Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

Ok here comes the comparison: multiple logic gates (74AC04 one ic) either all combined and resistively split to individual outputs or individual gate with series resistor for output. There's a difference but it's not much.
The shape of the histogram is interesting though (just realized it's scaled different  But individual still has a one bin sticking up...). 
Resistive:

Individual:

Not what I suggested. Individual ICs per path please, and their PSUs decoupled by individual RC filters.
And HC instead of AC.

Note: for low phase noise/jitter *everything* must be proper, not just a single trick. The number of relevant dirt effects increases by one order of magnitude for every step in precision required. 
Anyway, small changes give you the chance of learning step by step. 

Yes... please make changes one at a time and report back. I like all the pretty screen-grabs; they add a splash of color that really brightens things up in here.

mnem
 

[factory]

Quick update on the trigger problem with the hp 1801A & 1821A plug-ins, that came with my 180A oscilloscope.
Will do a more detailed post another night, but the problem turned out to be a failed transistor in the 1801A vertical plug-in, on the sync amplifier board.

Anyway it's now working OK using both internal timebase triggers (main & delayed timebases).



David

[Specmaster]

It turns out that when I when won the eBay auction, using Gixen, on the Fluke 85, I had 4 other bidders trying to beat me and I think I won by being crafty. I say that because I discovered that in the closing few seconds I actually placed 2 bids, and it's the first time that I decided to also make use of Gixen's mirror site and arranging for a delay between the bids, hoping that the last bid would be enough to secure the item and thus not leave sufficient time for the other bidders to respond, regardless of if they were also using Gixen or bidding live. Of course, it might just be that nobody else was going to bid higher, but somehow I seriously doubt that, look at it, apart from the leads, it looks mint, and every other one I have been bidding on always went higher, sometimes a lot higher.

One thing I'm fairly confident about is that I get it and put on my standards devices, it will prove to be dead nuts, as Flukes just don't seem to drift much at all. Keeping fingers crossed that I've not just released Murphy to give me a "Gotcha" 

[mnementh]

Ehhh... the 85 is a 4000 count meter; 3 3/4 digit display. Essentially a 83 with a few added widgets. It probably is not on every dickweed and his crazy aunt's watchlist like anything FLUKE 87.

mnem
Or, you got lucky. It happens.

[Vince]

3)  Defective probe calibrator, shows 300mVdc and no AC.

This seems to be normal. The (or better the calibrator of my 11401) is active during Utility->Probes only.

WOW !! Thanks for that !! A one liner cpomment I could easily have missed when skimming 2+ pages worth of TEA ! Glad I took the time to read each and every comment ! 

Thanks a lot !  Indeed that is it !!    My scope works fine, no problem with the calibration signal 


Se guys ? This 11K scope is so exotic taht even a bloody probe calibrator does not work as it does on any other scope ! 

Ran the probe compensation routine from the Utility menu, displays all kinds of weird and wonderful things on the screen , then eventually settle, displays a  leading edge... but just a leading edge.. you can not see a square wave in full, and you are NOT given control over the time base, so you can't adjust that... you are given a leading edge and that's it.. why would you want to see the signal fully ? What do you care what the frequency of the signal is ? No sir !    All you care about / need is a leading edge, so the scope gives you that.... the rest is just distraction ! 

so yeah.... thanks a lot for your comment, my scope works just fine in fact ! 

Of course upon completion of the compensation routine, the scope complained that "Deskew" failed, whatever that means. I guess my generic probes are not good enough to make the scope happy... probably needs fancy probes custom designed for the vertical plugins... the BNC connectors do have extra pins to communicate with the scope / plugin...

[Specmaster]

Ehhh... the 85 is a 4000 count meter; 3 3/4 digit display. Essentially a 83 with a few added widgets. It probably is not on every dickweed and his crazy aunt's watchlist like anything FLUKE 87.

mnem
Or, you got lucky. It happens.

Yeah, I know, it's only a 3 3/4 digit meter, I already have 3, 4.5 digit handhelds, of which 1 is also 5.5 digits on DCV, 2 are Extechs and the other a Brymen. I already have 2 Fluke 27 (3.5 digits) and this 85 is a major step in age and design over those with its yellow bumper.

There were 26 watchers on the 85, 87's do attract more watchers I know and also of course a higher price, beyond my modest means I'm afraid.

[med6753]

Ehhh... the 85 is a 4000 count meter; 3 3/4 digit display. Essentially a 83 with a few added widgets. It probably is not on every dickweed and his crazy aunt's watchlist like anything FLUKE 87.

mnem
Or, you got lucky. It happens.

Yeah, I know, it's only a 3 3/4 digit meter, I already have 3, 4.5 digit handhelds, of which 1 is also 5.5 digits on DCV, 2 are Extechs and the other a Brymen. I already have 2 Fluke 27 (3.5 digits) and this 85 is a major step in age and design over those with its yellow bumper.

There were 26 watchers on the 85, 87's do attract more watchers I know and also of course a higher price, beyond my modest means I'm afraid.

I think what mnem is trying to say....but being subtle about it....is that you brought home the ugly girl rather than the beauty queen. 

[mnementh]

The ugly girl who knows how to please... And wants to. 😋

And now you know why I went for the 189, when 1st gen 87s were bringing $50-100 more. 

mnem
 

[bd139]

Dunno. My 87 is a bit wonky. It’s a few counts off and has a tizzy when it’s time to go to sleep and leaves garbage all over the screen. Need to look at it. After the 5381A which is currently mutant counter.

[Cerebus]

Shahriar's got a new video up:



Edit: I had to double check that he hadn't stolen my cat.



White blaze - check. Sassy expression - check. Fur colour - slightly lighter. Also cat still here on sofa.

[Specmaster]

Ehhh... the 85 is a 4000 count meter; 3 3/4 digit display. Essentially a 83 with a few added widgets. It probably is not on every dickweed and his crazy aunt's watchlist like anything FLUKE 87.

mnem
Or, you got lucky. It happens.

Yeah, I know, it's only a 3 3/4 digit meter, I already have 3, 4.5 digit handhelds, of which 1 is also 5.5 digits on DCV, 2 are Extechs and the other a Brymen. I already have 2 Fluke 27 (3.5 digits) and this 85 is a major step in age and design over those with its yellow bumper.

There were 26 watchers on the 85, 87's do attract more watchers I know and also of course a higher price, beyond my modest means I'm afraid.

I think what mnem is trying to say....but being subtle about it....is that you brought home the ugly girl rather than the beauty queen. 

Hmm, still not exactly 100% sure what you're driving at here, the 83 and 85 are identical to look at, the 87 differs only because of the extra little yellow button which puts it into 4.5 digit mode but still it remains a 4,000 count instrument and the specification for 85 and 87 are the same, even down to the accuracy % and number of digits tolerance. The 87v has a slightly different appearance.

So to my mind, why not have an 85 as opposed to 87 and save a few $ unless that extra 4.5 digit button is mission critical, but how can it be really when it's still only a 4000 count?  Am I missing something here 

[mnementh]

It's the difference between a GTO and a mid-60s Tempest... both have the same look, but everybody wants the GTO, hence it demands a higher price.

mnem
But the discerning buyer waits for a 69 B-Body Chrysler with a 440 Wedge...

[Zucca]

Introducing:



my new US Lab version beta 0.01.
about 8 meters x 3 meters, I can dance tarantella now.. uh feet, inches, sorry whaaat?

A few infos:

1) Relocation from EU to USA. On the 29th March I packed up everything. It arrived here on the 17th of freaking July.... they told me corona times... would you believe them? Muppeeeetsssssss
2) the mains here in US are a shit show, I already found and corrected few errors in the electrical system in my home. Safety forget about it... but for 0.0924 €/KWh I can't complain too much...
3) First project. Spectrum Modem IPV6/64 and pfSense... Tsunami of shit coming... anyway I want and need to learn the IPV6 jazz better...
4) Second: Wireup/Setup a 220VAC 60HZ Eu/Schuko (thanks to the Germans!) plugs in my US home... this will be a fun one... do you guys wants some videos series about it? If you push me I could start a YT channel...
5) Good news, shitty blue CAT5 running in the entire home... will put a switch behind those old telephone lines...
6) What I have to do with all 10 Kms of coax cables they wire up in almost every freaking room? I do and not want to have a SAT system and decoders... What I should do with them?

Thanks for all who asked about me and sent PM!

PS: I can't believe it I am back..... ahh finally again TEAAAAAAA

[mnementh]

Now I know why my Aorus blew up.   

bd... was GigaByte the gig you just quit from...? Might explain the fireworks...

mnem
" ¹/_{2 *} : Made of fire; burned my house down. Would not recommend."

[Cymaphore]

2) the mains here in US are a shit show, I already found and corrected few errors in the electrical system in my home. Safety forget about it... but for 0.0924 €/KWh I can't complain too much...

Could you provide a picture of the consumer unit? I'm always curious. :-)

Be careful, some of the NFPA70 practices are quite different from EN. For example, usually the installation cables don't get RCD protection, because it's done via GFCI socket outlets. That's not a fault like it would be in most of Europe, it's a different safety vs. availability philosophy.

[mansaxel]

If you go inside one of these (look in attachment 1), then you might find one of these. (attachment 2).  Currently on vacation, and what do I do? I step right into TE. This is Sweden's largest coastal fortress, sporting 6 off 152mm BL guns Model 1952.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/9NBqVyNSPnE?

Also, last Friday, I did this summers last jazz gig at the outdoor venue on the island I live. By now I'm pretty confident in my little 70s setup,  all-analog signal chain with a good microphone chest. I know I can make this chamber music jazz setting work to rave reviews.  When I arrived, everything was occupied by punters watching a few Swedes lose some kind of sportsball event to a number of Canadians. So, the band had arrived by the time that was over, and they got to set up in parallel to me. As we where wheeling the subs (JBL Eon 1x18" active) in they said "You can leave those in the car" and went on talking about how they'd physically unplugged things because sound engineers don't listen to their opinions. "Yeah", I thought. "This is going to be an interesting exercise in people skills." Anyway, I said "I need them to support the fullrange speakers, so they'll go in".  Then there were questions on the input list, which was deemed "too much":

1	Kick	ev PL33
2	OH L	Neumann KM85i
3	OH R	Neumann KM85i
4	Bass	DI from amp
5	Guitar	Studio Projects B1
6	Tenor Sax	Studio Projects B1
7	Announce	Sennheiser E822S

I got around that by saying "If I need to put the microphones in it will look stupid if I try to do that during the concert. Let's be prepared." which was accepted. Then, we did soundcheck, and they were largely happy. After the concert, people in the audience came up to me and thanked me for doing my "job" (it's strictly pro bono) well. Also, the band came and apologised for being grumpy before the gig.  You do win some.

[beanflying]

Time to go Postal is nigh 50+ minutes of crap elevator music and repeat alternative methods to book a jab that DON'T F'ing work and sorry we have lots of calls.... 

[mansaxel]

Time to go Postal is nigh 50+ minutes of crap elevator music and repeat alternative methods to book a jab that DON'T F'ing work and sorry we have lots of calls.... 

Here, one does get to play whack-a-mole with the app, because it batch-collects free appointment slots and then when you've found one it promptly turns out to be taken. One of those systemic problems that only manifests when you've got insane active user numbers. Not likely to show up in "testing".

The first few days of 50yo+ vaccinations (we did the general population in decade batches, starting with 70+ and going down in age) was basically impossible to use. I ended up getting one shot in the old meatpacking district, where a night club has been converted, and the second one in a school gym in the projects. My wife, the enabler, got her first one in a church social center 50km north of the town, and the second in a convention center.

[tautech]

Time to go Postal is nigh 50+ minutes of crap elevator music and repeat alternative methods to book a jab that DON'T F'ing work and sorry we have lots of calls.... 

Ma had jab bean ?
As carer you should have got one when she got hers.

Wife got called up to have hers next week after some health issues a year or two back so I’m toddling along too expecting to get the stab too although nothing official has been organised.

[Andrew_Debbie]

eBay UK find of the day:

Ex BBC AvoMeter 8 mk 5  spares or repair for the bargain price of £399     

Link if you need some amusment.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402807446887

[beanflying]

Time to go Postal is nigh 50+ minutes of crap elevator music and repeat alternative methods to book a jab that DON'T F'ing work and sorry we have lots of calls.... 

Ma had jab bean ?
As carer you should have got one when she got hers.

Wife got called up to have hers next week after some health issues a year or two back so I’m toddling along too expecting to get the stab too although nothing official has been organised.

Mum has had her second nearly a month back. This is our Federal Farces cockup with ordering enough for the bulk of the population. And after 90 minutes and a complete stroke of luck I got the single appointment from likely a cancellation locally in the next 6 weeks 

[beanflying]

Roll on the conspiracy nutters too  Response email address....

[Specmaster]

eBay UK find of the day:

Ex BBC AvoMeter 8 mk 5  spares or repair for the bargain price of £399     

Link if you need some amusment.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402807446887

There are 23 watchers on it already 

[Andrew_Debbie]

Time to go Postal is nigh 50+ minutes of crap elevator music and repeat alternative methods to book a jab that DON'T F'ing work and sorry we have lots of calls.... 

That is backwards.     

Here they rang US to tell us when to come in.      Debbie was a few weeks ahead of me at a vaccination centre.   Mine was at the local GP.

[BU508A]

eBay UK find of the day:

Ex BBC AvoMeter 8 mk 5  spares or repair for the bargain price of £399     

Link if you need some amusment.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402807446887

There are 23 watchers on it already 

They want to see, if somebody is stupid enough to buy it.