Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

Best not to say anything. Keep those thoughts in your head     Also watch out for pigeons https://pigeonsarentreal.co.uk/ 

There isn't enough tin foil in the whole world...    It's not safe to say ANYTHING... SHHHHHH!!!

mnem
It's in the water.

   Too late. The black helicopters have arrived. 

ha!  one of the young ladies in the office once threatened to send the black helicopters to my house if she didn't a cost estimate from me by the end of the week.  what bullshit. then I got read onto her program. 

made damn sure she got the estimate a day early. edit  don't remember if her nickname was scully or mulder.   maybe she was the one we called inspector gadget.

*sigh* That was Dave... the fellow I inherited that 454 from. He was part wing-nut, part scared-sheepless and a raging opiate addict, but smart as hell when he was coherent. He knew microwave-propagation theory the way most of us know Ohm's law; taught me about velocity factors of common materials and how to tune the length of a feedline against the sheathing material and anticipated frequencies passing through it. I thought it was all total "dark arts" shit until I started dealing with custom WiFi & later my RC electronics shifted over to 2.4/5.8GHz. When he showed me how to make a Cantenna and sleeve dipole, then demonstrated them connecting to an open municipal WiFi hotspot half a mile up the road using an old laptop I'd bought as junk, I about shit myself. 

He talked about the silent black helicopters more than once; when I told him "Nowadays they drive black Suburbans." he snorted derisively and said "Those are State Department. They're just fucking civilians." as matter-of-factly as you or I would discuss a BOM.

A few months later he left that scope with me, as collateral against a few leftover dental Vicodin I kept for when I couldn't just brute through the back pain and needed a decent night's sleep. This wasn't the first time... he always replaced them plus a few extra. But it was the last time I saw him; he never came back for his 'scope. Several weeks later his junkie girlfriend came around my "Recycled Electronics" booth asking about it; I told her I wasn't going to let it go to anyone but Dave himself. She said "That ain't gonna happen; he swallowed a .38 last month." then started cursing me high & low until security noticed the ruckus and came over. She vaporized before they got there.

That night I took the 454 apart down to the bezel, but didn't find anything not original unmolested Tek in origin; I remembered him talking about weird shit like GHz oscillators where they had no business being in power supplies and stuff like that. No, I didn't find any microphones either.  But I kept it out in the workshop away from the motorhome for the next 6 months until I left... figuring that if somebody wanted something hidden in it they could take it without involving me.

I almost "forgot" it when I left; but Dave's ghost wouldn't let me. I won't tell you how many times I had a "Wait a minute; didn't I leave it over THERE last night..." moment, though. 

mnem
Rest in peace, old friend.

[bd139]

All the good ones are crazy. RIP.

We’ve got one at the local amateur radio club. He’s just batshit and has no skills at all though. He’s anti 5G - says it will give him cancer again. Dude the cancer was either caused by the 40 a day habit, the bottle of whiskey a day habit or the going on holiday to hot places and lying in the sun like a walrus habit.

[mnementh]

And now for something completely... ON TOPIC. 



Look what I unearthed in the back of the back closet in my old office while looking for some drawer units. Been saving them for when my son develops an interest in electronics; I've had them since the Dave era.

mnem
Dave's not here, man.

[nixiefreqq]

Best not to say anything. Keep those thoughts in your head     Also watch out for pigeons https://pigeonsarentreal.co.uk/ 

There isn't enough tin foil in the whole world...    It's not safe to say ANYTHING... SHHHHHH!!!

mnem
It's in the water.

   Too late. The black helicopters have arrived. 

ha!  one of the young ladies in the office once threatened to send the black helicopters to my house if she didn't a cost estimate from me by the end of the week.  what bullshit. then I got read onto her program. 

made damn sure she got the estimate a day early. edit  don't remember if her nickname was scully or mulder.   maybe she was the one we called inspector gadget.

*sigh* That was Dave... the fellow I inherited that 454 from. He was a part wing-nut, part scared-sheepless and a raging opiate addict, but smart as hell when he was coherent. He knew microwave-propagation theory the way most of us know Ohm's law; taught me about velocity factors of common materials and how to tune the length of a feedline against the sheathing material and anticipated frequencies passing through it. I thought it was all total "dark arts" shit until I started dealing with custom WiFi & later my RC electronics shifted over to 2.4/5.8GHz. When he showed me how to make a Cantenna and sleeve dipole, then demonstrated them connecting to an open municipal WiFi hotspot half a mile up the road using an old laptop I'd bought as junk, I about shit myself. 

He talked about the silent black helicopters more than once; when I told him "Nowadays they drive black Suburbans." he snorted derisively and said "Those are State Department. They're just fucking civilians." as matter-of-factly as you or I would discuss a BOM.

A few months later he left that scope with me, as collateral against a few leftover dental Vicodin I kept for when I couldn't just brute through the back pain and needed a decent night's sleep. This wasn't the first time... he always replaced them plus a few extra. But it was the last time I saw him; he never came back for his 'scope. Several weeks later his junkie girlfriend came around my "Recycled Electronics" booth asking about it; I told her I wasn't going to let it go to anyone but Dave himself. She said "That ain't gonna happen; he swallowed a .38 last month." then started cursing me high & low until security noticed the ruckus and came over. She vaporized before they got there.

That night I took the 454 apart down to the bezel, but didn't find anything not original unmolested Tek in origin; I remembered him talking about weird shit like GHz oscillators where they had no business being in power supplies and stuff like that. No, I didn't find any microphones either.  But I kept it out in the workshop away from the motorhome for the next 6 months until I left... figuring that if somebody wanted something hidden in it they could take it without involving me.

And I almost "forgot" it when I left; but Dave's ghost wouldn't let me. I won't tell you how many times I had a "Wait a minute; didn't I leave it over THERE last night..." moment. 

mnem
Rest in peace, old friend.

yeah.  some are good and crazy......and some are just crazy.

can't remember that young ladies name but her cypher locked door was next to the one "naked george" hid in.  he was retired out of third group and one day he yanked me up off my toes and held the office birthday party knife to my throat in a attempt to demonstrate how to kill an engineer geek without making any noise.  he probably had 18 inch biceps so it seemed best to not wiggle and just go limp.  he eventually put me down with no harm done.  damn snake eaters have a funny sense of humor. 

that's probably why we remained friends.

[Specmaster]

Been dere, dunnat with USAF Security as a civilian contractor. Always escorted and no phones, no media of any sort, nothing with a lens. Lots of other precautions as well, and I didn't even have access to any locations with anything on any secure network.



Just for you.

mnem
* hoeing out my world *

Thats the same as my regular visits to various AWE sites in the South and South East of the UK, and the searches both going in and coming out and having to give so many days warning of your planned visit to make sure that it didn't clash with times when something really sensitive was going on.

[xrunner]

And now for something completely... ON TOPIC. 

I read that and spit up some of my lemonade laughing. 

[mnementh]

My work here is done. 

mnem
* binning for dollars *

[beanflying]

Been dere, dunnat with USAF Security as a civilian contractor. Always escorted and no phones, no media of any sort, nothing with a lens. Lots of other precautions as well, and I didn't even have access to any locations with anything on any secure network.



Just for you.

mnem
* hoeing out my world *

And for a bonus point the Wavelength is whatwith a page to diode distance of 20cm? 

[mnementh]

4 leftover legs from the last time I did this: $1.08
Shelf Glass bought from the internet: $14.60
The look on my wife's face when she sees her new dual-display setup: PRICELESS!

mnem
*watching the glue dry*

[mnementh]

   Just for you.

mnem
* hoeing out my world *

   And for a bonus point the Wavelength is what with a page to diode distance of 20cm? 

In there somewhere ~~~~> yn=nλD/d

And that is a correct answer.

mnem
* shamelessly math-defective *

[beanflying]

   Just for you.

mnem
* hoeing out my world *

   And for a bonus point the Wavelength is what with a page to diode distance of 20cm? 

In there somewhere ~~~~> yn=nλD/d

And that is a correct answer.

mnem
* shamelessly math-defective *

No points for you for failure to use the Metric System and do the numbers

[VK5RC]

Some dodgy back of scrap paper calcs
arc tan (4.5 / 20) = 12.6 degrees
Gap = 10^ - 6 m
Wavelength = gap sin12. 6
=^ 210nm??
Rob

[mnementh]

That would be somewhere in the UV range; this is a visible red laser, so will be somewhere in the 620-720nm range, IIRC. Most cheap laser pointers are ~650nm.

mnem
* Heeding Hypnos' siren call *

[VK5RC]

PS I am assuming that the refractive index of the grill substrate is the same as air,
PPS Worked out with 6 button presses on a RPN calculator - ducks for cover! HeHe

[beanflying]

PS I am assuming that the refractive index of the grill substrate is the same as air,
PPS Worked out with 6 button presses on a RPN calculator - ducks for cover! HeHe

Well there is part of your problem 

I may have placed a trap in the photo and used my 500 lines per meter Grid and not my 1000   Slit 2x10-6

[0culus]

PS I am assuming that the refractive index of the grill substrate is the same as air,
PPS Worked out with 6 button presses on a RPN calculator - ducks for cover! HeHe

I approve of this gratuitous display of RPN superiority. 

[0culus]

Today I received a 778D dual directional coupler to use as a test fixture with the vector voltmeter. After careful study of HP Application Note 77-3, and more than one scratched out Smith chart later, I successfully measured some complex impedances using a crappy rat shack ham antenna as the unknown.

The 8405A is a neat little instrument. Sure, a VNA is a lot better, but there's some good learning to be done doing it manually. 

paper smith charts?  vector voltmeters?  when youngsters start fooling with these ancient tools it almost brings a tear to my old wore out eyeballs.

let me know when you feel the need to purchase large slotted lines.  you will be my new hero.

I'm basically an EE/RF autodidact (my background is in math and CS). So I'm choosing the most effective way to learn for me...do it manually!

Slotted lines look like a fun engine of destruction to have on the bench. Really adds to the "mad scientist" factor. 

[bitseeker]

And now for something completely... ON TOPIC. 

I read that and spit up some of my lemonade laughing. 

I know, right? I almost forgot what thread I was in.

[VK5RC]

Apologies, I couldn't resist a bait.
My answer has an error - the wavelength is out of the visible spectrum, I think it is the refractive index issue.

[VK5RC]

Sorry - d'oh - didn't read all of above, also what is the refractive index of the grid substrate?

[beanflying]

  Second furphy (look it up non Aussies) was the distance to the diode is irrelevant. The data needed was how far was the grating from the page which was 13cm.

so θ = 19.1 give or take.

λ = d sin θ (an approximation) where d is the slit width

654 nM which is close to correct for a Red Laser.

Normal level of  will resume as my coffee/blood level is now in balance.

[Specmaster]

   Just for you.

mnem
* hoeing out my world *

   And for a bonus point the Wavelength is what with a page to diode distance of 20cm? 

In there somewhere ~~~~> yn=nλD/d

And that is a correct answer.

mnem
* shamelessly math-defective *

No points for you for failure to use the Metric System and do the numbers

Well I award bonus points on the strength of his use of binary numbers and the most certainly for the use of = 

[bd139]

Laying carpet today 

eBay needs to give me some TE related compensation for this shit 

[med6753]

Laying carpet today 

eBay needs to give me some TE related compensation for this shit 

Mr Mom....or perhaps it's actually Mrs. Doubtfire at work.     

[bd139]

That’s about right actually 

Room cleared, old furniture chucked on the lawn for disposal, old carpet removed, new one down. Just have to assemble 2 Ikea beds, a shelf and a chest of drawers now