Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tonyalbus]

If this is chinese fake... they do a hell of a good job!.

not bad for 59,- to my door.

I ordered one too 

I'll let you know if it's real or not. Got a legit Keysight over here to compare.

Little update, it's 100% Fake. More info and pictures once my dispute on Ali conclude.

i realyzed also later...the serial on the calibration sheet did also not match..
but from the first look it looked real to me....
still was not able to test the thinig...maybe becouse its fake, i cant get it properly to work,,
my time to dispute is allready pased, and also not sure its broken or not i am just doing it wrong..
but had tomany other things to do, i totaly forgot about it...

hope the dispute goes well for you, indeed the best thing to do immidiate..

[bd139]

Where is everyone?

Pretend working 

Fixed that for you.   

If only 

Complete crazy one today. Going to eat dinner, have a shower, read a book and go to bed 

Incidentally all electronics projects on hold for a couple of weeks while I get through an IT project death march 

[Saskia]

Back in my college days, I had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a girl at a dinner party that had some item of food stuck in her throat, she couldn't breathe and was panicking.  The funny thing is, I had no idea what a Heimlich maneuver was at the time, no first aid training, nothing.  I did it totally instinctively, wrapped my arms around her from behind and used her lungs as bellows to shoot out the stuck material - because it was clear to me she would die if nobody did anything.  It worked...   thank God.  Being the "hero" was scary as hell.  Only much later did I stop shaking.  Not a situation I would ever wish to be in again...   apparently, thousands of people die this way every year.

One of my kids was choking on a miniature meatball. Heimlich didn't work. She collapsed in my arms and I could feel the life drain away. She turned a kind of grey-blue that I never want to see again in my life and went limp. To my feeling, I had a dead kid in my arms. Even though sticking your finger in a chocking persons throat is a bad idea (it may shove the blackade even further down) I knew that the percentage game required me to try. I got something out. She didn't start gagging and throwing up like in the movies but she breathed again.

As odd as it may sound, I now know how a parent feels that has lost a child. Because for a few moments I had and the weight of that hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm normally not easily rattled but that stuck with me for weeks.

The death of one's child must be the absolute worst any parent could possibly go through. Glad this was averted and your quick thinking saved the day.

[Saskia]

Combat ...

[PA0PBZ]

[BU508A]

Where is everyone?

Pretend working 

Fixed that for you.   

If only 

Complete crazy one today. Going to eat dinner, have a shower, read a book and go to bed 

Incidentally all electronics projects on hold for a couple of weeks while I get through an IT project death march 

Oh dear!
Sounds like that you have to fix some wrong decisons made by the OSI Layer 8 inhabitants.       

Good luck with that.

[bd139]

Even worse. Layer 9 - at the top of the ivory tower way above meatspace 

[BU508A]

Since when are you working for BoJo and DoCu?       

[Specmaster]

I can't quite get my head around why the Americans have so many wood and plastic clad houses, and of course other places have them as well. I mean in the event of a fire, by the time the fire service arrives they are almost gutted and total losses anyway, but it's not just the ones that have the fire, others around them also suffer as the sheer heat generated melts all the plastic exterior walls, exposing wooden beams which then also catch fire, so it can end up with many homes being burnt  Just look at the neighbours house on the right in this video 

Edit. in these videos, there always seems to be one lone fireman on the ground long before the rest arrive, why and how did they get so quickly?

[bd139]

The guys who knew how to make bricks didn't need to get on the boat over to the USA because they weren't silly

Since when are you working for BoJo and DoCu?       

I'd fucking love to work for them to be honest. I could fucking destroy them in 5 minutes.

[med6753]

Why wood? It's cheap, plentiful, and can be quickly put up. Maximum profit and speed for the contractor firms. They can complete an entire housing development in a matter of months. Want masonry such as block or brick? Sure.....but you'll pay, big time.

Why vinyl siding? Again, cheap, easy to put up, and doesn't require painting. 

The lone fireman. Most rural fire departments are 100% volunteer. Most of the time the actual firehouse is unmanned. When a call comes in some fire fighters are charged with responding directly to the scene in their private vehicle and some respond to the firehouse and respond with the apparatus. So the fireman responding directly in their vehicle will probably get to the scene first but obviously have no equipment to fight the fire.   

 

[Specmaster]

Yeah, sure I get the fact that its cheap etc, but get a fire and you kiss your home away and if you are really unlucky maybe some family members and or pets in the bargain. Surely to feck, they can treat the wood etc to make it so it is much more resistant, I mean in little more than 10 minutes the entire house is a fireball and is unstoppable before the fire dept can get their fire engines to site, its a total loss, and in some cases your neighbours as well. Profits before human life eh tsk. 

Edit : What about multi occupier homes like yours, is that wood as well? I certainly hope not, only wants one person to have a fire and the whole building could go up, especially as I believe you live some distance from a town/city?

[med6753]

Yeah, sure I get the fact that its cheap etc, but get a fire and you kiss your home away and if you are really unlucky maybe some family members and or pets in the bargain. Surely to feck, they can treat the wood etc to make it so it is much more resistant, I mean in little more than 10 minutes the entire house is a fireball and is unstoppable before the fire dept can get their fire engines to site, its a total loss, and in some cases your neighbours as well. Profits before human life eh tsk. 

Edit : What about multi occupier homes like yours, is that wood as well? I certainly hope not, only wants one person to have a fire and the whole building could go up, especially as I believe you live some distance from a town/city?

I am not aware of any treatment that can make wood more resistant to fire. Wood rot, yes. Fire, no.


The structure I live in was originally built in the 1860's. The foundation in the cellar is mortar/stone with a dirt floor. The building is wood frame construction. It has been completely renovated to modern standards both inside and outside but the original wooden skeleton frame is intact. The exterior siding is both vinyl and aluminum. All of our fire/CO detectors are chained together. If one goes off they all do. Our fire dept is all volunteer and just the DRIVING time from the firehouse to here is over 10 minutes. So it COULD be as long as a half hour before any apparatus arrives. Is it a risk? Sure is.

My apartment complex was "grandfathered" as far as code is concerned due to it's age. To make it meet all modern code would require ripping the entire building down and starting over. Modern new construction multi-family apartment complexes can be wood frame construction but require masonry fire break walls every few apartments. Some areas require sprinkler systems. 

All tenants have a fire extinguisher provided by the landlord. And once a year the Fire Marshall inspects the complex for fire code violations.       

[Kosmic]

Cheap triaxial cable (Belden 9222) on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/25-Belden-9222-RG-58A-U-Stranded-50-Ohm-TRIAX-Cable-25-Foot-Length/254611698095

[BU508A]

I am not aware of any treatment that can make wood more resistant to fire. Wood rot, yes. Fire, no.

I have to disagree. Here in Germany the standards for building a house are very strict. This, for example, has lead to insurance contributions which are the same for houses made of bricks / stones / concrete and wood. Places like kindergarten, festival halls etc. are build of wood without any concerns of the people.

The standards for the classification of the fire resistance of the materials which can be used for building a house are described in the "DIN 4102-Teil 4". If one is going to build a house, all standards must be fulfilled and are subject of regular checkings.

Here is a website with some short explanations and some continuative links (leading probably to German websites):
https://brandwende.com/englisch/fire-protection-/knowledge-and-experience-/fire-protection-concepts-/terms-of-fire-safety-and-building-regulations.html

[mnementh]

You can always find it in my stash on page 1140... along with this one which I made for my wife:   

mnem
 

I'm surprised with the quality of PHP in this forum that it didn't turn your cache of gifs into the porn invasion that appeared in here a couple of years back

That's because I'm on my best behavior; not the underlying code, or any lack of unsuitable material to post. 

mnem
My wife is a pervy little dwagon fancier.

[med6753]

Since we're tossing good natured ribbing about our choices of home construction you wouldn't catch me dead in one of these that you Brit's are so fond of.

Didn't thatched roofs go out in the Middle Ages? Come on.....all that straw up there just waiting for a nice spark. Or get water logged in a heavy rain? Or attract all kinds of vermin from rats to bugs? Millions of bugs. Or worst of all I'll bet it stinks like shit. It maybe quaint but no thank you. 

[tautech]

Don't the US use a lot of bitumen based roofing ?
That would me just as much as thatching.

Or shingles/shakes for that matter !

[Specmaster]

Yeah, sure I get the fact that its cheap etc, but get a fire and you kiss your home away and if you are really unlucky maybe some family members and or pets in the bargain. Surely to feck, they can treat the wood etc to make it so it is much more resistant, I mean in little more than 10 minutes the entire house is a fireball and is unstoppable before the fire dept can get their fire engines to site, its a total loss, and in some cases your neighbours as well. Profits before human life eh tsk. 

Edit : What about multi occupier homes like yours, is that wood as well? I certainly hope not, only wants one person to have a fire and the whole building could go up, especially as I believe you live some distance from a town/city?

I am not aware of any treatment that can make wood more resistant to fire. Wood rot, yes. Fire, no.


The structure I live in was originally built in the 1860's. The foundation in the cellar is mortar/stone with a dirt floor. The building is wood frame construction. It has been completely renovated to modern standards both inside and outside but the original wooden skeleton frame is intact. The exterior siding is both vinyl and aluminum. All of our fire/CO detectors are chained together. If one goes off they all do. Our fire dept is all volunteer and just the DRIVING time from the firehouse to here is over 10 minutes. So it COULD be as long as a half hour before any apparatus arrives. Is it a risk? Sure is.

My apartment complex was "grandfathered" as far as code is concerned due to it's age. To make it meet all modern code would require ripping the entire building down and starting over. Modern new construction multi-family apartment complexes can be wood frame construction but require masonry fire break walls every few apartments. Some areas require sprinkler systems. 

All tenants have a fire extinguisher provided by the landlord. And once a year the Fire Marshall inspects the complex for fire code violations.       

Over here the internal doors are fire rated at FD30, meaning that they can hold back a fire for 30 minutes, so they must be able to treat wood with something to imped fire.

Edit @med6753. No we're not ribbing anybody, it's a genuine question, about the poor safety ratings or building regulations that some countries clearly have, where, human life is treated with such cavalier a attitude when profit wins over peoples safety. Not that I'm saying that some of our regulations have not been watered down. But as far as I'm aware a proper house made from blocks or bricks is nowhere near as flammable as a wooden house and there are many videos on YT showing residential fires in the USA and in almost every single one I have seen it normally results in the total loss one or more houses and or fatalities.

[mansaxel]

I can't quite get my head around why the Americans have so many wood and plastic clad houses, and of course other places have them as well.

Well, Greenfell Tower... As I was visiting the former BBC Engineering site (Now RedBee) in White City last year I saw it in the distance. Chilling.

[bd139]

Yeah drove past that too many times myself 

[Specmaster]

I can't quite get my head around why the Americans have so many wood and plastic clad houses, and of course other places have them as well.

Well, Greenfell Tower... As I was visiting the former BBC Engineering site (Now RedBee) in White City last year I saw it in the distance. Chilling.

Quite, and to make it even worse, our MP's recently voted down a bill to make it mandatory for landlords to declare to the local fire services details of the type of cladding / materials used in the construction / upgrading of the building, even down to the fire rating of the doors used. They voted it down by 318 votes to 188 which is quite frankly disgusting. It would have allowed the fire service to be well aware of the risks associated with each building and could then plan and go prepared for the hazards that they can expect to meet. It might just have saved some lives, hopefully.
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/these-are-the-307-mps-who-voted-down-fire-safety-reforms-set-out-in-grenfell-inquiry/08/09/

[mansaxel]

I am not aware of any treatment that can make wood more resistant to fire. Wood rot, yes. Fire, no.

There are several fire retardant chemical treatments available; differing mostly in whether they stand up to weather or not. More traditionally, salt-based impregnations were used, and they still are useful if used internally.

Of course nothing will prevent fire permanently, but the development of a structurally threatening fire will be delayed.  And, there are places where structural wood is superior. A wood beam is stronger under prolonged fire load than a steel beam, because while the wood beam will catch fire and break, the steel beam will lose its structural integrity quite fast, and become boiled spaghetti with the wood still standing.  Because of this, structural steel in buildings needs painting with fire retarding paint, alternatively it needs boxing in with double layer (2x13mm) drywall.  Parts of the 9/11 structural failures were intimately related to this; the release of lots of burning fuel heated the structure way above where it could hold things together.

Reinforced concrete is probably the safest, but it is not immune either.

The structure I live in was originally built in the 1860's.

<snip>

The exterior siding is both vinyl and aluminum.

The decent thing to do would have been a bit more than 50 grams of C4. Instead of molesting the house with el-cheapo siding. (This is a matter of taste, not directed at you, because you're only a tenant; I'm just appalled at the lack of respect.)

All of our fire/CO detectors are chained together. If one goes off they all do. Our fire dept is all volunteer and just the DRIVING time from the firehouse to here is over 10 minutes. So it COULD be as long as a half hour before any apparatus arrives. Is it a risk? Sure is.

My apartment complex was "grandfathered" as far as code is concerned due to it's age. To make it meet all modern code would require ripping the entire building down and starting over. Modern new construction multi-family apartment complexes can be wood frame construction but require masonry fire break walls every few apartments. Some areas require sprinkler systems. 

All tenants have a fire extinguisher provided by the landlord. And once a year the Fire Marshall inspects the complex for fire code violations.       

All those enhancements probably will make up for some of the deviations from code. But the wood framing probably will save people should the house catch fire. Of course, they will then be left to suffocate in the PVC smoke and get incurable burns from the molten aluminium.

[Specmaster]

Ye, you're right reinforced concrete is not immune as witnessed in the Channel Fire of 2008 where the heat caused any moisture in the concrete to boil and the resultant pressure of the steam released by the water caused the concrete to shatter and fall down onto the rescuers.

[Cerebus]

...where the heat caused any moisture in the concrete to boil...

There is always moisture in concrete. Water (of crystallisation) is an essential part of concrete setting and also the cement in mortar jointed walls setting. Cementitious materials fair poorly in fire. That's why an old stone building with a thatched roof is actually quite a good bet in the fire-resistance ratings. Cement in brick walls doesn't fair as poorly as concrete because the mass of the brick protects much of the cement from more than superficial damage. Superficial damage on concrete flakes off and exposes the next layer to heating and so the process repeats reaching a structural critical point faster than the case for a brick wall. Ob. fact: Most brick actually still contains some flammable material, get them hot enough and they will burn.

Although we're fond of our brick built structures in the UK be aware that modern brick built houses in the UK are often just a facade of brick, with all the internal structural materials pure wood, including the inside of exterior walls. Where a Victorian property like the one I live in will have a brick outer wall, a gap and then another brick wall, modern construction tends to have a brick outer facade, a layer of insulation and then what was brick in the Victorian house is a layer of wood sheeting such as blockboard. Where my Victorian place has internal brick walls, modern houses just have stud partitions made out of wood and plasterboard. This type of brick clad timber framing has been the norm for most new build houses for the last 30 years or so.

Some houses being built at the moment in the UK are timber framed and then clad with non traditional materials like American houses, eschewing the traditional brick cladding. A giveaway that this construction is being used is when they hang the windows when only the timer frame is up. Sometimes they go to the ridiculous point of using exterior brick 'tiles' that are less than an inch thick to give this type of construction a brick-built appearance! Gone are the days where new buildings were regarded as essentially permanent, new build buildings come with a 'design life' than can be as little as 30 years in the case of some large commercial developments.