Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tggzzz]

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 Österreich wine? Bleeeeckh! 🤮

Fixed that for you.

At one stage you could have red, white, and blue Austrian wine: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/07/14/The-scandal-of-wine-with-something-added/1669490161600/

Old joke: two wine makers talking over the fence... "What do you expect to get for your Auslese this year, Johan?". "6 months, if I'm caught".

[AVGresponding]

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. 

You're not alone in that...

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.

Yep, past my gamble point too.

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.

Is it possible the buyer was naughty and swapped out the Fluke processor and/or ROM ICs?

[Ice-Tea]

Is it possible the buyer was naughty and swapped out the Fluke processor and/or ROM ICs?

Totally. Crossed my mind as well.

[med6753]

Good news. This one just needed a minor tweak. It bottomed out at 10.0004MHz.



More good news: The Type 3B4 Plug-in has a very good trigger. That's encouraging because I hate troubleshooting trigger circuits.

Bad news: No sweep. I really didn't expect it to work first try. Oh well. At least there's no smoke. More work to do. 

[mnementh]

Looks VERRRY familar... 

mnem
 

[Cerebus]

Ostrich Österreich wine? Bleeeeckh! 🤮

Fixed that for you.

At one stage you could have red, white, and blue Austrian wine: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/07/14/The-scandal-of-wine-with-something-added/1669490161600/

Old joke: two wine makers talking over the fence... "What do you expect to get for your Auslese this year, Johan?". "6 months, if I'm caught".

The pun was intentional. I remember the scandal well because around that time the lass who was to become my ex-wife, myself and some friends grabbed some spare spaces on a works trip to the Oktoberfest which had rather peculiar accommodation arrangements - we were staying over the border in Söll in an Alpine gasthof that normally catered to skiers in season and was obviously making some off-season bunce where they could. As is often the case in smaller family run establishments of this kind the hospitality was incredible, with frequent drinks on the house - we had to be a bit careful of what we said 'yes' to.

[Robert763]

<SNIP>

Well sometimes they have the help of the police. Show on UK TV this week had air ambulance landing in area thoughtfully taped off by police right next to incident. Only problem was that the taped off area was a crime scene not a landing area. Pilot - was that FOD? - doctor no, I think it was evidence 

Over here all medivac landings are pre-determined and agreed to by all involved to insure safety. And it may or may not be directly near the actual incident depending on terrain/location. Typically the closest parking lot or open field.

I think the mode of operation is different in the USA, to UK. In the UK the helicopter is used as a fast response critical care service carrying skilled doctors and advanced parmedics. They often perform advanced treatments, even up to opening the chest to carry out direct heart massage, at the scene. The helicoptor carries advanced equipment. Thus it is important to get them on scene ASAP. Pre-arranging a landing site would cause too much delay resulting in loss of life. 
Many medical flights in the USA are just patient transfers with a nurse or paramedic.
Oh and in the UK they are free, so they can't sort out a landing site while waiting for the insurance company to authorise payment. 

[Neomys Sapiens]

Ostrich Österreich wine? Bleeeeckh! 🤮

Fixed that for you.

At one stage you could have red, white, and blue Austrian wine: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/07/14/The-scandal-of-wine-with-something-added/1669490161600/

Old joke: two wine makers talking over the fence... "What do you expect to get for your Auslese this year, Johan?". "6 months, if I'm caught".

The pun was intentional. I remember the scandal well because around that time the lass who was to become my ex-wife, myself and some friends grabbed some spare spaces on a works trip to the Oktoberfest which had rather peculiar accommodation arrangements - we were staying over the border in Söll in an Alpine gasthof that normally catered to skiers in season and was obviously making some off-season bunce where they could. As is often the case in smaller family run establishments of this kind the hospitality was incredible, with frequent drinks on the house - we had to be a bit careful of what we said 'yes' to.

When our new Austrian masters overtook the company, they brought their wine. And they forced it onto the employees on various occasions where nothing else was ordered. We have premium Riesling producesr in a distance of about 20km. They got a not-so-welcoming response. Fortunately, they ceased that practice.
* Pfui Deifi heb I gsecht! *

[TorinoFermic]

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.

Sadly yes, a beginner in electronics who recently learned to start with 5.5 digits and not spend too much until he's ready to buy one after knowing what he wants for.

[TorinoFermic]

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

I have checked this auction but this one does not ship to Canada because ebay dosen't show to me the shipping cost.

[Specmaster]

<SNIP>

Well sometimes they have the help of the police. Show on UK TV this week had air ambulance landing in area thoughtfully taped off by police right next to incident. Only problem was that the taped off area was a crime scene not a landing area. Pilot - was that FOD? - doctor no, I think it was evidence 

Over here all medivac landings are pre-determined and agreed to by all involved to insure safety. And it may or may not be directly near the actual incident depending on terrain/location. Typically the closest parking lot or open field.

I think the mode of operation is different in the USA, to UK. In the UK the helicopter is used as a fast response critical care service carrying skilled doctors and advanced parmedics. They often perform advanced treatments, even up to opening the chest to carry out direct heart massage, at the scene. The helicoptor carries advanced equipment. Thus it is important to get them on scene ASAP. Pre-arranging a landing site would cause too much delay resulting in loss of life. 
Many medical flights in the USA are just patient transfers with a nurse or paramedic.
Oh and in the UK they are free, so they can't sort out a landing site while waiting for the insurance company to authorise payment. 

Yes that is quite true, I didn't like to stick my neck out about the USA ones in case I was wrong about them. The other thing to note about UK mercy flights is that they fly the direct route and ATC give them the green light and priority if their route takes them through any controlled airspace. I use airband scanner when I'm out photographing aircraft at my local airfield, or major airports and airshows and they can be frequently heard on the radio informing the ATC of their intention minutes before appearing on scene. The ATC then instantly tell all aircraft to give way and even planes doing air displays are told to halt their display with immediate effect to stand down and vacate the area until further notice. Whats is even more amazing is that these air ambulances are all run by charities, UK Government will not fund them   

[BU508A]

Today I received a nice parcel from Bürklin:



Some solder from Felder:
2x 500g 1.0mm Sn60Pb39Cu1
1x 500g 0.5mm Sn60Pb39Cu1
1x 250g 0.75mm Sn62Pb36Ag2
1x 250g 0.5mm Sn62Pb36Ag2

10 + 10 red and black 4mm banana plugs from Stäubli Multi-Contact

[worsthorse]

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.   [img

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.

I picked up a couple of 8840As at a hamfest for twenty bucks. Made one good one out of two. The other I bought for forty bucks. It had a bad internal fuse. They are good solid bench meters and pretty easy to work on as long as they haven't been stripped for parts. Some folks worry about the display dimming but if they haven't been used on a production line, that's not something you are likely to see.

[med6753]

<SNIP>

Well sometimes they have the help of the police. Show on UK TV this week had air ambulance landing in area thoughtfully taped off by police right next to incident. Only problem was that the taped off area was a crime scene not a landing area. Pilot - was that FOD? - doctor no, I think it was evidence 

Over here all medivac landings are pre-determined and agreed to by all involved to insure safety. And it may or may not be directly near the actual incident depending on terrain/location. Typically the closest parking lot or open field.

I think the mode of operation is different in the USA, to UK. In the UK the helicopter is used as a fast response critical care service carrying skilled doctors and advanced parmedics. They often perform advanced treatments, even up to opening the chest to carry out direct heart massage, at the scene. The helicoptor carries advanced equipment. Thus it is important to get them on scene ASAP. Pre-arranging a landing site would cause too much delay resulting in loss of life. 
Many medical flights in the USA are just patient transfers with a nurse or paramedic.
Oh and in the UK they are free, so they can't sort out a landing site while waiting for the insurance company to authorise payment.

Sorry, but that is incorrect....at least in these parts. The medivac is used for the same purposes as you indicated. A safe landing zone as close the incident as possible is set up prior to take off from base or while the helicopter is in the air. And the patient brought to the landing zone as quick as possible via ambulance if a significant distance away. Which can happen because we have large forested areas where a landing isn't possible. And the EMT's on the scene determine the need for a medivac, not the insurance companies.       

[Specmaster]

I picked up a couple of 8840As at a hamfest for twenty bucks. Made one good one out of two. The other I bought for forty bucks. It had a bad internal fuse. They are good solid bench meters and pretty easy to work on as long as they haven't been stripped for parts. Some folks worry about the display dimming but if they haven't been used on a production line, that's not something you are likely to see.

Don't be to sure, there are plenty of members here who switch on their equipment in the morning and leave it running all the time until switching off and going to bed in an effort to ensure that when the time comes to use said gear, regardless of what it is, that it is fully warmed up and the measurements can be relied upon to as near perfect as they can get it. I don't personally share that viewpoint, I switch on what I need when I need it and then switch it off again. I've always said that a few mV out on a reading is never critical in the types of things most of us get involved in. I'd rather do my bit for the planet and also my pocket by keeping CO2 emissions as low as possible and my energy bill 

[bd139]

Indeed. Stupid fucks I worked with years ago would just bail out of the door at 16:45 and leave everything including their soldering irons running 

[SilverSolder]

I picked up a couple of 8840As at a hamfest for twenty bucks. Made one good one out of two. The other I bought for forty bucks. It had a bad internal fuse. They are good solid bench meters and pretty easy to work on as long as they haven't been stripped for parts. Some folks worry about the display dimming but if they haven't been used on a production line, that's not something you are likely to see.

Don't be to sure, there are plenty of members here who switch on their equipment in the morning and leave it running all the time until switching off and going to bed in an effort to ensure that when the time comes to use said gear, regardless of what it is, that it is fully warmed up and the measurements can be relied upon to as near perfect as they can get it. I don't personally share that viewpoint, I switch on what I need when I need it and then switch it off again. I've always said that a few mV out on a reading is never critical in the types of things most of us get involved in. I'd rather do my bit for the planet and also my pocket by keeping CO2 emissions as low as possible and my energy bill 

It isn't normally that hard to plan a little ahead, to let some equipment warm up?  -  usually, the day's precision type work doesn't come as a big surprise... 

[med6753]

Looks VERRRY familar... 

mnem
 

Yep, for sure....




And this one will get a coat of blue paint too. 

[mnementh]

<SNIP>

Well sometimes they have the help of the police. Show on UK TV this week had air ambulance landing in area thoughtfully taped off by police right next to incident. Only problem was that the taped off area was a crime scene not a landing area. Pilot - was that FOD? - doctor no, I think it was evidence 

Over here all medivac landings are pre-determined and agreed to by all involved to insure safety. And it may or may not be directly near the actual incident depending on terrain/location. Typically the closest parking lot or open field.

I think the mode of operation is different in the USA, to UK. In the UK the helicopter is used as a fast response critical care service carrying skilled doctors and advanced parmedics. They often perform advanced treatments, even up to opening the chest to carry out direct heart massage, at the scene. The helicoptor carries advanced equipment. Thus it is important to get them on scene ASAP. Pre-arranging a landing site would cause too much delay resulting in loss of life. 
Many medical flights in the USA are just patient transfers with a nurse or paramedic.
Oh and in the UK they are free, so they can't sort out a landing site while waiting for the insurance company to authorise payment. 

Yes that is quite true, I didn't like to stick my neck out about the USA ones in case I was wrong about them. The other thing to note about UK mercy flights is that they fly the direct route and ATC give them the green light and priority if their route takes them through any controlled airspace. I use airband scanner when I'm out photographing aircraft at my local airfield, or major airports and airshows and they can be frequently heard on the radio informing the ATC of their intention minutes before appearing on scene. The ATC then instantly tell all aircraft to give way and even planes doing air displays are told to halt their display with immediate effect to stand down and vacate the area until further notice. Whats is even more amazing is that these air ambulances are all run by charities, UK Government will not fund them   

Yeah, I know... too much liability in ACTUALLY considering human life first, above all else... 

mnem
 

[capt bullshot]

When our new Austrian masters overtook the company, they brought their wine. And they forced it onto the employees on various occasions where nothing else was ordered. We have premium Riesling producesr in a distance of about 20km. They got a not-so-welcoming response. Fortunately, they ceased that practice.
* Pfui Deifi heb I gsecht! *

At least they brought wine
Our new Austrian owners brought Holacracy over the company. 

[capt bullshot]

Some solder from Felder:
2x 500g 1.0mm Sn60Pb39Cu1
1x 500g 0.5mm Sn60Pb39Cu1
1x 250g 0.75mm Sn62Pb36Ag2
1x 250g 0.5mm Sn62Pb36Ag2

10 + 10 red and black 4mm banana plugs from Stäubli Multi-Contact

Good stuff that is!

[med6753]

<SNIP>

Well sometimes they have the help of the police. Show on UK TV this week had air ambulance landing in area thoughtfully taped off by police right next to incident. Only problem was that the taped off area was a crime scene not a landing area. Pilot - was that FOD? - doctor no, I think it was evidence 

Over here all medivac landings are pre-determined and agreed to by all involved to insure safety. And it may or may not be directly near the actual incident depending on terrain/location. Typically the closest parking lot or open field.

I think the mode of operation is different in the USA, to UK. In the UK the helicopter is used as a fast response critical care service carrying skilled doctors and advanced parmedics. They often perform advanced treatments, even up to opening the chest to carry out direct heart massage, at the scene. The helicoptor carries advanced equipment. Thus it is important to get them on scene ASAP. Pre-arranging a landing site would cause too much delay resulting in loss of life. 
Many medical flights in the USA are just patient transfers with a nurse or paramedic.
Oh and in the UK they are free, so they can't sort out a landing site while waiting for the insurance company to authorise payment. 

Yes that is quite true, I didn't like to stick my neck out about the USA ones in case I was wrong about them. The other thing to note about UK mercy flights is that they fly the direct route and ATC give them the green light and priority if their route takes them through any controlled airspace. I use airband scanner when I'm out photographing aircraft at my local airfield, or major airports and airshows and they can be frequently heard on the radio informing the ATC of their intention minutes before appearing on scene. The ATC then instantly tell all aircraft to give way and even planes doing air displays are told to halt their display with immediate effect to stand down and vacate the area until further notice. Whats is even more amazing is that these air ambulances are all run by charities, UK Government will not fund them   

Yeah, I know... too much liability in ACTUALLY considering human life first, above all else... 

mnem
 

Pure baloney. Go back and read my response to this.

The EMT's on the scene determine need for a medivac. To them human life first. Now can that run afoul of a person's insurance? Sure can. I've heard that the average medivac mission costs about $40K USD. Can the insurance co be a prick and refuse to pay? It happens. Is our health care system fucked up? Sure is. 

[ch_scr]

Took a big UPS to bits, here's most of the haul. Hard to bring the scale across, that big ferrite core is 5cm (2in) in diameter.
Also had the biggest relay (I have seen bigger contactors as an electrician but as far as PCB mount goes) I ever came across.

[mnementh]

When our new Austrian masters overtook the company, they brought their wine. And they forced it onto the employees on various occasions where nothing else was ordered. We have premium Riesling producesr in a distance of about 20km. They got a not-so-welcoming response. Fortunately, they ceased that practice.
* Pfui Deifi heb I gsecht! *

At least they brought wine
Our new Austrian owners brought Holacracy over the company. 

You mean this Decentralized Bureaucracy shitshow of liability-management through cellular nodes of ignorance & incompetence...? 

mnem

"The only thing better than a team of incompetents is two teams of incompetents pitted against each other!"

[mansaxel]

When our new Austrian masters overtook the company, they brought their wine. And they forced it onto the employees on various occasions where nothing else was ordered. We have premium Riesling producesr in a distance of about 20km. They got a not-so-welcoming response. Fortunately, they ceased that practice.
* Pfui Deifi heb I gsecht! *

I've had some excellent Austrian wine, not saying it competes with something like Bremmer Calmont Riesling (We try to go there and stock up from one of the local wineries whenever we can, like every other year) from good years, but, still. There are some Austrian  Spätburgunders (That's Pinot Noir to the rest of the world...) and some Grüner Veltliners that are exceptional in their kind.