Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tggzzz]

Some Hobo with too many antennas crashed his ride.

I recently materialised at a local ham meeting, to hear a talk given by a local university professor. She was quite entertaining on how coronal mass ejections might cripple ham comms (and other things). The audience were not, shall we say, the kind of people that would encourage youngsters to become hams.

The "out the back and up some stairs" meeting room had some cow horns and notices about who was a primo and a knight of the RAOB. I've since discovered that is the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, no less, a low-rent version of the Freemasons. Yes, they have badges on blazers and other regalia.

[tggzzz]

Well, you Brits have always been big on "Class" and who has it and who doesn't. You still engender people with "Sir" and related stuff. It reminds me of the caste system in India. And all one has to do is look at the sinking of the Titanic and see "Class Structure" in action.

In the US 100 years is a long time, in the UK 100 miles is a long way.
In the US race is the "thou shalt not cross divide", in the UK class is the "thou shalt not cross divide".

Having said that, while the concepts of class and caste were similar, caste is still fixed and immutable and important whereas class was weakened significantly in the 60s. (Ditto race in the US)

[med6753]

Well, you Brits have always been big on "Class" and who has it and who doesn't. You still engender people with "Sir" and related stuff. It reminds me of the caste system in India. And all one has to do is look at the sinking of the Titanic and see "Class Structure" in action.

In the US 100 years is a long time, in the UK 100 miles is a long way.
In the US race is the "thou shalt not cross divide", in the UK class is the "thou shalt not cross divide".

Having said that, while the concepts of class and caste were similar, caste is still fixed and immutable and important whereas class was weakened significantly in the 60s. (Ditto race in the US)

Very true, on all points. 

[bd139]

I’m not sure most folk give a crap about that class stuff apart from the slightly mental royalists and the people who use it as an identity. At least in the major cities that’s the case.

And it’s definitely a redneck hamfest this one. Just seen someone driving a porcupine into a lamp post 

Edit: uniformed raynet whackers as well 

Rainham/Chatham? Bit of a hike for you: chose longer faster or shorter slower

Presumably a lot military (= likes uniform) types.

Pet hate when I was a kid: men that wore blazers with an "important" badge[1] and expected that to engender some respect in other people. Maybe before the 60s, but counterculture stopped that kind of nonsense!

[1] like a school uniform for "adults", e.g.

Turns out it was mostly ex BT folk from what I heard. Obsessed with their poles  . I have the same hatred of blazers. Have a couple of masons in the family which take it to a whole new level of WTF.

Yes a bit far out of the way indeed but there’s an anterior motive. Firstly I need to get out. Now at lakeside which happens to have a toilet, a Tesco sandwich meal deal place, a Go Outdoors and a Decathlon. Then for a drive up to Aylesbury and a nice afternoon walk . Managed most of the M25 today though 

[Specmaster]

Whoa, whats going on here today, has all that talk about calibrators and spectrum analysers last night fried every ones head today? Med, how are you getting on with your search for that 7.5 digit meter  , yes I'll be getting one eventually but sticking to my principles and out of that rabbit hole 

[med6753]

Med, how are you getting on with your search for that 7.5 digit meter  ,

The only way that's going to happen is if one falls out of the sky for free. 

[Specmaster]

Or, like me, one comes along thats affordable. To me its like a car, yes, I can have a car that shows 200mph on the speedo but it doesnt mean I have to drive it at 200mph 

[med6753]

If I had a car with a 200 MPH speedo I'd certainly want to find out if it could do 200 MPH, and kill myself in the process. 

[Specmaster]

In that case then, keep well away from 6.5 and 7.5 digit meters if your OCD has that much hold over you, or you will be down that rabbit hole in a flash chasing that last digit perfection which will not be of any real world use to you but your bank account will be groaning 

[tggzzz]

I’m not sure most folk give a crap about that class stuff apart from the slightly mental royalists and the people who use it as an identity. At least in the major cities that’s the case.

Central cities? I probably agree with you.

In Isleworth maybe not, but in "nice" places like Esher it is more evident. I can think of similar divides in Brizzle.

In Cambridge it is town vs gown vs tourists; those three populations occupy the same space, but never intersect nor interact.

[Specmaster]

All this talk of class reminds me of this.

[McBryce]

Have any of you guys ever had one of these fail on you?? I was using one on the output of a powersupply to power a small circuit. The current was way higher than I was expecting it to be, which after much head scratching turned out to be that this adapter had an internal resistance of 32R. Never had that happen before. The adapter has been with me for many years and has never been abused or put under any stupidly high currents etc. It looks perfect from the outside. Glad the current limit was set low enough to avoid a bang though.

McBryce.

[AVGresponding]

It's not so bad med, you just have to pretend it's useful to know the voltage of a battery to the nearest 100nV...

Doesn't this https://www.equipnet.com/auctions/lot-of-6-schlumberger-solartron-7075-digital-listid-611852/ cause your trigger finger to itch, just a little?   


Not sure how this can be described as "working" when there's no "oil" in it, and unless I'm gravely mistaken, filling it with any kind of oil would pretty much prevent it from ever working again...  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Standard-Cell-Weston-Type-1268-H-Tinsley-Co-Working-With-Thermometer/324037465607


A question here for my fellow Brits: what's the likely import duty on TE from the US with a purchase price of around £150-200?


Sorry I missed the discord last night, was still recovering from self inflicted wounds and didn't feel up to it.   

[Specmaster]

Have any of you guys ever had one of these fail on you?? I was using one on the output of a powersupply to power a small circuit. The current was way higher than I was expecting it to be, which after much head scratching turned out to be that this adapter had an internal resistance of 32R. Never had that happen before. The adapter has been with me for many years and has never been abused or put under any stupidly high currents etc. It looks perfect from the outside. Glad the current limit was set low enough to avoid a bang though.

McBryce.

Nope, never had one fail on me, but then again, I would not have thought about using to carry power to a circuit, in my mind I see it purely as a means of connecting a meter to a circuit to maintain signal integrity.

[Specmaster]

It's not so bad med, you just have to pretend it's useful to know the voltage of a battery to the nearest 100nV...

Doesn't this https://www.equipnet.com/auctions/lot-of-6-schlumberger-solartron-7075-digital-listid-611852/ cause your trigger finger to itch, just a little?   


Not sure how this can be described as "working" when there's no "oil" in it, and unless I'm gravely mistaken, filling it with any kind of oil would pretty much prevent it from ever working again...  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Standard-Cell-Weston-Type-1268-H-Tinsley-Co-Working-With-Thermometer/324037465607


A question here for my fellow Brits: what's the likely import duty on TE from the US with a purchase price of around £150-200?


Sorry I missed the discord last night, was still recovering from self inflicted wounds and didn't feel up to it.   

I think you will find it to be somewhere in the realm of approx 25% of the item price / value.

With the Weston Cell, some chancer, who clearly has heard that Weston Cells are sought after but does not understand anything about them, or how to research about them 

[SilverSolder]

Have any of you guys ever had one of these fail on you?? I was using one on the output of a powersupply to power a small circuit. The current was way higher than I was expecting it to be, which after much head scratching turned out to be that this adapter had an internal resistance of 32R. Never had that happen before. The adapter has been with me for many years and has never been abused or put under any stupidly high currents etc. It looks perfect from the outside. Glad the current limit was set low enough to avoid a bang though.

McBryce.

What brand is it?  (usually stamped in the plastic on the underside)

Never had a Pomona branded one fail.   I do have issues with cheapo Brand-X ones where the BNC plugs are not the correct size, making them hard to fit on some cables and equipment...

[xrunner]

Have any of you guys ever had one of these fail on you?? I was using one on the output of a powersupply to power a small circuit. The current was way higher than I was expecting it to be, which after much head scratching turned out to be that this adapter had an internal resistance of 32R. Never had that happen before. The adapter has been with me for many years and has never been abused or put under any stupidly high currents etc. It looks perfect from the outside. Glad the current limit was set low enough to avoid a bang though.

McBryce.

Not that kind, but other kinds of test cable connectors assembled in China. The cable connectors weren't made to come apart but I cut into them anyway and found some horrible connections hidden from view. If you can, crack into it and see what's inside. 

[Brumby]

Med, how are you getting on with your search for that 7.5 digit meter  ,

The only way that's going to happen is if one falls out of the sky for free. 

OK then...  If one falls out of the sky for $20 - just give it a flick my way.  If it's a HP, make it $30.

[McBryce]

Have any of you guys ever had one of these fail on you?? I was using one on the output of a powersupply to power a small circuit. The current was way higher than I was expecting it to be, which after much head scratching turned out to be that this adapter had an internal resistance of 32R. Never had that happen before. The adapter has been with me for many years and has never been abused or put under any stupidly high currents etc. It looks perfect from the outside. Glad the current limit was set low enough to avoid a bang though.

McBryce.

What brand is it?  (usually stamped in the plastic on the underside)

Never had a Pomona branded one fail.   I do have issues with cheapo Brand-X ones where the BNC plugs are not the correct size, making them hard to fit on some cables and equipment...

They are no-name parts, but pretty good quality (other than the recent internal resistance issue). The others are all fine and never gave me an issue.

Regarding the use. I sometimes use them on the powersupply because I have some nice long shielded leads (dual core, the current isn't carried in the shield) with crocodile clips at one end but BNC at the other, but obviously only for low current applications.

McBryce.

[mnementh]

Porcupine  = car with more antennas than necessary. Usually because the guy who drives it can’t see or remember the ones he already put on it.

Anyway that was total shit. Some decent stuff but the prices were fucking stupid and they wouldn’t budge. Going on the shit list that one. Biggest complaint is the fund raising trash table which had the fine example of a Farnell L30 which was “working” for £20. Working consisted of missing captive mains cable, missing the meter needle and a knob.  . Missed a Keithley 4.5 digit LCD meter someone got for £20 which was a bit high for “untested” IMHO.  . Bought nothing.

Time to go for a shit and a walk now

Ding! OK, now I get it. Hamfest but the prices sucked. Some Hobo with too many antennas crashed his ride.

Now I can go on with my life full of confidence. 

If that's all it takes, my friend... you are the fortunate son. 

mnem
"Welcome to the TEA Party." ~me

[tggzzz]

All this talk of class reminds me of this.

That is remembered because it was extremely accurate, and to a lesser extent still is accurate.

[Wolfgang]

Have any of you guys ever had one of these fail on you?? I was using one on the output of a powersupply to power a small circuit. The current was way higher than I was expecting it to be, which after much head scratching turned out to be that this adapter had an internal resistance of 32R. Never had that happen before. The adapter has been with me for many years and has never been abused or put under any stupidly high currents etc. It looks perfect from the outside. Glad the current limit was set low enough to avoid a bang though.

McBryce.

I had one of those fail open circuit.

[tggzzz]

It's not so bad med, you just have to pretend it's useful to know the voltage of a battery to the nearest 100nV...

Doesn't this https://www.equipnet.com/auctions/lot-of-6-schlumberger-solartron-7075-digital-listid-611852/ cause your trigger finger to itch, just a little?   

I have too many DVMs that need checking/fettling - so no, I'm not tempted.

Not sure how this can be described as "working" when there's no "oil" in it, and unless I'm gravely mistaken, filling it with any kind of oil would pretty much prevent it from ever working again...  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Standard-Cell-Weston-Type-1268-H-Tinsley-Co-Working-With-Thermometer/324037465607

The oil is not necessary for it to function. The oil helps ensure stability by reducing temperature changes.

More to the point, it contains liquid mercury in a glass envelope, and it is illegal to ship that.

[mansaxel]

Well, you Brits have always been big on "Class" and who has it and who doesn't. You still engender people with "Sir" and related stuff. It reminds me of the caste system in India. And all one has to do is look at the sinking of the Titanic and see "Class Structure" in action.

Edit...and I have no class. 

Never in my life have I been called "Sir" so frequently as when I was visiting the ex-colonies. (the German "Sie" and the French "Vous" are used much more democratically, IMNSHO. The "Sir"'ing in the US feels like a strange mix of salesman servility and professional contempt.

[SilverSolder]

Well, you Brits have always been big on "Class" and who has it and who doesn't. You still engender people with "Sir" and related stuff. It reminds me of the caste system in India. And all one has to do is look at the sinking of the Titanic and see "Class Structure" in action.

Edit...and I have no class. 

Never in my life have I been called "Sir" so frequently as when I was visiting the ex-colonies. (the German "Sie" and the French "Vous" are used much more democratically, IMNSHO. The "Sir"'ing in the US feels like a strange mix of salesman servility and professional contempt.

It's all in how it is said...   with real respect, or contempt/servility.  Both are used.