Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tggzzz]

If you are interested in hepatitis A infection, raw mussels are just the thing.
And even cooked isn't a guarantee for not getting infected. 

https://www.sueddeutsche.de/reise/hepatitis-a-kochen-schuetzt-nicht-vor-gelbsucht-1.227797
Article is in German.

*shudder*

Here we don't eat shellfish unless there is an "r" in the month; that reduces the chance of getting paralytic shellfish poisioning or diarrhoea shellfish poisioning. It was also traditional to pick winkles on the seashore when on holiday in the summer (above rule notwithstanding). 

However the traditional "holiday tummy" is usually attributed to drinking seawater while swimming downstream of sewage outfalls. Yuck.

[Neper]

...and don't like fish that much in general, and it stinks in the kichen once cooked

You wouldn't be related to Ordralfabétix (Unhygienix for our anglophone readers), by any chance?

Maybe you shouldn't buy your fish from Super U. 

[Specmaster]

Found on eBay, description says, blows mains fuse, I wonder why 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224787524747

[Martin Miranda]

Found on eBay, description says, blows mains fuse, I wonder why 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224787524747

there is a obvious water damage on the top left corner.
corrosion on the slide switches.
 

[Andrew_Debbie]

Found on eBay, description says, blows mains fuse, I wonder why 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224787524747

"Zoom in on pics for full description"     

[Robert763]

I recently learned of using large spring clamps (or whatever they are called) to hold onto the thing you might be trying to solder a wire onto. mansaxel (and many others) will know exactly what's going on in the picture. mnementh, an added bonus is that I use this same clamp to hold the deadman lever on my smaller lawnmower while it warms up. I now keep one (a spring clamp, not a lawnmower, smart-ass) on my lab bench since discovering its usefulness in the art of cable making.

Credit where credit is due:
http://edcarlson.com/blog/?p=259

Yeah. If you're bent on mass production of XLRs, it does pay to make a holder from a chassis connector and clamp it to the bench.  I just stripped out two used Neutriks last night, and also did a lot of prep on my little 12-pair multicore cable; the fan-out end. It's Belden Brilliance 12-pair, not star-quad as in the link, but it is AES3 quality, which means they fixed the impedance of it. There will be pictures. Any year now.

I mostly use zip ties to tie up my miscellaneous cables and then store them in shoebox-size clear bins stacked on the shelf. Costco sells the bins for ~USD11 for a pack of four. For cables that I am liable to use more frequently, I'll use velcro. I find that I use most stored cables very infrequently and the cost and organizational benefits of zip-tying outweigh the additional time it takes me to cut them. I always have a pair of sharp flush-cut pliers handy in the lab.

I tend to use thinner PVC tape, not electric grade. Or velcro. Or, for mains longer than say 5 meters, like extension cords and three-phase; I use webbing straps with mechanical locks, so called Arno straps. I like them since they can be re-used and they're very strong; the locking mechanism easily holds 50 kilos.  Every sound company seems to have bought a custom set, and they usually don't mind losing a few. I've got a strap or two from every place I've worked with, it seems.   Minimum order is 300m  aggregate length.  The drawback is that they're pretty large, and on small cables they are too cumbersome.

I like these storage containers. I don't pay this much. The plastic doesn't break easily and they stack and also nest well. They also work well for junior's Lego sets and the 65,536 other toys he has.

https://www.costcobusinessdelivery.com/iris-buckle-up-storage-box%2c-12.9-quart%2c-clear%2c-4-ct.product.100374385.html

My favourite is another Swedish, very similar, product, the SmartStore.

In the UK it has to be Really Useful Boxes. Not the cheapest but littlr wasted space and they are STRONG. I can stand on one, The edges at least. They are mde from virgin HDPE and do not degrade. I have about 80 that are over 15 years old and still perfect. The only slight negative is they don't "nest" when empty but this reduces wasted space in use.

[Vince]

I do  love  some sea products though, mostly " Langoustine " and "Coquilles Saint-Jacques ".  Google says the latter is called " scallop shell ", and the former " Lobster ", though that must be wrong because I looked at pics of Lobsters and it's the huge fancy expensive stuff you buy only for X-mas. What I am talking about is the intermediate size / type : much smaller than  a lobster, but bigger than a mere prawn. It's like a cross between the two. Pics below.

Both live in the channel so it's a local product as well, as a bonus 

Ah, crustaceans, the source of many confusing names...

Here langoustines used to be called scampi (when fried in breadcrumbs as a cheap pub meal that used up locally worthless fish!) or Dublin-bay prawns, but are now often called ... langoustines.

Here "Coquilles Saint-Jacques" is a restuarant dish, i.e. scallops with cream/cheese/mashed potato served on their shell.

They say that maximum lenght ioss 24cm NOT counting the claws, OK.... however they say nothing about counting the whiskers which are even longer than the claws ! 

Oh they even call the carapace.. well carapace, tehy use the French again, how practical ! French has to be the easiest language to start with when learning English, seeing as so many of the words are the same or similar !

[Specmaster]

Found on eBay, description says, blows mains fuse, I wonder why 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224787524747

there is a obvious water damage on the top left corner.
corrosion on the slide switches.
 

Exactly.

[Vince]

Well I don't like Cabillaud that much, and don't like fish that much in general, and it stinks in the kichen once cooked, it's a nightmare to get rid of the smell !

Fresh fish doesn't smell worth a damn, and certainly doesn't one need to worry about the smell in the kitchen afterward. Even the smell of Mackerel has gone by the time you've eaten and gone back to the kitchen for the washing up, as long as you start with a fresh Mackerel.

I mean it does not smell when it's raw, I mean once it has been cooked and heated, it the pan and the remains stink, or smell strongly whichever you prefer... I can't leave the remains in the trash bag inside the house, I take it straight outside in the garbage container.  However that same smell BEFORE eating the fish/sea food, wets my appetite... but once the stomach is full and I am not hungry any more, my brain somehow interprets the same smell, very differently and wants to get rid of it...

What has happened to French gastronomy when you can't get fresh fish and people don't recognise when it's not? And to think us English used to look up to the French when it came to food. Has it come to the point where Coq au vin means liaison amoureuse sur un camion? 

I think the problem is that foreigners live on a puzzle of clichés. They think that just because we are known for gastronomy and this or that, then automagically each and every citizen 1) is an expert in all these subjects and 2) gives a damn to begin with.
That's obviously not the case, real life is not a cliché...

Here the average joe like me does not have time nor money for gastronomy. That's reserved to super expensive and scarce elitist restaurants for the 10% of the population that can afford them. for all the others who need to weight  cost / return, gastronomy is not an option. So it's pasta and potatoes and frozen minced beef. A yogurt for dessert if you want to be fancy, hell maybe a bit of cheese if you thought of buying some.

As for my particular case.. .as I mentioned a couple months back, I am not at all your typical French, in so many respects, so you should not take me as a template or reference for anything. If I were like the average joe, I would not be spending time on TEA, hell I would not even be able to read or write English to begin with anyway ! I Don't like alcohol of any kind, so of course no beer and wine, tea, coffee, coca-cola, I don't like most of the food that's popular here, like chocolate with caramel and salt in it, I hate the stuff. Don't like 99% of the chocolates for sale here, they all have some weird stuff put on top of them or inside them to make them look fancy but to me it  just makes them disgusting to eat. I could go on an on....
I don't like modern cars (meaning anything that came to the market after the mid 90's mostly), I hate SUVs, but here every one wants  modern cars with lots of electronic gizmos in it, tactile screens, ugly huge wheels. SUV's now represent more than 50% + of new car sales. Yes, the majority of "cars" sold now are actually trucks (to me). Ugly ones at that.
I don't smoke either, I don't take drugs/weed, hate rap music, can't drink or listen to music while walking at the same time. Can't type a text message on the smartphone with two fingers at the same time, I hate consumer electronics and don't get along with the user interface of any consumer level electronic gadgets like smartphones/tablets or even micro-wave ovens...it all seems so  retarded and convoluted to me, so counter intuitive, I just can't use them... yet somehow everybody else is fluent in using these things, without even reading a user manual which is not provided any more any way ! So clearly something is off with me.
Don't watch TV  at all, last TV I "had" was the one in my parents house, but when I left their house in 1998 to go studying in the UK, never bought a TV of my own. Don't listen to radio either, it's just as brain damaging as TV, just without the picture. I hate sun baths in over crowed beaches. I don't like arguing because it's always a waste of time and effort and brings me nothing of value at the end, so I just walk away immediately when someone wants to argue or pisses me off. I don't park my car on slots reserved for disabled people, but everyone does, all the time. Even saw cop car do it once, in front of me, at the super market.    I could go on and on with more examples...


No really, I am not your typical French guy.... I am sorry to be a disappointment Cerebus... but talking gastronomy to me is like trying to teach electronics to a monkey 

Hell I am 44 and I still don't have an oven in the kitchen ! That does not help. Don't even have a sofa, every body has a sofa...

However I can see that slowly changing. Now that I have my own house, I can contemplate spending time money and effort to make it a home I am happy with. So will make a nice kitchen, so oven there will be, even a dish washer I think, even a freezer yeah ! And even a Sofa I think...
But that's about as far as my "normality" will go.
I live alone and spending time and money preparing fancy food does not compute. Would be different if I had a family I guess, I would care to cook for them I guess. But being alone, cooking is mostly a chore.
I like the result of it, sure, but spending XX amount of time preparing it, and as much cleaning the dishes, all that for only 15 minutes of eating in front of the computer watching some video on YT.... it just does not add up . Return on investment is way too low.
[/quote]

I do  love  some sea products though, mostly " Langoustine " and "Coquilles Saint-Jacques ".  Google says the latter is called " scallop shell ", and the former " Lobster ", though that must be wrong because I looked at pics of Lobsters and it's the huge fancy expensive stuff you buy only for X-mas. What I am talking about is the intermediate size / type : much smaller than  a lobster, but bigger than a mere prawn. It's like a cross between the two.

Generally nowadays the English just call langoustine exactly that.

I love the English language, so convenient ! 

back in the days when people still smoked in restaurants, cleaned scallop shells were often used as ashtrays in bistro style places.

Oh yeah now you mention it, I can recollect seeing the same thing here as well back in the day !

[Vince]

...and don't like fish that much in general, and it stinks in the kichen once cooked

You wouldn't be related to Ordralfabétix (Unhygienix for our anglophone readers), by any chance?

Maybe you shouldn't buy your fish from Super U. 

I do buy from Super U because it's the closest to me and the girls at the check out are sexy and friendly, they employ lots of students 
Fish there has nothing wrong with it... as long as you don't buy the langoustine that they cook on site... they are always over cooked, full of water and mushy, Pure trash. But if you buy their langoustines alive, still moving their little whiskers, and cook them yourself, they are very good. I just don't like them too small because I can't extract them from their carapace without making a mess, and it's also easier to overcook them and ruin your day. If I buy big langoustines instead, it's harder to overcook / ruin them and I can manage to extract the body of the langoustine easily in one single piece, which looks nice.. but the big ones are not often sold.
Sometimes they sell HUGE ones, which weigh 200/250 grams each. But they are rare and cost a fortune. They are so big that you don't even say " I would like one kilogram of langoustines please ", rather you say " How much do these weigh each please ? I will take 6 please... oh that's well over a kilogram ?! OK I will have only 4 then... ".

[Zucca]

Nor for this:

Code: [Select]

cerebus@shu:~$ whois zucca-has-cooties.com
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

refer:        whois.verisign-grs.com
...
No match for domain "ZUCCA-HAS-COOTIES.COM".
>>> Last update of whois database: 2022-01-12T06:57:54Z <<<

cerebus@shu:~$

[Fx: Muttley snigger]

I just registered my first .com domain.

it ends with ___tronics.com .

I hope to make some money with it. Let me work on it and I will reveal the full name.....

Hmmm, zuccatronics.com is a fail. 

Code: [Select]

mounty@jupiter:~$ whois zuccatronics.com
No match for domain "ZUCCATRONICS.COM".
>>> Last update of whois database: 2022-01-12T07:02:55Z <<<


No I name it in honor of my grandpa who died before I was born.

He worked his ass off the entire life. Very successful. He made enough money for his next 2 generations. No joke.
Problem is his son, my now dead uncle. In about 20 years burned down everything. He kept selling and spending.
He used to eat everyday at the restaurant, without paying. At the end he gave the restaurant a "villa".... 

Everything was gone about 10 years ago.

Time to give my grandpa some justice.

[Andrew_Debbie]

Dana 5100 DMM update:

The PROM programmer PCBs arrived today.  I had JLCPCB do most of the SMT assembly.  I don't see the point of doing it myself when I'd pay RS more for the parts. 

JLC are good for boards like this one.   10mil trace / 8 mil space.   Most of the vias are .8mm  diameter.     I hope to do some assembly and testing this weekend. 

[mnementh]

I do  love  some sea products though, mostly " Langoustine " and "Coquilles Saint-Jacques ".  Google says the latter is called " scallop shell ", and the former " Lobster ", though that must be wrong because I looked at pics of Lobsters and it's the huge fancy expensive stuff you buy only for X-mas. What I am talking about is the intermediate size / type : much smaller than  a lobster, but bigger than a mere prawn. It's like a cross between the two. Pics below.

Both live in the channel so it's a local product as well, as a bonus 

Ah, crustaceans, the source of many confusing names...

Here langoustines used to be called scampi (when fried in breadcrumbs as a cheap pub meal that used up locally worthless fish!) or Dublin-bay prawns, but are now often called ... langoustines.

Here "Coquilles Saint-Jacques" is a restuarant dish, i.e. scallops with cream/cheese/mashed potato served on their shell.

   

Fukkin' sea-roaches, all of 'em. 

Yes, I'll eat fried shrimp... in pretty much any variety, tho favorite is beer battered... until I bust a gut. But they're still sea-roaches.


mnem
mmmm... crunchy bugs!

[Peter_O]

Often used cables/probes readily available on this rack. Easy access.



I'm not a fan of plastic bags, tie wraps, etc. Sorry, just not my thing. Prefer labelled food storage containers for seldom used cables/probes.



And yes, IEC cables seem to multiply like rabbits. 2 coffee containers full of them.



I do like the idea of using toilet paper rolls as cable/probe retainers. Very clever. 

Kabel Holder are printable items.    I like to have them exactly at eye height.

Piles of coloured power cables are much more transparent.

As for re-using coffee bins of that brand this scene comes to mind:   

[Vince]

Wow those coloured power cords look cool, where did you get them from, link ??

[tggzzz]

I do  love  some sea products though, mostly " Langoustine " and "Coquilles Saint-Jacques ".  Google says the latter is called " scallop shell ", and the former " Lobster ", though that must be wrong because I looked at pics of Lobsters and it's the huge fancy expensive stuff you buy only for X-mas. What I am talking about is the intermediate size / type : much smaller than  a lobster, but bigger than a mere prawn. It's like a cross between the two. Pics below.

Both live in the channel so it's a local product as well, as a bonus 

Ah, crustaceans, the source of many confusing names...

Here langoustines used to be called scampi (when fried in breadcrumbs as a cheap pub meal that used up locally worthless fish!) or Dublin-bay prawns, but are now often called ... langoustines.

Here "Coquilles Saint-Jacques" is a restuarant dish, i.e. scallops with cream/cheese/mashed potato served on their shell.

They say that maximum lenght ioss 24cm NOT counting the claws, OK.... however they say nothing about counting the whiskers which are even longer than the claws ! 

Oh they even call the carapace.. well carapace, tehy use the French again, how practical ! French has to be the easiest language to start with when learning English, seeing as so many of the words are the same or similar !

Any Romance language will do, but French is closest.

We blame the Normans for ~30% of our words, the "fancy" words. The ~70% of "basic" everyday words come from Teutonic languages.

[SilverSolder]

[...]
He worked his ass off the entire life. Very successful. He made enough money for his next 2 generations. No joke.
Problem is his son, my now dead uncle. In about 20 years burned down everything. He kept selling and spending.
He used to eat everyday at the restaurant, without paying. At the end he gave the restaurant a "villa".... 

Everything was gone about 10 years ago.
[...]

Great story,  almost a theme for a movie or TV series, lol! 

This is often how it plays out.   I see so many kids who are given everything by their parents struggle to find content in their lives,  it's almost as if you take away people's problems, they never discover the skills to build their own wealth...

it's almost as if we need some problems to solve, to be happy!        If we don't have any problems, we make some up! 

[mnementh]

Yes, because in here, it's different... We all know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that our hoards of musty old TE will save the world one day. 

mnem
"Humanity is unique in that we are able to contrive all manner of things to be bothered about, and then occupy ourselves endlessly being bothered about those things." ~Some guy I can't remember right now. Maybe Nietzsche's smarter brother...? DILLIGAF?

[mnementh]

...Piles of coloured power cables are much more transparent.   As for re-using coffee bins of that brand this scene comes to mind:   

Your pile of Schuko power cords TE bashing maces makes me think of this scene from Casino Royale... 



mnem
*cringe*   

[BU508A]

Wow those coloured power cords look cool, where did you get them from, link ??

You can purchase them here, for example:

https://www.kabelscheune.de/Netzkabel-Kaltgeraetekabel/

I've bought from them some coloured IEC cables as well. They are nice but not cheap.

[Zucca]

some colored isolation electric tape costs sooo much less. mark end and begin, done.
Running out of colors? Just use "n" multiple colors.

[BU508A]

some colored isolation electric tape costs sooo much less. mark end and begin, done.
Running out of colors? Just use "n" multiple colors.

Better solution:


Electric tape can become sticky and ugly over time.

[Brumby]

I have a T-shirt for you Mnem...

[Zucca]

Better solution:
Electric tape can become sticky and ugly over time.

Geil.

[Peter_O]

Wow those coloured power cords look cool, where did you get them from, link ??

Some
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B009KBEMI6?th=1
Some
https://www.reichelt.de/netzkabel-schutzkontaktstecker-gew-1-8-m-gelb-c13-nksk-200-ge-p238969.html