Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Cerebus]

This Munich apartment is full of surprises,
now I know why that plug works sporadically...

(Attachment Link)

 

why? why? Oktoberfest and then go to work??? Why nobody said anything before me?

My assumption is: this is a switched wall socket, because the previous owner had plugged in a lamp and wanted to switch it on with the other lamp. I saw this config occasionly and it is not that unusual. But it is a good idea to mark such wall sockets. 

Standard practice here in the UK is to use a different type of plug and socket for switched lighting circuits. Typically a 2A BS546 round pin socket. Nowadays this is probably observed more in the breach than the observance thereof.

15A, 5A, 2A BS549 plugs:



Current BS1363 13A plug for comparison - slightly larger than the old BS549 15A plug.

[mnementh]

Has been validated against SHA512 from cisco download page so none

So CISCO tacitly supports 3rd party hosting of their FW by posting the hash in public areas of the site...? They just don't want to pay for BW used by freeloaders like us, I guess... 

mnem

[Cerebus]

Since color-coded outlets are a common thing nowadays... you'd think they'd develop a standard color code to denote switched outlets and the related switches and the same with 3-way switches.

Two problems with that: (1) Someone will decide that "Oh my god my eyes green" ought to be the standard colour, and someone with taste will object to this in the middle of their dove grey minimalist decorating scheme, (2) Colour blindness is so common that you really can't rely on colour coding for consumer use (Yes, many idiots still do, but standards people are usually quite good about things like this - which is why in Europe we've now got shit brown and smurf diarrhoea blue as standard mains wiring colours instead of red and black; the cynical might say that it's not because colour blind people can tell them apart any better, it's just so that the normal sighted among us become as disadvantaged as the colour blind).

[bd139]

Has been validated against SHA512 from cisco download page so none

So CISCO tacitly supports 3rd party hosting of their FW by posting the hash in public areas of the site...? They just don't want to pay for BW used by freeloaders like us, I guess... 

mnem

LOL it's a bit of a fuck up isn't it.

Source: https://t.me/s/cisco_collection

[0culus]

*snip*


Mmmmhmmm... I wonder how many "undocumented features" that torrented FW has been "upgraded" with... 

mnem
*currently sitting at a bench withj bits o' 3DP scattered from hell to breakfast*

Cisco does a good enough job of that on their own.  Seems like a new intentional backdoor is discovered in their software at least once a year.

[bd139]

At least that gets found and fixed  . Some of the stuff out there is completely abandoned. 

[Cerebus]

Heads up for anyone who orders from RS. I've found another of their pricing anomalies:

100m reel of 7/0.2 hookup wire, 0.22mm² CSA,  PVC, 1kV with dual red and black colour coded sheathing. Who doesn't need another colour of hookup wire? Normal price of this is £10.35/reel for the dual coloured insulation. Going for £2.44 for a 100m reel.

[bd139]

Good catch! I don't actually need any - got about 5 rolls at the moment already 

[med6753]

Just puttering around here. This was my first scanner. PRO-2011. I haven't checked it out for quite a while and it's got very low audio. So decided this would be a good time to re-cap it as well as investigate the audio issue. It uses a TDA1905 audio chip which is obsolete but available on Ebay.

Unfortunately I don't have a schematic so if the audio issue turns out to be in the Detector stages I may be SOL on a fix. We'll see. No hurry to fix it.

[Cerebus]

Ah, the old dowsed in wax trick. Much nicer than hot snot or that weird Silastic that goes brittle over time.

[mnementh]

I had one of that very model back in the day when I was a volunteer firefighter... was pretty sensitive with a center-loaded antenna about half-extended.  Have you ever seen the pagers they used back then? Little portable receivers with tone squelch based on a cluster of mechanical reeds. Ducking amazing that sh...tuff worked at all, and more so that it survived as long as it did. Some of the pagers were already 20 years old when I joined.

Since color-coded outlets are a common thing nowadays... you'd think they'd develop a standard color code to denote switched outlets and the related switches and the same with 3-way switches.

Two problems with that: (1) Someone will decide that "Oh my god my eyes green" ought to be the standard colour, and someone with taste will object to this in the middle of their dove grey minimalist decorating scheme, (2) Colour blindness is so common that you really can't rely on colour coding for consumer use (Yes, many idiots still do, but standards people are usually quite good about things like this - which is why in Europe we've now got shit brown and smurf diarrhoea blue as standard mains wiring colours instead of red and black; the cynical might say that it's not because colour blind people can tell them apart any better, it's just so that the normal sighted among us become as disadvantaged as the colour blind).

So it's the same old BS "The bell ends will object, so do NOTHING" argument...? Come on C... I know you can do better than that.

Those people are free to install any ducking color switch/outlets they like; up to and including painting them as they see fit if that's their choice. The point being... there should be SOME standard for this sh...tuff that both manufacturers and installers CAN adhere to, so that it's not a matter of writing on the covers with a ducking Sharpie or having to bring a labeler because nobody can be arsed to take responsibility for making a simple color choice.     

mnem
*back into 3DP hell*

[med6753]

I had one of that very model back in the day when I was a volunteer firefighter... was pretty sensitive with a center-loaded antenna about half-extended.  Have you ever seen the pagers they used back then? Little portable receivers with tone squelch based on a cluster of mechanical reeds. Ducking amazing that sh...tuff worked at all, and more so that it survived as long as it did. Some of the pagers were already 20 years old when I joined.

Yep, and it's still very sensitive and picks up the stations fine but the audio is half what it should be and surprisingly not very distorted. 

[Cerebus]

So it's the same old BS "The bell ends will object, so do NOTHING" argument...? Come on C... I know you can do better than that.

Those people are free to install any ducking color switch/outlets they like; up to and including painting them as they see fit if that's their choice. The point being... there should be SOME standard for this sh...tuff that both manufacturers and installers CAN adhere to, so that it's not a matter of writing on the covers with a ducking Sharpie or having to bring a labeler because nobody can be arsed to take responsibility for making a simple color choice.     

mnem
*back into 3DP hell*

So do what us sensible British chaps do, have a physically different socket. As I said in another message, we use 2A round pin plugs for lighting outlets. In fact there's no bar to you guys over there adopting exactly the same socket and plug. Heck, you weirdos need a decent mains plug for something.

[mnementh]

Ever since I saw that one piece of equipment beaten to pieces in shipment by one of your UK "+3 Mace power plugs"; whenever y'all talk about them this scene from Casino Royale just keeps playing in the back of my mind...

mnem
"Now that's a pain that's gonna linger." ~me

[bd139]

If they wanted to hurt him with plugs they would have left a few on the floor in the dark.

[tautech]

I had one of that very model back in the day when I was a volunteer firefighter... was pretty sensitive with a center-loaded antenna about half-extended.  Have you ever seen the pagers they used back then? Little portable receivers with tone squelch based on a cluster of mechanical reeds. Ducking amazing that sh...tuff worked at all, and more so that it survived as long as it did. Some of the pagers were already 20 years old when I joined.

Yep, and it's still very sensitive and picks up the stations fine but the audio is half what it should be and surprisingly not very distorted. 

A dicky coupling cap perhaps ?

[Cubdriver]

So it's the same old BS "The bell ends will object, so do NOTHING" argument...? Come on C... I know you can do better than that.

Those people are free to install any ducking color switch/outlets they like; up to and including painting them as they see fit if that's their choice. The point being... there should be SOME standard for this sh...tuff that both manufacturers and installers CAN adhere to, so that it's not a matter of writing on the covers with a ducking Sharpie or having to bring a labeler because nobody can be arsed to take responsibility for making a simple color choice.     

mnem
*back into 3DP hell*

So do what us sensible British chaps do, have a physically different socket. As I said in another message, we use 2A round pin plugs for lighting outlets. In fact there's no bar to you guys over there adopting exactly the same socket and plug. Heck, you weirdos need a decent mains plug for something.

Nahh, I think I like not having multiple varieties of incompatible receptacles for the same voltage.  Switched outlets are a relative rarity IME, and I much prefer the ability simply plug in a lamp at ANY 120V receptacle to needing to hunt for a lighting-specific one or use an adapter.  And I like our mains plugs.  While they can't be used as demolition tools or blunt force weapons like the ones you Brits have, they are also much less likely to act as caltrops when left lying on the floor when one is wandering around with bare feet.

-Pat

[AVGresponding]

You're unlikely to see those round pin lighting plugs outside of an industrial/commercial environment.
I've certainly never seen one in a domestic setting.

I went looking on RS and ordered some of that wire, and found another good deal there too:



Found something to repurpose:


You really want to make sure these are discharged:


All the best stuff is made here...



I got a Post Office card through the door today while I was at work, so maybe the probe tips have arrived!

[Saskia]

someone did the shutup and take my money thing with my Rigol 1054Z. if someone offers me 3 times my purchase price I cannot resist.

The lost package has surfaced, obviously the DHL kiosk fucked up. He seller is about to resend it.
Received a used, great condition complete Fractal Design case (Define S), also from ebay. 2 of those rubber feet were dead, and all the mainboard standoffs missing. Superb. Why is it that difficult to just count the accessories, when there is a BOM in the manual ?
Similar thing with a SMPS that I got. I am wondering what's wrong in this world.

Have been scolding my hubby for not winning the EuroMillions. If he had done as I asked I would have been able to afford that CNC router that has caught my attention (Okuma Multus ...)

Anyway, lots of fun and games going on right now, still in crisis mode at the company, the sister of one of my colleagues just died last week, and they have to look after the BiL and his 2 young kids, and my daughter has to go back to school next week even though the CoVid crisis is far from over and she has a rather severe lung issue.

Great joy.

[Specmaster]

Ah, the old dowsed in wax trick. Much nicer than hot snot or that weird Silastic that goes brittle over time.

Yep and that brown shit can become conductive over time and cause all kinds of problem, wax is far better option.

[AVGresponding]

Yep and that brown shit can become conductive over time and cause all kinds of problem, wax is far better option.

Unless it's in the proximity of  RIFA or maybe a grumpy tant, in which case it's a source of fuel...

[SilverSolder]

[...]

Anyway, lots of fun and games going on right now, still in crisis mode at the company, the sister of one of my colleagues just died last week, and they have to look after the BiL and his 2 young kids, and my daughter has to go back to school next week even though the CoVid crisis is far from over and she has a rather severe lung issue.

Great joy.

Did the woman die from Covid-19 complications?  Always terrible when a young person/parent dies.   A good friend of mine died in his sleep at age 32, with an undiagnosed heart condition - leaving wife and 2 small children.  I still get emotional just thinking about it.

Re. your daughter,  maybe she could be home schooled for a while, until we have a vaccine or similar?

[Saskia]

thanks for asking, no, it was cancer. My daughter has to write her centralized finals and spend about 40 hours with her classmates who have been doing their corona parties   

I'll be driving up north (she lives with my Ex about 300 miles north) to give her a mask and some filters that are literally unobtainium around here. I can't imagine though what writing finals must feel like with a 3M 6000 or 7500 series mask on her face for 8+ hours ...
Absolutely not what we had in mind for her final year of school.

[Specmaster]

You're unlikely to see those round pin lighting plugs outside of an industrial/commercial environment.
I've certainly never seen one in a domestic setting.

Well you haven't been round my in-laws house then because when they had an extension to their lounge done, I rewired their house and I installed a few 2A sockets in the lounge and dining room so that they could plug in some mode lighting lamps for atmosphere, fed from the lighting circuit and switched via a multi switch plate.

[Neomys Sapiens]

I had one of that very model back in the day when I was a volunteer firefighter... was pretty sensitive with a center-loaded antenna about half-extended.  Have you ever seen the pagers they used back then? Little portable receivers with tone squelch based on a cluster of mechanical reeds. Ducking amazing that sh...tuff worked at all, and more so that it survived as long as it did. Some of the pagers were already 20 years old when I joined.

mnem
*back into 3DP hell*

When I made a post here on scanner and comms receiver usage, that 'trilobit, trilobit, bilotrit, bilotrit' probably made you all overseas to say errr...what?
It was the onomatopoetic rendering of ZVEI 5-tone selective calls used for the alarm pagers of volunteer fire personnel. Nowadays it is followed up by a POCSAC-based transmission with details for the more modern ones, but the general alarm goes out that way. It doesn't use mechanical resonance elements, though. POCSAC makes your ears ring.
And there is FMS (Fahrzeug-Meldesystem : Vehicle Reporting System' which transmits ridiculous little information using 1200bd data chirps. It sounds like someone is making a sound pressing air trough his teeth ito his cheek. Sort of smacking. Usable information is just ONE numeric character from the vehicle to the control center and ONE alpha character in the other direction. Level2, which would have provided text messages, never came.