Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[AVGresponding]

There was one of those in my Students Union, powering the cinema projector.

It was at the bottom of the fire escape stairwell, under the open stairs, protected by a mesh guard.

Even 45 years ago, I wondered about the elf n safety!

I have a 1kW projector lamp (NIB) courtesy of the local Odeon refit/refurb shambles, but haven't had the stones to give it any beans as yet...   

Take care with that, they are normally very high pressure lamps and explode if mis-handled. When changing them (did it many, many years ago) the recommended gear was a full face visor, leather apron with high collar and leather gloves 

It's a filament lamp rather than a HPD type, but nevertheless it's gonna remain in its foam packing for the forseeable.

I do have a number of mercury filled switches that I am tempted to try and use as rectifiers, however...   

[mnementh]

Unfortunately not until possibly later here. My new desktop doesn’t have Discord installed (yet) so need to work that out.

Pretty easy, just click the invite link on P1 of this thread.

Busy selling DSO's so might not make it today.

Yeah can install it. Slightly more complicated. Wondering more if I should poison my new desktop with the discord Electron app which is emulated or just use it native in the browser. Haven’t decided yet 

This is the first non x86 desktop I’ve had for about 25 years 

No need for the app; browser works fine with better than 98% uptime for me (at least using FireFlumph; who gives a fuck if it works with Chrome ) and you can carry on the conversation even while browsing other tabs.

mnem

[AVGresponding]

AA leak bastard included for scale:

[mansaxel]

AA leak bastard included for scale:

T/15 lamp with P28s socket, so a bigger brother to the 500W ones fitted in the iconic Strand Pattern 23 profile. I've got one, rebuilt to a more modern socket (GY9.5) so it could take 300W longlife bulbs, because my mirror ball does not care for colour temperature, but my wallet liked to swap lamps less often.

Yes, it's a halogen lamp, Basically same tech as in cars, but made to about 3200K colour temperature and with a precise physical relationship between socket and centre of light source.

(and lamp life is a certified conspiracy. So, there.)

[SilverSolder]

[...]
(and lamp life is a certified conspiracy. So, there.)

These kinds of things go on today too, more frequently than we would probably like to admit.  E.g. why do all comparable modern cars look the same, perform the same, cost the same, pretty much?

[Cerebus]

so a bigger brother to the 500W ones fitted in the iconic Strand Pattern 23 profile.

I've swapped quite a few of those in my time; I immediately thought of the lamps for the old pattern 23 lanterns as soon as I saw that lamp.

Interesting that its big brother is used as a projector lamp. One of the things you had to do with the pattern 23 is to set the focus up carefully, making sure that the internal focus was on the gates. If you didn't, that very distinctive filament pattern came into focus on what you were trying to light. I'd imagine that might cause problems for a projector without some quite carefully set up collimating optics that defocused the filament image just the right amount at the film plane.

[mnementh]

[...]
(and lamp life is a certified conspiracy. So, there.)

These kinds of things go on today too, more frequently than we would probably like to admit.  E.g. why do all comparable modern cars look the same, perform the same, cost the same, pretty much?

Because robots have no imagination, nor do computers or the meatsack robots who operate them.

mnem
To a robot, an electric shaver looks sexy. Is it any surprise that all our cars look like one...?

[capt bullshot]

AA leak bastard included for scale:

Nice one. Got one too (picked up during a visit at German TV station "ZDF", free as it was pre-broken):

[med6753]

USPS Fail. The distance between Tonopah, Arizona and Phoenix, Arizona is approximately 50 miles. It took 5 days to go those 50 miles.  And USPS is still predicting delivery on the 26th but does admit it's delayed. What a joke. 

This is a gray light filter for the Type 535A scope.



 

[mansaxel]

so a bigger brother to the 500W ones fitted in the iconic Strand Pattern 23 profile.

I've swapped quite a few of those in my time; I immediately thought of the lamps for the old pattern 23 lanterns as soon as I saw that lamp.

Interesting that its big brother is used as a projector lamp. One of the things you had to do with the pattern 23 is to set the focus up carefully, making sure that the internal focus was on the gates. If you didn't, that very distinctive filament pattern came into focus on what you were trying to light. I'd imagine that might cause problems for a projector without some quite carefully set up collimating optics that defocused the filament image just the right amount at the film plane.

The "P" in "P28s" denotes "Pre-focused" which makes me think that we've got another Lucas Electric Relationship here. 

Probably, in fairness, it was likely preceded by a horrible Edwardian contraption with all the issues of that mercury rectifier but none of the showmanship, and thus the adjustment required to get a P28s focussed was seen as a substantial improvement on previous procedure.

[tonyalbus]

TEA or TEAS.... this was the year of one of the TEA brothers.



So nice to know there are more like me.... i am not alone..
Thanks guys it was a fun year.. 

[Robert763]

AA leak bastard included for scale:

Hmm, that's not a typical cinema movie projector lamp. The source size is too big. Movie projectors use a small spot source, carbon arc or high pressure discharge. The lamp you have may be from a still image projector or theatrical lamp.
Cool though.

[med6753]

In the space normally occupied by the Fluke 8505A this beast of a gift from Gettysburg with the strange name of hp suddenly shows up in it's place. Apparently requesting some run time. So I fire up the oven in the reference as well as the oven in this beast and let them stabilize overnight. Results are shown. Apparently the Pixies in the Nixies are happy campers. Couldn't ask for better than that. 

Now if only the cooling fan wasn't so freakin loud. Apparently hp fan boys are half deaf.   

[bd139]

The fan drowns out the annoying transformer hum 

Seriously though - looking good 

[med6753]

The fan drowns out the annoying transformer hum 

Seriously though - looking good 

I'd rather have the hum. 

[med6753]

This one is somewhat more civilized (and still warming up)

Yes, you can hear the transformer over the fan. 

[Specmaster]

I've just made another purchase, well 2 to be precise, the first is toolkit for phone repairs etc and the second is a handheld DMM/AWG/Scope from Hantek 70Mhz all new and will ideal as a portable device for checking audio gear when signal tracing through a  faulty amplifier etc, the toolkit from Amazon and will be with me tomorrow. The Hantek from shpock and I'm a little worried about buying unseen etc, but it is still covered by money-back warranty if it is not as described or fails to arrive etc so should be OK.

[nixiefreqq]

In the space normally occupied by the Fluke 8505A this beast of a gift from Gettysburg with the strange name of hp suddenly shows up in it's place. Apparently requesting some run time. So I fire up the oven in the reference as well as the oven in this beast and let them stabilize overnight. Results are shown. Apparently the Pixies in the Nixies are happy campers. Couldn't ask for better than that. 

Now if only the cooling fan wasn't so freakin loud. Apparently hp fan boys are half deaf.   

half deaf you say?   

strange.....my stack's o counters can all be plugged in and running hot and don't seem to make any sound at all.

[mansaxel]

Hmm, that's not a typical cinema movie projector lamp. The source size is too big. Movie projectors use a small spot source, carbon arc or high pressure discharge. The lamp you have may be from a still image projector or theatrical lamp.
Cool though.

I concur. As I wrote upthread, it's got a P28s socket and is a T/15. Or FKE as GE would call it. Valve names aren't the only things the Special Relationship between US & UK have disagreed on, it extends to other socketed hollow glass electrics too.  The zig-zag pattern of the filament is typical of direct mains powered lights for stage illumination purposes.

An incandescent projector light would typically run on 24 or lower volts, to get a shorter filament and better focussed point source. Like the "ACL" PAR lamps found as landing lights on aircraft; the front undercarriage of the MD80 carries two GE 4596 PAR36 28V 250W lamps, for instance. The 4596 is also used in multiples of 8 as a Very Strong Flood Light, called a "Molefay"


For cinema, even the new digital variant, various xenon arc lamps are the norm, with high-voltage igniter and low voltage high current arc source (a contained stick welder, basically).  Those bulbs I have respect for, and would not handle outside shipping container without full PPE.

There is enough energy stored in the lamp bulb to send quartz splinters flying several meters across a room.
When the lamp is installed, its safety cover must not be removed until it has been fitted in the lamp housing and shortly before the housing is closed.
...
[The] lamps may only be held with lint-free gloves by the metal bases, never touch the glass with bare fingers! In case the quartz bulb was
touched with bare fingers the fingerprints need to be removed immediately with an alcohol soaked lint-free cloth.

The T/15 is much more harmless. But the "hold by base only" rule still applies. Finger grease is bad. I still am a bit reluctant to touch ordinary valves, having been brought up in stage lighting and being used to those rules.

[factory]

In the space normally occupied by the Fluke 8505A this beast of a gift from Gettysburg with the strange name of hp suddenly shows up in it's place. Apparently requesting some run time. So I fire up the oven in the reference as well as the oven in this beast and let them stabilize overnight. Results are shown. Apparently the Pixies in the Nixies are happy campers. Couldn't ask for better than that. 

Now if only the cooling fan wasn't so freakin loud. Apparently hp fan boys are half deaf.   

half deaf you say?   

strange.....my stack's o counters can all be plugged in and running hot and don't seem to make any sound at all.

Mine are completely silent too, but I think the radio's faulty though as it's needs turning up to 11 to be audible. 

David

[Specmaster]

In the space normally occupied by the Fluke 8505A this beast of a gift from Gettysburg with the strange name of hp suddenly shows up in it's place. Apparently requesting some run time. So I fire up the oven in the reference as well as the oven in this beast and let them stabilize overnight. Results are shown. Apparently the Pixies in the Nixies are happy campers. Couldn't ask for better than that. 

Now if only the cooling fan wasn't so freakin loud. Apparently hp fan boys are half deaf.   


half deaf you say?   

strange.....my stack's o counters can all be plugged in and running hot and don't seem to make any sound at all.

Mine are completely silent too, but I think the radio's faulty though as it's needs turning up to 11 to be audible. 

David

Neat and the radio only goes upto 12 

[mnementh]

TEA or TEAS.... this was the year of one of the TEA brothers.



So nice to know there are more like me.... i am not alone.. Thanks guys it was a fun year.. 

LOL... Like most of us, you definitely sold much less than you acquired. 

I vaguely remember you having a small mountain of assorted NIB fixed-voltage PSUs to sell... did you move all of those in a reasonable time, for the money you needed to get from them...?

I find that when I buy in volume that way I usually do make enough that I don't feel like I cheated myself... but only rarely do I make enough to think aboot doing it again soon vs the assache involved. 

mnem

*JENGA Zen-master dwagon*

[mnementh]

I've just made another purchase, well 2 to be precise, the first is toolkit for phone repairs etc and the second is a handheld DMM/AWG/Scope from Hantek 70Mhz all new and will ideal as a portable device for checking audio gear when signal tracing through a  faulty amplifier etc, the toolkit from Amazon and will be with me tomorrow. The Hantek from shpock and I'm a little worried about buying unseen etc, but it is still covered by money-back warranty if it is not as described or fails to arrive etc so should be OK.

   
 
If you're actually thinking aboot doing any kind of smartPwn or tablet repair... one thing I've found unbelievably useful is these LCD pliers. They work so much better than the stoopit suction cup with a ring; you actually have some control over the force applied and are much less likely to crack the glass. They're crazy cheap for how helpful they are; like $10 on Amazon, $5 on AliEx. Open one problem-case device without cracking the glass and they've paid for themselves.

mnem
*toolish ol' dwagon*

[Cerebus]

The T/15 is much more harmless. But the "hold by base only" rule still applies. Finger grease is bad. I still am a bit reluctant to touch ordinary valves, having been brought up in stage lighting and being used to those rules.

The mechanics of replacing the halogen lamps in my car headlights make it impossible to do without handling the envelopes. I've done it  few times, and it does no harm. But instincts developed exactly the same way as yours scream at me that  "you're doing it wrong" every time I have to do it.

[AVGresponding]

Someone just got themselves a nice bargain (not me):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Keithley-2000-Multimeter-6-5-Digit-GPIB-RS232-/124494701757