Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

...Bottom line is NOT that I don't know what I'm looking for or its alternatives; I have pages of alternatives at my fingertips. The problem is that pretty much the only source for the right stuff in the right quantity anywhere near me is a sewing supply house... of which there are only a few this side of the border close enough to drive to. Otherwise, I have to buy mail order and wait a fucking month for Canada Post, even shopping locally.   

If it wasn't going to cost a fortune to post I'd order some here and post it to you. (5L for £19, delivered Thursday).

Thanks, buddy; I knew you'd have my back. *Paw/Fist-bump*

It wasn't really that painful; ~US$20 with shipping for 1L.  I was reluctant because of the misery I've recently suffered at the hands of Canada Post. Since it's coming via Purolator, I'm much less worried. Also, lets face it... the dwagon has MUCH more important things to woorry aboot noow... 

mnem
 

[drussell]

It wasn't really that painful; ~US$20 with shipping for 1L.  I was reluctant because of the misery I've recently suffered at the hands of Canada Post. Since it's coming via Purolator, I'm much less worried. Also, lets face it... the dwagon has MUCH more important things to woorry aboot noow... 

Uhhh... you do realize that Purolator is part of Canada Post now, right?

They still might be better than "parcel post" rate service but I think they share the same sorting and distro as Xpresspost from the actual "post office"...

[0culus]

Awwwww yeah. Got my 1N4007s today and replaced D702A and B...and...it's alive! There may be some issues still to work out, but I'm going to let it get warmed up well and learn how to use it from the manual before I go down any troubleshooting rabbit holes... 

Definitely going to have to do some time base calibration...but hey that's why I got the 184 and fixed it! 

Good deal....looks good. The front panel is almost identical to my 535A. Some differences with the "A Trigger" controls but function the same.

I do notice that the graticule on your CRT is approx 2/3 the size of mine. Does the beam cut off just above and below it? On mine it does. In order to gain the writing speed in those early CRT's there was a sacrifice in vertical deflection. Since yours is 85MHz vs mine 15MHz I assume that's the reason for the smaller calibrated viewing area.   

Yep, that's exactly it. You get a little bit beyond 4cm but not much. The tube in this one has distributed deflection plates. If I recall all the  scopes equipped with these tubes were limited to a 4cm rather than 6cm calibrated viewing area. [edit] I'm talking with a fleabay seller who has Type 82 plugins for sale WITH toobz...the only plugin of the 4 I got with the scope that doesn't seem to have some kind of issue is the Type Z differential comparator, which seems to be working perfectly. Should be an excellent complement to my 7A13 that I use in my 7904A regularly, as it can provide a _much_ larger comparison voltage...

[edit again] but I will say the crt is absolutely the sharpest of any scope I own. Absolutely incredible how sharp the trace is when you dial in focus and astigmatism

[med6753]

Awwwww yeah. Got my 1N4007s today and replaced D702A and B...and...it's alive! There may be some issues still to work out, but I'm going to let it get warmed up well and learn how to use it from the manual before I go down any troubleshooting rabbit holes... 

Definitely going to have to do some time base calibration...but hey that's why I got the 184 and fixed it! 

Good deal....looks good. The front panel is almost identical to my 535A. Some differences with the "A Trigger" controls but function the same.

I do notice that the graticule on your CRT is approx 2/3 the size of mine. Does the beam cut off just above and below it? On mine it does. In order to gain the writing speed in those early CRT's there was a sacrifice in vertical deflection. Since yours is 85MHz vs mine 15MHz I assume that's the reason for the smaller calibrated viewing area.   

Yep, that's exactly it. You get a little bit beyond 4cm but not much. The tube in this one has distributed deflection plates. If I recall all the  scopes equipped with these tubes were limited to a 4cm rather than 6cm calibrated viewing area. [edit] I'm talking with a fleabay seller who has Type 82 plugins for sale WITH toobz...the only plugin of the 4 I got with the scope that doesn't seem to have some kind of issue is the Type Z differential comparator, which seems to be working perfectly. Should be an excellent complement to my 7A13 that I use in my 7904A regularly, as it can provide a _much_ larger comparison voltage...

Yep, and you also have tunnel diode triggering good for the full 85MHz bandwidth. The 535A doesn't and is advert'ed to go out to 5MHz. I tested it and I can push it reliably to 8MHz and then drops off a cliff.

I haven't had much luck with plug-in's lately. I have 3 for the 561B that need repair.   

[0culus]

Awwwww yeah. Got my 1N4007s today and replaced D702A and B...and...it's alive! There may be some issues still to work out, but I'm going to let it get warmed up well and learn how to use it from the manual before I go down any troubleshooting rabbit holes... 

Definitely going to have to do some time base calibration...but hey that's why I got the 184 and fixed it! 

Good deal....looks good. The front panel is almost identical to my 535A. Some differences with the "A Trigger" controls but function the same.

I do notice that the graticule on your CRT is approx 2/3 the size of mine. Does the beam cut off just above and below it? On mine it does. In order to gain the writing speed in those early CRT's there was a sacrifice in vertical deflection. Since yours is 85MHz vs mine 15MHz I assume that's the reason for the smaller calibrated viewing area.   

Yep, that's exactly it. You get a little bit beyond 4cm but not much. The tube in this one has distributed deflection plates. If I recall all the  scopes equipped with these tubes were limited to a 4cm rather than 6cm calibrated viewing area. [edit] I'm talking with a fleabay seller who has Type 82 plugins for sale WITH toobz...the only plugin of the 4 I got with the scope that doesn't seem to have some kind of issue is the Type Z differential comparator, which seems to be working perfectly. Should be an excellent complement to my 7A13 that I use in my 7904A regularly, as it can provide a _much_ larger comparison voltage...

Yep, and you also have tunnel diode triggering good for the full 85MHz bandwidth. The 535A doesn't and is advert'ed to go out to 5MHz. I tested it and I can push it reliably to 8MHz and then drops off a cliff.

I haven't had much luck with plug-in's lately. I have 3 for the 561B that need repair.

Yeah, these others (Type B, Type CA, and Type 1A1) are going to drop into the repair queue.  I made another edit above, but to carry it on here in case you missed it, I am astounded at how sharp the trace this crt gives. It's way better than either my 7904A or 7104...and MASSIVELY better than my 2465B...

[0culus]

Example of trace sharpness.

[med6753]

Yeah, these others (Type B, Type CA, and Type 1A1) are going to drop into the repair queue.  I made another edit above, but to carry it on here in case you missed it, I am astounded at how sharp the trace this crt gives. It's way better than either my 7904A or 7104...and MASSIVELY better than my 2465B...

Yep, what those early CRT's lacked in sensitivity they made up for in sharpness. My 535A has the sharpest trace of any of my other scopes. Unfortunately when you increase the sensitivity you get an increase in noise. That's the trade off. 

[0culus]

Yeah, these others (Type B, Type CA, and Type 1A1) are going to drop into the repair queue.  I made another edit above, but to carry it on here in case you missed it, I am astounded at how sharp the trace this crt gives. It's way better than either my 7904A or 7104...and MASSIVELY better than my 2465B...

Yep, what those early CRT's lacked in sensitivity they made up for in sharpness. My 535A has the sharpest trace of any of my other scopes. Unfortunately when you increase the sensitivity you get an increase in noise. That's the trade off.

No free lunches! But it is, in truth, sort of silly to compare it to the 7104 or even the 7904A...those two mainframes have massively more bandwidth. Did you have to do any sweep alignments on yours?

[mnementh]

It wasn't really that painful; ~US$20 with shipping for 1L.  I was reluctant because of the misery I've recently suffered at the hands of Canada Post. Since it's coming via Purolator, I'm much less worried. Also, lets face it... the dwagon has MUCH more important things to woorry aboot noow... 

Uhhh... you do realize that Purolator is part of Canada Post now, right?

They still might be better than "parcel post" rate service but I think they share the same sorting and distro as Xpresspost from the actual "post office"...

Meh.

mnem
All out of GAF ATM.

[bitseeker]

Okies... Things have gone a bit pear-shaped in the dwagon's household right now; priorities are shifting drastically.
Short version is: We just got notification that the property owners are moving back in; our lease will not be renewed & we have 2 months to move.   

This does tend to polarize one's priorities; I've ordered the oil from my local sewing supply house and I'm going to take the gamble that Canada Post actually WILL get it to me before I have to move.

As you may suspect, time for puttering is going to go away quickly. But... the pics are done, so I'm gonna roll the 2KVA Teardown here in a few.

Well, that's no bueno. Any good news on your immigration status with regard to when you can get your stuff?

[bitseeker]

Since everyone's sharing their shipping woes, here's the one I've mentioned some time ago. Still waiting...

[mnementh]

In today's Post: Order from DIYMalls. I placed this order AFTER I started the dispute process on fleaBay over my PREVIOUS order of MP1584 Buck Converters went AWOL. These aren't the genuine Mini360 buck converters, but they were ~$1 each in Qty10. Individually Static-baggied; never got this before. Last order was a single sheet of 10 pieces. 



These may or may not be genuine MP1584ANs... but at least they aren't the ones with the tops just ground off.




1206 Resistor assortment. Been kindof feeling incomplete since I got here; the lack of these is part of why. 




ATX Power Distribution Board. Quality, especially that of the binding posts, is not stellar. But the design is solid, the PCB seems heavy enough and I've long wanted one of these for random purposes. The fuse slots also make a convenient place to pop a ammeter in circuit. 

All told, ~$US25 with Express Shipping... unfortunately that was effing Yun Express, which evidently is no different from China Post in terms of actual priority handling.

Still, feels good on my bench. 

mnem
*toddles off to ded*

[bitseeker]

Congrats on some successful toy arrivals. That breakout board is a nice idea.

[0culus]

Since everyone's sharing their shipping woes, here's the one I've mentioned some time ago. Still waiting...

My NanoVNA V2 shipment has been encountering "exceptions" with fair regularity as it transits China. FedEx says "delay beyond our control". That's probably where the tracking devices are installed. 

[bitseeker]

The Chinese government should have a package tracking service since they probably know where they all are and what's in the boxes.

[med6753]

Yeah, these others (Type B, Type CA, and Type 1A1) are going to drop into the repair queue.  I made another edit above, but to carry it on here in case you missed it, I am astounded at how sharp the trace this crt gives. It's way better than either my 7904A or 7104...and MASSIVELY better than my 2465B...

Yep, what those early CRT's lacked in sensitivity they made up for in sharpness. My 535A has the sharpest trace of any of my other scopes. Unfortunately when you increase the sensitivity you get an increase in noise. That's the trade off.

No free lunches! But it is, in truth, sort of silly to compare it to the 7104 or even the 7904A...those two mainframes have massively more bandwidth. Did you have to do any sweep alignments on yours?

Well yes, as soon as vertical amplifiers started venturing above 100MHz the residual noise became a greater factor. Why did you think we have 20MHz B/W limit switches?   But even so the CRT's themselves with the increase in vertical viewing area came at a cost of somewhat less sharpness.

No, I don't have a marker generator but I use a known accurate sine or preferably square wave to set the sweep and then check it at various speeds. Usually comes out real close or dead nuts.

[0culus]

Yeah, these others (Type B, Type CA, and Type 1A1) are going to drop into the repair queue.  I made another edit above, but to carry it on here in case you missed it, I am astounded at how sharp the trace this crt gives. It's way better than either my 7904A or 7104...and MASSIVELY better than my 2465B...

Yep, what those early CRT's lacked in sensitivity they made up for in sharpness. My 535A has the sharpest trace of any of my other scopes. Unfortunately when you increase the sensitivity you get an increase in noise. That's the trade off.

No free lunches! But it is, in truth, sort of silly to compare it to the 7104 or even the 7904A...those two mainframes have massively more bandwidth. Did you have to do any sweep alignments on yours?

Well yes, as soon as vertical amplifiers started venturing above 100MHz the residual noise became a greater factor. Why did you think we have 20MHz B/W limit switches?   But even so the CRT's themselves with the increase in vertical viewing area came at a cost of somewhat less sharpness.

No, I don't have a marker generator but I use a known accurate sine or preferably square wave to set the sweep and then check it at various speeds. Usually comes out real close or dead nuts.

Yeah. Sometimes too much bandwidth is bad.    I’m planning on going through it with the 184 and get it closer than it is.

[Robert763]

ON THE BENCH: 2KVA CURB SCORE!

      

Picked this up off the curb this afternoon, on my way home from the above-recounted abject failure at Princess Auto. As I haven't actually had a proper TEA post in at least a couple moltings, I figured I'd do the Dave thing:

"Oy! Don't turn it on, take it apart!!!"     

First off, a quick wipedown with alcohol; then a trip to the washroom to wash me paws... then right back 'ere.

See Y'all in a few!

mnem
 

Look for Esso NUTO 32 SAE 32 hydraulic oil without smelly additives. Used fro small machine tools. Hydraulic jack oil is also a option that may be stocked locally.

[BU508A]

Okies... Things have gone a bit pear-shaped in the dwagon's household right now; priorities are shifting drastically.
Short version is: We just got notification that the property owners are moving back in; our lease will not be renewed & we have 2 months to move.   

This does tend to polarize one's priorities; I've ordered the oil from my local sewing supply house and I'm going to take the gamble that Canada Post actually WILL get it to me before I have to move.

As you may suspect, time for puttering is going to go away quickly. But... the pics are done, so I'm gonna roll the 2KVA Teardown here in a few.

Cheers,

mnem
 

Sorry to hear that. 

I hope, that you and your family will sail soon in more calmer waters.
Keep my fingers crossed.

[Ice-Tea]

That ATX breakout is pretty cool.

*me wants*

[Saskia]

Fucking around with the fucked up openLDAP backsql backend connection with Postgres.

In other news, another RockPi has just arrived courtesy of ebay. I can take the eMMC board off, plug it into the other one and have 2 working ones.
Should cancel the Conrad order, as they are completely incapable of sending out stuff they have in stock and I have been waiting weeks for the spare parts to arrive. f them, no wonder they are going out of business.

[BU508A]

Do they?   

Any details somewhere?

[Saskia]

google it. Need to cancel that order and request a refund. this is most annoying.

[BU508A]

Lots of rumours, angry people etc. but no hard facts. 

[tonyalbus]

Yes! ..unbelivable .. a working unit errived allready today!