Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

As promised:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/restoring-tektronix-attenuator-switch-deck-assemblies/

Noted, read, thanked and inappropriate comments left. 

mnem
That's just how I roll.

[Specmaster]

A large part of the problem seems to be that some in both groups seem to see the other group as the enemy. People forget that traffic isn't about ego, winning or claiming your perceived rights.

Might is right !

Get outta my way I's a coming through. 

   Yeah; that's the attitude here in Tejas: The vehicle with the largest wheels has right of way.
It goes right through to the bone; twice I've had my CAR run over by some jackhole in a jacked-up 4x4.  This fuckwit cut across 2 lanes of traffic going THE WRONG WAY to get me. 

There's nothing worse than the smell of cyclist ass though.

K2 arrived. See you all in a month        Edit: I would call this the "last big kit" 

Ed-Edit: Jeebus this thing has no shit components in it. Even the encoder is a top end genuine Bourns optical one!

So you'll be keeping penis fingers in your pockets then? How do you plan to assemble it... with your teeth? 

mnem
I heard they make an ointment for that... 

I hadn't realised it was a kit, I thought it was ready built equipment. [emoji189][emoji53]

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

[mnementh]

eBay auction: #303151495757   Here you go. 

Sorry... didn't realize you claimed sole ownership of the p-f phenomenon. Seems to me I've seen us all exhibit it at one time or another. 

mnem
*Time for tea*

[bitseeker]

This is a cool piece of kit, becuse you never know when you need to measure up to 20 Peta Ohms 

Yes very cool. Reminds of the old joke -

That needs an upgrade...to 20PΩ!

Or at least 1G for <pinkie>One BILLION ohms!</>.

Also dangerous...

[bitseeker]

Some new to me HP 3325B pron! Arrived today, in good condition - despite the packing.

I don't think I've seen a 'B' one. At least I never noticed that it has different buttons than the 'A' version.

[bitseeker]

Maybe not in your case depending on your rules but motorists are unaware of rules for bikes and assume they are in charge in their metal cans. The same lack of knowledge is partly why Motorbike riders along with Bikes are at increased risk.

Automobile drivers don't see bicyclists as having equal rights to the roads for the same reason they don't see motorcyclists... THEY DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM AT ALL.

With the prevalence of SUVs, now regular cars are about as invisible as motorcycles and bicycles. I got honked at by a Suburban who went straight from a turn lane thinking no one was in the proper lane and later sideswiped by a Range Rover who merged into cars (me) rather than between them.

When I was a kid, I lived in a hilly area and longed for the day when I could ride my bike on flat ground. Go everywhere, then, I thought to my young self. I live in a flat area now, but don't ride due to the high risk of becoming similarly flat by moronic drivers.

I'm thankful that aircraft can't be flown by people with nothing more than a driver's license. Flying cars for everyone is a very, very bad idea.

[bitseeker]

No TEA projects here for the next few days. Domestic stuff also the lady cop is coming up Friday for the weekend.

How's she doing? Hope all is well, now.

So if you don't hear from me over the next few days I will have a smile on my face. 

 

[tggzzz]

The HP 427A I picked up needs a bit of TLC, overall its in good condition, but I found one shorted AE cap, so going to replace them all, only 8 caps total.  Someone built a replica AC power supply for it that matches the option 01 schematic, but the secondary of the transformer they used is a bit on the low side.  I'm going to build a small regulated 20v linear internal supply.  Sorry I don't have photos right now, Ill post some of it all torn apart later.

Been waiting for a good HP 4329a high resistance meter to show up.  Found one today and snatched it.  This is a cool piece of kit, becuse you never know when you need to measure up to 20 Peta Ohms 

That should be able to easily measure this...



No, of course I don't have a use for it. But how could I possibly resist something called "it ohms" in the auction catalogue

[GreyWoolfe]

No way in hell I'm ever getting any higher than the lights in the ceiling fan before I lose some appreciable weight.

mnem
effing ow.

No such luck here.  Mrs GreyWoolfe won't let me up on the roof any more because of my weight (I've seen your pictures, I outweigh you by a bit) but that doesn't apply to ladders.  She is afraid of any kind of heights and the stepdaughter/son-in-law that live with us can't find their @ss with both hands so I can't trust them to do anything correctly.  In fact, just cleaned the gutters out this past weekend.  I will still go up a 20' ladder if I have to.  However, the friend who's ladder I used to borrow sold his house and left the state so if she wants me to climb, she will have to buy me a new ladder.

I feel your pain also.  Constant S3-S5 from the arthritis even with meds.  On really bad days when the pain spikes to 10-30 over S9, Mrs GreyWoolfe has an apothecary to take care of the pain.

[bd139]

Very cool love to see pics of the progress and final product. 

Will post. Doing a full kit inventory still. Been at it about 4 hours solid now. Two missing parts so far. One 1.5nF ceramic cap and an SSB crystal (this means a whole new filter kit needs to be shipped  ). They send out spares for this FOC so not end of world. Still two more bags to go...

Wow.  Now that is  going to be a lot of fun.   I love kits.  I was so sorry when Heathkit went bust.  But now I know where to buy a nice radio kit.  Thanks!!

That's exactly why I bought this. When heathkit were around I had no money. Then they disappeared when I did. I always wanted to build an SB-104 and a colour TV kit back then. This is the nearest thing to an SB-104!

DAMMIT MAN STOP SHOWING THAT STUFF!   

I have the urge to buy one of these tamped down, I think, and then you show another photo of K2 PRON.  Have some decency!   

That looks like a lot of fun. And that is an awful lot of kit!  If I happen to be wandering by the Elecraft booth at Xenia, well, maybe...

Hahaha  Someone showed me the thing about a year and a half ago and I sort of decided it was mine there and then.

I am honestly quite intimidated by this. It's huge. It took me over an hour and a half to check all the parts in the two RF bags. 

For some light relief, consider some of the "psychle farcilities" documented with wonderfully sardonic comments...

One of my favourites, because there are some like this in Brizzle, is:
This short cycle path in Hounslow has been installed by Transport for London to enable cyclists who have been roosting overnight in the branches of this tree to ride smoothly onto Boston Manor Road.

That's quite funny because it's actually not that far from me and my nearest convenient Picadilly line station. They are actually building dedicated cycle lanes back from Boston Manor station all the way to the A4 at the moment. They haven't quite got that far down yet though unfortunately.

Also that's opposite University of West London and GSK HQ which is not somewhere I would consider riding on the pavement around - zombie city!

[kj7e]

Since we are on the topic of cycling, I ride 60% MTB, 20% Road and 20% Gravel, 3-4 rides a week, 50-100 miles a week.  Sometimes we do some crazy rides, like 60 mile Gravel rides with 7,000'+ of climb.  Mid June we are planning a 130 mile 8,500' climb ride (hope I don't die).  Since I live in the mountains of SoCal, we have lots of climbing no mater what, no flat roads here.  On the matter of sharing and single file, I always try to ride single file, but some rides are 6, 8 or 10 hours long, you cant chat with other riders single file, but we always try to get single file when we hear a car.  We also try to ride on less traveled roads, I hate traffic.

My Strava Page;
https://www.strava.com/athletes/23673253

Photo of my backyard attached.

[med6753]

No TEA projects here for the next few days. Domestic stuff also the lady cop is coming up Friday for the weekend.

How's she doing? Hope all is well, now.

So if you don't hear from me over the next few days I will have a smile on my face. 

 

She still has some residual pain from the last incident but she's doing OK otherwise. Thanks for asking. 

[kj7e]

As promised, some HP 427A teardown photos;









The front knobs have the typical cracks, so going to try to fix them up as I cant find those knobs anywhere.

[mnementh]

No TEA projects here for the next few days. Domestic stuff also the lady cop is coming up Friday for the weekend.

How's she doing? Hope all is well, now.

So if you don't hear from me over the next few days I will have a smile on my face. 

 

She still has some residual pain from the last incident but she's doing OK otherwise. Thanks for asking. 

Good. Good for both of you; sincerely. And good that you have each other to take care of each other; so many souls don’t even have anyone who might be a good friend.

No way in hell I'm ever getting any higher than the lights in the ceiling fan before I lose some appreciable weight.

mnem
effing ow.

No such luck here.  Mrs GreyWoolfe won't let me up on the roof any more because of my weight (I've seen your pictures, I outweigh you by a bit) but that doesn't apply to ladders.  She is afraid of any kind of heights and the stepdaughter/son-in-law that live with us can't find their @ss with both hands so I can't trust them to do anything correctly.  In fact, just cleaned the gutters out this past weekend.  I will still go up a 20' ladder if I have to.  However, the friend who's ladder I used to borrow sold his house and left the state so if she wants me to climb, she will have to buy me a new ladder.

I feel your pain also.  Constant S3-S5 from the arthritis even with meds.  On really bad days when the pain spikes to 10-30 over S9, Mrs GreyWoolfe has an apothecary to take care of the pain.

Well, my ceiling fans are pretty high; I need a 12-footer to reach some of them. And for some reason, they seem to simply not believe in rain gutters down here; 20 years and I’ve seen them on maybe 3 houses, and even then only across the main doorway. 

I had a few leftover pain pills from my last dental excursion; I took them the other night and following morning. That knee still feels like ground chuck, but amazingly nothing sticking out and no visible wounds.

I got lucky and I know it.

mnem
 

[bd139]

@kj7e: thanks for the teardown photos. I miss mine although it was older and more poopey than yours.

I will obtain another one when it goes past 

Boring K2 update: all parts inventoried. 3 parts missing. 1 resistor (meh I have one). 1 SSB crystal (not needed for days yet). 1 ceramic cap in noise blanker (not needed for even more days yet). Not bad!

[GregDunn]

Is anyone else going to the huge Dayton hamfest this weekend?  I'm only going on Friday due to an overbooked weekend, but I'm hoping to have some fun browsing the outside flea market - haven't been there in a few years...

[Neomys Sapiens]

Been waiting for a good HP 4329a high resistance meter to show up.  Found one today and snatched it.  This is a cool piece of kit, becuse you never know when you need to measure up to 20 Peta Ohms 

Uhuh. Also looking for such a beast. And the complement of it (mOhm-meter).

[mnementh]

Well, Hell...

https://youtu.be/IOvw4yjMJ3w

https://www.quantamagazine.org/black-hot-superionic-ice-may-be-natures-most-common-form-of-water-20190508/

mnem
"There are more things in Heaven and in Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." ~ The Immortal Bard

[worsthorse]

Is anyone else going to the huge Dayton hamfest this weekend?  I'm only going on Friday due to an overbooked weekend, but I'm hoping to have some fun browsing the outside flea market - haven't been there in a few years...

I am, in fact, making the pilgrimage. I will be at FDIM and, I imagine, at the flea market on Friday. I don't really have a plan other than showing up and seeing what happens.  Right now I am in Denver airport, waiting for my delayed leg to Dayton, so I probably won't get to the hotel until midnight.

I haven't shaved for a couple of days, got my hobo clothes, a bag full of badges with my call sign on them, my Tektronix ball cap, and an empty duffle, so I am ready for anything. 

[bd139]

Just add mobility scooter and you'll be sorted 

K2 checkpoint day 1: control board nearly done. Missing a few ICs and a couple of extra bodges required on back. This is a really nice board. All the parts are top quality branded ones as well unlike the QCXs I built which were made from hair-legged chinese shite resistors. Feels "HP" in quality.

[Housedad]

Ooooh, that 427 is nice.

[med6753]

I haven't shaved for a couple of days, got my hobo clothes, a bag full of badges with my call sign on them, my Tektronix ball cap, and an empty duffle, so I am ready for anything. 

Oh brother! LMAO. 

[malagas_on_fire]

Provision for a PIC18F452? the PIC18F4520 is also pin compatible

[xrunner]

K2 checkpoint day 1: control board nearly done. Missing a few ICs and a couple of extra bodges required on back. This is a really nice board. All the parts are top quality branded ones as well unlike the QCXs I built which were made from hair-legged chinese shite resistors. Feels "HP" in quality.

Looks great - keep the pics coming.

Well I ain't got no kit here today LOL. Friend asked me to see if his Icom IC-2720 (2m/70cm) transceiver was repairable. It had low (5W) output power otherwise working OK. He had been using it as a crossband repeater many hours at a time. This radio does not have a good reputation. I researched the issue and it seems to be a recurring problem with this radio involving a driver to the final RF power output. The suspect is Q25 2SK3075.

After examination on the bench this was indeed the problem. It came off in pieces due to the heat damage it had endured. Looking at the bottom of the board you can see the heat sink compound was all dried up. Can obtain the part from Mouser for under $7.

Oh, also observed that ALL of the screws that hold the main board to the case were already loose by at least one turn. Hmmmmmm ..... 

[mnementh]

   K2 checkpoint day 1: control board nearly done. Missing a few ICs and a couple of extra bodges required on back. This is a really nice board. All the parts are top quality branded ones as well unlike the QCXs I built which were made from hair-legged chinese shite resistors. Feels "HP" in quality.

Are these "Oh, fu-u-u-u..." type bodges or "We've been using this design for 2 decades, but still haven't gotten around to updating the board for modern components..." type bodges?

Other than your own slightly frightening remarks above, looking decidedly production-qwal-i-tee!!! 

Looks great - keep the pics coming.

   Well I ain't got no kit here today LOL. Friend asked me to see if his Icom IC-2720 (2m/70cm) transceiver was repairable. It had low (5W) output power otherwise working OK. He had been using it as a crossband repeater many hours at a time. This radio does not have a good reputation. I researched the issue and it seems to be a recurring problem with this radio involving a driver to the final RF power output. The suspect is Q25 2SK3075.

After examination on the bench this was indeed the problem. It came off in pieces due to the heat damage it had endured. Looking at the bottom of the board you can see the heat sink compound was all dried up. Can obtain the part from Mouser for under $7.

Oh, also observed that ALL of the screws that hold the main board to the case were already loose by at least one turn. Hmmmmmm ..... 

Still, less painful than shopping a replacement, I'm sure. Go on, fix it man! You got this!

And remember... friend or not, get paid for your work. If you're good enough at something that people ask you, then you're good enough to get paid. 

mnem