Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Ice-Tea]

Oh joy. Even more irritating when they don't bother to communicate. Human race is terrible

I know it's stupid but it actually weighs on me.

[factory]

A full 'museum grade' HP 3403C ie fully working, no blemishes with all the feet/ isolating bush etc

The slow/fast knob looks suspiciously Yaesu FT-101 like

They should all be the same size for a start, darker one for the range switch. I keep thinking about adding one to my collection but those that turn up always seem in poor condition.


David

[Cerebus]

Edit: also the fat bastard that ate all the apples off my tree is now taunting me 

I suggest a full-frontal assault with automated laser monkeys, scuffle mines, and acid.

[Robert763]

Damm computers,
Thought I'd check my archive collection to see if I had a 9835 counter manual, dug out CD-ROM stuck it in drive, no CD-ROM icon in my pc (WIN 10 on a Tosh laptop).
Hour an a half later, finally fixed. Win 10 update incompatable with Tosh optical drive service 
An no I don't have the Racal manual 

[factory]

The Racal 9839 UHF frequency meter/counter arrived earlier, packaging very poor as usual, thankfully no further damage other than what it already has. The 9839 has a pre-scaler for up to 560MHz & eight number readout bulbs in quite a compact size case and no fan. 
SNIP

I've already adjusted the +5V rail as it was around +5.2V.

David

I thought my Nixie one was beaten up  Front Panel before and after shot of my beasty. I seem to remember a mention of an 80MHz prescaler option too when I refurbished it but the site search SUCKS?

That was nice & shiny afterwards, the 9837 is the 80MHz model with an extra board for that, the 9835/9837 manual is here (and lots of other places too);
http://ftb.ko4bb.com/getsimple/index.php?id=manuals&dir=Racal

I'm working from the dead tree version of that manual, lots of differences but the display board is very much the same apart from two extra sections.

David

Edit: changed your picture to JPG, PNG too large those of us using pay-as-you-go phones.

[factory]

Damm computers,
Thought I'd check my archive collection to see if I had a 9835 counter manual, dug out CD-ROM stuck it in drive, no CD-ROM icon in my pc (WIN 10 on a Tosh laptop).
Hour an a half later, finally fixed. Win 10 update incompatable with Tosh optical drive service 
An no I don't have the Racal manual 

My Toshiba laptop is hopeless with updates too, took over 5 hours to install a major update last week, I haven't yet checked what it has broken but I suspect the Topfield (TV recorder box) driver will need reinstalling, it always does.

David

[beanflying]

The Racal 9839 UHF frequency meter/counter arrived earlier, packaging very poor as usual, thankfully no further damage other than what it already has. The 9839 has a pre-scaler for up to 560MHz & eight number readout bulbs in quite a compact size case and no fan. 
SNIP

I've already adjusted the +5V rail as it was around +5.2V.

David

I thought my Nixie one was beaten up  Front Panel before and after shot of my beasty. I seem to remember a mention of an 80MHz prescaler option too when I refurbished it but the site search SUCKS?

That was nice & shiny afterwards, the 9837 is the 80MHz model with an extra board for that, the 9835/9837 manual is here (and lots of other places too);
http://ftb.ko4bb.com/getsimple/index.php?id=manuals&dir=Racal

I'm working from the dead tree version of that manual, lots of differences but the display board is very much the same apart from two extra sections.

David

Edit: changed your picture to JPG, PNG too large those of us using pay-as-you-go phones.

Some of us are having rejected/security issues with JPegs is and I haven't looked for a reason with my 12 month old install of irfanview. Waiting for a response from Dave or Gnif.

[bd139]

And the cunt left negative feedback. First negative feedback! 

Appealing it!

And ebay declined the appeal. Apparently if the feedback is unjustified or undeserved it isn't enough to remove the negative feedback rating. Dicks!

971 feedback, 1 negative. Still pretty good 

[mansaxel]

Damm computers,
Thought I'd check my archive collection to see if I had a 9835 counter manual, dug out CD-ROM stuck it in drive, no CD-ROM icon in my pc (WIN 10 on a Tosh laptop).
Hour an a half later, finally fixed. Win 10 update incompatable with Tosh optical drive service 
An no I don't have the Racal manual 

I've not completely left optical drives behind, but I try to boot from USB pendrives when I can, to avoid burning a coaster. As to storage, everything digital I care for  is on spinning rust, with out-of-country backup nightly. I'm thinking of getting a Dropbox account upgrade to shovel backups into. Let's see where "unlimited" ends ...

[tonyalbus]

Having a few days off and browsing ebay is not good 

i saved myself a lot of time.. not only a Datron 1059 is comming but also a 1051.. they had a almost same manual anyway

[bd139]

Damm computers,
Thought I'd check my archive collection to see if I had a 9835 counter manual, dug out CD-ROM stuck it in drive, no CD-ROM icon in my pc (WIN 10 on a Tosh laptop).
Hour an a half later, finally fixed. Win 10 update incompatable with Tosh optical drive service 
An no I don't have the Racal manual 

I've not completely left optical drives behind, but I try to boot from USB pendrives when I can, to avoid burning a coaster. As to storage, everything digital I care for  is on spinning rust, with out-of-country backup nightly. I'm thinking of getting a Dropbox account upgrade to shovel backups into. Let's see where "unlimited" ends ...

I don't have a single optical drive in the house now.

My backups are: mac -> { iCloud, local unencrypted offline USB/Samsung 870 via Time machine, local encrypted USB stick via Time Machine }

Joys of only having 90 gig of stuff I give a shit about . Decided data hoarding wasn't productive and just cost time and money so I went on a delete-a-thon.

[Specmaster]

And the cunt left negative feedback. First negative feedback! 

Appealing it!

And ebay declined the appeal. Apparently if the feedback is unjustified or undeserved it isn't enough to remove the negative feedback rating. Dicks!

971 feedback, 1 negative. Still pretty good 

Maybe eBay thought, or the buyer claimed it was Xmas present that was too small and thought it was fair as shops are more understanding over the 2 or 3 months, Nov to Jan.

[bd139]

And the cunt left negative feedback. First negative feedback! 

Appealing it!

And ebay declined the appeal. Apparently if the feedback is unjustified or undeserved it isn't enough to remove the negative feedback rating. Dicks!

971 feedback, 1 negative. Still pretty good 

Maybe eBay thought, or the buyer claimed it was Xmas present that was too small and thought it was fair as shops are more understanding over the 2 or 3 months, Nov to Jan.

Auction had explicitly no returns on it which is not against ebay policy plus I'm not a B2C transaction so aren't even covered by return legislation. I don't get it. I'm not Amazon Wardrobe ffs. Seller is well within his rights to sell it again if it's a problem!

[Robert763]

Damm computers,
Thought I'd check my archive collection to see if I had a 9835 counter manual, dug out CD-ROM stuck it in drive, no CD-ROM icon in my pc (WIN 10 on a Tosh laptop).
Hour an a half later, finally fixed. Win 10 update incompatable with Tosh optical drive service 
An no I don't have the Racal manual 

I've not completely left optical drives behind, but I try to boot from USB pendrives when I can, to avoid burning a coaster. As to storage, everything digital I care for  is on spinning rust, with out-of-country backup nightly. I'm thinking of getting a Dropbox account upgrade to shovel backups into. Let's see where "unlimited" ends ...

I don't have a single optical drive in the house now.

My backups are: mac -> { iCloud, local unencrypted offline USB/Samsung 870 via Time machine, local encrypted USB stick via Time Machine }

Joys of only having 90 gig of stuff I give a shit about . Decided data hoarding wasn't productive and just cost time and money so I went on a delete-a-thon.

I'm the opposite, I archive any data I find on the WWW. Too many times a manual or datasheet that was there just disappears. For companies a take over or website make-over are common causes, others re site owner looses interest, dosn't pay host fees, dies or in one particular case got fed up with people selling his data he just closed down a huge archive. I have multiple optical back-ups some fixed magnetic disks locally and some stuf on sticks. I have a number of isssues with "cloud" storage. Main one is availablity if internet connectivity is down you are stuffed. Provide can decide to charge you a lot more or just quit. There is also security issues. I don't see any real alternative to optical storag for sometng that generally does not go faulty, consumes no power, is write once so you or someone else cant overwrite data and is cheap.
Personally I think we are creating a new dark age. more nd more data in less and less permanent storage.
Verified data is important. Before the WWW I was able to do so much more than others because I aquired (mostly with my own money) data, application and reference books.
OEM books, DATA, ICMaster, TITS, Janes etc, etc. I still have the first TTL data book I bought back in the seventies, special order from the USA. I also have a Janes Avionics that cost over £300 in the late eighties but the data in it got me a couple of lucrative contract jobs. It still has use as some of the systems described are now considered ITAR so nothing on the web about them. About 10 years ago Rockwell collins went through their website removing virtually all of the detailled equipment datasheets because of ITAR concerns.
There seems to be less and less verifiable data on the WWW but more and more rubbish, opinions, multiple copes of the same (often dubious) source, click-bait and scams.

[bd139]

Optical storage, by means of DVD-R etc, is a terrible storage medium. I've seen it go bad on the shelf in under 5 years.

Also I watched someone stick his life's work in one of those Pioneer slot loaders. Hmmm...zzzzz...grrrr.....BANG!  shards of DVD came flying out 

Only trustworthy offline storage is DLT. That is proven to last 20+ years.

[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.

This is turning into an epic fail. It didn't finally LEAVE Phoenix until yesterday. No update today. I guess it's coming via a Mexican leading a jackass. 

Looks like USPS decided to fire the jackass. As of this morning it is in Newark, NJ. I guess they found that this new thing called "air mail" does work.  Now if they don't send it to various distribution centers I SHOULD have it by Thursday at the latest. In reality it should be here tomorrow but I'm not holding my breath. 

[AVGresponding]

Only trustworthy offline storage is DLT. That is proven to last 20+ years.

Dave Lee Travis..?   

[bd139]

I don't think he's going to last 20 years more 

Digital Linear Tape

[AVGresponding]

What the actual fuck?

Nothing a sturdy sidecutter can't fix 

mnem
 

Eh, don't think a device that counts on being earthed should go without...

Sorry... I forget sometimes that not everybody here has my background in R/C. 

To put it in context; that is a TRAXXAS LiPo battery connector. On the other end of those wires is a 3-4S LiPo capable of delivering 100-200A or more through a short; hence this PSA pic I created long ago as part of my blog in response to a sudden proliferation of battery bombs just after TRAXXAS released their virally popular Stadium Truck product line. Shockingly, TRAXXAS customers tend to either be complete noobs or just plain not the brightest bulbs in the string.

So I guess the takeaway is... make sure you unplug it first, and never cut the two wires together. 

mnem
 

When I first saw your pic it was so big I mistook the connector for an Anderson plug, the kind you might find on, say, a 400V 38Ah string.
You can say goodbye to your cutters, and probably various parts of your anatomy if you tried that...

I didn't see it happen, but I did see the aftermath of someone accidentally brushing the casing with a battery link while they were making the interconnects ( yes I know, the ground link should be the last one you connect, but, apprentice, 'nuff said) and it blew a hole the size of a fifty pence (old type) in the heavy gauge (2mm) steel casing.
It was a 400V 38Ah string, though I don't know how far up the string he was when it happened.

[AVGresponding]

Speaking of TLC required I just added this renovators delight to my long projects list Not switching on but hoping it is just a fuse and some IPA needed ...... eBay auction: #274621665402

Oh dewed... 5 digit serial, so pretty early production, right?

Is this one of the ones where the whole front panel is made from that pigeon's blood crystal plastic, and all the markings are on aluminum plates bonded to it? Be extra careful... embrittlement is a bastard with that stuff.

mnem
 

It has the battery option, so I'd be more concerned about the by now no doubt considerable quantity of potassium hydroxide and its resultant potassium carbonate crystals filling the case...   

[mnementh]

   Mother of God...   

      

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/used-equipment-101-taking-the-gamble-on-fleabay/msg1760600/

Looks familiar... 

mnem
*huggles his AllTest [FLUKE] 189 close*

[mnementh]

Oh joy. Even more irritating when they don't bother to communicate. Human race is terrible

I know it's stupid but it actually weighs on me.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/85d528ba-1396-4db3-8309-74f5bffde46e#JjQ_li3hKG_.copy



mnem
"The more people I meet, the more I like my dog. BTW, my dog's a complete asshole."

[mnementh]

The Racal 9839 UHF frequency meter/counter arrived earlier, packaging very poor as usual, thankfully no further damage other than what it already has. The 9839 has a pre-scaler for up to 560MHz & eight number readout bulbs in quite a compact size case and no fan. 
SNIP

I've already adjusted the +5V rail as it was around +5.2V.

David

I thought my Nixie one was beaten up  Front Panel before and after shot of my beasty. I seem to remember a mention of an 80MHz prescaler option too when I refurbished it but the site search SUCKS?

That was nice & shiny afterwards, the 9837 is the 80MHz model with an extra board for that, the 9835/9837 manual is here (and lots of other places too);
http://ftb.ko4bb.com/getsimple/index.php?id=manuals&dir=Racal

I'm working from the dead tree version of that manual, lots of differences but the display board is very much the same apart from two extra sections.

David

Edit: changed your picture to JPG, PNG too large those of us using pay-as-you-go phones.

Some of us are having rejected/security issues with JPegs is and I haven't looked for a reason with my 12 month old install of irfanview. Waiting for a response from Dave or Gnif.

Image Resizer PowerToy still works.    https://www.bricelam.net/ImageResizer/

I've had a few jpg images saved off the web trigger this response (no, not disguised heic, just plain jpg) lately, even tho less than 100kB. Open in Paint, save as .jpg and Voila! no problems; even tho sometimes the file is bigger than before. 

mnem
 

[mnementh]

And the cunt left negative feedback. First negative feedback! 

Appealing it!

And ebay declined the appeal. Apparently if the feedback is unjustified or undeserved it isn't enough to remove the negative feedback rating. Dicks!

971 feedback, 1 negative. Still pretty good 

Maybe eBay thought, or the buyer claimed it was Xmas present that was too small and thought it was fair as shops are more understanding over the 2 or 3 months, Nov to Jan.

Auction had explicitly no returns on it which is not against ebay policy plus I'm not a B2C transaction so aren't even covered by return legislation. I don't get it. I'm not Amazon Wardrobe ffs. Seller is well within his rights to sell it again if it's a problem!

Did you call and actually talk to a person over it? I dunno aboot over there, but in the US that often makes a world of difference. 

If you're willing to sit on the phone queue as long as it takes to get to someone with a heartbeat, they already know you're not going away until you get some satisfaction.

mnem
Yet another reason Amazon is getting more and more of my business...

[bd139]

Cant be arsed with it. I don't have a lot of stuff to get rid of now and it's all starting BIN anyway without any likely impact to auction final values

Still got the £25 so fuck it that's all that matters