Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bitseeker]

OK, on +100V external supply. Reconnected the vertical amplifier. Brought up scope. All PSU voltages OK. Have trace but no vertical. At least some progress...maybe. Going to let it sit a while before troubleshooting the vertical. The external supply sez load is 313mA. That seems to be too low.

Wow, med. That scope looks like it was just assembled and sent to your house.

[bitseeker]

      https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07GTD2JXP/

...

I'll put the felt furniture pads (usually one or two extra, and sometimes doubled up for extra thickness as they do compress a fair bit) along the back edge, then the rubber ones along the front. That way when it's lying on the bench it stays put... but if I need to slide it a bit or pull it out to get to the back, I can just lift on the front edge and it glides on the felt pads.

I like that combo idea. Very pragmatic.

[bitseeker]

Posting this modern clock because it has IPS displays that can display NIXIE, HP dotted and Scope tube clock digits.. or any other you like.  (dragons, smurfs)
Fonts you create by 240x135 bitmaps
Nixie is harder and harder to get, so this could be it.
Some nice quality too

Yeah, it's pretty neat. Techmoan did a video on it a few months ago and I ordered one in a hurry to beat the inevitable Techmoan effect on the prices. I succeeded in catching it at a reasonable price. However, either the seller or the supplier (or both) got greedy and my order was never shipped.

To top it off, the seller didn't refund me. I had to file a case to get my money back.

Buying one now is probably safer, but the prices seem to have stayed pretty high.

[bitseeker]

Found this little fellah in our local ebay 'Marktplaats'
was there for a while, looking at me with its snoopy eyes.. noone saw it i guess.. well what can you do.
so low balled it... and here it is 

Awesome, a 3469 buddy. I have the "A" version.

I've got another slightly different version of the 3469B in my repair queue, seems they updated the digital panel meter at least three times. I suspect the DPM part might be the same as the 3431A/B/C they sold separately, just never seen one of those advertised at a sensible price.



David

Cool! Definitely let me know when you get that working. I don't think I've seen that display before.

[bitseeker]

      https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07GTD2JXP/

I'm likely to use either depending on what I have; tho I try to keep a sheet or two of these on hand at all times.

The emphasis on "try" there being because sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night, mistakes it for chocolate and then all bets are off.

You would think so, but the smell of "cheap Chinese Rubber product" as you remove it from the baggie will remind you what it really is long before it gets anywhere your lips. 

Ah, eau de Harbor Freight.

[bitseeker]

ok......which one of you knuckleheads bought  sniped my hp2590a for 10 bucks?


(just kiddin'......i did not bid.)

I stood back, too.

-Pat

Apologies, I talked myself into buying the hp 2590A, total was $91 including shipping.
It was mostly designed by the Dymec division of hp, apart from the bought-in 30MHz IF strip, according to the history here; https://www.hpmemoryproject.org/timeline/jerry_collins/jerry_collins_memory_150321.htm#chapter7

The 'Bay be gettin' a might crowded these days. Too much TEAction.

[beanflying]

Call me impressed with Chinese Engineering for today at least on my recent XY Table buy. $160AUD or under $120 USD delivered from within Oz got me 20kg of very nicely machined Cast Iron, Hardened Gibb Adjusters and double thrust bearings on the screws  Haven't checked the backlash yet but very low even on a 4mm pitch lead.

Somewhere in there is a Reseller margin, Aliexpress fees, shipping from china then freight to me from 1000km away on Toll. 

[cyclin_al]

These recent few additions to the marking out kit are surprisingly accurate. I ran the calipers over them and tested against some blocks  The bit where they fail slightly in in the 90 degree guide bit but check it against a known square if you need to. I am considering taking the long one off the edge guide and just using it as a ruler and using a square against it if needed.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000338734447.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.19574c4dWOUKXs

Once again, bean is a successful enabler.  Ordered....

This reminds me that I need stair gauges for my framing square, the one thing this ali store does not seem to have.  One of my house repairs is to replace the stairs for the main entry door.  It is at the point where it can no longer wait till next year ... sigh 

Use the standard stair formula: 2xRise + Going = 600mm + 50mm
By adding additional nosing to treads you can tweak overall going measurements to fit best in the space available.

Transfer calcs to a roofing square to get the vertical and horizontal riser and tread angles (plumb and floor cuts) and the hypotenuse is the pitch or the stair stringers.....quite easy really. 

Exactly that.  Once it is setup, the stair gauges attached to the framing/roofing square allow the square to be used as a repeatable pattern.
For multiple steps on 3 sets of stringers, it is a way of making sure each marking is the same as the others without having to fiddle with measuring each time.
Just slide, mark and repeat.

[capt bullshot]

Are the unisolated (earth shield) wires aluminum?
Otherwise, this looks pretty normal, you'd find these boxes with wiring like this in most medium aged houses here. Except for the shielded red cables.

Edit: now that I've read the whole lot of posts between the original and mine, I know better. I quite looks alike a mains junction box, but isn't. So you won't find it in a typical house.

[capt bullshot]

What is the general consensus about this boot anchor, how low should I go  ?

https://www.ebay.de/itm/124844098849

Interesting item, but the price tag is defective.

[capt bullshot]

Posting this modern clock because it has IPS displays that can display NIXIE, HP dotted and Scope tube clock digits.. or any other you like.  (dragons, smurfs)
Fonts you create by 240x135 bitmaps
Nixie is harder and harder to get, so this could be it.
Some nice quality too

Nah, that's not the real thing.

[med6753]

OK, on +100V external supply. Reconnected the vertical amplifier. Brought up scope. All PSU voltages OK. Have trace but no vertical. At least some progress...maybe. Going to let it sit a while before troubleshooting the vertical. The external supply sez load is 313mA. That seems to be too low.

Wow, med. That scope looks like it was just assembled and sent to your house.

Too bad the internals weren't "just assembled".  This puppy has been one tough case so far. 

The exterior was actually filthy when I got it but it cleaned up well. Same with the covers and they don't need paint.

[mansaxel]

Nah, that's not the real thing.

Also, as I commented on the video, a clock that does not talk NTP or PTP (and no %&€&%(#"%€ SNTP, if I may, please. ), or has a GNSS rx, should at least have a 10MHz/1PPS ref input so it'll actually show the time instead of an opinion. Seriously underwhelmed by most such designer efforts.

[bitseeker]

OK, on +100V external supply. Reconnected the vertical amplifier. Brought up scope. All PSU voltages OK. Have trace but no vertical. At least some progress...maybe. Going to let it sit a while before troubleshooting the vertical. The external supply sez load is 313mA. That seems to be too low.

Wow, med. That scope looks like it was just assembled and sent to your house.

Too bad the internals weren't "just assembled".  This puppy has been one tough case so far. 

The exterior was actually filthy when I got it but it cleaned up well. Same with the covers and they don't need paint.

Yeah, I saw after I posted that the transistors blew again. Hope you get it to behave. It sure did clean up well.

[bitseeker]

Nah, that's not the real thing.

Also, as I commented on the video, a clock that does not talk NTP or PTP (and no %&€&%(#"%€ SNTP, if I may, please. ), or has a GNSS rx, should at least have a 10MHz/1PPS ref input so it'll actually show the time instead of an opinion. Seriously underwhelmed by most such designer efforts.

That and the additional possibilities (if it wasn't a closed system) are why I didn't make a second attempt to get one. If I'm going to have simulated Nixies, then why not make full use of those screens when they're not being a clock. (As if I had time for another project. Nice thought experiment, though.)

[tonyalbus]

Nah, that's not the real thing.

Also, as I commented on the video, a clock that does not talk NTP or PTP (and no %&€&%(#"%€ SNTP, if I may, please. ), or has a GNSS rx, should at least have a 10MHz/1PPS ref input so it'll actually show the time instead of an opinion. Seriously underwhelmed by most such designer efforts.

It does have a ESP32 with WiFi... and the software comes with some sort of undescribed tool with a bootloader file... maybe someone smart can make it sync NTP over Internet
could be interesting project for when more information is available

[dl6lr]

Piss up a rope... How did you catch med on camera?

SCNR

[tautech]

These recent few additions to the marking out kit are surprisingly accurate. I ran the calipers over them and tested against some blocks  The bit where they fail slightly in in the 90 degree guide bit but check it against a known square if you need to. I am considering taking the long one off the edge guide and just using it as a ruler and using a square against it if needed.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000338734447.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.19574c4dWOUKXs

Once again, bean is a successful enabler.  Ordered....

This reminds me that I need stair gauges for my framing square, the one thing this ali store does not seem to have.  One of my house repairs is to replace the stairs for the main entry door.  It is at the point where it can no longer wait till next year ... sigh 

Use the standard stair formula: 2xRise + Going = 600mm + 50mm
By adding additional nosing to treads you can tweak overall going measurements to fit best in the space available.

Transfer calcs to a roofing square to get the vertical and horizontal riser and tread angles (plumb and floor cuts) and the hypotenuse is the pitch or the stair stringers.....quite easy really. 

Exactly that.  Once it is setup, the stair gauges attached to the framing/roofing square allow the square to be used as a repeatable pattern.
For multiple steps on 3 sets of stringers, it is a way of making sure each marking is the same as the others without having to fiddle with measuring each time.
Just slide, mark and repeat.

A few decades back, newlywed and on the bones of our bums a chap 1km down the road had a small business making top quality wooden staircases, straight flights and spiral.
For a few years I did a short nightshift of some 3-4hrs for extra dosh mainly just timber prep of treads, risers and stringers.....cutting, machining, and running everything through a 3ft wide door sander. Routed the tread and riser grooves in hundreds of stringers too.
Twas a good little earner too until kiddies came along when I had to be home to help but a few years later processed all his wooden glue blocks and 5 different sizes of wedges on my own saw bench and some days roped the kids in to help. Some weeks four 200l drums of wedges and glue blocks were processed on mostly evenings and wet days.
But when pop was terminally ill had to give it all up to concentrate on running the family business.

[bsdphk]

Looks like I've been using a quite frankly incorrect ruler for the last 10 years. This might explain a few problems! 



Order top to bottom: New BH, Old BH, cheap chinese metal ruler.

0.3% is well within the expected creep over ten years for cheap plastic products, so it is very likely that it was more precise when you bought it.

Temperature-cycling is the main driver of such creep, but other environmental factors, including humidity and VOC air pollution also helps.

If you want long term dimensional stability, you need to pick your polymer carefully, start with ABS:  50 year old LEGO bricks are still on the mark.

PS: No, you can not buy Invar rulers:  36% nickel would give you allergy in no time.

[capt bullshot]

Nah, that's not the real thing.

Also, as I commented on the video, a clock that does not talk NTP or PTP (and no %&€&%(#"%€ SNTP, if I may, please. ), or has a GNSS rx, should at least have a 10MHz/1PPS ref input so it'll actually show the time instead of an opinion. Seriously underwhelmed by most such designer efforts.

Fully agree. My (diy) clocks usually understand DCF77 (built-in receicer or input for demodulated pulses), my proprietary CAN "homebus" protocol, GPS PPS + NMEA, or NTP (broadcast by a local server).

[med6753]

Replaced burnt cathode resistors and installed my last spare 6080 regulator tube. The Type 547 is now back on it's internal +100V supply. The vertical is still dead and will remain that way until parts arrive.

In between the smoke and flames I did notice another problem that needs attention. After about 20 or so minutes powered up the horizontal suddenly goes into something like X5 or X10 sweep mag all by itself. And won't go back to X1 until powered down and cooled. So something can't stand the heat in the kitchen. Going to troubleshoot that today. More later.

[BU508A]

Replaced burnt cathode resistors and installed my last spare 6080 regulator tube. The Type 547 is now back on it's internal +100V supply. The vertical is still dead and will remain that way until parts arrive.

In between the smoke and flames I did notice another problem that needs attention. After about 20 or so minutes powered up the horizontal suddenly goes into something like X5 or X10 sweep mag all by itself. And won't go back to X1 until powered down and cooled. So something can't stand the heat in the kitchen. Going to troubleshoot that today. More later.

May I suggest, that you are monitoring the voltage (+100V) and the current at the same time with two meters?
If something strange is going to happen, you'll probably see a rise of the current.

[med6753]

May I suggest, that you are monitoring the voltage (+100V) and the current at the same time with two meters?
If something strange is going to happen, you'll probably see a rise of the current.

Excellent suggestion but I don't have a current probe and there's no simple way of breaking the circuit and inserting an mA meter. With the vertical circuit dead the +100V is sourcing about 300mA and is capable of 400mA. I think I can risk it for now although there's always the possibility that could come back and bite me in the rear. But once I restore the vertical circuit my plan is to put the scope back on the external supply and run it for several hours in the configuration to make absolutely certain all intermittents have been fixed. 

[bd139]

There are three resistors between unregulated and regulated paths (R676-678). Two at 47 ohms and one at 5K. Can stick voltmeter across one of them (probably one of the 47 ohms ones as they are connected to the regulators cathode) as a current sample. V/R=I. Then double that as there are two to get the current.

[DC1MC]

What is the general consensus about this boot anchor, how low should I go  ?

https://www.ebay.de/itm/124844098849

Interesting item, but the price tag is defective.

Sholud we do a group buy, you can keep it at your place and I'll bring the stuff to calibrate, or viceversa and split the costs for a 300 offer or something ?

 Cheers,
 DC1MC