Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

Don't you just hate it when a minor maintenance task turns into a troubleshooting hassle? 

The 475A had some noise on the bandwidth limit switch. No biggie. Common issue. Pull it out of the case. Deoxit on the leaf contacts. Quick check. No more noise. Put it back in the case.

Do a quick check. Find channel 1 completely dead. Trace in center of screen. Position control inoperative. Not passing any signal either. Channel 2 is OK. 

Pull it back out of the case. Start signal probing to find out where it's dropping out. After probing a few points and finding a signal I look at screen. Channel 1 is back!  Damnit.  So I start tapping and moving stuff around and it's still OK. Short of dropping the damn thing on the floor I can't get it fail again.  Gonna do some tapping and let it sit for a while then put it back in the case and see what happens. I hate it when a trouble goes away because you know Murphy sez it's gonna come back. 

Yep, its like vintage cars, there is always something that is going to go wrong , its a fact of life with simply lots and lots of ageing parts that can let go at anytime. Thats one reason why I have been slowly updating the age of my TE items in a similar manner to BD139. I got a bit fed up with spending more fixing my existing kit instead of using it on a new addition to the family. Shortly I hope to be in a position to revisit some of the projects that I had started but was unable complete due other issues like test gear failing when you needed it most among other non TE related family issues etc.

[bd139]

med - sorry to rub this one in. Had a good day with my junker 475. It's no longer a junker.

Spent the morning running through the check out process and doing cal and it's sorted now. No problems identified! In the middle of cal time...



At this point I decided to eviscerate the dead 465 I had lying around for case and cosmetic parts. As my intention is to scrap the entire unit I pulled everything of value from it for eBay (ASICs, semiconductors, tunnel diodes, knobs, pots etc) and the rest is going to the tip. Someone is taking the CRT next week FOC for their 465. Mid evisceration:



Got quite a collection of Tek pots and knobs going now - always useful!



After swapping the handle, rear plastic frame, label and some knobs over as the original 475 ones were buggered, we're done. Also found a front cover and utility bag in the cupboard so this is looking pretty complete now!



Done





Now to get rid of it before it breaks.

[0culus]

I approve of the shameless RPN porn you managed to get in there. 

[Specmaster]

And I stumbled over this, maybe one of you Nixie fanboys find it interesting: 
It is a "Vintage Bell Howell Heathkit IMD-202-2 Nixie-Multimeter"

https://www.ebay.com/itm/123771125240

Have one. And that asking price of $69.95 USD is nucking futs. At the most it's worth $30 USD.

Someone will buy it because of the nixies, I wouldn't though.

Agreed. Contrast that with a Keithley 160 and its quite respectable 3.5 digits, 100 nA current range and 1 GΩ resistance range. I should start using it more often. Poor little guy will feel left out otherwise.

I actually once had a Keithley 160 that I restored and kept for a while because of it appearing to be dead nuts on specification and because it had those incredible ranges. Fact is that I never needed to use them so decided to let it go and replaced it with more modern and everyday usable gear. I don't regret that move at all especially as I made a killing on it when I flipped it and the gear I added to my bench has far higher resolution.

[bd139]

Yep, its like vintage cars, there is always something that is going to go wrong , its a fact of life with simply lots and lots of ageing parts that can let go at anytime. Thats one reason why I have been slowly updating the age of my TE items in a similar manner to BD139. I got a bit fed up with spending more fixing my existing kit instead of using it on a new addition to the family. Shortly I hope to be in a position to revisit some of the projects that I had started but was unable complete due other issues like test gear failing when you needed it most among other non TE related family issues etc.

Exactly my position. The only reason I tend to fluff around with the older stuff is because it's funding my new stuff. My entire objective is to have a net zero spend and the only way I can create value and therefore cash and keep it a context switch to what I usually do is repairing stuff and reselling it. Occasionally I get bouts of nostalgia but these usually wear off when something cocks up after a bit. Alas my escapades are mostly productive and figure it's worth posting them in here and from each piece of equipment important lessons are learned on the diagnostic and engineering side of things which is almost worth as much as the cash return when you turf the thing. And yes it's bloody frustrating when it goes bang when you're in the middle of something

I really want to be building transmitters and receivers

[med6753]

Update: I got the 475A to fail again and I'm pretty sure I nailed it. I flexed the board around the Channel 1 position control and the trace vanished and no position adjust. Looked at the solder connections to the board and they looked a little crusty. Resoldered them but still no joy. Was probing around Q188 and trace popped up. Reseated Q188 and now all appears to be OK but I'm not claiming victory until I beat on the board some more. 

[med6753]

Don't you just hate it when a minor maintenance task turns into a troubleshooting hassle? 

The 475A had some noise on the bandwidth limit switch. No biggie. Common issue. Pull it out of the case. Deoxit on the leaf contacts. Quick check. No more noise. Put it back in the case.

Do a quick check. Find channel 1 completely dead. Trace in center of screen. Position control inoperative. Not passing any signal either. Channel 2 is OK. 

Pull it back out of the case. Start signal probing to find out where it's dropping out. After probing a few points and finding a signal I look at screen. Channel 1 is back!  Damnit.  So I start tapping and moving stuff around and it's still OK. Short of dropping the damn thing on the floor I can't get it fail again.  Gonna do some tapping and let it sit for a while then put it back in the case and see what happens. I hate it when a trouble goes away because you know Murphy sez it's gonna come back. 

Yep, its like vintage cars, there is always something that is going to go wrong , its a fact of life with simply lots and lots of ageing parts that can let go at anytime. Thats one reason why I have been slowly updating the age of my TE items in a similar manner to BD139. I got a bit fed up with spending more fixing my existing kit instead of using it on a new addition to the family. Shortly I hope to be in a position to revisit some of the projects that I had started but was unable complete due other issues like test gear failing when you needed it most among other non TE related family issues etc.

If I want to enjoy the hobby of collecting old Tek's then I have accept that, like me, they are getting old and are gonna break. I ain't 100%, I got shit broken on me.  So for the most part I enjoy working on them....even the recent involved saga with the 485. But what DOES make me want to punch holes in the wall are intermittents and trouble goes away. I'm continuing to beat on this 475A and so far it's solid. I take some pix and post them.

[Specmaster]

@bd139 I know just what you mean, nice to see the 3217 aiding the 475 there, wish I'd kept mine now, but I don't regret getting my PM3390B even with its fan whirring away when I need to use it, but its to big for bench hence why I got myself a Tek TDS210 which sits neatly under the monitor and bench meter shelf and is generally enough of a scope for my audio requirements and as you rightly once said, it is so silent thank goodness. The only things I now have with fans in them is my 3390B and SMPS bench PSU which only cuts in with higher loadings thankfully.  

[med6753]

Here's some pix. I used the beast 7904 to find the issue.

First pix is apparently the issue. Q188 is just to the right of that yellow/red coil. As soon as I probed in that area trace appeared. Reseated Q188 and so far it's solid.



Overall view. The Channel 1 dual gang position control upper right. I did resolder some suspicious connections plus got some deoxit inside the control.



Identical signal into channel 1 and 2 in case I had to confirm my findings on channel 1. Always helps to have something you can verifiy. 

[bd139]

That's looking good. Sometimes those transistor sockets go dicky. Not a fan of them myself. I have removed one or two over the years and soldered the pin straight in due to the thing being buggered.

[Specmaster]

Here's some pix. I used the beast 7904 to find the issue.

First pix is apparently the issue. Q188 is just to the right of that yellow/red coil. As soon as I probed in that area trace appeared. Reseated Q188 and so far it's solid.



Overall view. The Channel 1 dual gang position control upper right. I did resolder some suspicious connections plus got some deoxit inside the control.



Identical signal into channel 1 and 2 in case I had to confirm my findings on channel 1. Always helps to have something you can verifiy. 

Yeah, I've had issues with socketed transistors before, difficult see if they are making good contact or not. Got to a stage now that I always give them a shot of cleaner and a firm reseat.

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[bd139]

@bd139 I know just what you mean, nice to see the 3217 aiding the 475 there, wish I'd kept mine now, but I don't regret getting my PM3390B even with its fan whirring away when I need to use it, but its to big for bench hence why I got myself a Tek TDS210 which sits neatly under the monitor and bench meter shelf and is generally enough of a scope for my audio requirements and as you rightly once said, it is so silent thank goodness. The only things I now have with fans in them is my 3390B and SMPS bench PSU which only cuts in with higher loadings thankfully.

Yeah the fan noise in stuff annoys me. The new DS1054Z I have is virtually silent though so I can live with it. DG1022Z is horridly noisy to the point I have considered eviscerating the damn thing while in warranty. One of the main reasons I haven't splashed out on a Rigol power supply is the noise. Annoyingly there's a TTi PL303 finishing on ebay today. Thought hey, that'll be a nice addition to my collection of never enough power supplies. Nope damn thing has a fan in it. Will stick to the HP and older PL supplies I think.

[med6753]

Look what showed up in the mail today. Not just any mail.....ROYAL mail! I feel so honored (honoured)  But unfortunately this Irish Catholic Yank will never be a loyal subject. 

Anyway, thanks to bd139 I can now restore the Heath V-7A that Kosmic sent me a few months ago. The current meter has damaged bearings. Bd139 scrapped the one he was working on a graciously sent me the meter from that one. Thank you so much!  Funny...You guys call it a "Valve Voltmeter" while we call it a "Vacuum Tube Voltmeter". Despite the name difference they are identical.

BTW...what value resistor did you use in series with the silicon diode in the B+ circuit? 

[Specmaster]

Look what showed up in the mail today. Not just any mail.....ROYAL mail! I feel so honored (honoured)  But unfortunately this Irish Catholic Yank will never be a loyal subject. 

Anyway, thanks to bd139 I can now restore the Heath V-7A that Kosmic sent me a few months ago. The current meter has damaged bearings. Bd139 scrapped the one he was working on a graciously sent me the meter from that one. Thank you so much!  Funny...You guys call it a "Valve Voltmeter" while we call it a "Vacuum Tube Voltmeter". Despite the name difference they are identical.

BTW...what value resistor did you use in series with the silicon diode in the B+ circuit? 

We call vacuum tubes valves because they control the flow of electrons I guess [emoji16]

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[bd139]

Look what showed up in the mail today. Not just any mail.....ROYAL mail! I feel so honored (honoured)  But unfortunately this Irish Catholic Yank will never be a loyal subject. 

Anyway, thanks to bd139 I can now restore the Heath V-7A that Kosmic sent me a few months ago. The current meter has damaged bearings. Bd139 scrapped the one he was working on a graciously sent me the meter from that one. Thank you so much!  Funny...You guys call it a "Valve Voltmeter" while we call it a "Vacuum Tube Voltmeter". Despite the name difference they are identical.

BTW...what value resistor did you use in series with the silicon diode in the B+ circuit? 

Glad it arrived in one piece  . Usually we call them the Royal Fail here. Republican here (literally not US party) - quite up for eating the royals for dinner. I actually nearly caused a pile up once when I refused to give way to a royal vehicle police escort hahaha bastard lizard scum 

Valves came from Flemming I think. Prefer tubes myself but you have to speak the lingo here or people look at you like you’re a weirdo. Also we have tube trains.

Think it was 2.2k in series with a 1n4007. I usually put a 2.2k one in then measure the B+ and see if it’s around 150V then swap out the resistor for one in the right direction. No science involved 

[med6753]

Yep, the box arrived in good shape and the packaging was excellent. 

[tggzzz]

Space 1999! That show was a looong time ago. I can barely remember watching it.

Whereas I can remember barely watching it. Complete and utter rubbish - so it is currently being rerun over here

So, I assume, you are no fan of the "Star Maidens" either?
This British-German gem of a sci-fi series in the 70's?

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



And another sci-fi series, from the 70's, the predecessor of Space 1999: UFO

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_(TV_series)

I don't remember Star Maidens, but I am dimly aware of it.

UFO wasn't too bad. There was an internal logic, and that and physics weren't ignored form the sake of the current episode's plot. In that sense it was a live action follow on to Thunderbirds.

Basically I found UFO to be entertaining for one or two episodes. But Space 1999 made me want the throw something at the TV after 15 minutes.

[Specmaster]

Yep, the box arrived in good shape and the packaging was excellent. 

As a fellow TEA member packaging is a given to be excellent, if we don't know how to pack then no one does [emoji1787]

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[mnementh]

It certainly was rubbish.

Interestingly I noticed my new dryer sounds like a Cylon mothership.

Space 1999 (in Germany "Mondbasis Alpha 1") - Wasn't it a running gag, that someone of the crew wanted to brew beer and failed regularly?

@bd139: have you checked your dryer for something like this?

Wasn't that Starbuck on the original BSG?

Space 1999! That show was a looong time ago. I can barely remember watching it.

Whereas I can remember barely watching it. Complete and utter rubbish - so it is currently being rerun over here

So, I assume, you are no fan of the "Star Maidens" either? This British-German gem of a sci-fi series in the 70's?      And another sci-fi series, from the 70's, the predecessor of Space 1999:   "UFO"   

I don't remember Star Maidens, but I am dimly aware of it.   UFO wasn't too bad. There was an internal logic, and that and physics weren't ignored form the sake of the current episode's plot. In that sense it was a live action follow on to Thunderbirds.   Basically I found UFO to be entertaining for one or two episodes. But Space 1999 made me want the throw something at the TV after 15 minutes.   

The only thing I liked about S:1999 was the sets. I built many models of the EAGLE; including one B-size model rocket. The acting/direction was SO hamfisted that even at the age of 9 or 10 (when the reruns were on over here) I just couldn't believe Martin Landau's pigheadedness; though he later became a staple in pretty much all my favorite cheesy scifi movies. [EDIT: Maybe I was thinking of John Saxon... not sure. But can't be arsed ATM to go figure it out.]

I LOVED UFO... the cheesy sets, the weird storylines, and how earnest EVERYONE was about EVERYTHING. The one thing I remember most though was how it seemed everything was shades of grey and brown... sometimes it seemed the only color in the whole episode was that girl's pink hair. 

At this point I decided to eviscerate the dead 465...   

*snif*    *says a brief prayer for the fallen*

I really want to be building transmitters and receivers

   

   But... WHY...?                   You've said yourself that everybody out there is a assh'o... Or is this just your personal flavor of the TEA "mandatory masochism"? 

mnem
*back to the misery of moving*

[bd139]

I really want to be building transmitters and receivers

   

   But... WHY...?                   You've said yourself that everybody out there is a assh'o... Or is this just your personal flavor of the TEA "mandatory masochism"? 

I have discovered and learned CW properly now.  Turns out it’s too much effort to be an asshole on a morse key so people don’t bother. Plus there is elegance in minimalism. I’m actually trying to build a separate transmitter and receiver station with only metal can transistors. No ICs at all. Crazy? Yep but I’m getting 10W out of 2x MRF237s and 3x 2n2222s and a 2n2907! Can’t complain!

There was this little window of glory, actually slightly before my time in 1965-1969, where people had abandoned tubes and picked up transistors but hadn’t touched ICs. My mind is mostly fixated on the designs around then (hence the HP collection that is growing  ).

SSB lot here I find are assholes plus most of SSB is contesting or health problems which is boring as fuck. Literally managed to bust through a pile up on my last 40m contact with a special event station I was QSL chasing  and the operator was actually fucking drunk.  Gave up on SSB and got the key out and didn’t put it down. Actually thinking of pulling the SSB option and mic out of my K2 

Yep, the box arrived in good shape and the packaging was excellent. 

As a fellow TEA member packaging is a given to be excellent, if we don't know how to pack then no one does [emoji1787]

It’s the golden rule from a philosophical point of view. If someone doesn’t package something properly they are probably an asshole.

[tggzzz]

First pix is apparently the issue. Q188 is just to the right of that yellow/red coil. As soon as I probed in that area trace appeared. Reseated Q188 and so far it's solid.

Had that more than once. If in doubt I remove ics/transistors/connectors, use a jewellers screwdriver to put a pinhead of Deoxit D100 on all "holes", and reinsert the component.

Overall view. The Channel 1 dual gang position control upper right. I did resolder some suspicious connections plus got some deoxit inside the control.

Deoxit Faderlube in my case.

[tautech]

Yep, its like vintage cars, there is always something that is going to go wrong , its a fact of life with simply lots and lots of ageing parts that can let go at anytime. Thats one reason why I have been slowly updating the age of my TE items in a similar manner to BD139. I got a bit fed up with spending more fixing my existing kit instead of using it on a new addition to the family. Shortly I hope to be in a position to revisit some of the projects that I had started but was unable complete due other issues like test gear failing when you needed it most among other non TE related family issues etc.

Exactly my position. The only reason I tend to fluff around with the older stuff is because it's funding my new stuff. My entire objective is to have a net zero spend and the only way I can create value and therefore cash and keep it a context switch to what I usually do is repairing stuff and reselling it. Occasionally I get bouts of nostalgia but these usually wear off when something cocks up after a bit. Alas my escapades are mostly productive and figure it's worth posting them in here and from each piece of equipment important lessons are learned on the diagnostic and engineering side of things which is almost worth as much as the cash return when you turf the thing. And yes it's bloody frustrating when it goes bang when you're in the middle of something

100%
That's where I was 10 years ago, absolutely sick of fixing my test gear and so got more modern stuff and now all I have is new stuff. Wanna do stuff, well no problem and nuthing ever fails when part way through a job ! 

One day I'll be brave and mean enough to throw out the pile of fixer ups under the bench that the wife keeps on at me about.

[med6753]

One day I'll be brave and mean enough to throw out the pile of fixer ups under the bench that the wife keeps on at me about.

Currently 2 fixer ups under the bench. The 485 with the Trigger issue and the 465B that needs the PSU caps replaced. Have the caps, just haven't gotten around to it yet. And one in the TEA closet. The Heath V-7A VTVM. Now that I have a replacement meter for it that will get restored soon.

Yea, I guess I'm an old junk junkie. 

[tautech]

Yea, I guess I'm an old junk junkie. 

Tek junkie is missing ^^ 

5 scopes here need fixing and one is a Tek DSO.
HP, Philips x2, an Aaron plus the Tek that was my first compact DSO.

[med6753]

OK, more specific Old Tek Junk Junkie.