Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[beanflying]

Sulking in the shed as the drizzle turns to rain. I should be 1000km+ away from here on a mid winters trip in the dessert

Instead of a simple job to design and make a set of 3D printed Soft jaws I made a small hillock instead of a mole hill. Ran the dial indicator over it today and not to shabby so it will find its way into some quick cnc use when I get that bit sorted so it is sort of worth making the model of the complete vice while I was going (and I was sulking  ).

@med stay the hell out of hospitals they are full of sick people 

[Specmaster]

I to also missed discord again last night, been out to North Weald again photographing some interesting old war birds and other things of interest so by the time we got back home, ate dinner and then picked up youngest sons from work, refuelled the car it was rather late in the day and very hot in my little lab, so I fell asleep as I tend to these days when its so bloody warm.

[tggzzz]

... on a mid winters trip in the dessert

My sympathy, but I'm attempting to lose weight and that would make me excessively fat.

[beanflying]

... on a mid winters trip in the dessert

My sympathy, but I'm attempting to lose weight and that would make me excessively fat.

The Fat bits a given at present limited to 5km from home for exercise too so not even any bike riding in the sucky weather. 

[Robert763]

Anyone here fancy making their own mobile phone? Well now you can apparently https://circuitmess.com/ringo/ at a cost of just £95 for us Brits.

Plus about £5,000 to get it EMC tested for UKCA marking  (not including the GSM module which is presumably already approved).
Technically the exemption for development kits is limited to professional users and for some strange reason hams.

Edit, I've asked them the question.

[bd139]

Yeah. I wouldn’t trust the average ham not to get it stuck up their anus somehow 

There a new emissions compliance thing for hams now which means you need to do a risk assessment and calculations and stuff. This caused a massive revolt because “why shouldn’t we burn the tits off our neighbours after doing a multiple choice test a moron could pass”.

[Specmaster]

Yeah. I wouldn’t trust the average ham not to get it stuck up their anus somehow 

Haha, you're evil, I was just going to reply to Robert but instead I'll say to you instead now, "Thats a bummer" then 

[tggzzz]

Anyone here fancy making their own mobile phone? Well now you can apparently https://circuitmess.com/ringo/ at a cost of just £95 for us Brits.

Plus about £5,000 to get it EMC tested for UKCA marking  (not including the GSM module which is presumably already approved).
Technically the exemption for development kits is limited to professional users and for some strange reason hams.

Edit, I've asked them the question.

They advertise that it can be used in the UK (but not Lichetenstein for some reason). If using it here would be illegal, the ASA might be interested.

[Specmaster]

Heads up for UK buyers looking for 150MHz 4 channel scope, this one just appeared in my search box on Shpock, its in Redditch though, £150 or offer

https://www.shpock.com/en-gb/i/YPFCBgUNjGp9c4Xa/tektronix-2445a-4-channel-150mhz-oscilloscope

[mnementh]

I suffered a setback in my recovery yesterday which is why I wasn't on Discord. I'll spare everyone the gory details but basically I noticed something Saturday that set off alarm bells. So I decided I better get to the ER and get it checked out. Turns out my concern was not unjustified but was not as severe as I thought. But they did discover something new and minor that needs attention. So long story short I have to call the dr this week and start the process all over again. But I suspect it will work out fine and is just a bump in the road towards total recovery.

And believe it or not I was in and out of the ER in under 4 hours which is considered a "short" stay.       

Man that really sucks, but it also serves as a reminder to us all, not to do something that you really know you shouldn't attempt, especially after a medical procedure. As we get older, our bodies take longer to repair themselves, so please really do take the time to relax, give those mocking bits of kit the two fingered salute, chuck a tea towel or something over them to shut them up. And only uncover them when you really have recovered fully.

Take care Mike, you know that you're in for the usual round of piss taking (pun accidental) and nagging from your friends here, but that only because of one thing, we love you, so don't rush things, take your time getting back on those benches again, please.

I am taking it very easy and relaxed. I haven't done anything I shouldn't. I haven't even worked on the Heath VTVM which is no physical strain at all.

Lemme put it this way. I like cats. I wish I could have one but landlord has a strict no pets policy. But I don't like one strapped to my leg. 

"9 out of 10 longshoremen prefer a kitten with a bowl of cream." ~mom

No, seriously... best wishes for a quick and full recovery. You've been the club sloshy-pants long enough, buddy.

mnem
I'm still not sure why longshoremen; but it seems appropriate here...

[bd139]

Heads up for UK buyers looking for 150MHz 4 channel scope, this one just appeared in my search box on Shpock, its in Redditch though, £150 or offer

https://www.shpock.com/en-gb/i/YPFCBgUNjGp9c4Xa/tektronix-2445a-4-channel-150mhz-oscilloscope

That’s a pretty good deal actually 

Would be tempted if my air con wasn’t bust 

[mnementh]

Anyone here fancy making their own mobile phone? Well now you can apparently https://circuitmess.com/ringo/ at a cost of just £95 for us Brits.

CAD$220 for a crappy phone/microwave noise generator with a shrunk-down WindowsCE UI that you have to build yourself, plus a cheap LiPo cell in your pocket and all with zero safety vetting cuz "experimental/hobbyist electronics"...? What could possibly go wrong... 

mnem
Alien anal probes...? Where do I sign up..?!?

[mnementh]

K... so who's the guilty party...?

mnem
 

[mnementh]

On The Bench This Morning...



I am quietly soldering things that look like they should go BOOM!

mnem
very quietly, because SWMBO has informed me that if I wake up the kids by drilling and tapping the aluminum bits like I wanted to, she would twist my nutsack off with my own Vise-Grips...

[mnementh]

   

"China-Direct" and "QC" do not belong in the same sentence...

The one major weakness of the brand of cheap android smartpwn I buy for myself and my wife is a dearth of accessories like molded cases and screen protectors; you tend to have very few choices, and most of those you get are simply variants made by the same one or three manufacturers.

Case in point: this tempered glass screen protector. Bought off Amazon US because not available in Canada, so waited 2 weeks; it is nonetheless a popular, well-rated brand (their protectors for more popular phones haves thousands of positive ratings) with 3-D profile (edges curved like today's screens) and thick, dust-absorbing gel adhesive for a perfect install every time unless you just don't bother to clean the screen using the included install kit.

Except... the adhesive is on the wrong fucking side.  And no, not just on this one, but all 3 in the package.    And as you can see in the 2nd pic, the edges don't completely seal down as a result. 



And worse... this is the only brand available right now; I can't even get the brand I put on it when I gave it to her for our Anniversary, which was made correctly but has done its job, and sacrificed itself to save her screen. So even if I return them (which I may still do with the remainder of the package, because "Muther-fucking assholes!!!" ), what am I going to put on the damned phone that's any better...?

mnem
 

[bd139]

I have never used a screen protector 

[McBryce]

Neither have I. Protecting Gorilla-glass with more Gorilla-glass always seemed like a pretty futile exercise to me.

McBryce.

[tggzzz]

I have never used a screen protector 

Neither have I.

I have, however replaced the screen on my Tesco Hudl 2 twice When in my backpack, it is now inside a padded laptop case.

That leaves bums as the major danger. Are any screen protectors advertised as "bum proof"?

[bd139]

That’d just be a crap screen. We’ve had a few iPads here and they take a hell of a beating and nearly look new after 4-5 years.

[Brumby]

That leaves bums as the major danger. Are any screen protectors advertised as "bum proof"?

I follow a simple rule here....  Don't stick your phone in a back pocket.



Has worked for me for a couple of decades.

[beanflying]

Touch wood apart from my old Motorola Bag phone which suffered a seawater flooding issue (very very long story  ) I am yet to damage a screen or break a phone in a few decades so  you are all BUTCHERS 

A little while later and as the TDF gets underway for the cruise to Paris.....

Jaws ready to head to the printer 5, 6, and 8mm 1/2 rod/bolt cut outs and see how the fixed jaw survives. 8 magnets a jaw 4x0.9mm

[Robert763]

Anyone here fancy making their own mobile phone? Well now you can apparently https://circuitmess.com/ringo/ at a cost of just £95 for us Brits.

Plus about £5,000 to get it EMC tested for UKCA marking  (not including the GSM module which is presumably already approved).
Technically the exemption for development kits is limited to professional users and for some strange reason hams.

Edit, I've asked them the question.

They advertise that it can be used in the UK (but not Lichetenstein for some reason). If using it here would be illegal, the ASA might be interested.

AFAIK ASA do cover NOT web adverts. If they don't come up with an answer it would be Citizens Advice. Not that they have any budget to do the extra work CE/UKCA enforcement requires. They were just gven the responsibility 

[Robert763]

Neither have I. Protecting Gorilla-glass with more Gorilla-glass always seemed like a pretty futile exercise to me.

McBryce.

Actually if stuck together with a non rigid adhesive it adds a lot of extra strength. That is why windshields and bulletproof glass are laminated.

[tggzzz]

The Tesco Hudl 2 got the basics right: full HD screen and no crapware that needed uninstalling. As you would expect from Tesco, the price was low (IIRC ~£120 in ~2015). I paid over the odds for the replacement screen: £20

It is much too large to go in a back pocket or shirt pocket or even many jacket pockets. The bum problem arises when sitting down - especially if someone has created a booby trap by concealing it under paper.

[bd139]

I actually sat on an iPad Pro and bent it. It bent back. 

Neither have I. Protecting Gorilla-glass with more Gorilla-glass always seemed like a pretty futile exercise to me.

McBryce.

Actually if stuck together with a non rigid adhesive it adds a lot of extra strength. That is why windshields and bulletproof glass are laminated.

Yes but you don’t really want absolute strength for screens. They’re not designed to catch bricks or bullets like windscreens and bullet proof glass.

You need maximum surface hardness with some ability to bend. Most of the things that screw up screens are tiny sharp impacts, scratches and bending in real usage. Thus you end up with various ceramic glass hybrids rather than laminates. All laminates do in this circumstance is chip irreparably.