Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Kosmic]

Just for entertainment reasons I've requested a quote for 10 red and 10 black binding posts.

Have your heart medication to hand, this is IET Labs. 

I have a RCS-502 decade box from IET Labs, and the quality of the plastic is really disappointing. It started cracking all over the place. They sell the decade box 700$.

In comparison, the plastic on the old Cornell-Dubilier Decade capacitor box, probably built in 1965, show no sign of cracking and is in really good shape.

[mnementh]

Just in case I needed a reminder that I now live in The Great White North...



I wake up this morning to 3° outside and snow falling in between the rain showers. At the end of May; 3 weeks from the Summer Solstice.

Oh, and of course... Canada Post delivered those RC toys bright and early right in the middle of all this slop.

mnem
Murphy's a bitch. And she has puppies.

[SoundTech-LG]

I have an RCS-500 here I am looking at...   cheap plastic on the banana terminals.

[Kosmic]

I have an RCS-500 here I am looking at...   cheap plastic on the banana terminals.

Yep I think they are all like that. I almost sent a email to IET Labs to complain. But since I bought the box second hand, I changed my mind.

[BU508A]

I have an RCS-500 here I am looking at...   cheap plastic on the banana terminals.

Yep I think they are all like that. I almost sent a email to IET Labs to complain. But since I bought the box second hand, I changed my mind.

For this price I'd have expect PTFE and not some brittle crap.

[Kosmic]

I have an RCS-500 here I am looking at...   cheap plastic on the banana terminals.

Yep I think they are all like that. I almost sent a email to IET Labs to complain. But since I bought the box second hand, I changed my mind.

For this price I'd have expect PTFE and not some brittle crap.

It's not just the binding post. the box itself is also really cheap.

[SoundTech-LG]

Hey, it works for them...  use the lowest cost materials and the highest profit markup.

[Kosmic]

Hey, it works for them...  use the lowest cost materials and the highest profit markup.

Well, if I was paying full price, I'm not sure I would buy from them again.

[med6753]

Just in case I needed a reminder that I now live in The Great White North...



I wake up this morning to 3° outside and snow falling in between the rain showers. At the end of May; 3 weeks from the Summer Solstice.

Oh, and of course... Canada Post delivered those RC toys bright and early right in the middle of all this slop.

mnem
Murphy's a bitch. And she has puppies.

Latest I've seen snow here is the first week in May. This weekend through the end of August is considered "Frost free" so delicate plants can be put out. But on one very rare occasion we did have frost one or two mornings in June which caught many by surprise. 

[med6753]

It has become very apparent that in order to gain full acceptance into this elite group that I must have at least one set of calipers in my toolbox. So I bought one. But I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it. It's heavy and unwieldy. Perhaps use it as a paperweight? 



Listen up you SOB's. Here it is. Delivered this morning. And it's first task was to approximately measure some random printed output. And as you can see it's in internationally accepted millimeters. Not this inches rubbish.



So there you have it. I guess that makes me a fully accepted member now. But there is one thing that I absolutely will not do. I will not wear a pocket protector.   

[Cerebus]

Just got back from my 2nd Covid-19 jab. Hopefully it won't hit me as hard as the 1st one, but I'm not sure that I don't already feel a bit rough around the edges. Mind you, at this stage that's as likely to be the nocebo effect as anything substantial. Still, if I'm grumpy and misanthropic over the next few days you'll know why. Sorry, if I'm particularly grumpy and misanthropic over the next few days you'll know why.

[Cerebus]

I guess that makes me a fully accepted member now.

Junior member. You'll have to be able to rack up more than 3 digits of precision for full membership. 

And only a 150mm full scale? Really? My commiserations. 

[ch_scr]

It has become very apparent that in order to gain full acceptance into this elite group that I must have at least one set of calipers in my toolbox. So I bought one. But I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it. It's heavy and unwieldy. Perhaps use it as a paperweight? 



Listen up you SOB's. Here it is. Delivered this morning. And it's first task was to approximately measure some random printed output. And as you can see it's in internationally accepted millimeters. Not this inches rubbish.



So there you have it. I guess that makes me a fully accepted member now. But there is one thing that I absolutely will not do. I will not wear a pocket protector. 

Sorry, but for full entry you need something with a few more digits, like picture related. With only 15mm travel it will be hard pressed to measure even the girth of some things, but at least it has enough resolution to start to get into the realm of measuring how much of a fuck you might give 
Edit: yes, thats enough resolution to measure the taper on a "cylindrical" battery cell....

[mansaxel]

I guess that makes me a fully accepted member now.

Junior member. You'll have to be able to rack up more than 3 digits of precision for full membership. 

And only a 150mm full scale? Really? My commiserations. 

I've only got three sets of calipers, not counting brake ones. One plastic, perhaps accurate to 1mm. One Chinese, OK to 0,2mm. And one vintage Swedish, which is the one I trust. And a no-name micrometer.  I bought a NOS Mitutoyo caliper set for the wife. I thought she deserved them.

All are fully mechanical.

I do not bother too much about juniority or not. Am happy that I have no complicated mechanical measurements to make. 

Am currently bothered by a slightly leaking 3/4" cast iron union coupling in my computer cooling system. It did not leak before, but I had to break it open to fix a broken safety valve. Now, on reassembly, it leaks.

[ch_scr]

I guess that makes me a fully accepted member now.

Junior member. You'll have to be able to rack up more than 3 digits of precision for full membership. 

And only a 150mm full scale? Really? My commiserations. 

I've only got three sets of calipers, not counting brake ones. One plastic, perhaps accurate to 1mm. One Chinese, OK to 0,2mm. And one vintage Swedish, which is the one I trust. And a no-name micrometer.  I bought a NOS Mitutoyo caliper set for the wife. I thought she deserved them.

All are fully mechanical.

I do not bother too much about juniority or not. Am happy that I have no complicated mechanical measurements to make. 

Am currently bothered by a slightly leaking 3/4" cast iron union coupling in my computer cooling system. It did not leak before, but I had to break it open to fix a broken safety valve. Now, on reassembly, it leaks.

Put threadlocker on before reassembly? It's not made for it, but will usually seal.

[SilverSolder]

[...]  It did not leak before, but I had to break it open to fix a broken safety valve. Now, on reassembly, it leaks.

You broke rule number 1:  "Never take a non-leaking hose coupling apart"

[tautech]

Am currently bothered by a slightly leaking 3/4" cast iron union coupling in my computer cooling system. It did not leak before, but I had to break it open to fix a broken safety valve. Now, on reassembly, it leaks.

Mac union or a pipe socket ?
Taper or parallel threads ?

Parallel threads require a crush washer or Dowdy seal whereas for taper threads thread tape normally stops any weeps. You can use thread lockers but be sure to get the softest ones available with a 'wicking' rating for sealing threads.

[Cerebus]

Am currently bothered by a slightly leaking 3/4" cast iron union coupling in my computer cooling system. It did not leak before, but I had to break it open to fix a broken safety valve. Now, on reassembly, it leaks.

The traditional British plumber's answer to that is to pack the joint with sisal fibre and something called "Plumber's Mate" which, by inspection, seems to be a putty of clay and linseed oil similar to glazier's putty.

[AVGresponding]

I guess that makes me a fully accepted member now.

Junior member. You'll have to be able to rack up more than 3 digits of precision for full membership. 

And only a 150mm full scale? Really? My commiserations. 

For shame, surely you must be aware that brother med has 6.5 digits of precision?

[Cerebus]

I guess that makes me a fully accepted member now.

Junior member. You'll have to be able to rack up more than 3 digits of precision for full membership. 

And only a 150mm full scale? Really? My commiserations. 

For shame, surely you must be aware that brother med has 6.5 digits of precision?

He's from New York, not Arkansas or Norfolk, where supernumerary fingers and toes pass unremarked. Or has he lost 3.5?

[tggzzz]

Am currently bothered by a slightly leaking 3/4" cast iron union coupling in my computer cooling system. It did not leak before, but I had to break it open to fix a broken safety valve. Now, on reassembly, it leaks.

The traditional British plumber's answer to that is to pack the joint with sisal fibre and something called "Plumber's Mate" which, by inspection, seems to be a putty of clay and linseed oil similar to glazier's putty.

The more modern ones use PTFE tape

[Wolfgang]

I have worked with these for a while, with the following results:

- Batteries last 2 months
- Drop them once, they fall apart, get stuck, loose some plastic, or read nonsense (combinations possible)
- Now I went for a Mitutoyo. Drained my wallet, battery lasts 1 year, sturdy, accurate.

Junk is *always* expensive.

[kj7e]

Not your everyday HP 4332A.  Just finished a minor repair on it, the 1k Wien Bridge oscillator would not net the 100nF cal point.  The caps in the Wien Bridge all test spot on (Dipped Mica and Polystyrene), so I had to alter R3 on the A1 board from 19.6K to a 18K part, this re-centered the adjustment range.  Could not find the exact part that drifted.  Ill order a low TC part to replace my standard 18K metal film part.

Took about a dozen attempts to calibrate this guy end to end and get it to my liking.

[mnementh]

I have worked with these for a while, with the following results:

- Batteries last 2 months
- Drop them once, they fall apart, get stuck, loose some plastic, or read nonsense (combinations possible)
- Now I went for a Mitutoyo. Drained my wallet, battery lasts 1 year, sturdy, accurate.

Junk is *always* expensive.

Ehhh... you can get a decent set of calipers from the cheap0-Chinese market; you just have to be willing to shop. I bought/returned 3 sets before I found these at Princess Auto, and they were on sale for CAD$17.99. 

They don't hold a candle to my NSKs locked away in my big toolbox, but for day-to-day use they are more than good enough. Still on the original battery after a year, too.

These are a tool that once you have them, you find yourself reaching for them all the time; most people don't realize how many different ways they are useful. Right here I'm checking thickness on some shims I just printed up to "relieve" the ring/pinion in my new WLToys RC car. It appears these are a new model with nice metal gearsets, but it also appears there is some variation in manufacture which can cause the pinion to have inadequate end clearance against the ring. Due to the fact there is no leeway in the correct direction, the commonly passed-around "mod" to fix this is to put tiny o-rings in those screw stanchion cups so that when you tighten the screws down they don't quite tighten around the axle as tight.

I don't have any that small, and I prefer the idea of hard plastic anyways. While I'm not exactly sanguine aboot the idea of loosening up the carrier bearing caps that much, according to the guys who bash them hours a day this mod holds up much better than any other you can easily do. 

mnem
 

[cyclin_al]

Just in case I needed a reminder that I now live in The Great White North...



I wake up this morning to 3° outside and snow falling in between the rain showers. At the end of May; 3 weeks from the Summer Solstice.

Oh, and of course... Canada Post delivered those RC toys bright and early right in the middle of all this slop.

mnem
Murphy's a bitch. And she has puppies.

Latest I've seen snow here is the first week in May. This weekend through the end of August is considered "Frost free" so delicate plants can be put out. But on one very rare occasion we did have frost one or two mornings in June which caught many by surprise.

Well, a "good" year in the great white north means it has only been slightly more than a month since going skiing 
However, I have to go outside in the dark and put tarps over the garden 
For some reason, I rototilled and removed stones and planted plants and put on the tarps for SWMBO's garden 

Realistically the garden had to be put in already because tomorrow is the start of serious work with tractors, gasoline powered tools; I am going to be too busy for the garden for the next while.

@mnem, my RC toys have not left source country yet, but I ordered later than you did...