Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

Currently in middle of Ikea in Wembley at the moment. Need some more bits to organise my shit. Yes I was that bored 

Saw this -

Ikea announces first big UK store closure

Ikea has announced that it will shut down its Coventry city centre store this summer, in its first big closure of a UK outlet.

The Swedish flat-pack furniture giant said the store had made "consistent losses" since it opened in 2007, with fewer people visiting it than expected.

It said it would be consulting the 352 workers affected and would try to find them jobs at other stores.

The Usdaw union said it was "devastating news" for staff.

Ikea, which has 22 stores in the UK, said that it remained committed to growth in the UK.

It said the Coventry site, which cost it £35m, had been built in the city centre as one of its earliest examples of testing a new format to meet customers' changing needs.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51369413

Yeah, it's a bad location for the store, they always seem to thrive further out of the main drags, on a retail park or even industrial estates seem to be where they do best, bigger car parks I guess might be a key factor. Every time I go the local one at Thurrock, the car is really massive and is pretty much rammed and if you are really lucky during daytime Mon-Fri you might be able to park around the edges of the car park.

It’s also Coventry which is a shit hole of a place. I know someone who moved from Coventry to Feltham because it was better  .  Ikea at Wembley was rammed even though it was 9pm when I actually got there. Anyway back now, storage sorted, cable management ready for monitor arm tomorrow and I have a massive bag of Daims which I will hide from the kids and fail to eat one a day which was the plan when I bought them 

[Specmaster]

SNIP:

It’s also Coventry which is a shit hole of a place. I know someone who moved from Coventry to Feltham because it was better  .  Ikea at Wembley was rammed even though it was 9pm when I actually got there. Anyway back now, storage sorted, cable management ready for monitor arm tomorrow and I have a massive bag of Daims which I will hide from the kids and fail to eat one a day which was the plan when I bought them 

Hmm, Daims sound a bit like Toblerones, might have to try then next time I go there 

[bd139]

Armadillos!

https://youtu.be/bqeGxMgVOHI

[Specmaster]

Couldn't possibly eat a whole one of those.

Edit. Why don't you make them, they look easy enough 

[Cerebus]

I can't stand Ikea stores, I find the short cuts through - if I have to go there. Harumph

[Cerebus]

And while I'm posting YouBoob links, Chris Rock on the subject of Racism and the N word:



Edited to add:

Parental Advisory: About every third word is NSFW, it's very funny, be prepared to explain what you're laughing at without using language that will get you a divorce and your children taken into care if it's quoted out of context.

[mnementh]

Jeezus H. Christ a-hoppin' on a pogo stick... a dozen scrap PCBs in the junk closet already, and not a damn one with a "normal" N-Gate MOSFET or NPN power transistor I can identify. 

I'm gonna have to go almost downtown to an actual electronics store and BUY some fucking 2328As or IRFZxxs for this stupid little 500mA switch I'm trying to knock together...

mnem
grr. arrg.

[beanflying]

Consider yourself lucky to still have an Electronics store with components. Nearest one is 2 1/2-3 hours away This is why I have 'more stuff' that others don't understand why

[WastelandTek]

Jeezus H. Christ a-hoppin' on a pogo stick... a dozen scrap PCBs in the junk closet already, and not a damn one with a "normal" N-Gate MOSFET or NPN power transistor I can identify. 

I'm gonna have to go almost downtown to an actual electronics store and BUY some fucking 2328As or IRFZxxs for this stupid little 500mA switch I'm trying to knock together...

mnem
grr. arrg.

what is this "actual electronics store" you speak of??

[med6753]

Jeezus H. Christ a-hoppin' on a pogo stick... a dozen scrap PCBs in the junk closet already, and not a damn one with a "normal" N-Gate MOSFET or NPN power transistor I can identify. 

I'm gonna have to go almost downtown to an actual electronics store and BUY some fucking 2328As or IRFZxxs for this stupid little 500mA switch I'm trying to knock together...

mnem
grr. arrg.

what is this "actual electronics store" you speak of??

Ditto. 

[med6753]

Used to have....

Lafayette Radio. They went bust in 1981. They had great stuff including an audio room for demo'ing stereo equipment.

A local place called Greylock Electronics. Also disappeared in the 1980's.

And of course, Radio Shack.

Edit....the Sony ICF-5500W you see in the background of many of my pictures came from Lafayette Radio. And I still have a number of their catalogs.

[mnementh]

I used the term VERY loosely...  They're somewhere between a Red Ten and pre-Tandy Radio Shack: www.sayal.com

That said; I found the driver PCB from a CFL bulb in the bottom of a box; it has some BV32s on it. A little overkill voltage-wise, but should be plenty to switch a 80mm fan if they aren't leaky as hell from the hard life they lived...

mnem
*back to the bench*

[med6753]

I used the term VERY loosely...  They're somewhere between a Red Ten and pre-Tandy Radio Shack: www.sayal.com

That said; I found the driver PCB from a CFL bulb in the bottom of a box; it has some BV32s on it. A little overkill voltage-wise, but should be plenty to switch a 80mm fan if they aren't leaky as hell from the hard life they lived...

mnem
*back to the bench*

Quick look at their site appears to be mostly surplus crap.

[beanflying]

Sawdust and Sunshine and the Sun is now over the Yardarm. Feeling for the Wage Slaves on a Tuesday really I am 

Ripping some Spotted Gum decking to rebuild some Garden Furniture.

On Topic someone else buy this so I don't have to. eBay auction: #392581278886 It would go really well with Dotty the HP 5000 series counter but like Dotty largely sit on the shelf underused Same seller has a nice lot of other gear up for grabs too.

[bitseeker]

I remember giving an American poster on a different forum a very hard time about trying to re-spell laser with a z. He didn't particularly like me pointing out how brain damaged "lazer" is. 

Especially since "laser" originates from "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". Maybe he thought it was generated from ztimulated emizzion of radiation.

[bitseeker]

Unless you are in Texas where "y'all" is singular. The plural is "all y'all".

exactly! thank you for finally addressing the singular/plural issue wrt y'all. 

Everything's bigger in Texas, including the plurals.

[bitseeker]

I'm totally going to go shop that clock RIGHT NOW!!! 

It is a pretty cool clock.

[mnementh]

I used the term VERY loosely...  They're somewhere between a Red Ten and pre-Tandy Radio Shack: www.sayal.com

That said; I found the driver PCB from a CFL bulb in the bottom of a box; it has some BV32s on it. A little overkill voltage-wise, but should be plenty to switch a 80mm fan if they aren't leaky as hell from the hard life they lived...

mnem
*back to the bench*

Quick look at their site appears to be mostly surplus crap.

Naaahhh... they have lots of tools, as well as all the crap your typical alarm/AV-HT/SOHO Network Cabling installer would need, as well as a good assortment of discrete components and some common semis. Just do a product search for different classes of components (like zener, for example) and you'll see what I mean. What they advertise is the closeout crap they got cheap; trying to get normal folks in the doors.

   

After futzing around making my little switch PCB and finding the low beta of the BV32s meant base current was high enough to be disruptive to the control circuit,    I had a double-take and realized that the EASY solution was just to drop a 78xx across the switched 20V rail on the thing and put it under a screw on the PCB. 

I've got a 7808 handy; it offers the added benefit of dropping minimum RPM on the 80mm thermal-controlled fan to silent operation levels. Gonna let the beast cook overnight, see if I can catch the fan cycling on in the AM.

*shakes brain like a magic 8-ball*

HEY...! Brain cell that came up with the 7808 idea! WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU 4 hours ago...?

[ SIGNS POINT TO GO FUCK YOURSELF ]

Dammit... even my own brain has to fuck with my head...

mnem
*toddling off to ded*

[bitseeker]

Nice interpretation of "surface mount," mnem.

[mnementh]

LOL!

Just good ol' empirical engineering at work.

mnem
I AM the role of failure in design.

[Zucca]

And in 2 hours I have two of them and the problem solved with off the shelf crap I have. Again thanks to everyone who promoted this amazing tech

FUUUUU my wife stopped my Ender 5 toy upgrade, we used the money for a new mattress.
PS: Once we will settle into the new apartment the Ender will walk in too, I promise

[bd139]

It has begun. It’ll be cushions next. 

[beanflying]

Buy the printer and sleep in the Dog House no need for a new Mattress then    However  for you.....

Meanwhile get your CAD hat on and design some stuff in advance. Finally got around to the Champher Cutter I designed ages ago. Printed and works like I imagined it would 

Pre, Post and the Left Handed version .

[Zucca]

Stop posting awesome 3D printed stuff...

I want to kill myself.

[bd139]

Stop posting awesome 3D printed stuff...

I want to kill myself.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarco_device

Need a 3D printer first