Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[beanflying]

Promise to try and make this my last 3D printing intrusion here for the day  On @bd's topic Cura vs Prusa this is well worth a watch for a fairly impartial review on both of the very latest releases from both camps.




EDIT Based on this video I have downloaded the latest Cura to play with and 'try'. But seriously  500Mb against 70Mb unpacked to Prusa Slicer. Cura is bloated to hell 

[worsthorse]

I want one! Right now I've got other priorities but I'm going to keep watching Ebay. If a Type 106 pops up for under the typical price of $100+ USD I'll jump on it.

Typically those large filter cap cans in older vacuum tube Tek gear last forever and don't go bad. I think once you replace that fubar cap the unit will operate properly. 

That's my experience. Just makes me sweat thinking of trying to replace one.  As for the three bad caps, I think I have appropriate replacements in the capacitor bin, which would make it nice and easy.  Only one of them is on a ceramic terminal strip and I can probably cut it free.


And you gotta love a box that will put out a 120V p-p square wave.   

[bd139]

3d printer dispatched to arrive Wednesday. Hopefully by the end of the weekend my 1740A should have some new shoes 

Also a question for the 3d printers of the thread: is it normal to end up with a house full of rolls of filament? I'm feeling I'm going to end up there at some point... 

[amspire]

3d printer dispatched to arrive Wednesday. Hopefully by the end of the weekend my 1740A should have some new shoes 

I need to do the same for my 1740A too. Can you let us know how you go?

Richard.

[VK5RC]

I have about 7 rolls - one softer black - other colours. I am a bit 'paranoid' about moisture - so all are in good plastic bags with silica gel - but I would appreciate comments from those with decent experience.
A rather bizarre experience that I have noticed is that the more I use the 3DP (in a single run) the better the results I get. I am a 3DP newbie - still having some adhesion issues esp at the corners. It was made a lot worse after a slicer software update (the flashforge basic software) lost my settings which clever boy here didn't write down elsewhere.FFS🙁

[beanflying]

Part of the reason I haven't added ABS or derivatives to my stash.

I have about a dozen rolls most likely 6 colours of PLA, 4 of PETG and a couple of TPU (flexibles). As delivery in Oz is 1-2 days at most so no need or advantage in $ with buying in bulk so I don't find a need for multiple rolls of any unless I have a bunch to do. Even then you can only use a partial roll a day on one standard printer.

Wait until the girls find the filaments with sparkles that need hardened steel or ruby nozzles as they chop out brass ones

[bd139]

3d printer dispatched to arrive Wednesday. Hopefully by the end of the weekend my 1740A should have some new shoes 

I need to do the same for my 1740A too. Can you let us know how you go?

Richard.

Will do 

I have about 7 rolls - one softer black - other colours. I am a bit 'paranoid' about moisture - so all are in good plastic bags with silica gel - but I would appreciate comments from those with decent experience.
A rather bizarre experience that I have noticed is that the more I use the 3DP (in a single run) the better the results I get. I am a 3DP newbie - still having some adhesion issues esp at the corners. It was made a lot worse after a slicer software update (the flashforge basic software) lost my settings which clever boy here didn't write down elsewhere.FFS🙁

I'm storing mine in a large plastic mostly air tight "wham box" with some silica gel chucked in the bottom. Edit: that's how I store literally everything though 

Part of the reason I haven't added ABS or derivatives to my stash.

I have about a dozen rolls most likely 6 colours of PLA, 4 of PETG and a couple of TPU (flexibles). As delivery in Oz is 1-2 days at most so no need or advantage in $ with buying in bulk so I don't find a need for multiple rolls of any unless I have a bunch to do. Even then you can only use a partial roll a day on one standard printer.

Wait until the girls find the filaments with sparkles that need hardened steel or ruby nozzles as they chop out brass ones

Yeah they have already seen that  . I'm getting printing requests already.

[tautech]

3d printer dispatched to arrive Wednesday. Hopefully by the end of the weekend my 1740A should have some new shoes 

I need to do the same for my 1740A too. Can you let us know how you go?

Richard.

If you copy what beanflying did for a set for mine they'll be fine.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/replacement-knobs-feet-and-fittings-for-test-equipment/
He tested their strength with a mallet ! 

[beanflying]

3d printer dispatched to arrive Wednesday. Hopefully by the end of the weekend my 1740A should have some new shoes 

I need to do the same for my 1740A too. Can you let us know how you go?

Richard.

If he gives in and starts using Fusion 360 like he NEEDS to then it's easy 

Just sketch revolve and add some fillets.....

I could even supply the files to speed it up 

[xrunner]

Also a question for the 3d printers of the thread: is it normal to end up with a house full of rolls of filament? I'm feeling I'm going to end up there at some point... 

Yep. 

Clear(ish), white, black, gray, green, yellow, red ... it's all there in the closet.

I keep the unused rolls in plastic bags with a packet of silica gel (do not eat). Maybe that's overkill what do you think beanflying?

[beanflying]

The evilbay ones are generally well drawn to a Vacuum with silica packs in them so a non issue. Apart from Black and Clear I tend to minimize the other colours I have open at any one time. I to have a bag sealer for Coffee Bags so if I know they won't be used for a while sealed with silica seems to work.

I have had very minor issues when leaving a roll of PLA on the printer unused for a week or more as it gets used 'generally' several times a week the first few M can fracture and seems to suffer from crystalline type fracture (brittle) when you try and use it  Works and prints fine apart from that first bit otherwise. PETG use it then take it off and bag it!

ABS/Nylon are going to be much more of an issue if I go down that track but will cross that bridge as needed.

[med6753]

I keep the unused rolls in plastic bags with a packet of silica gel (do not eat).

Wait...wut? You're not supposed to eat it?    Geez, I was wondering why it tasted so bad. 

[xrunner]

Wait...wut? You're not supposed to eat it?    Geez, I was wondering why it tasted so bad. 

No med - "Do Not Eat" - it's there for a reason! Pay attention to notices! 

[bd139]

I've already got beanflying's STLs (thank you beanflying )

As for Fusion 360, just no. Seriously yuck. I have actually trialled it. Here's what I don't like:

1. The installer pissed out DLL errors galore yet somehow it still worked. Well I assume it did.
2. 3Gb of RAM doing nothing at all other than drawing a tapered cone with a shaft through it. seriously?!?!
3. The thing lags on an i7 with 16Gb of RAM and NVMe SSD.
4. I only have a pissy Intel HD graphics card in my laptop which just can't handle it. I could get a TB eGPU but I might as well buy a desktop then 
5. The uninstaller didn't even work properly.
6. Doesn't work with High DPI pixel scaling at 125%.

I've designed the same things in FreeCAD so far and that seems to fit me better. I have designed and extruded a few complex parts from sketches and taken them through slicing fine and I've only been at it a couple of hours. Managed to design a not too wonky looking plastic enclosure after going through this:



I have added cut outs for pots / connectors as well.

I sprinkle silica gel on all my meals

[beanflying]

EDIT Based on this video I have downloaded the latest Cura to play with and 'try'. But seriously  500Mb against 70Mb unpacked to Prusa Slicer. Cura is bloated to hell 

Then you won't want to run Cura either

Never had any issues with dll anything on a Fusion install or upgrade so I suspect something else in your system may be the issue 

I was getting by JUST with an I3 and 8Gb of ram and internal graphics but it was painful to load and not fast to run. It was the reason for the main box upgrade along with 4K video rendering.

Pixel scaling? Non issue for me as I have always run 1080P native until the recent 1440P upgrade.

Just simply not my experience at all with it. Clearly is knows your dislike for Autodesk anything 

[Specmaster]

3d printer dispatched to arrive Wednesday. Hopefully by the end of the weekend my 1740A should have some new shoes 

Also a question for the 3d printers of the thread: is it normal to end up with a house full of rolls of filament? I'm feeling I'm going to end up there at some point... 

Gosh, where are you going to be able to put that then, don't tell me,... the dining room table and you're all going to be having TV dinners from now on 

[Ero-Shan]

Unrelated to 3DP, but isn't someone here in need of one of these?  It just popped up in the related items to one of my ebay searches:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-AC-POWER-CORD-OVAL-ROUND-3-PRONG-8FT-LONG/274029501541

Shipping: $139.27 Worldwide expected

I recognize a bargain when I see one. 
Before I order one of those, I'm going to become a professional botcher. 

Tried to find one in Germany as well, also under (as suggested, Celestron [I always wanted a telescope!]), but found zip, nothing, nada.

Still thinking about asking a colleague to 3DP it.

[beanflying]

This one is about the 'normal' overpricing. eBay auction: #183918090748 Just swap them out for IEC sockets and save the on going pain.

[bd139]

EDIT Based on this video I have downloaded the latest Cura to play with and 'try'. But seriously  500Mb against 70Mb unpacked to Prusa Slicer. Cura is bloated to hell 

Then you won't want to run Cura either

Never had any issues with dll anything on a Fusion install or upgrade so I suspect something else in your system may be the issue 

I was getting by JUST with an I3 and 8Gb of ram and internal graphics but it was painful to load and not fast to run. It was the reason for the main box upgrade along with 4K video rendering.

Pixel scaling? Non issue for me as I have always run 1080P native until the recent 1440P upgrade.

Just simply not my experience at all with it. Clearly is knows your dislike for Autodesk anything 

I'm on a laptop so that might be the main problem why. Firstly the 1.5x scaling is because 1.0x is too damn small. Secondly, the thing has a wimpy i7 in it and Intel graphics. I'm considering a desktop build but I just can't be arsed with the whole thing at the moment. It's a distraction.

3d printer dispatched to arrive Wednesday. Hopefully by the end of the weekend my 1740A should have some new shoes 

Also a question for the 3d printers of the thread: is it normal to end up with a house full of rolls of filament? I'm feeling I'm going to end up there at some point... 

Gosh, where are you going to be able to put that then, don't tell me,... the dining room table and you're all going to be having TV dinners from now on 

I did consider that but the table is too wobbly! Thus it's going to live on the fireplace hearth which is a nice solid chunk of marble on concrete.  The fireplace is disconnected and the chimney sealed off (after an incident with a dead pigeon) so it's nice and safe there.

[bd139]

Unrelated to 3DP, but isn't someone here in need of one of these?  It just popped up in the related items to one of my ebay searches:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-AC-POWER-CORD-OVAL-ROUND-3-PRONG-8FT-LONG/274029501541

Shipping: $139.27 Worldwide expected

I recognize a bargain when I see one. 
Before I order one of those, I'm going to become a professional botcher. 

Tried to find one in Germany as well, also under (as suggested, Celestron [I always wanted a telescope!]), but found zip, nothing, nada.

Still thinking about asking a colleague to 3DP it.

ebay GSP FTW. Not.

In those situations I usually either (a) stuff an IEC socket in or (b) make a blanking plate out of sheet alu, drill a hole in it and clamp about 10cm long or so IEC trailing socket to the back with a grommet. That has the advantage of not destroying the equipment.

[mnementh]

Re-cap of the B&K 1810 Frequency Counter. Only 3 aluminum capacitors but the entire board had to be partially disassembled and removed from the chassis to gain access to the bottom of the board. It's done and back on the standard to cook for a while.

Shhh...don't tell mnem but the POS Vastar soldering station performed flawlessly again. In fact, even better with the installation of a chisel  tip.

. 

   *cries a little inside*

mnem
I’m sorry, Lindsay... if I’d known he was going to molest you with that thing, I’d have just dropped you off at the local hackerspace...” 

[tggzzz]

This is what: The difference is you are HATING on hobbyist 3DP Technology FOR BEING hobbyist technology. THAT is just plain willful ignorance.

Firstly that is incorrect. I don't hate it, and use it where its limitations aren't a problem.

Secondly, over here we have far too much "you are the traitorous enemy" language being bandied about by Brexiteers.There is significant anecdotal evidence that this intolerance and emotion is  spilling into non-political areas, and it is making life toxic and unpleasant for a large proportion of the community. I believe there is similar hyperbole in statements from Trump supporters in the US.

I hope that valid differences of experiences and opinion do not cause intemperate flames to spoil the tenor of this forum.

[mnementh]

Well I did something REAL dumb this morning. Grabbed a terminal that had mains voltage (120V) on it. Luckily my finger tips are so callused that there was hardly a twinge and I even had time to say to myself "dumb ass!" before pulling away. 

When you go “Yummmmeh!!!” Is when you need to start worrying...

mnem

[mnementh]

This is what: The difference is you are HATING on hobbyist 3DP Technology FOR BEING hobbyist technology. THAT is just plain willful ignorance.

Firstly that is incorrect. I don't hate it, and use it where its limitations aren't a problem.

Secondly, over here we have far too much "you are the traitorous enemy" language being bandied about by Brexiteers.There is significant anecdotal evidence that this intolerance and emotion is  spilling into non-political areas, and it is making life toxic and unpleasant for a large proportion of the community. I believe there is similar hyperbole in statements from Trump supporters in the US.

I hope that valid differences of experiences and opinion do not cause intemperate flames to spoil the tenor of this forum.

Oh FFS... just drop it. You have nothing to counter with of value, so you go Godwin’s Law on my arse? Please, go suck your sour grapes elsewhere.

mnem
If you have to invoke Trump to make your point, you’ve already lost...

[tggzzz]

This is what: The difference is you are HATING on hobbyist 3DP Technology FOR BEING hobbyist technology. THAT is just plain willful ignorance.

Firstly that is incorrect. I don't hate it, and use it where its limitations aren't a problem.

Secondly, over here we have far too much "you are the traitorous enemy" language being bandied about by Brexiteers.There is significant anecdotal evidence that this intolerance and emotion is  spilling into non-political areas, and it is making life toxic and unpleasant for a large proportion of the community. I believe there is similar hyperbole in statements from Trump supporters in the US.

I hope that valid differences of experiences and opinion do not cause intemperate flames to spoil the tenor of this forum.

Oh FFS... just drop it. You have nothing to counter with of value, so you go Godwin’s Law on my arse? Please, go suck your sour grapes elsewhere.

mnem
If you have to invoke Trump to make your point, you’ve already lost...

Sigh.

Quite apart from the misunderstanding of "Godwin's law", are such rude and intemperate statements in the spirit of this forum?