Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[BU508A]

Minitron 3015F - I'm having some ... 

[Kosmic]

Hmm, while in the garages today I came across some Triaxial cable. Two types. One is PTFE with FEP sheath around 5mm dia. The other is smaller with a black sheath. Anyone interested in some? If so I'll look for the type numbers.

I might be interested in the one with a black sheath. If you can get the model num that would be great!

ThePTFE one is 50R and pretty stiff ECS / Carlisle 322001
https://www.carlisleit.com/wp-content/pdfs/prodinfo/50OhmTriax_322001.pdf?_t=1576175447

The black one is marked Tyco EPD 33279Q 26AWG
I can't find data on that one.

OD is 4.25mm. Outer sheath is PVC like, black. Screens are braided tinned copper. Interscreen layer is also PVC like, black. It is not semiconducting. A 6" length measued 45 G \$\Omega\$at 1000 V
Dielectic is foamed white probablyPVC dia is 2mm. Center conductor is stranded tinned copper.

I was hoping for a cable similar to the one Keithley is using but it look like the black one is different.

Carlisle 322001 is interesting but I have a similar one over here (TRC-50-2)

Thanks for looking Robert!

[med6753]

Decided to take a break from this thread and the blog for a few days and think about and consider whether I want to continue to participate or call it quits. I'm going to continue to be an active member and concentrate my efforts solely to TE content. I have taken very specific and targeted actions to insure my participation is only TE content and there will be no more discussions from this neck of the woods concerning off topic content other than what I post here for a final time. And just because I haven't posted here for a while doesn't mean I haven't been active with TE. I have and will post later.

There seems to be the impression that I am against OT content. Absolutely untrue. My objections center around discussions, usually political, that others may find objectionable or challenge their beliefs. But apparently there is a vocal group here that feels in the spirit of  “free wheeling” and open discussion that it should be allowed. OK, fine...go for it. But consider this. If someone suddenly wants to discuss how their religion is the only true religion and all others are frauds or even more bizarre someone starts preaching from the good book is the group gonna shut them down? You can't. “Free wheeling”. Remember? Or lets really twist some panties. Discussion about gun ownership and gun rights. Watch this TE thread implode in about 30 seconds to a party of one.

All I'm saying is be careful what you ask for. 

Some goodies to be posted later.

[Andrew_Debbie]

Discussion about gun ownership and gun rights. Watch this TE thread implode in about 30 seconds to a party of one.

Can we please not have that here.   

[med6753]

Discussion about gun ownership and gun rights. Watch this TE thread implode in about 30 seconds to a party of one.

Can we please not have that here.

You just proved my point. If you allow one you allow all.

[tautech]

I own hammers, screwdrivers, spanners and firearms....and they each are only tools in my hands.
Don't like that...go piss up a rope. 

[beanflying]

About TEA

This is the official TEA (Test Equipment Anonymous) house for everyone who has GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). Share your stories of woe, trying to manage all the wonderful test gear you keep scoring. Maybe group therapy will cure you. Then, again, maybe not. Well, as long as you enjoy it, what's one more multimeter in the grand scheme of things?

Just remember that when you have too many, another one doesn't make the problem any worse.


TEA Around the Web
The Official TEA server on Discord: Live text & voice chat. "TEA Time" chat every Saturday @ 21:00 UTC. Glossophobic? No problem! Just listen in to the banter or participate in the text-only channel, #teatime.
TEA on The Amp Hour podcast #470 @ ~15:30. "Ah, test gear. It's a sickness. You should join the Test Gear[sic] Anonymous thread on the EEVblog forum."
"The test equipment dark web..." tweeted on Jan 6, 2021 by Dave Jones. Also screenshotted in the TEA thread.
EEVblog #1410 - Mailbag mentioned at 10:35 in reference to the TEA sign in Tony Albus's lab pics. Also, thread linked in the video description.
EEVblog #1414 - Turning it up to 11 mentioned at 10:45, "There's even a Test Equipment Anonymous, ah, in case you've got, you know, psychological problems collecting test equipment, which is quite common."
The Genesis of TEA
In the "List your test equipment "scores" here!" thread, someone had asked what the 12 steps program was like.

1. Join EEVblog
2. Score some test gear
3. Post about your test equipment scores
4. Buy more test gear
...
10. Buy yet more test gear
11. Join TEA
12. Build your first circuit

[TERRA Operative]

I come from a family of firearm owners, I have no desire to discuss firearms here.
I was indoctrinated in to religion, and have extricated myself, I have no desire to discuss religion here.
I own a modified vehicle, I don't need to discuss cars here.
I hate politics and have no desire to discuss it here.

I own too much test equipment that my patient wife endures but complains about.

That is exactly why I'm here.



On that note, I just bid on another TDS644B scope, this one is a bit smashed up so will be good for spare parts.

[Vince]

Minitron 3015F - I'm having some ... 

Well nice score but now that you have bought half of the worldwide stock of these, the price of the few remaining ones will now sky rocket ! So thank you  !   

[med6753]

Over on the Old Tek Scope group on Facebook we were made aware through Facebook Marketplace that a thrift shop in Endicott, NY had 2 Type 547's, 2 scope carts, and some assorted plug-in's for a bargain price of $200 USD. It turns out I was the only one within reasonable spitting distance of Endicott. Well....3 hours one way. So yesterday (Saturday) was road trip. Left here at 0630 and was home by 1330.  I have everything unpacked a safely tucked in my garage for now. I'll give a quick rundown of what was in this haul. The scope carts are the older fixed position Type 500/53A. They are extremely filthy but should clean up. I do not want them and I will be putting them up for sale although one might already be spoken for.

The two Type 547's are really nasty dirty on the outside and missing some hardware. I have not opened them up yet to look inside. Another day. I was told that they do power up but I really don't want to attempt that until I've opened them up and do some basic checks.

Plug-in's: A Type W Differental Comparator. It is missing one 8416 tube which I don't have but I'm sure I can find one on Ebay. A Type CA Vertical. It is missing about a half dozen vacuum tubes but I have those in stock. Two Type 1A1. Both are complete but one has a label saying it's defective. And last but not least, a much sought after 1A4 four channel vertical. It is complete but front panel is extremely dirty. It's clean on the inside. I'm going to tackle this piece first. I found a last calibration date of 1986.

I found some asset tags and this stuff was owned by General Electric in Johnson City, NY. I thought for sure they would have been owned by IBM Endicott but apparently not. The thrift shop got these pieces from a Ham who is now an SK.

I have the Type 1A4 on the bench and will post pictures later.

[capt bullshot]

Well nice score but now that you have bought half of the worldwide stock of these, the price of the few remaining ones will now sky rocket ! So thank you  !   

That stuff isn't necessarily bought - as i'd suggest for Roberts avionics stuff too. Sometimes, if you keep your eyes open and know about the official and inofficial rules, or know some people that know about your TEA syndrome, stuff lands in your lab out just of the blue

[tautech]

Med, at least one of them scope carts needs a dose of Krylon Gloss Bahama Sea.

Good scores. 

[Vince]

Well nice score but now that you have bought half of the worldwide stock of these, the price of the few remaining ones will now sky rocket ! So thank you  !   

That stuff isn't necessarily bought - as i'd suggest for Roberts avionics stuff too. Sometimes, if you keep your eyes open and know about the official and inofficial rules, or know some people that know about your TEA syndrome, stuff lands in your lab out just of the blue

Oh no, and he didn't even pay for them at that ! 

Well regardless the effect on the market is the same, there is a shortage now !

[med6753]

Med, at least one of them scope carts needs a dose of Krylon Gloss Bahama Sea.

Good scores. 

I don't think either will need paint once I clean them up. My plan is to spray them down with a cleaner such as "Simple Green" then hose them off. Problem is at night temps are below freezing and aren't warming up too much during the day.

[Vince]

Over on the Old Tek Scope group on Facebook we were made aware through Facebook Marketplace that a thrift shop in Endicott, NY had 2 Type 547's, 2 scope carts, and some assorted plug-in's for a bargain price of $200 USD.
[..]
The two Type 547's are really nasty dirty on the outside and missing some hardware. I have not opened them up yet to look inside.

Wow great !!!   

Once the two carts are sold the scopes and plug-ins will then be dirt cheap  !  Incomplete and nasty, perfect ! Just what you needed... no remorse for not trying to restore them, just keep them as spares for your already restored one, a life time of spare parts ! 
However I have only two 547, so I am starting to feel a bit poor now, left behind... will be on the look out for a third one then ! 

As for the CA plugin from memory it's the ancient / lesser version of the 1A1 ? So from a performance point of view there is no reason to bother restoring it when you have 1A1s lying around... other than the fun of it, of course !

[med6753]

Wow great !!!   

Once the two carts are sold the scopes and plug-ins will then be dirt cheap  !  Incomplete and nasty, perfect ! Just what you needed... no remorse for not trying to restore them, just keep them as spares for your already restored one, a life time of spare parts ! 
However I have only two 547, so I am starting to feel a bit poor now, left behind... will be on the look out for a third one then ! 

As for the CA plugin from memory it's the ancient / lesser version of the 1A1 ? So from a performance point of view there is no reason to bother restoring it when you have 1A1s lying around... other than the fun of it, of course !

The Type CA plug-in has a B/W of 30MHz vs the Type 1A1 B/W of 50MHz but is still useful in older 500 series such as Type 545/535. My Type 535A has a CA plug-in.

[capt bullshot]

They have not pulled the crystal oscillator, it's on one of the boards, shown as a transistor heater stuck to a crystal (exactly as the diagram shows), the dashed lines show each board.

I reworked the inside pic a bit, zooming on the required area and adding lots of light, we can see the OCXO much better now.

also attached the board layout of interest. No doubt this is it... transistor is on the right on the picture, crystal on the left.
Looking at the schematic I was wondering where the hell was the resistor/heater in this "oven", and what the hell was transistor doing in there ! ... only to come to the conclusion that yeah, as you said.... transistor IS the heating element, no resistor here !
I guess I learned something... I though a resistor was the easiest / most obvious way of heating a crystal oven.... looks like not ?
Maybe a power resistor would have too much thermal mass and the control loop would be too slow ? Using a transistor instead makes it more responsive ? No idea, just talking out of my arse...   

Still with no can to cover the crystal and transistor completely, thermal coupling / regulation is not great is it  ? Maybe they rely on the fact that the instrument is very compact / crowded, to consider that the temperature around the OCXO, though "open", is still stable enough for it to work. At least to get the accuracy they were targeting I guess...

I've seen worse, like this "OCXO" in a Hung Chang F-1000 frequency counter from back in the days ...
Can't even test it's accuracy now, because the counter shows strange results, acting as if there were short circuits in the range / function selector switch. If anyone volunteers and covers the postage, I'd give away this old piece of "highly sophisticated technology"

[tautech]

Med, at least one of them scope carts needs a dose of Krylon Gloss Bahama Sea.

Good scores. 

I don't think either will need paint once I clean them up. My plan is to spray them down with a cleaner such as "Simple Green" then hose them off. Problem is at night temps are below freezing and aren't warming up too much during the day.

LOL of course I forgot you lot are just about to start freezing your gonads off whereas us downunder are about to start sweating like rapists ! 
Yep, there's painting weather and NOT painting weather.

[med6753]

Med, at least one of them scope carts needs a dose of Krylon Gloss Bahama Sea.

Good scores. 

I don't think either will need paint once I clean them up. My plan is to spray them down with a cleaner such as "Simple Green" then hose them off. Problem is at night temps are below freezing and aren't warming up too much during the day.

LOL of course I forgot you lot are just about to start freezing your gonads off whereas us downunder are about to start sweating like rapists ! 
Yep, there's painting weather and NOT painting weather.

And any day now gonna wake up one morning to white stuff on the ground. 

[Vince]

To all the TM500 aficionados here, here is a cheap one !

https://www.leboncoin.fr/bricolage/2075409013.htm

A big double width one (sold without the rack just the plugin)... a " distortion analyzer " !
Is it rare enough and sought after enough to really be worth 650 Euros  (800USD) ?!   
I am glad I am not in the TM500 game, I could not afford it ! 

[TERRA Operative]

A distortion analyzer went for over ¥55,000 with an SG505 and DM502A, and another alone in a TM503 went for ¥35,000 a few months back here in Japan.
They seem to command a bit of a premium for some reason.

Until I find a cheaper one, I'll make do with my 334A and 8903B.

[Saskia]

dead WPC89 pinball CPU due to leaked battery corrosion.
don't have time for repair right now as it will require via reconstruction.
busy moving, will get a van and a trailer in the near future and I need to carry that stuff myself ... 2 Garages are already full.
Trailer will be 5,46*2*2,10m so plenty of stuff to fit in there
don't know yet how many tors it will take

[Vince]

A distortion analyzer went for over ¥55,000 with an SG505 and DM502A, and another alone in a TM503 went for ¥35,000 a few months back here in Japan.
They seem to command a bit of a premium for some reason.

Until I find a cheaper one, I'll make do with my 334A and 8903B.

Just checked exchange rate... your one at 35,000 Japanese money is 270 Euros versus 650 for "mine"... 2.4x cheaper but it does come with a rack, unlike "mine"... so apples for apples, the plugin alone, the Japanese one was 3 times cheaper than this French one !

[Specmaster]

Med, at least one of them scope carts needs a dose of Krylon Gloss Bahama Sea.

Good scores. 

I don't think either will need paint once I clean them up. My plan is to spray them down with a cleaner such as "Simple Green" then hose them off. Problem is at night temps are below freezing and aren't warming up too much during the day.

LOL of course I forgot you lot are just about to start freezing your gonads off whereas us downunder are about to start sweating like rapists ! 
Yep, there's painting weather and NOT painting weather.

And any day now gonna wake up one morning to white stuff on the ground. 

Do you mean snow or frost, we have already had frost in my neck of the woods.

[Specmaster]

A distortion analyzer went for over ¥55,000 with an SG505 and DM502A, and another alone in a TM503 went for ¥35,000 a few months back here in Japan.
They seem to command a bit of a premium for some reason.

Until I find a cheaper one, I'll make do with my 334A and 8903B.

Just checked exchange rate... your one at 35,000 Japanese money is 270 Euros versus 650 for "mine"... 2.4x more less expensive but it does come with rack, not "mine"... so apples for apples, the plugins alone, the Japanese one was 3 times cheaper than this French one !

That is one hell of a difference, shame shipping is so dammed expensive from Japan then.