Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

Hi everybody,
still not done moving. I will have the old flat empty sometime tomorrow and will need to do at least another 1000 miles to finish this feat. it's utterly exhausting and I don't know how many tons I lugged. worse yet, I just got note that someone wants to dump 3 pinball machines at my place which is currently suffering from an onslaught of moving boxes.
I currently don't have a computer so my posting activities are down to a minimum.
please bear with me and thank you for your concern.

Take care of yourself; don't top off all that hard work you've done getting fit with a shiny new back injury.

mnem
 

[factory]

In my collection I do have a HP 191A waveform scope

Cool. I've never seen hp waveform/vector scopes. Here, it always was Tek or Philips. Today, we've got some Harris, and the new SMPTE 2110 compatible Tek scopes. Which basically is "tcpdump" with a parser putting up a scope pic.

Probably not available outside the UK, but the BBC have a video of the North 3 outside broadcast truck in use, a lot more equipment was running, than was possible with the generator they were using at vintage vehicle shows.
Three of the Tek waveform monitors, the Tek vectorscope & their HP 191A TV waveform scope were in use, never seen the Racal 835 counter working.
Post production seemed to have a problem digitizing the tape too, or maybe they prefer oval dartboards. 
https://canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/100objectsobtruck/

P.S. I don't think HP had a TV vectorscope in their product line, the TV waveform scope & a B/W TV picture monitor are the only ones I've heard of.

David

[Cerebus]

Post production seemed to have a problem digitizing the tape too, or maybe they prefer oval dartboards. 

The dartboards at the BBC used to deform under the effect of all the BBC tea fumes from the canteen*.

*I used to have a friend who worked as a secretary at the BBC. If we were planning an evening out I'd meet her at the BBC and we'd eat in the canteen before going out. I can't comment on the infamous BBC tea as I never drank any, but the food was good for canteen food, and there was a self-service ice cream counter freezer like you'd find in a Baskin-Robins about 12 feet long.

[Cerebus]

That looks fine to me, apart from the obvious horizontal error showing in the podium, the picture seems to have been upscaled too.

No, that's just an artifact of me taking a screenshot off a player on a 5K screen. My actual digitisation of it is 576p (so deinterlaced but not upscaled) but on my desktop screen that just happens to come out at 1656 pixels wide.

Sure the quality is OK, it's just by comparison with what one expects after looking at 1080p every day for years that what once seemed fine now seems rough.

[factory]

If it has three separate DM8880N drivers, then I suspect one of those, other people have had them fail on the radio forum. Hopefully there is an equivalent that isn't made my National Semiconductor and is easy to find, but I doubt it.

If it's any use I do have a diagram for a Data-tech DPM (not quite the same) if it helps, would need scanning though, I have the DPM somewhere too.
And looking at your pics, the top PCB still has holes for the tubes of the older version, is it also made by Gralex?

David

Interesting - I hadn't noticed the holes for the nixie tube evacuation tips on the top board until you pointed it out. 

The Panaplex meter was made by Gralex Industries of Farmingdale, NY, model 363BXC1A2S15; the HP part number is 1120-0621.

The nixie meter in the 432B was manufactured by Analogic of Wakefield, MA, model 2510-1B-1-RX-CX-A14; the HP part number is 1120-1526.

The Gralex layout board-wise is similar, but the interconnection scheme is much different.  The Wakefield nixie meter makes the connections between the top and bottom boards through the front board, but the Gralex meter uses the ribbon cable on the side to get signals from the upper and lower boards, and the front board is only connected to the bottom board.  Perhaps Gralex also made a nixie version that later evolved into the Panaplex-display units?  There seems to be a dearth of information on them online (at least that I can find).

-Pat

There seems to be some user manuals at least, for a couple of later Analogic DPM variants, Panaplex & LED;
https://elektrotanya.com/analogic_an2533_an2553_digital_panel_instrument_manual.pdf/download.html
LED only.
https://www.surplussales.com/Meters/pdf/mtr-an2570-1x1p.pdf

Another variant of the Gralex DPM here, but no manual.
https://groups.google.com/g/neonixie-l/c/KLm5kARZ25o

Will see if I can find my Data-tech DPM at the weekend for comparison.

David

[mansaxel]

Went to unscrew the oven light in the kitchen; the lamp had failed after a pretty short service. As I tried to unscrew the clear glass cap over the lamp I suddenly had half the glass cap in my hand; the rest sat in the threads and would not come out. (A short discussion with a water pump pliers later, there was nothing else left to do but vac up the shards.) No wonder the lamp had broken if the integrity of the cap was compromised.  New cap, SEK 175 (about 16€). Also ordered a new disappearing knob for the function selector; the old one's been hanging on by a thread for some time. SEK 400. (about 38€ or so).  Bosch-Siemens Haushaltsgeräte are maybe not the highest possible quality, but their spare part service is second to none, if expensive.

[Specmaster]

*cries*

WTF happened to that?

[Cerebus]

Also ordered a new disappearing knob for the function selector;

To me a "disappearing knob" sounds like one that regularly ends up inside the dog/cat/toddler.

[Specmaster]

Post production seemed to have a problem digitizing the tape too, or maybe they prefer oval dartboards. 

The dartboards at the BBC used to deform under the effect of all the BBC tea fumes from the canteen*.

*I used to have a friend who worked as a secretary at the BBC. If we were planning an evening out I'd meet her at the BBC and we'd eat in the canteen before going out. I can't comment on the infamous BBC tea as I never drank any, but the food was good for canteen food, and there was a self-service ice cream counter freezer like you'd find in a Baskin-Robins about 12 feet long.

Yes, the BBC staff were well catered for (pun intended), I've had many a lunch in the TV centre at Wood Lane with the engineers there and met a few celebrities as well.

Similar at ITV on the South Bank as well, I was there once with my boss to look at some problems they were having with lighting controls in a few offices not performing correctly. We were in a lift and who should step in, but Jim Rosenthal and he immediately called my name and started chatting to me like long a last brother. When we got out the building, my boss said to me who was that and how did he know you, I told him who he was, (he was clearly a bit jelly), but I never told him that I also knew his brother, and we used to work together and I also knew his mum.

Funny, but the boss never came out with me anymore after that event, so that was a real winner 

[mansaxel]

Probably not available outside the UK, but the BBC have a video of the North 3 outside broadcast truck in use, a lot more equipment was running, than was possible with the generator they were using at vintage vehicle shows.
Three of the Tek waveform monitors, the Tek vectorscope & their HP 191A TV waveform scope were in use, never seen the Racal 835 counter working.
Post production seemed to have a problem digitizing the tape too, or maybe they prefer oval dartboards. 
https://canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/100objectsobtruck/

P.S. I don't think HP had a TV vectorscope in their product line, the TV waveform scope & a B/W TV picture monitor are the only ones I've heard of.

Oh, the video showed just nicely here. As cramped as OB vehicles usually are, indeed. In the late 90s I installed the sound system in  4 different OB vans for a video production company. That was a learning experience, and it was the foundation of the broadcast knowledge I use to this day -- I was at the outset reasonably good with a soldering iron and behind a mixing desk, so what was required was taking that experience and move it into the different realm of TV production. One had to learn, and learn fast.

And, today I'd be hard pressed to perform the actions of contortion required to produce acceptable soldering joints at the back of a equipment frame in the sound room, reachable only via a hatch on the outside. 

[mansaxel]

Also ordered a new disappearing knob for the function selector;

To me a "disappearing knob" sounds like one that regularly ends up inside the dog/cat/toddler.

It normally is latched flush with the surface but can be pushed and then springs out, allowing operation. Once one's done with the ovenizing, and "off" is selected on the rotary, it can be pushed latched in again.  As long as the retainer that stops the spring pushing out from pushing it off too far is not broken it will stay in the panel. But the retainer breaks, and the knob falls out...

[tautech]

The SO asked for help with some gardening........who likes gardening ! 
If it can't be done with a machine it's not worth doing !

By luck we were asked to babysit a baby digger while its owner went on holiday and it would be downright rude to have it go rusty from lack of use. 

[med6753]

While you're digging dirt we're supposed to get 4 inches plus of the white stuff tonight.

[tautech]

While you're digging dirt we're supposed to get 4 inches plus of the white stuff tonight.

Gardening Mulch laddie not dirt. 

[Brumby]

Gardening Mulch laddie not dirt. 

Give it time and it will become dirt.

[TERRA Operative]

While you're digging dirt we're supposed to get 4 inches plus of the white stuff tonight.

We got 2-3 inches yesterday. Time to go buy snow tires I guess..... Back to factory stock rims for a while.. How embarrassing... 

[Specmaster]

Probably not available outside the UK, but the BBC have a video of the North 3 outside broadcast truck in use, a lot more equipment was running, than was possible with the generator they were using at vintage vehicle shows.
Three of the Tek waveform monitors, the Tek vectorscope & their HP 191A TV waveform scope were in use, never seen the Racal 835 counter working.
Post production seemed to have a problem digitizing the tape too, or maybe they prefer oval dartboards. 
https://canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/100objectsobtruck/

P.S. I don't think HP had a TV vectorscope in their product line, the TV waveform scope & a B/W TV picture monitor are the only ones I've heard of.

Oh, the video showed just nicely here. As cramped as OB vehicles usually are, indeed. In the late 90s I installed the sound system in  4 different OB vans for a video production company. That was a learning experience, and it was the foundation of the broadcast knowledge I use to this day -- I was at the outset reasonably good with a soldering iron and behind a mixing desk, so what was required was taking that experience and move it into the different realm of TV production. One had to learn, and learn fast.

And, today I'd be hard pressed to perform the actions of contortion required to produce acceptable soldering joints at the back of a equipment frame in the sound room, reachable only via a hatch on the outside. 

Back in the 1990's I worked at a company in Chelmsford (part of Marconi) who used to do the fit out of the OB vans for the BBC and also other companies around the world.

[Specmaster]

While you're digging dirt we're supposed to get 4 inches plus of the white stuff tonight.

We had a few flurries yesterday morning, but nothing that settled.

[Cerebus]

While you're digging dirt we're supposed to get 4 inches plus of the white stuff tonight.

We got 2-3 inches yesterday. Time to go buy snow tires I guess..... Back to factory stock rims for a while.. How embarrassing... 

Lines like that take me immediately back to the classic 1970s sequiter:

[mnementh]

While you're digging dirt we're supposed to get 4 inches plus of the white stuff tonight.

Yup. 3-6" here, and the threats of a snow day were made official a couple hours ago. I had to go out and get milk and some scrips for SWMBO in case we get snowed in for a day or two; when I got back I had to drive across the lawn so I could park behind the trailer, as we have to keep the street clear for snow plows.

Brrruce is gonna get some more white stuff on his tail tonight!

mnem

[Ice-Tea]

*cries*

WTF happened to that?

Was at the bottom of a pallet. I'm guessing a forklift driver missed his turn.

[McBryce]

EV's     
Take it here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/renewable-energy/

What have EV's got to do with Renewable energy? They're all charged from coal burning power stations!

McBryce.

[Ice-Tea]

Nah, mine is charged mostly from my own solar and nuclear power. For the time being.

Also: that phrase reads as if I have my own nuclear power. 

[McBryce]

Nah, mine is charged mostly from my own solar and nuclear power. For the time being.

Also: that phrase reads as if I have my own nuclear power. 

On a forum where people own partical accelerators and mass spectrometers, that doesn't seem all that unreasonable.

McBryce.

[BU508A]

Nah, mine is charged mostly from my own solar and nuclear power. For the time being.

Also: that phrase reads as if I have my own nuclear power. 

On a forum where people own partical accelerators and mass spectrometers, that doesn't seem all that unreasonable.

McBryce.

Do you consider CRTs as partical accelerators?