Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Kosmic]

Anybody interested in some used Rifa capacitors ? Found a family of them hiding



Didn't know about the Wima though. One of them slightly exploded. Explain why the interior of the power supply was so thirty.

[mnementh]

There seems to be a level of surprise (not here but in most of the yahoo group in which I am still a member) about the current crashing and burning of Yahoo groups that, well, surprises me.  I mean, the features, functionality, and reliability of Yahoo groups has been on a clearly downward trajectory for at least two years. You didn't even have to be a moderator to notice.

This comment, on one of the oldest group that I belong to, appeared on October 15th, after a moderator posted a link to a notice on one of the yahoo customer service websites: All you people are crazy, Yahoo is never going away! You pay too much attention to msm fake news!   

There also seems to be untoward level of outrage from people moving groups at the last minute, regarding groups.io's wanting to actually get paid for supplying the hardware and software infrastructure (not to mention the people) necessary to host all the newly minted Yahoo group refugees, all of whom (of course) want to groups.io to migrate all their decade's worth of files and messages for free and right now, too, dammit. 

Last time I looked, there were over 700 groups in the migration queue, and it looks like one or so a day are clearing. I wonder if any of those in the queue below, say two hundred, has a plan b?  I am guessing not.

What does this have to do with TE. Nuthin' other than I am finding humanity, in general, to be a PITA today, and this seems a good example as to why   

Still looking at options for a couple of Yahoo Groups I own. One carries a lot of the early History of Kite Surfing so the content is worth preserving. groups.io is in the mix.

Better get my skates on https://beta.groups.io/g/main/topic/36369511#22528

Considering all the work involved... their rates (even at the new price plus the $200 “priority service fee”) are a fucking steal.

As for humanity being a PITA... eh; it’s a living.

mnem
 

[mnementh]

LMAO I'm going to have to order a roll just because med hahaha 

Just tripped over this fucknuckle: http://www.3840khz.net/  (yes that's an 80m ham frequency). Bet you're glad your out of Texas now 

That fuckstick was the head of my PTA.  Well, not that specific fuckstick... just the same fuckstick from a different subdivision. There’s a neverending supply down there; that is where they breed the accursed creatures.

mnem
I think it’s all the leaking ammonia and hexavalent chromium wholesome, healthy, perfectly maintained chemical reactors and oil fractioning plants...

Based on that Geocities-like site, the caption starting "it always starts out as a small crack" gives me hope that the genes won't be propagated again.

Yeah, the problem is at that extreme shallow end of the gene pool, the prevailing modes of reproduction are broadcast or mitosis... 

mnem
If only they actually died off after spawning...

[med6753]

When I was doing the recent DMM calibrations it became apparent that trying to calibrate a 4.5 digit DMM  (8600A) with another 4.5 digit DMM (8050A) was not going to yield the most accurate results. So I decided to upgrade the bench 1 reference DMM to 5.5 digits. Off to Ebay. I wanted to try to get one that at least had some NIST traceability in it's past. I found a reasonably priced 8800A from a surplus seller in NJ from whom I've purchased before. It was advertised as “powers up but no further testing and parts only”. It looked to be in good shape so I bought it. It arrived yesterday and unfortunately it did not fully power up but I quickly found the problem. The -35V bus was at -25V due to a shorted 50uf/50V cap. Replaced it and at the same time ordered a complete set of caps to do the PSU. After replacing that cap it powered up OK. I had this EXACT same fail with the same capacitor on another 8800A so apparently this is a common fail with these DMM's.

In the following pix the 5.5 digit DMM's are stacked with the new 8800A on top, followed by an 8810A, and then the Siglent SDM 3055. They have all been powered up 12+ hours and they are all connected to the AD584-M reference calibrated at 9.99691V. Upon initial power up the 8800A read 9.9970V then slowly settled and stabilized at 9.9968 to 69V as shown.

The 8810A isn't even a player. At initial power up it read 9.9974V and has drifted down to 9.9964V and appears to be still drifting. That's unacceptable so this guy needs to be investigated. What's surprising about this poor performance is that it's almost identical to an 8800A. But it's going into the repair cue.   

The Siglent upon initial power up read 9.9960V then over the course of 4 to 6 hours settled and stabilized at 9.9965 to 66V as shown. I'm not really too concerned with that warm up time but I am hoping that Siglent will release a method to tweak the cal as indicated by Tautech. It just needs a very minor tweak upwards.



So how do I know that the 9.99691V from that AD584-M is accurate? Well, here's the 2nd AD584-M. It's referenced calibration is 10.00096V. The 8800A is reading 10.0009 – 10V. The 8810A is reading 10.0005 – 6V. And the SDM 3055 is reading 10.0006 – 7V. So my conclusion is that the new 8800A is dead nuts. And further proof that my assumption is correct is there is a damaged  (long story) 8800A in the TEA closet. Before it was damaged it read within 1 minor digit on both references as this new 8800A is doing. So I'm very confident that both AD584-M's are stable and accurate. 



So why did I go for an 8800A and not something like an 8840A? Several reasons. First, 8840A's are popular and demand a higher price. 8800A's less so. This one was less than $70 USD including shipping and tax. Next, I don't feel like dealing with the issues with the VFD that WILL arise. Third, I don't need the 2nd display and the other bells and whistles. Finally, I can't get enough of ruby red LED's. They are soooo sexy. 

[McBryce]

LMAO I'm going to have to order a roll just because med hahaha 

Just tripped over this fucknuckle: http://www.3840khz.net/  (yes that's an 80m ham frequency). Bet you're glad your out of Texas now 

That fuckstick was the head of my PTA.  Well, not that specific fuckstick... just the same fuckstick from a different subdivision. There’s a neverending supply down there; that is where they breed the accursed creatures.

mnem
I think it’s all the leaking ammonia and hexavalent chromium wholesome, healthy, perfectly maintained chemical reactors and oil fractioning plants...

Based on that Geocities-like site, the caption starting "it always starts out as a small crack" gives me hope that the genes won't be propagated again.

That's the great thing about the TEA thread. Any mention of cracks and the following posts are discussing RIFA Capacitors

McBryce.

[URI]

When I was doing the recent DMM calibrations it became apparent that trying to calibrate a 4.5 digit DMM  (8600A) with another 4.5 digit DMM (8050A) was not going to yield the most accurate results. So I decided to upgrade the bench 1 reference DMM to 5.5 digits. Off to Ebay. I wanted to try to get one that at least had some NIST traceability in it's past. I found a reasonably priced 8800A from a surplus seller in NJ from whom I've purchased before. It was advertised as “powers up but no further testing and parts only”. It looked to be in good shape so I bought it. It arrived yesterday and unfortunately it did not fully power up but I quickly found the problem. The -35V bus was at -25V due to a shorted 50uf/50V cap. Replaced it and at the same time ordered a complete set of caps to do the PSU. After replacing that cap it powered up OK. I had this EXACT same fail with the same capacitor on another 8800A so apparently this is a common fail with these DMM's.

In the following pix the 5.5 digit DMM's are stacked with the new 8800A on top, followed by an 8810A, and then the Siglent SDM 3055. They have all been powered up 12+ hours and they are all connected to the AD584-M reference calibrated at 9.99691V. Upon initial power up the 8800A read 9.9970V then slowly settled and stabilized at 9.9968 to 69V as shown.

The 8810A isn't even a player. At initial power up it read 9.9974V and has drifted down to 9.9964V and appears to be still drifting. That's unacceptable so this guy needs to be investigated. What's surprising about this poor performance is that it's almost identical to an 8800A. But it's going into the repair cue.   

The Siglent upon initial power up read 9.9960V then over the course of 4 to 6 hours settled and stabilized at 9.9965 to 66V as shown. I'm not really too concerned with that warm up time but I am hoping that Siglent will release a method to tweak the cal as indicated by Tautech. It just needs a very minor tweak upwards.



So how do I know that the 9.99691V from that AD584-M is accurate? Well, here's the 2nd AD584-M. It's referenced calibration is 10.00096V. The 8800A is reading 10.0009 – 10V. The 8810A is reading 10.0005 – 6V. And the SDM 3055 is reading 10.0006 – 7V. So my conclusion is that the new 8800A is dead nuts. And further proof that my assumption is correct is there is a damaged  (long story) 8800A in the TEA closet. Before it was damaged it read within 1 minor digit on both references as this new 8800A is doing. So I'm very confident that both AD584-M's are stable and accurate. 



So why did I go for an 8800A and not something like an 8840A? Several reasons. First, 8840A's are popular and demand a higher price. 8800A's less so. This one was less than $70 USD including shipping and tax. Next, I don't feel like dealing with the issues with the VFD that WILL arise. Third, I don't need the 2nd display and the other bells and whistles. Finally, I can't get enough of ruby red LED's. They are soooo sexy. 

med, I'm so glad you didn't fall into that rabbit hole of voltnuttery and didn't became a voltnut..       

[bd139]

I was about to make a snarky remark about voltnuttery 

LMAO I'm going to have to order a roll just because med hahaha 

Just tripped over this fucknuckle: http://www.3840khz.net/  (yes that's an 80m ham frequency). Bet you're glad your out of Texas now 

That fuckstick was the head of my PTA.  Well, not that specific fuckstick... just the same fuckstick from a different subdivision. There’s a neverending supply down there; that is where they breed the accursed creatures.

mnem
I think it’s all the leaking ammonia and hexavalent chromium wholesome, healthy, perfectly maintained chemical reactors and oil fractioning plants...

Based on that Geocities-like site, the caption starting "it always starts out as a small crack" gives me hope that the genes won't be propagated again.

That's the great thing about the TEA thread. Any mention of cracks and the following posts are discussing RIFA Capacitors

McBryce.

Talking of RIFAs, I think the one in my neighbour’s vacuum cleaner blew up a couple of weeks back. She threw the thing out of the door and there was smoke coming out of it  . Happened to mine a few years ago.

Thanks to everyone on the NanoVNA advice. I may just buy the cheapest one off eBay and fix it if it’s wrong. It’s a pretty simple bit of kit.

[beanflying]

@med your mania and dedication to volt nuttery is likely greater than mine. Own up to your addiction and just buy a Calibrated 6 1/2 digit meter 

[bd139]

Don’t suggest that. He’ll paint the poor thing blue 

[med6753]

@med your mania and dedication to volt nuttery is likely greater than mine. Own up to your addiction and just buy a Calibrated 6 1/2 digit meter 

If I have to go through this happy horse shit just to get 5.5 digit DMM's to agree I can just imagine the pain and agony involved with 6.5 digits.

No thanks. 

[med6753]

Don’t suggest that. He’ll paint the poor thing blue 

How about I spray YOU blue and you can join the Blue Man Group. 

Wise ass. 

[tautech]

@med your mania and dedication to volt nuttery is likely greater than mine. Own up to your addiction and just buy a Calibrated 6 1/2 digit meter 

If I have to go through this happy horse shit just to get 5.5 digit DMM's to agree I can just imagine the pain and agony involved with 6.5 digits.

No thanks. 

Yep, I'm still looking for a job where I need better than 1mV accuracy.   

When Defpom said he liked my SDM3065X when he did a video of it I jumped at the chance to sell it to him and Siglent came to the party with a further sweetener as a thanks for all the videos he does for me.

What is it about test gear.......addictive or what ? 

[beanflying]

You can already buy a Tek 6 1/2 digit meter with @med appropriate colours

Tektronix 4050 

[med6753]

You guys are killing me....I think I'm going to go back to bed. 

[beanflying]

@med your mania and dedication to volt nuttery is likely greater than mine. Own up to your addiction and just buy a Calibrated 6 1/2 digit meter 

If I have to go through this happy horse shit just to get 5.5 digit DMM's to agree I can just imagine the pain and agony involved with 6.5 digits.

No thanks. 

Yep, I'm still looking for a job where I need better than 1mV accuracy.   

When Defpom said he liked my SDM3065X when he did a video of it I jumped at the chance to sell it to him and Siglent came to the party with a further sweetener as a thanks for all the videos he does for me.

What is it about test gear.......addictive or what ? 

The only 'real' reason I have gone to 6 1/2 is I want to be comfortable adjusting and tweaking gear another order of magnitude lower in accuracy when working for $ for others. The rest is because it interests me. The Cal gear to go with is pure interest and indulgence 

[tautech]

You guys are killing me....I think I'm going to go back to bed. 

Hear hear med, take no notice. I'm a bit of a closet blue fan too......except the only one I own is busted. 

[McBryce]

I'll just leave this here in case "someone" decides to get into 3D Printing... 

https://fillamentum.com/products/pla-extrafill-sky-blue

McBryce.

[med6753]

I'll just leave this here in case "someone" decides to get into 3D Printing... 

https://fillamentum.com/products/pla-extrafill-sky-blue

McBryce.

Bunch of comedians

[Brumby]

Well, when stepping up to a fight - stop leading with your chin!

[mansaxel]

LMAO I'm going to have to order a roll just because med hahaha 

Just tripped over this fucknuckle: http://www.3840khz.net/  (yes that's an 80m ham frequency). Bet you're glad your out of Texas now 

I was going to click "thanks" on this post, but came to the conclusion that I really don't want to thank for being reminded of the average nutcase level of the intolerant. Then, OTOH, I'd like to express my sincere thanks for people expressly disagreeing with these insanities.  So, there.

TE content: Spent yesterday installing contactor and hand-0-auto switch to create a master switch for the bench.  Today, pulled the raised flooring (first moving all those nice devices standing on it) and pulled the cable, installed an CEE outlet (MK Commando in UK (congrats on being allowed to use European connectors another couple months, btw  )) and then rubber cable up to the outlet panel at the desk.

Now I can kill all power (except for chargers etc, there are always-on outlets too) to the desk with the main on/off switch for the workshop, and pressing the emergency off buttons will kill it too. Since the contactor responsible for on/off is connected in self-holding mode it won't come on after power failure.

[mnementh]

All those poor confused electrons, running around in a mobius loop to keep that relay closed; talk about ennui made manifest. Have you no mercy...? Or does that microcosm of the human condition somehow please you...?

mnem
“The celery stalks at midnight, but he is all alone in a city full of cabbages...”

[mnementh]

I'll just leave this here in case "someone" decides to get into 3D Printing... 

https://fillamentum.com/products/pla-extrafill-sky-blue

McBryce.

Bunch of comedians

*looks askance with hand pressed against chest* Moi...? 

mnem
fnord is the fifth blue man nobody ever sees...

[med6753]

Well, when stepping up to a fight - stop leading with your chin!

Who's looking for a fight? Not I.  All I did was make an informative post and for some reason the peanut gallery got all stirred up. 

And the head peanut just joined the fray. 

[0culus]

Personally I wouldn't mind if you folks would refrain from the political talk in this thread. I, and likely many others, are coming here to get away from precisely all of that and talk to others about a common hobby. There are many far more appropriate places to vent political disgust than here. Thank you.

[mansaxel]

All those poor confused electrons, running around in a mobius loop to keep that relay closed; talk about ennui made manifest. Have you no mercy...? Or does that microcosm of the human condition somehow please you...?

mnem
“The celery stalks at midnight, but he is all alone in a city full of cabbages...”

I like to think of it as more of a self-serving purpose, the electrons knowing that they are being kept in current to be able to keep themselves in current. Sort of like the farmer, with their cyclical pastoral life. Of dirt, rain (or lack thereof) and grasshoppers.

/M

"If I was an electron in a self-hold, I'd be proud of being part of a state machine."