Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bitseeker]

Oha, I'm not catching up with the TEA-Thread-posting rate.     
Doesn't matter I'll post anyway pushing the youngest end oft the Thread even further away.   

Yeah, sometimes you just have to forgo history and start fresh.

Some of you might remember that I collected three HP/Agilent 8110A units and several parts that all came delivered damaged despite one signal card -and I got full refung for all damaged parts.

I think I can build two units out of all parts.

I also found a NOS front panel plate (plastic part only with display window but without plate sticker overlay).

Now imagine my surprise and happiness when my e*ay-search revealed an offer for a NOS plate sticker overlay today! 

Bought it immediately without thinking of whether the price plus shipping of around $83 is ok or not.   

With these two NOS parts I will be able to built one nice undamaged unit for myself and one slightly mechanically damaged unit for selling. I might get as much out of it that my unit would be +/-0€ or even better.   

Wow, talk about good shopping. That's an impressive sequence of relevant finds.

[bitseeker]

The Tek Type 114 Pulse Generator successfully re-capped.

The terminal strips with the axial capacitors worked out beautifully in this application. The original "flying leads" tied in with no issues. And the original aluminum cans were left in place. The other 3 capacitors on the main board were also changed.

That's pretty slick, med. Added to POI.

[bitseeker]

I have just had the delivery man arrive...Hermes.... already striking fear and hatred in some peoples minds, especially bd's  and I must admit I was a bit apprehensive when the eBay seller said he would send the mini GW GOS-310 scope to me via them.

That's a cute one alright. Added both parts to POI.

Well here's my entry into the "smallest piece of HP test gear" discussion   
...

Also added.

[bitseeker]

Have we become as obsessive as the audiophool trying to get his system's total harmonic distortion from an inaudible 0.02% to 0.01% ? Is this our ultimate fate? To be just like them?

"Low thermal EMF binding posts" to gain one more least significant digit confidence out of an 8.5 digit DMM. Are we just as nuts as they are? 

The lines between reality and fantasy are blurred. 

Ah, not the same, fortunately. You can see the difference on the DMM.

[mansaxel]

Have we become as obsessive as the audiophool trying to get his system's total harmonic distortion from an inaudible 0.02% to 0.01% ? Is this our ultimate fate? To be just like them?

"Low thermal EMF binding posts" to gain one more least significant digit confidence out of an 8.5 digit DMM. Are we just as nuts as they are? 

The lines between reality and fantasy are blurred. 

I'm no volt nut, more of a frequency person. But, and this is a very important but, what them voltnuts are doing is measuring things. The Audiophool, OTOH, hails subjective judgement to the degree that he does not want to be disturbed by readily observable facts.

[beanflying]

Have we become as obsessive as the audiophool trying to get his system's total harmonic distortion from an inaudible 0.02% to 0.01% ? Is this our ultimate fate? To be just like them?

"Low thermal EMF binding posts" to gain one more least significant digit confidence out of an 8.5 digit DMM. Are we just as nuts as they are? 

The lines between reality and fantasy are blurred. 

Last digit on even a 6 1/2 can be thermal EMF or in this case it removes that from what is seen at 6 1/2. So yes it matters 

[beanflying]

So shopping. Hardware shop plenty of Masks both disposable and proper cartridge ones  No one seen is the streets wearing masks so clearly no panic in town.



  sheeple

[Ero-Shan]

After a few months of TEA deprivation, just a small "I'm still alive" from me. As if anybody had even noticed ... 

Last spring I got somewhat fed up with my old workbench. So I decided to make a new one. With a decent, ESD compliant tabletop, mains outlets in better reach, especially for the rack, and of course a larger rack.
I ordered the tabletop (together with a new one for my computer desk) and waited. And waited. And ... (you guessed right!) waited. Amazingly, late this February I got the call I'd thought I'd never get. The rest of the construction was already collecting duct in the garage. Despite my trying to get a decent result just once (and devoting a whole week to the task), it is way inferior to yours. Guys like med are just in another league.

Anyway, here's the parting shot for my old bench, after 40+ years of service (to me, that is; it had already been dumped when I got it):



The new one, devoid of equipment:



And with some equipment. Surely this state of cleanliness will never be seen again:



Now back to giving the GPSDO (the thing on the wall behind the soldering station) a decent housing.
And one fine day I might even catch up on this thread (only about 60 pages behind now).

[bitseeker]

Welcome back! I like the new workbench. I hope it doesn't stay that clean for long.

[Brumby]

Why hope?

Just wait...... 

[Vgkid]

*Snip

Damn I remember looking at those so I could fix some of my esi gear. Should have bought them a few months ago.
That gear is still sitting in storage, probably for the next year  

[Specmaster]

Have we become as obsessive as the audiophool trying to get his system's total harmonic distortion from an inaudible 0.02% to 0.01% ? Is this our ultimate fate? To be just like them?

"Low thermal EMF binding posts" to gain one more least significant digit confidence out of an 8.5 digit DMM. Are we just as nuts as they are? 

The lines between reality and fantasy are blurred. 

I'm no volt nut, more of a frequency person. But, and this is a very important but, what them voltnuts are doing is measuring things. The Audiophool, OTOH, hails subjective judgement to the degree that he does not want to be disturbed by readily observable facts.

I'm in agreement with med6753 here, even the improvement made by Audiophool's CAN be measured by the right equipment so his analogy stands. There comes a point when seeking absolute perfection is undetectable by people using the equipment that nature provided us with and in that respect I must agree with him.

[bd139]

If you can measure it and it doesn't measurably improve your life then you're trading your personal slavery for no gain

Edit: that is unless you can persuade someone else to buy it for more than you paid for it at which point you're exploiting their personal slavery for your gain with a small investment 

[tggzzz]

Have we become as obsessive as the audiophool trying to get his system's total harmonic distortion from an inaudible 0.02% to 0.01% ? Is this our ultimate fate? To be just like them?

"Low thermal EMF binding posts" to gain one more least significant digit confidence out of an 8.5 digit DMM. Are we just as nuts as they are? 

The lines between reality and fantasy are blurred. 

I'm no volt nut, more of a frequency person. But, and this is a very important but, what them voltnuts are doing is measuring things. The Audiophool, OTOH, hails subjective judgement to the degree that he does not want to be disturbed by readily observable facts.

I'm in agreement with med6753 here, even the improvement made by Audiophool's CAN be measured by the right equipment so his analogy stands. There comes a point when seeking absolute perfection is undetectable by people using the equipment that nature provided us with and in that respect I must agree with him.

Long ago, when CDs ere newfangled and my ears still worked, a friend with a good system and I did A-B comparisons of the same material on CD and vinyl: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Concertos-Recorder-Michala-Petri-Vinyl/dp/B00Q51H1MS

We concluded that we could reliably tell there was a difference, but not which was vinyl/CD. As to which was better - that cannot be answered objectively.

So, on the one hand audiophools are gullible, but on the other hand placebos (and worse nocebos) do have some slight benefit for some people.

[Messtechniker]

Such comparisons Vinyl/CD are pointless because of the different mastering techniques. Because of the more technical restrictions of vinyl, the mastering process for vinyl is often done or must be done with more care and attention (see topic of low frequency excursions, for example) and can for this reason sound better. CD mastering can, and often is for cost reasons, done more sloppily. 

[URI]

Have we become as obsessive as the audiophool trying to get his system's total harmonic distortion from an inaudible 0.02% to 0.01% ? Is this our ultimate fate? To be just like them?

"Low thermal EMF binding posts" to gain one more least significant digit confidence out of an 8.5 digit DMM. Are we just as nuts as they are? 

The lines between reality and fantasy are blurred. 

I'm no volt nut, more of a frequency person. But, and this is a very important but, what them voltnuts are doing is measuring things. The Audiophool, OTOH, hails subjective judgement to the degree that he does not want to be disturbed by readily observable facts.

I'm in agreement with med6753 here, even the improvement made by Audiophool's CAN be measured by the right equipment so his analogy stands. There comes a point when seeking absolute perfection is undetectable by people using the equipment that nature provided us with and in that respect I must agree with him.

I see your point but I don't fully agree:
Low thermal EMF binding posts have a measurable effect, you obviously need suited measures to measure and objectively prove their influence on sensitive signals. Using a 3 1/2 digit multimeter and denying the effect of low thermal EMF materials is no point to compare volt nuts with Audiphools in my opinion.

On the other hand: I want to see the the equipment needed to prove by objective measurement that foam blocks for getting the speaker cables some inches above the floor shall result in a lighter, not so earthy sound (been there, heard that from an Audiophool).   

[tggzzz]

Such comparisons Vinyl/CD are pointless because of the different mastering techniques. Because of the more technical restrictions of vinyl, the mastering process for vinyl is often done or must be done with more care and attention (see topic of low frequency excursions, for example) and can for this reason sound better. CD mastering can, and often is for cost reasons, done more sloppily. 

True, but I think there are more important factors:

• the CD was a simple digitisation of the 1980 analogue master[1]. It was before the "ADD/DDD/AAD" markings started to be used! Hence mastering is not an issue in this case
• more importantly, when listening to an orchestra (or concert), what is the "best sound". By the conductor? First row audience? Centre, left? etc etc. Fundamentally there can be no single best sound. Hence arguing about which is better is like arguing whether brand X baked beans are better than brand Y baked beans!

[1] https://www.discogs.com/Vivaldi-Sammartini-Telemann-H%C3%A4ndel-Michala-Petri-Academy-Of-St-Martin-in-the-Fields-Iona-Brown-Reco/release/10970311

[med6753]

 Hence arguing about which is better is like arguing whether brand X baked beans are better than brand Y baked beans!]

All depends upon which brand gives you better farts. 

[bd139]

more importantly, when listening to an orchestra (or concert), what is the "best sound". By the conductor? First row audience? Centre, left? etc etc. Fundamentally there can be no single best sound. Hence arguing about which is better is like arguing whether brand X baked beans are better than brand Y baked beans!

That's easily answered from my experience of such matters. Live music is almost always better but the location you sit is not at all important, only the company, what you ate before and the amount of alcohol consumed. This affects your perception of the day and the music. This is why I usually go on my bloody own, bag an M&S sarnie for the train, have a couple of drinks at a bar first like a complete saddo and the cheapest pint of whatever and a piss in the intermission

Optimum seating is on the end so you can dive out the door and get to the bar quickly. Positioning last gig I went to....



( https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/134075-penguin-cafe-2019 )

 Hence arguing about which is better is like arguing whether brand X baked beans are better than brand Y baked beans!]

All depends upon which brand gives you better farts. 

That is Waitrose Essentials beans. The finest intermixed bouquet of stale broccoli and dead rat.

[URI]

 Hence arguing about which is better is like arguing whether brand X baked beans are better than brand Y baked beans!]

All depends upon which brand gives you better farts. 

How do you define the quality of farts?
Any objective measurable attributes/properties?       

[bd139]

How do you define the quality of farts?
Any objective measurable attributes/properties?       

It's a sense and is about perception so it's best to use a sampling approach for such matters thus after dropping one, repurpose the NHS pain scale, sample the faces around you and take the mean.

[xrunner]

How do you define the quality of farts?

I wake up to this? 

I can't even leave you guys alone to get a good nights sleep! 

[BU508A]

Have we become as obsessive as the audiophool trying to get his system's total harmonic distortion from an inaudible 0.02% to 0.01% ? Is this our ultimate fate? To be just like them?

"Low thermal EMF binding posts" to gain one more least significant digit confidence out of an 8.5 digit DMM. Are we just as nuts as they are? 

The lines between reality and fantasy are blurred. 

I'm no volt nut, more of a frequency person. But, and this is a very important but, what them voltnuts are doing is measuring things. The Audiophool, OTOH, hails subjective judgement to the degree that he does not want to be disturbed by readily observable facts.

I'm in agreement with med6753 here, even the improvement made by Audiophool's CAN be measured by the right equipment so his analogy stands. There comes a point when seeking absolute perfection is undetectable by people using the equipment that nature provided us with and in that respect I must agree with him.

I see your point but I don't fully agree:
Low thermal EMF binding posts have a measurable effect, you obviously need suited measures to measure and objectively prove their influence on sensitive signals. Using a 3 1/2 digit multimeter and denying the effect of low thermal EMF materials is no point to compare volt nuts with Audiphools in my opinion.

On the other hand: I want to see the the equipment needed to prove by objective measurement that foam blocks for getting the speaker cables some inches above the floor shall result in a lighter, not so earthy sound (been there, heard that from an Audiophool).   

For med it doesn't make any difference, if he is using low-thermal EMF binding posts or not, when he is measuring the B+ voltage with 3 1/2, 4 1/2 or 5 1/2 digits

[med6753]

Today's victim...oops I mean project. 

Fluke 7260A. Let the re-cap commence. 

[Brumby]

Oh good ... no fans.