Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[beanflying]

I rather like kale! 

My EX Chef thought Kale soup should be a thing  Kale has a place and it is the bottom of a pig bucket if the pig will eat it 

[bd139]

I rather like kale! 

Pervert!

And on the subject of food, just doing my mise en place for dinner:



Note, the cutlery is only suitable for light witticisms, not proper conversation.

Yum fingers ala carte

[Cerebus]

Yum fingers ala carte

You only do that once. You have to do it once to learn your lesson; do it twice and you're an irredeemable idiot.

[med6753]

Want something you have to develop a taste for? Try collard greens. I HAVE to like it or I would be in the dog house.  It actually isn't that bad but not my first choice of green veggie.

Luckily she does not eat pork or else I fear I might have to try chitlins. Do a Google if you don't know what that is. She had to eat it as a kid which I suspect why she no longer eats pork. Been told it smells disgusting while cooking and you literally have to squeeze all the shit out of it before final prep. 

But her fried chicken and mac and cheese is the bomb. 

 

[med6753]

I haven't had much luck lately fixing stuff. While assembling and testing the attenuator deck for channel 2 on the 7A24 the inner cam gear suddenly jammed and cracked rendering the entire plug-in junk.  And I have no spare. The junker 7A26 is different. Oh well. So this plug-in has now become a parts unit so all is not lost.

Let's see what else I can fuck up. 

[Brumby]

Playing second fiddle to Kale....?    I mean, really?


Back to Test Equipment....

My PAT seems to work fine with battery power - but is dead when trying to run on mains.

Messaged the seller about this and after a couple of back-and-forth messages, it seems they don't really know much about how this unit really operates - including its ability to be powered from mains.  They suggested "It might need calibration" - but they were going to contact the manufacturer on Monday and let me know what they said.

I couldn't leave this mystery without some investigation, so I checked the resistance across the active and neutral .... open circuit.  A quick peek inside reveals a real transformer and continuity from the mains plug to the board was ok, so the list of suspect components is really short.

However, access to the reverse side PCB is not wonderful.  It is secured by several screws - and, joy of joy, pins of the panel mounted switches directly soldered to it.  These are accessible - but there are enough of them to make me pause.  The board does have a very nice conformal coating, though.

I put it back together and will await the seller's next communication before considering my next move. 

The easy out is to just run it on battery power: 6 x AA batteries in a holder or a 9V in a pinch - which will probably be the most convenient - but there's always that niggling feeling of an item that was purchased as "Used" which has a fault that was not declared.....

[Saskia]

Try my noodle creation ...
Spaghetti a la Ghostrider ...
Spaghetti Al dented
Chopped tomatoes
Mushrooms
Onions
Chopped ham
Salt pepper, oregano, Basil,
Chopped Carolina Reaper

Has a nice fruity flavor and taste.
Best served with hi fat milk.

In other news just paid 157,10 Brussels pesos for a Metcal ps 900 (advertised as new)

[Cerebus]

While assembling and testing the attenuator deck for channel 2 on the 7A24 the inner cam gear suddenly jammed and cracked rendering the entire plug-in junk. 

I don't know the fine details of the construction, but does it render the whole thing junk, or would a replacement fix it? For the more mechanically minded TEAers a bust gear is just a bit of time in the machine shop (or foundry if you're into investment castings).

[BU508A]

On Ebay.de is a cheap DEFECTIVE Analogic 2020 polynomial waveform synthesizer on offer.
Although the description did provide for thoughts - wtf does the seller mean by 'Festplatte' (hard disk)? The fan? Externally good condition - could be trivial - or not. Anyway, I have a working 2020 (and a 2045) and will not take on it. Remind that nobody has found a service manual yet.

https://www.ebay.de/itm/154591814368

Added to my watchlist. Maybe I'll bid on this...

Mine.

[med6753]

While assembling and testing the attenuator deck for channel 2 on the 7A24 the inner cam gear suddenly jammed and cracked rendering the entire plug-in junk. 

I don't know the fine details of the construction, but does it render the whole thing junk, or would a replacement fix it? For the more mechanically minded TEAers a bust gear is just a bit of time in the machine shop (or foundry if you're into investment castings).

If I had a replacement possible I could fix it. Would require purchasing another 7A24. Also, it's plastic, not metal. I doubt glue or epoxy would work because of close tolerances. Considering all that it suddenly became not worth my time. I have a functional 7A24 anyway so this one will supply parts as needed. 

[BU508A]

In other news just paid 157,10 Brussels pesos for a Metcal ps 900 (advertised as new)

This one?

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/loetstation-metcal-ps-900/1851079603-168-9404

[tggzzz]

Luckily she does not eat pork or else I fear I might have to try chitlins. Do a Google if you don't know what that is. She had to eat it as a kid which I suspect why she no longer eats pork. Been told it smells disgusting while cooking and you literally have to squeeze all the shit out of it before final prep. 

What do you think sausage skins are made from?

And whitebait is a delicacy here And why do you (try to) remove the "thread" from lobsters?

[McBryce]

It almost took a decade to get this far in the thread...

McBryce.

[med6753]

Luckily she does not eat pork or else I fear I might have to try chitlins. Do a Google if you don't know what that is. She had to eat it as a kid which I suspect why she no longer eats pork. Been told it smells disgusting while cooking and you literally have to squeeze all the shit out of it before final prep. 

What do you think sausage skins are made from?

And whitebait is a delicacy here And why do you (try to) remove the "thread" from lobsters?

I am well aware of what sausage skins are made of. I am also aware of what the "thread" is in lobsters.

[Robert763]

Getting back into test gear....  My latest acquisition:



Anyone care to take a punt on what this is...?  I'm sure there will be a few who will know.  (Bean keep quiet)

Something in a pelicase. Could be literally anything. either built in or just storage. In peli cases I currently have:
Battery charger
Gas analyser
Thermal imager
Bonding tester
Sitemaster.
4 different geiger counters.
A laser speed detector
A X-ray imager
VNA cal kit
GPS
Data logger.
Portable spectrum analyser

[Brumby]

BD139 picked it in one.  (I suspect the filename helped a lot.)

It's an Aegis CZ5000 Portable Appliance Tester.

[xrunner]

It almost took a decade to get this far in the thread...

McBryce.

True - but who's counting? 

[GreyWoolfe]

Thought that was my side (Hounslow) 

Edit: honestly the variety of food here is amazing. I love all of it. Apart from okra which can piss off.

Not on your page?


Serving suggestion

Mrs. GreyWoolfe would smile at that plate.  For me, barely tolerable.  Okra is marginally better fried but we no longer eat fried food.  Thankfully, she gets her okra on the rare occasion we go out to eat.  She knows not to make it at home.  Due to home training when I was a wee lad, she knows I will eat anything she puts in front of me. which she very much appreciates.  I may not like it but will eat it.  Kale is fine when mixed with other leafy greens, not a real fan by itself.  Cabbage is very popular here lately, green and purple.  She makes a spicy steamed and sautéed cabbage and also turns same into a soup with plant based 'beef' crumbles and mixed veggies.  I will eat more than what is good for me and the leftovers taste even better.

Sas, you are a better woman than I am a man.  I had an experience with ghost pepper hot wings a few years ago that did a check off on my food bucket list but I swore never to repeat that along with drinking Everclear.  Thankfully, both only burned going down not coming out.  Tried carolina reaper hot sauce at a hot sauce store a couple of years ago.  Good taste and hotter than Hades but not near as hot as I thought it would be.  I would take your recipe and sub in habaneros so Mrs. GreyWoolfe would eat it also.  Though tame for you I'm sure, I have multiple renditions of habanero hot sauce that gives enough heat to make my nose run but still allows all the other flavors of the dish to come through.  Family members keep the pantry stocked as they buy a bottle that they think I will like. I will never run out.

Want something you have to develop a taste for? Try collard greens. I HAVE to like it or I would be in the dog house.  It actually isn't that bad but not my first choice of green veggie.

Luckily she does not eat pork or else I fear I might have to try chitlins. Do a Google if you don't know what that is. She had to eat it as a kid which I suspect why she no longer eats pork. Been told it smells disgusting while cooking and you literally have to squeeze all the shit out of it before final prep. 

But her fried chicken and mac and cheese is the bomb. 

 

Med, nothing wrong with collards, still willing to eat them, just not cooked with pork.  Chitlins? Not just no, but fuk no!!  I refuse to eat anything that tastes like the south end of the animal going north.  I've heard enough about what they taste like.  Our good friends are a mixed couple, opposite of you and Lady Cop.  His family loves southern comfort food so she has eaten her share.  The look on her face when she talks about it is enough for me. Tggzzz, the people who make sausages seem to do a far better job of cleaning the intestines than the cooks making chitlins.  Besides, all the fatty goodness that gets squeezed into the casings probably masks what's left of the @ss taste.

[Cerebus]

What do you think sausage skins are made from?

Usually reconstituted collagen (don't ask, it's messy). This type has the advantage of being essentially flavourless and having a shelf life.

The better natural sausage casings are usually sheep gut, it's finer, more elastic and less *cough* 'naturally flavoured' than chittlin's.

[DH7DN]

On Ebay.de is a cheap DEFECTIVE Analogic 2020 polynomial waveform synthesizer on offer.
Although the description did provide for thoughts - wtf does the seller mean by 'Festplatte' (hard disk)? The fan? Externally good condition - could be trivial - or not. Anyway, I have a working 2020 (and a 2045) and will not take on it. Remind that nobody has found a service manual yet.

https://www.ebay.de/itm/154591814368

Added to my watchlist. Maybe I'll bid on this...

Mine.

Nice grab  , got exactly the same one unit few years ago. It's loud as hell (large fan) but it has a very nice VFD and front panel keyboard.
It's a little bit tricky to program waveforms via front panel but the handbook has few nice examples how to generate mathematical functions.
Its performance is meh, especailly when generating square wave signals over 2 MHz.

I keep it for a future test equipment automatization project via GPIB.

[cyclin_al]

While not classic test equipment but it sort of is.....
I recently bought a Qark Shockwiz - a Bluetooth pressure sensor system that you temporarily connect to your mountain bike fork or rear shock via the air connection. You then go for a ride and it records pressure data and can make pretty good suggestions on adjustments to your fork/shock.
For those not caught by the mountain bike craze - the parameters available are, pressure, presence of spacers (tokens) to alter the non-linearity of pressure ramping with compression, and both high and low speed compression and rebound settings.
Everything gets filthy and you should service the shock - which needs a 32mm socket with no taper at the entrance - of course Fox sell one, $50 aus, so I bought a cheapo and ground it flat😁
Photos of the Wiz, the app and the bodged socket.

Very cool!  I could use a device like that for my bike several bikes ... maybe time to start shopping for Birthday presents? 

However, in the meantime, I need a magical device to locate the cause of why I keep getting slow leaks in the rear tire of the cross-country MTB.
I am on the fourth go of trying to find it.

[Saskia]

In other news just paid 157,10 Brussels pesos for a Metcal ps 900 (advertised as new)

This one?

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/loetstation-metcal-ps-900/1851079603-168-9404

yarp.

[bd139]

Good deal. Same iron I use for everything. Love it 

Bidding on more shit today. Wish me luck.

Edit: won the first one. Got me a Testec 40kv buggery stick for 24 quid.

[Saskia]

oh. if you want to flip that let me know. I have to fix a couple of arcade monitors ...

[Robert763]

I've been bidding too
Won this for £22.50 delivered. Apart from the obvious thermocouple calibration it also does Volts, milliamps and resistance and PRTs. It's a 0.007% accuracy unit so pretty useful, In particular it simulates and measure at the same time so it's a simple SMU. I have one of Haven's smaller Specal units but it's an earlier one without resistance or PRT.   
More pictures when it arrives.