Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

Back home. Got given an ungodly amount of laxatives. Kill me 

Edit: urf is that steel wire? Nasty stuff.

While I was reading that I had a brainfart and my brain interpreted that 'steel wire' as 'wire wool' and worse still it did it in the context of 'laxatives'. Ouch!

If you eat two bowls of shreddies in close succession you can get the wire wool experience yourself.

[tggzzz]

Holy shit, this mofo is BIG and HEAVY. It came from the Physics Dept at Union College in Schenectady, NY. A very highly regarded university.



Inside, I don't see any evidence of magic smoke. Gonna do some testing and will report.

Reminds me of my 8-decade resistance box pit prop: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg3203888/#msg3203888

[Saskia]

@bd welcome back home. may the god of liquidity keep you inconstipated.
(I am sure that is not correct english, but I am also sure you'll get the gist).

What a friggin day.
IRS returned the Leitz binder with my tax declaration (eff me ...) We'll see what cometh out of it
Mr Postman lugged an HP 716 up the stairwell. We was somewhat unhappy.
HR sent me the papers for the transfer to infrastructure. It says: ServiceDesk. My new boss put in an urgent meeting request and told me that they will reorganize and that I will not sign with service desk, but Language / Translation Service as Service Desk was unacceptable. He also wants me out of the operational tasks.
He also asked about the FPGA stuff.

Next, Robert dropped me a mail that the active probe arrived.
Then I got my busted RTX 2070 back. Repaired, not swapped out. They swapped out the GDDR6 RAM. FFS, why did they not just send out a new card. Will shove it in my mining rig and will let it burn in for a week or so before doing anything else.

Long call with a Xilinx partner.
They told me that Vitis was available with a generic license for some of the platforms, but that I needed a Vivado license to write the abstraction layer for the FK33 board to integrate the board. They want to forward the manuals to me and also ask Xilinx about further information, but suggested I start with smaller tasks on the Zedboard or the Nexys (which is what I had in mind anyway). That however would not get me ahead in my company, so I am running a pincer attack on the issue. Floated the idea to officially purchase an accellerator board to my new boss (he'll look into it), look into the integration layer and asked him to buy me a Vivado license while looking at readily available IP to jumpstart the use of FPGAs in our company.

Interesting developments.
In the mean time I will eff around with the stuff I have and try to jumpstart my experiments.



As for steel wire, isn't that the stuff that you span neck high to set up an area denial ... *cough* *cough* ---


 

[Robert763]

Needed to check a Keysight active probe. Unfortunatly my DSO5034A 'scope says it is unsupported  ?
According to this https://www.keysight.com/us/en/assets/7018-06695/technical-overviews/5968-8153.pdf
It should work with my 5034A.  A bit of investigation indicated it might be a firmware issue. So I updated the firmware on the 'scope.  The 'scope updated fine   It now recognises the probe and all seems to be working fine :-) My scope screen looks different though. 

[med6753]

OK, at first I had totally open circuit. So I went nuts with the deoxit on the switches. No joy. Turns out the binding posts are cruddy.

Here's 1 ohm on the Siglent 4 wire and Fluke 4 wire. Not too shabby.

[med6753]

10 ohms on both. Based upon what I'm seeing we have a win. 

[med6753]

And just to be sure I checked all the decade ranges on the Leeds and Northrup and everyone is present and accounted for. So now I have a decent resistance reference. 

Tomorrow I start working on Larry.

[Specmaster]

Anyone looking for a curve tracer, stumbled upon this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tektronix-Telequipment-Curve-Tracer/193860087335

[Saskia]

ok, the repaired 2070 is in burn in and test (in a mining rig). Not as efficient as the FPGA, but at about 75% of FPGA performance. I want it to run for at least 48 hours if not a week to make sure it's stable. Bloody thing (this is the 2nd time the Asus Dual OC died. each time after less than 20 hours. I am not happy.)

[mnementh]

   

Fukkin' seriously...? Not only not soldered... the plug end is all fuxxored up so I can't even get it apart to fix it. I'd just cut the fukkin' thing off and rewire as I knew it didn't have the correct GX12-5 as I need, but the silicone wire is wrong too... only 3 conductors. Already started the return.  Gonna get the right one off Bang-em-good for 10 bux and wait the 20 days for it to get to me. 

Somebody needs a good swift      for even putting this unmitigated POS up for sale. Just imagine if I'd actually plugged that into a HAKKO station... probably have another one go up in flames.

mnem
 

[bd139]

Just burn it. Cancerous things those handles. As mentioned mine blew up because of that crappy handle.

[bd139]

Anyone looking for a curve tracer, stumbled upon this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tektronix-Telequipment-Curve-Tracer/193860087335

That’s a definite nope at that price 

[mansaxel]

I actually have a Pontiac history, too. I think. Albeit through no fault of my own. This one (which, as I indicated, remember as being a Pontiac) was issued to me in 2001 at the EWR Alamo representative, for a drive down to Gaithersburg and NIST.

It worked. Slightly more comfortable than the Chevrolets Alamo normally throw at you.

Based on what I can see of the grill, that looks more like an Odsmobubble than a Pontiac (though I'd consider Olds a closer 'cousin' to a Pontiac than I would to a Chevy) - by that point they all had become pretty much interchangeable looks-wise between the GM divisions with largely similar basic appearance between equivalent models of the different brands.  They certainly had lost the distinction cars used to have in the 60s and 70s where you could tell them apart at a glance.

-Pat

This is all over the industry. My parents have a Skoda Yeti. Several parts on it are marked with logotypes from other parts of the VAG group; the decorative caps on the wheel nuts are Audi parts, for instance. I suppose it's as usual, that you can buy a Skoda in several different price brackets, depending whether it's branded Seat, Skoda, VW, Audi or Porsche  (And I'm willing to bet real money that that cap is twice the money if you go into an Audi dealership and buy it.)

Another, even more contagious one is the Seat Alhambra / Ford Galaxy / VW Sharan, or the various badge-engineered Opel / Vauxhall models.

Finally, it is widely known that Ford Europe are making cars for the sole purpose of relieving Opel of the title "worst brand in Europe".

[tggzzz]

As for steel wire, isn't that the stuff that you span neck high to set up an area denial ... *cough* *cough* ---

Don't you mean *gurgle* *gurgle*?

Alternatively, it is the stuff you use to get to from 0m to 600m high in 35s

[Specmaster]

I actually have a Pontiac history, too. I think. Albeit through no fault of my own. This one (which, as I indicated, remember as being a Pontiac) was issued to me in 2001 at the EWR Alamo representative, for a drive down to Gaithersburg and NIST.

It worked. Slightly more comfortable than the Chevrolets Alamo normally throw at you.

Based on what I can see of the grill, that looks more like an Odsmobubble than a Pontiac (though I'd consider Olds a closer 'cousin' to a Pontiac than I would to a Chevy) - by that point they all had become pretty much interchangeable looks-wise between the GM divisions with largely similar basic appearance between equivalent models of the different brands.  They certainly had lost the distinction cars used to have in the 60s and 70s where you could tell them apart at a glance.

-Pat

This is all over the industry. My parents have a Skoda Yeti. Several parts on it are marked with logotypes from other parts of the VAG group; the decorative caps on the wheel nuts are Audi parts, for instance. I suppose it's as usual, that you can buy a Skoda in several different price brackets, depending whether it's branded Seat, Skoda, VW, Audi or Porsche  (And I'm willing to bet real money that that cap is twice the money if you go into an Audi dealership and buy it.)

Another, even more contagious one is the Seat Alhambra / Ford Galaxy / VW Sharan, or the various badge-engineered Opel / Vauxhall models.

Finally, it is widely known that Ford Europe are making cars for the sole purpose of relieving Opel of the title "worst brand in Europe".

Totally agree with you, my Skoda Superb has various logos stuck to the underside of the parts, Audi, VW and Skoda and prices will vary I know depending on which dealer you go to, for the identical part. I used have Fords as my company cars, then they changed to Vauxhall, next company gave me Fords, next one gave me VW Passats and the last one, I could have what I wanted, started with a Mercedes C class, horrid thing, VW Passat, and then Skoda Superbs which have turned to be best of the bunch IMO.

[mnementh]

As for steel wire, isn't that the stuff that you span neck high to set up an area denial ... *cough* *cough* ---

Don't you mean *gurgle* *gurgle*?

Alternatively, it is the stuff you use to get to from 0m to 600m high in 35s

Oh, come on guys... this stuff isn't guitar string or piano wire; it's approximately the same as bread-bag tie. I can break it with my bare hands so not gonna be strangling anybody with it, unless you pull up like 4-6 loops of it. Def not gonna hold up as a neckline across any doorway or launching anythin' airborne, either... LOL.

It's good for tying up loose wires and that's aboot it. 

mnem
*punt*

[mnementh]

Just burn it. Cancerous things those handles. As mentioned mine blew up because of that crappy handle.

   That's just like burning money! The Grand Negas will have your lobes for a wall-hanging!!! 

That thing is worth $17 back in my account; I will make those motherfuckers pay the ~$8 so I can ship it back, too. Fuggin' nidgets shoulda marked them as "no returns accepted", but noooo... so them, they can eat the shipping and the POS handle that's legitimately worth aboot $6.

mnem
feel the burn!!!

[Robert763]

I actually have a Pontiac history, too. I think. Albeit through no fault of my own. This one (which, as I indicated, remember as being a Pontiac) was issued to me in 2001 at the EWR Alamo representative, for a drive down to Gaithersburg and NIST.

It worked. Slightly more comfortable than the Chevrolets Alamo normally throw at you.

Based on what I can see of the grill, that looks more like an Odsmobubble than a Pontiac (though I'd consider Olds a closer 'cousin' to a Pontiac than I would to a Chevy) - by that point they all had become pretty much interchangeable looks-wise between the GM divisions with largely similar basic appearance between equivalent models of the different brands.  They certainly had lost the distinction cars used to have in the 60s and 70s where you could tell them apart at a glance.

-Pat

This is all over the industry. My parents have a Skoda Yeti. Several parts on it are marked with logotypes from other parts of the VAG group; the decorative caps on the wheel nuts are Audi parts, for instance. I suppose it's as usual, that you can buy a Skoda in several different price brackets, depending whether it's branded Seat, Skoda, VW, Audi or Porsche  (And I'm willing to bet real money that that cap is twice the money if you go into an Audi dealership and buy it.)

Another, even more contagious one is the Seat Alhambra / Ford Galaxy / VW Sharan, or the various badge-engineered Opel / Vauxhall models.

Finally, it is widely known that Ford Europe are making cars for the sole purpose of relieving Opel of the title "worst brand in Europe".

The one that makes me laugh is the people who would not be seen dead in a Fiat but bought a Ford Ka mkII which is a Fiat 500 with a couple of panel changes.  Oh and the Jeep Renegade that is a Fiat 500X
My previous car was a Fiat Croma 1.9 turbo diesel, which most people in the UK have never heard of, but is a Vectra C with a crossover / station waggon body and half the price. 6 years of TE transport and work commute at 50MPG for £2500 I once fitted a full 6' high 19" rack load of equipment (Schafner EMI pulse generation system) including the rack into it. No room for a passenger with that lot though.

[Saskia]

As for steel wire, isn't that the stuff that you span neck high to set up an area denial ... *cough* *cough* ---

Don't you mean *gurgle* *gurgle*?

Alternatively, it is the stuff you use to get to from 0m to 600m high in 35s

Oh, come on guys... this stuff isn't guitar string or piano wire; it's approximately the same as bread-bag tie. I can break it with my bare hands so not gonna be strangling anybody with it, unless you pull up like 4-6 loops of it. Def not gonna hold up as a neckline across any doorway or launching anythin' airborne, either... LOL.

It's good for tying up loose wires and that's aboot it. 

mnem
*punt*

no loose ends ! 

[cyclin_al]

I actually have a Pontiac history, too. I think. Albeit through no fault of my own. This one (which, as I indicated, remember as being a Pontiac) was issued to me in 2001 at the EWR Alamo representative, for a drive down to Gaithersburg and NIST.

It worked. Slightly more comfortable than the Chevrolets Alamo normally throw at you.

Based on what I can see of the grill, that looks more like an Odsmobubble than a Pontiac (though I'd consider Olds a closer 'cousin' to a Pontiac than I would to a Chevy) - by that point they all had become pretty much interchangeable looks-wise between the GM divisions with largely similar basic appearance between equivalent models of the different brands.  They certainly had lost the distinction cars used to have in the 60s and 70s where you could tell them apart at a glance.

-Pat

These cars all remind me of the days when I was learning to drive in my parents' 1976 Buick Century.  It had overall lines of a similar style, but a bit more curve and less pronounced.  It had a v6 engine which stalled on right-hand curves when the engine was cold.  The first curve once on the highway leaving home neighbourhood was .... right-hand.  I learned to keep my hand on the shifter.  Procedure on stall was to shift to neutral, restart the engine, shift back into gear, and pretend to everyone else that nothing had happened.

On special occasions, my parents would let me drive the 1980 Buick LeSabre.  This one had no style and no curves, more like a brick.  At least the v8 engine did not stall and was in nicer condition.

By the way, this was in the late 1980s..... all my friends though the LeSabre was a really old car... they must have been too polite to comment on the Century.

[Specmaster]

The one that makes me laugh is the people who would not be seen dead in a Fiat but bought a Ford Ka mkII which is a Fiat 500 with a couple of panel changes.  Oh and the Jeep Renegade that is a Fiat 500X
My previous car was a Fiat Croma 1.9 turbo diesel, which most people in the UK have never heard of, but is a Vectra C with a crossover / station waggon body and half the price. 6 years of TE transport and work commute at 50MPG for £2500 I once fitted a full 6' high 19" rack load of equipment (Schafner EMI pulse generation system) including the rack into it. No room for a passenger with that lot though.

That’s because most people don’t have a clue about what is beneath the skin in their cars. There are simply loads of people who are perfectly happy to buy cars based on nothing more than its appearance or it’s badge. I used to have a colleague who used to love his Skoda Superb, until he was promoted to manager and he said he needed a better car to show his rank. He went for a Audi A4 and then set about boasting to me how much better his car was over my Superb, how much bigger it was etc. One day we had to work together on a project in Dover and said we’d take his car, said we’d be better in mine but he pulled rank. I ended up with the passenger seat pushed as far back as it would go, and my knees tucked up under my chin almost in order to squeeze into the front seat. He gave in said we’d go in our own cars then. When we got there we looked under our bonnets and he was staggered it find the same engines and then I showed him other parts of my car either had Audi logos embossed in them or were nice polished chromed metal, where his bits were silver coloured plastic. Another thing that knocked sideways and almost made him cry was later in the year when discovered just how much more benefit in kind tax he had to pay for his better image badge snobbery. 

[beanflying]

And just to be sure I checked all the decade ranges on the Leeds and Northrup and everyone is present and accounted for. So now I have a decent resistance reference. 

Tomorrow I start working on Larry.

Good looking doorstop on the inside  Just stay away from it with the Smurf blue 

[SilverSolder]

Recently, the biggest styling change for new cars have been the introduction of enormous brand badges...  have you seen how big some of the recent Mercedes, VW, Mazda, etc., badges have become on the front of the car?

I guess it's a hard life as a stylist, when all the cars are designed in a wind tunnel and look the same, the only thing you can do to differentiate is the GIANT BADGE on the front (since nobody would be able to tell the difference to another marque without this aid)! 

[Specmaster]

Recently, the biggest styling change for new cars have been the introduction of enormous brand badges...  have you seen how big some of the recent Mercedes, VW, Mazda, etc., badges have become on the front of the car?

I guess it's a hard life as a stylist, when all the cars are designed in a wind tunnel and look the same, the only thing you can do to differentiate is the GIANT BADGE on the front (since nobody would be able to tell the difference to another marque without this aid)! 

One thing I do love about today's cars are the LED side and rear lights and how some brands have gone for some very distinctive shapes in them and how nice they look at night all lit up, reminds of how BMW had their angel eyes around their headlights.

[TERRA Operative]

Hmmm.. This on the bench. Nice bit of kit but complex. In addition, not sure if it's worth much. So I'm considering either tossing it on the Bay untested or have one you folks have a go at it.

So, how about it? Anyone interested in spending some quality time with it? For fun, for review, whatever. No strings attached, no obligations. I'm paying for shipping (inside the EU that is...)

I got one of these, picked it up for next to nothing still with valid calibration, well valid until a month or two after I got it.
It's still sitting here after many months and I haven't even turned it on.

They are apparently good for testing the resilience of radio gear against jamming amongst many other things.