Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bitseeker]

Same story here.

Garage has reached critical mass; it's fighting me with all it's got. If I can just power through a few more hot sticky afternoons, I'll make it to the downhill side; where I actually have enough room to work and get shit DONE.

Almost there. ALMOST.

mnem

Time for a shipping container on the front lawn because that is always a classy look

Just paint it "Go Away Green".

[Carl_Smith]

There is another possible source for the concept: the "glug" point of an ideal bottle is a fluid dynamics concept; the point at which an inverted vessel full of liquid will "glug" due to the imbalance between atmospheric pressure and partial vacuum in the vessel created by the weight of the liquid.

I first heard of the "glug" as a unit of measurement when I was in Boy Scouts decades ago.  We had a pancake recipe and the amount of milk was something like "4 glugs."  Tip the gallon milk jug and wait until you hear "glug glug glug glug" and then stop. 

I can imagine the bakers that measure everything precisely cringing at that.   

[worsthorse]

I spent the evening breaking down the trashed 466 I got last week.  As expected, there were a fair number of spider-webbed moths and bugs. Nothing moved, at least while I was watching. 

Unfortunately, it looks like the attenuator decks are trashed; water damage. Most of the other boards are in better condition than I expected. I will harvest some parts, I guess.

It went well while I was able to avoid dealing with the knobs... every last setscrew is rusted into place and soft to boot. I am going to have to drill them out, each and every one, if I want to finish deconstructing the box because everything in place now has a shaft through the front panel with a knob stuck on it or is behind a PCB with a shaft through the front panel with a knob stuck on it.

I took a lot of photos as I went. Should I put up a post of the deconstruction?

This was an evening of being nine again... sitting in the basement, taking an electronic something apart just because I want to see how it is put together.

[Ero-Shan]

Ehhhhhh... it's a completely different design ethic; the polar opposite of mass-production. The point is that the connector itself be open as needed to be subject to visual inspection. This is the kind of gear where every unit is tested, inspected, and signed off on by a person before it is put into service or returned to service after repair/maintenance. Part of that "intended for use/service by trained technicians" thing.

This isn't an iPhone we're talking about, where a popped-loose connector is a mere annoyance. 

mnem
 

To me, iPhones and their brethren are an annoyance.
I'm commuting by train, which is like being in a mobile games arcade twice a day. When you're not an active part of it, those electronic chimes, bleeps, burps and whatever they may be called are extremely annoying! If all those speakers suddenly had bad contacts, that would be heaven.   

[Housedad]

Same story here.

Garage has reached critical mass; it's fighting me with all it's got. If I can just power through a few more hot sticky afternoons, I'll make it to the downhill side; where I actually have enough room to work and get shit DONE.

Almost there. ALMOST.

mnem

My garage is my windmill.  I attack it savagely and repeatedly, but it sits solomly,  watching my meaningless frustrations with a grim humor, knowing full well that I will just undo my efforts with equal unwitting abandon.

[Specmaster]

Same story here.

Garage has reached critical mass; it's fighting me with all it's got. If I can just power through a few more hot sticky afternoons, I'll make it to the downhill side; where I actually have enough room to work and get shit DONE.

Almost there. ALMOST.

mnem

Time for a shipping container on the front lawn because that is always a classy look

Huh, when Iever I get round to clearing my garage, which a dumping place for things no longer wanted in the house etc, it's always gonna be  a skip on my drive as I'm desperate to get  the stuff gone.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

[bd139]

I don’t have a garage but I do have a shed. And that’s the victim of a decade of decay as is the rest of the house. Decided last week that I’m going to shred this place to the basics so I’m taking a couple of weeks out of normal routine to sort it now my arm is better. Still got kids toys floating around from when they were 2 which was a long time ago now!

[Brumby]

Still got kids toys floating around from when they were 2 which was a long time ago now!

Be prepared for everything old becoming new...

My second son sought one specific gift for his 21st ..... Hungry, Hungry Hippos.



Yes.  He got it.

[beanflying]

Old stuff is good stuff  May or may not be any good 'last used in 1975' but will be added to my good working pair I already have.

Crusty and slightly dangerous if consumed.

[Ero-Shan]

Old stuff is good stuff  May or may not be any good 'last used in 1975' but will be added to my good working pair I already have.

Crusty and slightly dangerous if consumed.

Very nice. I wouldn't even know where to look for them ...

[Ero-Shan]

Now look what I've found in one of my drawers!



Does anyone know what that crosshair screen is for? Maybe for a scope camera? (I remember using one in my early days at the company.)

The others fit to a 5440 scope. Having two of them, I'd like to keep the blue and a clear one, but could give away the others, including the crosshair (maybe not all of them to one, except he/she redistributes them to others).

[beanflying]

Old stuff is good stuff  May or may not be any good 'last used in 1975' but will be added to my good working pair I already have.

Crusty and slightly dangerous if consumed.


Very nice. I wouldn't even know where to look for them ...

Most definitely not ROHS compliant  The do come up on evilbay from time to time listed properly and tested they can go for a bit but this crusty trio I was the only bidder on @ $10 AUD ($7 USD) I am not fussed if they work or not they are a curio and collectable for me as I have a pair of good working ones.

[nixiefreqq]

 

-Pat

WTF?

[nixiefreqq]

Same story here.

Garage has reached critical mass; it's fighting me with all it's got. If I can just power through a few more hot sticky afternoons, I'll make it to the downhill side; where I actually have enough room to work and get shit DONE.

Almost there. ALMOST.

mnem

Time for a shipping container on the front lawn because that is always a classy look

Huh, when Iever I get round to clearing my garage, which a dumping place for things no longer wanted in the house etc, it's always gonna be  a skip on my drive as I'm desperate to get  the stuff gone.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

my garage is a tea free zone. 

except for that damn Dumont porta scope.  it sits out there cold and alone in the hope that someday neo will dispatch ninja's and it will disappear in the middle of the night. 

[beanflying]

Very nice. I wouldn't even know where to look for them ...

One in France if the seller will take an offer eBay auction: #352652284969

[Ero-Shan]

It is no great secret that I have a sweet spot for counters. All those many-digit numbers are so impressive! (They should have been more prominent in old scifi movies, but scopes with Lissajous figures reigned.)

Ever since a German electronics magazine named 'ELO' had a build-your-own-counter project in the late 70ies, I yearned for such an instrument (but could not afford it).
I finally got my first counter in 2016 (IIRC), almost 40 years later (the Philips at the far right, a little back).

This is something I always wanted to to. I am fully aware that it is nothing compared to nixiefreqq's 'counter cathedral', and it is not meant to be, as it's mainly for me. 

I had to choose a rather low frequency since the lame Schurigs count only to 1 MHz:



Extra lighting was required so the LCD can even be seen. LCDs without a decent backlight are really shite.

I also had to make some free-style power cords to get them all running. Don't try this at home, kids! We're all careless non-professionals here!
It's not quite as bad as it looks, though; they're powered by an isolating variac.



And it is easy to see that I still need more counters: None of the VFD variety, no Dekatrons, no columns. 

[GreyWoolfe]

Same story here.

Garage has reached critical mass; it's fighting me with all it's got. If I can just power through a few more hot sticky afternoons, I'll make it to the downhill side; where I actually have enough room to work and get shit DONE.

Almost there. ALMOST.

mnem

Time for a shipping container on the front lawn because that is always a classy look

Huh, when Iever I get round to clearing my garage, which a dumping place for things no longer wanted in the house etc, it's always gonna be  a skip on my drive as I'm desperate to get  the stuff gone.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

my garage is a tea free zone. 

except for that damn Dumont porta scope.  it sits out there cold and alone in the hope that someday neo will dispatch ninja's and it will disappear in the middle of the night.

You actually have a car in your garage?  Regularly?  Do people actually do that?  The only time my garage has seen a vehicle in the past 15 years is to put the company van in there when a hurricane was passing by and we have to make room to do so.

[Kosmic]

Old stuff is good stuff  May or may not be any good 'last used in 1975' but will be added to my good working pair I already have.

Crusty and slightly dangerous if consumed.

Did you got it shipped or found that locally ? I heard they rarely survive shipping.

[factory]

 

-Pat

Maybe the driver boards of this 'assembly' are some sort of hidden gift 

It feels more like selling pieces hacked off a corpse... I'm horrified to think what that backplane he chopped up used to be. The guy appears to be a "HAM Radio Gear" merchant... you'd think he'd be cognizant of the crime he has committed here. 

mnem
*Kix "goodstuff" in the 'nads*

What the hell is so special about those to warrant that price and they came from working counter too.  I notice the other lot of pulled boards didn't sell at $20.
Unfortunately there is someone on this forum encouraging people to part out old test gear for the displays too. 

David

[beanflying]

Old stuff is good stuff  May or may not be any good 'last used in 1975' but will be added to my good working pair I already have.

Crusty and slightly dangerous if consumed.

Did you got it shipped or found that locally ? I heard they rarely survive shipping.

Depends on the construction of the cells as to if the chemical bits can mix or not. Not to worried in this case.

[Ero-Shan]

Very nice. I wouldn't even know where to look for them ...

One in France if the seller will take an offer eBay auction: #352652284969

Thanks. A bit expensive with shipping (which also seems dangerous to them, according to Kosmic), and no payment option that fits.

I will specifically search for them from now on, every once in a while.

[nixiefreqq]

It is no great secret that I have a sweet spot for counters. All those many-digit numbers are so impressive! (They should have been more prominent in old scifi movies, but scopes with Lissajous figures reigned.)

Ever since a German electronics magazine named 'ELO' had a build-your-own-counter project in the late 70ies, I yearned for such an instrument (but could not afford it).
I finally got my first counter in 2016 (IIRC), almost 40 years later (the Philips at the far right, a little back).

This is something I always wanted to to. I am fully aware that it is nothing compared to nixiefreqq's 'counter cathedral', and it is not meant to be, as it's mainly for me. 

I had to choose a rather low frequency since the lame Schurigs count only to 1 MHz:


Extra lighting was required so the LCD can even be seen. LCDs without a decent backlight are really shite.

I also had to make some free-style power cords to get them all running. Don't try this at home, kids! We're all careless non-professionals here!
It's not quite as bad as it looks, though; they're powered by an isolating variac.


And it is easy to see that I still need more counters: None of the VFD variety, no Dekatrons, no columns. 

we are brothers from different mothers (cubdriver too).  my first counter was a 5325b purchased in around 1986.  seeing yours made me mist up a little.

your solution for wiring the old oval hp power sockets surely qualifies you for the "crown of bodge". 

ps "counter cathedral" made me laugh out loud.  swmbo came over and looked over my shoulder.  she saw the picture of your collection and walked away shaking her head.

[mnementh]

Same story here.

Garage has reached critical mass; it's fighting me with all it's got. If I can just power through a few more hot sticky afternoons, I'll make it to the downhill side; where I actually have enough room to work and get shit DONE.

Almost there. ALMOST.

mnem

My garage is my windmill.  I attack it savagely and repeatedly, but it sits solomly,  watching my meaningless frustrations with a grim humor, knowing full well that I will just undo my efforts with equal unwitting abandon.

This has been me for over a year; that's how long I've been hoeing out the house, planning on this move. Every time I make a dent, the space gets filled with something moved from another location. Every time I need to get to work in the garage, I usually have to start by hauling several hand-truckloads elsewhere.

I have been pretty much constantly fighting The Battle of JENGA for over a year, often with two or more aspects concurrently on different fronts:

[J-L]   JENGA:   JENGA is a single term encompassing a constellation of disorderly disorders:

(1) Junk Engulfing Nearby Garage Areas - wherein all garage space is subject to a constantly moving and contested scrimmage line.
 
(2) Junk Encroaching Nonpermissible General Areas - Usually defined by other household members and their "need" to use nonessential spaces like living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms.
 
(3) Junk Engulfing Nonvertical Geometric Areas - the inevitable spontaneous accumulation of all manner of tools and junk on any available table-like horizontal surface.
 
(4) Junk Emigrating Non-Garage Areas - the inexplicable migration of entire stacks to other rooms, often discovered by other household members with a hand truck still underneath.
 
(5) Junk Engulfing Nonhorizontal Growth Areas - the accumulation of box-shaped objects stacked from floor to ceiling, and the inevitable need to remove one object from the middle of the stack without all of it falling down on your head.

So when I say I think I may have actually reached the tipping point (and not just in tipping fees ), it is a truly monumental change in status. 

Not just "I can see it!" but rather "I am nearly THERE!!!"

To give you some idea: I not only reached my motorcycle that hasn't run in a decade, I was actually able to lay hands on it yesterday. And shockingly, I had absolutely no desire to stop and fondle it in any way; I just wanted to get to what was underneath it.

I call THAT real progress; on a number of fronts. 

mnem
Suck THAT, hoarding instinct.

[factory]

I also had to make some free-style power cords to get them all running. Don't try this at home, kids! We're all careless non-professionals here!
It's not quite as bad as it looks, though; they're powered by an isolating variac.

your solution for wiring the old oval hp power sockets surely qualifies you for the "crown of bodge". 

I think the seller I bought my HP 101A crystal oscillator from can also claim that crown, he just hacked up a common IEC lead till it fitted. 
I've had a few items with round crimp terminals bodged on too.


David

P.S. I have no idea where that lead is now and yes I still have it. 

[nixiefreqq]

I also had to make some free-style power cords to get them all running. Don't try this at home, kids! We're all careless non-professionals here!
It's not quite as bad as it looks, though; they're powered by an isolating variac.

your solution for wiring the old oval hp power sockets surely qualifies you for the "crown of bodge". 

I think the seller I bought my HP 101A crystal oscillator from can also claim that crown, he just hacked up a common IEC lead till it fitted. 
I've had a few items with round crimp terminals bodged on too.


David

P.S. I have no idea where that lead is now and yes I still have it. 

wow!   I mean.....wow!  that guy is the mayor of bodgetown.