Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

Well that's not strictly true, some of us can other can't, My old manager had the same car as I currently have, and he always swore that it was deadly in the snow. I have not found it to be so, its all about technique and attitude. To many people the way to respond to driving wheel spin is to give it more beans 

When I did my apprenticeship, it was with the local depot of the NBC (National Bus Company) and one of chores in the wintertime was to take home the various staff who used to come to work on the bus, but sometimes in the winter, it meant finishing long after the normal bus services and stopped and this would often be in the early hours of the morning. I would drive one of the buses and take them home and one person lived out in the countryside. It did feel strange driving a bus in the snow at that time of the day. When I got back to the bus depot, I would then have drive home in the car and while doing all this I would go past many lorries / cars etc that been abandoned at the roadside and at odd angles as well, never had problem, just need a light right foot, high gears and low revs and avoid sudden movements etc. 

[Robert763]

Just had a sonic boom over cambrige UK. That's unusual here.

Yep, you're correct, it was two Typhoons on QRA being scrambled and cleared to fly at 1.6Mach to intercept a private jet on route from Germany to Birmingham that was taking a strange flight path over London and was not responding to radio messages, the plane and the flight path are shown below, and it was escorted as normal in these incidents into Stanstead Airport.

Hmm Bombrdier Global Express, very nice. Did some work flying on one last year before last.

[Ice-Tea]

This thing came in a carying shouldere bag that was locked and did not come with a key. So I jimmied it open. By the looks of the device, I'd be willing to place a bet that the keys have been lost for about 25 years. I don't think it was ever used. Which is good.

But also bad.

Especially the "check battery" button has me worried. 25 year old battery? From 95? That's gonna be nasty...

[bd139]

Just had a sonic boom over cambrige UK. That's unusual here.

Yep, you're correct, it was two Typhoons on QRA being scrambled and cleared to fly at 1.6Mach to intercept a private jet on route from Germany to Birmingham that was taking a strange flight path over London and was not responding to radio messages, the plane and the flight path are shown below, and it was escorted as normal in these incidents into Stanstead Airport.

Hmm Bombrdier Global Express, very nice. Did some work flying on one last year before last.

Very nice indeed. Especially the Sentinel variant.

[bd139]

Holy crap....you Brits can't handle a dusting of snow. 

Pah you lot can't handle a ship of tea

[Saskia]

Just had a sonic boom over cambrige UK. That's unusual here.

Yep, you're correct, it was two Typhoons on QRA being scrambled and cleared to fly at 1.6Mach to intercept a private jet on route from Germany to Birmingham that was taking a strange flight path over London and was not responding to radio messages, the plane and the flight path are shown below, and it was escorted as normal in these incidents into Stanstead Airport.

1940 deja vu. 

Can't be, Germany does not have that many airworthy aircraft today. At least the Luftwaffe does not.

[Specmaster]

This thing came in a carying shouldere bag that was locked and did not come with a key. So I jimmied it open. By the looks of the device, I'd be willing to place a bet that the keys have been lost for about 25 years. I don't think it was ever used. Which is good.

But also bad.

Especially the "check battery" button has me worried. 25 year old battery? From 95? That's gonna be nasty...

You might be OK, I think it could be a SLA in that.

[Neomys Sapiens]

This thing came in a carying shouldere bag that was locked and did not come with a key. So I jimmied it open. By the looks of the device, I'd be willing to place a bet that the keys have been lost for about 25 years. I don't think it was ever used. Which is good.

But also bad.

Especially the "check battery" button has me worried. 25 year old battery? From 95? That's gonna be nasty...

Nice catch. I'm tempted...

[Ice-Tea]

This thing came in a carying shouldere bag that was locked and did not come with a key. So I jimmied it open. By the looks of the device, I'd be willing to place a bet that the keys have been lost for about 25 years. I don't think it was ever used. Which is good.

But also bad.

Especially the "check battery" button has me worried. 25 year old battery? From 95? That's gonna be nasty...

You might be OK, I think it could be a SLA in that.

Heh. Wouldn't mind that....

This thing came in a carying shouldere bag that was locked and did not come with a key. So I jimmied it open. By the looks of the device, I'd be willing to place a bet that the keys have been lost for about 25 years. I don't think it was ever used. Which is good.

But also bad.

Especially the "check battery" button has me worried. 25 year old battery? From 95? That's gonna be nasty...

Nice catch. I'm tempted...

You know how to reach me

[bd139]

Can't be, Germany does not have that many airworthy aircraft today. At least the Luftwaffe does not.

No one does based on Boeing's market share 

[Saskia]

Probe Holder
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3615910/files

[Cerebus]

Holy crap....you Brits can't handle a dusting of snow. 

Not fair. That's the North Yorkshire Dales - narrow twisty roads, no snow ploughs, all hills and valleys. I'd like to see you cope with the weather there given you're used to people coming along and clearing the roads before you venture out. In North Yorkshire, except on major routes, you're on your own out there in the boondocks. The Tan Hill Inn's there at 1700 ft AMSL and it's so common that folks drop in for a pint and then find themselves snowed in for days that it's nationally known for it: "'Snowed in 50 times': highest pub in UK goes up for sale".

[cyclin_al]

Nah, you need a big pneumatic impact wrench for that. The PTO guard gives some sense of scale. Ae we going to get teardown photos? 

Oh, I did not pick up that that was on PTO.  540 or 1000 rpm?
In that case, I am guessing an impact wrench with 1" drive is likely the appropriate tool...

EDIT:  from the later post, I could confirm the PTO runs at 540 rpm.
Also, It takes 69 hp at the PTO.  Therefore, tractor probably needs to be about 100 hp or more.

For those that watched the snow in North Yorkshire video, that big blue tractor is likely able to meet the minimum spec to be able to power that pump!
That is a real pump tool toy!

[cyclin_al]

Yesterday in Quebec, Canada, GWN

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-couple-hit-with-curfew-violation-fine-after-wife-walks-husband-on-a-leash-1.5262178





    

It was in Sherbrooke after all ... 

[med6753]

Not fair. That's the North Yorkshire Dales - narrow twisty roads, no snow ploughs, all hills and valleys. I'd like to see you cope with the weather there given you're used to people coming along and clearing the roads before you venture out. In North Yorkshire, except on major routes, you're on your own out there in the boondocks.

Narrow twisty roads......check
Hills and valleys...........check
One long climb that qualifies as a small mountain.....check
How many times I've driven home from work at 04:30 hours to UNPLOWED roads......check.

Yes, we have snow plows, lots of them. But they tend not to really get going after an overnight snow until around 05:00 hours unless it's a real major storm.   

[Saskia]

Pfft. Amateurs. I have made it to the Beaufort Sea starting out in a measly Cherokee.

Also did the Kessel Run in under 12 parsec ...

 

No, honestly, Coldfoot is a strange place, and the sign "out of diesel" at the gas station just right after the bridge across the Yukon is quite disconcerting. However crossing Brooks Range (loose gravel) is interesting in itself. Denali (as well as Wrangell St Elias) is definitely worth a visit.

And having taken a piss in the Beaufort Sea too.

[cyclin_al]

Holy crap....you Brits can't handle a dusting of snow. 

Looks like a regular winter day here.  That does not count as a snow storms here; you can actually see the vehicle ahead.
I do not get why he keeps going on about the BMW 3-series.  My neighbour drives one even when the snow is so deep that the car is surfing the snow and the wheels do not even reach the road surface.  He has never been stuck; but I think his driving style is much as SpecMaster (edited) describes.

It is just starting to get fun when you have snow like that and the road is empty of other vehicles.  That is what the Subaru is for, but a car like that is not necessary to get through, just for the fun factor 

Edit for Saskia:  have used the 2004 Impreza to pull a Cherokee out of the snowbank.  The driver is definitely much more a factor than is the vehicle.

[Saskia]

after my Subaru Forester gave up (289000 km on the meter, the clutch, an injector, and the right side went ...) I opted for a small tiny Ford (Expedition) 5.4 XLT 4WD.
It does not have any problems in snowy weather.

[cyclin_al]

after my Subaru Forester gave up (289000 km on the meter, the clutch, an injector, and the right side went ...) I opted for a small tiny Ford (Expedition) 5.4 XLT 4WD.
It does not have any problems in snowy weather.

Are the models different over there?  Here, the Forester and the Ford Escape are about the same size, still not tiny.  Over here the Expedition is on the same frame as the F-250.  Then again, the Escape over here has almost the same fuel economy as the F-150.... go figure.

[Saskia]

The 2008-2015 or so Forester Diesel had a clutch that was totally incapable of handling any load (e.g. pull a trailer, ...). So, with a Forester Boxer Diesel you would not have pulled the Cherokee out of whatever, you would have wasted your clutch and spend 2k getting it fixed. Been there done that ...

My Expedition is an Iowaesian one with a special permit. They don't sell them over here, mine came from a camo clad guy who was deported from Iowa to the Mannheim area to serve his term.

[Saskia]

Fuel Economy comparison for our 4 cars:
Ford Expedition: 15 - 25l / 100 km (60miles) - 5.4l V8
Jag XKR: 11.5 l /100 km (average for the past 25000 km) 4.2l V8 supercharged
Volvo S90 (the one with the porsche designed 3l engine): 12.5 - 14l/100 3l 6cyl
Skoda Octavia CNG: 3.5 - 5 kg CNG / 100 km 1.4l turbocharged compressed natural gas.

most usable car: the Ford expedition, followed by the Skoda
least comfy car: the Skoda
worst workmanship: the Ford, followed by the skoda
absolutely worst driving: Skoda
best trailer performance: Ford

[Cerebus]

Looks like a regular winter day here.  That does not count as a snow storms here; you can actually see the vehicle ahead.
I do not get why he keeps going on about the BMW 3-series.  My neighbour drives one even when the snow is so deep that the car is surfing the snow and the wheels do not even reach the road surface.  He has never been stuck; but I think his driving style is much as SpecMaster (edited) describes.

It is just starting to get fun when you have snow like that and the road is empty of other vehicles.  That is what the Subaru is for, but a car like that is not necessary to get through, just for the fun factor 

I didn't bother to actually listen to anything, just had a quick skip though and looked at the weather. As you say, nothing special - it looks pretty much like a typical snowy winter's day in Yorkshire. Certainly not what I'd call a storm. Just had a quick dip into the audio and as I guessed it's just some grumpy Yorkshire farmer grumbling about the rest of the world that isn't Yorkshire farmers and people who haven't a clue how to drive on snow. Grumbling and feeling superior is as much a Yorkshire pastime as it is a Yankee one. 

If you know what you're doing that's quite easy weather to drive in, as long as you aren't stupid. I've regularly tackled it in my car, which is mid-engined, rear wheel drive and has fat tires for its weight and not had any problems; I don't really see why so many people find it problematic, but clearly many do.

[beanflying]

Holy crap....you Brits can't handle a dusting of snow. 

Pah you lot can't handle a ship of tea

And why should they care  Horrid insipid bleh 

[mansaxel]

We've just been hit with snow, so I emptied the pool while getting snowflakes inside my collar, and also emptied the computer room cooler. I've fitted a Rittal Schaltschrankkühler (switching cabinet water cooler) coupled to a heat exchanger interfacing it to the pool water circulation, which is why I ran the pool so long this year season. A bonus is that we kept the pool free of debris until no leaves are left on the trees, which we hope will be good for next years start-up effort.

And, with snow comes bad driving experience. I drove to work today, because I had some hands-on time nuttery to attend. We've got only one car, a 2001 Volvo V70. (We average 0,83 litres per 10km, which is OK). I fully agree that the driver is the most important part in determining if you're getting home or into the terrain.  Especially 4WD is mostly useful to make the towing truck pay out more wire; you'll be stuck anyway! But farther out in the field...

Ah, yes, time-nuttery! I've spoken before on getting to buy TE on company money. This is the box, an Anritsu MT1000A, not with all but endowed with many options. It's shown here in an unnatural habitat, the E-bike charging stand outside, which was set up to stop people from dragging Chinesium batteries and their suboptimal chargers indoors. It now also doubles as pit stop for locking to GNSS, which must be done to discipline the Rb oscillator. Machine rooms for TV not always are the best GNSS receiving locations.

[med6753]

2021 is shaping up pretty good so far. Get this....

The guy that I bought the 7904 from a year and half ago just contacted me. He found the two P6202 FET probes, with power supply and box and he wants to GIVE them to me. It's over and hour and a half away but I don't care. I am THERE...next week. 

If they both work that will be so sweet.     Those bad boys go for a mint on Ebay.