Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[nixiefreqq]

reading up on getting state recognition for my religion.

https://youtu.be/8UPUPDo20nM

was gonna' say that in the usa there is no such thing as state recognition of belief.

but then i remembered a discussion with a buddy from 3rd group who was fighting to get a wikken symbol on his marker if he croaked.

turns out these days there is a government approved list!  check out #55.

https://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hmm/emblems.asp

[mnementh]

   hey dragon......a question for you.  (since you are the go to guy for stuff that has been stressed beyond the norm).

how would you deal with this? please don't offer a solution that requires a 3d printer.  don't have one.....am not gonna' get one.  am thinking bondo or some other automotive patch or maybe something involving pop rivets.  don't expect it to look like new, or even close. (just something that will keep dust out and prevent people from sticking their fingers in).

(others on this thread will no doubt offer that it is a perfect opportunity to install a fan)

Thanks for the compliment... I think. I'm going to take a moment to get this over with: Uncle Bumblebutt!

Now that we can move forward... hmmm. This one is not as simple as it may appear. It looks like the build and proximity to internal chassis does NOT allow much room for matting inside.

Not knowing what kind of plastic this is, I'd be leery of Bondo or Gorilla-hair type polyester body fillers. Some plastics will not bond at all, and some melt horribly. Also, I'm not a chemistry wonk (C could probably tell you with a fair measure of certainty, if you can tell him what kind of plastic); my recent failure with solvent-welding my 54645A proves that. 

Let me think on this for a moment... a few more pics of what is inside would help me devise a battle plan.

Also... this is on a molding seam, not an actual joint in the case, right?

mnem

have not pulled the trigger on it......yet.  was not scared off by what might be inside the enclosure.....but that big missing chunk gave me pause.  (you might be able to guess where it is listed from this picture)

edit...  on the subject of modding vapes.  WTF is wrong with people?

Oklay... assuming this instrument front-loads into the shell, what I would do is this:

Remove the guts, scuff the edges of the hole and approx 13mm-1/2" around the perimeter of the hole inside with 80-grit sandpaper. Clean inside & out with alcohol.

Now, tape thin cereal-box cardboard to the metal chassis where it is visible in that hole. Try to fold it neatly, so that it forms a cubical shape. This is to create a former which will prevent formation of "negative space" pockets which would allow the epoxy filler to become a protrusion you can't get free of.

Once that is done, use duct tape on the inside surface of the shell to seal up the hole. Make sure to follow the contours of the inside of the shell; use multiple pieces if needed, but make sure the entire perimeter is sealed to an inch or more around the hole if possible.

Reassemble the unit, taking care that as the cardboard-covered corner enters that space, it does not rip or peel off the duct tape. When you have the case screwed together tightly, probe with your fingers to get a feel for where that cardboard-covered chassis is. You need to be thinking aboot where you can push the duct tape inward and get some epoxy under it onto the back side of the shell without making a hang-up obstruction. This is critical to making a strong repair.

Take the instrument apart and do a reality-check; make sure nothing binds or hangs up, and that the cardboard and duct tape have not been dislodged anywhere. If all okay, reassemble using same care as above. Screw down tight.

Now, mix up some regular 5-minute epoxy (not the stinky polyester stuff)... enough to make a layer 1mm or so thick over the edges of the hole and cover the duct tape, but don't try to fill with it. YET. This is where you are going to make the first layer, nothing more. Using an old pencil or Popsicle stick, press inward on the duct tape around the edges of the hole where you know it is safe to do so and get some epoxy on the inside surface of the shell.

Once the epoxy sets up hard, disassemble the instrument and make sure nothing hangs up. If so, you're good to go for matting and a few more layers of epoxy. If not, you'll probably break bits of the epoxy repair and have to patch as needed. No problem.

Next step you'll apply some matting (I prefer single-layer glas matting, but I've used cotton medical gauze in a pinch) cut to fit the opening and try to layer around the edges as much as you're willing to tolerate.

6mm-1/4" overlap around the perimeter of the hole is all you really need to make a field-service ready repair; if you prefer a more cosmetic repair, then only inside the hole so you can glaze over it completely with epoxy. This will likely be perfectly serviceable for decades on a bench-only instrument.

I find it easiest to cut the matting as close as I can manage with the work and matting dry, then apply a thin layer of epoxy to the work as I lay down the matting. Then, as I reach the perimeter, I trim exactly with the scissors. I have a pair of stainless gardener's scissors I use for this work; they're nice in that semi-hardened epoxy comes right off them, as long as I remember not to set them down closed.

Next more epoxy on the outside of the matting, fully saturating it. Do not let the under layer harden before starting on this coat, but do let this layer firm up before applying the next.  Keep applying thin layers this way until you've built up enough to fully fill the hole.

Once fully hardened for 24 hours, sand and paint to preference, then remove the cardboard former from the chassis and the duct-tape "release sheet" from the inside of the shell.

Alternately, you can use this process with one of the metal-filled epoxies and omit the matting; but use one of the liquid-gel type, not the putty. Putty requires too much pressure to make a good bond, and will deform the duct-tape release sheet and/or cardboard former underneath. Do a sanity-check and make sure it doesn't attack the plastic before working with it; some of the metal-filled epoxies are polyester-based as well.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but most of the work is reading this How-To.  The fixing is pretty quick once you know the major pitfalls which I've outlined here.

Anyhoo... that's how I'd PLAN on attacking this problem. What actually arrives on the bench will of course change that plan somehow; it always does.

mnem
"No plan ever survives first contact with the enemy."

[mnementh]

Here's a few TDR pictures of a homemade 5m RG174 cable:
- Full length at default scale - Full length at 5x vert. zoom - zoomed into the reflections caused by the connector (this is a better one in terms of cables I've readily available).

Thanks a lot! That was helpful. P.S.: You made me want one. My S.O. might be inclined to exact physical harm onto you.

Oh, then you should completely disregard my battle plan above. I do not want in on this action.

mnem
 

[Saskia]

reading up on getting state recognition for my religion.

https://youtu.be/8UPUPDo20nM

was gonna' say that in the usa there is no such thing as state recognition of belief.

but then i remembered a discussion with a buddy from 3rd group who was fighting to get a wikken symbol on his marker if he croaked.

turns out these days there is a government approved list!  check out #55.

https://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hmm/emblems.asp

Over here it is a lot more difficult. Asatru is recognized in Scandinavia, Iceland and Spain, but not in Germany or Austria.
Need to check ...

[0culus]

787 battery was Li-ion not LiPo Lots of E-cig issues and they arn't LiPo either

787 battery was high-density prismatic cells. The e-cig "issues" are primarily from modders deliberately exceeding the safe discharge rates of the cells, and not explosions, but rather wires melting and/or burning. No different from similar meltdowns that happen just as easily with low-iR NiCds. Now you're blaming the technology for the stupidity of ElectroBoomers.

mnem
 

Can you just agree to disagree or something? I’m sick of finding these arguments interspersed in the thread. I can’t be the only one.

[Saskia]

[mnementh]

Sorry. If it matters at all, the Argument Clinic holds more interest for me than this argument. Same with the last one Robert tried to drag me into. 

mnem
 

[0culus]

Sorry. If it matters at all, the Argument Clinic holds more interest for me than this argument. Same with the last one Robert tried to drag me into. 

mnem
 

Clearly he thought he paid for the full argument. That was never five minutes just now!!!!

[mnementh]

Now wait a minute... was that imperial minutes or metric...? 

mnem

[bd139]

CGS minutes.

Just spent twenty minutes watching weasels kill stuff on YouTube. Going to bed 

[Cerebus]

reading up on getting state recognition for my religion.

https://youtu.be/8UPUPDo20nM

was gonna' say that in the usa there is no such thing as state recognition of belief.

but then i remembered a discussion with a buddy from 3rd group who was fighting to get a wikken symbol on his marker if he croaked.

turns out these days there is a government approved list!  check out #55.

https://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hmm/emblems.asp

Over here it is a lot more difficult. Asatru is recognized in Scandinavia, Iceland and Spain, but not in Germany or Austria.
Need to check ...

State recognition of religions is a bit of an odd topic here in Britain. There isn't strictly such a thing beyond the official recognition of the Church of England as the state religion. However, there are places where officialdom has to decide whether it's going to accept something as a legitimate religion - two such cases I know of are charities and prison chaplains. I can't speak much to the former, but I can authoritatively state that Wicca and Asatru are both recognised as legitimate religions by the prison service and I think the Druids get a pass too.

[Cerebus]

CGS minutes.

Just spent twenty minutes watching weasels kill stuff on YouTube. Going to bed 

Well you were weasily satisfied, given that you've obviously decided to ferret out something stoataly different to do after only 20 minutes.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Here's a few TDR pictures of a homemade 5m RG174 cable:
- Full length at default scale - Full length at 5x vert. zoom - zoomed into the reflections caused by the connector (this is a better one in terms of cables I've readily available).

Thanks a lot! That was helpful. P.S.: You made me want one. My S.O. might be inclined to exact physical harm onto you.

Oh, then you should completely disregard my battle plan above. I do not want in on this action.

mnem
 

Where did you even come into this? That was about the Tek1502!

[bd139]

CGS minutes.

Just spent twenty minutes watching weasels kill stuff on YouTube. Going to bed 

Well you were weasily satisfied, given that you've obviously decided to ferret out something stoataly different to do after only 20 minutes.

Well that was eventful. I went to bed, had a rather lucid dream about weasels living inside HP power supplies, was rudely awakened by my bladder and came back to an intriguing PM. And now full circle to weasels again 

[Neomys Sapiens]

reading up on getting state recognition for my religion.

https://youtu.be/8UPUPDo20nM

was gonna' say that in the usa there is no such thing as state recognition of belief.

but then i remembered a discussion with a buddy from 3rd group who was fighting to get a wikken symbol on his marker if he croaked.

turns out these days there is a government approved list!  check out #55.

https://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hmm/emblems.asp

This list is totally wrong. For example, #59. Pomegranate is a fruit. It is not even tasty.
I, on the contrary, believe in Panzersprenggranate, which is far more powerful. And not listed.

And what if I were a practicing member of the Church of Yoni Kawaii! Symbol to hot for the prudish?

And the Cthulu cultists are left out too.

[Neomys Sapiens]

CGS minutes.

Just spent twenty minutes watching weasels kill stuff on YouTube. Going to bed 

Try shrews next time. There are some nice videos from NatGeo!

[vk6zgo]

I can come and play the didgeridoo ...

OK, Blue!

[beanflying]

787 battery was Li-ion not LiPo Lots of E-cig issues and they arn't LiPo either

787 battery was high-density prismatic cells. The e-cig "issues" are primarily from modders deliberately exceeding the safe discharge rates of the cells, and not explosions, but rather wires melting and/or burning. No different from similar meltdowns that happen just as easily with low-iR NiCds. Now you're blaming the technology for the stupidity of ElectroBoomers.

mnem
 

Please LEARN and open your mind about batteries you are cherry picking a single case to lambast a whole technology. Stop it and stop throwing rocks based on this To continue this is real 

I have been using ALL battery technologies in R/C electrics for nearly 30 years. NiCads, Nimh and Lipos have all smoked and I have seen flames come out of ALL of them when abused physically or poor charging. In my now well over a decade of LiPo use I have had a few puff in the early ones from pushing them to hard but never had the smoke come out including in some major impacts.

[0culus]

Now wait a minute... was that imperial minutes or metric...? 

mnem

Heh. That clip is probably my #1 favorite sketch Monty Python ever did, too. I'm amazed they were able to do it with straight faces, because I'm dying by the time they get to the "oh shut up" part. 

[beanflying]

Woke up at 02:30 to take a piss and figured I'd provide a quick update....

Been snowing continuously since approx 18:00 Wednesday evening. Hard to tell how much is out there in the dark but it's a significant amount. The County seems to be struggling to keep our road open. I've heard them come through a few times with the plow. Our parking area has been plowed once but will obviously need it again. Storm is expected to continue until about 13:00 today. Current temp is -8 C and breezy.

Once it gets daylight I'll provide a pix.

And stolen from the Facebook Tek Group....

Who thought this was a good idea? Talk about having your head up your ass. And how did it make it through the corporate structure? Some executive must have liked it and everyone brown nosed him. 

Can you imagine today's roving Snap-On dealer talking about and trying to sell this with a straight face?

Asscilloscope and bargain basement colonoscopies.     


Going back to bed.

What no pictures of the Probe 

[mnementh]

CGS minutes.

Just spent twenty minutes watching weasels kill stuff on YouTube. Going to bed 

Well you were weasily satisfied, given that you've obviously decided to ferret out something stoataly different to do after only 20 minutes.

Well that was eventful. I went to bed, had a rather lucid dream about weasels living inside HP power supplies, was rudely awakened by my bladder and came back to an intriguing PM. And now full circle to weasels again 

I have some bad news my friend...

As an ex HP ASP, I can confirm the part aboot weasels living inside their PSUs. They are used in the management circuit where other makes place a supervisor IC. Don't ask why; the knowing will melt your brain as it did mine.

That is not the worst, however... since you've had "The Weasel Dream"       (I feared this might happen when you mentioned voluntarily watching 20 minutes of weasels on yoobToob); it means you've been infected with The HP Way... a memespace infection more insidious than any influenza or coronavirus, which attacks your personal probability similarly to the effect of a "Somebody Else's Problem Field". TL/DR Version: You are ultimately doomed to in some manner work for them in some capacity in the near future, for a period of time long enough to want to strangle them with their own intestines up til such time as they implode again or their contract expires.

You poor suffering bastard.      

mnem
May Hynix and Micron have mercy on your soul.

[vk6zgo]

Here's a few TDR pictures of a homemade 5m RG174 cable:
- Full length at default scale
- Full length at 5x vert. zoom
- zoomed into the reflections caused by the connector (this is a better one in terms of cables I've readily available).

Thanks a lot! That was helpful.

P.S.: You made me want one. My S.O. might be inclined to exact physical harm onto you.

This one is even more fun. Alas, I don't have the correct sampling head (S-6 instead of S-4).

Bah!, Dilettantism!

Back in the day, we were "hardcore", using a 545b, a TU-5 pulser, & a bnc tee piece.
We calculated the distance on paper, from first principles.

The telephone guys were spoilt, though, they had a device called a PET, (Pulse Echo Tester), to find faults on long open wire pole routes.
It had calibrations for various types of lines, but it was only useable for runs of around 500m up to 100s of km.
Obviously, the accuracy was best somewhere mid-range.   

[mnementh]

Here's a few TDR pictures of a homemade 5m RG174 cable:
- Full length at default scale - Full length at 5x vert. zoom - zoomed into the reflections caused by the connector (this is a better one in terms of cables I've readily available).

Thanks a lot! That was helpful. P.S.: You made me want one. My S.O. might be inclined to exact physical harm onto you.

Oh, then you should completely disregard my battle plan above. I do not want in on this action.

mnem
 

Where did you even come into this? That was about the Tek1502!

You made him want a TDR. My battle plan above was for helping him resurrect one he spotted on my favorite purveyor of TE pr0n, AllTest; thereby making me an accessory after the fact and an enabler in my own right, therefore easily as righteous a target for S.O. vengeance as yourself.   Sorry; speaking in wrong person.

He made you want a TDR. My battle plan above was to help you resurrect the one you were looking at on my favorite purveyor of TE pr0n, AllTest, thereby making me an accessory after the fact and an enabler in my own right, therefore easily as righteous a target for S.O. vengeance as Cap'n there.

Like I said... nuh-UHH!!! I still have Christmas to look forward to!

mnem

[jxjbsd]

It looks beautiful, but it doesn't show anything. I measured high and low pressure, both normal, suspected CRT damage

[mnementh]

That's just... wow. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Everything aboot the layout and the PCBs on that thing just feels like golden age Sony; but the chassis and CRT fixtures still feel Textronix.

It's like some unholy demon child... I want one.

mnem