Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tautech]

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.

Some NZ houses have been built with brick outers for 80 years and here it's known as brick veneer.
Historically we built entirely of wood as it was plentiful however brick veneer construction offers advantages of lower maintenance and before compulsory insulation came into effect here houses of brick veneer was also warmer.

Today with the labor costs of building in brick there is a move back to total timber construction with just variations of the types of exterior cladding used.
Climate has a lot to do with the way dwellings are built as we discovered when visiting our middle one in Perth where today they still use a lot of brick for exterior structural primarily to keep the heat out.
Double brick exterior and one main internal brick wall that's rendered smooth that also serves a a main structural component of the build.
Pretty strong however how they might withstand the shaky isles in NZ is another story.

[Robert763]

Time for TEA
Had a silly lowball offer accepted for a HP 8920B Radio Test Set
/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-8920B-RF-Communications-Test-Set-Used/193643850219
Sooo much nicer to use than the Marconi 2955 (I've spent many hours using both) and now I can get rid of my huge 8924C.
The 8920B does not have the spectrum analyser but A: I don't really need a 5th SA covering up ot 1GHz and B: I can retrofit one fairly easilly. I could even rob the module from the 8924C if I wanted to.
 

[Saskia]

Speaker test CD arrived.

[Specmaster]

...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.

Thats why I wouldn't ever buy a new house, instead would prefer to buy an older style of house. My current house is 30 years old and only has a couple of internal walls that are stud and plasterboard, the rest are building blocks and all exterior walls are proper brick with an air gap and then building blocks for the inner walls. It is in fact an ex local authority house whose houses are normally built to a higher standard than most of the private sector ones where profit is the main criteria and not longevity and low maintenance as the local authorities required.   

[med6753]

Just be glad you don't live in one of these death traps. Millions of Americans do. Cheaply built, fire traps, and hurricanes and tornadoes love to rip them apart. 

This is where the term "trailer trash" comes from.

[bd139]

We have them here as well . Yes we have trailer trash too.

HM605 evaluation starts today as I have some time to breathe. Dismantle, measure, get mugged by RS for caps, calibrate, job done.

I have no time mark cal source so I'm going to knock one up out of the junk box. 10MHz crystal, bunch of 74hc390's here I come.

[tonyalbus]

Time for TEA
Had a silly lowball offer accepted for a HP 8920B Radio Test Set
/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-8920B-RF-Communications-Test-Set-Used/193643850219
Sooo much nicer to use than the Marconi 2955 (I've spent many hours using both) and now I can get rid of my huge 8924C.
The 8920B does not have the spectrum analyser but A: I don't really need a 5th SA covering up ot 1GHz and B: I can retrofit one fairly easilly. I could even rob the module from the 8924C if I wanted to.

Very nice! ....

[Zucca]

Electronica 2020 is 100% virtual, here.

[tautech]

We have them here as well . Yes we have trailer trash too.

HM605 evaluation starts today as I have some time to breathe. Dismantle, measure, get mugged by RS for caps, calibrate, job done.

I have no time mark cal source so I'm going to knock one up out of the junk box. 10MHz crystal, bunch of 74hc390's here I come.

No AWG ? 

[bd139]

We have them here as well . Yes we have trailer trash too.

HM605 evaluation starts today as I have some time to breathe. Dismantle, measure, get mugged by RS for caps, calibrate, job done.

I have no time mark cal source so I'm going to knock one up out of the junk box. 10MHz crystal, bunch of 74hc390's here I come.

No AWG ? 

SDS1032 shortly

Well shit I'm screwed on the first thing. I need some low profile radial electrolytic caps:

bitsbox - dont sell 'em
rapid - dont sell 'em
CPC - dont sell 'em
RS - dont sell 'em
Farnell - dont have any stock
TME - dont have any stock
Mouser - dont have any stock
Digikey - dont have any stock
LCSC - dont sell them
Tayda - dont sell them

So I'm going to chuck the fucker back under the bed until there's stock 

[BU508A]

We have them here as well . Yes we have trailer trash too.

HM605 evaluation starts today as I have some time to breathe. Dismantle, measure, get mugged by RS for caps, calibrate, job done.

I have no time mark cal source so I'm going to knock one up out of the junk box. 10MHz crystal, bunch of 74hc390's here I come.

No AWG ? 

SDS1032 shortly

Well shit I'm screwed on the first thing. I need some low profile radial electrolytic caps:

bitsbox - dont sell 'em
rapid - dont sell 'em
CPC - dont sell 'em
RS - dont sell 'em
Farnell - dont have any stock
TME - dont have any stock
Mouser - dont have any stock
Digikey - dont have any stock

So I'm going to chuck the fucker back under the bed until there's stock 

Any more details about this?

[bd139]

Yeah I need these:

2x 220u >=100v 7.5mm pitch <=20mm high
4x 1000u >=25v 7.5mm pitch <=20mm high

Edit: digikey has stock!

Edit 2: so does mouser. I was using it wrong!.

Not to get mugged for 12 quid on delivery 

[BU508A]

Yeah I need these:

2x 220u >=100v 7.5mm pitch <=20mm high
4x 1000u >=25v 7.5mm pitch <=20mm high

Edit: digikey has stock!

Edit 2: so does mouser. I was using it wrong!.

Not to get mugged for 12 quid on delivery 

Mouser as well.    - Edit: ah, I saw that you've found it, too.      

1000µF/25V
https://www.mouser.de/Passive-Components/Capacitors/Aluminum-Electrolytic-Capacitors/Aluminum-Electrolytic-Capacitors-Radial-Leaded/_/N-75hqwZ1yzvvqx?P=1z0wrjwZ1z0x1exZ1yzvftdZ1z0x0wmZ1z0x0msZ1z0x2vsZ1z0x1eqZ1z0x1enZ1yx4awyZ1z0vn47Z1z0yp7w

220µF/100V
https://www.mouser.de/ProductDetail/Nichicon/URS2A221MHD?qs=xwhfZKBMIZ4k4YXB1f30%252BQ%3D%3D

[mansaxel]

Yeah I need these:

2x 220u >=100v 7.5mm pitch <=20mm high
4x 1000u >=25v 7.5mm pitch <=20mm high

Edit: digikey has stock!

Edit 2: so does mouser. I was using it wrong!.

Not to get mugged for 12 quid on delivery 

Elfa also has the 220µ one. "Until stock is depleted", though. 

https://www.elfa.se/sv/kondensator-220uf-100vdc-20-rubycon-100yxh220mefcgc16x20/p/16704567?q=*&pos=7&origPos=496&origPageSize=10&track=true

[bd139]

Think I'm going to hit Mouser with this one. It's free delivery if you can get £33 in the cart so I will bulk it up with some other stuff I need or might need in the future.

Edit: btw I really like this HM605. Has overscan indication and Y output so you can plug it into a counter. Very impressed so far. I fixed the horizontal calibration which appears to have been fat fingered by whoever replaced the capacitors in it last time and it's bang on.

[mansaxel]

Electronica 2020 is 100% virtual, here.

I'm currently ignoring the virtual 2020 IBC, and just got the message that NAB 2021 is pushed off until November from its usual April spot.

Edit: Some of the vendors I'm talking to are very keen on personal meetings. We'll see about that.

[bd139]

Got a win in the end for less than the price of mouser delivery...

[srb1954]

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.

Some NZ houses have been built with brick outers for 80 years and here it's known as brick veneer.
Historically we built entirely of wood as it was plentiful however brick veneer construction offers advantages of lower maintenance and before compulsory insulation came into effect here houses of brick veneer was also warmer.

Today with the labor costs of building in brick there is a move back to total timber construction with just variations of the types of exterior cladding used.
Climate has a lot to do with the way dwellings are built as we discovered when visiting our middle one in Perth where today they still use a lot of brick for exterior structural primarily to keep the heat out.
Double brick exterior and one main internal brick wall that's rendered smooth that also serves a a main structural component of the build.
Pretty strong however how they might withstand the shaky isles in NZ is another story.

Brick veneer doesn't stand up to earthquakes too well. I lived only 3 miles from the epicentre of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and on all my neighbour's houses the brick veneer pretty much just peeled away from the side of the house. However, the wooden frames behind the brick veneer generally stood up pretty well and there were no catastrophic collapses.

There weren't that many double brick houses close to the epicentre but those that were fared quite badly suffering major collapses. Brick chimneys nearly always completely collapsed.

[wolfy007]

We have them here as well . Yes we have trailer trash too.

HM605 evaluation starts today as I have some time to breathe. Dismantle, measure, get mugged by RS for caps, calibrate, job done.

I have no time mark cal source so I'm going to knock one up out of the junk box. 10MHz crystal, bunch of 74hc390's here I come.

No AWG ? 

SDS1032 shortly

Well shit I'm screwed on the first thing. I need some low profile radial electrolytic caps:

bitsbox - dont sell 'em
rapid - dont sell 'em
CPC - dont sell 'em
RS - dont sell 'em
Farnell - dont have any stock
TME - dont have any stock
Mouser - dont have any stock
Digikey - dont have any stock
LCSC - dont sell them
Tayda - dont sell them

So I'm going to chuck the fucker back under the bed until there's stock 

I have noticed lately a short supply of certain caps Im after for repairs, especially axial ones, but radial ones now also. Hope its not a thing, 2020 has had enough things go wrong this year.

[Specmaster]

Got a win in the end for less than the price of mouser delivery...

Good old eBay, once more to the rescue, not sure how you managed to get 25 off the 1000uF 35V one for just £4.53 though, maybe the Jammy Git award is coming your way 

[Zucca]

Speaker test CD arrived.

I have also that stuff, should I send you the .FLAC?

[Zucca]

After getting an almost brend new Knipex 97 53 04 for 87 pesos. I am looking for another tool where I can burn my money.

May have to ask, do you use a cable tie tool?

[bd139]

Got a win in the end for less than the price of mouser delivery...

Good old eBay, once more to the rescue, not sure how you managed to get 25 off the 1000uF 35V one for just £4.53 though, maybe the Jammy Git award is coming your way 

Think the dude has a lot of NOS and weird stuff in stock. Either that or the order will be cancelled when he finds out he cant drop ship them from mouser at that price 

[Cerebus]

After getting an almost brend new Knipex 97 53 04 for 87 pesos. I am looking for another tool where I can burn my money.

May have to ask, do you use a cable tie tool?

I actively discourage their use. It's way too easy to over-tighten cable ties with one of those. If you're tightening cable ties by hand the shear pain involved if you pull too tight stops you doing it. Use a cable tie gun and you've no sensory feedback that you're trying to go too tight. If you have a lot of cable ties to apply, and you use the thing very judiciously, they are a nice convenience, but on balance I think for most work the risks outweigh the benefits.

[med6753]

I have noticed lately a short supply of certain caps Im after for repairs, especially axial ones, but radial ones now also. Hope its not a thing, 2020 has had enough things go wrong this year.

I haven't seen any shortages. Keep in mind that axial capacitors are rarely used now in new equipment so of course the overall supply will be limited.

........I am the Capacitor (Lizard) King....
I can do anything

-----Jim Morrison

 

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