Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

Apparently the only requirement to be a cable tech is to be breathing. 

Did he install the box and is it all working? That's all you need 

Yep, the TV is working. But my internet speed is still 60. He said it would "take a while" until I saw the increase. Not sure how long "take a while" is. I figure if I don't see it by tomorrow morning I'll get online with them for a 

you may need to unplug the MODEM for 20-60 minutes; this will force the thing to do whatever "Initial start" sequence it does to provision itself. Just a quick on/off doesn't do this.

Had to do this so many times back when we had Slime Warner for internet; it became their mantra, I think. 

mnem
 

Hmmm....might be right there. I'll give it a try.

[PA0PBZ]

Hmmm....might be right there. I'll give it a try.

I was just going to suggest that, it needs to download the new profile before you will notice a difference.

[mnementh]

As to the "warm body is all that's required" part of your complaint... I can confirm that was the case back in the day when I was doing DishNetwork installs. You got a "So you wanna be a DishTV installer?" pamphlet aboot 6 pages thick that was mostly aboot how to sell DishNetwork and a ream of forms to fill out for every install. They assumed that if you could successfully fill out the form and the customer had a picture on their TV, the install was done right. Enough. 

With two exceptions, every last one of them I worked with were complete "Larry the Cable Guy" morons... and many did both DishTV and cable installs.

mnem
*tzzzt*

[Zucca]

good reading for SW developers regarding encoding

[Zucca]

Apparently the only requirement to be a cable tech is to be breathing. 

One of those monkeys told me in my last apartment that there was more than 1000dB loss from the basement to my apartment on the third floor. 

[mnementh]

Well I would not have suggested it as an example of an automatic sharing engine oil if they didn't make it with an automatic.     The Mini was only in producton for 40 years so obviously a complete flop 

Okay, I missed the part aboot it sharing with an AT. Just because British Leyland did it doesn't exactly inspire confidence, or suggest it was ever anything but a bad idea.

A bell-end example doesn't make it any less shite engineering. Fucking carbon blowby from the engine all up in ball/needle-bearings, gears and clutch-packs... might as well just pour sand in the damned trans every time you change the oil.

mnem
 

[bd139]

Random purchase. Decided to treat myself to another NanoVNA, this time a genuine one from Mirfield Electronics here who are an official reseller. No hooky ones any more 

Very good company. Pay via PayPal checkout. Arrived next day RM 1st class 

https://www.mirfield-electronics.co.uk/

Has it got a CE mark on it? Does the power supply fit a 13A socket without an adaptor?

Nope. No power supply. Just usb cable. No CE mark.

It’s still shit from China. Just genuine shit from China rather than cloned shit from China 

Edit: also it doesn’t require CE marking now as of 1st jan. UKCA. More fun!

It should still have CE or UKCA compliance (and marking). Mirfield are responsble for that.

Probably. I’m not sure what the point is as you can still self certify 

[mnementh]

Apparently the only requirement to be a cable tech is to be breathing. 

One of those monkeys told me in my last apartment that there was more than 1000dB loss from the basement to my apartment on the third floor. 

Translation: "I cut the live cable drop, not the dead one that needed to be replaced."

mnem
 

[bd139]

I used to moonlight as a cable monkey. Best money you can get for having no idea what you’re doing other than a politician. The guy I worked with mostly was known as “sparks” because of his propensity to blast through mains cabling with a hammer drill.

[tonyalbus]

I PM Tony, long time not seen performing at the TEA Stage, I hope he is all right.

Got a reply from him, all good.

Thanks Zucca, that was very nice of you!   
All good just a lot of distractions...
good to see everyone is still very active with the TEA group...
   repairs new stuff... cool

[tonyalbus]

Thought is would be nice also as a reference.
Forgot to look, is has no outputs..
is works fine.. for if you want to messuere 24volts only 

[BU508A]

Apparently the only requirement to be a cable tech is to be breathing. 

Did he install the box and is it all working? That's all you need 

Yep, the TV is working. But my internet speed is still 60. He said it would "take a while" until I saw the increase. Not sure how long "take a while" is. I figure if I don't see it by tomorrow morning I'll get online with them for a 

 

[mnementh]

good reading for SW developers regarding encoding

...if you are a programmer working in 2003 and you don’t know the basics of characters, character sets, encodings, and Unicode, and I catch you, I’m going to punish you by making you peel onions for 6 months in a submarine. I swear I will.

mnem
Dammitt... there's a "screen door on a submarine" joke in there somewhere, I just know it.

[tonyalbus]

Meanwhile i received the Datron 1059 and 1051 .. separate 3 weeks in between, while ordered at the same time from same seller.
thing between UK/NL borders need to find its way still..

While the 1059 was very well packages.. and now after a nice cleanup looking very nice.

the 1051 is very bad packed and prob. will become a part unit...

[tonyalbus]

And a very nice Fluke 8300A .. after cleanup like new..
okey now i cool down abit again

[Cubdriver]

That 8300A is beautiful, Tony - nicely done!

-Pat

[Ero-Shan]

Rohde & Schwarz hade a huge portfolio of PSUs in that case: single, double and triple. The total output power is always in the range 60 to 70 watts.
Just last weekend I repaired my NGL 35 and made it one of my standard PSUs. They are real nice. All of them.

But 220 € does seem a bit expensive to me.

So, you are the one who bought it on ebay Kleinanzeigen the other day? 
I had it on my watch list and when I decided to buy it, the seller changed the status to "Reserved". Bad luck (for me), good to see it has found a nice home. 
Now I'm looking for another NGL 35 for myself ...    

Yeah, 220 Euro is a bit on the high side. OTOH I saw barely PSUs from R&S in that good nick for less than 200 Euro.

Oh no, it wasn't me! My 4 units (2 x NGK 35, NGL 35, NGMD 35/1) were decommissioned at work because they had problems. Who else could have saved them from becoming landfill?
I also have a defective NGPV 40.3 (since my big haul in 2017), never even looked at it until now. That one's a bit boat-anchory.

ebay Kleinanzeigen! There's where I tried to contact the guy with the 3 Fluke calibrator/amplifier boat anchors without success ("Send" just did not do anything at all). I'm still upset.

Have fun with your new acquisition and keep looking. I won't bid on such one. However, if a NGM 280 shows up ...

[AVGresponding]

When I drove my first automatic the engine stalled at the first traffic light. It took me too many sweaty minutes to realize that you have to put it in neutral before you can start the engine again 

There must have been a problem with the engine then for it to stall. I have never known an automatic to stall its engine ever, so from that point of view they were safer.

You haven't driven many American cars from the 1970's and early 1980's, have you? Smog controls and carburetors. Stalling was all part of the fun. 

But thats just it, with an auto, there is no clutch, you have a fluid flywheel with a torque convertor so the drive train was connected via the fluid flywheel which would slip when the car was stationary in drive because there was no clutch. Thats just how they were designed to do, whereas a manual you had to press the clutch down to disconnect the drive train to prevent the engine from stalling. So with an automatic, if it stalls, there has to be a reason for it stalling as the oil in the flywheel / torque convertor forms the clutch and is only too willing to slip when the drive train is prevented from turning due the brakes for example being applied and thus preventing the wheels from being driven.

Just to clear up a few misconceptions...

Modern automatics  are automated multi-clutch manual gearboxes, they don't have torque converters.

They also won't start in Neutral, they have to be in Park.

The reason for the clutch interlock on a manual gearbox is to ensure the starter doesn't have to stir the gearbox when the oil is cold. This allows the battery and starter motor to be smaller, cheaper, and lighter. The apparent safety gain is purely coincidental, but makes for good advertising bullshit copy.

[mnementh]

   And a very nice Fluke 8300A .. after cleanup like new..   okey now i cool down abit again

That one is extra-pretty; a delicious bit of glowy goodness.

mnem
 

[AVGresponding]

Well I would not have suggested it as an example of an automatic sharing engine oil if they didn't make it with an automatic.     The Mini was only in producton for 40 years so obviously a complete flop 

Okay, I missed the part aboot it sharing with an AT. Just because British Leyland did it doesn't exactly inspire confidence, or suggest it was ever anything but a bad idea.

A bell-end example doesn't make it any less shite engineering. Fucking carbon blowby from the engine all up in ball/needle-bearings, gears and clutch-packs... might as well just pour sand in the damned trans every time you change the oil.

mnem
 

Actually the automatic gearbox for the Mini wasn't designed by British Leyland, it was a joint AP and BMC design, and not quite as bad as you imagine, though it's a good deal less reliable than the manual box.

The British Leyland (Failand for many) with its "plughole of despair" marque badge was a later, unhappier marriage.

[Robert763]

Random purchase. Decided to treat myself to another NanoVNA, this time a genuine one from Mirfield Electronics here who are an official reseller. No hooky ones any more 

Very good company. Pay via PayPal checkout. Arrived next day RM 1st class 

https://www.mirfield-electronics.co.uk/

Has it got a CE mark on it? Does the power supply fit a 13A socket without an adaptor?

Nope. No power supply. Just usb cable. No CE mark.

It’s still shit from China. Just genuine shit from China rather than cloned shit from China 

Edit: also it doesn’t require CE marking now as of 1st jan. UKCA. More fun!

It should still have CE or UKCA compliance (and marking). Mirfield are responsble for that.

Probably. I’m not sure what the point is as you can still self certify 

The point is that Mirfield is breaking the law by selling non-compliant equipment.  No sure what you mean by "self certify" Ithe item must be compliant before it is put on the market. The only person who  can certify compliance (assuming it's not a notified body item) is the maufacturer, the manufacturers agent or the importer.

[AVGresponding]

And a very nice Fluke 8300A .. after cleanup like new..
okey now i cool down abit again

Looking very clean. Does it have any modules installed? Mine only has the mV one, no AC or ohms, sadly.

[Specmaster]

When I drove my first automatic the engine stalled at the first traffic light. It took me too many sweaty minutes to realize that you have to put it in neutral before you can start the engine again 

There must have been a problem with the engine then for it to stall. I have never known an automatic to stall its engine ever, so from that point of view they were safer.

You haven't driven many American cars from the 1970's and early 1980's, have you? Smog controls and carburetors. Stalling was all part of the fun. 

But thats just it, with an auto, there is no clutch, you have a fluid flywheel with a torque convertor so the drive train was connected via the fluid flywheel which would slip when the car was stationary in drive because there was no clutch. Thats just how they were designed to do, whereas a manual you had to press the clutch down to disconnect the drive train to prevent the engine from stalling. So with an automatic, if it stalls, there has to be a reason for it stalling as the oil in the flywheel / torque convertor forms the clutch and is only too willing to slip when the drive train is prevented from turning due the brakes for example being applied and thus preventing the wheels from being driven.

You can't stall them by fumbling the clutch, but I remember many American cars of the era didn't like having the accelerator "jabbed" quickly - they would rev up, and crash right down to zero when you did!  -  so a different problem, but the car is just as dead in the water...

What, all of those big old gas guzzlers with their Hemis and V8's etc couldn't pull away cleanly if the loud pedal was jabbed, what kind of engineering was that then  So it's a problem and as I said, a problem with the engines, something British and indeed European cars of the era never suffered with 

[tonyalbus]

And a very nice Fluke 8300A .. after cleanup like new..
okey now i cool down abit again

Looking very clean. Does it have any modules installed? Mine only has the mV one, no AC or ohms, sadly.

Thanks!
Yes it has the Ohms and AC module

[mnementh]

When I drove my first automatic the engine stalled at the first traffic light. It took me too many sweaty minutes to realize that you have to put it in neutral before you can start the engine again 

There must have been a problem with the engine then for it to stall. I have never known an automatic to stall its engine ever, so from that point of view they were safer.

You haven't driven many American cars from the 1970's and early 1980's, have you? Smog controls and carburetors. Stalling was all part of the fun. 

But thats just it, with an auto, there is no clutch, you have a fluid flywheel with a torque convertor so the drive train was connected via the fluid flywheel which would slip when the car was stationary in drive because there was no clutch. Thats just how they were designed to do, whereas a manual you had to press the clutch down to disconnect the drive train to prevent the engine from stalling. So with an automatic, if it stalls, there has to be a reason for it stalling as the oil in the flywheel / torque convertor forms the clutch and is only too willing to slip when the drive train is prevented from turning due the brakes for example being applied and thus preventing the wheels from being driven.

Just to clear up a few misconceptions...

Modern automatics  are automated multi-clutch manual gearboxes, they don't have torque converters.

They also won't start in Neutral, they have to be in Park.

The reason for the clutch interlock on a manual gearbox is to ensure the starter doesn't have to stir the gearbox when the oil is cold. This allows the battery and starter motor to be smaller, cheaper, and lighter. The apparent safety gain is purely coincidental, but makes for good advertising bullshit copy.

That is a dangerously broad generalization to make. It suggests that they're a crashbox manual transmission, when in fact they're multistage planetary gearsets. Also, torque converters aren't going away anytime soon, no matter how much proponents of the CVT may try and sell us on the idea that torque converters are evil.



The U760E in my wife's 2018 Rav4 uses a TCC locking torque converter; so does the Aisin AWF8F35 8-speed they (and half the rest of the world) are currently using when they're not still flogging the fucking rubber-band drive CVTs.



And then of course, we have the ZF8 family representing Euoropean 8-speed engineering... again, a torque-converter design. These are just 3 examples of "modern" transmissions which still use a torque-converter. Yeah, okay... they may call it something else... but that's what it is.

Torque converters as used in modern vehicles are fucking magic. The losses of the olden slushbox days are just that... the olden days.

Modern torque converters have near-unity efficiency when locked, and the way they get more usable power to the ground, especially when coupled to a transmission with a decently broad set of gears that match a motor's power curve, has made them generally more efficient than a manual for decades now, aside from the rare example of drivers using the most ardent hi-miler driving techniques.

mnem