Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Brumby]

When I originally built the scope cart it was specifically for the 7603N (Or a 465 as shown) and I had a total of 3 plug-ins and they were all in the 7603N.

I noticed that your workbenches, carts, holders, etc. have a nice finish. The wood seems to have a darker stain after you finish them. What do you use to achieve that?

Blood, sweat and tears...

... but mostly blood.

[med6753]

When I originally built the scope cart it was specifically for the 7603N (Or a 465 as shown) and I had a total of 3 plug-ins and they were all in the 7603N.

I noticed that your workbenches, carts, holders, etc. have a nice finish. The wood seems to have a darker stain after you finish them. What do you use to achieve that?

One coat of Minwax #230 Early American stain then minimum 2 coats of Minwax semi-gloss poly.

[mnementh]

I spent the morning replacing rotted boards on the poorly installed deck over our slowly collapsing garage... Did I mention, 

I suppose you could have ripped the new boards down to size but that would be a giant PITA. Especially if they are 12 footers. 

   I considered that for thirty seconds and figured ripping roughly a quarter-inch off a 12' board, even with a good table saw would be really hard to do, at least for me. Plus I don't have a table saw and the neighbor I trade tools with (who does) is out of town. The good news is, it is done, and it doesn't look bad, and a high priority hunay-do is checked off. Having broken down the old boards, cleaned up the debris and put away the tools, I can spend the rest of the afternoon doing stuff I find more appealing with a clear conscious. 

I have a table saw that is unreasonably large, and even with that... and long-stock rollers either side... it would STILL suck, and be dangerous. It would, however, be quite easy (even for Captain FatDwagon here) with a ripping guide available from pretty much any local Homeowner Hell for ~$20 on a circular saw and the planks laid out on sawhorses. sometimes the old-school way is still best. If you REALLY wanna make it look "like it belongs", you take a quick pass over the up-side with a 1/8" roundover bit on a router. 

Fuck me. I know ENTIRELY too much carpentry for a fucking structural welder. 

Good guess, but no. I WISH it was giving me such an easily researchable error message. 

 Win10 on RAID0. I’ve installed once successfully, but now that I’ve found my original valid product key it’s being a dick. I’ve deleted and re-created the damned array a dozen times. I’ve RTFMed a dozen times, just like I did the time it worked.

Either I’m looking right at the problem and not seeing it again (VERY probable) or Windoze wrote something to the MBR on drive 0 so it just goes  at me. Also very possible... 

Thinking maybe I should wipe the drives individually with Partition Manager; just something NOT Windoze.

mnem
*TOTALLY ready for that Testicuzzi thing right now...*

Yep, I'd be inclined to completely wipe the drives clean using a third party application to do so and then try a fresh Windoze install again.

It was this one. Guess I was finally ready to let go of the testicular torment; I came home from a long afternoon of silly card games with my son and saw it instantly.  The "Disable CSM" toggle repeatedly didn't toggle from clicking with the mouse; this firmware is a little buggy and the mouse calibration appears a bit off, as well as it sometimes NOT changing a setting even though it LOOKS like you clicked it. As soon as I double-checked that step and saw it not toggled, I toggled it via KB instead and it registered correctly. 15 minutes later (including a bathroom break) I was twiddling around on my new desktop.

Spleesh. 

   When I originally built the scope cart it was specifically for the 7603N (Or a 465 as shown) and I had a total of 3 plug-ins and they were all in the 7603N.

   I noticed that your workbenches, carts, holders, etc. have a nice finish. The wood seems to have a darker stain after you finish them. What do you use to achieve that?

One coat of Minwax #230 Early American stain then minimum 2 coats of Minwax semi-gloss poly.

But it's the carpenter's blood mixed in that gives it that deep, rich patina. 

mnem
It's not really yours until it has received your blood sacrifice.

[med6753]

   When I originally built the scope cart it was specifically for the 7603N (Or a 465 as shown) and I had a total of 3 plug-ins and they were all in the 7603N.

   I noticed that your workbenches, carts, holders, etc. have a nice finish. The wood seems to have a darker stain after you finish them. What do you use to achieve that?

One coat of Minwax #230 Early American stain then minimum 2 coats of Minwax semi-gloss poly.

But it's the carpenter's blood mixed in that gives it that deep, rich patina. 

mnem
It's not really yours until it has received your blood sacrifice.

And I do have the scrapes, cuts, splinters, and assorted battle scars. 

[mnementh]

Where I come from, we call that foreplay.   

mnem
A little pleasure... a little pain... it's ALL goooood... 

[worsthorse]

I have a table saw that is unreasonably large, and even with that... and long-stock rollers either side... it would STILL suck, and be dangerous. It would, however, be quite easy (even for Captain FatDwagon here) with a ripping guide available from pretty much any local Homeowner Hell for ~$20 on a circular saw and the planks laid out on sawhorses. sometimes the old-school way is still best. If you REALLY wanna make it look "like it belongs", you take a quick pass over the up-side with a 1/8" roundover bit on a router. 

Fuck me. I know ENTIRELY too much carpentry for a fucking structural welder. 

If I discover that I need to replace more of the deck (and I am really hoping I won't figure that out until next summer earliest, I will do that, net the router step, because trust me, the new decking will never look like the old, at least while I am still alive. 

I spent the evening measuring shit semiconductor parameters with the 501A.  It is actually easier than I remember to do most of the real life characterization one might want to do with this thing, as long as you don't need better than a couple of digits of precision.  That said, a curve tracer is unlikely to in the regular-use rotation.

[bsfeechannel]

When I originally built the scope cart it was specifically for the 7603N (Or a 465 as shown) and I had a total of 3 plug-ins and they were all in the 7603N.

I noticed that your workbenches, carts, holders, etc. have a nice finish. The wood seems to have a darker stain after you finish them. What do you use to achieve that?

Blood, sweat and tears...

... but mostly blood.

That's what I thought.

[Specmaster]

I think you need a decent power supply.

Funny you should mention that...


@med6753

The 8840 is fresh from the calibrators (free, courtesy of one of my managers, proof not all office staff are jerks), the 4503 is using default calibration due to the NiMH memory battery pissing its electrolyte all over the pcb, the 8000 I just put a temporary NiCd battery in (it still had its original 1970s one, needless to say that wasn't very healthy) and when I get some new cells will put a permanent one in and tweak the pots.

I've yet to check the 1906 against the 8840; I've some rearranging of space-time to do to get everything parked and usable, and the calibration of the 'lesser' meters using the 8840 is a secondary priority.

The Tek scope and HP DTA are currently awaiting a space on my (large but cluttered) desk, though as I said, the HP might well end up as a doorstop as I've no known use for it.

As PA0PBZ suggests, a decent power supply or two is in order, the one I have is a One-Hung-Lo brand which for some reason keeps killing the LED v readout module, and I mean the actual LED 3-digit module, not the driver. Presumably just a case of cheap crappy LEDs, can't see how it could be the driver but meh...

A logic analyser might be useful, along with the PSUs.

Oh, and I almost forgot - I bought a UNI-T UT139C for use as a general mobile meter... I know I know, UNI-T are crap... but I had a 61 and liked it, and this is fine for the money, as it'll not be used on anything higher than about 24v, most likely.

Welcome ThickPhilM! Looks like you're getting good help here thus far, as is customary. Before you know it, you'll be modding your storage to accommodate your growing collection.

As for the Uni-T, not everything they make is crap. You just have to do your research. The 139C is one of the good ones. I quite like my 210E clamp meter.

I'll second that, the 210E meter is really quite good, I love mine.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

[Specmaster]

@mnem, let me guess, it's a cordless mouse, yes? I get similar results from my mouse at times unless the batteries are fresh ones.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

[Brumby]

As for the Uni-T, not everything they make is crap. You just have to do your research. The 139C is one of the good ones. I quite like my 210E clamp meter.

I'll second that, the 210E meter is really quite good, I love mine.

I've been drifting around the idea of adding the 210E to my meter collection.  The more I tread through the EEVblog forum, the more this drifting is slipping towards a black hole with a rabbity appearance.


If I want a less stressful existence, I shouldn't resist, should I...?

[beanflying]

210E is a great tool. Fits into places other clamp meters won't and for me the DC current range is a huge win for R/C stuff in particular. On mains use it at your own risk if you are probing 

Accuracy is far better than it should be for the price too.

BUY IT 

[tggzzz]

Live auction in Guildford UK, today 12th.

HP 8656B RF SIGNAL GENERATOR 0.1 - 990 MHZ HAM PMR RADIO

Current bid £2

My guess it will be up for sale after 11am (165th item at 2-3items/minute).

https://www.i-bidder.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/wellersfineart/catalogue-id-weller10110/lot-dfffe210-24d1-4698-8e70-aaa400bc91f8

[Brumby]

Only 1 picture.  Not powered.  No indication of operational state...?

How could you resist?

I'm curious to see what it does fetch.  Anyone care to guess?

[Brumby]

210E is a great tool. Fits into places other clamp meters won't and for me the DC current range is a huge win for R/C stuff in particular. On mains use it at your own risk if you are probing 

Accuracy is far better than it should be for the price too.

BUY IT 

Ah ... My enabler!

[tggzzz]

Only 1 picture.  Not powered.  No indication of operational state...?

How could you resist?

I'm curious to see what it does fetch.  Anyone care to guess?

I'm too busy to go and fetch it, it is too big, I have modern eval boards to 15GHz, and my in-queue is too long.

My guess? £2 or £25 depending on whether there is more than one bidder.

... and it was £80+50% uplift. The 30% commission is the highest I've seen; normally it is 15-20%

[BU508A]

Thinking maybe I should wipe the drives individually with Partition Manager; just something NOT Windoze.

What I am doing, if I want to wipe drives:

- download grml    https://grml.org/
- create a bootable USB stick from the image (or a CD/DVD)
- boot grml
- once grml has been booted, check for your drives
   cat /proc/partitions
   this gives you a list of the installed drives, in most cases /dev/sda or /dev/hda is your first hard disk drive
- be careful with the next commands!
- if you want to wipe the first hard disk drive, e.g. /dev/sda, then do this:
         dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=1024k count=1000
  this will write zeros from the very first bit of the disk drive up to one gigabyte (nearly, 1000 instead of 1024)

After this procedures, your disk is as good as new.

If you want to wipe the complete disk, then do this:

        dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda

But this may take up to several hours to finish.
This is useful, if you are going to sell storage devices and want to wipe them completely.
The dd command is one of the most reliable tools in this respect I'm knowing.
dd is also used for forensic stuff if you need to create a copy image of a storage device.

[Specmaster]

Live auction in Guildford UK, today 12th.

HP 8656B RF SIGNAL GENERATOR 0.1 - 990 MHZ HAM PMR RADIO

Current bid £2

My guess it will be up for sale after 11am (165th item at 2-3items/minute).

https://www.i-bidder.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/wellersfineart/catalogue-id-weller10110/lot-dfffe210-24d1-4698-8e70-aaa400bc91f8

Yep, I saw that but sadly its just too bloody deep for my bench, apart from its sheer weight of 40lb its 185mm too deep fit on my bench, so I won't be bidding on it 

[Specmaster]

210E is a great tool. Fits into places other clamp meters won't and for me the DC current range is a huge win for R/C stuff in particular. On mains use it at your own risk if you are probing 

Accuracy is far better than it should be for the price too.

BUY IT 

Yes buy it I can't say that I've used it really all that much, I have so many bench meters already at my disposal but TBH, I got it more as great all rounder to slip into a pocket if I need to carry a meter with me at times and also the DC current reading ability via its clamp is I thought a great tool to have in kit so I don't have to disconnect a lead to measure the current flow in it.  

[Brumby]

Somehow, I never expected anything other than encouragement - but, then, I'm probably just looking for more justification than "I don't have a clamp meter that does DCA".

Oh - who am I kidding?  That's reason enough!


Seems prices start from $AUD54 on Amazon AU and $AUD55 on eBay AU.  Does that sound about right?

[beanflying]

Mine was a touch under $50 from memory ex Hong Kong but before we got slugged GST on all imports so mid $50's would be close.

[Ero-Shan]

Here are the measurements I got on U780

Pin 1   +0.496V
Pin 2   +0.078V
Pin 3   +0.30V
Pin 4    +4.9V
Pin 5    -4. 9V
Pin 6   +0.028V
Pin 7   +0.39V
Pin 8   +0.64V
Pin 9    0V
Pin 10  +0.14V
Pin 11  +5.5V
Pin 12  +0.01V
Pin 13   0V
Pin 14  +4.9V
Pin 15  +0.86V
Pin 16   0V
Pin 17  -0.47V
Pin 18  0V
Pin 19  +2.6V
Pin 20  +4.9V

All voltages seem to be OK except pin 19. According to the schematic that pin should float to -2.52V when open. This one goes to +2.6V when open. That's what leads me to believe this IC is toast.

Though I'm not tgzzz, I've measured the voltages on mine. With the switch settings you gave the Y amplitude is small, but it triggers fine.

Here they are (just wrote down a few digits):

Pin 1   +0.42 V
Pin 2   +0.08 V
Pin 3   +0.30 V
Pin 4    +4.9 V
Pin 5    -4. 9 V
Pin 6   +0.03 V
Pin 7   +0.5 V
Pin 8   +0.54 V
Pin 9    0 V
Pin 10  0 V
Pin 11  +5.56 V
Pin 12  +0.01 V
Pin 13   0 V
Pin 14  +4.8 V
Pin 15  +0.77 V
Pin 16   0 V
Pin 17  -0.5 V
Pin 18  0 V
Pin 19  +0.44 V
Pin 20  +4.9 V

So mine's also not at -2.52 V.

Hope that helps.

[med6753]

The guy that I've bought from before on our local CL has one of those Non-Linear Systems Mini Scopes for sale. Doesn't mention if it works and doesn't give a price. Quick check of Ebay shows one on auction for a buy now price of $75 which seems a tad high. Anyone know anything about these mini scopes? I've never seen one much less used one. What you think a fair price is?


 

[Brumby]

Mine was a touch under $50 from memory ex Hong Kong but before we got slugged GST on all imports so mid $50's would be close.

So the numbers I'm seeing are pretty well in line with that.

I'm wondering whether I stick to the familiar eBay environment or take my first step into Amazon.  It's the first time I've seen a product - of interest to me - on Amazon AU that had a comparable price.  It will cost me an extra dollar to try ... any comments one way or the other?

[beanflying]

Fulfilled by Amazon is fine but from others delays can be ?? I have used Amazon on a handful of occasions in the last few years and might use them more if they were competitive or had the range. Basically in Oz we have 3rd rate Amazon 

[Brumby]

Yeah.  I've noticed this on both price and range - which makes this instance unusual.  It will only cost me $1 to find out.

Still a couple of days until payday.  Will use that time to consider whether I get my feet wet with Amazon....


EDIT: Just looked at the prices again ... I got that backwards.  The Amazon seller will be $1 cheaper, as I originally stated.