Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

Cor this thread is just depressing accounts of death and acid attacks this morning. Sounds like BBC News 

I'm tempted to grab some of those Ikea NiMh cells after reading the above. They are apparently pretty good.

@Kosmic: that's what happened to the one I had that exploded.


Elecraft still haven't sent my toy yet. There is nothing worse than waiting for stuff to be sent. Apart from possibly waiting for stuff to be delivered 

My next projects are currently sitting in Customs at JFK. USPS sez they will be delivered on Saturday. I'm betting they will be stuck in that Customs black hole much longer than that.

[tautech]

Well seeing as I now officially have no money at all .............

Did you buy something big or did the other 'arf run off with it ? 

[med6753]

(and yes I know the stickers aren't straight. It was before 8am when I did this  )

I suppose that's better than after 9 AM and a few beers later where as they would be upside down. 

[bd139]

Well seeing as I now officially have no money at all .............

Did you buy something big or did the other 'arf run off with it ? 

Big new toy.

[tautech]

Well seeing as I now officially have no money at all .............

Did you buy something big or did the other 'arf run off with it ? 

Big new toy.

Oh goodie, looking forward to the unveiling. 

[med6753]

Well seeing as I now officially have no money at all .............

Did you buy something big or did the other 'arf run off with it ? 

Big new toy.

Memories of Heathkit. Had a few like that. Good times! 

[bd139]

Yeah I missed Heathkit and this is the last "big one" and it's near end of life so if I don't do it i'll regret it.

If they ever dispatch the damn thing 

[Specmaster]

Slightly off topic but reading about batteries exploding etc, not that much off then.

Been watching a few videos of fires both here in the UK and in the USA as well as Europe and it strikes me that the fire depts in USA could learn a thing or two from the rest of us. It seems to me that the USA trucks don't carry any water on board and when they arrive at the scene, they wast valuable time looking around for a fire hydrant and then running hoses to it from the truck and then hoses out to the fire. By which time the buildings are often lost causes and others suffer as a result.

Does anyone actually know why they don't carry some water on their trucks at all?

[bd139]

Probably evaporate by the time it gets there 

[Brumby]

Been on the lookout for some rack mounting.  Found some:



Think I overshot the target, though.....
 

[Brumby]

... and they are really deep, which is actually a problem.

[Brumby]

Got some other freebies while I was picking them up...

[beanflying]

Been on the lookout for some rack mounting.  Found some:



Think I overshot the target, though.....
 

Ambitious  I will keep looking for items to 'assist' you with your space 

[Brumby]

I was afraid you'd say that.   

[beanflying]

I was afraid you'd say that.   

This one still needs a good home and is close by for you eBay auction: #254221828150 build it some racks ears and ..... 

[Brumby]

I may not need rack ears - there were several shelves included.  However, it's not HP (a direction in which I seem to have found myself heading) and it's definitely not in the budget.  Looks cool, though.

The really frustrating part, though, was that at the pickup, the guy had 1 piece of rack stripping, 16 units high.  If he had a second piece, I could whip up a timber frame and get myself the bench side rack I have mentioned before.  We looked high and low, but no luck.  Finding a second such piece would have made the whole exercise of getting those 2 cabinets down a flight of stairs worth the pain.



Ahhh .... you're widening the rabbit hole again!

[med6753]

Slightly off topic but reading about batteries exploding etc, not that much off then.

Been watching a few videos of fires both here in the UK and in the USA as well as Europe and it strikes me that the fire depts in USA could learn a thing or two from the rest of us. It seems to me that the USA trucks don't carry any water on board and when they arrive at the scene, they wast valuable time looking around for a fire hydrant and then running hoses to it from the truck and then hoses out to the fire. By which time the buildings are often lost causes and others suffer as a result.

Does anyone actually know why they don't carry some water on their trucks at all?

I'm not sure where you got that impression. Your videos might be mostly CITY fire departments where they have fire hydrants. No such animal where I live and ALL the local fire depts have large tanker trucks to provide water.

Edit....pumper/tanker. Local fire dept.

[Specmaster]

Slightly off topic but reading about batteries exploding etc, not that much off then.

Been watching a few videos of fires both here in the UK and in the USA as well as Europe and it strikes me that the fire depts in USA could learn a thing or two from the rest of us. It seems to me that the USA trucks don't carry any water on board and when they arrive at the scene, they wast valuable time looking around for a fire hydrant and then running hoses to it from the truck and then hoses out to the fire. By which time the buildings are often lost causes and others suffer as a result.

Does anyone actually know why they don't carry some water on their trucks at all?

I'm not sure where you got that impression. Your videos might be mostly CITY fire departments where they have fire hydrants. No such animal where I live and ALL the local fire depts have large tanker trucks to provide water.

You are correct, there were city depts, still makes no sense me at all as watching them getting set up, the fire goes from bad to worse, sometimes being a total loss before they bring water to the fire. I did see one USA dept in the countryside that took 2 big water tankers to a fire that consumed 3 houses before they could control it, this despite the fact there was a large river at the rear of the house were they could have dropped hoses into for a supply 

Contrasted that to a house fire in Oxford UK that took out the roofs of the 2 houses that were semi detached and because we always carry water, they had hose's supplying water to the fire within 28 seconds of arriving at the scene and the 2 houses were as a result saved with minor damage, verses total losses over the pond of 3 houses (started with the one) and they are all completely detached as well  Not that its a laughing matter really but what a difference it makes with a well trained and disciplined team that carry enough water to a scene to enable water to be used early in the process while others hunt down a hydrant to provide continuous supply

[med6753]

Like big iron? It won't get any bigger than this. Union Pacific "Big Boy" 4014 on first run after 5 year restoration. The last big boy was taken out of service in 1961. The run was from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Ogden, Utah to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the trans-continental railroad. Accompanied by UP 844 Challenger. I think the big boys were the largest steam locos ever made. 6000 HP. I've seen one on static display and they are HUGE. And I love that whistle. Nothing says get the fuck out of the way like that low pitched whistle. Certainly unlike the European high pitched wimpy. 

   

[nixiefreqq]

Like big iron? It won't get any bigger than this. Union Pacific "Big Boy" 4014 on first run after 5 year restoration. The last big boy was taken out of service in 1961. The run was from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Ogden, Utah to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the trans-continental railroad. Accompanied by UP 844 Challenger. I think the big boys were the largest steam locos ever made. 6000 HP. I've seen one on static display and they are HUGE. And I love that whistle. Nothing says get the fuck out of the way like that low pitched whistle. Certainly unlike the European high pitched wimpy. 

thanks for that!

been 23 years since my last trip to the steam museum in Scranton.

do you happen to know if they still have a big boy sitting out front?

[bd139]

Bloody hell that thing is enormous.

I think our best effort over here is the class 91. 6480hp but electric.

[grbk]

I know many of you were concerned about inverted18650. This ebay listing came up in my saved searches this morning:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/401763768254

Description says: "Formerly iDG/ Inverted18650. Selling everything in the shop due to medical condition. Everything must go, including domain names etc. Check my other items and buy with confidence. Thank you for looking and Cheers."

So it sounds like he's still with us, although the concerns about his health unfortunately were justified.

Perhaps someone could use a nice-looking 34401 for a decent price, and help him out with medical expenses while you're at it?

[tggzzz]

Bloody hell that thing is enormous.

... but not very long by US standards.

If you have to wait for one at a level crossing, it becomes very tedious as it continues to trundle past for what seems like an eternity.

[med6753]

thanks for that!

been 23 years since my last trip to the steam museum in Scranton.

do you happen to know if they still have a big boy sitting out front?

Yes, the big boy is still in Scranton. There's also one on static display in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The one they restored I think came from a static display in California. 

[med6753]

I know many of you were concerned about inverted18650. This ebay listing came up in my saved searches this morning:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/401763768254

Description says: "Formerly iDG/ Inverted18650. Selling everything in the shop due to medical condition. Everything must go, including domain names etc. Check my other items and buy with confidence. Thank you for looking and Cheers."

So it sounds like he's still with us, although the concerns about his health unfortunately were justified.

Perhaps someone could use a nice-looking 34401 for a decent price, and help him out with medical expenses while you're at it?

Located in Clarksville, TN. Sounds like him.