Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-england-fan-has-already-got-euro-2020-winners-tattoo-before-final-agai-20210709

Ah yes the greater spotted retard. Normally found in the natural habitat of suburban small towns. Decorates their house with red and white flags, has a trampoline in a garden of yellow grass, cigarette ends and dog shit. Can be identified from a distance by two-thirds of a Ford Mondeo in the middle of the front lawn, two bikes and a smoking fat woman with a bad tan sitting on the door step.

*has PTSD flashback*   Fuck you, bd...

mnem
*makes mental note to actually go through with on-hold plan of firebombing ex-neighbors into oblivion*

[mnementh]

Oh it’s a whole world of soldering goodness.

I’ve used Pace and Weller stuff professionally and all that T12 and 837 faff from amateur side and the Metcals are somewhere else entirely. It’s the only iron I’ve seen that can go from soldering nuts into bolts to 0805’s in five seconds without changing the tip 

Just may be one day I'll get around to testing that for myself, but seriously, from my perspective, my experience of T12's is fantastic. Yes, I did have that duff controller that made my tip glow cherry red, but after that was replaced FOC, I have not had any problems. Perhaps if I was to leave the iron switched on all day, like it would be in a production mode, then I might, but as with all my gear, it just gets switched on when I need it and then if I'm not going to be using it again for a while, switch it off. With something like a 10-second wait until it's ready for use, that seems like a sensible way to use it and help to reduce my carbon footprint. 

Then you are a good candidate for my method of MetCal acquisition... put it on your eBay search and wait for a MX500/MX500xx power brick to come along in the $50-100 range. The handsets can be a bit trickier... but if you buy the brick right, $90-ish for a new one will not be too painful.

Seriously... it's like the difference between tighty-whitey Froot-of-the-Looms and a good pair of silk boxers... *licks lips and sighs*

mnem
 

[mansaxel]

Is Finnish welding anything like a Finnish suicide? 

Kemppi welders are quite special. It feels (literally, the stick is buzzing with molten metal happyness) that the current source actively encourages the welding seam to be good, especially the older 3-phase welding transformer/rectifiers.  They have the slogan "The joy of welding" and I certainly concur.

[bd139]

Oh it’s a whole world of soldering goodness.

I’ve used Pace and Weller stuff professionally and all that T12 and 837 faff from amateur side and the Metcals are somewhere else entirely. It’s the only iron I’ve seen that can go from soldering nuts into bolts to 0805’s in five seconds without changing the tip 

Just may be one day I'll get around to testing that for myself, but seriously, from my perspective, my experience of T12's is fantastic. Yes, I did have that duff controller that made my tip glow cherry red, but after that was replaced FOC, I have not had any problems. Perhaps if I was to leave the iron switched on all day, like it would be in a production mode, then I might, but as with all my gear, it just gets switched on when I need it and then if I'm not going to be using it again for a while, switch it off. With something like a 10-second wait until it's ready for use, that seems like a sensible way to use it and help to reduce my carbon footprint. 

Then you are a good candidate for my method of MetCal acquisition... put it on your eBay search and wait for a MX500/MX500xx power brick to come along in the $50-100 range. The handsets can be a bit trickier... but if you buy the brick right, $90-ish for a new one will not be too painful.

Seriously... it's like the difference between tighty-whitey Froot-of-the-Looms and a good pair of silk boxers... *licks lips and sighs*

mnem
 

I prefer the analogy of

Metcal = Christina Hendricks

T12 = 80 year old stripper.

[Saskia]

The more I look at the battery powered car being the savoir of the planet, the more I doubt that is true, just a huge money making scheme. Lithium itself is really nasty for the environment, causing bad health for the miners.  And uses so much water during its extraction that it is already in certain countries, causing massive water shortages and every living thing on the planet depends on an adequate supply, more important than food in many ways. As mining is ramped up to meet the demand as the world's cars are switching over to batteries from fossil fuels, the demand for water will skyrocket and could in some locations actually threaten life itself.

Then there is the vast amount of shipping the Lithium around the world for processing, before even more shipping to the Far East for battery production, then even more shipping round the world to the various vehicle manufacturers, which will then result in even more shipping round the world of the finished vehicles to customers.

Then there is the problem with the charging points globally, most house are not suitable for electric charging points, especially in cities as garages and driveways are in main few and people have to park on the street, where numerous charging points would create another set of hazards in its own right both for pedestrians and motorist alike. Then there is the massive amount of electricity generation globally that must be done to enable people to be able to charge their electric vehicles, meaning more and more power stations are required. Even more copper needs to be mined, transported to the factories for processing then sent round the world again to the cable manufacturers

All the above could well possibly generate far more C02 and other emissions. Is the answer to ban all massive fuel guzzling engines and make the smaller and even more efficient?

Yep. As I’ve said before, coming up with new technology to continue our bad behaviour is never going to help anyone.

We need to build our lives and communities around zero travel and use energy that remains for supply and maintenance only. Oh and reduce our expectation of stuff. No jumping on a plane to Spain to get drunk. No three mile commute in a SUV to drop a kid off at school. No shitty disposable toys. No fashion industry. No hyped up android tablets on wheels.

Feet and bicycles are about the only thing that scale environmentally.

But at the end of the day the whole planet runs on “fuck you I’ve got mine” so it’s just going to be suffering and chaos as we go down the spiral.

Well, as long as the population continues to grow we will not get the pollution under control, no matter what.

If you really want to get down to preserving the planet, you would have to eliminate roughly 3/4 of its population. Naturally this is a no can do, even I have ethical concerns ...

[mansaxel]

If I ever had a pet armadillo, I'd name him Steely Dan. (Someone will get it...)

*Nods approvingly, in both senses of the name appearing in popular culture*

[Cerebus]

If you really want to get down to preserving the planet, you would have to eliminate roughly 3/4 of its population.

I have a little list ...

[mnementh]

   Well fuck. The first day I used it, this mower managed to find a piece of steel rebar driven into the ground that I have missed with the other mower ever since I got here a year ago.   Now... does this mean I need to keep the other mower, cuz this one is jinxed and wants to stay dead...?

mnem
You got me again, Murphy...

Ah nice and if you know much about blade impacts there might be a couple of issues in front of you. Very very likely the flywheel key is now shorn or at best partially but enough to put the timing out for it now not to run properly.  At worst you could also have a bent crank and somewhat harder to remedy unless you have access to a B&S crankshaft straightening jig. Here's one similar to what we used some decades back: https://www.amazon.com/Stens-751-032-Crankshaft-Straightener-crankshafts/dp/B008N3K542   Fingers X'ed for you.

One would hope that in a mechanism where this kind of impact is highly likely to happen, inevitable even, that someone has built in a sacrificial component, like a shear pin, that is designed to break under these circumstances and be easy to replace.

More modern mowers have a mechanism consisting of a cup washer under the bolt and dowel pins which are supposed to override and prevent such damage, but they have a habit of wearing in normal use. They also place the blade higher up inside the deck as this benefits the mulching effect, and as a side benefit, you usually hit obstacles with the outer hull of the mower rather than the blade.

There is a shear key in the blade holder on these, but at least with this (possibly cheap aftermarket) blade, it was stronger. This machine is, as I mentioned earlier, mid-1900s engineering. They rely on over-engineered moving parts to keep shit from just exploding.

mnem
 

[bd139]

If you really want to get down to preserving the planet, you would have to eliminate roughly 3/4 of its population.

I have a little list ...

Delete from humans ; where … fuck! Typo!

[mnementh]

mnem
You meatsacks had your chance.

[mnementh]

For a moment there when I was reading your post, a vision of a giant penis flashed into my head, brightly lit by the seasonal illuminations 

    Male member. Must remember to choose words carefully next time 

I thought you did choose carefully... for maximum effect. 

mnem
*toddles off to shop for a mower blade*

[med6753]

I am at a total loss to explain why the +100V started to smoke again the other day. Did multiple resistance checks and all good. As currently showing I got a successful power up with the external supply. Only consuming 322mA. All the PSU voltages are good. I have a trace but it is bouncing around horizontally and changing length randomly. I suspect one of those 2N2207 transistors has bought the farm again. The vertical output is currently disconnected.

I'm gonna let it cook for quite a while. And even then until I am certain ALL bugs are fixed the +100V will remain an external supply.





 

[mnementh]

Good hunting, buddy. 

mnem
*toddles off into the suck*

[tautech]

   Well fuck. The first day I used it, this mower managed to find a piece of steel rebar driven into the ground that I have missed with the other mower ever since I got here a year ago.   Now... does this mean I need to keep the other mower, cuz this one is jinxed and wants to stay dead...?

mnem
You got me again, Murphy...

Ah nice and if you know much about blade impacts there might be a couple of issues in front of you. Very very likely the flywheel key is now shorn or at best partially but enough to put the timing out for it now not to run properly.  At worst you could also have a bent crank and somewhat harder to remedy unless you have access to a B&S crankshaft straightening jig. Here's one similar to what we used some decades back: https://www.amazon.com/Stens-751-032-Crankshaft-Straightener-crankshafts/dp/B008N3K542   Fingers X'ed for you.

One would hope that in a mechanism where this kind of impact is highly likely to happen, inevitable even, that someone has built in a sacrificial component, like a shear pin, that is designed to break under these circumstances and be easy to replace.

More modern mowers have a mechanism consisting of a cup washer under the bolt and dowel pins which are supposed to override and prevent such damage, but they have a habit of wearing in normal use. They also place the blade higher up inside the deck as this benefits the mulching effect, and as a side benefit, you usually hit obstacles with the outer hull of the mower rather than the blade.

There is a shear key in the blade holder on these, but at least with this (possibly cheap aftermarket) blade, it was stronger. This machine is, as I mentioned earlier, mid-1900s engineering. They rely on over-engineered moving parts to keep shit from just exploding.

mnem
 

Don't forget the flywheel key is an integral part of the damage protection mechanism in that it's made of alloy to permit them to shear when the whole lot is brought to an abrupt stop....fair bit of inertia in a flywheel doing 3600rpm. 
Yet the blade holder is steel keyed otherwise you'd be replacing it all the time. 

Flywheel nut = 65ft/lbs which for a sideways start motor is also the rewind starter clutch and unless you have the proper tool to fit it just wing it with a set of Stilsons or polygrips  but don't ring it up too tight otherwise the taper won't slip and shear the key next time you use it a Ree-bar cutter. 

Sounds complex but it's a simple and well proven protection system.

[med6753]

Good hunting, buddy. 

mnem
*toddles off into the suck*

Thanks. I came within an inch this morning of tossing this Type 547 into the TEA closet on the cart currently occupied by the Type 535A. If it hadn't powered up or smoked something else it was game over. My frustration level with this scope is just about at the point where I don't want to deal with it. But since it powered up, there's hope. And I'm going to give it another shot.

[mnementh]

"A man made it; a man can fix it." ~grand-dad

mnem
Patience is the cure.

[mnementh]

There is a shear key in the blade holder on these, but at least with this (possibly cheap aftermarket) blade, it was stronger. This machine is, as I mentioned earlier, mid-1900s engineering. They rely on over-engineered moving parts to keep shit from just exploding.

mnem
 

Don't forget the flywheel key is an integral part of the damage protection mechanism in that it's made of alloy to permit them to shear when the whole lot is brought to an abrupt stop....fair bit of inertia in a flywheel doing 3600rpm.  Yet the blade holder is steel keyed otherwise you'd be replacing it all the time. 

Flywheel nut = 65ft/lbs which for a sideways start motor is also the rewind starter clutch and unless you have the proper tool to fit it just wing it with a set of Stilsons or polygrips  but don't ring it up too tight otherwise the taper won't slip and shear the key next time you use it a Ree-bar cutter. 

Sounds complex but it's a simple and well proven protection system.

Yup. Aware of all of this. I own a pin-spanner socket that would work for torque-wrench on the starter clutch, but that is locked away in the Trailer of Doom in BuffaloNY.

I'm hoping I don't need to be arsed with all that.

mnem
 

[Andrew_Debbie]

Well fuck. The first day I used it, this mower managed to find a piece of steel rebar driven into the ground that I have missed with the other mower ever since I got here a year ago.

Now... does this mean I need to keep the other mower, cuz this one is jinxed and wants to stay dead...?

mnem
You got me again, Murphy...

Ah nice and if you know much about blade impacts there might be a couple of issues in front of you.
Very very likely the flywheel key is now shorn or at best partially but enough to put the timing out for it now not to run properly.
At worst you could also have a bent crank and somewhat harder to remedy unless you have access to a B&S crankshaft straightening jig.
Here's one similar to what we used some decades back:
https://www.amazon.com/Stens-751-032-Crankshaft-Straightener-crankshafts/dp/B008N3K542

Fingers X'ed for you.

One would hope that in a mechanism where this kind of impact is highly likely to happen, inevitable even, that someone has built in a sacrificial component, like a shear pin, that is designed to break under these circumstances and be easy to replace.

I belive that is called a connecting rod.

Our last petrol lawnmower would swing the blades in.   They were attached by  a single bolt and would pivot if you whacked them hard enough.

[med6753]

Overall view of the beast on it's side. I want to keep it on it's side for now. The PSU is located in the upper left and if something starts smoking I want to know immediately. Which means I can't work on the horizontal issue for now but that's OK. I want to make sure I have some sort of stable power first. That red lead is the +100V tie in from the external supply. Luckily isolating and shutting down the internal +100V supply is easy. Pull the 6080 regulator tube and unsolder one wire.

[Cerebus]

"A man made it; a man can fix it." ~grand-dad

mnem
Patience is the cure.

Yes, but what if was "beyond the ken of man", that is, made by a woman?

[med6753]

"A man made it; a man can fix it." ~grand-dad

mnem
Patience is the cure.

Yes, but what if was "beyond the ken of man", that is, made by a woman?

Good point. The vast majority that you see in my overall view was assembled by women. 

[Specmaster]

In a prior life where others were living in the same residence I always knew when someone was into my tools/equipment. They never put it back in the right spot or would forget to put it back. And I would ask where so-and-so was and no one would own up. Never again will that repeat itself. 

The last person to do that to my tools is dead - and I'm not talking natural causes.

The truth is that Dave was killed by a combination of alcohol, recklessness, a motorbike and a big tree. But I don't tell them that. Dave was, however, the last person to mess with my tools - largely I suspect because ever since I've been able to tell people that he was the last man to abuse my tools, and that he's dead, with a straight face and my hand on my heart.

You'll need to give more details. Those facts could still involve you chasing him on a motorbike with a whisky bottle in your hand etc.

McBryce.

No, that was a different day, the outcome was non-fatal, and we eventually had a laugh about it once we had both forgotten the floozie it involved. 

Somehow floozie's are always involved. 

Well they are the spice of life after all aren't they 

[tautech]

"A man made it; a man can fix it." ~grand-dad

mnem
Patience is the cure.

Yes, but what if was "beyond the ken of man", that is, made by a woman?

Sent by a buddy today was the below selection of heavy equipment mufflers..........

When asked: Will they work on woman ?
Reply:
You would need the gag accessory & advise whether your woman is Naturally aspirated, Turbocharged or Supercharged.

There are also mufflers to detune your woman if they are too powerful for your application.

We wish you all the best of luck if you need to detune your woman as they have never had a customer who has succeeded in this process as they have usually ended up with a twin supercharged version of their woman who sits on the rev limiter for extended periods of time.

 

[Specmaster]

Oh it’s a whole world of soldering goodness.

I’ve used Pace and Weller stuff professionally and all that T12 and 837 faff from amateur side and the Metcals are somewhere else entirely. It’s the only iron I’ve seen that can go from soldering nuts into bolts to 0805’s in five seconds without changing the tip 

Just may be one day I'll get around to testing that for myself, but seriously, from my perspective, my experience of T12's is fantastic. Yes, I did have that duff controller that made my tip glow cherry red, but after that was replaced FOC, I have not had any problems. Perhaps if I was to leave the iron switched on all day, like it would be in a production mode, then I might, but as with all my gear, it just gets switched on when I need it and then if I'm not going to be using it again for a while, switch it off. With something like a 10-second wait until it's ready for use, that seems like a sensible way to use it and help to reduce my carbon footprint. 

Then you are a good candidate for my method of MetCal acquisition... put it on your eBay search and wait for a MX500/MX500xx power brick to come along in the $50-100 range. The handsets can be a bit trickier... but if you buy the brick right, $90-ish for a new one will not be too painful.

Seriously... it's like the difference between tighty-whitey Froot-of-the-Looms and a good pair of silk boxers... *licks lips and sighs*

mnem
 

Precisely how I intend to do it, I'm in no hurry as all my current soldering and desoldering needs are being met very well by my pair of T12 (so I don't have to change cartridges too often as the contact rings are their weak point with the knock off ones at least) and my trusty Duratool desoldering tool. So I can afford to wait until something pops up that fits my price point.

[Cubdriver]

   Well fuck. The first day I used it, this mower managed to find a piece of steel rebar driven into the ground that I have missed with the other mower ever since I got here a year ago.   Now... does this mean I need to keep the other mower, cuz this one is jinxed and wants to stay dead...?

mnem
You got me again, Murphy...

Ah nice and if you know much about blade impacts there might be a couple of issues in front of you. Very very likely the flywheel key is now shorn or at best partially but enough to put the timing out for it now not to run properly.  At worst you could also have a bent crank and somewhat harder to remedy unless you have access to a B&S crankshaft straightening jig. Here's one similar to what we used some decades back: https://www.amazon.com/Stens-751-032-Crankshaft-Straightener-crankshafts/dp/B008N3K542   Fingers X'ed for you.

One would hope that in a mechanism where this kind of impact is highly likely to happen, inevitable even, that someone has built in a sacrificial component, like a shear pin, that is designed to break under these circumstances and be easy to replace.

More modern mowers have a mechanism consisting of a cup washer under the bolt and dowel pins which are supposed to override and prevent such damage, but they have a habit of wearing in normal use. They also place the blade higher up inside the deck as this benefits the mulching effect, and as a side benefit, you usually hit obstacles with the outer hull of the mower rather than the blade.

There is a shear key in the blade holder on these, but at least with this (possibly cheap aftermarket) blade, it was stronger. This machine is, as I mentioned earlier, mid-1900s engineering. They rely on over-engineered moving parts to keep shit from just exploding.

mnem
 

Don't forget the flywheel key is an integral part of the damage protection mechanism in that it's made of alloy to permit them to shear when the whole lot is brought to an abrupt stop....fair bit of inertia in a flywheel doing 3600rpm. 
Yet the blade holder is steel keyed otherwise you'd be replacing it all the time. 

Flywheel nut = 65ft/lbs which for a sideways start motor is also the rewind starter clutch and unless you have the proper tool to fit it just wing it with a set of Stilsons or polygrips  but don't ring it up too tight otherwise the taper won't slip and shear the key next time you use it a Ree-bar cutter. 

Sounds complex but it's a simple and well proven protection system.

I had an old early 90s Sears Craftsman (back when Sears still made good tools and power equipment) high-wheel push mower.  There are some rather rocky areas in my yard, and I got really good at finding them in the grass using the mower like a divining rod.  I regularly sheared the flywheel key, and would be down for a day or three until I got to the local power equipment place and bought another one.  After about the fourth or fifth trip I got smart and bought four of them so there'd be spares at hand to fix it right away.  Never sheared another after that.  They're probably still buried in the miscellaneous drawer in my tool box.

That poor mower owed me nothing - welded the deck several times when it broke at the thin section under the rear discharge port, pounded the blade shroud back into shape (and occasionally welded it back into place), patched up the cover that held the recoil starter after it eventually started cracking...  Good old machine, though I don't miss pushing it and mowing the better part of an acre of grass despite the good exercise it gave me.  The 50" zero-turn is much more efficient time-wise.

-Pat