Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[nixiefreqq]

Tossing statues is happening here too. Columbus is a prime target. There's even individuals who want the city of Columbus, Ohio to change it's name. Any statue related to the Confederacy is also a target. And even some want any reference to the confederacy removed from West Point. Like it or not it's an important part of our history and many confederate officers graduated from West Point.

These idiots want to wipe and forget history. Problem is....those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. 

One thing I do agree with. Many southern states still had in part of their state flag or in whole the confederate flag and displayed them on government property. That flag has no business as part of current government and the argument was that it was part of their "heritage" which is BS. Want to fly it on private property? No problem, that's your right.

And believe it or not if you want to fly the Nazi flag on your property it's perfectly legal and protected.

you won't find any stars and bars flying on MY property.

had great great grand fathers in the 149th and 187th PVI (pennsylvania volunteer infantry).

 

[SilverSolder]

I have always felt it is most respectful to my nation to fly the current official flag, whatever our history?

[AVGresponding]

Flags, like religion or political orientation, are not the problem.

The problem is the way people misuse them for their own selfish ends.

[bd139]

I’ve never been one for symbology. Seems embarrassingly primitive for a sentient species who built machines that are leaving the solar system. Too much us and them when it’s really us just hanging to an ephemeral pebble in the middle of nowhere. Thus I have never flown a flag and never will.

[AVGresponding]

[bd139]

Can’t turn it off 

[AVGresponding]

For me it's just information. I didn't pick an England flag over a Union one due to any St George nonsense, it was just a precision thing.
If there was a Hebden Bridge flag, I'd have used that!   

Hmm, maybe I could ask the admins to add a Yorkshire Rose flag...   

[bd139]

I’m not sure why our local flag would look like. Probably a cross between an Isis flag and Starbucks logo.

[McBryce]

I think we all NEED one of these    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000176232299.html

Some weird photoshopping going on there. The bottom pin fades into thin air and doesn't have a post holding it??

McBryce.

[nixiefreqq]

hmmmmmm.

before spec points out that i spelled my great great grandfathers name wrong (he is awful picky about gettin' the details right).......the damn state got it wrong in the muster records.

please see attached pic.

oh. and there is a story to that regimental flag.  the one in the picture is in good shape because it was captured at the railroad cut in gettysburg. it was returned long after the war without too much damage.   the one used after gburg was torn up and pieces were given to veterans at reunions.

(oh.....and they lost their colors at gettysburg because there was no one left standing to keep them.)

[Specmaster]

Me..picky?

[mnementh]

You only have to look to Germany, who appears to be setting the example of how to acknowledge history and its wrongs.
In Aus, our indigenous peoples are doing particularly badly. A simple solution isn't obvious to me.

Err, AfD and the pockets of nazis are still proving difficult I understand.

I guess we have to remain aware and conscious of the dark side of human nature, and do our part from preventing it from spinning out of control.  Things can get really intensely bad if we're not careful.

*looks askance in the general direction of 1600 Pennsylania Avenue*  Hmmm.... you don't say....

mnem

[med6753]

Back on subject. Today started off good. Found the issue with the Type 106 minus fast rise GR connector in short order.

It's the upper board in this pix. The center conductor is 2 piece as was reading 13 ohms. Should be 0. There is also a 50 ohm ring terminator built into the connector. Figured there was some corrosion and perhaps a spritz of Deoxit D5 would help. It did. Fixed the center conductor. But new issue. The Deoxit formed an insulating layer on the ring terminator and was now reading 175 ohms center conductor to outer shell. That was fixed by adjusting that clamp (The 2 screws facing) and moving it slightly and then clamping tight so nothing moved. Fixed. Now reads 50 ohms.

Now all the outputs work. Moving on to do more capacitor replacements. 

[bd139]

That’s a thing of beauty that is.

[med6753]

Maybe a thing of beauty but I still don't like those GR connectors. But I guess at that time you couldn't get BNC with built in 50 ohm ring terminator. You can now. That's what the Heath IG-4244 Scope Calibrator uses on the fast output. But I've never seen one in parts sources but admittedly haven't really looked. 

[bd139]

Yeah. The GR connectors were pretty early. Before 1950 if I remember correctly. Better than shitty PL-259's though 

[med6753]

Well, that goes without saying. About the only thing worse than a poorly constructed PL-259 is unshielded banana jacks. 

[bd139]

I rate them higher 

[med6753]

I rate them higher 

Tonight in your dreams they will be chasing you. 

[bitseeker]

Big money, big money! It's MegaTEA time.

MegaTEA: Major Economic Grief Acquisition TEA.  This scenario is characterised by the high cost of purchasing a single piece of kit.  It can also be extended to include those purchases where additional accessories need to be purchased for the primary unit to be able to perform to the best of its capabilities.  While the actual financial value involved can vary, the key characteristic is that the subject's reaction to the idea of spending that amount is an immediate and resounding "NO!" followed by a period of reflection, revisiting and rationalisation that results in pulling the trigger.  Risk factors are essentially the same for any TEA acquisition, but at a much higher level.

Well done! Added to the glossary.

[bitseeker]

Gee whiz, the 4th of July isn't until next week and already it sounds like WW3 out there with illegal fireworks.   I guess it's to break out from the extended isolation.     Can't wait to hear it next Saturday. 

I believe that was the day we put you Brits on formal notice. 

Yeah, all that noise started in my neck of the woods a couple of weeks ago. Lots of cabin fever, eh?

[AVGresponding]

*grumble grumble* stupid DVD region locking *grumble grumble* stupid PS4 *grumble grumble* stupid windows not including video player *grumble grumble*

*downloads KODI*

[bitseeker]

I think we all NEED one of these    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000176232299.html

Some weird photoshopping going on there. The bottom pin fades into thin air and doesn't have a post holding it??

McBryce.

That's pretty funny. Other pics on AliEx aren't similarly borked.

What's even funnier is that not only can you buy the hardware (pins & posts) separate from the PCB, doing so is cheaper than buying them as a single product.

Math is hard, with or without the 's'.

[bitseeker]

In case you guys didn't catch it, Marc's series on resurrecting an HP 8082A pulse gen is worth a watch. I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers.

[BU508A]

Related to this weeks discussions about ferrules, here is what I've done today.   

Some weeks ago I've received a very nice looking Fluke 895A from Oxford in the UK.


Today I received a nice bunch of Schuko mains plugs:


Now we are having this initial position:


But this will get resolved soon.
So satisfying ... 


Here we have all players involved:
- some 0.75mm² ferrules
- the Knipex crimp plier
- a new mains plug to dignify Papa Smurf.                                  closeup of the ferrules
                     

dismantled the cable and shortened the wires so that the PE is the longest one.


the now crimped ferrules:


the assembled inner part of the plug


And here is the result. I like it.


Teardown of the Fluke 895A will follow.