Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[beanflying]

I'm working on my own take on the Lecroy WavePro front panel though 

Still learning Fusion360.

Fusion with a bunch of practice does get easier 

This mornings effort over coffee is a chisel sharpening guide. The cheapy chinese one I got was machined horribly along with other shortcomings and the good ones are stupid $ so I rolled a better 3D printed mousetrap. Not sure what I am going to do with the design but maybe a metal one to sell depending on the costings

[bitseeker]

Nothing too exciting TEA-wise for me, lately. Just snagged one of these Pomona 5698 for $30. Some people hate them, but seems handy and the price was good.

I think it's just the purists who hate them. Sure, you shouldn't be going and making high precision measurements with half a dozen adapters in the signal chain, but having a kit like that sure beats waiting for (or making) the exact right lead for the job when you need to get on with something. If I saw a set of those going for $30 I'd snaffle them faster than you can say "dragon licking its own arse"; good deal.

Waiting and price was just that combination. I got tired waiting for the correct and reasonably priced adapter for my power meter's thermistor and couldn't pass up the deal.

[bitseeker]

I'll be damned - the little bugger fired up and works.  Powered it up on my Sencore Powerite and it looked like it was behaving current-draw wise, and a nice clean looking trace quickly came up.  Drove it from an HP 3310A and it displays waves and synchs up pretty well.  There are a few jitters, but I think some cleaning will fix those.  Lord only knows when it was last powered up, but I'm impressed at how quickly it sprang to life.  It appears that this model was from around 1952; the 'C' version appears to have come out in '53.  Not too bad for something nearly 20 years past the half century mark!

Sweet! The trace on it looks pretty good, too. Nice stocking stuffer.

[bitseeker]

I’m having my first Coffee Crisp EVER... with Canada Dry ginger ale on the side. Canada Dry has long been a favorite in the “comfort food” category; together with the Crisp is quite “Holiday Goodies” feeling. 

 

[bitseeker]

Agilent E5810A LAN / GPIB Gateway
US $200.00 + $20 shipping to US.

eBay auction: #333433574854

sold as defect, but to me it is ok no need to repair.

That seller seems to sell most items I've seen with condition set to "parts/not working."

[bitseeker]

The HP 3455A dropped out of fedex hyperspace and landed on my front porch this afternoon¹. 

I will post photos of it (no idea if it works or not) once I have it on the bench, which is occupied by various chunks of the 184.  There was a bonus in the box. Not one, but two, complete copies of the user and service manual, in quite good condition.

And no, I don't need a 6.5 digit DMM - I actually wasn't even looking for one - but it matches the 500MHz HP frequency counter and it looks kinda cool.  


¹Since it arrived a week late, I am tempted to ask the seller to file a refund claim but I do not want to anger the shipping gods...

Glad that finally showed up. Yeah, most of the time you don't need 6.5 digits. However, such meters sample even faster when set to lower resolution modes. So, having them isn't just about maximum resolution.

(So what if I'm justifying my ownership of several 6.5-digit bench meters!?! )

[tautech]

I'm working on my own take on the Lecroy WavePro front panel though 

Still learning Fusion360.

Fusion with a bunch of practice does get easier 

This mornings effort over coffee is a chisel sharpening guide. The cheapy chinese one I got was machined horribly along with other shortcomings and the good ones are stupid $ so I rolled a better 3D printed mousetrap. Not sure what I am going to do with the design but maybe a metal one to sell depending on the costings

Don't waste your time mate. 
If I can find your address Bean there's a late (it will be !) Xmas prezzie heading your way !

[bitseeker]

FYI,

we TEA just got mentioned in the last amphour episode:

https://theamphour.com/470-just-add-salt/

we need to do our own podcast!

We're famous, it's at about 15 m into the podcast. 

Fuck. I'm out.

mnem
Been nice knowin' yazz.

It was only a couple seconds long before they moved onto other topics, so, we clearly not that famous yet...

Yep hardly a mention and none of us by name. 

Yeah , but still really cool.

Can you imagine a TEA podcast? That’s be pretty good.

Sort of like soldersmoke. But less radio and just as much cranky old stuff (including the participants  )

Kinda like the Manx Beard Club of TE?

[0culus]

Agilent E5810A LAN / GPIB Gateway
US $200.00 + $20 shipping to US.

eBay auction: #333433574854

sold as defect, but to me it is ok no need to repair.

That seller seems to sell most items I've seen with condition set to "parts/not working."

Could be worse. Could be that Israeli dude who sells crap that looks like it was in a shipwreck. 

[worsthorse]

The HP 3455A dropped out of fedex hyperspace and landed on my front porch this afternoon¹. 

I will post photos of it (no idea if it works or not) once I have it on the bench, which is occupied by various chunks of the 184.  There was a bonus in the box. Not one, but two, complete copies of the user and service manual, in quite good condition.

And no, I don't need a 6.5 digit DMM - I actually wasn't even looking for one - but it matches the 500MHz HP frequency counter and it looks kinda cool.  


¹Since it arrived a week late, I am tempted to ask the seller to file a refund claim but I do not want to anger the shipping gods...

Glad that finally showed up. Yeah, most of the time you don't need 6.5 digits. However, such meters sample even faster when set to lower resolution modes. So, having them isn't just about maximum resolution.

(So what if I'm justifying my ownership of several 6.5-digit bench meters!?! )

I spent an hour going through the manual and it has some really neat features, including many that I can't imagine ever using, along with a nice theory of operation section. I did have a momentary fantasy^* involving getting it calibrated and using it as the standard for calibrating everything else on my bench.  But the cost would be prohibitive, I imagine...

^*this is, btw, how i know that i am officially an old man: my fantasies involve thirty year old test equipment rather than women of the same vintage. 

[beanflying]

I'm working on my own take on the Lecroy WavePro front panel though 

Still learning Fusion360.

Fusion with a bunch of practice does get easier 

This mornings effort over coffee is a chisel sharpening guide. The cheapy chinese one I got was machined horribly along with other shortcomings and the good ones are stupid $ so I rolled a better 3D printed mousetrap. Not sure what I am going to do with the design but maybe a metal one to sell depending on the costings

Don't waste your time mate. 
If I can find your address Bean there's a late (it will be !) Xmas prezzie heading your way !

Sounds and smells like vintage Metal 

Doing things like this when they come up just make 'real' jobs faster when needed.

I was looking back at a job I did over a year ago a while ago. Version 15  and several days of work. The timeline is exceptionally disjointed and messy and there is numerous patches to fix mistakes earlier that broke the model when changed due to poor method. To re roll the design now would be maybe 3-4 hours tops.

Absolutely not worth it as the material costs were about $18 for each of two I made but the lessons learned were worth it.

Over a year later however the PETG prints are doing what I wanted from them. 

[bitseeker]

I spent an hour going through the manual and it has some really neat features, including many that I can't imagine ever using, along with a nice theory of operation section. I did have a momentary fantasy^* involving getting it calibrated and using it as the standard for calibrating everything else on my bench.  But the cost would be prohibitive, I imagine...

^*this is, btw, how i know that i am officially an old man: my fantasies involve thirty year old test equipment rather than women of the same vintage. 

Haha! You may find that the meter is still within spec. For a home lab, I do appoint particular gear as "standards." Good enough for me.

For example, my 34401A is within a hundred µV or so at 10V. So, it's good enough to check the calibration of my lesser meters.

[bitseeker]

The Ender 3 is earning his keep. I printed a back panel for my Agilent 34401a. The original one exploded in 1001 pieces when I tried to remove the back boot.



Fit perfectly!

Impressive! Nicely done.

[tautech]

I'm working on my own take on the Lecroy WavePro front panel though 

Still learning Fusion360.

Fusion with a bunch of practice does get easier 

This mornings effort over coffee is a chisel sharpening guide. The cheapy chinese one I got was machined horribly along with other shortcomings and the good ones are stupid $ so I rolled a better 3D printed mousetrap. Not sure what I am going to do with the design but maybe a metal one to sell depending on the costings

Don't waste your time mate. 
If I can find your address Bean there's a late (it will be !) Xmas prezzie heading your way !

Sounds and smells like vintage Metal 

Exactly, it sure is and nearly 45 yrs old. UK made.
Used bugger all and now going to a better home after I bash all the dust off it.
Now, where was that address of yours...............found it !
Beanland, west of NZ ! 

[bitseeker]

I added a new section to the OP, "TEA Around the Web," and an entry to the Amp Hour episode mention.

Hehe, I guess Dave hadn't seen the page count recently: "something like 500 pages."

[beanflying]

Ssshhhhh I thought we were supposed to be an elitist snobby society with high barriers to entry and unwelcoming of new members.....

Got or aspire to own at least one single bit of Testgear and your in and headed for many more bits with the assistance of TEA

Darn the little yapper likes Double Brie. Mum can have her back now I have added to her diet.

[bitseeker]

I guess I have some kind of obsession with high resistance meter and electrometer. Found this little puppy on ebay, advertised as broken for parts. Since it was broken I tried negotiating a bit. Worked pretty well and ended up paying less than the Genrad 1644a.

In pristine condition, HP instruments from that era are really quite a sight. The one I got is in pretty good shape, and still has his 2 feet 



...

Neat. I haven't seen one of these before. Added to the POI.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hp-4329a-high-resistance-meter-teardown/

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2473674/?topicseen#msg2473674

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2812298/?topicseen#msg2812298

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2813802/?topicseen#msg2813802

 

Thanks. Yeah, that's what happens when you can't keep up. Or, maybe my memory is starting to go, now.

[McBryce]

The Ender 3 is earning his keep. I printed a back panel for my Agilent 34401a. The original one exploded in 1001 pieces when I tried to remove the back boot.

Fantastic result  . That must be quite close to the dimensional limits of the printer bed? How long did it take to print?

McBryce.

[med6753]

I added a new section to the OP, "TEA Around the Web," and an entry to the Amp Hour episode mention.

Hehe, I guess Dave hadn't seen the page count recently: "something like 500 pages."

I'd be willing to participate (audio only, no video) if someone were to host it. I figure sometime after the beginning of the year. The only hassle is we are scattered across the globe so some of us would have to be up in the middle of the night to participate.

[Zucca]

The Ender 3 is earning his keep. I printed a back panel for my Agilent 34401a. The original one exploded in 1001 pieces when I tried to remove the back boot.

Very cool. 

Moreover ,if you order the part at Keysight (costs 15€ incl. shipping, nothing dramatic) you don't get 1:1 the original part but a chinesium one that fits. thinkfat replaced the rear bezel on his 66309D (=34401a) and that original Keysight replacement part cracked immediately when he put the device on his bench again. Thank God I had the rubber bumper in my unit, and did not happen to me.

--> 3D printed part is (it looks like) in this case superior quality than the original Keysight replacement part.

I think we are moving in direction that all the replacement plastic parts are no more the one mounted on the production line but "somehow" 3D printed cheap stuff.

Damm I have to set-up my 3D printer during this Xmas break.

[med6753]

The Hakko is on the truck for delivery, a day early. It made it via truck from Colorado to NY in 2 days. That's damn good. When I drove it a few years ago it took me 2.5 days.

But it's snowing and supposed to snow all day with a mix of freezing rain.

[med6753]

... and Jan/Feb is typically the hottest period in Summer, so the best is yet to come.

Yay.

Jan/Feb is typically the coldest here, so that best is yet to come.

Boo

[med6753]

*Peeks in, having confirmed that ICE agents did NOT break down the doors to drag me & mine back to Dumbuckistan*

Meanwhile, back on the Prime Material Plane... eBay auction: #163984957300 :      US$399 WITH 5-year-old Cal. 

Based on £1 a MHz that is not that far away.

That is a bargain for an MCP CRT 2467 with a recent cal of 2013. One with a current cal could easily cost double. And most of what's out there hasn't seen a cal in 20 to 30 years. But luckily these 24XX's tend to hold their cal real well and for us hobbyist's it's good enough anyway.

An additional approx $30 for PSU caps and maybe a fan motor servicing and you're all set. Dunno if the 2467 uses EAROM, or a memory chip with external battery, of a Dallas chip.   

[Zucca]

I'd be willing to participate (audio only, no video) if someone were to host it. I figure sometime after the beginning of the year. The only hassle is we are scattered across the globe so some of us who have to be up in the middle of the night to participate.

(audio only, no video)

and no disturbing noises.

1) Zucca
2) Med
... add yourself if you want to partecipate

- SW
Skype good for everyone? I still have my concerns about skype... again M$ got it and it went down the drain. Unfortunately I do not have any alternative at the moment.
It would be nice to have a shared blackboard to write up shit and share, but if we are producing a podcast then we should strict to audio only
- Duration
1 hour talk just to start and see how it goes?
- Max. partecipant
Max. partecipant numbers 5-10?

In the first episode we need bitseeker and the founders of this TEA club, my opinion.

[med6753]

I'd be willing to participate (audio only, no video) if someone were to host it. I figure sometime after the beginning of the year. The only hassle is we are scattered across the globe so some of us who have to be up in the middle of the night to participate.

(audio only, no video)

and no disturbing noises.

1) Zucca
2) Med
... add yourself if you want to partecipate

- SW
Skype good for everyone? I still have my concerns about skype... again M$ got it and it went down the drain. Unfortunately I do not have any alternative at the moment.
It would be nice to have a shared blackboard to write up shit and share, but if we are producing a podcast then we should strict to audio only
- Duration
1 hour talk just to start and see how it goes?
- Max. partecipant
Max. partecipant numbers 5-10?

In the first episode we need beetseeker and the founders of this TEA club, my opinion.

Sounds acceptable to me. 

Edit...although I don't think we want to limit the number of participants.