Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

FWIW, scintillation in this context means flashing, the digit you have selected to adjust will flash.

It seems you just trial-and-error it to get it right.

Or just throw it in the bin and buy a Hakko FX-888

Which might spontaneously burst into flames like mine did. 

There's a reason I advocate the STM32 T12 OLED soldering stations. They're simple, they work, and they cost ~$80 with a usable assortment of tips. Even if they DO blow up, another whole controller module costs ~$20.
I like KSGER's lineup on AliEx.
mnem
 YMMV. DQMOT... IIRC... DILLIGAF?!?

[xrunner]

FWIW, scintillation in this context means flashing, the digit you have selected to adjust will flash.

Yes I agree.

It seems you just trial-and-error it to get it right.

Or just throw it in the bin and buy a Hakko FX-888

One or the other at this point.

My take on the cal mode is here.
1.   Briefly press either up or down key to move on the desired preset temperature P1 to P5 etc.
2.   Set 380 oC, select P4 profile 400oC press down key for 3 seconds to enter temp adjust mode, then press down button again till display reads 380oC. To increase current temp use the up button till required temp is displayed. This is a temporary adjustment only.

So far yes, I've done that temp adjustment before I tried to cal and it worked OK.

3.   To cal the tip, do the following, let’s say that P2  (pre-set at 300) reads on your calibrator as 280oC, select P2 and press both up and down keys together and digits will flash. Press the up key till the display reads 20 and then press both keys together to save the setting which should add 20oC to the stored setting of 300 but in reality is 280 as displayed on your tester.
4.   Check the temp again on your calibrator and see if it matches the displayed setting of 300oC.
5.   If not repeat the step 3 and use either the up or down key to add or subtract to the stored preset.
6.   Check again and repeat until it is correct. Repeat process for other pre-sets if required.

Yes I did try that kind of adjustment. But now I can't get it back down in temperature. There is no "negative" entry mode - only positive numbers.

So if it was originally in error in a positive direction (mine was too cold by 40 C) - how would a person correct it? You can't go negative. So still it's a mystery as to what the numbers you enter really are doing.

Let's see what the "video" is all about. I suspect it will be a bucket of sh*t and won't help. But let's see. I will report back.

[Kosmic]

Will sound like a cheese TV commercial but, I followed mnem recommendation and bought a Ksger T12 station. Have been using it for some months now and I must say I don't miss my old Weller WTCP. Easy to use lot of configs, nice display and a lot of thermal inertia. It's crazy what I can do at 320Deg now

Thanks mnem

[mnementh]

Ok then, SORRY mnem I missed that post 

My take on the cal mode is here.
1.   Briefly press either up or down key to move on the desired preset temperature P1 to P5 etc.
2.   Set 380 oC, select P4 profile 400oC press down key for 3 seconds to enter temp adjust mode, then press down button again till display reads 380oC. To increase current temp use the up button till required temp is displayed. This is a temporary adjustment only.
3.   To cal the tip, do the following, let’s say that P2  (pre-set at 300) reads on your calibrator as 280oC, select P2 and press both up and down keys together and digits will flash. Press the up key till the display reads 20 and then press both keys together to save the setting which should add 20oC to the stored setting of 300 but in reality is 280 as displayed on your tester.
4.   Check the temp again on your calibrator and see if it matches the displayed setting of 300oC.
5.   If not repeat the step 3 and use either the up or down key to add or subtract to the stored preset.
6.   Check again and repeat until it is correct. Repeat process for other pre-sets if required.

This may or may not off is be right but its my educated guess that it is. Steps 1 and 2 is a temporary temp change only and once switched off is not saved.

That actually sounds very much like the crazy-ass FW in my first LED T12 controller; the one that almost instantly got turned into spare parts and replaced with my first OLED T12 Controller. If this Bakon station uses the same bastard FW...

KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!!! Do NOT ALLOW IT TO RETURN HOME, WHERE IT WILL ONLY REPRODUCE!!! 

mnem
That is my best, most carefully considered advice.

[xrunner]

Will sound like a cheese TV commercial but, I followed mnem recommendation and bought a Ksger T12 station.

Well I hate to admit he's right. 

But I think that's what I'll get next to try. Let me bury this trial and error as soon as I can. 

[mnementh]

(SNIP)
Yes I did try that kind of adjustment. But now I can't get it back down in temperature. There is no "negative" entry mode - only positive numbers.

So if it was originally in error in a positive direction (mine was too cold by 40 C) - how would a person correct it? You can't go negative. So still it's a mystery as to what the numbers you enter really are doing.

Let's see what the "video" is all about. I suspect it will be a bucket of sh*t and won't help. But let's see. I will report back.

I believe that in "Number Entry" mode, once you've selected your [Hundreds][Tens][Ones] digit with the DOWN button and it starts to blink, selecting the actual number from 0-9 with the UP button is probably a scroll; go past 0 to start counting up from 1 again by continuing to press the UP button. Then you move to the next digit, then the next, then CONFIRM.

That is what I was trying to convey earlier. 

I still think it'd be much easier to just send it back as unusable and get something civilized. 

mnem
 

[Specmaster]

FWIW, scintillation in this context means flashing, the digit you have selected to adjust will flash.

Yes I agree.

It seems you just trial-and-error it to get it right.

Or just throw it in the bin and buy a Hakko FX-888

One or the other at this point.

My take on the cal mode is here.
1.   Briefly press either up or down key to move on the desired preset temperature P1 to P5 etc.
2.   Set 380 oC, select P4 profile 400oC press down key for 3 seconds to enter temp adjust mode, then press down button again till display reads 380oC. To increase current temp use the up button till required temp is displayed. This is a temporary adjustment only.

So far yes, I've done that temp adjustment before I tried to cal and it worked OK.

3.   To cal the tip, do the following, let’s say that P2  (pre-set at 300) reads on your calibrator as 280oC, select P2 and press both up and down keys together and digits will flash. Press the up key till the display reads 20 and then press both keys together to save the setting which should add 20oC to the stored setting of 300 but in reality is 280 as displayed on your tester.
4.   Check the temp again on your calibrator and see if it matches the displayed setting of 300oC.
5.   If not repeat the step 3 and use either the up or down key to add or subtract to the stored preset.
6.   Check again and repeat until it is correct. Repeat process for other pre-sets if required.

Yes I did try that kind of adjustment. But now I can't get it back down in temperature. There is no "negative" entry mode - only positive numbers.

So if it was originally in error in a positive direction (mine was too cold by 40 C) - how would a person correct it? You can't go negative. So still it's a mystery as to what the numbers you enter really are doing.

Let's see what the "video" is all about. I suspect it will be a bucket of sh*t and won't help. But let's see. I will report back.

My take on the instructions is that once you have entered into the CAL mode for a particular P setting, the down button is used if your tester shows a higher temp them displayed and then the displayed figure that select using the down button is subtracted from the original stored setting.
The up button is used if the tester shows a reading that is lower then the stored temp.
So in other words down button selects the amount that you want subtract from the stored value and the up button selects the amount that you want to add to that stored value.

What it does not make clear is if the numbers will keep scrolling up or down till you reach the number you require as long as you hold down the respective key. You may have experiment a bit there as it mentions Hundreds, Tens  and singles so maybe if you press and release a button and the press the button , maybe the digit that you are going to be altering is selected in that method, ie, each press and release will cause a digit in a column to flash which will indicate the digit that you are changing??

[Specmaster]

(SNIP)
Yes I did try that kind of adjustment. But now I can't get it back down in temperature. There is no "negative" entry mode - only positive numbers.

So if it was originally in error in a positive direction (mine was too cold by 40 C) - how would a person correct it? You can't go negative. So still it's a mystery as to what the numbers you enter really are doing.

Let's see what the "video" is all about. I suspect it will be a bucket of sh*t and won't help. But let's see. I will report back.

I believe that in "Number Entry" mode, once you've selected your [Hundreds][Tens][Ones] digit with the DOWN button and it starts to blink, selecting the actual number from 0-9 with the UP button is probably a scroll; go past 0 to start counting up from 1 again by continuing to press the UP button. Then you move to the next digit, then the next, then CONFIRM.

That is what I was trying to convey earlier. 

I still think it'd be much easier to just send it back as unusable and get something civilized. 

mnem
 

Yep, that pretty much what I was trying to say as well and certainly agree with getting something more civilised, really nice T12 system, hmmm....cuddling my T12, I love it, its a brilliant system and thanks for pointing me down that road 

[xrunner]

So in other words down button selects the amount that you want subtract from the stored value and the up button selects the amount that you want to add to that stored value.

Nope -the up button is the only one that can change the numbers. The down button can only move the selection between the 100s, 10s, and 1s. See how goofy it is?

[Kosmic]

So I finally opened up the 53310a (Modulation Domain Analyzer) to discover where all the brown juice was coming from. The good thing with that unit is that disassembly is super easy. The PSU is on top isolated in a metal cartridge and it just slide out effortlessly.



So the caps in there are definitely leaking. Nevertheless, the PSU metal enclosure contained most of the electrolytic and it leaked outside when someone decided to put the instrument on its right side. So most of the electrolytic leaked directly outside the instrument case and didn't touch the rest of the PCBs 





Some poor little screws tortured by electrolytic.



Like most 53310a owners, look like I’m going to have a lot of fun recapping the PSU 

[Specmaster]

So in other words down button selects the amount that you want subtract from the stored value and the up button selects the amount that you want to add to that stored value.

Nope -the up button is the only one that can change the numbers. The down button can only move the selection between the 100s, 10s, and 1s. See how goofy it is?

Get a refund and buy a proper T12. Mnem pointed me down that road and I now have 2 of these and I went for the one from Aliexpress which is a Quicko T12-952 with the T12-9501 optional handle, best iron I've ever had. For my second one I did try the OLED controller from Banggood but also made one of tips glow red hot so that got chucked and replaced with a Quicko controller from Aliexpress to make it into another T12-952 with a 9501 handle, never looked back. 

[Kosmic]

Like most 53310a owners, look like I’m going to have a lot of fun recapping the PSU 

The good thing about Arrow now charging for shipping, is that I re-discovered my local electronic surplus shop and realized they have tons of good quality caps in stock. Most of them are low ESR and 105deg. They are normally also cheaper then what I can find online.

Got everything I need for the recap!

[0culus]

Nice! I have another 53310A coming...got the caps in my digikey BOM.

[Kosmic]

Nice! I have another 53310A coming...got the caps in my digikey BOM.

with option 31 ?

[mnementh]

   Like most 53310a owners, look like I’m going to have a lot of fun recapping the PSU 

   The good thing about Arrow now charging for shipping, is that I re-discovered my local electronic surplus shop and realized they have tons of good quality caps in stock. Most of them are low ESR and 105deg. They are normally also cheaper then what I can find online.

Got everything I need for the recap!

Good, I think...    As long as they haven't been sitting by the sunny window for a decade until the sun bleaches one side grey, as is often the case with such shops. I was about to post saying "That looks like a pretty expensive BOM!" ; I hope they all test okay and have reasonable life left in 'em. 

mnem
*toddling off to ded*

[Kosmic]

Good, I think...    As long as they haven't been sitting by the sunny window for a decade until the sun bleaches one side grey, as is often the case with such shops. I was about to post saying "That looks like a pretty expensive BOM!" ; I hope they all test okay and have reasonable life left in 'em. 
mnem
*toddling off to ded*

Well at first I was cautious. Bought some, tested with the LCR meter. Had some running 24/7 in a power supply for multiple months. Works fine. Most of what they have is good quality (ex, Nichicon).

[0culus]

Nice! I have another 53310A coming...got the caps in my digikey BOM.

with option 31 ?

If that's the optional C input (iirc it is), yes.

[Kosmic]

Nice! I have another 53310A coming...got the caps in my digikey BOM.

with option 31 ?

If that's the optional C input (iirc it is), yes.

There's option 30 and 31, both add the 3rd input. Option 30 is input C 2.5Ghz counter and option 31 has a mixer and LO connected to input C.

[0culus]

It's 31, then.

[Kosmic]

It's 31, then.

Ha pretty cool ! 

Was a bit disappointed with mine. Wanted option 31 got 30.

[0culus]

You'll find one I bet. 

[worsthorse]

It's 31, then.

Ha pretty cool ! 

Was a bit disappointed with mine. Wanted option 31 got 30.

You guys are driving up the prices on ebay. Go away until I find one for myself! 

[Kosmic]

It's 31, then.

Ha pretty cool ! 

Was a bit disappointed with mine. Wanted option 31 got 30.

You guys are driving up the prices on ebay. Go away until I find one for myself! 

Nah they are all yours Wch. I only need 1 and I'm pretty sure 0culus has enough with 2 units 

[worsthorse]

/begin rant 

Tonight is one of those times when I wishing I knew a lot more than I know.  When I was helping sort through the crates of parts and gear, I came across a small bag of these things that looked like vacuum tubes, only with four leads. I added the bag to my box of "parts to figure out later". 

During a later round of sorting, the guy I was helping told me he found two boxes of them, each with two hundred pieces, which he tossed because he didn't think I'd want them.  Tonight, I finally got around to tracking down the part number.  Here's what they are:



These things are so freakin' cool. They used them to display state in computers, among other things.  I could think of a thousand things to do with them. And they went to the dump. Wasted. Because I didn't know. Damn. I hate that. 

/end rant

[0culus]

It's 31, then.

Ha pretty cool ! 

Was a bit disappointed with mine. Wanted option 31 got 30.

You guys are driving up the prices on ebay. Go away until I find one for myself! 

Nah they are all yours Wch. I only need 1 and I'm pretty sure 0culus has enough with 2 units 

Yeah, I think two is enough. Gotta think about saving for a VNA.