Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Zucca]

tonyalbus with only 284 285 posts you gained remarkable popularity in this lost island...
So cool you find us.

EDIT: your post above, was the 285th

[tonyalbus]

tonyalbus with only 284 posts you gained remarkable popularity in this lost island...
So cool you find us.

Thanks ! i feel well at home here..

[edit] and it is a very friendly place i must say, because of all of you guys.

[TorinoFermic]

A listing with 51 declined offers for a used Juicero eBay auction: #283340591584 

[BU508A]

A listing with 51 declined offers for a used Juicero eBay auction: #283340591584 

Where can one see the 51 declined offers? 

[TorinoFermic]

Here's the screenshot, for some reason ebay.com doesn't show the link to this button.

[med6753]

A listing with 51 declined offers for a used Juicero eBay auction: #283340591584 

$10 USD. 

[bd139]

Reminds me of the guy trying to shift a Marconi 2019A for £799. It was on ebay for 4 years. I assume he died before it sold and it'll get sold for £50 to some idiot in an SK auction 

[Ero-Shan]

Anyone want a crust-o-meter 34401a?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174379420503

I’m almost tempted to make a shit offer 

Yebus! Where did they keep it? A pigeon loft?

Pah. That's just superficial. Most of us are excellent in cleaning, and this should come off easily.
The display seems to be still in very good condition for a HP branded 34401A!

[mansaxel]

Reminds me of the guy trying to shift a Marconi 2019A for £799. It was on ebay for 4 years. I assume he died before it sold and it'll get sold for £50 to some idiot in an SK auction 

Around £800 seems to be the price being asked from UK, and roughly half that from Israel, with the usual history of target practice that all Israeli surplus gear seems to have.  So optimists abound. Apparently.

I kind of like the 2019A, from the looks of it. There is something to the form factor, 19" rack, 3HE, full depth, and RF. Like the 8640b or the  8656. Or, to go into reception, the NSA receivers from Watkins-Johnson, like WJ-8718A or Racal RA1772, or Standard Radio CR-302

True (modern, as opposed to R-390A enheaviment) Boat Anchor format, I'd argue.

[tonyalbus]

I have seen one of us TEA, posting a picture of a simular frequencycounter as my Anritsu MF1603A ..
does anyone have a service manual? ... for Anritsu this is hard to find it seems.



Thank you     

[bd139]

Reminds me of the guy trying to shift a Marconi 2019A for £799. It was on ebay for 4 years. I assume he died before it sold and it'll get sold for £50 to some idiot in an SK auction 

Around £800 seems to be the price being asked from UK, and roughly half that from Israel, with the usual history of target practice that all Israeli surplus gear seems to have.  So optimists abound. Apparently.

I kind of like the 2019A, from the looks of it. There is something to the form factor, 19" rack, 3HE, full depth, and RF. Like the 8640b or the  8656. Or, to go into reception, the NSA receivers from Watkins-Johnson, like WJ-8718A or Racal RA1772, or Standard Radio CR-302

True (modern, as opposed to R-390A enheaviment) Boat Anchor format, I'd argue.

2019A usually goes for £250-350 or so here in working order.

I paid £10 for a working one a few years back! The one in question:

[Ero-Shan]

Anyway HP34401a is still a very sexy machine.
I had four of those puppies back in those days, now I got fooled by touch UI and USB stuff.

I miss a HP34401a on my bench like my old and trusty dog.

PS: also dreaming about a chepo HP34410a, one day...

I stopped dreaming about the 34410 after working with one for a few days. The high-pitched noise of the little fan annoyed me to no end.

Why can they no longer dissipate the small amount of heat created in them passively?

[med6753]

Here's two other individuals who need stop smoking the funny stuff and come back to reality....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tektronix-Type-284-Pulse-Generator-TESTED-WORKING/324000191129?hash=item4b6fea9299:g:A~kAAOSwD9Jd5a~2

He also has a 454 for $500. 



Yes, the calibration unit is a rare item but not THAT rare.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tektronix-Type-284-Pulse-Generator-w-067-0508-00-Calibration-Fixture/274344913656?hash=item3fe03b2af8:g:ys0AAOSwyvJeoMIo

[BU508A]

I have seen one of us TEA, posting a picture of a simular frequencycounter as my Anritsu MF1603A ..
does anyone have a service manual? ... for Anritsu this is hard to find it seems.

(Attachment Link)

Thank you     

Found only this data sheet on a russian website.

[BU508A]

Anyway HP34401a is still a very sexy machine.
I had four of those puppies back in those days, now I got fooled by touch UI and USB stuff.

I miss a HP34401a on my bench like my old and trusty dog.

PS: also dreaming about a chepo HP34410a, one day...

I stopped dreaming about the 34410 after working with one for a few days. The high-pitched noise of the little fan annoyed me to no end.

Why can they no longer dissipate the small amount of heat created in them passively?

Fans are cheaper than a good thermal design.

[tonyalbus]

I have seen one of us TEA, posting a picture of a simular frequencycounter as my Anritsu MF1603A ..
does anyone have a service manual? ... for Anritsu this is hard to find it seems.

(Attachment Link)

Thank you     

Found only this data sheet on a russian website.

Thanks BU! , yes that is all i could find too 

i never get those companys.. like AVCOM .. and Anritsu.. why keep it to yourself if it is old
was able to find it for the Anritsu SA though

[tonyalbus]

Anyway HP34401a is still a very sexy machine.
I had four of those puppies back in those days, now I got fooled by touch UI and USB stuff.

I miss a HP34401a on my bench like my old and trusty dog.

PS: also dreaming about a chepo HP34410a, one day...

I stopped dreaming about the 34410 after working with one for a few days. The high-pitched noise of the little fan annoyed me to no end.

Why can they no longer dissipate the small amount of heat created in them passively?

i also hat*/dislike that a lot from my Peaktech counter/generator Peaktech 4085 .. blody noisy .. its in my secondary brickwall, unplugged.

[bd139]

There's no coincidence that none of my stuff has fans in it. I can't stand the damn things whirring away. For my age, my hearing is exceptionally good which is both surprising considering the music I listen to and the volume and possibly irritating because every little sound annoys me.

I can hear someone drop a £20 note from 500m away though 

[tonyalbus]

There's no coincidence that none of my stuff has fans in it. I can't stand the damn things whirring away. For my age, my hearing is exceptionally good which is both surprising considering the music I listen to and the volume and possibly irritating because every little sound annoys me.

I can hear someone drop a £20 note from 500m away though 

agree, but somehow i can take it from the 2955 

[nfmax]

There's no coincidence that none of my stuff has fans in it. I can't stand the damn things whirring away. For my age, my hearing is exceptionally good which is both surprising considering the music I listen to and the volume and possibly irritating because every little sound annoys me.

I can hear someone drop a £20 note from 500m away though 

Outside my window as I type this are a local chap and his son chainsawing up my assignment firewood logs and splitting them for me so I don't have to do it myself. Our tolerance to noise is remarkably flexible.

[Specmaster]

Guys, can ask your opinions on what is the best kind of wire stripper? I have a couple very similar to the one shown as some of you will know I have to replace a 8PDT push button switch on a Solartron 7150 plus DMM and I'm struggling with these strippers to make a decent strip on the wires of this meter. It uses a cable, the likes of which I have never come across before. They are single solid cores and very stiff, they oppose almost any attempt to bend them and the insulation sticks to the cores like shit to a blanket. The cores themselves have veins like a leaf embossed in them and the insulation does not want to let go of the core.

I have extremely little room to work as the cables don't have any real slack available and as you can see, they are so stiff, they have to be physically anchored at each end and the main outer sheath is like an insulted armoured cable between the two boards, and there are 2 such cables, the switch itself has 3 of these cables connected to it.

I have been considering rewiring these with a more workable and friendly cable, but if I did, what type of cable should it be or is the cable on these meters dependant on the that type of cable for some reason that I'm not aware of?

So the question is what is the best kind of cable stripper to use and also what are thoughts on the type of cable used in these meters, could another be used without any detriment to meter itself and if so, what cable would you guys use?

[Robert763]

Guys, can ask your opinions on what is the best kind of wire stripper? I have a couple very similar to the one shown as some of you will know I have to replace a 8PDT push button switch on a Solartron 7150 plus DMM and I'm struggling with these strippers to make a decent strip on the wires of this meter. It uses a cable, the likes of which I have never come across before. They are single solid cores and very stiff, they oppose almost any attempt to bend them and the insulation sticks to the cores like shit to a blanket. The cores themselves have veins like a leaf embossed in them and the insulation does not want to let go of the core.

I have extremely little room to work as the cables don't have any real slack available and as you can see, they are so stiff, they have to be physically anchored at each end and the main outer sheath is like an insulted armoured cable between the two boards, and there are 2 such cables, the switch itself has 3 of these cables connected to it.

I have been considering rewiring these with a more workable and friendly cable, but if I did, what type of cable should it be or is the cable on these meters dependant on the that type of cable for some reason that I'm not aware of?

So the question is what is the best kind of cable stripper to use and also what are thoughts on the type of cable used in these meters, could another be used without any detriment to meter itself and if so, what cable would you guys use?

Ideal Stripmaster or clone  Go on Google it but becareful what sites you click on 

[bd139]

This, by a mile: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/wire-strippers/0243112/

I've had every stripper under the sun and that's the only one that isn't a complete piece of shit. It also stays not a complete piece of shit unlike some of the ones that work nicely for the first 50-100 strips. I get 5 years out of each one at average.

[Zucca]

Ideal Stripmaster or clone  Go on Google it but becareful what sites you click on 

+1, but when there is no working space or the cable is short it is a PITA.
For critical missions I use something like this, or similar:


Anyway, in those not ideal circumstances, good results are 80% due to patience and time and 20% tool.

my 1cent.

[Zucca]

This, by a mile: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/wire-strippers/0243112/

Look at the chinesium one here.

2. Please allow 1-3cm measuring deviation due to manual measurement.

I give it a try...