Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

@TorinoFermic
Let me explain a bit more about the switches. If you examine the photo of the inside of the one on eBay (area highlighted by yellow box) and the then look at the one that Xdevs (area highlighted by red box) you should notice that the switch for the front / rear input jacks, has no means of operating it on the eBay one, indeed the entire switch is missing. Then if you look at the power switch on the left of those photos, you will notice that the pushrod is specially shaped, so the same might be true for the input switch.

Yes, but that's not impossible for me to 3D print a new one. My printer's print volume is bigger than a half-rack DMM.

Yes, you may very well be able to 3D print a new one, but that surely requires an original to begin with in order to draw it in some form of CAD software, which presumes that the replacement switch if you can find one, is precisely the same as the original switch, which something is telling is me, is going to be unlikely. That might explain the reason for the switch having been extracted in the first place, was it used as a replacement in another meter

You asked for advice and my advice is that I personally would not touch it with a bargepole but if you can afford to write off 148 USD plus shipping if it is not repairable, then that decision is yours to make.

Like I said, I have brought from that seller before and I'm happy that they are honest people but when I got my meters from them, I paid less than a third of that price and going by the description and my own experience of the meters, I was pretty confident that I could repair them pretty easily which I did.

The 34401A does not fill me with that much confidence, the display looks to be a bit weak in the brightness stakes and will add at least an extra 150 USD if that fails anytime soon and all the other signs, for me a step to far.   

[tggzzz]

@tonyalbus: TE actually has a better return if you buy it broken and fix it and sell it. But volume is an issue and it’s rather large 

I presume you are meaning both physical and numerical volume

It will be interesting to see what happens later this year. Key questions are the numbers of companies being liquidated, and the disposable income of private individuals.

At a provincial town auction I got my HP8562B 22GHz spectrum analyser for £350. I bid remotely and then jumped in the car to drive 125 miles to pick it up. If I'd known it was an EMC company being liquidated, I'd have bid on other stuff.

It works OK, but I have preemptively replaced the RIFAs with brand new RIFAs.

[bd139]

If you don't like shopping centres, I have a few office blocks available.

Q: will a depressed housing market make it easier for our kids to buy somewhere, or will it just make it easier for sovereign wealth funds (and similar) to buy them? Perhaps the GBP vs other currencies will be the deciding factor.

As for gold, note that if you buy UK sovereigns or britannias, you won't be liable for CGT when you sell them. I'm pleased that I bought my gold a long way south of current prices

Office blocks are good. They turned them all into houses here!

The future is pretty bleak for our kids. Access to the market is going to be harder due to income disparity and deposits required to mitigate lender risk. Pensions are going to go down the shitter in the next decade too, particularly annuity pensions, which will throw retirees on the street. The housing market will have a landslide collapse due to excess supply but people will still not be able to enter it. I foresee lots of empty houses yet lots of people living in larger family groups again. On top of that greater automation and migration to full service economy will mean a chunk of our population won't need to work but we'll still be obsessed with employment statistics.

As for CGT, housing is still best there. As long as it's your main home and as long as you stay under value of IHT. One motivation for me to downsize now is to allow me to avoid that work out a more tax efficient approach to the future. I've already paid income tax and national insurance on my entire mortgage so they can quite frankly get fucked if they're taking a chunk more away. Tangibles like sovereigns are "ok" because you can buy them in cash and give them to people and they are lower than the declarable disposal limit of £6k on SA here. Hence my point about cutting it up into smaller bits which can fly under the radar

But fuck all that mess. That's for us. IMHO the best thing you can do as a kid now really is take the free education, take all the financial aid for doing a degree, take a part time menial job way below your skill set, get evicted by your parents so you get a basic housing association or council property, then start jumping up the salary ladder and spend the cash on life experiences.

[bd139]

@tonyalbus: TE actually has a better return if you buy it broken and fix it and sell it. But volume is an issue and it’s rather large 

I presume you are meaning both physical and numerical volume

It will be interesting to see what happens later this year. Key questions are the numbers of companies being liquidated, and the disposable income of private individuals.

At a provincial town auction I got my HP8562B 22GHz spectrum analyser for £350. I bid remotely and then jumped in the car to drive 125 miles to pick it up. If I'd known it was an EMC company being liquidated, I'd have bid on other stuff.

It works OK, but I have preemptively replaced the RIFAs with brand new RIFAs.

Yes both.

Oh it's going to be a shit show later in the year. As an opportunist I will be keeping my eyes peeled.

Not a bad price. Those liquidations are what I'm after. For personal use only.

[tggzzz]

If you don't like shopping centres, I have a few office blocks available.

Q: will a depressed housing market make it easier for our kids to buy somewhere, or will it just make it easier for sovereign wealth funds (and similar) to buy them? Perhaps the GBP vs other currencies will be the deciding factor.

As for gold, note that if you buy UK sovereigns or britannias, you won't be liable for CGT when you sell them. I'm pleased that I bought my gold a long way south of current prices

Office blocks are good. They turned them all into houses here!

Student accomodation here. And won't that turn out well, now that we've removed the European students and alienated China.

The future is pretty bleak for our kids. Access to the market is going to be harder due to income disparity and deposits required to mitigate lender risk. Pensions are going to go down the shitter in the next decade too, particularly annuity pensions, which will throw retirees on the street. The housing market will have a landslide collapse due to excess supply but people will still not be able to enter it. I foresee lots of empty houses yet lots of people living in larger family groups again. On top of that greater automation and migration to full service economy will mean a chunk of our population won't need to work but we'll still be obsessed with employment statistics.
As for CGT, housing is still best there. As long as it's your main home and as long as you stay under value of IHT. One motivation for me to downsize now is to allow me to avoid that work out a more tax efficient approach to the future.

I thought I was a pessimist; shame I can't disagree with that.

I've already paid income tax and national insurance on my entire mortgage so they can quite frankly get fucked if they're taking a chunk more away.

Um, I don't think you make that decision. HMG seems to hold all the cards.

Tangibles like sovereigns are "ok" because you can buy them in cash and give them to people and they are lower than the declarable disposal limit of £6k on SA here. Hence my point about cutting it up into smaller bits which can fly under the radar

But fuck all that mess. That's for us. IMHO the best thing you can do as a kid now really is take the free education, take all the financial aid for doing a degree, take a part time menial job way below your skill set, get evicted by your parents so you get a basic housing association or council property, then start jumping up the salary ladder and spend the cash on life experiences.

Difficult to have/plan "life experiences" when there are repeated unpredictable (on the tactical not strategic level) lockdowns.

[bd139]

HMG are made of people who have investments and made rules with loopholes. You just need to find out what they are . In this case you can set up an international trust prior to or when you cop it which pays your kids a lump sump every year for any excess and the house itself stays under IHT threshold (because you downsized below it)

As for lockdowns I agree. I'm not planning anything interesting for at least 1-2 years. Which is why I spent up in Apple Store instead 

[TorinoFermic]

The 34401A does not fill me with that much confidence, the display looks to be a bit weak in the brightness stakes and will add at least an extra 150 USD if that fails anytime soon and all the other signs, for me a step to far.   

Oh dear, I might not buy these meters and instead focus on one single good 6.5. 

[nixiefreqq]

hey med

forgot to say.......nice shirt.

ok.  now back to the basement and more.......... ticking away the moments that make up a dull day.

[med6753]

Today's objective. To try to get this Type 3B4 Time Base from yesterday's haul up and running. There's no dust/dirt to contend with but lots of moisture damage. The plug-in chrome slides are pitted which causes the plug-in to screech when removed/inserted. I'll pull them off and polish with emery paper and lightly lube with machine oil. You can see green mold on the timing caps which I'll try to remove with either IPA or simple green. The 7119 tube in the rear with the shield is a total mess. The shield won't come off the tube plus corroded. I'll use metal polish on that. The component side doesn't look too bad and I'll leave as is.

Once that's completed deoxit the switches/controls and also the tube sockets as well as the transistor sockets. Then a quick check for supply shorts and then smoke test.






On bench 2 I got the B&K 1820 up and running. At the time the pix was taken had only been on for about 20 minutes. Not too bad. I'll leave it on for several hours and see where it falls. The last time it was calibrated was 1993. It uses just a simple 10MHz reference.

[Neomys Sapiens]

my bank just went belly up and will face liquidation. let's hope the so called Einlagensicherung will jump in.  Bloody hell. Why does my life ruin my day every fucking day ...

A German retail bank went belly up ? Who, when ?!?!

 DC1MC

Commerzialbank Mattersburg Yesterday.

Ha! My company's mother company has been hit with you!

[Specmaster]

The 34401A does not fill me with that much confidence, the display looks to be a bit weak in the brightness stakes and will add at least an extra 150 USD if that fails anytime soon and all the other signs, for me a step to far.   

Oh dear, I might not buy these meters and instead focus on one single good 6.5. 

That would be my preferred route. As previously mentioned both by myself and others, you can if you keep your eye open and bide your time, come across something like a Thurlby 1905A or a Solartron 7150 or even a Solartron 7150 plus, fully working 6.5 meters for less than £100 which may sometimes include shipping within the same country (BTW you indicate where you are from so we can't quote your native currency). Both of those meters mentioned can be switched to 4.5, 5.5 and 6.5 mode via the front panel buttons.

Another option and usually less expensive is to look for something like a Fluke 8840A or a 8842A, as this video  by Dave, our benefactor shows, it is a high class meter in its own right.

You also don't indicate your level of knowledge, are a beginner or an expert? If your a beginner or just a general hobbyist, then you may not even need a 6.5 meter.

I suggest that you google for images of the meters mentioned and also decide what actual ranges you really need in a meter.

[Ice-Tea]

Not to throw cocaine at a bankers party, but you guys know I have a faulty 8842A up for auction, right? 

[tonyalbus]

Not to throw cocaine at a bankers party, but you guys know I have a faulty 8842A up for auction, right? 

I must say i like this meter also... i own it for just a week or so...
only thing is the display...but when you polish it as i did and put in in a little angle like ontop of an owan oled ;-)  its perfectly eadable.

[tonyalbus]

[BU508A]

Not to throw cocaine at a bankers party, but you guys know I have a faulty 8842A up for auction, right? 

I do know this, because I'm watching your ebay shop, looking at the new stuff coming in. 

[BU508A]

Not to throw cocaine at a bankers party, but you guys know I have a faulty 8842A up for auction, right? 

I must say i like this meter also... i own it for just a week or so...
only thing is the display...but when you polish it as i did and put in in a little angle like ontop of an owan oled ;-)  its perfectly eadable.

You are aware of this thread?
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/hp-3457a-lcd-backlight-mod-(also-for-3478a)/

[Specmaster]

Not to throw cocaine at a bankers party, but you guys know I have a faulty 8842A up for auction, right? 

Yes, I did know and TBH the current bid is already way more than I'd pay for it given its current condition, plus shipping costs and then it may still turn out to be FUBER after all, sorry.

[Ice-Tea]

Lol, no worries. Gotta say this one has me stumped a bit. It came in, worked fine, checked pretty good against a 10V reference. Sold real quick, shipped of only for the customer being rather displeased as it was inoperative when he got it. Voltages check out, doesn't matter if the plugin boards are there or not. It just goes around in circles.

[med6753]

Progress. The chrome plug-in slides cleaned up perfectly with some emery paper. It took lots of gentle prodding but I finally got the shield off the 7119 tube. And I got all the mold/crap off it. It's black anodized so it's fine now. If you want to good laugh and WTF check out the Ebay prices for the Amperex 7119 tubes. The audiophools are insane.

Neither Simple Green nor 100% IPA will touch the green mold on those timing caps. It appears the mold is actually UNDER the clear plastic coating. But those caps are well sealed so I don't expect issues but it might stink a bit when heated.

Left to do is deoxit everything and check for shorts then test.

[mnementh]

   reordered the bricks and made a pot on my 12v so its adjust 11,6 - 12,6 .. so even on full, i don't blow stuff..  thanks for the tips.

Looks like textbook TETRIS... maybe a little BDADD too, I'll wager. Glad I could help. 

mnem

[mnementh]

   Well HELL...! I guess Canadian Tire really DOES have it all... 

Unlike my local grocery, where they just gave me a look like a tree full of owls when I asked where to look. 

mnem
FORE!!!

Looks like they are not too sure about the length though 

Canadian feet or US 
seriously, this confuses me... a liter is a liter...is always a liter ... a us gallon is not a uk gallon... so maybe... just saying.

They may be referring to "net quantity" here... The little fucker was a complete dicksore to use; the center is wound on a wadded up plug of string without a "pull me" bit like normal balls of twine.  I wound up having to grab the center with pliers and eviscerate the damn thing, throwing away a useless knot of cord that was probably 10-20% of the total mass. 

But at least there was somebody in the store who knew what it was, and where to find it.

mnem
 

[mnementh]

...As for gold, chop it up into small bits and keep them lots of different places.

Just like you do with your enemies... just don't keep them in the SAME places as your gold. 

mnem
Whaaaaat...?

[bd139]

...As for gold, chop it up into small bits and keep them lots of different places.

Just like you do with your enemies... just don't keep them in the SAME places as your gold. 

mnem
Whaaaaat...?

I sewed all my enemies together 

[TERRA Operative]

Progress. The chrome plug-in slides cleaned up perfectly with some emery paper. It took lots of gentle prodding but I finally got the shield off the 7119 tube. And I got all the mold/crap off it. It's black anodized so it's fine now. If you want to good laugh and WTF check out the Ebay prices for the Amperex 7119 tubes. The audiophools are insane.

Neither Simple Green nor 100% IPA will touch the green mold on those timing caps. It appears the mold is actually UNDER the clear plastic coating. But those caps are well sealed so I don't expect issues but it might stink a bit when heated.

Left to do is deoxit everything and check for shorts then test.

https://imageshack.com/i/pnMIaC0oj
https://imageshack.com/i/pnkQURtoj

Might be worth checking the carbon resistors for drift maybe? I found a bunch that were out of spec in my Fluke 332D and 731B.

[Cerebus]

my bank just went belly up and will face liquidation. let's hope the so called Einlagensicherung will jump in.  Bloody hell. Why does my life ruin my day every fucking day ...

Working for banks on and off has made me think the only place to safely keep money is in bricks and gold.

I have a few shopping centres that are probably going cheap at the moment. As for houses, it all depends on the timing - and I'd make  lousy trader.

Where do you store the gold? My local bank branch with a safety vault has shut up shop.  As for virtual gold stores; they are for people that invest in wine and ostrich farms and the like.

Ostrich wine? Bleeeeckh! 🤮