Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

Well I got bored of GTA V already. Back to scouting ebay for test gear 

[drussell]

Also I've noticed during the lockdown just how much slower almost everyone is driving these days, possibly a result of there being no traffic hold ups so nobody needs to make up for lost time at traffic lights etc?

That's the complete opposite of here.  Everyone is driving at warp speed, even though traffic is flowing freely.

A friend of mine laughed at a post she saw on FB or something the other day that said something like:

"Note to anyone just coming out of quarantine.  We drive fast now!"

Was kinda funny, but also very true... 

With city revenue way down from just about everything else, I'm surprised they don't have all the photo radar out in force to just rake in the cash....

[Specmaster]

Also I've noticed during the lockdown just how much slower almost everyone is driving these days, possibly a result of there being no traffic hold ups so nobody needs to make up for lost time at traffic lights etc?

That's the complete opposite of here.  Everyone is driving at warp speed, even though traffic is flowing freely.

A friend of mine laughed at a post she saw on FB or something the other day that said something like:

"Note to anyone just coming out of quarantine.  We drive fast now!"

Was kinda funny, but also very true... 

With city revenue way down from just about everything else, I'm surprised they don't have all the photo radar out in force to just rake in the cash....

If they see this post, they probably will do just that now you've mentioned it 

[tggzzz]

OK, so I'm building my first new computer in a decade, so I haven't been forced to bugger around with UEFI etc. Hence I'm seeing some strange things. One is an L1 cache running at 360GB/s

A more puzzling strange thing is an external USB hard drive that is smaller than a fag packet, is the smallest in the range, yet contains 1TB. Looking at it with gparted partition editor, I  two partitions thus:



So, why are there two partitions? I can understand the 931GB and the exfat, not the msftdata flag - but why is the 200MB boot fat32 partiton there? ISTR seeing something similar on a M.2 internal disk as well.

That external disk will be used as a "off-machine" backup store. What's the best file system to use nowadays? (Presume it will be backing up linux disks.)

[capt bullshot]

The small partition is labelled EFI - to me it appears that HDD is intended to be bootable. An EFI partion usually holds bootloaders and boot configurations.
If it's intended for use with linux, I'd choose bog standard ext4.

[mnementh]

That is normal. Windoze reserves encrypted space on the HDD for the UEFI bootstrap, and for bootload cache and the usual MBR stuff, only more space for more advanced features. Also real-time markers for shadow copy & restore points, etc.

mnem
 

[bd139]

I will second ext4

Other question answered already

[mnementh]

Yeah; I've developed a similar system using hashmarks with a Sharpie (or colored Sharpies as applicable) backed up with egregious iPad picture-taking. One of the GREAT strengths of the device; large screen and large hi-res pics, and easy to scroll through.

mnem
 

I just take lots of close up phone photos, and pop them up on the PC, 23" picture provides decent clarity for the smallest detail normally.

I used to as well; but the iPad is RIGHT THERE, it's a lot more convenient, and it takes better pictures than my phone. Than most phones, actually. Plus, it makes a real difference sometimes to actually be able to hold the picture up RIGHT NEXT TO the thing you're working on, in the same exact orientation. Especially when you're having a moment. 

And then I can have the datasheet/schizzmatic up on the pooter screen at the same time for comparisons. 

mnem
I have it; might as well use it.

[mnementh]

If it's on a brand-new external HDD, it is common for them to make a UEFI partition to host backup and HDD cloning software for you to use during HDD upgrades, MB/CPU upgrades, etc.

mnem
 

[drussell]

A more puzzling strange thing is an external USB hard drive that is smaller than a fag packet, is the smallest in the range, yet contains 1TB. Looking at it with gparted partition editor, I  two partitions thus:
...
So, why are there two partitions? I can understand the 931GB and the exfat, not the msftdata flag - but why is the 200MB boot fat32 partiton there? ISTR seeing something similar on a M.2 internal disk as well.

Many external disks come with things like "bonus" backup software pre-loaded, sometimes on a separate patition so you can possibly boot from it for possible recovery without having to make a USB stick somehow or something.

You can always remove it and make a new partition that spans the entire disk if you like.

As for your internal disk, the newer UEFI boot and GPT partition schemes "require" a space on the first boot disk for EFI style boot loaders, etc. to adhere to the standards.  You can get around it with something like BSD or Linux if you wish but it's always going to be there by default if you're doing UEFI boot a GPT disk.

[BU508A]

Well I figured out why the Type 561B went up in flames yesterday. I swapped two very similar color coded wires which resulted in placing about +400V in an area that should only see about +125V. 

The carnage: Four carbon comps obliterated. One TO-92 transistor split down the middle. Two TO-5 transistors open. Luckily all those parts are readily available. But there's more. The Tek spec TO-3 of course unobtanium regulator transistor also took the hit and is open. Considerable google fu finally turned up a suitable (and available) replacement. So I'll order the parts and put this project on hold for the time being.

Can't win them all. 

Something similar happend to me in my early days. Blew up a device because I've mixed up some wires. Since then, when I think it could become unclear which wire belongs to which place, I'm marking them with coloured shrinking tube and write down a note, where it should be connected. Perhaps a little bit more work, but better in any case than to blow up lots of parts. Good luck with your repair of the repair.   

Yeah; I've developed a similar system using hashmarks with a Sharpie (or colored Sharpies as applicable) backed up with egregious iPad picture-taking. One of the GREAT strengths of the device; large screen and large hi-res pics, and easy to scroll through.

mnem
 

I just take lots of close up phone photos, and pop them up on the PC, 23" picture provides decent clarity for the smallest detail normally.

Yes, all true. But back in the 80's we (I for myself) didn't have that fancy stuff. Since then I got used to this method. Nowadays I'm also taking pictures of those things but it is still more in my workflow to mark the wires with shrinking tubes and write down a note. One day, when I'm going to upgrade my lab ("den Saustall aufräumen" in German  ) I'll place a nice HiRes monitor on the wall where my bench is and a nice HiRes cam for taking pictures.   

Edit: inserted the correct quoting.     

[med6753]

I took pictures...lots of them. I wrote down a table. Ran a copy of the pin out from the manual. I labelled some (but not all) that were difficult to get to with the camera.

But you STILL have the human factor of looking for very tiny and subtle difference in color. it only takes one goof and poof. 
 

[Saskia]

mere cables ...

[Mr. Scram]

When the choice is to ship with Hermes or UPS, which one do you pick?

[tggzzz]

If it's on a brand-new external HDD, it is common for them to make a UEFI partition to host backup and HDD cloning software for you to use during HDD upgrades, MB/CPU upgrades, etc.

Ah. Bloody complexities of bloody DRM. Makes sense, provided you use a loose definition of "sense".

A more puzzling strange thing is an external USB hard drive that is smaller than a fag packet, is the smallest in the range, yet contains 1TB. Looking at it with gparted partition editor, I  two partitions thus:
...
So, why are there two partitions? I can understand the 931GB and the exfat, not the msftdata flag - but why is the 200MB boot fat32 partiton there? ISTR seeing something similar on a M.2 internal disk as well.

Many external disks come with things like "bonus" backup software pre-loaded, sometimes on a separate patition so you can possibly boot from it for possible recovery without having to make a USB stick somehow or something.

You can always remove it and make a new partition that spans the entire disk if you like.

As for your internal disk, the newer UEFI boot and GPT partition schemes "require" a space on the first boot disk for EFI style boot loaders, etc. to adhere to the standards.  You can get around it with something like BSD or Linux if you wish but it's always going to be there by default if you're doing UEFI boot a GPT disk.

It looks like somesuch magic software has to be downloaded; I doubt I'll bother.

UEFI boot and partitioning is tomorrow's headache.

Currently I might reinstall WinXP. In the future I might install Win10; when I'm going down with covid would be a good time, since I'd probably have lost my sense of smell.

[tggzzz]

When the choice is to ship with Hermes or UPS, which one do you pick?

UPS, but I haven't had bad experioences with either.

[bd139]

UPS is far better than Hermes. UPS occasionally deliver/pick up a day late but it always arrives intact at both ends. Hermes, roll some dice.

[Mr. Scram]

I figured as much, thanks. The price difference isn't huge and definitely not enough to take risks.

[mansaxel]

In my teen time I've played this song all day long without knowing the meaning of it.     
Some years later I've listened to a moderator from my favourite Radio station (SWF3) wher he refused to translate this song into German, because he wants to keep his job, because he's liking what he is doing. 
Curious then, I started a search for the lyrics and translated them. And started laughing. 
Since then I'm telling my nephew how important it is to understand foreign languages. 

I've got a gay friend who was extremely amused by the fact that in the little town we grew up, the dude-bro-blokes in the ice hockey team liked to threaten him and other not-like-them people with various "corrective measures". As such people are wont to do.

Then they went on the dance flow and sang along to "...I can take an hour of the tower of power, as long as I gets a little golden shower..", completely oblivious.

[Saskia]

try to listen to broken hearts are for assholes, on Sheik Yerbouti / Frank Zappa ...



there's another one ... kinda like his guitar play.

[mansaxel]

Today, I made a real milestone. Something that most of you in here think nothing of, but there is always a _first_ one and it is significant because that. To me. I put in production the first PCB I've drawn and had made (KiCAD, and Gerbers to JLCPCB). 

What is it? A simple audio interface circuit, going from balanced to unbalanced and back again, so I can communicate between the sound system in the kitchen and my central switching matrix, in style.

Normal people would tuck a pair of Sonos or IKEA speakers (which are compatible with the Sonos, btw) on the wifi and be done with it, but I'm not normal. So, there.  Besides, even if there's a web server in the matrix (that reads internal temperature in °C from the pcb sensor but converts and presents it as °F, which means that a back-calculation is always going to present integer °C degrees. Took some time to understand why the float from the scraper script always was "42,00 °C", and never 42,05..) that software won't call home. 

[mansaxel]

try to listen to broken hearts are for assholes, on Sheik Yerbouti / Frank Zappa ...



there's another one ... kinda like his guitar play.

That album has something of a theme to it.

As to FZ guitar, I'm especially fond of some of the Mothers era live renditions of "Montana"; the one from Stockholm is good and the one on the Halloween'73 record is good too. 

"Oh no, the golden shower musta shorted out his master circuit"

/M, skipped seeing him in Lund, southern Sweden 1989ish. Bad move.

[beanflying]

I figured as much, thanks. The price difference isn't huge and definitely not enough to take risks.

UPS is currently on my sh1T list  This is a 1m linear bearing rail for my Laser build I think it is time to escalate a  is happening case.

[Saskia]

I am missing a 5k shipment from Austrian Post ...

bloody hell.

[mnementh]

Unrelated to anything recently in here aside from the fact of some world-class fingerwork from another of the greats of this age. If nothing else, I'll get to take to the grave with me the knowledge of having breathed the same air as Slow Hand, Santana, Vaughan, and Hendrix... plus at least a dozen more.

mnem
"...And I've seen your flag on the marble arch;
love is not a victory march.
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah..."