Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

Going to go pick up that Type 321 this morning. Hopefully will have some pictures before our Discord session later today. 

Good good look forward to that 

[AVGresponding]

what is BS4E ?

Battleships Forever. BS4E used to get you there in chrome, someone else using the acronym more actively now, it seems.

I missed out on a Wavetek Wandel Goltermann SDA 4040D, went for just under £70 shipped. I have the nagging suspicion I should have bid a little more...

That one from Pro-avit? Fully tesed and working but can't be arsed to show a picture of it powered up? The charger is a special too.
That said I have a 4040D and they are a nice little unit. The 1GHz spectrum analyser is very usable. Lot cheaper hre than in NA.

Yes. I'd have had to rely on ebay buyer protections ofc.

On the flip side I did win an auction that finished in the early morning while I was asleep. Got some Kingston HyperX RAM for ~£50 shipped, 2x 8GB, 1x 8GB (different speed), and 1x 4GB.
Since my PC has 2x 8GB Kingston HyperX already, this will get me to 32GB, remains to be seen if the speeds match though.



Here's an odd one that popped up on my "tektronix" search:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Watch-Dial-28-5mm-W-C3-Luminous-Repair-Part-for-NH35A-Diving-Watch-Movement/333903085874


 

[Cerebus]

Keithley glue-fest finished.
Not pretty, but not as fugly as I expected it to turn out. At least the bloody handle isn't going to break again any time soon.

Do you apply epoxy before and after you put the tape?

Well, with this little wrapping repair the sequence is slightly abnormal. Normally you'd just wet out the tape with resin and then consolidate it in-situ on the part. Because of the tight compound curves there was a lot of moulding it to fit with a rubber gloved hand, then waiting for the resin to get a bit stiffer, moulding it again, wait for stiffening. moulding again, and so on until it was all tacky enough to stay properly in place on its own. That repeated shoving around left the surface of the resin looking a total mess, so when I did the side arm I gave the two fully cured corners a top coat of resin just for cosmetic purposes.

For the side arm I just wetted out a bit of CF ribbon, wrapped it around the arm and then wrapped that in some baking parchment as release film (glossy PET film would have been better as a release layer but I have none currently) and clamped it to keep the whole bundle tight. The baking parchment leaves a flat matt finish which I'm fine with, but if I'd wanted a glossy finish I could have over coated that with a little fresh resin (or obviously used a glossy release film).

I had tacked the very first edge of the ribbon for the side in place beforehand as I had ribbon and resin to hand when I was doing the awkward front bits. It's not necessary but does make getting a tight, well consolidated wrap a bit easier.

Frankly it's all a bit "how ya doin'" compared to how I'd do it if I was laying up CF, fibreglass or Kevlar to actually make a proper part. But it gets the job done and produces a strong repair which was my principal concern here.

[Zucca]

Thanks Cerebus, just to get the full picture here do you have a 3D printer?

I would have designed some corner support and then glue with epoxy together. Thanks for the reply I have to try the CF tape trick....

[Specmaster]

Increasing Grey in beard and hair. Stronger Hair growth from ears and nose than on top of head. Finding yourself drawn toward RF.....

At least it's only a Scanner so I may be savable before full blown HAM'itis sets in

BCD325P2-AU Paid more than I should have but it is a current model.

I have its brother, the UBC125XLT Airband and general scanner, I'm very please with it too, brilliant little scanner, its performance belies its size.

[Brumby]

This snowflake/I feel hurt because you said a word that I don't like/PC speak is sooooo getting on my nerves.

You're not alone there.  It seems to me that a lot of snowflakes live in a fantasy world - and many have no real reason to lodge objections other than to insert themselves into a situation so that they can object and, thus, make themselves "important" to a "cause".

If those snowflakes feel attacked because of a word like disabled/handicapped and need to flee to their "safe space" to recover from the soooo abusive world, how are they going to fare if life throws a challenge at them ?

Dummy spit.  Tantrum.  Cry foul.  Play the victim.  Expect someone else to stand up for them and save them.

... add your own.

[psykok]

I got myself another Voltnut toy. A nice Fluke 720a popped on Ebay at a really reasonable price. Sold as "For parts or not working" so I took a chance with this one, knowing it could be really expensive to fix.



So I already have a ESI RV722 Kelvin-Varley divider (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2232567/#msg2232567), but you need external equipment for calibration and adjustment are not possible. The Fluke 720a is also a little bit better on the accuracy and tempco side of things. The nice thing about the Fluke 720a is that it can be configured as a bridge and selfcalibrate itself.







The oil tank containing the 10k resistors for the first range.


So after exercising the switch a little bit it, look like it's functional. I probably need to clean the whole thing with IPA and Deoxit though since there is some intermittent contacts.

super nice Fluke.
I had a 750a, I sold it earlier  this year because it was not really  useful.


Alex

[psykok]

Jenga Time to play tomorrow I hope.

Impressive collection 

[beanflying]

I have its brother, the UBC125XLT Airband and general scanner, I'm very please with it too, brilliant little scanner, its performance belies its size.

Airband was one of the bits I really wanted the little Baofeng UV 5R does the rest fairly well. Emergency and Fire is the other bit I wanted  so some of the trunking features might be handy as they have all moved up from their older HF range gear.

[Brumby]

Two weeks ago I was given a little clip on light that had been subjected to a battery leak.  Obligated through the "Can you have a look at this?" familial/friend question, I stripped out everything and eradicated the unwanted chemistry, but damage had been done.  Feeling a strong sense of bravado, I disassembled the switch itself - a DPDT unit with the body a 7mm cube.  I knew things would be small inside - but size wasn't the problem.  Keeping the moving contacts in place while reassembling was a true headache, but I succeeded ... or so I thought.

A couple of days ago it came back to bite me in the arse.  The switch had given up the ghost and I wasn't about to try another resurrection attempt.  So I went on a scavenger hunt to see what suitable switches I had on hand that would be small enough to the job.  I found one candidate that seemed possible - even though it was twice the size - and I just spent the last 3 hours shoehorning it in.

It's been a massive time waster for something you could get from a $2 shop ... if you could find one.  However, the case fits into a magnifier, so finding a replacement would be impossible.  The fact that it is used by someone in a nursing home made it a bit more difficult to wave it on by.

Anyway, the discreet push button switch has been supplanted by a (comparatively) big, ugly toggle switch - but it works...

... for now.

[Cerebus]

Thanks Cerebus, just to get the full picture here do you have a 3D printer?

I would have designed some corner support and then glue with epoxy together. Thanks for the reply I have to try the CF tape trick....

No I don't, and even if I did I don't think I'd go down that route for this sort of repair. The CF/epoxy combination is ~3mm thick in total and even with my suboptimal lay-up will have created a repair that's stronger than the original solid ABS handle, by quite some margin. Given that it's a high stress area, the original 9mm thick ABS broke, what's the chance that a 3D printed reinforcement would stand up to the stress? How thick would it have to be to stand up to the stress? Based on instinct I'd say "a slim chance" and "too ruddy thick" respectively.

[Zucca]

Yep, a definite rabbit-hole.  It sounds just as complicated as collecting run-off water from the roof of the house in order to water the garden...

Kill myself!

[Zucca]

...that route for this sort of repair

Yeah, depends what you want. IMHO all my past the 3D projects were a success, but do not ask how much time I burned here....

[tggzzz]

Thanks Cerebus, just to get the full picture here do you have a 3D printer?

I would have designed some corner support and then glue with epoxy together. Thanks for the reply I have to try the CF tape trick....

No I don't, and even if I did I don't think I'd go down that route for this sort of repair. The CF/epoxy combination is ~3mm thick in total and even with my suboptimal lay-up will have created a repair that's stronger than the original solid ABS handle, by quite some margin. Given that it's a high stress area, the original 9mm thick ABS broke, what's the chance that a 3D printed reinforcement would stand up to the stress? How thick would it have to be to stand up to the stress? Based on instinct I'd say "a slim chance" and "too ruddy thick" respectively.

That would depend on the material.

Titanium or even gold would be strong enough More realistically, a nylon would probably be suitable. Longevity given UV? I don't know, but I'd certainly give it a try

When I recently had to repair a rod that will be cubject to continual rubbing but won't require much strength, I wrapped a helix of hookup wire around the rod and encapsulated that in epoxy.

[Kosmic]

I got myself another Voltnut toy. A nice Fluke 720a popped on Ebay at a really reasonable price. Sold as "For parts or not working" so I took a chance with this one, knowing it could be really expensive to fix.



So I already have a ESI RV722 Kelvin-Varley divider (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2232567/#msg2232567), but you need external equipment for calibration and adjustment are not possible. The Fluke 720a is also a little bit better on the accuracy and tempco side of things. The nice thing about the Fluke 720a is that it can be configured as a bridge and selfcalibrate itself.







The oil tank containing the 10k resistors for the first range.


So after exercising the switch a little bit it, look like it's functional. I probably need to clean the whole thing with IPA and Deoxit though since there is some intermittent contacts.

super nice Fluke.
I had a 750a, I sold it earlier  this year because it was not really  useful.


Alex

To be useful you need some other toys. If you have a 1.019V voltage reference (Fluke 731, Fluke 732) and a null meter (Fluke 845ab or Keithley 155), you can transfer the calibration of your voltage reference to a source between 0.1V to 1100V (in steps) with a reasonable accuracy (10ppm + 0.5uV). Also tempco on the Fluke 750a is only 1ppm/DegC which is not bad.

You could also build yourself a buffer and use the output of the divider directly.

Hmm I think I should look for one 

[Cerebus]

That would depend on the material.

Titanium or even gold would be strong enough More realistically, a nylon would probably be suitable. Longevity given UV? I don't know, but I'd certainly give it a try

If you have a 3D printer that prints gold, then you don't need a repair strategy. People who have 3D gold printers at home have staff for that sort of thing.

[Saskia]

it seems about impossible to get an ATX backplate for Fujitsu industrial main boards. I still have this industrial mini ITX board that would constitute a complete PC but has no friggin IO shield.

I have a couple of blank shields, but neither skill nor talent for metal work. Sticking to the old Russian proverb if you only got hammer, everythin iss nail, da ? I took the Dremel angle grinder.

Not pretty sight, eet eees.

Petr and Crudpuppie would be proud of me.

[mnementh]

You should talk to bean aboot making you one on his laser cutter. Wood... acrylic... fabric...



mnem

[Cerebus]

I have a couple of blank shields, but neither skill nor talent for metal work. Sticking to the old Russian proverb if you only got hammer, everythin iss nail, da ? I took the Dremel angle grinder.

My god woman, have you never heard of explosive forming? If you've going to go down the route of doing a job you don't really want to do with a tool that's not quite the thing for the task in hand you can at least try to have fun doing it. 

Gentle explosive forming:



Not so gentle explosive forming:



You could cut some neat holes in your blanks with a bit of primer cord, some plasticine (passive explosive lens), and a plastic bag full of water.

[mnementh]

Huh. 

Tripped over this while looking for other stuffs. Maybe there is such a thing as British Engineering...   

"We need more V-10s in the world... so... I wish you all the luck in the world."   

mnem
 

[psykok]

I got myself another Voltnut toy. A nice Fluke 720a popped on Ebay at a really reasonable price. Sold as "For parts or not working" so I took a chance with this one, knowing it could be really expensive to fix.



So I already have a ESI RV722 Kelvin-Varley divider (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2232567/#msg2232567), but you need external equipment for calibration and adjustment are not possible. The Fluke 720a is also a little bit better on the accuracy and tempco side of things. The nice thing about the Fluke 720a is that it can be configured as a bridge and selfcalibrate itself.







The oil tank containing the 10k resistors for the first range.


So after exercising the switch a little bit it, look like it's functional. I probably need to clean the whole thing with IPA and Deoxit though since there is some intermittent contacts.

super nice Fluke.
I had a 750a, I sold it earlier  this year because it was not really  useful.


Alex

To be useful you need some other toys. If you have a 1.019V voltage reference (Fluke 731, Fluke 732) and a null meter (Fluke 845ab or Keithley 155), you can transfer the calibration of your voltage reference to a source between 0.1V to 1100V (in steps) with a reasonable accuracy (10ppm + 0.5uV). Also tempco on the Fluke 750a is only 1ppm/DegC which is not bad.

You could also build yourself a buffer and use the output of the divider directly.

Hmm I think I should look for one 

completely true, you need a lot of additional equipment to use it.

Now that I have sold it, I just bought a 750a   

[AVGresponding]

Thanks Cerebus, just to get the full picture here do you have a 3D printer?

I would have designed some corner support and then glue with epoxy together. Thanks for the reply I have to try the CF tape trick....

No I don't, and even if I did I don't think I'd go down that route for this sort of repair. The CF/epoxy combination is ~3mm thick in total and even with my suboptimal lay-up will have created a repair that's stronger than the original solid ABS handle, by quite some margin. Given that it's a high stress area, the original 9mm thick ABS broke, what's the chance that a 3D printed reinforcement would stand up to the stress? How thick would it have to be to stand up to the stress? Based on instinct I'd say "a slim chance" and "too ruddy thick" respectively.

No doubt, but GRP would have been as good, since for ultimate strength, CF/R needs curing in a nitrogen passivated autoclave.

Huh. 

Tripped over this while looking for other stuffs. Maybe there is such a thing as British Engineering...   

"We need more V-10s in the world... so... I wish you all the luck in the world."   

mnem
 

British engineering invented the modern world. Not with silly little 2.0 litre V10s though.

[med6753]

Heads up! Teaser pictures!

Just got home but here it is. Type 321A. I wasn't sure if it was an 'A' which is the latest and greatest because his CL picture was too blurry. But it is and that's goodness. Tear down pictures later and I know bd is foaming at the mouth to see the internals. 



And a bonus. He kept trying to get me to buy this beat to shit Type 422 even before I arrived for $50 USD. I politely said no thanks. Well by the time I was ready to leave the price was $20 USD. He twisted my arm. So here it is. Not sure if it powers up but for now it's going in the TEA closet. At the very least the cabinet will need dent removal and paint.



I had to laugh at this old price tag still attached. 

[Cerebus]

No doubt, but GRP would have been as good, since for ultimate strength, CF/R needs curing in a nitrogen passivated autoclave.

Do you mean 3D printed glass filled plastic in the context of Zucca's questions about 3DP? I don't think that's an option. Or do you mean glass fibre in place of carbon fibre?

If the latter, CF, even when it hasn't had the aerospace treatment, is still stiffer and stronger than glass fibre for an equivalent sized gob of it (and let's face it, this is a gob - I didn't vac bag it, I didn't degas my mixed resin or even reach for a consolidating roller, I used a lolly stick),  and, and this is the clincher for me, I don't end up with little itchy bits of glass fibre under my skin like I have done every time in my life I have used it no matter how hard I work to avoid it. The box with the resin and other bits has three packets of reinforcements in it: one's got glassfibre in, one's got CF in, and one's got some polyaramid cloth in. What material gets picked as reinforcement depends on what I'm doing.

[bd139]

Heads up! Teaser pictures!

Just got home but here it is. Type 321A. I wasn't sure if it was an 'A' which is the latest and greatest because his CL picture was too blurry. But it is and that's goodness. Tear down pictures later and I know bd is foaming at the mouth to see the internals. 



And a bonus. He kept trying to get me to buy this beat to shit Type 422 even before I arrived for $50 USD. I politely said no thanks. Well by the time I was ready to leave the price was $20 USD. He twisted my arm. So here it is. Not sure if it powers up but for now it's going in the TEA closet. At the very least the cabinet will need dent removal and paint.



I had to laugh at this old price tag still attached. 

Damn you hit the jackpot there. 422 is a really nice one too. Crack it open and take a look.