Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

Ugggh, DHL. 

Called them, they have no idea  is going on with my package but "will get back to me within 2 hours"...

The part that REALLY annoys me is they had NO PROBLEM sending me a text asking me to pay my duty fees the instant it reached their hub on the border... but a 5-day delay at that hub on a EXPRESS shipment...? Jack shit.

mnem
DHoLes...

[med6753]

Been giving the Type 106 Square Wave Generator a good check out and have come up with a list of repairs required.

I thought at first the Fast Rise – Output was not working. It is indeed working. The issue is the GR connector. I need to take apart that complicated assembly to find out what's wrong with it. It's the top one in this pix.


The Bias Level pot (R39, 25K) is a very critical adjustment. Must be set exactly or the output looks like garbage or there's no output at all. The problem is the pot is very sloppy. So sensitive that just turning the unit over causes it to drift. And it's sealed so can't be cleaned/repaired. It will be replaced with a high quality Bourns pot....

Since that board is relatively easy to remove, you might try dropping the pot (or even the entire PCB) in a glass full of alcohol (see my post on alcohol being still available as methyl hydrate) to see if alcohol can infiltrate enough to do the cleaning needed.

Keep the faith brother! 

mnem
*currently checking the tracking on my new RC transmitter*

The Bias pot isn't on one of these boards. It's on the chassis. I'll know better it's condition once I pull it out. But I'm going to have a replacement on hand just in case.

The GR connector might respond to a treatment of 100% IPA which I have plenty on hand. I didn't panic and use mine up for hand sanitizer. But I suspect it's gonna need deoxit and maybe even some emory paper. 

[syau]

Ugggh, DHL. 

Called them, they have no idea  is going on with my package but "will get back to me within 2 hours"...

The part that REALLY annoys me is they had NO PROBLEM sending me a text asking me to pay my duty fees the instant it reached their hub on the border... but a 5-day delay at that hub on a EXPRESS shipment...? Jack shit.

mnem
DHoLes...

I get similar issue when shipping stuff from Canada to Hong Kong using DHL.

[mnementh]

You're NOT helping. 

I didn't have a choice in the carrier; this was a Banggood preorder that has so far been a repetitive punch in the junk pretty much since I placed the order in fucking APRIL. 

mnem
*flupp!*

[BU508A]

Ugggh, DHL. 

Called them, they have no idea  is going on with my package but "will get back to me within 2 hours"...

The part that REALLY annoys me is they had NO PROBLEM sending me a text asking me to pay my duty fees the instant it reached their hub on the border... but a 5-day delay at that hub on a EXPRESS shipment...? Jack shit.

DHL  --->   Dauert Halt Länger   (takes even longer)

[med6753]

You're NOT helping. 

I didn't have a choice in the carrier; this was a Banggood preorder that has so far been a repetitive punch in the junk pretty much since I placed the order in fucking APRIL. 

mnem
*flupp!*

That's what you get for moving up north with the Maple syrup suckers. 

[SilverSolder]

You're NOT helping. 

I didn't have a choice in the carrier; this was a Banggood preorder that has so far been a repetitive punch in the junk pretty much since I placed the order in fucking APRIL. 

mnem
*flupp!*

I just had an order arrive from Australia yesterday, that was ordered (and shipped!) end April...   it looks like the covid-19 side effects are really playing havoc with shipping.

Even inside the US, shipments from Amazon are now taking at least 5 days, sometimes more.   I've started using eBay much more, the thousands of small independent businesses seem to do better overall than one centralised behemoth (that has been optimized for the good times) on this front!

[mnementh]

You're NOT helping. 

I didn't have a choice in the carrier; this was a Banggood preorder that has so far been a repetitive punch in the junk pretty much since I placed the order in fucking APRIL. 

mnem
*flupp!*

That's what you get for moving up north with the Maple syrup suckers. 

Lick me, ya blue-arsed bitch!!!  I have PLENTY of maple syrrpple (both light and DARK varieties) so you can try your favorite!

mnem
You know you want to.

[med6753]

You're NOT helping. 

I didn't have a choice in the carrier; this was a Banggood preorder that has so far been a repetitive punch in the junk pretty much since I placed the order in fucking APRIL. 

mnem
*flupp!*

That's what you get for moving up north with the Maple syrup suckers. 

Lick me, ya blue-arsed bitch!!!  I have PLENTY of maple syrrpple (both light and DARK varieties) so you can try your favorite!

mnem
You know you want to.

I was wondering why you were covered in fruit flies. Now I know. 

[Cubdriver]

Ugggh, DHL. 

Called them, they have no idea  is going on with my package but "will get back to me within 2 hours"...

The part that REALLY annoys me is they had NO PROBLEM sending me a text asking me to pay my duty fees the instant it reached their hub on the border... but a 5-day delay at that hub on a EXPRESS shipment...? Jack shit.

mnem
DHoLes...

I cringe when I see that yellow and red color combo with regards to shipping things.  Knock on wood the ones that (thankfully very rarely) deliver to me at home have been decent, but fifteen years ago at my old job, pretty much anything that came to us via DHL wound up dropped at a different company with a different name and street number about a mile and a half up and on the opposite side of the road.  (Of course I've probably just jinxed myself, as I currently have belt sander shoes enroute from Amazon via DHL...   )

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

You're NOT helping. 

I didn't have a choice in the carrier; this was a Banggood preorder that has so far been a repetitive punch in the junk pretty much since I placed the order in fucking APRIL. 

mnem
*flupp!*

That's what you get for moving up north with the Maple syrup suckers. 

Lick me, ya blue-arsed bitch!!!  I have PLENTY of maple syrrpple (both light and DARK varieties) so you can try your favorite!

mnem
You know you want to.

I was wondering why you were covered in fruit flies. Now I know. 

<removes pancakes and waffles from breakfast consideration for the forseeable future>

-Pat

[mnementh]

You're NOT helping. 

I didn't have a choice in the carrier; this was a Banggood preorder that has so far been a repetitive punch in the junk pretty much since I placed the order in fucking APRIL. 

mnem
*flupp!*

I just had an order arrive from Australia yesterday, that was ordered (and shipped!) end April...   it looks like the covid-19 side effects are really playing havoc with shipping.

Even inside the US, shipments from Amazon are now taking at least 5 days, sometimes more.   I've started using eBay much more, the thousands of small independent businesses seem to do better overall than one centralised behemoth (that has been optimized for the good times) on this front!

Oklay... I guess that does help put things in perp-spective. This was a pre-order; didn't even go out til end of May. Just... 2 weeks for a EXPRESS order felt pretty fscking lame... 




I have another order from fleaBay where it exceeded the advertised delivery time (1.5 months) and the vendor asked for another 2 weeks which I allowed (as suggested by you guys in here) before opening formal dispute resolution; they then put the damned thing ON HOLD for ANOTHER 2 weeks stating vendor had shown proof of shipment. Umm yeah.    At what point do we consider the package lost and just give me my fscking $10 back...?

Oh, and ANOTHER shipment that has been here at my Toronto Canada Post hub for A WEEK with zero updates. 

Literally getting to the point where it's better to make it myself, as evidenced by the Basketball Goal project... 

mnem
 

[SilverSolder]

[...]
Oh, and ANOTHER shipment that has been here at my Toronto Canada Post hub for A WEEK with zero updates. 

Literally getting to the point where it's better to make it myself, as evidenced by the Basketball Goal project... 

mnem
 

I calculated the average speed of my package from Australia to be around 8.5 miles per hour.

For comparison, the Pony Express managed an average of 8 miles per hour, in the 1860's! 
And that was done with 40+ riders and horses, at full gallop... for a cross country delivery.

[mnementh]

Just got off the phone with DHL, who DID dutifully contact me within 2 hours... to inform me that they have not heard back from the Cincinatti Hub, and would contact me again at approx this time tomorrow with another update.



Right now I'm imagining a sorting hub in Cincy populated by these guys...

mnem
*off to rotorgeeks warehouse* Pray for me...

[SilverSolder]

A British stagecoach was actually faster in 1836 than my package managed in 2020! 

The scheduled coach left London at 19:30 and arrived in Liverpool at 16:50 the next day, a distance of about 220 miles (350 km), at an average speed to about 10 miles per hour (16 km/h), including stops to change horses!

That is actually pretty impressive...

[Kosmic]

Very nice, Kosmic! Where'd you find that enclosure? Also nice job adding the delay line in to lengthen the pulse...I need to do that on my next prototype! Also, which LeCroy are you using? I've been eyeing DDA-120 due to the attractive price.

Avalanche pulsers are an eternal playground. I love them, too:
https://electronicprojectsforfun.wordpress.com/pulse-generators/avalanche-transistor-pulsers/

Yes I did read your post. Found it via google somehow. Good stuff thanks 

[tggzzz]

I calculated the average speed of my package from Australia to be around 8.5 miles per hour.

Wow. That fast.

I've repeatedly had letters from one company in Crawley take >1 week to get the 122 miles to Avon. According to google, it would take 40 hours to walk that journey. Given a 40 hour week, ...

[SilverSolder]

I calculated the average speed of my package from Australia to be around 8.5 miles per hour.

Wow. That fast.

I've repeatedly had letters from one company in Crawley take >1 week to get the 122 miles to Avon. According to google, it would take 40 hours to walk that journey. Given a 40 hour week, ...

Looks like the stagecoach is still competitive, LOL! 

Steam locomotives is another technology that we should let the courier companies know about.  The fastest locomotives could go over 120mph, imagine how fast packages could get delivered if they started using this kind of technology?

The Mallard reached 126 mph (203 km/h) on 3 July 1938.

[Cerebus]

      So after waiting for months for the panel mount USB connectors, it appear they are too big for my enclosure I had to resort using one of those usb breakout board mounted on some spacers.

That was the last part I needed to finish my Jim Williams pulse generator. I ended up with 338ps rise time and a somehow squareish waveform which is not bad for an old transistor.

   The nice labelling is a great idea from Wolfgang (mica paper, laser printer and spray adhesive)   

   The inside. The delay line is under the pulser.   

   This is really the best I could get. Playing with the grounds was interesting.   

   The rise time. Next step is constructing one with a trigger input.

Awesome Canuck Ingenuity! Suck it, Uncle Bumblefuck! (AvE) 

mnem
But... where's the hockey stick & pink tape, ehhhh...!?! 

I tried to buy some HPHT the other week*. The vendor messed up doubly, sent me Tasteful Maroon Hockey Tape and sent me six reels instead of 1. Refunded me instantly. So if anyone needs some TMHT...

* For the same reasons that Uncle Bumblefuck uses it. It's useful in itself, most men who are likely to wonder off with your tools won't want to be see with hot pink and it's easy to spot and stop the bastards from a goodly distance.

[McBryce]

[...]
Oh, and ANOTHER shipment that has been here at my Toronto Canada Post hub for A WEEK with zero updates. 

Literally getting to the point where it's better to make it myself, as evidenced by the Basketball Goal project... 

mnem
 

I calculated the average speed of my package from Australia to be around 8.5 miles per hour.

For comparison, the Pony Express managed an average of 8 miles per hour, in the 1860's! 
And that was done with 40+ riders and horses, at full gallop... for a cross country delivery.

I sent a parcel from Cologne to Belgium that literally took longer than I would have needed to walk there!

McBryce.

[tonyalbus]

This is the first time i am happy, someone overbid me...
i almost bought a maybe working AVCOM spectrum analizer....hoping i can fix it anyway..
just 30 minutes before the close of the bid someone overbit me...yeah!!
thank you lucky buyer i realy hope it is a working unit for you........
during this 2 days i am the best bidder, i found nothing about this device and contacting customersupport it became clear to me, they never release a service manual,
as part of the company policy..also there is no service centre in NL and i can not sent it there becouse they dont repair its to old..
why this old machine needs to be secret still...is a mistery..
AVCOM i don't understand you guys....

[Specmaster]

You're NOT helping. 

I didn't have a choice in the carrier; this was a Banggood preorder that has so far been a repetitive punch in the junk pretty much since I placed the order in fucking APRIL. 

mnem
*flupp!*

I just had an order arrive from Australia yesterday, that was ordered (and shipped!) end April...   it looks like the covid-19 side effects are really playing havoc with shipping.

Even inside the US, shipments from Amazon are now taking at least 5 days, sometimes more.   I've started using eBay much more, the thousands of small independent businesses seem to do better overall than one centralised behemoth (that has been optimized for the good times) on this front!

Oklay... I guess that does help put things in perp-spective. This was a pre-order; didn't even go out til end of May. Just... 2 weeks for a EXPRESS order felt pretty fscking lame... 




I have another order from fleaBay where it exceeded the advertised delivery time (1.5 months) and the vendor asked for another 2 weeks which I allowed (as suggested by you guys in here) before opening formal dispute resolution; they then put the damned thing ON HOLD for ANOTHER 2 weeks stating vendor had shown proof of shipment. Umm yeah.    At what point do we consider the package lost and just give me my fscking $10 back...?

Oh, and ANOTHER shipment that has been here at my Toronto Canada Post hub for A WEEK with zero updates. 

Literally getting to the point where it's better to make it myself, as evidenced by the Basketball Goal project... 

mnem
 

Maybe it's a Canada thing then

[Specmaster]

This is the first time i am happy, someone overbid me...
i almost bought a maybe working AVCOM spectrum analizer....hoping i can fix it anyway..
just 30 minutes before the close of the bid someone overbit me...yeah!!
thank you lucky buyer i realy hope it is a working unit for you........
during this 2 days i am the best bidder, i found nothing about this device and contacting customersupport it became clear to me, they never release a service manual,
as part of the company policy..also there is no service centre in NL and i can not sent it there becouse they dont repair its to old..
why this old machine needs to be secret still...is a mistery..
AVCOM i don't understand you guys....

If they never released a service manual, then that's not too bad as long as they are willing to repair it at a reasonable cost. Once its so old that they are no longer willing to support it, then they should be made to release service manuals to the trade so that third party repairers and hobbyists can stand a chance of repairing the items.

[AVGresponding]

I calculated the average speed of my package from Australia to be around 8.5 miles per hour.

Wow. That fast.

I've repeatedly had letters from one company in Crawley take >1 week to get the 122 miles to Avon. According to google, it would take 40 hours to walk that journey. Given a 40 hour week, ...

Looks like the stagecoach is still competitive, LOL! 

Steam locomotives is another technology that we should let the courier companies know about.  The fastest locomotives could go over 120mph, imagine how fast packages could get delivered if they started using this kind of technology?

The Mallard reached 126 mph (203 km/h) on 3 July 1938.

(Attachment Link)

The Mallard was the most technically advanced steam engine ever made using pistons. It was also slightly fragile because of that.
I'd love to poke around in an engine like that...   

In a sense, modern mail services are a victim of their own success. Back in the days of Pony Express and Mail Stages, few people were sending mail or parcels, and the cost was proportionally quite a bit higher than we'd put up with these days.

[PA0PBZ]

This is the first time i am happy, someone overbid me...
i almost bought a maybe working AVCOM spectrum analizer....hoping i can fix it anyway..
just 30 minutes before the close of the bid someone overbit me...yeah!!
thank you lucky buyer i realy hope it is a working unit for you........
during this 2 days i am the best bidder, i found nothing about this device and contacting customersupport it became clear to me, they never release a service manual,
as part of the company policy..also there is no service centre in NL and i can not sent it there becouse they dont repair its to old..
why this old machine needs to be secret still...is a mistery..
AVCOM i don't understand you guys....

If they never released a service manual, then that's not too bad as long as they are willing to repair it at a reasonable cost. Once its so old that they are no longer willing to support it, then they should be made to release service manuals to the trade so that third party repairers and hobbyists can stand a chance of repairing the items.

There's no gain for them in doing that apart from maybe some goodwill from the hobbyists, and they could lose some new equipment sales. If they are primarily looking at business customers it makes no sense for them to do so, as much as we regret that they don't.