Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

Yep, I listen to them as well from time to time and pipe organ music, which drives my family mental saying it like being at fair ground, how is that a bad thing, I always thought that fair grounds were places of happiness and fun

[nixiefreqq]

When I'm fiddling around with electronics (with the tongue at the right angle), my prefered music in the background is (in no particular order)
- Pink Floyd
- The Alan Parsons Project (from "Tales of mystery and imagination" up to "Vulture Culture")
- Kraftwerk
- Jean Michel Jarre (occasionly)
- Barclay James Harvest (preferred "Eyes of the universe")
- Jeff Wayne's "War of the worlds"
- Ganymed "Future wolrds"
- to be continued ...

what?  no moody blues?


edit----  and no procol harum?  (saw them at the 69th street tower theater in 1975 or 6....it changed my life)

[BU508A]

Yep, I listen to them as well from time to time and pipe organ music, which drives my family mental saying it like being at fair ground, how is that a bad thing, I always thought that fair grounds were places of happiness and fun

Pipe organ music! +1    really, this is great stuff.

Ah, regarding to Pink Floyd, this is an imho great tribute to them (Time):

[BU508A]

When I'm fiddling around with electronics (with the tongue at the right angle), my prefered music in the background is (in no particular order)
- Pink Floyd
- The Alan Parsons Project (from "Tales of mystery and imagination" up to "Vulture Culture")
- Kraftwerk
- Jean Michel Jarre (occasionly)
- Barclay James Harvest (preferred "Eyes of the universe")
- Jeff Wayne's "War of the worlds"
- Ganymed "Future wolrds"
- to be continued ...

what?  no moody blues?

Of course!    This is covered under "to be continued"

[VK5RC]

I play the bagpipes - people either really love them or really hate them. But so loud, you have to practice with ear plugs otherwise your ears ring.

[bd139]

They sound better once they've been on fire for a bit 

Justin Hayward FTW. Although my musical tastes vary wild and insanely, that's on the quieter end of things so I'm probably a hypocrite on my opinion of bagpipes.

[Specmaster]

I quite like the sound of a full pipe band, I'm also quite partial to some pan pipes as well.

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[VK5RC]

Stunt piping
http://youtu.be/K-Op1Mng4oY

[Mr. Scram]

Isn't everything a risk? But who in their right mind would squirt flammable liquid onto a live PCB?  I'd hardly call a PCB, removed from the equipment, in a well ventilated room with just a single supply rail connected but switched off, PSU set to a low current, and as everyone knows a decent bench power supply when set in constant current mode, will when connected onto a short circuit cause the voltage to drop almost zero so there is extremely little energy to create a spark.

I don't see how a PCB thus connected could be honestly considered to be "live", there is absolutely zero chance of the PCB operating normally under such test conditions as it is starved of the other supply rails and also of the energy it would normally consume.

This is the basic concept of how intrinsically safe equipment operates in areas of extremely high risk of explosion as a result of overheating and or a spark, it does so be keeping the voltage low and current low as well and it is interesting to note that the following link https://www.omega.co.uk/technical-learning/understanding-what-is-meant-by-intrinsically-safe.html it states the voltage is generally kept below 29v and the current below 300mA by protection devices and in general most such equipment would typically be rated at 24v and a simpler way would to think of it would be to keep the power below 1.3W.

Here is an extract from that link
How Does Intrinsic Safety Equipment Work?
Avoiding ignition entails minimizing both the available power and the maximum temperatures. Defining the maximum level of available power is complex, but in general terms can be considered as meaning voltage less than 29V and under 300 mA. A simpler view is to say that power must be less than 1.3 W. (Note that much instrumentation requires 24V and can often be designed to draw less than 500 mA; sufficient to meet IS certification in many situations)

So in real terms, providing people take sensible precautions and use decent equipment and do not squirt the liquid onto a live PCB then they should be OK. The method is that you have the PCB switched off, pour a little liquid around the part you suspect of having the short (the key here is a little, just like using flux, just enough for the part in question) and switching the power on and watching to see the part dries out before the residue liquid around it, if so then it signifies that the part is getting hotter the the parts/area around it and is more then likely to be your faulty part.

This technique is especially useful on PCB's stuffed full of SMD devices as was demonstrated in the video examples given where it is less easy to disconnect a leg for testing in the normal fashion, especially on items such as chips.

Fluke for instance actually make handheld DMM's for testing purposes within such environments for working on equipment to carry out vital repairs etc.

Using a thermal camera seems easier and safer than dicking around with flammable liquids and plenty of room for user error.

[bd139]

I quite like the sound of a full pipe band, I'm also quite partial to some pan pipes as well.

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How's this work out for you:



 

[med6753]

I quite like the sound of a full pipe band, I'm also quite partial to some pan pipes as well.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

How's this work out for you:



 

  

[tggzzz]

When I'm fiddling around with electronics (with the tongue at the right angle), my prefered music in the background is (in no particular order)
- Pink Floyd
- The Alan Parsons Project (from "Tales of mystery and imagination" up to "Vulture Culture")
- Kraftwerk
- Jean Michel Jarre (occasionly)
- Barclay James Harvest (preferred "Eyes of the universe")
- Jeff Wayne's "War of the worlds"
- Ganymed "Future wolrds"
- to be continued ...

Ah, but which Pink Floyd? 60s != 70s != 80s

Given some of those things you like, you might try Tangerine Dream's Atem, Phaedra and Richochet. If you listen carefully to the last one, you can hear me

If that whet's your whistle and you still have good ears, you could try something that anticipated ambient music a decade before it had that label: Walter Carlos' Sonic Seasonings; there's nothing quite like it. Nowadays you have to search for Wendy Carlos!.

As for other 70s live performances, I rather liked Rocky Horror Show (not Picture). Tim Curry stomping up the aisles was memorable

[nfmax]

Using a thermal camera seems easier and safer than dicking around with flammable liquids and plenty of room for user error.

Easier and safer be blowed! A thermal camera offers far more opportunity for the indulgence of TEA 

[BU508A]

Ah, but which Pink Floyd? 60s != 70s != 80s

This is something for endless discussions.  Something like Genesis with and without Peter Gabriel. 
I do like all of them, depending on my mood.

Given some of those things you like, you might try Tangerine Dream's Atem, Phaedra and Richochet. If you listen carefully to the last one, you can hear me

Thanks for the heads up, I will check them out this evening, when I'm going to check the HP power cords.
They arrived the other day.
Tenor, Bariton or Bass? 

If that whet's your whistle and you still have good ears, you could try something that anticipated ambient music a decade before it had that label: Walter Carlos' Sonic Seasonings; there's nothing quite like it. Nowadays you have to search for Wendy Carlos!.

As for other 70s live performances, I rather liked Rocky Horror Show (not Picture). Tim Curry stomping up the aisles was memorable

Thanks, don't know Walter Carlos either. I will look for his music as well. 

The 70s brought up a lot of funny (in both senses) music. Rocky Horror (Picture) Show is one of my favourites. Time Warp!
And of course Tim Curry. And the rise of Meatloaf! 

Edit:
Btw, sometimes I'm reading in your signature   "There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and AC/DC specs." for unkown reasons. 

[med6753]

Here's an obscure song you probably never heard of. Dates from about '71 or so. Wanna totally creep out your girlfriend? Play this in a dark room. 

BTW....DOA (Dead On Arrival)

[Specmaster]

Isn't everything a risk? But who in their right mind would squirt flammable liquid onto a live PCB?  I'd hardly call a PCB, removed from the equipment, in a well ventilated room with just a single supply rail connected but switched off, PSU set to a low current, and as everyone knows a decent bench power supply when set in constant current mode, will when connected onto a short circuit cause the voltage to drop almost zero so there is extremely little energy to create a spark.

I don't see how a PCB thus connected could be honestly considered to be "live", there is absolutely zero chance of the PCB operating normally under such test conditions as it is starved of the other supply rails and also of the energy it would normally consume.

This is the basic concept of how intrinsically safe equipment operates in areas of extremely high risk of explosion as a result of overheating and or a spark, it does so be keeping the voltage low and current low as well and it is interesting to note that the following link https://www.omega.co.uk/technical-learning/understanding-what-is-meant-by-intrinsically-safe.html it states the voltage is generally kept below 29v and the current below 300mA by protection devices and in general most such equipment would typically be rated at 24v and a simpler way would to think of it would be to keep the power below 1.3W.

Here is an extract from that link
How Does Intrinsic Safety Equipment Work?
Avoiding ignition entails minimizing both the available power and the maximum temperatures. Defining the maximum level of available power is complex, but in general terms can be considered as meaning voltage less than 29V and under 300 mA. A simpler view is to say that power must be less than 1.3 W. (Note that much instrumentation requires 24V and can often be designed to draw less than 500 mA; sufficient to meet IS certification in many situations)

So in real terms, providing people take sensible precautions and use decent equipment and do not squirt the liquid onto a live PCB then they should be OK. The method is that you have the PCB switched off, pour a little liquid around the part you suspect of having the short (the key here is a little, just like using flux, just enough for the part in question) and switching the power on and watching to see the part dries out before the residue liquid around it, if so then it signifies that the part is getting hotter the the parts/area around it and is more then likely to be your faulty part.

This technique is especially useful on PCB's stuffed full of SMD devices as was demonstrated in the video examples given where it is less easy to disconnect a leg for testing in the normal fashion, especially on items such as chips.

Fluke for instance actually make handheld DMM's for testing purposes within such environments for working on equipment to carry out vital repairs etc.

Using a thermal camera seems easier and safer than dicking around with flammable liquids and plenty of room for user error.

100% agree but sadly I can't afford a thermal camera, I personally use an Infrared thermometer that I purchased from Lidl for around £15.

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[bd139]

There's a perfectly good one pixel thermal camera built into the human body. In fact there's 5 on each hand.

[Specmaster]

There's a perfectly good one pixel thermal camera built into the human body. In fact there's 5 on each hand.

Yep, an if anybody watched those videos I linked to they will see that they used them as well and the petrol / IPA used just to confirm what those 10 sensors told them.

[med6753]

There's a perfectly good one pixel thermal camera built into the human body. In fact there's 5 on each hand.

I agree. 

[tggzzz]

If that whet's your whistle and you still have good ears, you could try something that anticipated ambient music a decade before it had that label: Walter Carlos' Sonic Seasonings; there's nothing quite like it. Nowadays you have to search for Wendy Carlos!.

As for other 70s live performances, I rather liked Rocky Horror Show (not Picture). Tim Curry stomping up the aisles was memorable

Thanks, don't know Walter Carlos either. I will look for his music as well. 

Sonic Seasonings isn't music; it is unique.

If you want Carlos' music, then try the score to A Clockwork Orange, or The Well-Tempered Synthesiser.

[med6753]

It's done. 

I've been thinking of plans for building up a display for the 465 and 7904 CRT's. Obviously that's going to be much more complex.

[bd139]

Quick tips on using the one pixel thermal cameras:

0 ~ 40oC ... hold finger on something. Touch lip. If it feels colder or you can't feel anything it's under around 40oC.
40-100oC ... feels warmer than the above. Lick finger, touch item. Doesn't fizzle.
100-150oC ... lick finger and touch something. Fizzes off slowly.
150oC+ .... lick finger and touch something. Disappears instantly.
300oC+ .... lick finger and touch something. Bacon aroma

Edit: @med that looks really good. It would scare me having an unenclosed CRT with vacuum on display though. Buggers go with quite some force if you break 'em!

[Specmaster]

I quite like the sound of a full pipe band, I'm also quite partial to some pan pipes as well.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

How's this work out for you:



 

Seen that before, somehow though doesn't float my boat apart from being mildly amusing 

[Specmaster]

@med, very nice but I agree with bd139, those buggers can release shards of glass in all directions should an accident occur that I would be looking to provide some sort of cover for it just in case the unthinkable should happen. Personally as nice as it looks, if it were mine, it'd be at the bottom of dustbin with a brick dropped on it for safety, but each to their own, just hope nothing goes wrong when you're in close quarters to it.

[bd139]

I was thinking more in a nice cabinet with plexiglass in front myself