Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tautech]

Pokes TEA thread with OT just to see if there's anyone out there ?

Nearly record downpour event in August created a few small landslides which is just nature doing its thing but one came outta the bush and skittled some of our bush block reserve fencing ! 

Wouldn't be a problem except at that time of year and moment laid eyes on it knew what a tragi-mess it would turn into. 
First pic shows some of the BS we had to go through with a snatch block anchored to a tree and ropes fed under the tractor onto Larry Minor's little Fiat crawler.
All that just to replace one broken strainer then some more hours to get all the wires back on it to keep stock from the reserve. 
The tidy up can wait until Jan/Feb mid summer !

I see you have very wet and muddy Springtime too.

For some reason I have a hard time wrapping my head around "Jan/Feb mid summer" especially when outside temperature is currently -1 C. 

Your white Christmas is just starting to get really warm here.

24C yesterday was nice for busting clay targets (as reported on Discord that you missed ! ) and 22C today with ~14C overnights.
Our wet starts in June and buckets in July where we have very few days without some rain. 9C max are super cold days when it's mostly ~12C. Our lows are rarely 0C and mostly ~6C but down at lower altitudes than us (200m our hilltop, 100m our house) they get just below 0C quite frequently.
28-30C summer high and 20C overnight lows are just getting uncomfortable for sleeping.

But back to TEA and would you believe it....I'm helping a guy from Siglent to hack a Rigol !   

[factory]

At home waiting for the hospital to call, thought I should add this here.


David

[BU508A]

New video from TSP: R&S SMU NGU401



Price excluding VAT: 5800.- Euro

https://allice.de/rohde-schwarz/rohde-schwarz-ngu201-ngu401-high-precision-smu-source-and-sink-labor-stromversorgung-vier-quadranten-source-measure-unit/
NAWTS

[Peter_O]

Page 4260 triggers the lovely HP4260A Universal Bridge, that joined my collection last year.
Marvellous mechanics.

Nice HP Journal article:

http://hparchive.com/Journals/HPJ-1966-09.pdf

[mnementh]

Greetings all. Last couple days have been quite busy; we had the TEA excursion to The Middle of Nowhere, GWN and yesterday was spent chauffering the son for his playdate and a little Thrifting which yielded a coffee grinder and some nice insulated Security Service uniform-company coats complete with hoods and actually in my size. I don't care if they make us look like the fuzz; wifey and I will be toasty warm and rainproof.

Anyhoo... along with all that came the inevitable "day off hangover" as I was very naughty and had bagels and waffles for breakfast and pizza for dinner after my meal at the Iron Rooster. Currently battling a tension headache; I have a stinger in my neck from all that drivetime which simply will not give me a break.

I do have some pics of the meet and want to post some On-topic aboot my newly acquired [FLUKE] 27 with his/her Probulators; but that will have to wait until I can actually focus on the screen well enough to to do post-production on the pics and RTFM with the [FLUKE].

Cheers,

mnem
*toddles off to nuke a towel for his neck*

[Specmaster]

Nothing in the 27 manual that I'd have thought you needed to RTM on, its a very good accurate basic meter, thats it.

[Cerebus]

I don't care if they make us look like the fuzz; wifey and I will be toasty warm and rainproof.

Not much chance of that. What with the keto diet you won't have the ever-present doughnut in your left hand that appears to be part of the uniform. 

[mnementh]

No, they really are that horrible a colour, originally and intentionally.

The paintwork on mine is pristine (and of high quality) and the same colour where it's protected from the environment as on the exposed bits. It's a smooth uniform colour all over, the same colour that someone actually chose to make it.

When I first got it my first thought was exactly yours, "God this has suffered the ravages of time, I'm going to be scrubbing this muck off for ever!", because I couldn't believe that someone would deliberately paint it the colour of something that had been screwed to the wall between a urinal and a condom machine  in a very smoky pub for 20 years. But proper examination proved that they did.

At least they chose a highly durable pigment. Hmm, I've just had the terrifying thought that cadmium dichromate is (a) highly durable, (b) about the right colour. They couldn't, they wouldn't, use that as a pigment, would they? 

After the industrial scale production of cadmium started in the 1930s and 1940s, the major application of cadmium was the coating of iron and steel to prevent corrosion; in 1944, 62% and in 1956, 59% of the cadmium in the United States was used for plating.[4][21] In 1956, 24% of the cadmium in the United States was used for a second application in red, orange and yellow pigments from sulfides and selenides of cadmium.[21]

I understand that cadmium as used for cad-plate passivation is not the same thing; I wonder if they were experimenting with CdCrO4 as a corrosion-inhibiting paint...?

Also... idly wondering if CdCrO4 contains any of the radioactive Cd isotopes in measurable quantity...

mnem
*chemistry-deficient*

[mnementh]

   Pokes TEA thread with OT just to see if there's anyone out there ?   Nearly record downpour event in August created a few small landslides which is just nature doing its thing but one came outta the bush and skittled some of our bush block reserve fencing !     Wouldn't be a problem except at that time of year and moment laid eyes on it knew what a tragi-mess it would turn into.     First pic shows some of the BS we had to go through with a snatch block anchored to a tree and ropes fed under the tractor onto Larry Minor's little Fiat crawler.   All that just to replace one broken strainer then some more hours to get all the wires back on it to keep stock from the reserve.     The tidy up can wait until Jan/Feb mid summer !

Uggh.    I understand viscerally what you just battled through there and... no insult intended, but better thee than me. 

mnem
three days later, you're still finding mud caked onto shit from the adventure...

[Cerebus]

I understand that cadmium as used for cad-plate passivation is not the same thing; I wonder if they were experimenting with CdCrO4 as a corrosion-inhibiting paint...?

I was, I hope, joking, but I wouldn't put anything beyond industrial paint manufacturers, who were using lead based paint formulations into the 1980s.

[mnementh]

I don't care if they make us look like the fuzz; wifey and I will be toasty warm and rainproof.

Not much chance of that. What with the keto diet you won't have the ever-present doughnut in your left hand that appears to be part of the uniform. 

I do still have the concomitant coffee addiction, and I still eat a bagel every once in a while on my day off... 

mnem

[mansaxel]

I understand that cadmium as used for cad-plate passivation is not the same thing; I wonder if they were experimenting with CdCrO4 as a corrosion-inhibiting paint...?

I was, I hope, joking, but I wouldn't put anything beyond industrial paint manufacturers, who were using lead based paint formulations into the 1980s.

I recently found a NOS drywall expander that proudly exclaimed "Cadmium passivated" on the packaging. I left it in said packaging. Age unknown, but I guess early 70s.

[mansaxel]

I don't care if they make us look like the fuzz; wifey and I will be toasty warm and rainproof.

Not much chance of that. What with the keto diet you won't have the ever-present doughnut in your left hand that appears to be part of the uniform. 

I do still have the concomitant coffee addiction, and I still eat a bagel every once in a while on my day off... 

mnem

Bagels aren't donuts.

Also; US theatre engineering joke:

Q: What happens when the stagehand dies?

A: The donut falls from his hand.

Q: What happens then?

A: His son picks it up.

[mnementh]

Well yes, you and I know this... but we were talking appearances here.

mnem
And we all know how much more important appearances are than actual reality...

[mnementh]

...But back to TEA and would you believe it... I'm helping a guy from Siglent to hack a Rigol !   

Not only believable, but actually somewhat expected, TBH. 

mnem
I can count on the fingers of one foot the number of other people that I would expect them to turn to...

[25 CPS]

Greetings all. Last couple days have been quite busy; we had the TEA excursion to The Middle of Nowhere, GWN and yesterday was spent chauffering the son for his playdate and a little Thrifting which yielded a coffee grinder and some nice insulated Security Service uniform-company coats complete with hoods and actually in my size. I don't care if they make us look like the fuzz; wifey and I will be toasty warm and rainproof.

I was, I hope, joking, but I wouldn't put anything beyond industrial paint manufacturers, who were using lead based paint formulations into the 1980s.

That was one of the several reasons that was given for changing Toronto police cars from yellow to white was that the yellow pigment had a very high lead content.  Maybe we should see if we can find a yellow police package Dodge Diplomat or Chevrolet Caprice to go with those coats?

[tggzzz]

I understand that cadmium as used for cad-plate passivation is not the same thing; I wonder if they were experimenting with CdCrO4 as a corrosion-inhibiting paint...?

I was, I hope, joking, but I wouldn't put anything beyond industrial paint manufacturers, who were using lead based paint formulations into the 1980s.

I recently found a NOS drywall expander that proudly exclaimed "Cadmium passivated" on the packaging. I left it in said packaging. Age unknown, but I guess early 70s.

I've just found some masonry filler for drilled holes with a stick-on label saying something to the effect "this contains asbestos fibres and is perfectly safe if ..."

[Cerebus]

I understand that cadmium as used for cad-plate passivation is not the same thing; I wonder if they were experimenting with CdCrO4 as a corrosion-inhibiting paint...?

I was, I hope, joking, but I wouldn't put anything beyond industrial paint manufacturers, who were using lead based paint formulations into the 1980s.

I recently found a NOS drywall expander that proudly exclaimed "Cadmium passivated" on the packaging. I left it in said packaging. Age unknown, but I guess early 70s.

Back in the 70s when there were pukka Army surplus stores in the UK, I used to get a lot of clothes, storage (steel Ammo Boxes - yayyy!) and assorted electronics from them. On the electronics everything that wasn't cadmium passivated (steel) was chromium passivated (aluminium). The military did love their toxic metal passivations.

[mnementh]

Well, yes... but this was back when, at least in the case of the US Forces of Directed Violence, a soldier was considered property of said armed force, and was also given reasonable compensation in the form of lifetime medical care.

It wasn't until the Reagan admin reclassified them as employees to bolster abysmal unemployment figures that they suddenly found themselves fighting legal wars on dozens of fronts over how those soldiers were exposed to unnecessary risk including but not limited to dangerous chemicals, and subsequently that "lifetime of healthcare" perq became vaporware. Yes, there is a lot of other stuff I'm glossing over; but that is a monumental story of politics and warfare, which thread I really don't want to start unraveling here.

mnem
 

[mnementh]

Greetings all. Last couple days have been quite busy; we had the TEA excursion to The Middle of Nowhere, GWN and yesterday was spent chauffering the son for his playdate and a little Thrifting which yielded a coffee grinder and some nice insulated Security Service uniform-company coats complete with hoods and actually in my size. I don't care if they make us look like the fuzz; wifey and I will be toasty warm and rainproof.

I was, I hope, joking, but I wouldn't put anything beyond industrial paint manufacturers, who were using lead based paint formulations into the 1980s.

That was one of the several reasons that was given for changing Toronto police cars from yellow to white was that the yellow pigment had a very high lead content.  Maybe we should see if we can find a yellow police package Dodge Diplomat or Chevrolet Caprice to go with those coats?

Not for this frosty dwagon; gotta be a Crown Vic. 

mnem
Preferably this one:

[Cerebus]

Just a side note.

I put an order into Digikey at 20:45 GMT last night, shipped at 05:07 GMT this morning. So it looks like Digikey at least are back to their normal speed in shipping orders.

I can't figure out if the great circle route goes over Mnem's head or Med's head, but one of you can give it a wave as it flies to me. [Checks] OK, as always with GC routes I've been fooled - it goes via Northern Quebec and just clips the north of Newfoundland.

[Robert763]

Aviation still does use a lot of cadmium and chromates. A current issue is european counries have banned several SVHCs used in aviation corrosion prevention. While there are viable alternatives, it seems that some American type certificate holders are in no ruh to approve ther use.

[cyclin_al]

Just a side note.

I put an order into Digikey at 20:45 GMT last night, shipped at 05:07 GMT this morning. So it looks like Digikey at least are back to their normal speed in shipping orders.

I can't figure out if the great circle route goes over Mnem's head or Med's head, but one of you can give it a wave as it flies to me. [Checks] OK, as always with GC routes I've been fooled - it goes via Northern Quebec and just clips the north of Newfoundland.

Okay, I'll wave then ... 

[cyclin_al]

Aviation still does use a lot of cadmium and chromates. A current issue is european counries have banned several SVHCs used in aviation corrosion prevention. While there are viable alternatives, it seems that some American type certificate holders are in no ruh to approve ther use.

Otherwise, we wold lose sight of what "green aircraft" really means!

Speaking of which, lunch break is over; need to switch to the other machine...

[capt bullshot]

Another short episode from the Fun with TEA dept:

I've connected this reference board (indeed this is five references in parallel to reduce noise and average the nominal 5V) to the four HP34401As:





This is the result over a few hours with less ambient temperature change than yesterdays experiment:



One vertical division equals 1ppm (5uV out of 5V). So they're all agree within 17ppm of their reading, while the average is about 20ppm from the nominal 5V. Pretty good for non-adjusted 5V reference chips.

DMM #3 (blue) has more noise than the others. It's also got an older firmware than the others, don't know if this correlates.
DMM #1 (green) shows some jumps of 1 ... 2ppm at some points, so does DMM #2 (yellow) but less amplitude.
DMM #4 (red) just looks fine.

All curves drift roughly the same direction and amount, so I'd attribute this to the 5V references, not the DMMs.
In yesterdays experiment, the green curve showed these jumps, and the blue one was more noisy - same as here, so it's the DMMs property.



Vertical division equals 1ppm here, too.

BTW
The logged data has more digits (seven) than the HP34401A shows (6 1/2) and is specified for (5 1/2). They default to show 5 1/2 digits after power on, you can set them to show 6 1/2 digits. IMO these plots show the 6 1/2 digits are indeed useful with these instruments.