Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[0culus]

Pics when I’m back at the home lab, but I managed to pick up my Xmas gift to myself…I now have my 8510C network analyzer. 

[mnementh]

Skol !   Wouldn't the Rum be better without the Coke ?

Weirdly, no. This combination just works^TM.

I feel exactly the same about my Dewski™ ; it is simply a shot or two of Tito's Handmade Vodka in a glass of Moutain Dew. Looks like bubbly antifreeze; tastes like Mt Dew. The Tito's does not color the flavor of anything you mix it with; same is true of Coke, if that's your preferred mixer.

I guess I need to mix it with Diet Dew now; we'll see if the artificial sweetener reacts well to the alcohol.

Rum & Coke is my preferred bar drink; with an occasional Mai Tai or Piña Colada if I get hungry.

mnem
This is to go with Xmas dinner:     Supposed to be off-dry palate with a pear-like fruity taste; I'm hoping it is on the sweeter side of off-dry rather than the dry side. It was a gift to my wife from a member of the school in Toronto where she volunteered for requisite professional development hours.

[dmmguy]

My old baby... still working great!

[mansaxel]

Ah, I am sure it is a very beautiful area.  I checked, and I have not had the pleasure to visit there.  The name sounded familiar, but I was in fact remembering Varena, Trentino.

I've been to Trentino-Alto and can attest that it's beautiful, at least in Winter - never been there in Summer.

It is very beautiful in summer too -- more so IMNSHO, when there's no snow to stop you from walking in the mountains.

[mansaxel]

Ok, since we Swedes are different from the anglo-antipodean-american majority here, we have the gifts moment on the Eve. Consequently, there is a haul to report:

• Peak DCA55
• DMMCheck
• TinySA
• New, chisel-type tip for TS100 iron
• Spares kit for the Chinesium solder sucking machine.

Slightly overwhelmed. Pics to come. For now, I'm looking at "5.000" on one of my 8060A (the other one is "5.003") and smiling like a satisfied fool...

[nixiefreqq]

swmbo sent me out to sam's club this morning to purchase a rotisserie chicken.

holy crap....it was a mob scene.  the chicken line was orderly and well behaved.

but then in the check out line at the front of the store a confused little granny lady accidentally cut in front at one of the self scan machines.

there were grown men shouting for someone to bitch slap her!  fortunately calmer heads prevailed.

got home as swmbo was going out to deliver gifts to neighbors.  decided to go downstairs and give my  hp3734a  an external and internal cleaning.

that's when my day turned pear shaped.  sucked the 100 khz xtal into the vacuum cleaner.   SHIT!  it made a loud clunk when it hit bottom in the plumbing inside the hoover.  retrieved it and when tested the poor thing was totally borked.   BUT there were two spares in a forgotten junk box. 

truly a christmas miracle!

[mansaxel]

Skol !   Wouldn't the Rum be better without the Coke ?

Weirdly, no. This combination just works^TM.

I feel exactly the same about my Dewski™ ; it is simply a shot or two of Tito's Handmade Vodka in a glass of Moutain Dew. Looks like bubbly antifreeze; tastes like Mt Dew. The Tito's does not color the flavor of anything you mix it with; same is true of Coke, if that's your preferred mixer.

I guess I need to mix it with Diet Dew now; we'll see if the artificial sweetener reacts well to the alcohol.

Rum & Coke is my preferred bar drink; with an occasional Mai Tai or Piña Colada if I get hungry.

mnem
This is to go with Xmas dinner:     Supposed to be off-dry palate with a pear-like fruity taste; I'm hoping it is on the sweeter side of off-dry rather than the dry side. It was a gift to my wife from a member of the school in Toronto where she volunteered for requisite professional development hours.

I'm increasingly a Gin & Tonic man; tonight a Tanqueray Rangpur and a local craft tonic, then finished with lemon grass and lime. Dinner (traditional Swedish julbord, a variant of the well-known smörgåsbord, pickled herring and salmon, cold cuts, cheeses, ham, small meatballs, small sausages, red and green cabbage, et al.) was served with a belgian winter ale, and some Lysholms Linie Aquavit.  For lunch, as has been noted earlier, we went just east of Verona, and to Norway:

[Neomys Sapiens]

Pics when I’m back at the home lab, but I managed to pick up my Xmas gift to myself…I now have my 8510C network analyzer. 

Congrats and OUCH! because another full-pig-weight instrument!

[Neomys Sapiens]

Does anyone know under which COMMERCIAL other designation the Wayne Kerr 2400L signal generator does appear and from which company? That it is also an SG-1207A/U I do know. But I am also sure that I did see in in another guise. Maybe that one was indeed the OEM.

Some Wayne Kerr stuff was also sold under the Farnell brand (not the component supplier with the same name), that sig gen looks similar to the Farnell PSG2400A, but I can't comment on whether it is the same spec inside.

David

According to the duck principle, that's the one.

[Cerebus]

that's when my day turned pear shaped.  sucked the 100 khz xtal into the vacuum cleaner.   SHIT!  it made a loud clunk when it hit bottom in the plumbing inside the hoover.  retrieved it and when tested the poor thing was totally borked.   BUT there were two spares in a forgotten junk box. 

Ouch!

[Neomys Sapiens]

Ok, since we Swedes are different from the anglo-antipodean-american majority here, we have the gifts moment on the Eve. Consequently, there is a haul to report:

• Peak DCA55
• DMMCheck
• TinySA
• New, chisel-type tip for TS100 iron
• Spares kit for the Chinesium solder sucking machine.

Slightly overwhelmed. Pics to come. For now, I'm looking at "5.000" on one of my 8060A (the other one is "5.003") and smiling like a satisfied fool...

Which frequencies did you have your DMMcheck set to? I'm currently pondering...

[mansaxel]

Ok, since we Swedes are different from the anglo-antipodean-american majority here, we have the gifts moment on the Eve. Consequently, there is a haul to report:

• Peak DCA55
• DMMCheck
• TinySA
• New, chisel-type tip for TS100 iron
• Spares kit for the Chinesium solder sucking machine.

Slightly overwhelmed. Pics to come. For now, I'm looking at "5.000" on one of my 8060A (the other one is "5.003") and smiling like a satisfied fool...

Which frequencies did you have your DMMcheck set to? I'm currently pondering...

It's a DMMcheck Plus R6, and it's at 100Hz.  I did not have much choice, since it was a gift, but I'd select 100Hz (and the 8060A sez 100,00Hz) anyway, because it makes more sense for my meter park. Not all of them are specified for 10KHz (And Robert has the story to say why this matters!), so an AC cal at that frequency would not be useful.

EDIT: I'm an ignorant idiot. It's the dual frequency option. Both 10kHz and 100Hz.  Just realised. (and it pays to RTFM, do it!)

[Robert763]

I Finished the Delta Eletronika SM1540D bench power supply repair today. Previously I'd got it functonal but the OVP LED was still on and the constant voltage (CV) and constant current mode indicator LEDs were not operating correctly. The circuit is a bit odd. The LED anodes are connected to the plus 12V rail (diamond 2 in cct) the cathodes to an individual NPN transistor collector. The transistor emitters are conneted together and then to the minus 12V rail (diamond 3, Diamond 1 is 0V). Each transistor base has a series resistor and the other end of that is diode OR'ed to two or more opr-amp outputs. The op-amps are conneced as comparators and outputs swing between -10 and +10V. To be honest I've not fully worked out the logic of the comapators. A key learing point was that measurements have to be made relative to the commoned emitters. A few voltage measurements indicated Q613 that drives the OVP LED was faulty. Pulled it and the Peak Atlas confirmed a Collecter - Emitter short. It's a PH2222A plastic version of a 2N2222A. I put in a E-line MPS2222A as I have plenty. Thay got the OVP LED working correctly but CV and CC were still not makinn any sense. More measurements pointed to Q614 that drives the CV LED. Pulled it and the Atlas said it was a diode array. Further checks showed it was leaky C-E nd C-B. I replaced it and Q612 because it's bit of chore getting to the PCB. With 2 of 3 already gone I didn't think it would last long even though it tested OK.
It finally works 
I did get a bit carried awy and turned it up to 40A on my load and melted the test leads 
The final repair tally was:
F300 (main HV DC supply fuse) missing.
F501 (Aux DC supply mains side soldered fuse) blown.
C508 (AuxDC supply switch mosfet snubber) Shorted with signs of tracking / arcing.
SW850 (voltage remote program select) Open circui in Local position.
D620 (TL431 reference diode inn OVP circuit) Changed because diode tested differently to known good diode. Not confirmed faulty.
IC900 (HEF4046 PLL IC). VCO not oscillating.
Q902 (BS170 MOSFET level shifter driven from IC900 VCO output) open circuit.
Q613 (PH2222A OVP LED driver) C-E short circuit.
Q614 (PH2222A CV LED driver) C-E andC-B leaky.
Q612 (PH2222A CC LED driver) Precautionary replacement due to Q613/4 failures.

 I've not had that many confirmed component failures in unit for a long time. It's possible that the arcing of the aux supply switch MOSFET snubber caused transients on the LV rails resulting in the damage.
It's a nice PSU with no fans and clear green LED displays.

[BU508A]

Ok, since we Swedes are different from the anglo-antipodean-american majority here, we have the gifts moment on the Eve. Consequently, there is a haul to report:

• Peak DCA55
• DMMCheck
• TinySA
• New, chisel-type tip for TS100 iron
• Spares kit for the Chinesium solder sucking machine.

Slightly overwhelmed. Pics to come. For now, I'm looking at "5.000" on one of my 8060A (the other one is "5.003") and smiling like a satisfied fool...

Which frequencies did you have your DMMcheck set to? I'm currently pondering...

DMMCheck Plus r6 from Welectron (main website in the USA)?

https://www.welectron.com/DMMCheck-Plus-Multimeter-Calibration-Reference
This is r4:


This is r6:


I'm having a DMMCheck Plus  from 2016. Perhaps time for an upgrade.
The L/C option is looking appealing, too.


Edit:
Discovered different versions on the photos, so I added the r6 version as well.

[mansaxel]

DMMCheck Plus r6 from Welectron (main website in the USA)?

<snip>

Yes, that's the one. Cal date Nov 02 2021 :-)

The L/C option is looking appealing, too.

Yes, it does.

[mnementh]

DAMMITTT! I did it AGAIN!!!

Why the hell do Donner and Cupid have to just be sitting there, all delicious-like and e-eythang...?

It's just not FAIR!!!   *wibble*

I guess I gotta gear up again; here's hoping they don't use us for SAM target practice like last year... 

mnem
I'll just leave these here for your Christmas Morning surprise... Who wants to build a snow-dwagoness?

   

[mnementh]

*Raises a glass to absent TEAnonymous members, wherever you are*   

Best in the New Year, and may fate bring you back home to the TEA sooner than later!

Just a update for those who're wondering how BD139 is doing out in the wild, wicked world:

It appears his BD140 orbit was short-lived; it decayed and burned up in the atmosphere a while back. He says he has a new thing going on & off with someone new, of somewhat more compatible age and temperament, but I don't want to go into more detail lest I jinx it.

The big news tho... even tho he's had his 3rd booster, he has caught COVID again... from the kids and schools way overcrowded/not following proper protocol.

Not too severe this time, as of a few days ago when he eMailed me... "Minor fever and really bad sore throat though and that's it...."

So best wishes, and here's hoping he is able to return to "normal life" soon.

Gnight, TEA! Time to go make some Christmas happen!

mnem

[Cerebus]

Oh lordy, he's off on a Christmas cross-dressing kick, again. Oh well, each to his own.

The flaky pasty has just had its fourth turn all ready for the morrow, and I'm off to bed.

Nightie night one and all, here's hoping that Santa brings you all something nice - except you infidels who've already opened your prezzies on Santa Lucia/Weihnachten/whatever, you already know what you've got.

[Specmaster]

*Raises a glass to absent TEAnonymous members, wherever you are*   

Best in the New Year, and may fate bring you back home to the TEA sooner than later!

Just a update for those who're wondering how BD139 is doing out in the wild, wicked world:

It appears his BD140 orbit was short-lived; it decayed and burned up in the atmosphere a while back. He says he has a new thing going on & off with someone new, of somewhat more compatible age and temperament, but I don't want to go into more detail lest I jinx it.

The big news tho... even tho he's had his 3rd booster, he has caught COVID again... from the kids and schools way overcrowded/not following proper protocol.

Not too severe this time, as of a few days ago when he eMailed me... "Minor fever and really bad sore throat though and that's it...."

So best wishes, and here's hoping he is able to return to "normal life" soon.

Gnight, TEA! Time to go make some Christmas happen!

mnem

Thanks for the BD139 update, I really feel sorry for him, fully jabbed and yet still caught Covid again... Yes the schools are not following the published guideline, it seems the education minister is of the opinion that masks prevent proper communication between pupils and teachers has allegedly issued instructions for the classrooms to be designated a safe area. Like so much that is happening today, there is a disconnect often between what is published and what is actually happening. The Windrush saga is a good example of that.

Lets keep our fingers crossed on the BD140 front. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

[mnementh]

Yeah, some of these people need to be taken out back of the wood-shed...

A horrible, sobering thought; some poor kid is gonna lose a parent for Christmas because s/he brought COVID home due to this idiocy. As far as I'm concerned, that death and the misery and guilt that child will have to live with is directly the fault of these "admin types" who STILL refuse to follow the WHO recommendations, even after what now... 6 waves...?

And yes, I know there will be more than one such incident. I was just trying to focus our attention on one poor soul for a moment.

mnem
The rush to return to "business as usual" needs to be beaten to death.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Testing the HP465A:
(unfortunately the second picture was blurry)

Here it is with a signal of 35kHz: the 20dB are discernable (just a wee bit off) and phase looks fine (which is unexplicably unspecified).
At 350kHz one can still make out what should have been the 20dB, but phase is in the 20deg to 30deg range. Having seen this, I did not look further. I have to set up another generator, because the 10E3 range (and above) on the FG504 is working, while the 10E2 range is not. Then at least a re-alignment is in order.

And I have to come true with aquisition of a new scope, because having to do screenshots with a camera is nogo in 2021. You don't need to tell me. It's the blasted diskette drive.

[GreyWoolfe]

Skol !   Wouldn't the Rum be better without the Coke ?

Weirdly, no. This combination just works^TM.

I feel exactly the same about my Dewski™ ; it is simply a shot or two of Tito's Handmade Vodka in a glass of Moutain Dew. Looks like bubbly antifreeze; tastes like Mt Dew. The Tito's does not color the flavor of anything you mix it with; same is true of Coke, if that's your preferred mixer.

I guess I need to mix it with Diet Dew now; we'll see if the artificial sweetener reacts well to the alcohol.

Rum & Coke is my preferred bar drink; with an occasional Mai Tai or Piña Colada if I get hungry.

mnem
This is to go with Xmas dinner:     Supposed to be off-dry palate with a pear-like fruity taste; I'm hoping it is on the sweeter side of off-dry rather than the dry side. It was a gift to my wife from a member of the school in Toronto where she volunteered for requisite professional development hours.

I'm increasingly a Gin & Tonic man; tonight a Tanqueray Rangpur and a local craft tonic, then finished with lemon grass and lime. Dinner (traditional Swedish julbord, a variant of the well-known smörgåsbord, pickled herring and salmon, cold cuts, cheeses, ham, small meatballs, small sausages, red and green cabbage, et al.) was served with a belgian winter ale, and some Lysholms Linie Aquavit.  For lunch, as has been noted earlier, we went just east of Verona, and to Norway:

There must be a law somewhere against diluting good spirits with anything except maybe a couple of ice cubes.

[Zucca]

A new dream for me

Sencore LC103

what a wonderful machine.

[cyclin_al]

A new dream for me

Sencore LC103

what a wonderful machine.

Thinking of Sencore, I found this:
https://www.kijiji.ca/o-profile/1023118686/listings/1

No LC103, but a few other items from Sencore.

Of interest in the listings:
- Tek 561A
- HP 1221A
- HP 180C
- HP 5335A
- HP 3686b
- HP 59306A
- bunch of Apple, TI computers & accessories
- bunch of tubes

Will see what Christmas brings.  I might look at this again after, to see if I get a little something for myself...

[Saskia]

tomorrow will be continuation of tour 4 followed b hectic packing, loading, a day off thanking my friend who loaned me the Transit.
Then another round of packing. yay ...
I need to get out of that place. honto.
any volunteers to lug the laundromat downstairs ?