Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Saskia]

yes, but there is only a limited amount of money that I can set aside for this, given the fact that I have a few power supplies ...

[mnementh]

Yes... but it was a shame to see you get outbid on "The ONE PSU to Rule Them All"...

mnem
"...and in the darkness bind them."

[BU508A]

True. If it's over the budget, then better let it go. But it's hard anyway. Honestly, if I would have the budget at the moment, you can be sure, that I would have placed a bid. Maybe next time.

Edit: Grammar *grrr*

[Saskia]

well, it's that last second bidding ...
but anyway ...

I will get a very reasonable preamp (audiophoolery) from the early 80s as a trade for my 7 channel R/C sender.
That is a good trade for both involved and I am not dependent on ebay for that ...

[tggzzz]

First of all, know your limits. Being a glider pilot does not keep you from getting killed by flying into imc.

Very true.

A glider does not have the instruments nor the motor to do ifr.

Some gliders do. ISTR the minimum additional instrumentation is a turn-and-slip indicator, but that is pretty obsolete. The usual modern instrument is a standard artificial horizon. Some glider pilots have qualifications that allow them to fly in IFR.

Caution: my information is a few years old.

So if you are beyond your limits you should not have gone out. The fine for pulling a Stunt like this is easily up to 50k. And I was warned that going out in an ifr worthy but not certified airplane in imc would easily cost me a substantial 5 figures penalty.

I've no idea of the penalty, but would be illegal here too.

[worsthorse]

[Saskia]

sorry, but I have yet to see an IFR certified glider.

Even the DA20 which evolved from a motor glider and is available with a glass cockpit (as are the Pipistrel Virus and Sinus) is not IFR certified because it has no lightning protection. 

[0culus]

Man, all this talk of aviation. It makes buying old test equipment seem quite affordable in contrast.

How do you get a small fortune in aviation? Start with a large fortune! 

[tggzzz]

@Wolfgang when we fool around with our rather large home built rockets we ask for and receive a dedicated airspace which is off limits to everybody else. There's also a NOTAM which makes it pretty clear what we are doing. We have ATC standing by (either on radio or on the phone) during the entire event.

We do expect even glider pilots to honor the NOTAM and keep out of our launch area for their own safety.

NOTAMs are NOTAMS, so no "even" about it, with the possible exception if there is absolutely no alternative. Of course any decent pilot will not have got themselves into a position where there is no alternative.

We have however seen assholes circling right above our launch site, and glider pilots crossing our launch towers and parking their stuff in our landing zone.

I've seen many asshole powered pilot fly down our 1mile long asphalt centre line below winch height, on the way to the larger airport 4miles away. I've always prevented a launch, but there have been some very close misses elsewhere.

I believe the core problem is that the glider operation is not marked on some of the electronic maps (?Jepson?). The legal requirement is the paper map, but ...

On more than one occasion they have landed at the glider site and been cantankerous about the poor ATC. Apparently to calm them down the usual technique is to show them the formal airfield name marker (two big letters visible from a height). It is probably apochryphal that one pilot demanded to see the fire equipment, and was shown the fire extinguisher next to the cooker

They disappeared after a true scale flight of my scale SAM (4 ft, no warhead) which tore a crater less than 20 m from one of their precious gliders. Even though that was a mishap and not at all intentional it immediately taught a valuable lesson.

For a while. It will be forgotten and new people will appear

[Neomys Sapiens]

ok, overbid on that powersupply behemoth. oh well. Continue with Korad ...

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Netzteil-DC-Power-Supply-Hewlwtt-Packard-6271B/264708470553?hash=item3da1dab719:g:18cAAOSw92ReoJNf

[Cubdriver]

I dont think a sailplane could be certified for operation in IMC, at least not here in the states - part of the concept is that whole 'maintain' some assigned altitude thing, which (other than motor gliders) they're not so good at doing.  It'd be interesting to see the procedure logbook entry certifying that the yaw string calibration had been checked - maybe use a pedestal fan and a protractor?

-Pat

[URI]

Man, all this talk of aviation. It makes buying old test equipment seem quite affordable in contrast.

..and it makes it easier to catch up with the thread, on-topic content-wise..       

[mnementh]

Showed the Beethoven's 5th vid to my wife... we both got sucked in for a while. 

mnem
 

[Wolfgang]

sorry, but I have yet to see an IFR certified glider.

Even the DA20 which evolved from a motor glider and is available with a glass cockpit (as are the Pipistrel Virus and Sinus) is not IFR certified because it has no lightning protection.

IMHO, IFR demand that the plane must be able to fly according to a flight plan or ATC order regardless of visibility conditions. No engine - how you would climb if the ATC wants you to ? There is simply no pure sailplane that can fly IFR. Same with automatically flying waypoints.

[mnementh]

Urrrrgh. Just spent over an hour poring over schematics of 3DP controllers and trying to wrap my brain around Marlin's config files... I had to stop when I felt brains oozing out my ears...

mnem
*time to park my brain in neutral and couch-tuber widda boi*

[Mr. Scram]

The trolley problem is infantile sophistry for anyone with any moral compass whatsoever.  You do the best you can with the knowledge and ability you have at the time. This means you don't knowingly and actively endanger kids just to satisfy some stupid bureaucratic requirement. If you're allowing that level of second-guessing to enter the equation, you don't belong anywhere your decisions are counted on for the public safety.

Thanks for playing.

mnem
 

Putting your fingers in your ears and pretending people aren't going to die isn't going to help. It's only going to make things worse. This isn't some Hollywood flick where everything works out in the end while the hero kisses the girl and people cheer. We'll have to make atrocious choices which will cost human lives one way or another and I'm very glad I'm not making them. Though it's indeed a tragedy that all the people who know exactly what to do are somehow relegated to back seat driving.

Thanks for losing. Insert another human to continue. I don't think I like this game.

[Cerebus]

Been amusing myself by catching up with Adam Savage. Of note, something that might be useful for a zillion electronics assembly and fettling tasks, a form of clamping things that I'd not seen before but that is apparently popular with engravers. It's the last item looked at in this under five minute video. The other holding and clamping things are also good to know about if you've not encountered them before.

[mnementh]

The trolley problem is infantile sophistry for anyone with any moral compass whatsoever.  You do the best you can with the knowledge and ability you have at the time. This means you don't knowingly and actively endanger kids just to satisfy some stupid bureaucratic requirement. If you're allowing that level of second-guessing to enter the equation, you don't belong anywhere your decisions are counted on for the public safety.

Thanks for playing.

mnem
 

Putting your fingers in your ears and pretending people aren't going to die isn't going to help. It's only going to make things worse. This isn't some Hollywood flick where everything works out in the end while the hero kisses the girl and people cheer. We'll have to make atrocious choices which will cost human lives one way or another and I'm very glad I'm not making them. Though it's indeed a tragedy that all the people who know exactly what to do are somehow relegated to back seat driving.

Thanks for losing. Insert another human to continue. I don't think I like this game.

And you literally just proved my point; you're so busy "being right" you just can't see how wrong you really are. 

mnem
The ends. ARE. The means.

[Brumby]

Not going to get into lengthy discussion here.  There's enough of that as it is.  This is just my 2 cents...

Unless you have full, perfect and unbreachable isolation, everyone in the world will, eventually, be exposed to the COVID-19 virus.  Because of the nature of the actual world we live in, this is just something that is going to happen.  These COVID-19 lockdowns were never meant to stop the virus spreading.  That would be impossible.  What they are meant to do is slow the spread.

This intent is clearly shown when you have your leaders present the graphic and talk about "Flattening the curve".  This graphic not only shows the flattening - but why it's sought after.



Note: The area under each curve represents the total number of affected people and these are pretty much the same.  This means that, either way, the same number of people are going to get the virus and need treatment.  The same number of kids.  The same number of elderly.  The only difference is the time over which this occurs.

As (probably) everyone is aware, the lockdowns are an economic burden that everyone would like to see lifted ASAP.  The sooner they are gone, the better for the economy - but it requires some care.

The fact that there are discussions on lifting some lockdown restrictions is not surprising as there will be many who haven't had to deal with the severity of the situation and are just getting pissed off.  The fact that these notions are being entertained says something far more significant.....

It would seem to me that there are areas where the flattening of the curve has been so effective, that the health system has coped and that future projections indicate the load on the health system will decline.  While this is marvellous for the health system, it comes at the cost of extended impact on the economy.  The solution is to ease back on some restrictions to enable the economy to start the recovery process.  Yes, the health system will be busier than we might like, but as long as the capacity is not exceeded, then care will not be compromised.  (I added the purple line in the above graphic to illustrate this.)

This is what I see as an appropriate action - but ONLY where the decision makers are operating with objectivity, integrity ... and all the facts.  Bowing to political pressure and making hasty, ill-considered changes is a sure way to screw the pooch.



Hmmm... with politicians at the helm, the pooch should be worried.

[Brumby]

On a TEA related note....  A somewhat uncommon opportunity in the land downunder.....

Promoted under the heading of "Vintage Electrical": https://www.allbids.com.au/t/vintage-electrical-sale

I have dealt with them a few years ago - and would be happy to do so again, for the right item.  They are located in Fyshwick, ACT.  Beware the buyer's premium of 22.5%.  Also freight costs if you can't pick it up yourself.

[beanflying]

On a TEA related note....  A somewhat uncommon opportunity in the land downunder.....

Promoted under the heading of "Vintage Electrical":
https://www.allbids.com.au/t/vintage-electrical-sale?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020-04-26%20Vintage%20Electrical&utm_content=2020-04-26%20Vintage%20Electrical+CID_ec09984c6c66a9bdc33d8aa1f274c063&utm_source=Email%20Marketing&utm_term=ALLBIDS#?page=1&count=100&filter%5BDisplay%5D=true

So TEA Porn as well as the other kind is available in Fyshwick  LINK NSFW at all !! https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-27/sex-on-show-in-canberras-x-rated-exhibition/6354410

Nothing to do with TEA here today but I made a Beaver Puke and Glue very flat Echidna  Nearly have the correct level of clamps available on the rack.....

[Neomys Sapiens]

On a TEA related note....  A somewhat uncommon opportunity in the land downunder.....

Promoted under the heading of "Vintage Electrical": https://www.allbids.com.au/t/vintage-electrical-sale

I have dealt with them a few years ago - and would be happy to do so again, for the right item.  They are located in Fyshwick, ACT.  Beware the buyer's premium of 22.5%.  Also freight costs if you can't pick it up yourself.

FSHs and Miniports - worthy prey! Also comparatively underbid ESH2s and ESVs - they also can sideline as fine communication receivers.

[mnementh]

"Flattening the curve" is marketspeak. We are literally allowing marketing people to influence decisions made by ignorant politicians when we need to listen to the medical sector and scientists. The fact we're even allowing these people to use statistical models... their preferred means of making numbers lie... is bad enough; the problem is not the numbers, but that we are again allowing selfish people to plug human lives into an equation where some number of $$$ are more important than people. As soon as you permit that, then you become these two; portrayed as monsters and rightly so:

   

No matter HOW you do the math; it "sometime in the next month or two" is still obscenely too soon. The only reason we're even having this conversation is we all know that the prevailing leadership is not going to provide support for the poor, who are going to start starving to death soon; and we also know that most of the poor are children. It is, of course, so much more important to pour money into internment camps on the Texas/Mexico border. 

mnem
God forbid we should make them give back any portion of the great Tax Heist of 2017.

[Neomys Sapiens]

The trolley problem is infantile sophistry for anyone with any moral compass whatsoever.  You do the best you can with the knowledge and ability you have at the time. This means you don't knowingly and actively endanger kids just to satisfy some stupid bureaucratic requirement. If you're allowing that level of second-guessing to enter the equation, you don't belong anywhere your decisions are counted on for the public safety.

Thanks for playing.

mnem
 

Well, as you have pulled this metaphor and are seemingly set on it's deconstruction, I hope that you don't entertain any 'beneficial doubt' on how those tasked with the implementation of systems where such considerations would apply are going to implement those /deep deep down in the code/ ? Hint: it's not about the people, it's about the car!

[mnementh]

I am NOT. I am not interested whatsoever in this corrupt mental construct; it is a mental exercise for those who've lost their fucking souls. Just like "Flattening the curve."

mnem
No, thank you.