Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tggzzz]

Now I'm pissed off.

I finally got around to looking at my £20 15GHz sig gen on my new 22GHz spectrum analyser. Didn't work, but finally figured out the previous owner had moved SMD resistors to turn off the on-board 100MHz source and use an external sig  gen. Fixed that, and my joy knew no limits.

Came back later, and the dual boot Ubuntu / win7 laptop refuses to get past dropping me into a grub rescue prompt. Bugger, bugger. No, I don't have a win rescue disc.

What sig gen is it?

LMX2594EVM 15-GHz wideband RF synthesizer with phase synchronization & JESD204B evaluation module  http://www.ti.com/tool/LMX2594EVM I got it at auction along with some other eval kits. Must flog those to SDR fanatics.

Neat. Not a cheap board by any means. Any planned applications?

GAS and playing around with 22GHz spectrum analysers

[bd139]

Mini rant. So I was going to use my PC as a bit of test gear today. The line/mic in was going to be used for filter alignment via FFT / spectrogram but the thing is a damn TRRS connector rather than two separate ones which means none of the cables I have will work. Thus I have to fish out £8 for an adapter which won't be here until tomorrow 

Sooo annoying.

[VK5RC]

Trying to calibrate my 3400A recently repaired - I have EVERYTHING BUT.  a 50 ohm feedthru !!!!!!!! 

My excuse is that my real use scopes and counters can switch input Z, at RF I used a 10dB attenuator, so never needed one till now, so as it is the weekend, an old  EEVblog post encouraged me to make one - quite happy with the results. 

I have a 'proper' one on the way.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/50-ohm-feed-through-terminator/

Inside pic and VNA result at 425MHz

Rob

[BravoV]

Not strictly Test Equipment, but certainly related to TEA repairs, I purchased this Hitachi/Metabo power screwdriver on Shahriar's endorsement in one of the recent Signal Path episodes: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L78Y72J/

Looking forward to trying it. Unlike a lot of others, it has a very large selection of clutch settings down to very low torque so it should make disassembly and reassembly of test gear much easier.

   That thing is a effing abortion... I can see at least 6 glaring noob engineer "I'm an imbecile who doesn't actually use tools" design mistakes... and why the FUCK is the motor/gearhead portion so big/long? It could literally be HALF that size and do the job. 

mnem
*running away before the yuckyputz gets all over me*

It's honestly not as big as the pictures make it seem. Feels pretty nice in the hand.

meh. I’ve bought and got rid of dozens just like it; the whole design is a recycled clusterfuck from years gone by.

Black & Decker tried the flip-out grip decades ago; they abandoned it because they got reamed by the customers over the built-in pinch points that make the design a blood-blister factory.

The rocker paddle on the side means it’s only really good in screwdriver mode; in pistol mode for righties it’s inconvenient, for lefties it’s unusable.

Proprietary single-cell packs in this day & age? 18650 cells and chargers are cheap and more common than D cells anymore.

And single-cell means slow as flurp; probably 450-550 RPM.

That pregnant motor/gearbox section tells me that even though they’re charging “real tool” prices, they couldn’t be arsed to actually design a new tool; they just made a flip-out shell for some discontinued drill gearbox and 1S-voltage motor.

That thing is no more than a Versa-Pack B&D electric screwdriver in Hitachi green.   

mnem
meh and a half.

Yeah, my Ryobi is sort of throw away tool too, as its dirt cheap, used it more frequent than my Makita, as its smaller, lighter and not that bulky, has two positions, gun style and straight.

Of course its nothing compared to the real work horse Makita, its been years since I bought it, with lots of battle scars and still strong. 

[Specmaster]

Mini rant. So I was going to use my PC as a bit of test gear today. The line/mic in was going to be used for filter alignment via FFT / spectrogram but the thing is a damn TRRS connector rather than two separate ones which means none of the cables I have will work. Thus I have to fish out £8 for an adapter which won't be here until tomorrow 

Sooo annoying.

What make and type of computer is it? Thats unusual as most sound cards have dedicated sockets for microphones, aux inputs etc.

[mnementh]

   Yeah, my Ryobi is sort of throw away tool too, as its dirt cheap, used it more frequent than my Makita, as its smaller, lighter and not that bulky, has two positions, gun style and straight.

Of course its nothing compared to the real work horse Makita, its been years since I bought it, with lots of battle scars and still strong. 

Yeah, I've been a Makita guy ever since the late 90s when DeWalt screwed a whole generation of customers with their infamous self-detonating gearboxes, then shipped their warranty claim handling to phone banks in India to make it physically painful to complete the process.  I threw away 4 of them. Now I have a whole collection of the Lowes Kobalt Brushless 24VMAX (6-cell) product line... they're proving very durable, and when bought on Christmas/Father's Day/Memorial Day/Labor Day sales, quite affordable. Brushless and Li-Ion are, IMHO, minimum requirements nowadays. My wife is a tool-dwagon enabler. 

   I still use a 6019D I've had for over 20 years as my daily drill-driver; it has a 9-step clutch that on its lowest setting will drive m3 self-tapping screws into plastic without stripping out. I've tried dozens of others trying to find something newer that functions similarly; every one has failed to deliver and been discarded. I've replaced the motor and recently the gearbox as it got noisy and I randomly found a stash of NOS ones on fleaBay last year. I expect it to outlive me since I also modded it with a 2S2P 18650 pack that has twice the capacity and weighs half as much as the original pack.

mnem
*driven*

[tggzzz]

Oops, I did it again.

The reason (and I'm sticking to it) is that the Keithley 2000 will be smaller than the DVMs I will now have to sell.

[mnementh]

*Says a prayer for your Heathen Purchase-making soul* 

mnem
All my bits hate me right now.

[tggzzz]

*Says a prayer for your Heathen Purchase-making soul* 

I worked for HeaP for 13 years, and greatly enjoyed it until princess Fiorina materialised

[med6753]

Mini rant. So I was going to use my PC as a bit of test gear today. The line/mic in was going to be used for filter alignment via FFT / spectrogram but the thing is a damn TRRS connector rather than two separate ones which means none of the cables I have will work. Thus I have to fish out £8 for an adapter which won't be here until tomorrow 

Sooo annoying.

Don't you guys have Memorial Day tomorrow (Monday)? It's a national holiday here and takes place on the last Monday in May.

[bd139]

Yeah it's called "bank holiday Monday" here and means SFA

Busy day here!

What make and type of computer is it? Thats unusual as most sound cards have dedicated sockets for microphones, aux inputs etc.

Lenovo T440. I found an HP Elitebook in the cupboard I forgot I had and that had a mic input and a windows 10 build on it (woohoo) so I used that in the end. It works. Post alignment, this is one hell of a radio:




And now for something, completely different and more TEA related.

Between all that and cooking a roast dinner I have been soaking the Fluke 87 holster which I have been ignoring for several weeks now in the kitchen sink. Just scrubbed it up and we're done. Shown next to its 25 year newer brother.



Quick reminder of the state of the one on the left when it arrived. Dirty, broken input jack, knackered display.



Now to enjoy my roast 

[mnementh]

Damn you; you're making me nostalgic. For a Effing METER. 

mnem
* Remembering "FLUKE & Philips:The T&M Alliance" *

[tggzzz]

Mini rant. So I was going to use my PC as a bit of test gear today. The line/mic in was going to be used for filter alignment via FFT / spectrogram but the thing is a damn TRRS connector rather than two separate ones which means none of the cables I have will work. Thus I have to fish out £8 for an adapter which won't be here until tomorrow 

Sooo annoying.

Don't you guys have Memorial Day tomorrow (Monday)? It's a national holiday here and takes place on the last Monday in May.

We have a plain vanilla "Bank Holiday" tomorrow.

Our equivalent, Remembrance Sunday, is held on the nearest Sunday to 11th November. At 11am on both the Sunday and the 11th there is traditionally 1 minutes silence. Why? Because the WW1 armistice was signed at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

Now, why is memorial day tomorrow?

[med6753]

Now, why is memorial day tomorrow?

See attached. I wasn't aware of the origins of Memorial Day. It's of domestic origin not a world wide event.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

[med6753]

And now for something, completely different and more TEA related.

Between all that and cooking a roast dinner I have been soaking the Fluke 87 holster which I have been ignoring for several weeks now in the kitchen sink. Just scrubbed it up and we're done. Shown next to its 25 year newer brother.

Were you aware that there's a self test feature on the 87? I wasn't and I happen to look at the quick reference card and there it is. Select Ohms range. Connect a test lead between Volt/Ohms and ma/ua. Should have a reading of 1.000k +/-0.005. I used a real short lead to minimize lead resistance and got a reading of 1.001k. 

[bd139]

Yep aware of that. You can also test the fuses without taking it to bits as well.

[Housedad]

Well, I finally broke down and decided to solve my Outlet Home Management Situation. (OHMS)

The rat's nest of wires and small power strips just were not cutting it anymore.  I ordered a 24 outlet strip by Tripp Lite to mount on the wall.

[tggzzz]

Now, why is memorial day tomorrow?

See attached. I wasn't aware of the origins of Memorial Day. It's of domestic origin not a world wide event.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

Summary: nobody really knows, and even the basics are TL;DR

[nixiefreqq]

POSTED FOR NEO.

[med6753]

Well, I finally broke down and decided to solve my Outlet Home Management Situation. (OHMS)

The rat's nest of wires and small power strips just were not cutting it anymore.  I ordered a 24 outlet strip by Tripp Lite to mount on the wall.

I should probably do the same. I have a similar rat's nest under bench 2. 

[med6753]

POSTED FOR NEO.

That looks like a kit or home built. Yes?

[worsthorse]

Well, I finally broke down and decided to solve my Outlet Home Management Situation. (OHMS)

The rat's nest of wires and small power strips just were not cutting it anymore.  I ordered a 24 outlet strip by Tripp Lite to mount on the wall.

I should probably do the same. I have a similar rat's nest under bench 2. 

When I couldn't take the mess any more, I mounted two Tripplite Isobar 10 outlet strips on the underside of my workbench after shortening the 12' mains cable and adding two honking big ferrite clamp-ons to each one.  All the power cords are wound short to keep them off the floor. Makes life easier and I don't change them that much.

At some point I am going to re-do the whole basement and when I do, the bench corner is going to get two 20A circuits and surge protection at the service panel, among other TEA and RF related wish list items.

[xrunner]

Found this on Ebay. Never heard of the brand. Lots of shiny aluminum. Didn't know if anyone would be interested.


Energy concepts DMM

[Housedad]

I realized  I had to do something. There was just too much of a mess.  On top of all that, my desk is completely filled now that the keysight DSOX1204g oscilloscope is here and I bought the HP5316b counter.  I'm also working on a way to stack  the keysight and the rigol oscilloscopes. Hopefully that will work out well.  I've had to move the 100mhz CRT oscilloscope to a shelf.

[Cubdriver]

Well, I finally broke down and decided to solve my Outlet Home Management Situation. (OHMS)

The rat's nest of wires and small power strips just were not cutting it anymore.  I ordered a 24 outlet strip by Tripp Lite to mount on the wall.

I should probably do the same. I have a similar rat's nest under bench 2. 

   I have two twelve-outlet strips on the underside of the top shelf on my bench.  Both are perpetually full, so I added another under the work surface.

-Pat