Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

I think that’s Weller quality now. My WTCP51 was a piece of shit compared to the older PS3D era TCP.

But metcal now. You don’t go back 

Edit: NIXIE ALERT for our German friends: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F362853579394

That looks to be in wonderful condition but that is a weird arse power connector on it, are they still available?

A visit from Mr Dremel and Mr IEC can sort that in a jiffy

[Saskia]

@Neomys Sapiens
Hakko is far less expensive. Tips are readily available. Performs its job, the micropencil is ergonomically sound and I like the look and feel, especially when soldering using my trinocular microscope.

With the right base station you can also use the tweezers. I got the complete desoldering station based on the fm 202 and the vacuum suction thingie plus the hand piece for 200€.

Schau Dir mal dieses an, die sitzen in Meinerzhagen/Kirspe und sind gut, schnell und zuverlässig.
Ich würd da wieder kaufen, und die Station funktioniert mit einem kleinen Trick mit dem Micropencil und den Tweezers.
https://tbk-onlineshop.de/produkt/hakko-fm-202-loetstation-mit-loetkolben/

OOps. Momentan nicht verfügbar. Ich würd da mal anrufen ...

[bd139]

TBH I was going to buy a Hakko here to replace my Weller but at the time the main distributor here Dancap is some stone age company that requires you to phone orders in, send bank transfers and cheques then has no consumer warranty. Then along came HK Wentworth and the FX-951 is now 266 ex VAT and they have stock problems with parts. Turns out metcal PS-900 is only 206 ex VAT on RS and they have complete line of spares and stock free next day delivery in UK so screw it Hakko loses.  . And I'm glad because the Metcal is damn near perfect.

[Saskia]

I have heard good things about Metcal, but will not swap out my Hakko setup. I will try to move away from that Weller stuff, I cannot purchase a tip subscription just because it's nasty quality.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Now THAT I find interesting!
https://www.ebay.de/itm/114020149982?ViewItem=&item=114020149982

Needs only one of those digital X-ray sensors and it can't get much easier to look into things.

[Saskia]

Bloody hell. I know exactly where Neunkirchen-Seelscheid is, and I am an TE addict on withdrawal. Do you want me to relapse ?

Now I could indeed use this thing for hollow metal rod inspections *cough* ...

[Neomys Sapiens]

Bloody hell. I know exactly where Neunkirchen-Seelscheid is, and I am an TE addict on withdrawal. Do you want me to relapse ?

Now I could indeed use this thing for hollow metal rod inspections *cough* ...

a.) YES!
b.) I can imagine that (pun intended)

[Cubdriver]

Here's the Hakko FM-203 powered up. It defaulted to 800 degrees F which I know is way too hot for 60/40 lead/tin. So lowered it to about 600 degrees F (approx 315 degrees C). What's the opinion on this? Too hot? Too cold?

The tip cleaner assembly is missing. Amazon has exact replacement for $10 USD. Ordered. I'll order some T12 tips later.

FWIW, I normally run my Weller at 660* F



-Pat

[Cubdriver]

Bloody hell. I know exactly where Neunkirchen-Seelscheid is, and I am an TE addict on withdrawal. Do you want me to relapse ?

Now I could indeed use this thing for hollow metal rod inspections *cough* ...

Uhh...  Fair warning - if you DON'T want to relapse, you're in the wrong place!!  (But I think you already know that, and actually DO want to relapse.)  It's ok, we understand and encourage falling off the wagon here in this nutty little corner of the forum.  And you can point and blame us, too.

-Pat

[Saskia]

I think that’s Weller quality now. My WTCP51 was a piece of shit compared to the older PS3D era TCP.

But metcal now. You don’t go back 

Edit: NIXIE ALERT for our German friends: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F362853579394

That looks to be in wonderful condition but that is a weird arse power connector on it, are they still available?

A visit from Mr Dremel and Mr IEC can sort that in a jiffy

There are only very few things that cannot be resolved by diligent application of a few grams of C4 ...

[mnementh]

*Mom, looking at rusty old car I just bought* "You paid $700 for that...?"

It's not about what it looks like now mom... it's about what it is."



"Okay, what is it?"

"It's a numbers-matching '65 Mustang with the original 170 straight-6 and three on the tree still intact. All the chrome and interior are in the trunk. This is as close to the 64 1/2 release-model Mustang as any mere mortal collector like me is going to get."

*Nods approvingly as she groks in fullness* "What is it... what it is."

You were taken for a ride. It's not original. Mustangs never had a three on the tree column shift. All of them, regardless of automatic or manual (3 or 4 speed), had a floor console shift. Demand your money back. 

All EXCEPT the 64 1/2 & early '65 production run, which were based on the Falcon rolling gear/drivetrain.  There once WAS a lot of argument over this; it was confirmed over 20 years ago against vehicles in the personal collections of the Ford family themselves. You need to take what you read on the internet with a pinch of salt, old friend.

Cheers,

mnem
*pwny-car dwagon*

[tautech]

@Saskia: I have used a sweep setup that might be adaptable using a Tek2440 + FG504+DC503 when I had to test a variable frequency constant Q BP filter. Filter was in the 100s of kHz area.
But how? Obviously, I had the counter connected to set start and stop frequencies precisely. Scope was set to ENVELOPE, so that I got a less irritating, solid display of the filter's pass curve. Trigger by the linear sweep output. I hope that I have not forgotten something.

Yes but you can still use DSO measurements and cursors to get all that info.

BUT opposed to what?

As opposed to needing/using more instruments than is necessary.

Now that you ask so pointedly, I recall there was something about the repetition rate that made me use this setup.

Not trying to be 
Only offering a KISS solution to what's really a quite simple task.
Easier still if you have a DSO with FRA/Bode plot capability.

[mnementh]

OK, thanks. I'll try 650 degrees F as a compromise for now and see how it works out. Yep, genuine Hakko T-12's only. 

Looking good! 

I run 320°C/360°C BOOST for 63/37, 380°C/420°C BOOST for lead-free except the .5mm hair-thin stuff for SMD; that I run at 320-330°C-ish. I usually like to run hot & fast, but any hotter than 320°C or so and you'll be burning up 64/37 before you get the iron from the cleaner or flux tub to the work.

Does yours do that stupid "Select ones, adjust; select 10s, adjust; select 100s, adjust; then *#* to lock setting" thing like my old one did?

mnem
IMO, YMMV, DQMOT, DILLIGAF?!?

[BU508A]

Now THAT I find interesting!
https://www.ebay.de/itm/114020149982?ViewItem=&item=114020149982

Needs only one of those digital X-ray sensors and it can't get much easier to look into things.

I'm not sure how valid it is  in this case, but before you are going to buy it, I would recommend to have a word with Fraser.
He seems to me an experienced guy in respect to those Faxitron X-Ray machines.
This is what he wrote about buying a Faxitron X-Ray machine:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/faxitron-mx-20-x-ray-system-teardown/msg585779/#msg585779

[BU508A]

I'm not sure, what you guys are doing with this poor little Weller soldering irons. 
I'm running here a WD 1M with a WP120 and a 2mm chisel tip. It is still the first tip
and it is working flawless. I don't use this nasty wet sponge. I don't like them since
my WTCP-S times. I'm using this brass wool instead and it is superb.
Granted, I'm using the Weller holder for the soldering iron which has a switch in it,
so after putting back the soldering iron it will go in stand-by mode.
The temperature is set to 360°C which is fine for most of my work.

I own also a JBC HD2-B with a T470 and a T245 soldering iron. They are very good tools
and the tips aren't that expensive. I saw the other day on ebay-kleinanzeigen an ad
where someone was selling 10 JBC tips for the T245 (C245) in various styles for 80 Euros.

I was a bit slow, so somebody else bought them. Lucky bastard!   

If I have to choose between my soldering stations, I'm not sure, which one I would choose.
The JBC is good for heavy duty stuff (with the T470), the T245 is good for very fine work
but my daily-use soldering tool is the Weller. But I do like all of them. 

[mnementh]

Superb, thanks a lot. It seems the 70€ for that brand spanking new GW Instek AFG-2225 from the bargain bin actually paid off, as it can do sweep.
basically I have a pair of Quadral Vulkan transmission line speakers which are to be driven 2 channel active using a 3 way active crossover with mid and tweeters bridged at the speaker using the speaker's internal crossover network. The power amps are Threshold T200 for the woofers, cutoff at 400 Hz, and E.A.R. 519 mono tube amps picking up at those 400 Hz up to 50 kHz (no, I can't hear those frequencies. I know).

Thanks a bundle. I now have an idea how to set up my measurements and will do some math beforehand.

Yeeeowch. Those crossover frequencies seem WAAAAY high to me. Like double what they should be, especially with the way a TL enclosure makes the Q_ts climb sharply/get peaky at frequencies above the free-air resonance of the driver.

Are you sure that XO point is correct for the setup in BIAMP mode...? Sounds more like figures allowing overlap for a 6-12dB/octave passive XO to me, when most active XOs in the front-end are good for 24dB/octave.

Just my thumbnail guess, armchair QBing your build from the other side of a computer screen.

Cheers,

mnem
 

[mnementh]

I have noted before that Hakko seems to be much liked round here. But do you rate it better than JBC?

Not only no, but hell no.

In order: MetCal, Thermaltronics/JBC tie, Weller, HAKKO, everybody else. HAKKO's cartridge irons are better than Weller's plain-slug irons, but Weller has cartridge tip irons now as well that are every bit as good, and better in the specialized tips.

WTCP/WTCPN with the MagnaStat were very nearly the perfect station back in the day, much better than HAKKO's slug-tips; but no "sleep" mode meant they ate tips. And MagnaStats. But you could mod them with a SCR/MOSFET to make the 'Stat last virtually forever.

I personally cannot in good conscience recommend anybody pay full retail for a HAKKO anymore. The T12 clone stations have just gotten too advanced; you can buy the station with a nice cast aluminum iron stand, then get a couple handles, a fistful of cheap tips and STILL get 2-3 genuine HAKKO tips for the ones you use all the time... for HALF what a slug-tip FX-888D costs.

Or, for a little more (US$120-150, or half what a FX-951 T12 cartridge station costs) you can, just by shopping patiently on fleaBay, get into a used MetCal 5000 series with one or two tips that in comparison is as far above the FX-951 as the the FX-951 is above the cheap-ass 936 clones on eBay.

mnem
*solder-ily*

[BU508A]

I think that’s Weller quality now. My WTCP51 was a piece of shit compared to the older PS3D era TCP.

But metcal now. You don’t go back 

Edit: NIXIE ALERT for our German friends: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F362853579394

That looks to be in wonderful condition but that is a weird arse power connector on it, are they still available?

Yes, they are.
For example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/254004384456
Not sure, if the seller is really serious about the shipping costs, though.  

[med6753]

OK, thanks. I'll try 650 degrees F as a compromise for now and see how it works out. Yep, genuine Hakko T-12's only. 

Looking good! 

I run 320°C/360°C BOOST for 63/37, 380°C/420°C BOOST for lead-free except the .5mm hair-thin stuff for SMD; that I run at 320-330°C-ish. I usually like to run hot & fast, but any hotter than 320°C or so and you'll be burning up 64/37 before you get the iron from the cleaner or flux tub to the work.

Does yours do that stupid "Select ones, adjust; select 10s, adjust; select 100s, adjust; then *#* to lock setting" thing like my old one did?

mnem
IMO, YMMV, DQMOT, DILLIGAF?!?

Yes, it does have that same method for setting the temperature but I don't find it be an annoyance but rather straight forward. 

[med6753]

*Mom, looking at rusty old car I just bought* "You paid $700 for that...?"

It's not about what it looks like now mom... it's about what it is."



"Okay, what is it?"

"It's a numbers-matching '65 Mustang with the original 170 straight-6 and three on the tree still intact. All the chrome and interior are in the trunk. This is as close to the 64 1/2 release-model Mustang as any mere mortal collector like me is going to get."

*Nods approvingly as she groks in fullness* "What is it... what it is."

You were taken for a ride. It's not original. Mustangs never had a three on the tree column shift. All of them, regardless of automatic or manual (3 or 4 speed), had a floor console shift. Demand your money back. 

All EXCEPT the 64 1/2 & early '65 production run, which were based on the Falcon rolling gear/drivetrain.  There once WAS a lot of argument over this; it was confirmed over 20 years ago against vehicles in the personal collections of the Ford family themselves. You need to take what you read on the internet with a pinch of salt, old friend.

Cheers,

mnem
*pwny-car dwagon*

I fully realize that the first generation Mustang was basically a modified Ford Falcon chassis and running gear. We had a '62 Ford Falcon. 170 motor, 3 on the tree. My knowledge of early Mustangs is not based upon the Internet. If there WERE column shift Mustangs as you claim they were most likely prototypes or engineering models that were never (legitimately) sold to the public. It wouldn't surprise me if a Ford family member has one squirreled away somewhere. Many vehicles went through development phases before the final design was released for manufacturing.

And as I side light...for what it's worth...I built a model of a 1964.5 Mustang Coupe and guess where the shifter was?

[Neomys Sapiens]

I have noted before that Hakko seems to be much liked round here. But do you rate it better than JBC?

Not only no, but hell no.

In order: MetCal, Thermaltronics/JBC tie, Weller, HAKKO, everybody else. HAKKO's cartridge irons are better than Weller's plain-slug irons, but Weller has cartridge tips now as well that are every bit as good, and better in the specialized tips.

WTCP/WTCPN with the MagnaStat were very nearly the perfect station back in the day, much better than HAKKO's slug-tips; but no "sleep" mode meant they ate tips. And MagnaStats. But you could mod them with a SCR/MOSFET to make the 'Stat last virtually forever.

mnem
*solder-ily*

You have restored my world view at least below Metcal.
My EC2002 with LR21 has served me 35years! And I think that the display/measurement glitch can be repaired.
But I beg to differ on the matter of special tips. JBC got the best selection there - including some which make de-soldering RF connectors from a teflon PCB almost easy. But then I told about my own Weller-stable before.
(Weller WMD1S, WSD151, EC2002, WECP20 Antistatic
with
LR21, LR21ESD, MLR-21, DSX-80. DS-22, HAP-1, WSP80, WSP150, and WTA-50 + WST-82)
So, if I go for a JCB, I could use tips from my ´company and Weller would be continuity. I'll  mull it around some...

[Neomys Sapiens]

And just a preliminary info, because the TL bulb at my ceiling died right when I wanted to make pictures!

The second part of my TE swap with Eroshan seems to have gone well too! Here is the HP6114A, and close enough that I think that all that is needed is a minor tweak at a trimpot.


That Panasonic camera has proven itself useful already, as with her precedessor you would not have seen anything at this light level without a flash.

In the HP6114A: I have already discovered two things that I do not like on this otherwise great power supply:
- the positive and negative binding posts are red
- no 'ON' indicator visible from some meters away.
Well, both can be rectified, if they bug me enough.

[med6753]

Here you go mnem....a column shift 4 SPEED did exist. '61 Ford Fairlane.

The 4 forward gears were on the column. To engage reverse put the shifter to neutral and pull a lever on the dash.

[med6753]

And just a preliminary info, because the TL bulb at my ceiling died right when I wanted to make pictures!

The second part of my TE swap with Eroshan seems to have gone well too! Here is the HP6114A, and close enough that I think that all that is needed is a minor tweak at a trimpot.
(Attachment Link)

That Panasonic camera has proven itself useful already, as with her precedessor you would not have seen anything at this light level without a flash.

In the HP6114A: I have already discovered two things that I do not like on this otherwise great power supply:
- the positive and negative binding posts are red
- no 'ON' indicator visible from some meters away.
Well, both can be rectified, if they bug me enough.

The light burned out because it didn't want us to see your messy bench. 

[Neomys Sapiens]

@med6753: may the closest-living Blarina bite you in the finger most needed AND where it hurz most!