Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

Ok 3478A test report:

1. RIFAs are good. No sign of cracking. Will replace anyway.
2. Main filter cap tests good for ESR.
3. Battery backup at 3.044V. Need to work out if that's ok to leave or not.
4. Self test passes.
5. DC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A
6. AC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A.
7. DC amps -> works fine. Agrees to the mA with the 8060A.
8. Resistance -> works fine. Agress to the ohm with the 8060A.
9. All keyboard buttons work.
10. Front and rear jacks work fine as does the switch.
11. AC amps untested. I'll do that another day but I don't need it really.

That's a win!

Definite win! 

[Mr. Scram]

Bwahaha! Some pillock was flying his drone over people's houses and yards making a racket and clearly with a camera mounted to it too. He carefully eased it back in to his feet, only to flick it into the pond last minute.  He got it out immediately but it must have been soaked regardless.

[tonyalbus]

Ok 3478A test report:

1. RIFAs are good. No sign of cracking. Will replace anyway.
2. Main filter cap tests good for ESR.
3. Battery backup at 3.044V. Need to work out if that's ok to leave or not.
4. Self test passes.
5. DC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A
6. AC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A.
7. DC amps -> works fine. Agrees to the mA with the 8060A.
8. Resistance -> works fine. Agress to the ohm with the 8060A.
9. All keyboard buttons work.
10. Front and rear jacks work fine as does the switch.
11. AC amps untested. I'll do that another day but I don't need it really.

That's a win!

Definite win! 

guys i have seen the term RIFA a lot...what kind of caps are those... other then smelly things if they go wrong on you?
any pictures?
With what you replace them?

[med6753]

For no good reason I stumbled out of bed a few minutes early this morning. Went to kitchen to get coffee, glanced out the back, then rushed to get my camera.

Sometimes it is worth getting up.

Let me guess, you live near Bristol

OK, I'll ask the question, that everyone else is scared of asking, why does living near to Bristol or Brizzle

When I google for Bristol, I'm getting a nice picture of one of the inhabitants there.   

(Attachment Link)

I wouldn't call my ex famous

 

But this still leaves us with the question: why did you marry her?  Scares away other women?  

She chose to make problems after we had been a couple for several years and 3 months after the marriage, and then after my daughter was born. Only the last can be attributed to mild undiagnosed post-natal depression. She refused to acknowledge that possibility, so no improvement was possible.

For my daughter's sake, I defended my ex for over a decade. Now she has again chosen to create problems, this time w.r.t. being a brexiteer. My daughter is old enough to understand her now, so I no longer actively defend her.

Unfortunately my daughter inherited my good looks but her Mother's personality. And is always in her Mother's corner. To say we clash would be an understatement. 

[Kosmic]

But this still leaves us with the question: why did you marry her?  Scares away other women?  

It's the transformation that happens after you marry them. Been divorced from the mother of my children since 1995. She turned into a ugly, fat, angry, and frustrated old sow. To this day we cannot have a decent conversation without it turning into an argument within 5 minutes. Think "Angry Karen" 3x. In fact, just by coincidence her first name IS Karen.     

You're talking about this Karen ? 

https://youtu.be/-fbFh549-4w?t=18

[med6753]

But this still leaves us with the question: why did you marry her?  Scares away other women?  

It's the transformation that happens after you marry them. Been divorced from the mother of my children since 1995. She turned into a ugly, fat, angry, and frustrated old sow. To this day we cannot have a decent conversation without it turning into an argument within 5 minutes. Think "Angry Karen" 3x. In fact, just by coincidence her first name IS Karen.     

You're talking about this Karen ? 

https://youtu.be/-fbFh549-4w?t=18

Any of the Karen videos on You Tube. There are dozens. 

[BU508A]

Ok 3478A test report:

1. RIFAs are good. No sign of cracking. Will replace anyway.
2. Main filter cap tests good for ESR.
3. Battery backup at 3.044V. Need to work out if that's ok to leave or not.
4. Self test passes.
5. DC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A
6. AC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A.
7. DC amps -> works fine. Agrees to the mA with the 8060A.
8. Resistance -> works fine. Agress to the ohm with the 8060A.
9. All keyboard buttons work.
10. Front and rear jacks work fine as does the switch.
11. AC amps untested. I'll do that another day but I don't need it really.

That's a win!

Definite win! 

guys i have seen the term RIFA a lot...what kind of caps are those... other then smelly things if they go wrong on you?
any pictures?
With what you replace them?

Try this

Replacing them with corresponding X2 and Y2 capacitors from other brands, e.g. WIMA, Kemet, ...

[xrunner]

guys i have seen the term RIFA a lot...what kind of caps are those... other then smelly things if they go wrong on you?
any pictures?
With what you replace them?

This kind 

(from my hp 3478A)

[Kosmic]

But this still leaves us with the question: why did you marry her?  Scares away other women?  

It's the transformation that happens after you marry them. Been divorced from the mother of my children since 1995. She turned into a ugly, fat, angry, and frustrated old sow. To this day we cannot have a decent conversation without it turning into an argument within 5 minutes. Think "Angry Karen" 3x. In fact, just by coincidence her first name IS Karen.     

You're talking about this Karen ? 

https://youtu.be/-fbFh549-4w?t=18

Any of the Karen videos on You Tube. There are dozens. 

 

[Kosmic]

Ok 3478A test report:

1. RIFAs are good. No sign of cracking. Will replace anyway.
2. Main filter cap tests good for ESR.
3. Battery backup at 3.044V. Need to work out if that's ok to leave or not.
4. Self test passes.
5. DC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A
6. AC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A.
7. DC amps -> works fine. Agrees to the mA with the 8060A.
8. Resistance -> works fine. Agress to the ohm with the 8060A.
9. All keyboard buttons work.
10. Front and rear jacks work fine as does the switch.
11. AC amps untested. I'll do that another day but I don't need it really.

That's a win!

Definite win! 

guys i have seen the term RIFA a lot...what kind of caps are those... other then smelly things if they go wrong on you?
any pictures?
With what you replace them?

[Cerebus]

Clearly, you don't reddit, because the answer is obviously a banana. 

M'kay. You're right, I don't 'reddit', and something tells me that as I read on I'm going to discover that, sometimes, a banana isn't just a banana. (I'm not going to spoil the surprise by Googling it, just yet.)

[Kosmic]

guys i have seen the term RIFA a lot...what kind of caps are those... other then smelly things if they go wrong on you?
any pictures?
With what you replace them?

This kind 

(from my hp 3488A)


(Attachment Link)

(Attachment Link)

Haaa I didn't know the 3488 had those. Need to check mine.

[mnementh]

[...] Dumbfuckistan units. 

OK, is this really necessary? 

...not saying Imperial units are good mind you. I like my powers of 10. 

He's just flexing his recently acquired metricness.

Actually it's more the opposite... I'm a nerd. I've been thinking in metric and converting to imperial for decades; everything I work with (computers are still perversely a mix but cars and most everything else uses metric fasteners and are designed in metric) and even my toys (all my whirry little flying things and RC cars and most of my tools) are metric down to the fasteners, but still Dumbfuckistan clings to Imperial. It's like the engineering equivalent of the fucking Union Jack; an embarrassment to anyone with a whit of sense, but it just won't DIE. 

I was actually looking forward to moving up to Canada, a country that has supposedly long ago embraced the metric system; I figured that I'd finally be able to go to any hardware store or even Wally world and pick up a pack of m3 screws and nuts, etc. instead of being forced to rummage through bin after bin of "specialty hardware" that always has baggies in counts of 3 and 5 when they have anything at all, because those specialty bins get restocked about once every 3 years...

Up here the hardware stores are even WORSE than the US. They still think (evidently) that flat head is the only kind of screw anybody uses for anything; they have fucking hideous zinc-plate soft-steel square machine nuts and Robertson head out in the open like they're somehow a valid means of fastening anything instead of hiding them away in shame like they should be.  

They don't even have the "metric specialty bins"; if you're lucky you find like 12 bags of prepack on the wall as a afterthought. Total. And nothing smaller than m4.  If you want metric, you have to go to an auto parts store... where everything is hex head, and the cheapest possible bright-plate zinc finish. And again... m3 and smaller ONLY in stock by accident.

Please... somebody save me from the Dumfuckistan units. Their idiocy hurts my brain.

mnem

[Zucca]

tektronix 2710 spectrum analiser

are they any good?

Hey tony, no idea. Since I use a SA about once every two years, I got myself a RigLOL DSA815-TG.
It's the only riglol allowed to touch my bench, and all the others look angry at him. Poor guy.

[Cerebus]

Bic lighter.

A palpable hit. Yes, as Mnem says a little further down there are size variants, but I think that they're visually distinguishable enough that you'd not be fooled by anything other than the very cunning substitution of a mini-bic variant. Hits the "you know what one feels like in your hands" psychological sweet spot.

[tggzzz]

Don't know what is worst:

1) Stickers

Ohh I need to buy something now...

My new stickers have just arrived, ready to help avoid me picking up other people's laptop/tablet/etc.

The five interesting numbers in one highly useful and relevant equation - what's not to like.

Translation of this equation:
When you turn around, you look the other way.

I'm having the T-Shirt. 



Source

That misses the zero

[xrunner]

Haaa I didn't know the 3488 had those. Need to check mine.

Sorry a mistake - 3478A.

[mnementh]

Question for all of you.
(SNIP)
So, can anyone else think of a common household object that is truly universal worldwide, and that fits the bill better than a pack of cards? Thoughts? Something obvious that I've missed?

For sure in this electronics world, my fav is TO-220 as in my most posted photos.        

That is actually a pretty fucking good idea, especially given this audience.

mnem
 

[bd139]

Ok 3478A test report:

1. RIFAs are good. No sign of cracking. Will replace anyway.
2. Main filter cap tests good for ESR.
3. Battery backup at 3.044V. Need to work out if that's ok to leave or not.
4. Self test passes.
5. DC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A
6. AC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A.
7. DC amps -> works fine. Agrees to the mA with the 8060A.
8. Resistance -> works fine. Agress to the ohm with the 8060A.
9. All keyboard buttons work.
10. Front and rear jacks work fine as does the switch.
11. AC amps untested. I'll do that another day but I don't need it really.

That's a win!

Definite win! 

guys i have seen the term RIFA a lot...what kind of caps are those... other then smelly things if they go wrong on you?
any pictures?
With what you replace them?

That's the inside of my old PM3217 after one blew. I replace them with RIFAs. They are excellent parts and do the job required well but they do have a lifespan.

[Kosmic]

tektronix 2710 spectrum analiser

are they any good?

never had one, but it was part of the lower end (affordable) products offered by Tektronix at the time. If you compare the specs to the 279X series they are probably not going to shine.

More info here: https://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/2710

[bd139]

Bwahaha! Some pillock was flying his drone over people's houses and yards making a racket and clearly with a camera mounted to it too. He carefully eased it back in to his feet, only to flick it into the pond last minute.  He got it out immediately but it must have been soaked regardless.

Good good. My cousin had one crash in his back garden a couple of years ago. His dog had a go at it before the owner got there and chewed a couple of the blades off. 

[tggzzz]

For no good reason I stumbled out of bed a few minutes early this morning. Went to kitchen to get coffee, glanced out the back, then rushed to get my camera.

Sometimes it is worth getting up.

Let me guess, you live near Bristol

OK, I'll ask the question, that everyone else is scared of asking, why does living near to Bristol or Brizzle

When I google for Bristol, I'm getting a nice picture of one of the inhabitants there.   

(Attachment Link)

I wouldn't call my ex famous

 

But this still leaves us with the question: why did you marry her?  Scares away other women?  

She chose to make problems after we had been a couple for several years and 3 months after the marriage, and then after my daughter was born. Only the last can be attributed to mild undiagnosed post-natal depression. She refused to acknowledge that possibility, so no improvement was possible.

For my daughter's sake, I defended my ex for over a decade. Now she has again chosen to create problems, this time w.r.t. being a brexiteer. My daughter is old enough to understand her now, so I no longer actively defend her.

Unfortunately my daughter inherited my good looks but her Mother's personality. And is always in her Mother's corner. To say we clash would be an understatement. 

I'm well aware that, given a bad starting point, the situation ended up reasonably well for my daughter and myself.

In my case my 4yo remembered the lawyer saying that children over 10 are listened to. At 10.5 she phoned me up on a Saturday morning and said she was coming to live with me. I tried to calm her down, but she persisted

[mnementh]

A soft bed of fox urine 

Over here could be that and more. Coyote, turkey, woodchuck (ground hog), feral cat, raccoon, possum, even bear.

"Does the bear shit in the woods"? Don't bet on it. 

Up here, sometimes he shits on your back porch. 

mnem
"Go back inside kids; just the morning fertilizer delivery."

[tonyalbus]

Ok 3478A test report:

1. RIFAs are good. No sign of cracking. Will replace anyway.
2. Main filter cap tests good for ESR.
3. Battery backup at 3.044V. Need to work out if that's ok to leave or not.
4. Self test passes.
5. DC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A
6. AC volts -> works fine. Agrees to the mV with the 8060A.
7. DC amps -> works fine. Agrees to the mA with the 8060A.
8. Resistance -> works fine. Agress to the ohm with the 8060A.
9. All keyboard buttons work.
10. Front and rear jacks work fine as does the switch.
11. AC amps untested. I'll do that another day but I don't need it really.

That's a win!

Definite win! 

guys i have seen the term RIFA a lot...what kind of caps are those... other then smelly things if they go wrong on you?
any pictures?
With what you replace them?

Try this

Replacing them with corresponding X2 and Y2 capacitors from other brands, e.g. WIMA, Kemet, ...

Thanks guys... i think i orderd a bunch of those blue X en Y caps... will do!!

great job on the  3478A btw ... good it worked out!

[Kosmic]

Haaa I didn't know the 3488 had those. Need to check mine.

Sorry a mistake - 3478A.

I will still check just in case