Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tautech]

This thread diversion is quite funny.

I buy stuff to play with it. Play is an essential part of life and the generation of culture.

Tautech has mastered the art of getting to play with stuff and make a living out of it. I salute him 

If only I did.....not yet anyway as we haven't been greedy accepting and taking on the advances of other brands.

Other skills were needed today when Larry Minor came out with; pop can you look at the tire on that borrowed silage wagon full of flood damaged green peppers scored free for stock food ?
Looks like it picked up a screw on the way home pop and could you stick one of those tire dog turds (rubber plug) in it.

Well some can't tell a tubed tire for tubeless and of course the bitch was tubed which should have been straightforward enough if the 1/2" rattle gun would spin the nuts off but no way ! So 3/4" drive gear for a 24mm nut  and it still needed a length of pipe on the ratchet.
Bead broke easily enough with my trusty beast of a homemade slide hammer so had the tube out in just a minute of two where the hole was simple to find and a 2" patch we always have on hand applied and all ready for reassembly.......then things turned to poo !

Well it's not like this was my first rodeo as my first job was in a sawmill mechanics shop and given the title of tire boy. 
Car tires I quickly mastered as they had an old school tire machine with which you bore a long lever and walked around the tire to work the bead off. Truck tires were another world as the weakling I was I could barely flip the things over until a year or so later when I started a couple years of weight lifting.

Back to today....tubed tires when initially inflated run the risk of the tube sucking the stem back inside the rim....something that may catch the unwary and has me just once before which sticks in your mind never to let it happen again !
Well it did  and there's only ONE recovery....puncture the tube so to be able to get the tire apart again and set the tube up more carefully. 2nd patch applied  and all back together 2nd time without drama.
Each day is very different here at Tautechsville. 

Sorry about the big pic as MS Pic Manager has not yet made it to this PC. 

I do not envy that job!  It is definitely a pain in the a$$ to do.
Even a bicycle tire puncture is a pain, which is nowhere near as heavy work.

I have to ask a question though.
Can you not just unscrew the valve stem from within the valve and deflate the tube, rather than puncture it?
That can be done with all the schraeder valves here, using a slotted tool that fits over the valve pin, but fits inside the stem.

I can go to the garage later to take a picture of the tools.
However, to get there I have to pass by the mountain bike with flat rear tire ... there must be a very well hidden object stuck in the tire that I cannot find; already at 3 patches on the tube without even riding it since the initial flat. 

Also, there are inflator heads that clamp onto the valve.  Is such a thing useful, or is the clamping not secure enough for such a big tube?

The tiny presta valves are actually threaded on the exterior.  You can thread on a collar which holds the valve securely in position.
Just do not over-tighten the collar and pull the valve right out of the tube ... been there, done that, more than once.

He's talking about this type of valve that is held in the hole by pressure alone. No thread to put a nut on to hold it in place while you inflate it. If it pulls into the type while inflating, you're buggered.

Precisely Cerebus. 
However while reassembling tires just the fluffing around can have the tube stem fall back in if you haven't or it isn't convenient to very slightly inflate the tube so in the past we used these 4in1 tools to save the day.


They work perfect most of the time but if you have a twist in the tube and as this sort of tool need be removed for inflation that is when things go pear shaped as it did yesterday.
As clever as one might think they are we still get caught and it's a good reminder to take more care especially when you should know better. 

[Vince]

I also brought some spares in case my own 210 ever needs them replaced and also should I see another going cheaply, they might be needed for that as well. This one is for flipping once its all back together again, they are a good source of income if you get the mix right and the profit will help to offset the recent extra car expenses 

OK.... so that means you will buy all the decently priced TDS2XX for the coming year until you have finally paid for your cam belt and clutch, is that it ?! 

So I have to wait a year before it's even worth bothering searching for one  ! 

Would love a TDS 220 or 224 rather than a basic 210. Want the optional " Communications Interface "module at the back of it, too.

That makes the search much more difficult than a simple 210 without the module.

Am in no hurry and plenty other priorities though, so it will have to wait... a few years probalby. Maybe by then prices will have become reasonable...or not ! 

Nah, your OK there Vince, I'm no threat to you bagging one for yourself, I'm not looking for anything outside of the UK because of the now, stupid cost of getting it into the UK, even from France, so you would have the same issue there.

A clutch!, not me mate, I'm a DSG guy  .

Now a TDS224, is what I'd also like, but they seem to be as rare as hens teeth here 

I know a lot of folks sort of sneer at these low level scopes with their very basic capabilities, but the truth is that they complement our very fine Fluke/Philips PM33xx scopes very nicely, we're not going to fire one of those up just to grab a check for a signal, but a TDS 2xx is fine for that kind of function as is my TTi SM630 (20Mhz).

Loving your work on the 575, I just don't have the room for anything that big in my shoebox sized lab 

Hell DSG box is much worse, it's got TWO clutches not just one !    And I doubt the parts are going to be as cheap as a normal clutch either... and might require to send the box to a specialized G/B shop which will charge expensive labour and cause significant downtime...
Plus clutch won't last as long as a normal clutch. Normal clutch I do 450.000kms with, never replaced one... I always scrap the car before the clutch has time to give up the ghost.
Of course DSG is fine if you buy a recent car and flog it before you have to service the bloody box... that's what people do these days... drive it as long as it works and when the first big bill comes up, they shift it... by another and repeat the cycle...

TDS224 year rare indeed, I remember seeing only one or sale here ! Got sold as usual within 24H, as you do.

My PM3394 is actually my daily driver ! Starts up fast I find ?! 
My TDS544A OTOH takes 60 seconds (timed it) to boot, and need a lot more power / expensive electricity to run, so I prefer the PM3394 instead, especially as it does analog as well.

As for my 575 thread I fear nobody will ever watch it, seeing as e-mail notifications still don't work on this bloody forum, at least my end ! 

[Vince]

Wait, what? Isn't 'France' called 'France' anymore?
I'll be happy to contribute! Amphibianbuffetstan?

No, it's called SHITHOLE now, has been for the past 20+ years, and it's not looking like it's going to improve anytime soon I am afraid.  To the contrary, it's just getting worse and worse and worse with each passing year.

I think that's rather global! Or even beyond..it might be the first thing we hear should SETI ever succeed.
At least in D it's spot on.

Have a good friend in Germany in Augsburg. He runs a business there, for 20+ years, his dads business he inherited.
20+ years of experience dealing with customers, suppliers, shipping companies... he regularly tells me how it's going severely downhill in Germany, stupid shitty customers, ever more stupid and unreasonable,, more and more dishonest and incompetent shipping companies.. he often tells me he is so baffled at how bad it's getting, he refers to it more and more as the collapse of the western civilization, comparing it to the collapse of the Roman empire. Every civilization has to end at one point, and the Western one is well on its way for sure ....

[tautech]

As for my 575 thread I fear nobody will ever watch it, seeing as e-mail notifications still don't work on this bloody forum, at least my end ! 

Garbage Vince, been there 3 times myself but nothing to add....yet.
Check the # of views to gauge how popular a thread is.
Early days yet laddie. 

[mnementh]

But I bet you'll take all of those butt-uglee little hp 621xA power supplies you can get. 

mnem
*recovery mode*

How dare you disparage my cute little power supplies!  Them's fightin' words!!!!   





-Pat

Agreed. What's up with that noise? 

I calls 'em like I sees 'em. 

Regurgitated '80s Tandy-Radio Shack pseudo-industrial design aside, they're decent enough as long as you don't need CC along with your CV and provided the particular one you get doesn't suffer embrittlement from being left too close to a sunny window for a few years. Nice quiet linear design. No "me too!" cheap digital displays of dubious accuracy/linearity.

Pretty is as pretty does; I am the biggest proponent of "It's ugly but it works!" engineering and design out there. But I don't kid myself that it ain't ugly. 

mnem
Now y'all know how I felt when youzz were raggin' on muh hooPTy Cruiser...

[tautech]

I can go to the garage later to take a picture of the tools.
However, to get there I have to pass by the mountain bike with flat rear tire ... there must be a very well hidden object stuck in the tire that I cannot find; already at 3 patches on the tube without even riding it since the initial flat. 

Little trick for finding the not obvious puncture creators inside tire cases....wrap a rag around fingers and run it around the inside of the case where it will catch on the little buggers and show you where they are......sometimes tricky to pull the little buggers out though but sharp sidecutters generally will grab the little mongrels.

You can use the back of your hand but at the risk of getting sliced up....don't ask !

[Robert763]

The Video Walkman I bought for £2 (including 6 other items in the box) at the St Neot's radio rally (Hamfest) just sold on ebay for £595 Ker-Ching 
That's the TEA fund topped up. It's SWMBO's birthday soon so some will have to go on a present. The £20 GPSDO from Kings Lynn went for £67. So two rallies, £150 invested and I'm up:
1 HP 8060B
2 HP 3335B
3 HP 5090A
4 HP 5090B
5 Two IEC power strips
6 Several small bits and pieces
7 £475 (after fees)

Now I remember why I missed rallies

[Vince]

The Video Walkman I bought for £2 (including 6 other items in the box) at the St Neot's radio rally (Hamfest) just sold on ebay for £595 Ker-Ching 

[bd139]

The Video Walkman I bought for £2 (including 6 other items in the box) at the St Neot's radio rally (Hamfest) just sold on ebay for £595 Ker-Ching 
That's the TEA fund topped up. It's SWMBO's birthday soon so some will have to go on a present. The £20 GPSDO from Kings Lynn went for £67. So two rallies, £150 invested and I'm up:
1 HP 8060B
2 HP 3335B
3 HP 5090A
4 HP 5090B
5 Two IEC power strips
6 Several small bits and pieces
7 £475 (after fees)

Now I remember why I missed rallies

I was watching your sale of that. Nice one 

[mnementh]

Result, all companies have nonsensical names that all look and sound similar so when you hear a name you have no idea what the company is/does, and you can easily mistake one for another.

There are still positive examples. How about the Société Momentanée pour le Démantèlement des outils de la phase à chaud d'ArcelorMittal à Liège.

Ralf

Gurrgle Translate falls down on the job yet again: Temporary company for the dismantling of tools for the hot phase of ArcelorMittal in Liège

I'm guessing it means something along the lines of Industrial/Commercial Electricians Team/Group...? Or is it a maker of electricians' tools?

mnem
*tzzzzzt*

Even with almost all French long time forgotten that've I've learned at school, some googling tells me: "phase a chaud" is some kind of hot material industrial processing, "ArcelorMittal" is a company doing this, but closing down the business in Liege. And the "Société Momentanée pour le Démantèlement" is a temporary company to handle that (closing down the business).

In Germany, we use the term "Auffanggesellschaft" when a company is closed down, but the employees can't be dismissed immediately - so they are kept employed for some time at this "Auffanggesellschaft" (basically getting paid for nothing but looking for new jobs).

Said "Société Momentanée pour le Démantèlement" might be something like that, but also might be a company to handle the physical teardown ("Démantèlement" would point to this). Nothing uncommon to found a company for just dismantling another one that was shut down.

Edit: The pictures should give you some imagination of what "phase a chaud" is:

https://belgium.arcelormittal.com/fr/environnement-de-travail/departements-industriels/

I was thinking similarly that the gurrgle translation was not too bad...
In my Quebecois, the hot phase in an electrical sense would be "la phase chaude", without the word 'à' and the gender of hot matching the gender of phase.
The wording as it was confused me until your picture explanation.

Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking in my original response. I replied as much, but Neper posted while I was typing that it was in fact aboot decommissioning that particular steel mill, so I just shrugged and deleted my post to limit confusion. 

mnem
 

[Specmaster]

Wait, what? Isn't 'France' called 'France' anymore?
I'll be happy to contribute! Amphibianbuffetstan?

No, it's called SHITHOLE now, has been for the past 20+ years, and it's not looking like it's going to improve anytime soon I am afraid.  To the contrary, it's just getting worse and worse and worse with each passing year.

Could be worse, you could be in the UK

[Vince]

As for my 575 thread I fear nobody will ever watch it, seeing as e-mail notifications still don't work on this bloody forum, at least my end ! 

Garbage Vince, been there 3 times myself but nothing to add....yet.
Check the # of views to gauge how popular a thread is.
Early days yet laddie. 

Yeah there are people interested but I was saying HOW the hell will they know when to check my thread if they don't received a freaking e-mail notification informing them that something has been posted there in 3 weeks or months ?!

It's not like TEA where it's a chat room and people just keep a tab open permanently for it and refresh it 10 times a day KNOWING there will be something new to read ! 

Or maybe notifications I broken only for me but works for everybody else ?! That would be rather strange and unfair...

It's not the first time this year that notifications fail or work erratically, this bloody needs to fixed once and for all 
Maybe people posted on my old thread and I don't even know bout it and they will think I am just ignoring them ?! 

Just a few weeks ago someone posted on my TDS 544A repair thread asking me something !  This thread has been inactive for years !

[tautech]

As for my 575 thread I fear nobody will ever watch it, seeing as e-mail notifications still don't work on this bloody forum, at least my end ! 

Garbage Vince, been there 3 times myself but nothing to add....yet.
Check the # of views to gauge how popular a thread is.
Early days yet laddie. 

Yeah there are people interested but I was saying HOW the hell will they know when to check my thread if they don't received a freaking e-mail notification informing them that something has been posted there in 3 weeks or months ?!

It's not like TEA where it's a chat room and people just keep a tab open permanently for it and refresh it 10 times a day KNOWING there will be something new to read ! 

Or maybe notifications I broken only for me but works for everybody else ?! That would be rather strange and unfair...

It's not the first time this year that notifications fail or work erratically, this bloody needs to fixed once and for all 
Maybe people posted on my old thread and I don't even know bout it and they will think I am just ignoring them ?! 

Just a few weeks ago someone posted on my TDS 544A repair thread asking me something !  This thread has been inactive for years !

Email notifications ?  Never use them and any forum I'm part of they're disabled ! 

Instead here on EEVblog: Show new replies to your posts.
Other forums automatically show notifications in the top bar so it only takes a sec to check rather than have your inbox bashed to death. 

[Robert763]

The Video Walkman I bought for £2 (including 6 other items in the box) at the St Neot's radio rally (Hamfest) just sold on ebay for £595 Ker-Ching 
That's the TEA fund topped up. It's SWMBO's birthday soon so some will have to go on a present. The £20 GPSDO from Kings Lynn went for £67. So two rallies, £150 invested and I'm up:
1 HP 8060B
2 HP 3335B
3 HP 5090A
4 HP 5090B
5 Two IEC power strips
6 Several small bits and pieces
7 £475 (after fees)

Now I remember why I missed rallies

I was watching your sale of that. Nice one 

There were 3 other Video Walkmans in the box and they work too. Unfortunatly the are just portable recorder players with no display and only video 8 not Hi8 & Digital8 so won't make as much.

[mnementh]

The mini-chainsaw and precision scales arrived today.

The chainsaw has much potential for injury in the hands of stupid people, I will have to supervise carefully when I take it in to work...

The scale was sold for parts/not working, but has a January 2021 UKAS cal sticker. As near as I can tell it is missing 3 things; a good clean, a PSU, and a tray. Aside from that it works fine, so just need to find/make a tray/pan, the weight of which is quite important as it needs a certain amount in order to zero properly.

These things are not cheap, new: https://www.camlab.co.uk/a-d-balance-gx-model

In my neighbourhood, no one shares a chainsaw or takes it in to work.

For those with experience, the chain and keeping it sharp is a very delicate thing and it takes very little to go from a very effective cutting machine to a frustrating turd that will not cut.

For only the closest of friends and for family, I respond to requests with MAYBE, but you will also have to borrow the operator along with the saw...

Only people like you and me who've actually relied on a saw to provide the wood used for primary heat understand. A daily driver chainsaw is like your favorite pair of perfectly broken-in long johns; you get comfortable with it til its a part of you, you get to know all it's good and bad habits, and you don't lend or borrow them.

It takes literally a minute of careless abuse to wreck not only a chain, but a very expensive bar or worse. And the grudge that comes with has ruined many a good friendship in the snow belt.

mnem

[Specmaster]

I also brought some spares in case my own 210 ever needs them replaced and also should I see another going cheaply, they might be needed for that as well. This one is for flipping once its all back together again, they are a good source of income if you get the mix right and the profit will help to offset the recent extra car expenses 

OK.... so that means you will buy all the decently priced TDS2XX for the coming year until you have finally paid for your cam belt and clutch, is that it ?! 

So I have to wait a year before it's even worth bothering searching for one  ! 

Would love a TDS 220 or 224 rather than a basic 210. Want the optional " Communications Interface "module at the back of it, too.

That makes the search much more difficult than a simple 210 without the module.

Am in no hurry and plenty other priorities though, so it will have to wait... a few years probalby. Maybe by then prices will have become reasonable...or not ! 

Nah, your OK there Vince, I'm no threat to you bagging one for yourself, I'm not looking for anything outside of the UK because of the now, stupid cost of getting it into the UK, even from France, so you would have the same issue there.

A clutch!, not me mate, I'm a DSG guy  .

Now a TDS224, is what I'd also like, but they seem to be as rare as hens teeth here 

I know a lot of folks sort of sneer at these low level scopes with their very basic capabilities, but the truth is that they complement our very fine Fluke/Philips PM33xx scopes very nicely, we're not going to fire one of those up just to grab a check for a signal, but a TDS 2xx is fine for that kind of function as is my TTi SM630 (20Mhz).

Loving your work on the 575, I just don't have the room for anything that big in my shoebox sized lab 

Hell DSG box is much worse, it's got TWO clutches not just one !    And I doubt the parts are going to be as cheap as a normal clutch either... and might require to send the box to a specialized G/B shop which will charge expensive labour and cause significant downtime...
Plus clutch won't last as long as a normal clutch. Normal clutch I do 450.000kms with, never replaced one... I always scrap the car before the clutch has time to give up the ghost.
Of course DSG is fine if you buy a recent car and flog it before you have to service the bloody box... that's what people do these days... drive it as long as it works and when the first big bill comes up, they shift it... by another and repeat the cycle...

TDS224 year rare indeed, I remember seeing only one or sale here ! Got sold as usual within 24H, as you do.

My PM3394 is actually my daily driver ! Starts up fast I find ?! 
My TDS544A OTOH takes 60 seconds (timed it) to boot, and need a lot more power / expensive electricity to run, so I prefer the PM3394 instead, especially as it does analog as well.

As for my 575 thread I fear nobody will ever watch it, seeing as e-mail notifications still don't work on this bloody forum, at least my end ! 

Hmm, emails are working fine for me and as to the DSG thing, I understand from my garage that the DSG boxes as fitted to my car and other of similar vintage are fine. The early cars did have some problems from time to time. It all comes down to how aggressively they are driven, and my car does not get ill-treated, as a person who has worked on buses and coaches while doing my apprenticeship, I learned how to treat mechanical items correctly. With DSG boxes, never sit in traffic with the transmission in drive and the brakes on, slip it into neutral. These days with Start / Stop system, thats not an issue anyway, so it comes down these days to driving with consideration for the mechanicals and always adhering to the service schedules and replacing the gearbox oil when the manual states you should do.

The TDS224 scopes, I think I have seen about 2 for sale on eBay in as many years, the most common one is of the course the 210. As for daily drivers, none of my scopes are used that often, they are more of a tool that I like to have in my tool kit rather than me actually needing them. If I could have my PM3390B in the same location as my TDS210 is, directly in front of me, beneath my monitor shelf, then it would be the that I use more, but because of its size, it has to sit on a small computer desk to the left of me. There is a walk way between it and my main desk / bench which is the only way into and out of my small lab (box room really) so to use, involves having leads spanning the gap, and then I'm stuck at the desk and unable to answer the front door etc, less than ideal, hence my interest in the TDS210. I really envy those that have a decent sized space to set up their benches in.

[Vince]

Email notifications ?  Never use them and any forum I'm part of they're disabled ! 

Instead here on EEVblog: Show new replies to your posts.
Other forums automatically show notifications in the top bar so it only takes a sec to check rather than have your inbox bashed to death. 

Ah OK ! Yes I forgot about this feature !

I am just your opposite, I never actively poll forums for all new messages as don't have time n,or am I committed enough to want to do that.

I just create threads of my own then want to notified by e-mail so I know when someone replies to one my thread. So I get very few e-mails so that's fine.

Having to check actively each and every forum for all new messages each and every day is just wayyyyyyy too much to ask for me.

I just want to be notified if something happens in particular thread I am interested in. I couldn't deal with the flood of messages from everyone nor justify spending the time it wold take to do so.

So... e-mail notifications not only fit my workflow / usage perfectly, but they are also the only viable option. I need it to bloody work ! 
Please BD or someone fix this.. please.... A jarful of home made French cookies awaits you !!! Free shipping to boot ! 

But since I am always an outsider in most things in life, that would mean I am the only to use forums like I do !
So that means you are right.. people will find out about new messages on my 575 thread even with e-mail notifications being kaput ! 


EDIT : Oh sorry I read too fast.. you said one select to show replies to HIS posts ... rather than see millions of new threads...
OK that's a much more usable proposition !    Still prefer e-mail notifications though (bar for TEA of course !    ), as it keeps me from having to check/poll the forum(s). My e-mail box is where all my activities gravitate around, I want everything to land there. Only one place to check for everything.

Of course that can't work for you since you are so active on the forum so as you say that would flood your inbox, I understand ! 

[Cubdriver]

I calls 'em like I sees 'em. 

Regurgitated '80s Tandy-Radio Shack pseudo-industrial design aside, they're decent enough as long as you don't need CC along with your CV and provided the particular one you get doesn't suffer embrittlement from being left too close to a sunny window for a few years. Nice quiet linear design. No "me too!" cheap digital displays of dubious accuracy/linearity.

Pretty is as pretty does; I am the biggest proponent of "It's ugly but it works!" engineering and design out there. But I don't kid myself that it ain't ugly. 

mnem
Now y'all know how I felt when youzz were raggin' on muh hooPTy Cruiser...

Ahh, but the 621 even-numbered-X ones ARE CC/CV supplies!


And they're 1968 HP actual-industrial design - the Shack of the Rat may have copied it later, but...  And I happen to think they're rather cute.   

-Pat

[mnementh]

I can go to the garage later to take a picture of the tools.
However, to get there I have to pass by the mountain bike with flat rear tire ... there must be a very well hidden object stuck in the tire that I cannot find; already at 3 patches on the tube without even riding it since the initial flat. 

Little trick for finding the not obvious puncture creators inside tire cases....wrap a rag around fingers and run it around the inside of the case where it will catch on the little buggers and show you where they are......sometimes tricky to pull the little buggers out though but sharp sidecutters generally will grab the little mongrels.

You can use the back of your hand but at the risk of getting sliced up....don't ask !

Yes, but the latter method is the surest for finding it quickly, and the blood smear makes a easy to follow trail after you're all done flailing your arm aboot and cussing. 

mnem
tires are made in part from recycled piranha teeth. no lie!!!

[Cubdriver]

As for my 575 thread I fear nobody will ever watch it, seeing as e-mail notifications still don't work on this bloody forum, at least my end ! 

Garbage Vince, been there 3 times myself but nothing to add....yet.
Check the # of views to gauge how popular a thread is.
Early days yet laddie. 

Yeah there are people interested but I was saying HOW the hell will they know when to check my thread if they don't received a freaking e-mail notification informing them that something has been posted there in 3 weeks or months ?!

It's not like TEA where it's a chat room and people just keep a tab open permanently for it and refresh it 10 times a day KNOWING there will be something new to read ! 

Or maybe notifications I broken only for me but works for everybody else ?! That would be rather strange and unfair...

It's not the first time this year that notifications fail or work erratically, this bloody needs to fixed once and for all 
Maybe people posted on my old thread and I don't even know bout it and they will think I am just ignoring them ?! 

Just a few weeks ago someone posted on my TDS 544A repair thread asking me something !  This thread has been inactive for years !

Email notifications ?  Never use them and any forum I'm part of they're disabled ! 

Instead here on EEVblog: Show new replies to your posts.
Other forums automatically show notifications in the top bar so it only takes a sec to check rather than have your inbox bashed to death. 

Exactly!  On my browser, that's the EEVblog link I have to open the forum - go right to what interests me.

-Pat

[Specmaster]

Here is my first ever power supply, which I purchased from Tandys (for you yanks, its the name for Radio Shack in the UK) when they used to have a shop in Chelmsford, so that must be about now, 30+ years old and it still works perfectly today, never had any problems with it.

[Robert763]

On DSG gearboxes. I went to court several years ago over a used car with a DSG 'box. It was OK on test drive but a judder moving away from a stop developed on the trip home. Used car dealer lived up to their generic reputation and would not fix it, refund or exchange it. They wasted time, didn't turn up at court, lied to the judge (Small Claims so not under oath) etc, etc. I won and the judgement was for the price paid the car, all costs including insuring it for the year the process took, cost of using another car plus interest. IT didn't require me to return the faulty car either. But by this time I was so fed up I didn't want to have to fight to get the money so let him have it back on condition the money was in our account before I handed over the keys. He ended up paying back about 50% more than we paid for the car.
Side story was I found out there was a recall for the fault (Dual mass flywheel breaking up) under a warranty extension which had just expired,. But the main dealer didn't know about it until I gave them the details   
 

[Vince]

As for daily drivers, none of my scopes are used that often, they are more of a tool that I like to have in my tool kit rather than me actually needing them. If I could have my PM3390B in the same location as my TDS210 is, directly in front of me, beneath my monitor shelf, then it would be the that I use more, but because of its size, it has to sit on a small computer desk to the left of me. There is a walk way between it and my main desk / bench which is the only way into and out of my small lab (box room really) so to use, involves having leads spanning the gap, and then I'm stuck at the desk and unable to answer the front door etc, less than ideal, hence my interest in the TDS210. I really envy those that have a decent sized space to set up their benches in.

Oh wow, sounds you are really short of lab space, my condolences ! 

Sucks to have to select gear based on footprint rather than specs and value for money ! 

As for me lab is currently occupying the living room for now, temporarily. Was thinking of using the entire attic to host the lab, once I get to making the attic a livable space... however I changed my mind, attic has wooden floor, not beefy enough to stack dozens of boat anchors at the same place... poor floor would collapse. That, plus it's not practical to have to go through stairs whenever you want / need to take a large and/or heavy item to/from the lab. Like when restoring a boat anchor, or when someone gives me a mega large 50" LCD TV to look at as I had to do earlier this year ! 

So I think I will change my plans, and install the lab downstairs instead, in what was supposed to be my bedroom. Bedroom will be in the attic then ! Plenty of space ! LOL  ....
Bedroom was too small anyway, only 10m2 or there about. Moving it in the attic will be much more conformable.
Lab will be so much more practical/comfortable if on the ground floor ! I can just wheel heavy/large items around on a little cart or something ! 

Of course 10m2 even for a lab is tight, so will have to think the "design" of it carefully, and make the most of every cubic meter of space in there....
Luckily once I will be done building the (large, 60m2) garage, I will have enough space to store all my boat anchors and "for parts" this and that. This way the small 10m2 lab can focus on hosting only the gear that actually gets used, rather than doubling as a storage unit...

That's how I am hoping to make it work...  we shall see how that goes ! 

Bit attic won"t be done until 3 years at beeest, so in the meantime lab will be the living room, so plenty of space ! 

However it's clear I won't have enough space above the bench to stack boat anchors or full width rack mount stuff like old HP power supplies or things of that size.. so it's clear that I will want to favour acquiring gear in a more compact form factor, half width stuff, that is mostly newer stuff that is.... kinda expensive... unless I resort to buying some chinese stuff ! 
So I will want the usual HP VFD items that every one wants...counter, sig gen, 4 wire bench DMM.. a DC load, RF synth, the whole shebang...

[Cubdriver]

Here is my first ever power supply, which I purchased from Tandys (for you yanks, its the name for Radio Shack in the UK) when they used to have a shop in Chelmsford, so that must be about now, 30+ years old and it still works perfectly today, never had any problems with it.

Interesting - Lafayette Electronics was a separate entity (and competitor) of Rat Shack on this side of the pond.

-Pat

[Cerebus]

Only people like you and me who've actually relied on a saw to provide the wood used for primary heat understand. A daily driver chainsaw is like your favorite pair of perfectly broken-in long johns; you get comfortable with it til its a part of you, you get to know all it's good and bad habits, and you don't lend or borrow them.

The difference is people might want to borrow your chainsaw. If you can find anyone who wants to borrow your "favorite pair of perfectly broken-in long johns" I hope you would get them the psychiatric help that they would so clearly be in sore need of.