Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bitseeker]

So I don't really follow the TEA thread anymore since it blew up to the point that there are 20 pages to catch up on if I don't drop in for a couple days.  But I thought I'd drop back in to see if people here are aware of the existence of...

Nixie Tube Masking Tape:


Found at https://kadenken.com/view/item/000000000894 by someone on Twitter.

Well, now that's fun. Looks like Cubdriver and nixiefreqq have to stock up.

[beanflying]

So I don't really follow the TEA thread anymore since it blew up to the point that there are 20 pages to catch up on if I don't drop in for a couple days.  But I thought I'd drop back in to see if people here are aware of the existence of...

Nixie Tube Masking Tape:


Found at https://kadenken.com/view/item/000000000894 by someone on Twitter.

IF you need to fake it clearly your TEA collection is lacking 

[Brumby]

Nixie ... Nixie ... What do I have that's Nixie...?

 


Does the neon "live" indicator molded into the socket of one of my extension leads count?

[VK5RC]

Re Trial mountain biking, my fav is MacAskill, he has such a sense of humour and country, and a lovely fluid style while he does the stunts
http://youtu.be/K_7k3fnxPq0
Others Danny Day care
          Gymnasium

[beanflying]

Everyone's favorite evilbay Test Gear SCAMMER/Hacker is now including Laser Cutters  eBay auction: #402258396187 Reported for what it is worth via evilbay in Oz but if there is a better mechanism in the UK can someone pull the trigger on it? Do it before I buy a $10 Lecroy Scope 

There is a UK contact number too on the account details.

[tggzzz]

Re Trial mountain biking, my fav is MacAskill, he has such a sense of humour and country, and a lovely fluid style while he does the stunts
http://youtu.be/K_7k3fnxPq0

Yes, he doesn't take himself too seriously, and includes some outtakes

[Cubdriver]

Everyone's favorite evilbay Test Gear SCAMMER/Hacker is now including Laser Cutters  eBay auction: #402258396187 Reported for what it is worth via evilbay in Oz but if there is a better mechanism in the UK can someone pull the trigger on it? Do it before I buy a $10 Lecroy Scope 

There is a UK contact number too on the account details.

Damn, I could get a Hammond B3 with Leslie speaker from him and shipping is only $23!!  Such a a bargain!     

-Pat

[Saskia]

https://youtu.be/ZDbNe3mS0aw

Here's another Fabio Wibmer for your enjoyment.

[Specmaster]

Black Star 4503 update, Chinese seller has already refunded me in full and another chip ordered from a German seller, this time it is supposed to be NOS rather than used and should be with me in the UK this week 

[bd139]

Fingers crossed on round two. Does the print rub off the original replacement? 

One thing I tend to do with ICs is apply power to the supposed power pins and see what happens. I had some fake hc595's and when you connected the power they got hot  (inputs were not floating btw)

[AVGresponding]

The mind boggles...

After all the effort you'd have to go to to either remove clean and relabel old chips, or idk, relabel faulty ones (can you even buy those from manufacturers? Why would they sell something like that?), there can't be a huge margin in it.

Surely it would be easier to just resell genuine ones.   


EDIT: I meant to specify doing this for jelly-bean logic like the hc595's that bd mentioned. I can see there'd be a bigger margin on more specialised chips.

[mansaxel]

As I wrote upthread, last week's TEA is another counter. Now, I'm up to three, not counting (pun most intended) the ones in various multimeters et c. And I'm deliberately avoiding the FeelTech function generator input, since it does not count (pun...) due to it being the shittiest of them all (it is beaten by the 5221B that's entirely untouched since manufacture bar a PSU repair and, still, dead on.).  The last addendum, in true time-nut fashion, is a TTi TF830, and it's got the most digits of them all.

Here, it's displaying  my local 10MHz reference over 10 seconds measuring period, which by the way is exactly where it overflows in 10s mode (if I shorten the measurement period by one magnitude to 1s, the amount of digits precision lessens so as to accomodate the full 10MHz).

First, locked to  the same source:

As expected, clean sheet, with all zeroes and an overflow indicator; This of course is just a basic functionality test since it's comparing an apple to itself.

Then, less reference input:


172 Hz off is 17ppm, which I think is a tad high. I need to let it warm up thoroughly and get to tweaking it. I think I can reduce the error by one magnitude, but the "cal" trim pot (visible just to the right of the reference input on the first picture) is not very coöperative, it seems to jump between -10ppm and +10ppm with no way to rest in the middle..

[AVGresponding]

I don't suppose it's possible to replace the trimpot with a multiturn?

[mansaxel]

I don't suppose it's possible to replace the trimpot with a multiturn?

I haven't opened it (yes, I know ), but I think it is a multiturn already. I did my tweaking attempts with an ordinary albeit reasonably fitting screwdriver. I think I can get a bit better  with an actual trimmer if I can concentrate on turning the pot only, not having to bother about remaining in-slot. The trimmer lives in the iFixit mini toolkit which heavily pimped with actual tools (like the Bourns trimmer) gets used by the rest of the family for modding Nintendo consoles et c. and thus wasn't in its supposed place when I needed it.  On the bottom line, though, having family into taking electric things apart and modding them is a plus, so I will happily tolerate it.

Bonus, along the same lines (hacker family): The other week, Enabler Mark 1 Mod 3 (The Wife) asked "This surface mounting thing they talk about, how does one get started in that?" I think she needs a hot air station for her birthday.

[bd139]

Ext std in is beckoning 

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2518950/#msg2518950

[nixiefreqq]

So I don't really follow the TEA thread anymore since it blew up to the point that there are 20 pages to catch up on if I don't drop in for a couple days.  But I thought I'd drop back in to see if people here are aware of the existence of...

Nixie Tube Masking Tape:


Found at https://kadenken.com/view/item/000000000894 by someone on Twitter.

Well, now that's fun. Looks like Cubdriver and nixiefreqq have to stock up.

wow.  it IS possible to hate something, and at the same time want it.

(is that cognitive dissonance or is there a better term to describe it?)

[tggzzz]

The other week, Enabler Mark 1 Mod 3 (The Wife) asked "This surface mounting thing they talk about, how does one get started in that?" I think she needs a hot air station for her birthday.

When is your birthday?

A visor, a saucepan and some sand is sufficient to make SMD PCBs. Reworking benefits from a hot air gun.

[mansaxel]

Ext std in is beckoning 

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2518950/#msg2518950

Of course. Ext standard is a Meinberg M300 (written about upthread here and earlier, keep your eyes open for an antenna improvement post where I'm raising it some 3 meters, soon.) with a purpose-built 10MHz out, and a 1PPS as well. The 10MHz of course will go into a distribution amp, and the 1PPS will, hopefully, drive a set of slave clocks that were built to tick off of a mechanical pendulum master clock.

[Specmaster]

Fingers crossed on round two. Does the print rub off the original replacement? 

One thing I tend to do with ICs is apply power to the supposed power pins and see what happens. I had some fake hc595's and when you connected the power they got hot  (inputs were not floating btw)

I can't get the print to rub off but the print is nothing like that of the original or that of the one coming from Germany, so it could well be a fake. The print on the Chinese one is laser etched I think. One thing I did notice when I switched it on prior to swapping the chip was that readings were way off again, something like (depending on which range) 200 to 500mV from the correct figure. Today, I looked at it again but checked the mem retention battery voltage and it was reading 2.65V which was correct, rising 2.7 after switch on to keep the battery topped up, so  , why would the reading against a known standard change? Did a quick calibration of DCV and it is now reading correct again???

[nfmax]

I made a thing!


It's a mains probe widget thingy, to go with my new high voltage differential probe. I had a dead RF-controlled mains socket, so I ripped the PCB out, wired a current probe loop in where the relay used to be, and added a couple of shrouded 4mm sockets. All gooed together with hot snot!

Here it is working:

I even remembered to get the orientation of the current loop correct, so that real power drawn by a UUT is displayed as positive, according to the scope's power analysis application.

[McBryce]

Update:
Carefully plugging it in and firing it up:
Casing appears to be not on 230V which is good

Voltage display is a bit off (about 2V) when measured against a Fluke 179
Acoustic noise (almost like sparking) audible when unit is cranked up to 58VDC (which is about the maximum)

Smell (burning grime and gunk).

I can fix the stuff with the stand offs, I have not yet identified the part which is producing that smell.
I have not yet determined where that noise is coming from.

It seems that this unit can be salvaged, however the broken bezel is a major pain.

Standoffs are available for about 5 quid.

Just in case you need another supply: https://www.ebay.de/itm/184286989771

McBryce.

[bd139]

Fingers crossed on round two. Does the print rub off the original replacement? 

One thing I tend to do with ICs is apply power to the supposed power pins and see what happens. I had some fake hc595's and when you connected the power they got hot  (inputs were not floating btw)

I can't get the print to rub off but the print is nothing like that of the original or that of the one coming from Germany, so it could well be a fake. The print on the Chinese one is laser etched I think. One thing I did notice when I switched it on prior to swapping the chip was that readings were way off again, something like (depending on which range) 200 to 500mV from the correct figure. Today, I looked at it again but checked the mem retention battery voltage and it was reading 2.65V which was correct, rising 2.7 after switch on to keep the battery topped up, so  , why would the reading against a known standard change? Did a quick calibration of DCV and it is now reading correct again???

Yeah that's dodgy as hell. They usually have it white printed on it.

It might be something external to the ADC. You'd have to pin the ADC input at full scale with a voltage reference + divider and work out what the deal is. It It might even be a dirty board. The high impedance points need to be super clean i.e. scrubbed with isopropyl.

[Specmaster]

Yeah that's dodgy as hell. They usually have it white printed on it.

It might be something external to the ADC. You'd have to pin the ADC input at full scale with a voltage reference + divider and work out what the deal is. It It might even be a dirty board. The high impedance points need to be super clean i.e. scrubbed with isopropyl.

The entire board has been scrubbed with isopropyl, but I could scrub the area around the inputs and the ADC again and see if it makes any difference or not. It looks as if Maxim are still making that chip, at least in the square SMD version.

When I first saw that chip listed by the Chinese seller, I never gave the difference in colour of the printing or the font size and positioning a second thought 

[Cerebus]

So I don't really follow the TEA thread anymore since it blew up to the point that there are 20 pages to catch up on if I don't drop in for a couple days.  But I thought I'd drop back in to see if people here are aware of the existence of...

Nixie Tube Masking Tape:


Found at https://kadenken.com/view/item/000000000894 by someone on Twitter.

Well, we know what somebody's getting for Christmas.

[Cerebus]

Everyone's favorite evilbay Test Gear SCAMMER/Hacker is now including Laser Cutters  eBay auction: #402258396187 Reported for what it is worth via evilbay in Oz but if there is a better mechanism in the UK can someone pull the trigger on it? Do it before I buy a $10 Lecroy Scope 

There is a UK contact number too on the account details.

Damn, I could get a Hammond B3 with Leslie speaker from him and shipping is only $23!!  Such a a bargain!     

-Pat

Yes, but you couldn't lift it.

Many years ago it was my regular task to travel to gigs in the back of Adrian's Land Rover with a B3 and Leslie rattling about with my soft crushable body and my easy to turn into splinters acoustic guitar, get out at the other end, hump the bloody Hammond onto stage, play the gig and then do the the whole thing in reverse on the way home. Those bastards are he-e-e-e-avy and really hurt when they roll over your foot.