Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Cubdriver]

Thanks. It was a real chore getting 65 pounds of dead weight up a flight of stairs. And to top it off the handles are broken. 

Maybe you can get some in Tek blue...




-Pat

Edit to add:  https://smile.amazon.com/Country-Brook-Design-Durable-Webbing/dp/B00H5B9EVI/ref=sr_1_50?keywords=nylon%2Bstrap&qid=1577413541&sr=8-50&th=1

Ice blue or ocean blue would work...

[bitseeker]

Tentatively yes. It's dinner time in Europe :-)

8:00 am here in NZ and 6am in eastern OZ, 3am in WA !   

Lucky it is voice only planned so here is the visual imagery . Adjust coffee machines timer to 5am to allow for warm up, human alarm to 5.55am Dressing Gown and Moccasins to the shack and make coffee as the mayhem begins. Fall back position is stay in bed and listen because 6am is not my current end of the day

If we move it two hours later to 21:00 UTC does that work for more people? It'll start getting late in Eastern Europe, but better morning hours in Australia.

[med6753]

Thanks. It was a real chore getting 65 pounds of dead weight up a flight of stairs. And to top it off the handles are broken. 

Maybe you can get some in Tek blue...


-Pat

Edit to add:  https://smile.amazon.com/Country-Brook-Design-Durable-Webbing/dp/B00H5B9EVI/ref=sr_1_50?keywords=nylon%2Bstrap&qid=1577413541&sr=8-50&th=1

Ice blue or ocean blue would work...

I plan on doing something similar with a cut up leather belt.

[med6753]

Tentatively yes. It's dinner time in Europe :-)

8:00 am here in NZ and 6am in eastern OZ, 3am in WA !   

Lucky it is voice only planned so here is the visual imagery . Adjust coffee machines timer to 5am to allow for warm up, human alarm to 5.55am Dressing Gown and Moccasins to the shack and make coffee as the mayhem begins. Fall back position is stay in bed and listen because 6am is not my current end of the day

If we move it two hours later to 21:00 UTC does that work for more people? It'll start getting late in Eastern Europe, but better morning hours in Australia.

It doesn't matter to me when it starts. I can be available any time....day or night as long as I know ahead of time.

[med6753]

May you gain much valuable enheavyment from your new acquisition, my friend. 

mnem
(Attachment Link)

Thanks. It was a real chore getting 65 pounds of dead weight up a flight of stairs. And to top it off the handles are broken. 

See you do NEED a 3D printer for making handles Enjoy your project 

I don't think a 3D printer can work with leather. 

[mnementh]

I thought you had already adjusted that post, so adjusted mine (and the event on www.timeanddate.com ) to the new date/time.

Yes, the date changed, but the time is still 19:00 UTC. I think you may have interpreted the 11a PST as UTC, but that's still 19:00 UTC.

Sorry for causing any confusion. I'll just post in UTC going forward to minimize time zone defects.

No prob. I'll go fix the event and my original post. We can easily update the event at any time.

Updated Event is here: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=TEA+Time+on+Discord+%3A+Episode+1&iso=20200111T19&p1=1440

Updated Countdown timer is here: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?p0=1440&iso=20200111T19&msg=TEA%20Time%20on%20Discord%20%3a%20Episode%201

Cheers!

mnem

[bitseeker]

If we move it two hours later to 21:00 UTC does that work for more people? It'll start getting late in Eastern Europe, but better morning hours in Australia.

It doesn't matter to me when it starts. I can be available any time....day or night as long as I know ahead of time.

OK. Thanks, med. I'll see how it works for bean.

[worsthorse]

If we move it two hours later to 21:00 UTC does that work for more people? It'll start getting late in Eastern Europe, but better morning hours in Australia.

It doesn't matter to me when it starts. I can be available any time....day or night as long as I know ahead of time.

OK. Thanks, med. I'll see how it works for bean.

I am not much of a talker but if I am near my desk at the appointed time, whatever the appointed time might be, I will check in...

[VK5RC]

1900 UTC works well for me, 0530 local, but I am often up at that time.
Rob

[BravoV]

Here's a potential agenda. Some of these, such as 4, 5, and 6, could be regular segments. A suggestion was to keep it to one hour. I don't know how long each of these would last. So, it may be good to have some extra topics on hand. Then again, there's always the "TEAngent of the Day".

TEA Time — Episode 1
1. Intro
2. Retrospective: Best/worst of 2019 (auction, acquisition, repair, explosion, vendor, shipper, forum post/thread, etc.)
3. Most/least excited about TE in 2020 (announced, released, in search of, etc.)
4. Recent acquisitions & scores (gear, tools, snipes, gifts)
5. Jammy Git award: Best recent score (from #4 or seen on the forum)
6. GAS station: Deals you just can't resist (this is TEA, after all)
7. Suggestions on TEA Time (how was episode 1, when is episode 2)

If we survive this, we might dare to attempt episode 2.

Can't join, as I suck when speaking English. 

Suggesting topic on  ..  "Bargaining tips & tricks when buying TEA stuffs" ... 

[beanflying]

May you gain much valuable enheavyment from your new acquisition, my friend. 

mnem
(Attachment Link)

Thanks. It was a real chore getting 65 pounds of dead weight up a flight of stairs. And to top it off the handles are broken. 

See you do NEED a 3D printer for making handles Enjoy your project 

I don't think a 3D printer can work with leather. 

So you clearly NEED a Laser cutter as well for cutting the leather and helping make the tools to work it. Regardless you still NEED a 3D printer too 

[VK5RC]

@med - I would punt one of the 'low voltage' electros, ie 500V, the supply has a few amps behind it, so it can pop things. In my 545 one of the electros became a nice resistor.

The Yaesu ft101 is slowly waking up from the dead. No 13.5V, the diodes popped, took out a trace, (the fox tango group refer to it as a 'fuseable trace'), I replaced the electros across the 13.5 v line as a precaution, found brown goop underneath - but they tested ok. The 13.5v line supplies power to the meter and dial illumination bulbs - it is common to accidentally short the 13v supply to the chassis at the bulb holders. It is a bit naughty but I have replaced them with LED equivalents.
I am getting what sounds like appropriate hiss from the speaker and it responds to audio gain variation! 👍
The calibrator isn't calibrating, but it is 40C here today so I have 'taken my cricket bat home' and am skulking inside with the airconditioner!

[bd139]

Right bench project 2020 initiated. Step one: locate a decent chair. The current situation is I’m using a dining chair. It’s not ideal. This plan is to filch a second hand Aeron from somewhere. Also going to replace my entire bench and drawer unit with one custom made unit. Going to spend the next couple of days drawing up plans etc.

[med6753]

Right bench project 2020 initiated. Step one: locate a decent chair. The current situation is I’m using a dining chair. It’s not ideal. This plan is to filch a second hand Aeron from somewhere. Also going to replace my entire bench and drawer unit with one custom made unit. Going to spend the next couple of days drawing up plans etc.

About freaking time. 

[bd139]

Yep. Bye bye Ikea shite 

Plan so far is deeper work surface full width. Small shelf at rear for radio / scope etc then two deeper shelves above to support usual test gear gubbins and storage crates. Drawers down left side for tool storage.

Whole thing is going to be drafted in freecad. Going to get the thing cut to order and then assemble.

[med6753]

Yep. Bye bye Ikea shite 

Plan so far is deeper work surface full width. Small shelf at rear for radio / scope etc then two deeper shelves above to support usual test gear gubbins and storage crates. Drawers down left side for tool storage.

Whole thing is going to be drafted in freecad. Going to get the thing cut to order and then assemble.

Wow, fancy. My benches were drafted by freeinmyhead, cut by guesswho, and assembled by yourstruly.     

[tggzzz]

Yep. Bye bye Ikea shite 

For benches/tables, Ikea do have one very useful item: sturdy adjustable height legs. They are great for getting your feet comfortably on the floor at the same time as your elbows and neck are at the right angle. (But do check the max load!)

[tggzzz]

TEA Christmas lunch failure:



No humans were harmed, but chestnut trees were involved in the meal, and a duck and pig were committed to the meal.

[bd139]

Yep. Bye bye Ikea shite 

Plan so far is deeper work surface full width. Small shelf at rear for radio / scope etc then two deeper shelves above to support usual test gear gubbins and storage crates. Drawers down left side for tool storage.

Whole thing is going to be drafted in freecad. Going to get the thing cut to order and then assemble.

Wow, fancy. My benches were drafted by freeinmyhead, cut by guesswho, and assembled by yourstruly.     

Yeah I lack three things there though: (1) ability to get things right without a CAD tool (2) ability to cut a straight line (3) any tools to cut anything with 

Yep. Bye bye Ikea shite 

For benches/tables, Ikea do have one very useful item: sturdy adjustable height legs. They are great for getting your feet comfortably on the floor at the same time as your elbows and neck are at the right angle. (But do check the max load!)

The Ikea office stuff is quite good to be honest. It's definitely a league above other stuff. BUT the big problem is they have stopped selling the decent workbench conversion stuff now. The second hand stuff seems to have a layer of nicotine I'll be buggered if I'm cleaning off!

TEA Christmas lunch failure:



No humans were harmed, but chestnut trees were involved in the meal, and a duck and pig were committed to the meal.

Wonder if that is made by the same crap factory as my oven thermometer that melted and had to be scraped off the bottom of the oven 

[McBryce]

TEA Christmas lunch failure:



No humans were harmed, but chestnut trees were involved in the meal, and a duck and pig were committed to the meal.

You don't use a K-Type sensor connected to a 7,5 digit Multimeter to measure the oven temp?? And you consider yourself a TEA?

McBryce.

[tggzzz]

TEA Christmas lunch failure:



No humans were harmed, but chestnut trees were involved in the meal, and a duck and pig were committed to the meal.

You don't use a K-Type sensor connected to a 7,5 digit Multimeter to measure the oven temp?? And you consider yourself a TEA?

McBryce.

I wasn't cooking in my kitchen, so my 7.5 and 8.5 digit 19" DVMs weren't available - and there was zero worktop space available anyway. The available Fluke 21 wouldn't have sufficient resolution.

[med6753]

Started the restoration of the 535A. This is going to be a long and involved restoration. And there will be no other attempts at power up until cleaning/lube/deoxit/inspection is complete.

Here's the top with the only pieces remaining of the handles are the metal straps that were embedded in the leather. The strapping suggested by Cubdriver is too wide but I did find some ¾ inch webbing that should work. Order placed. The original guide manual was still in place. The covers are filthy but at first glance appears they will clean up and not require paint. Will know later after cleaning.



The rear panel after removing the fan screen. The fan itself doesn't look bad and it turns freely. Will lube it anyway. Not so the interior. A horror show of dust and dirt. Will post pix later. That label on the upper left says it was owned by the U.S. Navy.



The front panel after cleaning. Getting the knobs off turned into an exercise in futility. So I resorted to cotton swabs and Simple Green. Worked fine. I then followed it up with ammonia based window cleaner since Simple Green leaves a residue. The CRT bezel had the optional dark X-ray emission screen. It was metalized plastic glued to the bezel. No more. And Xacto knife got rid of it. The front panel now looks real good.

More later.....   

[nixiefreqq]

TEA Christmas lunch failure:



No humans were harmed, but chestnut trees were involved in the meal, and a duck and pig were committed to the meal.

You don't use a K-Type sensor connected to a 7,5 digit Multimeter to measure the oven temp?? And you consider yourself a TEA?

McBryce.

I wasn't cooking in my kitchen, so my 7.5 and 8.5 digit 19" DVMs weren't available - and there was zero worktop space available anyway. The available Fluke 21 wouldn't have sufficient resolution.

what the hell is that?

(looks like something from the first "alien" flick)

[ArthurDent]

TEA Christmas lunch failure:



No humans were harmed, but chestnut trees were involved in the meal, and a duck and pig were committed to the meal.

The description of the process reminded me of this meal I was involved in. 

https://youtu.be/5HLy27bK-wU

[PA0PBZ]

Just leaving this here: