Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tggzzz]

"This, dear children, is why we don't eat anything as low-fat and tasteless as turkey, but instead focus on the pig."

Let them keep their dead birds. We've stocked up on venison and wild boar. No antibiotics, no hormones, pure taste. Absolutely delicious.

Just like pangolin - and bat. Oh.

[dl6lr]

Well, for this page I have a contribution. Only slightly off. 

[nfmax]

You can say what you like about the English colonists, but you can't accuse them of originality. 

You are not the first person to say that 

[mnementh]

Been looking at getting my spot welder sorted out.  Powering it being the challenge.
(SNIP)



The yellow connector has to fit into a receptacle that the blue connector does. Sigh.  Could be worse.

Looks like a EC5 connector modified with an extra pin for the thermistor. If your pin diameter is 5MM, almost positive that's the case.

IIRC, these can be assembled with male/female in either shell; a little work with a X-Acto knife should yield a shell that will fit over that. I used to mod EC3s that way to mate with XT60s all the time. 

https://www.amazon.com/ProleadRC-Bullet-Banana-Connector-Battery/dp/B072QVQKBY

mnem
 

[McBryce]

I have two spiral-cut Smithfield honey-glaze hams in the freezer since the day after we got here. 

It's odd how names get reused as a byword for quality, even when their currency is heavily diluted by time and distance. I'm presuming that Smithfield is a well known US brand. I'm betting that the name "Smithfield Market" is pretty much completely unknown in the US; I'd bet that even in England it's not immediately well known outside London.

For those not in the know, Smithfield Market is London's wholesale meat market and has been on the same spot in the City since people would have just known it as "the shambles". The buildings grew up around the market, not the other way around. Also notable as one of the two places in London (the other being Borough Market) that you've always been able to get lawfully served with a pint of beer in a pub at 6 o'clock in the morning even when licensing hours universally restricted other pubs to 12-2pm and 6-11pm.

am pretty sure our "Smithfield Foods" is called that because its headquarters is in Smithfield Virginia.

edit   look it up on wikipedia.  it is a horror show.

There's nothing on the Wikipedia entry for Smithfield, in the county "Isle of Wight", Virginia, to say how the town itself got its name but I wouldn't be surprised if better researches proved that it was named after the Smithfield area of London, just as "Isle of Wight" was named after the Isle of Wight, and Virginia was named after Queen Elizabeth I.

You can say what you like about the English colonists, but you can't accuse them of originality. 

They put the same amount of effort into South African settlements where you can find the towns: Scarborough, Margate, Worcester, Sutherland, Aberdeen, LLandudno, Belfast, Dundee, Ramsgate, York and probably a few others I've forgotten.

McBryce.

[mnementh]

I have two spiral-cut Smithfield honey-glaze hams in the freezer since the day after we got here. 

It's odd how names get reused as a byword for quality, even when their currency is heavily diluted by time and distance. I'm presuming that Smithfield is a well known US brand. I'm betting that the name "Smithfield Market" is pretty much completely unknown in the US; I'd bet that even in England it's not immediately well known outside London.

For those not in the know, Smithfield Market is London's wholesale meat market and has been on the same spot in the City since people would have just known it as "the shambles". The buildings grew up around the market, not the other way around. Also notable as one of the two places in London (the other being Borough Market) that you've always been able to get lawfully served with a pint of beer in a pub at 6 o'clock in the morning even when licensing hours universally restricted other pubs to 12-2pm and 6-11pm.

Ummm... not in this case. Smithfield hams have a long-standing history, and it is based on the famously good hams from Smithfield, Virginia which were raised on peanuts and local barley, giving them a distinctive flavor and excellent marbling; as well as the local "trade-secret" curing process. They were of such quality that they were one of the prize trade goods sent back to the King.

So yes, the name Smithfield was recycled for the town, but that was all. 

Nowadays, sadly, the brand name Smithfield is owned by Eckrich/Hormel. It is nowhere near the same quality as Boar's Head or almost any locally produced meat packery; however, it is their premium brand ham, so you can pick one up at any grocery in the land and be assured of getting at least a decent ham that isn't 25% injected sugar water by weight. 

mnem
This is the legacy of my generation; the race to the bottom has left very few standards unmolested...

[tggzzz]

Nowadays, sadly, the brand name Smithfield is owned by Eckrich/Hormel. It is nowhere near the same quality as Boar's Head or almost any locally produced meat packery; however, it is their premium brand ham, so you can pick one up at any grocery in the land and be assured of getting at least a decent ham that isn't 25% injected sugar water by weight. 

mnem
This is the legacy of my generation; the race to the bottom has left very few standards unmolested...

Food adulteration is not exactly a new phenomenon, nor is it restricted to any locality

[mnementh]

What is that R2-unit doing in your garage? 

Look away. These are not the droids you are looking for.

LOL...

It's a FANTOM upright dirt-sucker. It came with the house; and like the washer, dryer, and microwave, it is old but decent and in need of repair. The cord hook is broke, and I had to take it apart to repair the belt unloader; this model disengages the belt from the roller brush when being used as a hose-vac.

But one thing for certain... it sure does suck dirt. Scary vacuum velocity on that thing; almost as effective as compressed air when I was cleaning the dryer. And the 16" wide cutting swath is quite welcome with all the carpets in this place. 

mnem
I shall name it SUK3P0...

[mnementh]

Nowadays, sadly, the brand name Smithfield is owned by Eckrich/Hormel. It is nowhere near the same quality as Boar's Head or almost any locally produced meat packery; however, it is their premium brand ham, so you can pick one up at any grocery in the land and be assured of getting at least a decent ham that isn't 25% injected sugar water by weight. 

mnem
This is the legacy of my generation; the race to the bottom has left very few standards unmolested...

Food adulteration is not exactly a new phenomenon, nor is it restricted to any locality

I know; the difference for me was getting a "known-decent" ham at similar price (thanks to COSTCO) to that of the craptacular hams from the discount grocery store chains. You know; the ones that are so much injected water you literally can't fry them, they steam into little strips of rubber in the pan. 

mnem
 

[mansaxel]

"This, dear children, is why we don't eat anything as low-fat and tasteless as turkey, but instead focus on the pig."

Let them keep their dead birds. We've stocked up on venison and wild boar. No antibiotics, no hormones, pure taste. Absolutely delicious.

The problem with wild boar is that if they don't kill you while being killed, they might get you anyway, slowly with accumulated Pripyat radiation and faster with Trichinella spiralis. If none of those appear, wild boar is delicate, indeed.  We have them on our island, but they're very shy.  Lots of roe deer, and some fallow deer, too.

[Cerebus]

Ummm... not in this case. Smithfield hams have a long-standing history,

So 1779 if you take a Caribbean reference, or 1926 if you take an American one (to put that into perspective, that's about a year or two before my father (b. 1912) joined the Army). Hardly a long history, more like current events on a historical scale. 

I'd be intrigued to find out whether Smithfield Virginia acquired its name from emigrants from the Smithfield area of London (itself a corruption of "Smooth Field"). It's no stretch to imagine emigrants from the area taking the livestock trade with them and establishing livestock farms in an area they named after 'home'. There were also a lot of transportees from London to Virginia, more I believe than there were to Australia, so any emigration might not have been entirely voluntary. Back in those days Smithfield Market and  actual farming weren't quite so removed from each other as nowadays. Someone from the area would have been well acquainted with animal husbandry. Those days an animal would be walked from somewhere relatively local to be slaughtered at Smithfield, maybe even being fattened by Smithfield to make up weight from the walk in; now you'd be hard pressed to find a resident who's seen a live pig or cow first hand*.

* I'm reminded of when Roger Daltrey of "The Who" fame decided to "buy a place in the country" and once he got there spent all his time complaining of the smell from the pig farm next door.    I'm quite happy with "country smells" and I even find the smell of cow shit quite comforting, but having a little rural experience I know that the one place you don't want to set up home is downwind of a pig farm.

[mansaxel]

Looks like a EC5 connector modified with an extra pin for the thermistor. If your pin diameter is 5MM, almost positive that's the case.

*whack* Bad dragon! *whack* SI units are case sensitive! *thwap*

On another note: For Christmas eve lunch, I've bought a Valpolicella that is not a Ripasso, but straight. It will go wonderfully with the fried Skrei (Large, extra high quality cod, from around Lofoten far north on the Norwegian coast.) in San Marzano tomato / butterbean / garlic / broccoli sauce.  And why do I point this out? Because there's a Dragon on the label.

[Cerebus]

*whack* Bad dragon! *whack* SI units are case sensitive! *thwap*

Has visions of Måns chasing a small dragon around the house with a rolled up newspaper.

[Cerebus]

On another note: For Christmas eve lunch, I've bought a Valpolicella that is not a Ripasso, but straight. It will go wonderfully with the fried Skrei (Large, extra high quality cod, from around Lofoten far north on the Norwegian coast.) in San Marzano tomato / butterbean / garlic / broccoli sauce.  And why do I point this out? Because there's a Dragon on the label.

I'm jealous. Despite living within a 10 minute drive from [the relocated] Billingsgate Fish Market there isn't a single decent retail Fishmonger in the area (Billingsgate is wholesale). I'm reduced to buying thin, small portions of frozen fish from the local supermarket, exactly the same as I could get from the same supermarket anywhere in the UK. As a lad brought up by the seaside with a local working fishing harbour within walking distance I do find myself pining for a decent chunk of fresh fish on a regular basis.

[med6753]

Once I get the Type 1A4 plug-in sorted out the next project is the HV issue on the two Type 547's. I'm going to take one of them and perform some experiments to see at what point, if possible, the HV transformer won't overload with the result of shutting down the HV oscillator.

Step one is to replace all the HV disc capacitors. I know of one 547 owner who had success here and I also have had a HV disc cap cause a shutdown of a Type 310A HV. So we'll try that first. I ordered the capacitors through HVStuff.com because they were much cheaper than Mouser. However, didn't realize at first that they are in China. Explains the extremely slow website plus shipping of anywhere from 7 to 30 days. Oh well.

If step 1 doesn't work then step 2. See schematic. Will start with the 5642 HV rectifiers. Just V822 and V862 first converted over to SS. See what happens. If it works I may consider leaving it as is. We'll see. If it doesn't work then step 3.

Step 3 will replace V832, V842, V852 with SS. If I do get to this point hopefully it works because if it doesn't there aren't any other options except replacement of the HV transformer which isn't an option. Unobtainium. 

       

[25 CPS]

"This, dear children, is why we don't eat anything as low-fat and tasteless as turkey, but instead focus on the pig."

Let them keep their dead birds. We've stocked up on venison and wild boar. No antibiotics, no hormones, pure taste. Absolutely delicious.

We also have pig as well, this something we always do, bird on Christmas day along with pigs in blankets and then of Boxing day we have cold bird with pig and if we have some left over, pigs in blankets, really delicous , nom nom. 

Turkey is such a bland bird it needs all the help it can get.  My family's large Christmas gathering went kaput as soon as they limited it to 10 people here so my parents decided to do one of their own and my mother said they were going to get a small turkey and blah blah blah complaining about turkey.  My reply to that was to ask why, given that, she's getting a turkey when you don't have to have a turkey at Christmas.  There's nothing out there saying you have to.  She said that's true.  Fast forward a couple of days to last night and she said on the phone that they got the turkey yesterday afternoon.  Whatever.

Anyhow, I just ordered myself a small Christmas present.  A universal RF adapter kit that'll double up on the various adapters I've accumulated over the years.  That'll be a nice to have on hand, especially for portable use since it comes in a little carrying case unlike the stuff I have on hand now that lives in the RF adapter drawer in one of the cabinets in the basement.

[nixiefreqq]

hey AVG

just a heads up.  yer box is in country.


December 22, 2021, 7:49 am
Departed
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Your item departed a transfer airport in HEATHROW, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM on December 22, 2021 at 7:49 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

December 21, 2021, 8:19 pm
Departed
NEWARK, UNITED STATES

according to usps it can no longer be tracked because it is in the hands of her majesty.

ps  watched an episode of "all creatures great and small" the other night.  is it really like that over there?  nothing but green pastures and rolling hills, everybody knows everybody, and the major occupation is drinking in dimly lit smokey rooms and slapping people on the back?

edit  repaired two 5232-6014 display boards this morning.  one just had a misaligned felt mask.  the one that keeps the neons in the display unit from leaking light onto the wrong photo cells.  no idea how it got shifted.   the other was trickier.  some ape had attempted to put in some new neons and wired one up wrong.  that took a little squinting because.......well because how could that happen?

 

[med6753]

hey AVG

just a heads up.  yer box is in country.


December 22, 2021, 7:49 am
Departed
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Your item departed a transfer airport in HEATHROW, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM on December 22, 2021 at 7:49 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

December 21, 2021, 8:19 pm
Departed
NEWARK, UNITED STATES

according to usps it can no longer be tracked because it is in the hands of her majesty.

ps  watched an episode of "all creatures great and small" the other night.  is it really like that over there?  nothing but green pastures and rolling hills, everybody knows everybody, and the major occupation is drinking in dimly lit smokey rooms and slapping people on the back?

Apparently Newark US Customs is much more efficient than JFK Customs because the package would still be there.   

[Neper]

The problem with wild boar is that if they don't kill you while being killed, they might get you anyway, slowly with accumulated Pripyat radiation and faster with Trichinella spiralis. If none of those appear, wild boar is delicate, indeed.

Their meat undergoes the same food safety checks as all other meat, so no real danger. I'd be much more concerned about the amount of chemicals and pharmaceuticals in an ordinary pork chop.

We have them on our island, but they're very shy.

In large parts of Western Europe, they've lost all shyness and they're becoming quite a nuisance, with hordes of them entering the outskirts of our cities and digging up peoples' gardens. You should see those places afterwards. As if a tank had been driven through them.

[Ice-Tea]

Intermittent HP 344A. Wonder why.

[Cerebus]

ps  watched an episode of "all creatures great and small" the other night.  is it really like that over there?  nothing but green pastures and rolling hills, everybody knows everybody, and the major occupation is drinking in dimly lit smokey rooms and slapping people on the back?

The Yorkshire Dales like that? You betcha.

Swaledale:


They even still get proper cold in Swaledale (gratuitous photo of eponymous Swaledale sheeps to maintain Australian and Kiwi interest):


Limestone pavement, a rock formation much evident in the Dales.

[factory]

Intermittent HP 344A. Wonder why.

Don't think I've ever seen a 344A, but I suspect that switch is in a 334A.


David

[tautech]

Once I get the Type 1A4 plug-in sorted out the next project is the HV issue on the two Type 547's. I'm going to take one of them and perform some experiments to see at what point, if possible, the HV transformer won't overload with the result of shutting down the HV oscillator.

Step one is to replace all the HV disc capacitors. I know of one 547 owner who had success here and I also have had a HV disc cap cause a shutdown of a Type 310A HV. So we'll try that first. I ordered the capacitors through HVStuff.com because they were much cheaper than Mouser. However, didn't realize at first that they are in China. Explains the extremely slow website plus shipping of anywhere from 7 to 30 days. Oh well.

If step 1 doesn't work then step 2. See schematic. Will start with the 5642 HV rectifiers. Just V822 and V862 first converted over to SS. See what happens. If it works I may consider leaving it as is. We'll see. If it doesn't work then step 3.

Step 3 will replace V832, V842, V852 with SS. If I do get to this point hopefully it works because if it doesn't there aren't any other options except replacement of the HV transformer which isn't an option. Unobtainium. 

     

Be it with hollow glass or doped silicon it's refreshing to see such a common EHT design and based on common experience it shouldn't be too hard to get working again unless transformer insulation has failed.
High value resistors and HV caps are where I'd focus my efforts.
Following along. 

[Cerebus]

Those on keto diets should look away now.

Just trying out a new, to me at least, variety of potato intended especially for roasting - "nemo":

[mansaxel]

Looks like a EC5 connector modified with an extra pin for the thermistor. If your pin diameter is 5MM, almost positive that's the case.

*whack* Bad dragon! *whack* SI units are case sensitive! *thwap*

On another note: For Christmas eve lunch, I've bought a Valpolicella that is not a Ripasso, but straight. It will go wonderfully with the fried Skrei (Large, extra high quality cod, from around Lofoten far north on the Norwegian coast.) in San Marzano tomato / butterbean / garlic / broccoli sauce.  And why do I point this out? Because there's a Dragon on the label.

Here's the wine: