Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[xrunner]

I watch with baited breath! Will add to the vintage restoration etc etc page. 👍

Thanks. I ordered the sticky "paper" yesterday. I'm confident it will work well - nothing can go wrong (except what already has  )

[BU508A]

Transformers pocket watch

What do you mean with that? A clock, which syncs with the 50Hz mains?

[bd139]

Transformers pocket watch

What do you mean with that? A clock, which syncs with the 50Hz mains?

[BU508A]

I watch with baited breath! Will add to the vintage restoration etc etc page. 👍

Thanks. I ordered the sticky "paper" yesterday. I'm confident it will work well - nothing can go wrong (except what already has  )

Ever got visited by this dude?   

[BU508A]

Transformers pocket watch

What do you mean with that? A clock, which syncs with the 50Hz mains?

           

[xrunner]

Ever got visited by this dude?   

Yes, just yesterday. 

[tonyalbus]

I'm scanning regularly this seller on ebay (I don't have any affiliations with him),
because from time to time he is offering some nice TE and interesting electronic parts.
So I did this morning and found this:


A 200MHz counter from HP, the HP 5335A:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/402299562727



A strange device, a HP frequency counter divider and clock, model II3BR:   
https://www.ebay.com/itm/402300377712





A HP 8754A Network Analyzer, goes up to 1300MHz:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/402300409496



And a HP 3456A DMM:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/133443075454


Edit: typos

are you bidding on those?

[BU508A]

are you bidding on those?

No, otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned it here. 
If you are interested in those, please go ahead.

[med6753]

Ever got visited by this dude?   

Yes, just yesterday. 

OK, educate me. Who is this skinny ass nerd and his significance?

[BU508A]

Ever got visited by this dude?   

Yes, just yesterday. 

OK, educate me. Who is this skinny ass nerd and his significance?

It's him, Milo Murphy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Murphy%27s_Law

I think, you've got a visit from him, too.   

[med6753]

Since we're all bitching about delivery times here's mine. (Yes, first world problem....don't like, don't read, STFU).

Type 3B3 plug-in coming from California. USPS ground. Took a freaking week to go cross country. Bet that's slower than pony express. FedEx ground cross country takes 3.5 days.

And then it goes to Springfield, Masshole distribution center which in my experience those idiots hold packages for 2 or 3 days before sending it to local PO. Supposed to be delivered tomorrow. I'll eat my shoe if it makes it.

[med6753]

Ever got visited by this dude?   

Yes, just yesterday. 

OK, educate me. Who is this skinny ass nerd and his significance?

It's him, Milo Murphy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Murphy%27s_Law

I think, you've got a visit from him, too.   

OK, got it. I still subscribe to the elder Murphy. 

[AVGresponding]

A strange device, a HP frequency counter divider and clock, model II3BR:   
https://www.ebay.com/itm/402300377712

I know I'm not normally one for the wobbly pointy type stuff, but I like this. No, idk why.


Yes, ok, didn't realise half of you are train spotters (I'm not, I just like engineering), though I suppose it would have been a easy bet...

If I clarify my statement by changing it to: "The Mallard was the most advanced steam locomotive to go into active service", does that appease you?   


Finally added the 8300A to my pile'o'meters just now, and wtf! It's not full rack width?!?
Sitting it on top of the 7065, the feet wouldn't let it sit flat; clearly designed to stack with other Fluke same-sized units.
Right. Junior hacksaw, cut off the little flanges (fnarr-fnarr) on the sides, 3M rubber stick-on feet stuck on, et voila, it now plays nicely with the 7065 it sits on top of.
The top two meters are now level with the bottom of the parts drawers, so I can't add any more... to this pile!   



My favourite military surplus supplier of overpriced tat has added numerous items today, always good for a laugh:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Souriau-Oscilloscope-1532-B3/224050611938

£150 for a dead scope? I'll grant you a 40kV input range is quite interesting, but I doubt the bandwidth is huge, since it looks like it's designed for diagnosing car ignition problems.

These Tek plug-ins might be interesting, but I don't know enough about them to say:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tektronix-Type-82-Dual-Trace-Plug-in-unit-3/224049707666
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tektronix-Type-1A2-Dual-Trace-Plug-in-unit-3/224049713282
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tektronix-Type-M-Plug-in-unit-3/324202525621
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tektronix-Type-Z-Plug-in-unit-3/324202529290
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tektronix-Type-G-Plug-in-unit-3/224049721121
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tektronix-Type-O-Operational-Amplifier-Plug-in-unit-3/224049722759

He's got all those plug-ins up at £50 a piece.


EDIT: Just realised I should have arranged those plug-ins as ZOMG   

[0culus]

How about this bad boy? EMD DDA40X. Twin diesels in one loco. 6600hp. Only 47 made, all for Union Pacific. All retired except one kept operational in their heritage fleet (This one).

Also Uncle Pete’s experiments with gas turbine locomotives:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_GTELs   

[BreakingOhmsLaw]

I know I'm not normally one for the wobbly pointy type stuff, but I like this. No, idk why.

That mini gauge on the right, that's just porn.
Actually, that entire thing is porn.
Moooods!

[med6753]

How about this bad boy? EMD DDA40X. Twin diesels in one loco. 6600hp. Only 47 made, all for Union Pacific. All retired except one kept operational in their heritage fleet (This one).

Also Uncle Pete’s experiments with gas turbine locomotives:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_GTELs   

Yep, Union Pacific has always been willing to try new train technology. But we can't mention UP and not mention 4014 "Big Boy" fully restored and operational. Largest steam loco ever. And geared for grunt over the Rockies, not speed. So it's not elegant and dainty like the Mallard.

 

[AVGresponding]

You wouldn't want to be the poor bastard shovelling coal on that monster!

[med6753]

You wouldn't want to be the poor bastard shovelling coal on that monster!

I believe it had an automatic coal feed. But when it was restored it was converted to fuel oil.

[0culus]

How about this bad boy? EMD DDA40X. Twin diesels in one loco. 6600hp. Only 47 made, all for Union Pacific. All retired except one kept operational in their heritage fleet (This one).

Also Uncle Pete’s experiments with gas turbine locomotives:   [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_GTELs]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Pacific_GTELs   [/url]

Yep, Union Pacific has always been willing to try new train technology. But we can't mention UP and not mention 4014 "Big Boy" fully restored and operational. Largest steam loco ever. And geared for grunt over the Rockies, not speed. So it's not elegant and dainty like the Mallard.

As Dave would say, it's sex on a stick!! 

I have not yet had the opportunity to see 4014 or 3985 (which sadly is reportedly in poor condition and has been retired after 4014 got completed due to requiring a full rebuild) but I have seen 844 in person and have been in the cab. You really don't get an appreciation for how absurdly huge these locomotives are until you stand next to one.

I'll just leave this:

[med6753]

I'm surprised they ran Challenger without a diesel loco in tow just in case. Whenever Big Boy is out they typically have one just behind the tenders.

I've seen 2 Big Boys up close. Both static displays. One is at a train museum in Pennsylvania and another in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Yes, they are huge.   

[0culus]

That and to have an extra air compressor on train too. And they usually have extra tenders for oil and water. That 3985 video is quite old, likely early-mid 80s after 3985 was initially restored. Obviously, putting 3985 on a stack train was a publicity stunt; I doubt it went too far before they cut off 3985 and put diesels back on.

[med6753]

Big Boy sometimes with Challenger.

[0culus]

Some of you might enjoy this site (someone backed it up after Mr. Krug stopped maintaining it): http://alkrugsite.evilgeniustech.com/

[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...

(Attachment Link)

The Comet shown actually ran on the London to Exeter route. The GPO mail coaches, which were not usually named, were the fastest, achieving around 10mph, inclusive of stops to change horses. By 1836, a team of 4 horses could be changed in about 90 seconds. Each stage was about 10 miles, and each horse worked a 1 hour 'shift' each day for 4 days and then rested on the 5th. To work one mail coach in each direction each day required about one horse per mile of route to actually pull the coaches - plus many others to haul fodder and dung (and produce more horses).

Mail coach timing was strictly regulated. Even in the 1790's, stage timings were given to the nearest 5 minutes, and checked and recorded by the postmasters at each stage, using a clock carried by the mail guard on the coach (along with his blunderbus). Since local solar time was used, the clocks were adjusted to gain or lose time according to the longitudes of the starting & ending towns.

Mail coaches didn't carry parcels though.

All this and much more transport nerdery in: P.J.G. Ransom, The Archaeology of the Transport Revolution, World's Work Ltd, Kingswood 1984, ISBN 0-437-14335-X

It's funny, we think so much progress has been made (and it has!),  but our ancestors did a pretty impressive job with the technology they had at the time.

[AVGresponding]

Modern letter post numbers: http://news.upu.int/insight/backgrounders/key-figures/

Victorian era mail numbers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Fourpenny_Post

Pony Express numbers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express

We're not even comparing apples with oranges with lemons here, we're comparing apples with a small dog with a Bose-Einstein condensate.