who did the same for my Father who passed away with Cancer at home while I was at work. I received a phone call at work from my Mother, in those days, mobile phones was still the domain of the either very rich or the business man, so the phone call was taken by office staff who came down to the factory floor and told me to go home as it was near the end, and by the time I got home it was too late.

All I could do was to console Mother and take care of all the legal bits and pieces and generally tidy up everything for her. He did have all the support that our wonderful NHS could do for him and even had free home nursing as well to give Mum a rest. Sadly though by the time it was Mums turn, our wonderful system was beginning to show its cracks due to chronic under investment and the only help I could get was home carers and due to Mums thriftiness in her attempt to ensure that she could pass something onto me, the state ruled that they could not contribute towards the financial burden of the home care, which there was no other option with a wife and 4 children to support, I had to go to work. The costs almost amounted to my monthly salary and that was only then providing 4 visits a day to her to ensure that she was fed, washed, medication etc administered and that she was as comfortable as possible following her broken hip and several strokes.

So her nest egg was largely consumed by these private carers so you see how our once famous NHS service is slowly coming around to being a system where it might well end up being a pay at the point of delivery much the same as your system is.

I used to make daily visits and the very last visit would be at around midnight so it would half the time between the carers last visit of the day and the first on the following day. That lasted for almost 3 years, it was at times very difficult as you will know from your own experience but also rewarding and we can hold our heads high knowing that we did our very best under difficult conditions.

Rest in peace Mum.

[Specmaster]

found a replacement neon for my HP 6284A finally. Took ages. It's an A1H neon which is impossible to find in the UK. Turns out that it's also an SX6s which is available on ebay fortunately here for £4 for a 5 pack. Phew - thought I was going to have to invoke an american supplier over that one.

Auction with SX6s in it: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222115042772

I'm sure that you could have Macgyvered another neon solution for it? It is the pilot lamp right?   

Your ESR meter looks great, will you get a scale printed for the meter or manage with your homemade one?  Do I feel that there made a be a commercial LCR meter on the horizon now? I know I use mine quite a bit, used it today as a matter of fact, only to discover that the caps I suspected as being duff were perfect, just a duff mosfet to replace and I get the feeling I'm back in business again.

[bd139]

found a replacement neon for my HP 6284A finally. Took ages. It's an A1H neon which is impossible to find in the UK. Turns out that it's also an SX6s which is available on ebay fortunately here for £4 for a 5 pack. Phew - thought I was going to have to invoke an american supplier over that one.

Auction with SX6s in it: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222115042772

I'm sure that you could have Macgyvered another neon solution for it? It is the pilot lamp right?   

Yeah I didn't want to do anything too nasty there. It's a nice Oak brand switch with integrated neon pilot lamp. You unscrew the top and there's a little midget flange neon you just pop out. Seemed a shame not to do a proper job.

So her nest egg was largely consumed by these private carers so you see how our once famous NHS service is slowly coming around to being a system where it might well end up being a pay at the point of delivery much the same as your system is.

Totally agree with this.

I wouldn't bother paying for it. Honestly I looked at two major private healthcare providers here in the UK and you've got about 3 months extra cover on top for around £900 a year and then they wheel you into the street and tell you to fuck off. Not worth it. Most of the hospices are run off donations here as well. I donate to https://www.pah.org.uk/ regularly.

My GP said it all a couple of years ago. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and committed suicide after 2 months (helium bag over head) rather than take the care option. That left her estate intact for her family and saved her the suffering. A brave woman who I have nothing but respect for.

[Neomys Sapiens]

When you thought you knew them all...has anyone heard of NF Corporation?
https://www.nfcorp.co.jp/english/index.html

And any experience with their products?

Also, can anyone say something about Quadtech?

[0culus]

New toy arrived, I assume this thingy will blink my led much better than my 555 signal generator right ?




1st mandatory screens when it arrived, so far so good.

Looks very nice!  How heavy is it? I suspect much less than my 8664A...that beast weighs in at about 90 lbs.

[Specmaster]

Totally agree with this.

I wouldn't bother paying for it. Honestly I looked at two major private healthcare providers here in the UK and you've got about 3 months extra cover on top for around £900 a year and then they wheel you into the street and tell you to fuck off. Not worth it. Most of the hospices are run off donations here as well. I donate to https://www.pah.org.uk/ regularly.

£900, wow, in my case it started off at around £1500 a month and escalated to almost £2000 a month, totally ridiculous. It seems health has become just another method of separating us from our cash, regardless of previous contributions made towards care when your turn comes around for it.     

[bd139]

Yeah that's £900 a year if you don't get sick. Then you're covered for 3 months of care. Then when that runs out you go down the £2000 a month route. NHS has to pick up the pieces which means queuing for hospice places.

[BravoV]

Looks very nice!  How heavy is it? I suspect much less than my 8664A...that beast weighs in at about 90 lbs.

Thanks, still manageable I guess, 8.5 kg as spec, about 18 to 19 lbs.

That 8664A .. ouch.