Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[sb42]

I actually just bought a cheap stainless steel scouring pad from the grocery when I got here, and pegged it to my T12 soldering iron stand with a random bit of springy wire. cost Like a buck.

Those tip cleaners are usually made of brass on the basis that it's harder than the oxide that forms on the tip but softer than the plating. They're also supposed to be lightly fluxed for the solder to take to the brass shavings.

I think I have plenty of the Hakko ones left - but curious to know if the steel scouring pad works well.

[tautech]

I actually just bought a cheap stainless steel scouring pad from the grocery when I got here, and pegged it to my T12 soldering iron stand with a random bit of springy wire. cost Like a buck.

Those tip cleaners are usually made of brass on the basis that it's harder than the oxide that forms on the tip but softer than the plating. They're also supposed to be lightly fluxed for the solder to take to the brass shavings.

I think I have plenty of the Hakko ones left - but curious to know if the steel scouring pad works well.

Fine stainless works great and been using it for years. Never have issues cleaning and tinning tips with it.

[grizewald]

I'm more than impressed with this 34401A. I guess it's probably lived all of its life in a rack so far, judging by the lack of bumpers and a handle, plus the fact it's unbelievably clean, both on the outside and on the inside. Of course, I had to take it apart once I'd verified it was working.






I love equipment without fans! Find me anything with a fan that's still this spotless inside after 20 years. The date codes on the ICs tell me it was made towards the end of 2000. Looking in the menus, the CAL COUNT is just 82 and the last calibration date stored is 29 Dec 2000. So it looks like it has been calibrated once at the factory and then one more time before being delivered to the original customer. It's also never been touched by a soldering iron either.

The fact that it measured my LTZ1000 voltage reference so accurately despite not being calibrated since it was first put into service is quite amazing. The fact that it also measured my 1K, 10K and 100K ultra precision resistors as almost the identical value that the cal lab measured them at is frankly incredible!

I believe this qualifies for a "Winner, winner, chicken dinner!"

[Specmaster]

Here in the UK, at least in Braintree and Chelmsford, Essex that is NOT the case, freezer cabinets and the shelves containing most food stuffs and ingredients were stripped bare, along with the household cleaning items and pharmaceuticals. Fresh fruit and vegetables almost gone, along with a lot of the wines and spirits.

Here, in deepest darkest East London, the one thing that's not been disappearing from the shelves is booze. It would be infra dig of me to pass any comments on my neighbours in Essex based on the above quote. 

Earlier in the week, I would whole heartily concur with your observations, but now, that is not the case, today in Aldi Chelmsford, and particularly Tesco in Braintree the shelves are very Spartan indeed. I can only report what I and my Son witnessed first hand.

Aye it's gutted here too. Waitrose, Iceland, Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, M&S, off licenses, independent supermarkets all completely shafted. I've been supermarket surfing for a couple of days before locking myself in and it was bad then. A friend of ours spent 5 hours driving around today trying to find stuff. Couldn't even get any bread. Also had same reports from people at work in multiple locations all around London.

The panic buyers is a problem but there's a massive problem with supermarket and supply chain staffing at the moment. They're right about the goods being available but the system isn't cut out for getting where stuff needs to be.

The whole thing is a shit show.

Right off to play with some PCF8574's

Now bread is one thing that there is a supply of here, some shops have more than others but all shops are rationing people to 1 or 2 loaves each. We don't eat a lot of bread anyway, I know it can be frozen but with upright freezers, space is at a premium with those buggers. With that in mind, I prefer to keep meat, fish and pizzas etc in them and as long as bread continues to be available, I'll buy it as and when required. For the times when it isn't I have a couple of bread making machines that have not been used for about 16 years I guess till I dragged one out the other and made a trail loaf again. So when the bread supply does get  bad, I will have the ability to make around 18 x 1.5lb (0.68 kg) loaves before my supply of Strong Bread Flour is all gone. Hopefully, I'll not have to use them at all.

As you rightly said, the supply chain is screwed up with staff suffering symptoms and taking time off, shops are also struggling with poor staffing, same reasons.

One thing I'm struggling for is TP now, my youngest son brought a 12 pack from his shop today which I wasn't expecting because he has been trying for over a week to get some but as soon as it comes into stock and put on the shelves, the hoarders come in take it out again before he starts his shift. I was also able to get some today from Farm foods as well. So I guess if I run out of food I could perhaps buy some from my neighbours using the new currency BUTTCOINS by the sheet 

[Specmaster]

I actually just bought a cheap stainless steel scouring pad from the grocery when I got here, and pegged it to my T12 soldering iron stand with a random bit of springy wire. cost Like a buck.

Those tip cleaners are usually made of brass on the basis that it's harder than the oxide that forms on the tip but softer than the plating. They're also supposed to be lightly fluxed for the solder to take to the brass shavings.

I think I have plenty of the Hakko ones left - but curious to know if the steel scouring pad works well.

I have both types here, and they do both seem to as effective as each other and the steel ones are infact cheaper and easier to come by as they can be sourced from most supermarkets, where there are sold as scouring pads.

[Specmaster]

Amazon are also keeling over with the strain of the increased on line shopping. I had a delivery scheduled for today before 9PM (nonfood item), I was via email informed this morning that it had been dispatched  and was out for delivery. This evening I got another email apologising for the non-delivery and that was now scheduled for 20/21st of this month, just glad its not something I was desperately waiting. 

[mnementh]

After this mess is over some of the world's currencies will probably be as valuable as sheets of toilet paper.

Yeah we'll finally get the point that "economists" are not scientists

Morning all. Still alive  . No extra flukes bought

Did sell a couple of things overnight. Now I need to shift 'em which is a pain in the arse at the moment. Wondering if I should shut sales down.

Glad to know that you're still with us, so no SK sale just yet then. How the bloody hell are you feeling this morning, better I hope?

Just heard the end of the news on the radio and there was something about London shops being shut down apart from chemists and food shops, so it looks my information does have some substance after all.

Just got back from shopping again, went to Farmfoods for milk and was going into Lidls (next door). Had to queue waiting for them to open the doors, Farmfoods had almost completely empty everything, freezers and the racks above them were also bare, no milk but had TR, they were 3 packs of 18, for £11, 3 per customer, so thats what I got there, just 3 packs of TR. Lidls were still queuing as I came out and the crowd noticed that we all had TR and the cry went up "They have TR" and a good few people went from Lidl's queue to Farmfoods. I locked mine in the boot and said Fuck this and drove to Aldi, about a Mile away.

There I was greeted with yet another queue and no trolleys and someone on door control counting people in once  a set number had entered, they prevented anyone else entering until someone left. Eventually I did get a trolley as they were slowly being returned after loading their shopping into their cars. Restricted to just 4 items the same per customer. Once inside, t seemed like the stocks were quite good on the fruit and veg section but as you got further in, you came across empty box after empty box in most places, no TR though and no flour of any description. I was after doing my normal weekly shop but it was evident that was not possible, so I got as close to normal what I could get. While going round, you could see people from the same family, each with their own trolley and when I got outside again, these people were all unloading their trolleys into the same car so my theory was correct.

Need to go out yet again to get some more milk and cat food so will see what its like then, now I'm beginning to get some appreciation what it must have been like during the war, queueing for just a loaf of bread. 

Feel fine so far. Bed was soaking wet this morning so probably had a burn out in the middle of the night. I did check it didn't smell of piss 

Waiting on Ocado delivery. I think this might be the next shit show. It's due at 16:30-17:30 but there are some problems:

1. They took their web site down
2. They took their phone line down
3. They have stopped posting on twitter
4. They haven't taken any money yet from my account.

I suspect they have collapsed and keeping quiet on gov order so not to kick off more panic.

I've planned two weeks ahead anyway so this isn't end of the world yet. However supermarkets are fucking empty everywhere. Eldest went earlier. No bread, milk, potatoes, vegetables, meat here.

Keep the cat well fed. You might need to eat it.

I'm curious as to why no other countries besides South Korea has been or plans to use the containment method China deployed. There, everyone was forced to download a tracking app that was used to track the infected and contact with others. They used drones to increase their GPS accuracy, police monitored entrances to apartment complexes and allowed people 2-3 trips out per week for essential outings and signed them in/out via their app. Checkpoints were put in place and people were screened religiously.  Streets were disinfected on an industrial scale - convoys of tankers full of disinfectant were dispatched regularly.   I realize it's impractical to do this nationwide, but why isn't it being done in cities like NYC and LA? We're not being aggressive enough in our effort to contain.  Typing this, I've remembered that the majority of our Republican leaders think that the media is exaggerating the whole thing, and also 23% of Democrat leaders. 

China are up shit creek and full containment is a really bad outcome as well. The moment containment drops again there will be mass infection of those who are not immune. If it's anything like the 1918 Spanish Flu, wave two will be 3x as devastating as the first. People are hanging onto a reliable tested vaccination which is ~6 months off easily. Watch it over the next few months. We've got some of the best people in the world in the UK on this and as much as it's a Tory government, they are taking the right approach IMHO here which is controlled rates of infection, curve flattening and developing tests for asymptomatic cases to get more data.

Agreed on all points. The worst part is not the disease contagion; it is the willful ignorance contagion... and that is a pandemic which has been chronic, intractable and regionally entrenched for decades.

mnem
*feeling totally pants today after staying up til 7am like a damned foo*

[mnementh]

Back to spreading rumours.  If you can't spread the virus you can at least spread FUD, right? People should show some restraint.

Jeezus, H. Christ a-hoppin' on a pogo stick; ENOUGH. PLEASE go somewhere else and troll with this shit. We are NOT a news source; we are a bunch of nerds talking at the pub. Well, the closest thing we're allowed, since they HAVE closed the pubs down.

mnem
*SMH*

[mansaxel]

Now bread is one thing that there is a supply of here

We're also not out of it, and no rationing (just outside Stockholm, SE). There's been a few things I could not get earlier in the week, but have been able to get now so supply chain is working, albeit catching up. Buttcoin is wiped out, of course, but I bought 64 rolls 2 weeks ago so am good.

I've got my parents living close by, and am shopping for them too, so went by them and did a "modern UPS delivery", i.e. placed the goods on the door mat and ran away.

Most bread at our place is home-made now. Working from home means slowcooking like sourdough projects can be much easier managed. I'm making something like 6 baguettes a week, and I've got a finnish coarse rye sourdough bread (where you more or less make one large "starter" and make the bread from only that.) that takes like 36-48 hours to make, underway. It's due for the oven Friday morning so I can make room for the barbacoa from brisket that's Friday dinner on home-made tortillas. (No, am not drinking Corona with that. Lidl low-alcohol (3,5%) lager.)

TEA: Discovered that the 10VAC setting on my ex-RAF Avo 8 is open circuit.  Just when I need a stupid mechanical movement that actually makes the DUT work a bit, because loading the DUT to get "robust" results is underestimated. Sometimes.

[beanflying]

Amazon are also keeling over with the strain of the increased on line shopping. I had a delivery scheduled for today before 9PM (nonfood item), I was via email informed this morning that it had been dispatched  and was out for delivery. This evening I got another email apologising for the non-delivery and that was now scheduled for 20/21st of this month, just glad its not something I was desperately waiting. 

Haven't darkened Amazons door locally for several weeks but the rest of the postal/freight system locally is working much as per normal. Clearly Amazon needs larger cattle prods and whips for their workers on the line 

My couple of Fluke items left Canberra yesterday afternoon with TNT and hit Melbourne Airport this morning due here Monday or if I get really keen and they make the local depot tomorrow morning (Saturday) I might go pick them up. Post Freight seems unchanged locally or interstate.

[mnementh]

Please, do not start a fight about this. It's not worth it. 

At tense time like these we all have an obligation to keep a cool head. Group behaviour will decide how this all turns out and rumours can do very real damage. We need to stamp them out with zeal.

Yeah, you're doing it in a most abrasive manner; please try NOT screaming and jumping up & down like the maniacs you seem to think we all are. 

mnem
 

[Brumby]

Got a delivery this morning.  Something I started looking for several weeks ago and finally pulled the trigger two and a half weeks ago.  It cost me $45 all up - but now it seems to be worth ten times that...

One only, 5l 100% IPA - and, no, I'm not going to auction it off.

[AVGresponding]

Was at my local Co-Op supermarket earlier, stock was low but no real empty shelves. They had a decent amount of bread, even the freshly baked stuff.

I heard on the radio (90%+ of my news comes from BBC Radio 4, NOT to be confused with BBC TV news which seems to be as hysterical as every other visual news source nowadays) that eh Co-Op is hiring 5000 temporary workers, to be sourced from those who lost their jobs in the hospitality industry, to help get shelves re-stacked etc.

Also had a trip to the HWRC to get rid of a crap-load of cardboard boxes and packing material. Can't imagine how I had so much...
 

[mnementh]

Sorry to hear that. I hope you're not feeling blue.

 

I got over it. I'm too old to put up with the BS.

But don't be surprised if he changes his graffiti paint to navy blue.   

...Aye it's gutted here too. Waitrose, Iceland, Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, M&S, off licenses, independent supermarkets all completely shafted. I've been supermarket surfing for a couple of days before locking myself in and it was bad then. A friend of ours spent 5 hours driving around today trying to find stuff. Couldn't even get any bread. Also had same reports from people at work in multiple locations all around London.

The panic buyers is a problem but there's a massive problem with supermarket and supply chain staffing at the moment. They're right about the goods being available but the system isn't cut out for getting where stuff needs to be.

The whole thing is a shit show.

Right off to play with some PCF8574's

Yeah, the "problem" is what is called "just in time production & delivery". It is one of the "great advances" of the "corporate age", where the only thing that matters is saving those with the biggest pool of money even MORE money, and Devil take those who have to go without.  But hey... nothing personal. It's just business. 

mnem
But somehow, It's all OUR FAULT. 

[Brumby]

While I'm not defending big business, the "Just in Time" model is one of the factors that keeps end prices to consumers down.  No need to build excessively large storage facilities and all the costs of running them.

The fact that the occasional running out of stock on an item or two just gets a minor grumble form a customer or two is testimony to the reasonableness in how it performs in the day to day.

The fact that we have had a step-wise increase in demand is abnormal.

[Specmaster]

People like this person are the cause of the food shortages, and you know what, I bet that a lot of that will end up in the bin anyway with use before dates expiring and that fresh fruit and veg will go off real quick, bastards. There people working all day in essential jobs who when they get to shops at the end of their shifts will find next to nothing, while this wealthy person has all the time in the world got out and stock pile. 

https://twitter.com/mikegalsworthy/status/1240684125440352256?s=20

[mnementh]

I actually just bought a cheap stainless steel scouring pad from the grocery when I got here, and pegged it to my T12 soldering iron stand with a random bit of springy wire. cost Like a buck.

Those tip cleaners are usually made of brass on the basis that it's harder than the oxide that forms on the tip but softer than the plating. They're also supposed to be lightly fluxed for the solder to take to the brass shavings.

I think I have plenty of the Hakko ones left - but curious to know if the steel scouring pad works well.

The amount of abrasion you're talking here is minimal; you can't apply any appreciable amount of pressure so it's COMPLETELY a non-issue. I've NEVER seen any flux on the HAKKO Brillos, and I had several bought directly from them when I had my FX-951. I've been using SS Brillo in my HAKKO soldering stand for years; it works great and no appreciable wear on my tips, some of which are a decade old.

There's one other great thing about the SS Brillo; SOLDER DOESN'T STICK TO IT like the brass ones. I can wash the stuff with a little Windex and running water in the laundry room sink; then shake it dry and toss it back in the stand. Dump the sink strainer when I'm done, wash my hands and back to my life. I only replace the brillo when it gets ratty and all flyaway strands.

mnem
  *tssssst*

[AVGresponding]

People like this person are the cause of the food shortages, and you know what, I bet that a lot of that will end up in the bin anyway with use before dates expiring and that fresh fruit and veg will go off real quick, bastards. There people working all day in essential jobs who when they get to shops at the end of their shifts will find next to nothing, while this wealthy person has all the time in the world got out and stock pile. 

https://twitter.com/mikegalsworthy/status/1240684125440352256?s=20

Yeah, what an entitled douche, and what a shitty example to set your kids. Chances are they'll be even worse than him when they grow up.

[Brumby]

There's one other great thing about the SS Brillo; SOLDER DOESN'T STICK TO IT like the brass ones. I can wash the stuff with a little Windex and running water in the laundry room sink; then shake it dry and toss it back in the stand. Dump the sink strainer when I'm done, wash my hands and back to my life. I only replace the brillo when it gets ratty and all flyaway strands.

Yep.  Same here, using a cheap SS scourer - except I haven't had the need to wash any of it so far.  I just roll the pad around in between my hands and the crud crumbles away.  Probably should give it a better go one day to rinse off flux residue.

[med6753]

People like this person are the cause of the food shortages, and you know what, I bet that a lot of that will end up in the bin anyway with use before dates expiring and that fresh fruit and veg will go off real quick, bastards. There people working all day in essential jobs who when they get to shops at the end of their shifts will find next to nothing, while this wealthy person has all the time in the world got out and stock pile. 

https://twitter.com/mikegalsworthy/status/1240684125440352256?s=20

Yeah, what an entitled douche, and what a shitty example to set your kids. Chances are they'll be even worse than him when they grow up.

Send bd over there to burn his house down. 

[mnementh]

While I'm not defending big business, the "Just in Time" model is one of the factors that keeps end prices to consumers down.  No need to build excessively large storage facilities and all the costs of running them.

The fact that the occasional running out of stock on an item or two just gets a minor grumble form a customer or two is testimony to the reasonableness in how it performs in the day to day. The fact that we have had a step-wise increase in demand is abnormal.

No, it is NOT. There are shortages ALL THE TIME due to poor logistics, and PEOPLE GO WITHOUT ALL THE TIME. The difference is those shortages are usually LOCALIZED, and rarely last longer than a week or two, and are USUALLY only a few types of product. We just take it for granted, even when it's life-critical medication like insulin or epi-pens and the "shortage" is 100% fabricated by greedy bastards; and we all listen to & make excuses to ourselves for all the BS  excuses our corporate overlords give us, because they act as if they were authorities. 

The fundamental reason for these constant shortfalls in EVERYTHING we once took for granted is the fundamentally flawed core concept of modern business: Finding any way to do business without paying a person to do a job. Shockingly, we are finding in times of global need something we average people always knew: That a person can deal with the unexpected, a machine (or a supply chain that acts like one) CANNOT.

mnem
*back to the bench*

[mnementh]

People like this person are the cause of the food shortages, and you know what, I bet that a lot of that will end up in the bin anyway with use before dates expiring and that fresh fruit and veg will go off real quick, bastards. There people working all day in essential jobs who when they get to shops at the end of their shifts will find next to nothing, while this wealthy person has all the time in the world got out and stock pile. 

https://twitter.com/mikegalsworthy/status/1240684125440352256?s=20

Yeah, that'ds exactly what I was thinking: There's no way any single family... or even 3 families... can use up most of that shit before it goes rancid (anything with oil in it) or stale and nasty (anything with grains or dairy product in it) and has to be thrown away. What a wasteful fuckwit. 

mnem
*fuckwit, but not wasteful*

[med6753]

While I'm not defending big business, the "Just in Time" model is one of the factors that keeps end prices to consumers down.  No need to build excessively large storage facilities and all the costs of running them.

The fact that the occasional running out of stock on an item or two just gets a minor grumble form a customer or two is testimony to the reasonableness in how it performs in the day to day. The fact that we have had a step-wise increase in demand is abnormal.

No, it is NOT. There are shortages ALL THE TIME due to poor logistics, and people go without ALL THE TIME. The difference is those shortages are usually LOCALIZED, and rarely last longer than a week or two, and are USUALLY only a few types of product. We just take it for granted, even when it's life-critical medication like insulin or epi-pens and the "shortage" is 100% fabricated by greedy bastards; and we all listen to & make excuses to ourselves for all the BS  excuses our corporate overlords give us, because they act as if they were authorities. 

The fundamental reason for these constant shortfalls in EVERYTHING we once took for granted is the fundamentally flawed core concept of modern business: Finding any way to do business without paying a person to do a job. Shockingly, we are finding in times of global need something we average people always knew: That a person can deal with the unexpected, a machine (or a supply chain that acts like one) CANNOT.

mnem
*back to the bench*

Is everything an evil business conspiracy to you? Same subject, different day. The droning gets a little monotonous. 

Sometimes I think you have your tin foil hat on too tight. 

 

[mnementh]

There's one other great thing about the SS Brillo; SOLDER DOESN'T STICK TO IT like the brass ones. I can wash the stuff with a little Windex and running water in the laundry room sink; then shake it dry and toss it back in the stand. Dump the sink strainer when I'm done, wash my hands and back to my life. I only replace the brillo when it gets ratty and all flyaway strands.

Yep.  Same here, using a cheap SS scourer - except I haven't had the need to wash any of it so far.  I just roll the pad around in between my hands and the crud crumbles away.  Probably should give it a better go one day to rinse off flux residue.

I'll admit it's just me being "that way". I like the shiny and the smell; makes me feel like I did something useful. 

mnem
*almost awake now*

[Brumby]

No, it is NOT. There are shortages ALL THE TIME due to poor logistics, and PEOPLE GO WITHOUT ALL THE TIME. The difference is those shortages are usually LOCALIZED, and rarely last longer than a week or two, and are USUALLY only a few types of product. We just take it for granted, even when it's life-critical medication like insulin or epi-pens and the "shortage" is 100% fabricated by greedy bastards; and we all listen to & make excuses to ourselves for all the BS  excuses our corporate overlords give us, because they act as if they were authorities. 

The fundamental reason for these constant shortfalls in EVERYTHING we once took for granted is the fundamentally flawed core concept of modern business: Finding any way to do business without paying a person to do a job. Shockingly, we are finding in times of global need something we average people always knew: That a person can deal with the unexpected, a machine (or a supply chain that acts like one) CANNOT.

mnem
*back to the bench*

Sorry, I have to disagree.

If anything, I will make this one qualification:

The fact that we have had a step-wise increase in demand of this magnitude is abnormal.

The model you are portraying can only result in higher prices - and a business which does not follow suit will soon see their "overly prepared for 98% of the time" competitor closing their doors in short order.


Don't blame business for this - blame the customers who demand the lowest prices and who will make an effort to find those.