Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

Again. I did it AGAIN. I ordered something from Keysight that I don't need. I have way more than enough of these damn things taking up room in my home already, and DID NOT NEED another one! Except... I did. Really. Sort of. I mean. It looked cool. And it will get use. I promise.

At least this didn't break the bank like last time.

Here it is... my newest acquisition:   

Welcome to the Dork Side. We have coffee.         

mnem

[BU508A]

[...]


So just when you think things might be okay... the finished crimp doesn't quite fit in the Dupont shell.   




However, this is easily fixed. Just the slightest little bit of a squeeze with some flat-jawed pliers on the insulation crimp...




...and it slides right in. No other fiddling to the body or the inner conductor crimp is necessary; and yes, it does "float" inside the shell like it should so the contacts can self-align against the pin.
[...]

And this proofs again my dislike for cheap tools.
What I do really hate is, when you have a tool for one job and the tool does a not so good job, so that you have to fiddle around afterwards. Not my idea of precision work and working in an efficient manner.

That's why I'm usually going after the proper tools even though they are much more expensive.
And there is is another point especially with your new chinesium crimping tool: it is looking like the proper one from Knipex. Coincidence? I believe not and it damages the the reputation of Knipex.

Don't get me wrong. If you are happy with it, that is fine. 

I for myself would go for something like this:
https://www.knipex.com/products/crimping-pliers
Especially this one:
https://www.knipex.com/products/crimping-pliers/knipex-multicrimp-crimping-pliers-with-changer-magazine/knipex-multicrimpcrimping-pliers-changer-magazine/973302

Prices are starting for the 97 33 02 at around 177 Euro.

[mnementh]

I have better, I know the difference. I'm only promoting this cheap kit for occasional personal use where one can spend the time to make sure it is done right, and then not for mission critical fab; and I thought that was clear from my review.  It is obviously not appropriate for someone who does this shit for a living; for the same reason my networking bag is full of GreenLee, Ideal and Fluke. Your time is your livelihood.

mnem

[Cerebus]

Well it's a gamble. Might fit but it's not exactly the same part.

Personally, since it's probably aluminum, I would simply try to use those brazing rods to repair the frame.

https://canadaweldingsupply.ca/products/blue-demon-triple-play-brazing-rod?variant=14453377925164

Danger Will Robinson!

If I'm about to tell you how to suck eggs, I apologise.

It is possible to successfully braze aluminium but the right flux, the right filler rod, and the right technique is essential. Do not trust any brazing product for Aluminium that is 'flux free' or 'contains its own flux' - they don't none of them work. I've tired several of the supposed miracle products - on meticulously prepared test pieces -  and while some will provide a superficial sheen of new aluminium on a workpiece, none will provide a braise with any strength and you can chip the new material off with next to no effort.

[BU508A]

I have better, I know the difference. I'm only promoting this cheap kit for occasional personal use where one can spend the time to make sure it is done right, and then not for mission critical fab; and I thought that was clear from my review.  It is obviously not appropriate for someone who does this shit for a living; for the same reason my networking bag is full of GreenLee, Ideal and Fluke. Your time is your livelihood.

mnem

Yes, it was clear to me that you meant it for occasional personal use. 
But even though: if I would work with that cheap chinesium tool it will allways nag at me, if the connections is really properly done. There is nothing more annoyingly for me than to open a device again, because such connection failed. Even though it is for my hobby. 

And, besides that: I'm a German and as you are surely aware of, we are damned perfectionists. 

[bd139]

Something TE related for a change. Bought an HP 5384A counter.



Why? Well it's good to 225MHz which is fine for my needs and it's got a shitty oscillator in it and a big gap in it where a 10MHz OCXO belongs which gives me a project to do and some KiCad fun. Also it's a reciprocal counter that's good for 11 digits. Plus this means I now have two counters which means I have to build or buy a GPSDO to solve the problem of which one is correct.  . Also it's HP-IB which means I now need to build an interface for it.

And down the rabbit hole 

Edit: also just got a Packlink refund for that motherboard UPS lost in Frankfurt finally. I am slightly surprised about that.

[hve]

I was looking today at this beauty:


So in order to get closure i dug deep into my pockets ad bought the 250 watt model  here:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000512825009.html

[mnementh]

I have better, I know the difference. I'm only promoting this cheap kit for occasional personal use where one can spend the time to make sure it is done right, and then not for mission critical fab; and I thought that was clear from my review.  It is obviously not appropriate for someone who does this shit for a living; for the same reason my networking bag is full of GreenLee, Ideal and Fluke. Your time is your livelihood.

mnem

Yes, it was clear to me that you meant it for occasional personal use. 
But even though: if I would work with that cheap chinesium tool it will allways nag at me, if the connections is really properly done. There is nothing more annoyingly for me than to open a device again, because such connection failed. Even though it is for my hobby. 

And, besides that: I'm a German and as you are surely aware of, we are damned perfectionists. 

There is good, there is fabulous, and there is good enough. 

I don't need fabulous with a stoopit PC speaker or RESET switch wire; good enough is... good enough. I am more than capable of evaluating whether a crimp is good or bad; the tool doesn't change that, it just makes a good crimp easier.

I presented this so that other people with similar knowledge could make an informed decision about a readily available tool that might get them out of a jam. I think that knowledge is just as important as choosing the right tool for a job.

I disagree aboot the idea of this tool harming KNIPEX in any way... it simply is not the same market. People looking at this tool are not going to be buying KNIPEX unless they find they really enjoy the kind of work this tool makes possible. Those people are going to buy upwards when this cheap tool wears out, probably sooner once the hassle of triple-checking every crimp starts to cost them real time & money. For those people, the cheap tool often serves as a gateway drug. 

If you look at how many variants there are of it out there, it is obvious that the similarities are entirely due to the nature of the tool, not attempting to look like any particular brand.

As I've said many times... The best tool is always the one you have when you need it. 

Knowing aboot things like this means a person can have a lot more tools when they need it, not wishing they had it. It also means that folks like you, who have good reason to choose the best, can point to my review with line item reason for reason to recommend a tool that costs literally 15 times as much. 

Cheers,

mnem

[Kosmic]

Well it's a gamble. Might fit but it's not exactly the same part.

Personally, since it's probably aluminum, I would simply try to use those brazing rods to repair the frame.

https://canadaweldingsupply.ca/products/blue-demon-triple-play-brazing-rod?variant=14453377925164

Danger Will Robinson!

If I'm about to tell you how to suck eggs, I apologise.

It is possible to successfully braze aluminium but the right flux, the right filler rod, and the right technique is essential. Do not trust any brazing product for Aluminium that is 'flux free' or 'contains its own flux' - they don't none of them work. I've tired several of the supposed miracle products - on meticulously prepared test pieces -  and while some will provide a superficial sheen of new aluminium on a workpiece, none will provide a braise with any strength and you can chip the new material off with next to no effort.

Good to know. The youtube video is really convincing 

Edit: the Amazon reviews are not that bad. I might buy some, just to see if it's really working or not. I think I have an instrument with a broken frame somewhere.
https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Demon-BDTP-125-01T-Aluminum-Zinc-Brazing/dp/B01MCTUIUN/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Blue%2BDemon%2BBDTP-125-01T%2BTriple%2BPlay%2BLow%2BTemp&qid=1616109581&sr=8-1&th=1

[Cerebus]

I have better, I know the difference. I'm only promoting this cheap kit for occasional personal use where one can spend the time to make sure it is done right, and then not for mission critical fab; and I thought that was clear from my review.  It is obviously not appropriate for someone who does this shit for a living; for the same reason my networking bag is full of GreenLee, Ideal and Fluke. Your time is your livelihood.

mnem

Yes, it was clear to me that you meant it for occasional personal use. 
But even though: if I would work with that cheap chinesium tool it will allways nag at me, if the connections is really properly done. There is nothing more annoyingly for me than to open a device again, because such connection failed. Even though it is for my hobby. 

And, besides that: I'm a German and as you are surely aware of, we are damned perfectionists. 

I'm in two minds about this. I have used good, bloody expensive, crimp tools and you just do the job, no muss, no fuss, and walk away knowing that the joint will still be good in twenty years, maybe even a hundred years. I've also used cheap crimp tools and if you're lucky they'll do the job but you have not too much confidence that the joint is properly consolidated or guaranteed to last long term. If you're unlucky the cheap tools won't even do the job first time (I'm looking slitty eyed at the crimp tool I have for insulated spade and butt connectors), and you waste a lot of parts getting the job done at all.

The problem is that for the good tools you need exactly the right one for each job, and you can end up needing a lot of them. When the cheap tools are a factor of 10, 20 or more times cheaper than the good ones it's very hard to justify them for your own use if it is for something you do 1, 5 or 10 joints with a year. If you do it every day or, better still, someone else's money is involved, then the good tools are worth it every time.

In the end I find it hard to justify the thousands, literally, that I'd have to spend to get the set of crimp tools that would cover my most common needs. At the same time I resent the few hundred wasted on tools that aren't quite up to the job.

You are in a maze of twisty passages, all the same...

[bd139]

This is why you see me avoiding the hell out of crimped stuff. I’ll spent £4 for a clamp on BNC instead of £0.50 and a crimp tool just so I don’t have to deal with that crap.

Also any nasty little SIL and spade connectors get soldered.  I don’t care if you’re not supposed to 

[beanflying]

Hi again folks,


I was able to score an HP3577A, it looked really well in the pictures (see below) but when it arrived (from the US to Switzerland) it had a crack on the bottom right corner of the front panel bezel. The crack can't be seen when the instruments is laying on the bench, but the front panel has deformed a little bit in the corner. The rear panel bezel also has a small hit. Functionality wise, it passes all self-confidence tests and I plan to tear it apart to the last piece for rectifiying the front panel, recaping electrolytics, fan replacement, changing the EPROMs to EEPROMs, etc.

Now guys, I want to take advantage of you knowledge, so some questions follow:

Looking at the service manual, I was able to find the replacement parts for the front and rear bezels in ebay, but those are for the HP3577B. Please, can someone confirm that these are equivalent? In the service manual these parts appear with different codes for the 3577A (front: 5020-8807, rear: 5020-8808) and 3577B (front: 5021-8407, rear: 5021-5808)

Also, does somebody know if Keysight is still selling parts for this instruments? it seems that this frame/chassis is used in many other HP/Agilent instruments. I would prefer to buy it from them than from ebay.

Are the bezels made of steel or aluminum? Maybe I can repair the crack on the front bezel with one of this metal-epoxy glues sold as "cold welding".

I also plan to install the front handles, since the thing weights 28 kg (62 lbs) and I want to be able to move it a little bit more easily. Would any 5U front handle from HP/Agilent work? The one the service manual specifies (5062-3991) look very familiar to the new versions. Are they compatible? (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

Any advice you may have is welcome!

The Diecast Bezel can likely be welded. Technique plenty of pre and post heat treatment needed. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hewlett-packard-740b-dc-standard-digital-voltmeter-(and-740a)/msg1419955/#msg1419955

The downside in your case is the damage to the paint job. As it is fairly non structural in this case an Aluminum Filled epoxy or something along those lines it likely where I would head with this one.

[beanflying]

I have better, I know the difference. I'm only promoting this cheap kit for occasional personal use where one can spend the time to make sure it is done right, and then not for mission critical fab; and I thought that was clear from my review.  It is obviously not appropriate for someone who does this shit for a living; for the same reason my networking bag is full of GreenLee, Ideal and Fluke. Your time is your livelihood.

mnem

Yes, it was clear to me that you meant it for occasional personal use. 
But even though: if I would work with that cheap chinesium tool it will allways nag at me, if the connections is really properly done. There is nothing more annoyingly for me than to open a device again, because such connection failed. Even though it is for my hobby. 

And, besides that: I'm a German and as you are surely aware of, we are damned perfectionists. 

I'm in two minds about this. I have used good, bloody expensive, crimp tools and you just do the job, no muss, no fuss, and walk away knowing that the joint will still be good in twenty years, maybe even a hundred years. I've also used cheap crimp tools and if you're lucky they'll do the job but you have not too much confidence that the joint is properly consolidated or guaranteed to last long term. If you're unlucky the cheap tools won't even do the job first time (I'm looking slitty eyed at the crimp tool I have for insulated spade and butt connectors), and you waste a lot of parts getting the job done at all.

The problem is that for the good tools you need exactly the right one for each job, and you can end up needing a lot of them. When the cheap tools are a factor of 10, 20 or more times cheaper than the good ones it's very hard to justify them for your own use if it is for something you do 1, 5 or 10 joints with a year. If you do it every day or, better still, someone else's money is involved, then the good tools are worth it every time.

In the end I find it hard to justify the thousands, literally, that I'd have to spend to get the set of crimp tools that would cover my most common needs. At the same time I resent the few hundred wasted on tools that aren't quite up to the job.

You are in a maze of twisty passages, all the same...

With the Dupont sized connectors they get used in R/C and I have been making looms for ages with the set of semi cheapies in front which work way better than the big ones. A few mates of mines 'workplaces' went to the expense of buying some very nice Japanese ones from RS Components but I thought I would be hard pressed to get it past my bean counters at the time.

Not a recommendation but these have nice small anvils for the Dupont stuff too https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbyking-jst-sh-connector-crimping-tool.html?queryID=19c51d8efe42c85da3927b73afc7c0c4&objectID=17691&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

[BU508A]

There is good, there is fabulous, and there is good enough. 

Agreed. But it depends highly on the definition of what is good enough. 
In my case it means using good or very good tools. In my younger days I've destroyed things because
of not using proper tools and I badly regretted it every time. And then this has becoming a personal
approach of mine: use ALWAYS the proper tool and MINIMIZE the danger of destroying something.
Consequently it doesn't matter to me, if, for example, the connector is simply for a PC speaker or if  it is
for something important/expensive etc.

To quote Scotty:
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/ff8609de-278d-48bf-8c0e-036749f825de

I know, that there are situations, where you don't have the proper tool at hand and then you have
to decide carefully, if it is okay to mess around or if you are getting the right tool for the right job.
Example: when I changed in our house the main power supply cable (5x 16mm²) my Knipex 97 53 14
wasn't capable for the job (crimping ferrules, max. size 10mm²) so I ordered a Knipex 97 53 04 which
can do up to 16mm². Never regretted the purchase, even though I haven't used it since then. But for sure,
one day I'll do. 

I don't need fabulous with a stoopit PC speaker or RESET switch wire; good enough is... good enough. I am more than capable of evaluating whether a crimp is good or bad; the tool doesn't change that, it just makes a good crimp easier.

I presented this so that other people with similar knowledge could make an informed decision about a readily available tool that might get them out of a jam. I think that knowledge is just as important as choosing the right tool for a job.

Yes. Essentially we aren't really discussing the quality of the tools being used, we are discussing our
different approaches on how to do a job good enough. 

I disagree aboot the idea of this tool harming KNIPEX in any way... it simply is not the same market. People looking at this tool are not going to be buying KNIPEX unless they find they really enjoy the kind of work this tool makes possible. Those people are going to buy upwards when this cheap tool wears out, probably sooner once the hassle of triple-checking every crimp starts to cost them real time & money. For those people, the cheap tool often serves as a gateway drug. 

If you look at how many variants there are of it out there, it is obvious that the similarities are entirely due to the nature of the tool, not attempting to look like any particular brand.

Perhaps. But then, why must the design look like as Knipex?

As I've said many times... The best tool is always the one you have when you need it. 

And that is why I have most of my tools stored in these really nice Dewalt TSTAK boxes.
Sturdy, easily to carry around, handy, easy access.
https://www.dewalt.com/products/storage-and-gear/tool-storage/tstak

Example setup:

Knowing aboot things like this means a person can have a lot more tools when they need it, not wishing they had it. It also means that folks like you, who have good reason to choose the best, can point to my review with line item reason for reason to recommend a tool that costs literally 15 times as much. 

In my opinion it is not only the price of the tool itself. If you are using a cheap tool and destroy something,
then it will cost you lifetime and effort to fix it. That's not worth it to me. And if I have only proper tools,
then I don't need to think about the quirks etc. which probably may come with a cheap one.
To me, it is that simple.

Cheers,

Mounty

[mnementh]

This is why you see me avoiding the hell out of crimped stuff. I’ll spent £4 for a clamp on BNC instead of £0.50 and a crimp tool just so I don’t have to deal with that crap.

Also any nasty little SIL and spade connectors get soldered.  I don’t care if you’re not supposed to

Aaaannd now we've gone recursive...

While looking for JST-SH connectors to make up a few cables for my new PC case project (I was planning to do it the hard way with pliers and soldering), I discovered this kit on Amazon.ca for ridiculously cheap (Cad$42/US$35):

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B082234HSS/

...exactly the scenario that started my original review. 

mnem
tsssst...

[Cerebus]

Well it's a gamble. Might fit but it's not exactly the same part.

Personally, since it's probably aluminum, I would simply try to use those brazing rods to repair the frame.

https://canadaweldingsupply.ca/products/blue-demon-triple-play-brazing-rod?variant=14453377925164

Danger Will Robinson!

If I'm about to tell you how to suck eggs, I apologise.

It is possible to successfully braze aluminium but the right flux, the right filler rod, and the right technique is essential. Do not trust any brazing product for Aluminium that is 'flux free' or 'contains its own flux' - they don't none of them work. I've tired several of the supposed miracle products - on meticulously prepared test pieces -  and while some will provide a superficial sheen of new aluminium on a workpiece, none will provide a braise with any strength and you can chip the new material off with next to no effort.

Good to know. The youtube video is really convincing 

Edit: the Amazon reviews are not that bad. I might buy some, just to see if it's really working or not. I think I have an instrument with a broken frame somewhere.
https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Demon-BDTP-125-01T-Aluminum-Zinc-Brazing/dp/B01MCTUIUN/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Blue%2BDemon%2BBDTP-125-01T%2BTriple%2BPlay%2BLow%2BTemp&qid=1616109581&sr=8-1&th=1

Yes, the videos always are. You also used to see these being hawked around the "county fair" by someone doing a very convincing demonstration of filling a hole in a Coke can. It was the sort of thing my father (who should have known better) always fell for. 

The problem isn't melting the stuff, or even filling the hole, it's the adhesion to the existing metal. Without the aggressive fluxes needed to rip off the oxide coat that's always there on aluminium you just get whatever mechanical bond is available, not a braze to the base metal. On the upside, those AL/Zn/whatever low temperature brazing rods produce a lovely shiny finish. Used with a suitable flux they'd probably do a good enough job, certainly a very cosmetically pleasing one, and the low viscosity of the low melting point alloys can be a real advantage for some things (like where you need a lap joint to fill by capillary action).

As I said, I tried a few. Being able to do (relatively) low temperature brazing of aluminium would have been very useful for me. The problems I ran into were, as said, none of the miracle 'no flux'/'flux core' varieties worked, and that I couldn't find a low temperature standalone flux that worked either. The standard flux for brazing aluminium doesn't start to work until a handful of degrees below the melting point of unalloyed aluminium by which point you're throwing so much heat about that all the advantages of brazing go out of the window and you might as well go the whole TIG route and get a proper weld with less heat overall chucked into the workpiece. Also the classic fluxes are halide based, often fluorides, so it's definitely an outdoor, stand upwind of the work, job.

I have warned SWMBO that a TIG welding rig is a very real possibility in the future. My excuse relates to needing to make a strong aluminium frame for some new bookshelves to replace our ones that are groaning under the strain and that would fit in with the aluminium/birch thing we already have going on in the living room. It has nothing to do with my desire to have an excuse for some new kit that I don't strictly need, oh no. Not at all. I would have been happy to have found a low temperature brazing solution for Al that worked but that seems to have eluded me. Although I'd like a TIG rig I am genuinely running out of space to put stuff.

Also watch out for unscrupulous individuals from the Middle Kingdom selling plain old aluminium TIG filler rod as low temperature aluminium alloy brazing rods. Don't ask how I know (Yes, I should have known better. Perhaps I'm more like my father that I'd like to admit.  ).

[beanflying]

I found an inappropriate Police Academy GIF and decided to be good 

So my 500Meg probed arrived today and was hiding in the mail box so playtime tomorrow. In unrelated news Aliexpress seems to know way more about what 50+ year old Single blokes want and need than they even know themselves.

"The suggestions has been presented to you because of your browsing history." 

I got brave' after the first coffee of the morning and opened the spam. Yes! Yes I do want one of what they are offering 

[Cerebus]

This is why you see me avoiding the hell out of crimped stuff. I’ll spent £4 for a clamp on BNC instead of £0.50 and a crimp tool just so I don’t have to deal with that crap.

Also any nasty little SIL and spade connectors get soldered.  I don’t care if you’re not supposed to 

Tut-tut. Go and wash your mouth out with PCB cleaner and when you get back, stand in the corner with the dunce's cap on.   

[mnementh]

I'm in two minds about this. I have used good, bloody expensive, crimp tools and you just do the job, no muss, no fuss, and walk away knowing that the joint will still be good in twenty years, maybe even a hundred years. I've also used cheap crimp tools and if you're lucky they'll do the job but you have not too much confidence that the joint is properly consolidated or guaranteed to last long term. If you're unlucky the cheap tools won't even do the job first time (I'm looking slitty eyed at the crimp tool I have for insulated spade and butt connectors), and you waste a lot of parts getting the job done at all.

The problem is that for the good tools you need exactly the right one for each job, and you can end up needing a lot of them. When the cheap tools are a factor of 10, 20 or more times cheaper than the good ones it's very hard to justify them for your own use if it is for something you do 1, 5 or 10 joints with a year. If you do it every day or, better still, someone else's money is involved, then the good tools are worth it every time.

In the end I find it hard to justify the thousands, literally, that I'd have to spend to get the set of crimp tools that would cover my most common needs. At the same time I resent the few hundred wasted on tools that aren't quite up to the job.

You are in a maze of twisty passages, all the same...

With the Dupont sized connectors they get used in R/C and I have been making looms for ages with the set of semi cheapies in front which work way better than the big ones. A few mates of mines 'workplaces' went to the expense of buying some very nice Japanese ones from RS Components but I thought I would be hard pressed to get it past my bean counters at the time.

Not a recommendation but these have nice small anvils for the Dupont stuff too https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbyking-jst-sh-connector-crimping-tool.html?queryID=19c51d8efe42c85da3927b73afc7c0c4&objectID=17691&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

My point is exactly as Cerebus states... not having the money to buy the best of every type of crimper I might need, especially a second time as all my good stuff is being held hostage against the Canadian Bureaucracy, I took a gamble on a cheap pair of crimpers that turned out to be more than good enough for the job at hand.

Those Hobbyking ones, BTW, are the same exact ones as I reviewed, only with orange handles.

And watching the video, I can see that they crimp "Dupont" connectors exactly the same way as mine do. 

I disagree aboot the idea of this tool harming KNIPEX in any way... it simply is not the same market. People looking at this tool are not going to be buying KNIPEX unless they find they really enjoy the kind of work this tool makes possible. Those people are going to buy upwards when this cheap tool wears out, probably sooner once the hassle of triple-checking every crimp starts to cost them real time & money. For those people, the cheap tool often serves as a gateway drug. 

If you look at how many variants there are of it out there, it is obvious that the similarities are entirely due to the nature of the tool, not attempting to look like any particular brand.

Perhaps. But then, why must the design look like as Knipex?

That is precisely what i just said. They don't ALL look the same. Do they have a similar frame...? Sure. These kinds of crimpers ALL have this kind of frame; they have to be at least minimally similar in order to do the job.

By your logic,  KNIPIX just made a copy of the Greenlee crimpers I have in my other box, only marked up to boutique prices.  Come on dude... that's just sophistry.

In my opinion it is not only the price of the tool itself. If you are using a cheap tool and destroy something, then it will cost you lifetime and effort to fix it. That's not worth it to me. And if I have only proper tools, then I don't need to think about the quirks etc. which probably may come with a cheap one. To me, it is that simple.

Cheers,

Mounty

And now we come full circle to the same argument Cerebus and I were making... I certainly cannot afford to buy top quality for every damned pair of crimpers I might need, and I damn sure am not gonna do it a second time when I own better ones locked away somewheres out of reach.

I would rather have these "good enough" crimpers and get the job done well enough, (and I am the best judge of what that is, not some tool manufacturer) than try and do the job the hard way with completely unsuitable tools, even though I'm perfectly capable, and also have complete confidence in the results I would achieve in that scenario as well.

mnem
 

[Cerebus]

After pondering it for a few minutes:

I've found the smaller the connector/conductor the more likely it is that a soldered joint will fail in service where a crimped connection would survive. I don't mind soldering things that would be better crimped if they are big enough to get one of those neoprene strain relief sleeves over the pin and wire. When I used to make professional sound gear that got a hammering on the road I used to religiously strain relieve each soldered connector joint with one of the Hellerman sleeves (applied with the terrifying tool illustrated below). I have never knowingly had a soldered connection treated that way fail. It's possible someone may have fixed one and not told me, but all the stuff I kept and used myself never needed a repair for a failed soldered connector.

About fifteen years after I had left, I went back to University and actually paid* to get into a gig there. At the mixing desk was the same multicore 'snake' cable (An EDAC connector to a gazillion XLRs) that I had made fifteen years before. It had got the Hellerman treatment and got dragged out, used, and put away several times every week by spotty know-nothing students over those intervening years. I went and introduced myself to the guy at the mixing desk, told him that cable was fifteen years old and asked how many times it had been repaired. "None as far as I know." I walked away happy and ever so slightly smug.



Bris anyone? 

* Walking around the 'venue' bit of the Student Union like I owned it was such a habit that I almost walked in without paying. I actually had to double back to the box office and pay.

[Cerebus]

And now we come full circle to the same argument Cerebus and I were making...

To be clear I fall between two stools. I can't justify going Mounty's route ("Madam" insists on fancy cat food and SWMBO isn't going to live on ramen either), but I feel a bit grubby going down the cheap route - I know it will bite me in the arse at some point.

[mnementh]

And now we come full circle to the same argument Cerebus and I were making...

To be clear I fall between two stools. I can't justify going Mounty's route ("Madam" insists on fancy cat food and SWMBO isn't going to live on ramen either), but I feel a bit grubby going down the cheap route - I know it will bite me in the arse at some point.

And that is where you have to use your best judgement.

I agree with you wholeheartedly aboot soldering and proper stress-relieving, especially with small gauge wires. I've done it both ways, and I've tested to failure too, just to know how hard they can be pushed.

I've used the cheap sintered metal crimpers... they don't. They just waste terminals. These are enough of a step above that I don't have a problem using them for most day-to-day tasks for which they are appropriate. I can also see the difference in the crimp they produce vs my good Greenlee crimpers. Those I've been using for over a decade.

EDIT: But yeah... it feels a bit grubby using the cheapies when I own a decent crimper... but not enough to buy the good crimper again, or even better crimps, which these are cheap AF, and yes I do know the difference there too.

Cheers,

mnem
 

[mansaxel]

This is why you see me avoiding the hell out of crimped stuff. I’ll spent £4 for a clamp on BNC instead of £0.50 and a crimp tool just so I don’t have to deal with that crap.

Also any nasty little SIL and spade connectors get soldered.  I don’t care if you’re not supposed to 

I bought a large batch of clamp BNC connectors from a UK surplus seller, probably was in a Clansman Spares Kit originally, and as such those RG58 BNC's were clearly unsuitable for Bowman RG58.  (Defence materials people, especially in maintenance, are a strange lot.. There sometimes is a quaint method to their madness, but the process of learning that has strong Stockholm Syndrome tendencies)

Anyway, he sent me Amphenol 90° BNCs instead of straight ones. I don't mind; I simply asked him if he could send me a bag of straight ones too, at the same price. Consequently, I'm set. Haven't crimped a BNC in a long time, but I have bought a proper crimper (Crimpex/Elpress, made in Sweden) for 58/59 cable.

At work, OTOH, no-one has soldered one for ages -- it's all those fancy 3G-SDI ones, 75Ω, no dielectric, lots of gold plating, et c.

This has spread so that I'm more and more soldering coax. The antenna farm long runs is .400" cable of various makes, Messi & Paoloni, SSB Technic and the patch bay is ex-IBM Amphenol BNC bulkhead jack-jack connectors. All soldered/clamped. Antennas are N, if I have a choice.

The connector that defines what is bad with ham radio, the PL259, is forbidden at my place, except on radios.

[mnementh]

...The connector that defines what is bad with ham radio, the PL259, is forbidden at my place, except on radios.

I love PL259s. I used them as a striker to pound stolen Children's Band antennae into the ground. 

mnem

[med6753]

I'm not even going to attempt to catch up with the latest goings on here. This is the first time in over 24 hours that I've been able to sit in a chair comfortably and type. I've never had back problems and I now have extreme sympathy for those who do. You are literally bed ridden and that's the only time you can achieve some comfort. But I'm finally coming out of it with just an occasional muscle spasm to remind me that I ain't a kid no more. I've had absolutely no appetite and haven't eaten since yesterday but I am keeping myself hydrated with just plain water.

So...where does that leave things? My first priority is that I have to do something about that damn tire. The spike is right at the edge of the thread and I'm not sure it can be safely patched. I'm thinking of just ordering a new tire and be done with it. If they can patch the old one I'll keep it as spare. As far as the item in the CR-V? In my current condition no way can I risk jackassing it up here. I'm thinking of calling my son to come help me but I hate to do that since he's a busy boy with 3 kids, wife, and a very busy job. We'll see. Figure something out.

Anyway, I feel like I've come back from the dead.