Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[ch_scr]

Yeah, my ancient (1955) Tek 545 apparently belonged to HP in its past life:

-Pat

I like that the maintenance was done by (an) EE 

[factory]

   If you're close to Munich, there is this pick-up-only delight:

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/tektronix-tm-503-gehaeuse-mit-fg-503-dc-503-dm-501a-defekt-/1893476833-168-5578   NAWTS as usual

Oi... the irony inherent in of a bit of Tek TE that was once used by Rohde & Schwarz in their own labs... 

mnem
 

Yeah, my ancient (1955) Tek 545 apparently belonged to HP in its past life:




-Pat

If it's from 1955 I can understand why hp were using Tek scopes, as they didn't offer their first oscilloscopes until 1956 and even then the hp 150A had a bit of a poor reputation.
https://www.hpmemoryproject.org/wa_pages/wall_a_page_12.htm

David

[AVGresponding]

The NIB Fluke 27AN from the US arrived yesterday, highlight of an otherwise extremely disappointing couple of TEA weeks. I missed an HP6920B multimeter calibrator  early last week, because my phone signal was poor, I think. I put in a bid in the dying seconds, but it apparently didn't reach the ebay servers in time.

Still sulking a bit about that one. Then the Valhalla Scientific AC Standard went for way more than I was prepared to pay, predictably. I expect the Solartron 7081 will reach silly money, so I should definitely turn my phone off for that, to save me from doing anything foolish.


So, the F27AN. Arrived without packing. Extra packing, that is. It was in the original Fluke cardboard carton, sat on my doorstep, in the pouring rain, absolutely soaked through. Thanks Herpes!
If I had known it was due that day I'd have left the plastic bag out, as I usually do when the weather is bad.
Fortunately it appears that Fluke make cardboard boxes as good as their meters, and it held its shape as I moved it to a safe location ready for unpacking. It left quite a pool behind when I'd finished.

Inside the cardboard carton was the plastic carry case, with only a couple of dribbles of water on it, but a slightly concerning rattle.
Opening the case revealed the by now expected contents; pristine F27AN, serious probulator (6kV), very serious probulator (40kV), really fantastic (RF) probulator in a ziplock bag with BNC adaptor probe tip covers and croc clips adaptors for normal leads, but no TL75 leads...
Given the inclusion of the HV and RF probes which aren't listed in the Users Manual, and that the carry case doesn't have the Fluke logo moulded into it, I wonder if these are the correct contents for the military version? Seems odd to remove the TL75's and leave the HV and RF probes which are worth far more.

Oh, and mine also came with 2x Service Manuals, and 2x Eveready Classic PP3's (made in China) with the 9812 date code. One measured 4.6V, the other 9.3V, and it holds up under load!

Had to do a bit of Techmoan style cleaning, as the black elastic bands keeping the cables tidy had all degenerated into sticky goop. Also had to clean inside the battery compartment... nope, not that! The foam pad to keep the battery from rattling about had likewise returned to its primeval state.

Powering up and functional testing the thing gave no surprises whatsoever; of course it works perfectly and is bam-accurate. The manufacture date appears to be January 1999, though I haven't had the case open to check component date codes; seems impolite on a virgin meter. Does make the battery expiry dates look a bit WTF?!? though.

And the worrying rattle? Remains unknown in precise terms, as it's coming from inside the blow-moulded case. NSA tracking chip maybe?



I think bd139 has a lot of organising to do and is making some space for more TE at home, as he's got quite a few things up for sale on ebay atm...   



It's not unusual for TE to be owned by rival manufacturers, I'm sure one of my Keithley meters has a Fluke asset sticker on it, and one of my Fluke 8300A's has a TI asset number, though I suppose they aren't/weren't direct competitors for bench meters.

[mnementh]

I didn't say it was unusual... only that it was ironic.

mnem
 

[Cubdriver]

The NIB Fluke 27AN from the US arrived yesterday, highlight of an otherwise extremely disappointing couple of TEA weeks. I missed an HP6920B multimeter calibrator  early last week, because my phone signal was poor, I think. I put in a bid in the dying seconds, but it apparently didn't reach the ebay servers in time.

So, the F27AN. Arrived without packing. Extra packing, that is. It was in the original Fluke cardboard carton, sat on my doorstep, in the pouring rain, absolutely soaked through. Thanks Herpes!
If I had known it was due that day I'd have left the plastic bag out, as I usually do when the weather is bad.
Fortunately it appears that Fluke make cardboard boxes as good as their meters, and it held its shape as I moved it to a safe location ready for unpacking. It left quite a pool behind when I'd finished.

Inside the cardboard carton was the plastic carry case, with only a couple of dribbles of water on it, but a slightly concerning rattle.
Opening the case revealed the by now expected contents; pristine F27AN, serious probulator (6kV), very serious probulator (40kV), really fantastic (RF) probulator in a ziplock bag with BNC adaptor probe tip covers and croc clips adaptors for normal leads, but no TL75 leads...
Given the inclusion of the HV and RF probes which aren't listed in the Users Manual, and that the carry case doesn't have the Fluke logo moulded into it, I wonder if these are the correct contents for the military version? Seems odd to remove the TL75's and leave the HV and RF probes which are worth far more.

Oh, and mine also came with 2x Service Manuals, and 2x Eveready Classic PP3's (made in China) with the 9812 date code. One measured 4.6V, the other 9.3V, and it holds up under load!

Had to do a bit of Techmoan style cleaning, as the black elastic bands keeping the cables tidy had all degenerated into sticky goop. Also had to clean inside the battery compartment... nope, not that! The foam pad to keep the battery from rattling about had likewise returned to its primeval state.

Powering up and functional testing the thing gave no surprises whatsoever; of course it works perfectly and is bam-accurate. The manufacture date appears to be January 1999, though I haven't had the case open to check component date codes; seems impolite on a virgin meter. Does make the battery expiry dates look a bit WTF?!? though.

And the worrying rattle? Remains unknown in precise terms, as it's coming from inside the blow-moulded case. NSA tracking chip maybe?

My 27/AN had two service manuals, too.  No batteries in the box, though, and my concerning rattle turned out to be the tip from the 6 kV probe, which had unscrewed itself somewhere in transit and was bouncing about inside the case.  Lithium 9Vs and a set of test leads should be arriving today, courtesy of Bezos & Co.

Glad to hear that yours has arrived safely despite the best efforts of the carrier.

-Pat

[dl6lr]

It's not unusual for TE to be owned by rival manufacturers, I'm sure one of my Keithley meters has a Fluke asset sticker on it, and one of my Fluke 8300A's has a TI asset number, though I suppose they aren't/weren't direct competitors for bench meters.

In case of Rohde&Schwarz they sold Tektronix equipment as a distributor in Germany back then, placing an own label on the equipment. "Rohde & Schwarz Vertriebs-GmbH" is the sales company for Germany.

[Specmaster]

Still sulking a bit about that one. Then the Valhalla Scientific AC Standard went for way more than I was prepared to pay, predictably. I expect the Solartron 7081 will reach silly money, so I should definitely turn my phone off for that, to save me from doing anything foolish.

Yes you were right about the 7081, it did go for silly money, but I predicted that it would because of its rarity, they are still a very sought after meter, in any state.

I was surprised to see the 1905A reach the dizzy heights it did as well considering it looked like it was having problems booting. I had that firmly in my cross-hairs but when it reached £30, I lost interest in it. I know you thought that it would cost zero £0 to fix it, I was not so sure so stopped when it reached the £30 mark, it went onto £64.

[BU508A]

In case of Rohde&Schwarz they sold Tektronix equipment as a distributor in Germany back then, placing an own label on the equipment. "Rohde & Schwarz Vertriebs-GmbH" is the sales company for Germany.

Yes. Two examples (NAWTS):

A T912:
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/tektronix-t912-von-rohde-schwarz/1853152201-168-3411


A D54:
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/oscilloscope-oszilloskop-analog-rohde-schwarz/1169411519-168-6900


The D54 is looking nice. Is it worth to have a closer look? Or is the T912 the better device?

Edit:
Thought again about the D54. I have some doubts, that it is a Tek scope. I was misleaded by the red knobs and the layout. Telequipment - never heard of that company. Can someone illuminate me? Thanks.

[mansaxel]

Opening the case revealed the by now expected contents;

Is your meter USMC-stickerized or pristine?

It's not unusual for TE to be owned by rival manufacturers, I'm sure one of my Keithley meters has a Fluke asset sticker on it, and one of my Fluke 8300A's has a TI asset number, though I suppose they aren't/weren't direct competitors for bench meters.[/color][/size][/b]

One of my -hp- / Harrison supplies has a Tektronix caution tag. I think it's just clever to use, and get to know, the competition too, because your customers will, and a true professional will always recognize the competition fairly, not resorting to brand religion like some salesdude.

[Cubdriver]

In case of Rohde&Schwarz they sold Tektronix equipment as a distributor in Germany back then, placing an own label on the equipment. "Rohde & Schwarz Vertriebs-GmbH" is the sales company for Germany.

Yes. Two examples (NAWTS):

A T912:
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/tektronix-t912-von-rohde-schwarz/1853152201-168-3411


A D54:
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/oscilloscope-oszilloskop-analog-rohde-schwarz/1169411519-168-6900


The D54 is looking nice. Is it worth to have a closer look? Or is the T912 the better device?

Edit:
Thought again about the D54. I have some doubts, that it is a Tek scope. I was misleaded by the red knobs and the layout. Telequipment - never heard of that company. Can someone illuminate me? Thanks.

Telequipment was a British scope manufacturer that was acquired by Tektronix in 1966.  They produced scopes more intended as service grade instruments for repair shops and the like, as opposed to the more lab-grade Tek scopes.  That kinship explains the family resemblance you noted.

https://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Telequipment

-Pat

[xrunner]

Telequipment was a British scope manufacturer that was acquired by Tektronix in 1966.  They produced scopes more intended as service grade instruments for repair shops and the like, as opposed to the more lab-grade Tek scopes.  That kinship explains the family resemblance you noted.

Also used in the cartoon "Thunderbirds". 

[mnementh]

It's not unusual for TE to be owned by rival manufacturers, I'm sure one of my Keithley meters has a Fluke asset sticker on it, and one of my Fluke 8300A's has a TI asset number, though I suppose they aren't/weren't direct competitors for bench meters.

In case of Rohde&Schwarz they sold Tektronix equipment as a distributor in Germany back then, placing an own label on the equipment. "Rohde & Schwarz Vertriebs-GmbH" is the sales company for Germany.

Hmmm... is that ironic...?

Or just a reminder that once upon a time, businesses actually occasionally operated in a cooperative manner...?

mnem
Which would be its own, much sadder irony... 

[tautech]

Thought again about the D54. I have some doubts, that it is a Tek scope. I was misleaded by the red knobs and the layout. Telequipment - never heard of that company. Can someone illuminate me? Thanks.

Pat has basically summed it up and earlier TQ scope didn't have any Tek DNA in them whereas the D83 I had certainly did.
bd139's mom worked for TQ which was why he wanted to get a nice D83 however although he had a pair so one for a donor they were both duds. 

D83 was their flagship and a quite nice CRO too which used the large Tek 7603 CRT with crisp as you ever did see traces.

[Specmaster]

Just watched another interesting YT video about what it was like to work at Sinclair in the 80's, just as they started to sell the ZX80 and ZX81, and as I had mentioned in a previous post I did actually meet the man himself once in St Ives and found him to be a perfectly charming person. The video describes an ideal working culture was the norm within the whole company, the sort of environment many people wished they had at their place of employment. I'll leave it up to you to discover more about the man himself, but I must say, the image many have of him, does not actually match the reality.

[mnementh]

In case of Rohde&Schwarz they sold Tektronix equipment as a distributor in Germany back then, placing an own label on the equipment. "Rohde & Schwarz Vertriebs-GmbH" is the sales company for Germany.

Yes. Two examples (NAWTS):

A T912:
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/tektronix-t912-von-rohde-schwarz/1853152201-168-3411


A D54:
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/oscilloscope-oszilloskop-analog-rohde-schwarz/1169411519-168-6900


The D54 is looking nice. Is it worth to have a closer look? Or is the T912 the better device?

Edit:
Thought again about the D54. I have some doubts, that it is a Tek scope. I was misleaded by the red knobs and the layout. Telequipment - never heard of that company. Can someone illuminate me? Thanks.

Telequipment was a British scope manufacturer that was acquired by Tektronix in 1966.  They produced scopes more intended as service grade instruments for repair shops and the like, as opposed to the more lab-grade Tek scopes.  That kinship explains the family resemblance you noted.

https://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Telequipment

-Pat

It also has a familial connection a little closer to home... bd139's mom was a assembly line debugger (IIRC) at Telequipment:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg3492346/?topicseen#msg3492346

mnem
 

[Specmaster]

In case of Rohde&Schwarz they sold Tektronix equipment as a distributor in Germany back then, placing an own label on the equipment. "Rohde & Schwarz Vertriebs-GmbH" is the sales company for Germany.

Yes. Two examples (NAWTS):

A T912:
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/tektronix-t912-von-rohde-schwarz/1853152201-168-3411


A D54:
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/oscilloscope-oszilloskop-analog-rohde-schwarz/1169411519-168-6900


The D54 is looking nice. Is it worth to have a closer look? Or is the T912 the better device?

Edit:
Thought again about the D54. I have some doubts, that it is a Tek scope. I was misleaded by the red knobs and the layout. Telequipment - never heard of that company. Can someone illuminate me? Thanks.

Telequipment was a British scope manufacturer that was acquired by Tektronix in 1966.  They produced scopes more intended as service grade instruments for repair shops and the like, as opposed to the more lab-grade Tek scopes.  That kinship explains the family resemblance you noted.

https://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Telequipment

-Pat

It also has a familial connection a little closer to home... bd139's mom was a assembly line debugger (IIRC) at Telequipment:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg3492346/?topicseen#msg3492346

mnem
 

Your memory is correct, she did indeed work in the factory, not sure what her title was though.

[mnementh]

Yeah, I'm not sure either...  I held a job by that title a couple times, and his descriptions a few times sounded a lot like what I did there.

mnem
 

[Cerebus]

Just watched another interesting YT video about what it was like to work at Sinclair in the 80's, just as they started to sell the ZX80 and ZX81, and as I had mentioned in a previous post I did actually meet the man himself once in St Ives and found him to be a perfectly charming person. The video describes an ideal working culture was the norm within the whole company, the sort of environment many people wished they had at their place of employment. I'll leave it up to you to discover more about the man himself, but I must say, the image many have of him, does not actually match the reality.

I don't know quite why you have this obsession with Sinclair but consider this.

You met him once briefly, and based on him being 'charming'  you've fallen for him. Well, every politician I've met in person (and that's quite a few, including the dread Thatcher) has been 'charming', and if I was to base my assessment of them solely on that no doubt I would be similarly fooled. However in the case of politicians it's easy to come across enough additional information that I can say that all those 'charming' people are in fact scheming, self-serving scumbags of the first order (I note in passing in relation to politicians that "superficial charm" is one of the identifying characteristics of psychopaths.). Charm at an initial meeting is not a good guide to assessing anyone's character, it can mislead, or it can be a trait of a genuinely warm person, but using it as the cornerstone of one's assessment of a person is foolish.

I know two people who worked for Sinclair and their remarks on him (delivered to me in person) are far from complimentary both about him as a person and about his true capabilities; you might want to consider what the  effect of being recorded (and subsequently edited) has on what someone will willingly say about another person that they know. One of those two people I had worked and socialised with for over two years before his former employer came up in conversation, so I think I can claim to know him well enough to be able to judge where he was 'coming from'. In fact, he is the kind who tries to find the good in everybody, so I attach particular weight to the fact that he was prepared to be highly critical of his former boss.

[med6753]

Mini 212, round 4.

PSU board, batteries, and CRT reassembled. It is a tight fit and gonna get even messier when the other 2 boards are installed.



And here's an example of the documentation not matching the board. The trace routing to R141. Those 2 orange tants. One is a 1uf/35V, the other is a 1uf/50V. I'm not sure which one is which and there's a 50% chance of getting it wrong resulting in smoke. So I'll wait until assembled and powered up then measure voltage on each. In the meantime changing out the other tants on this board. The main board is still to do and I have to figure out how to get access to the solder side.

   

[25 CPS]

I had some all too brief test equipment time tonight.  I ended up leaving work late again, make a couple of stops on the way home, and had to put the garbage and recycling out.  Luckily I had leftover food to warm up otherwise I’d have been sunk for time if I had to cook.  One of the stops included picking up some 9V batteries:



President’s Choice.  It saved me a stop even though I’d rather not put coins in Galen Weston’s pockets and buy at the local electronics bricks and mortar instead.



The package of two let me sort out the Agilent U1252A that bailed out on me a couple of weeks ago as well as get the Fluke up and running.  The batteries are exposed because I originally was going to use the two meters to cross check each other but the Agilent did not like that one bit and freaked out with an A-Err message and beeping when measuring the battery connected to the Fluke at the same time the Fluke was measuring the battery connected to the Agilent.  The Fluke didn’t care but the U1252A didn’t like that cross connected arrangement at all so a bench power supply connected to both solved that problem.



And an AC test into the nearest power strip.  The hydro company is running a bit hot tonight; daytime voltage here sags to about 121 V.  It wasn’t a comprehensive set of tests by any means but they track either exactly or very closely so I think I can deem the Fluke good.

[Specmaster]

I don't know quite why you have this obsession with Sinclair but consider this.

You met him once briefly, and based on him being 'charming'  you've fallen for him. Well, every politician I've met in person (and that's quite a few, including the dread Thatcher) has been 'charming', and if I was to base my assessment of them solely on that no doubt I would be similarly fooled. However in the case of politicians it's easy to come across enough additional information that I can say that all those 'charming' people are in fact scheming, self-serving scumbags of the first order (I note in passing in relation to politicians that "superficial charm" is one of the identifying characteristics of psychopaths.). Charm at an initial meeting is not a good guide to assessing anyone's character, it can mislead, or it can be a trait of a genuinely warm person, but using it as the cornerstone of one's assessment of a person is foolish.

I know two people who worked for Sinclair and their remarks on him (delivered to me in person) are far from complimentary both about him as a person and about his true capabilities; you might want to consider what the  effect of being recorded (and subsequently edited) has on what someone will willingly say about another person that they know. One of those two people I had worked and socialised with for over two years before his former employer came up in conversation, so I think I can claim to know him well enough to be able to judge where he was 'coming from'. In fact, he is the kind who tries to find the good in everybody, so I attach particular weight to the fact that he was prepared to be highly critical of his former boss.

To correct the record, I don't have an obsession about Sinclair, he just fascinates me, like it or not, he has left a big technological legacy behind him. Nobody, least of all me, has said that everything he did was ethical, or even done to the best it could be done etc. He got me into electronics from an early age, he also got me involved with computers and got me dabbling a bit with programming on the Spectrum. I seriously doubt that I'm alone in that respect, many programmers today, first cut their teeth with Sinclair machines, not because they were the best, but because they could personally afford them. That right there is perhaps Sinclair's greatest claim to fame, that his products were designed to market at a price point that many more people could enjoy the benefits of owning something that was previously only available to the more affluent people in society.

Also consider this as well, there is the possibility that the person you know might well have parted company with Sinclair under a cloud for some reason if that is the case, is he going to be 100% honest about his relationship with Sinclair, I think not.

I'm also the type of person who tries to see the best in people rather than the worst, but the truth is that each one of us has a nasty side, if provoked enough, that will come to the fore. I was brought up to respect others and to treat people in the same fashion I'd like to be treated myself.

[Neomys Sapiens]

When you think you've seen it all....

Today in the mail: 2 Hirschmann Klemmpruefspitzen. Not that I needed any of the most common kind ('fly-legs' = Kleps20) and even the hook type was already stocked in sufficient numbers. But the latter (Kleps 10) is normally much shorter. Those here are instead significantly longer than normal. I had not seen them previously, but snapped them up on Ebay for 10€ total. There is not anything like too many adaptors and probes, as we all know!

Also two very sturdy 2-wire clips with 4mm jacks . reportedly made in Sweden. They have a serious bite with two thin, sharp and hard steel prongs per side.
Those are still available from the same seller:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/154639555053

NAWTS as usual. Picture is looking a bit strange, but the pair which I received is immaculate.

Sadly, Vince gave me some bad news, as I had intended to buy the Tek 2232 from France which he kindly pointed out to us. I asked for his help and he agreed, only to discover that it is a seller which does not react to any messages. So the planned replacement of the mangy 465 with a 2232 or a 2236 is not happening yet. it was one of the UK co-afflicted who got me interested in the 2232 when we discussed its virtues and shortcomings in comparison to the 2430 some years ago in this thread. The fact that it can go fully analogue while still being a nice backup DSO has it's merits.
Meh.

[Cerebus]

Also consider this as well, there is the possibility that the person you know might well have parted company with Sinclair under a cloud for some reason if that is the case, is he going to be 100% honest about his relationship with Sinclair, I think not.

People, not person, and both worked for Amstrad after the Sinclair properties they worked for were sold to Amstrad. (If you really want to hear some bad-mouthing, ask either of them about Alan Sugar.) So much for that theory. It's rather unfair to character assassinate people you don't know and ascribe ill motives to them just because their actual first hand experience of Sinclair doesn't accord with your rose-tinted view from a distance.

[Neomys Sapiens]

The batteries are exposed because I originally was going to use the two meters to cross check each other but the Agilent did not like that one bit and freaked out with an A-Err message and beeping when measuring the battery connected to the Fluke at the same time the Fluke was measuring the battery connected to the Agilent.  The Fluke didn’t care but the U1252A didn’t like that cross connected arrangement at all so a bench power supply connected to both solved that problem.

This does not surprise me at all. Come on - the analogy of two surgeons operating simultaneously on each others guts is the kindest picture which I can find for this experiment! All other analogies involve livestock keeping neighbours with unmentionable predilections.

[25 CPS]

453 : see ? I told I needed the bench space and had no time for it... I just didn't know how right I was !  A couple hours ago a friend just paid me an impromptu visit, he brought me lots of stuff from a friend og his, to fix ! 

........major snip, slash, and burn.

That's exactly why I have an extremely short list of people (mostly just family) that I'll be willing to look at and fix their stuff. I can't be bothered and it usually turns into a major hassle. 

Uhuh. Two houses further is a vet. When you walk by, you see the people in the waiting area with their pets. Often I was greeted with a similar scene at home, with appliances of any sort. Just yesterday, another audio amplifier inpatient was brought in.
At least, the bloody answering machines are gone. Also, long time since I've seen a fax.
Worst thing ever was an inverter from a wood turner. That cabinet shed a disgusting amount of sawdust.

It's been power inverters here.  An acquaintance, friend of a friend, has an off the grid cottage outside of Ottawa with a solar power lighting system and it's been a parade of blown inverters from that have been dropped off here over the summer and early fall by the mutual friend.  One of them stopped accepting input power from the batteries.  Another blew smoke and burned when the wife plugged in an electric frying pan and switched it on instead of tripping its overcurrent protection.  The wife forgot she could only use it when the generator was running.  There's a third one that I've totally forgotten what it was that went wrong with it.  The kicker is, I never said I was willing to look at these and I've never been a guest at that cottage.

I'm going to do the custom build and the two radios that I agreed to do but enough is enough.  I want to do my own projects and spend some quality time on my own stuff this winter.  I've got test equipment and audio equipment that's been waiting for ages and I'm no longer willing to put other people's repair jobs ahead of my own projects on the bench once those three committed once are finished up and out the door.