Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

   It's orificial... the ToD is empty, and the cartage company has been called.

* Checking image to see if it's been Photoshopped.... *

That certainly would have been a lot less assache. But it wouldn't get me my driveway empty, nor would it get me back that $800+/mo it cost me in storage.



And now it's GONE.

mnem

      "I swear to Christ; If I survive this, I'm gonna dance a jig."
                    ~Joe Hallenbeck : The Last Boy Scout

[mansaxel]

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.

Nice Bunte Bänder. ("bunt" in Swedish means "neat bundle" and cable ties are called "buntband". This is a bilingual Flachwitz very few people grok.)

Best solution:




I've got them in smaller size, suitable for microphone cable. They are solely responsible for teaching me resistor colour code.

[Andrew_Debbie]

Electric tape can become sticky and ugly over time.

Any thoughts on techflex? 

I've used something similar to bundle leads.  Always black though.

There are home made sleeved leads on eBay, probably done with paracord.   

[dl6lr]

Electric tape can will become sticky and ugly over time.

Edited for clarification...

[TERRA Operative]

Just wrote up the instructions to make a boot disk for your 4145B, including the MS-DOS CD .iso file to boot your PC from.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/how-to-make-a-new-boot-disk-for-your-hp-4145b-semiconductor-parameter-analyzer/

Also, I bought more crap to poke at...

Got another test fixture for the 4145B, along with a case of adapter boards, complete with deteriorated foam.
I'll mix and match with what I've got to keep the best for the 4145B, the rest will go with the 4145A when I sell it.

I also got a TDS754D which doesn't work, so I'll fix it up and sell it off for a few extra $$. Here's hoping this one has the HDD option that I can pilfer, if not I have my eye on a couple more units for a good price (One is a bashed up parts unit) that I might get lucky with...

[Neomys Sapiens]

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.

While there are many areas where personal preferences make it useless to argue over products, bulk storage solutions is not one of those. I am convinced of the superiority of the Eurobox, which leaves the exact make and style open to taste, of course.
I use them in every guise from the surprisingly good looking, dark green 400x300mm types used by greengrocers to grey ultra heavy duty industrial ones, which are virtually indestructible and still stack with the others. Small or medium ESD-safe ones with ESD foam mats cut to size can handle those IC which are not in rails, while those rails can go in the large size. The 400x300 takes paper in binders. The smaller two sizes are fine for materials kept available for use, while the large size lends itself best to transportation and storage of bulky matter.
The sizes are 600x400, 400x300 and 300x200. This allows two of the smaller to be stacked sideways on a larger one.
They are available in ESD-protected, food grade, transparent and more versions and also with various lid types, and they are still one compatible system. And that is what makes them superior over proprietary solutions.

[mnementh]

...Nice Bunte Bänder. ("bunt" in Swedish means "neat bundle" and cable ties are called "buntband". This is a bilingual Flachwitz very few people grok.)

Best solution:      https://www.canford.co.uk/Products/39-762_CABLE-MARKER-SET-PTV+90-Reels-0-9-4-9mm-colour-coded]

I've got them in smaller size, suitable for microphone cable. They are solely responsible for teaching me resistor colour code.

I was going to tell you to revisit that, but they just have some colors out of order. Still... they should know better.

Better Be Right Or Your Great Big Venture Goes Wrong.

mnem
 

[0culus]

Just wrote up the instructions to make a boot disk for your 4145B, including the MS-DOS CD .iso file to boot your PC from.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/how-to-make-a-new-boot-disk-for-your-hp-4145b-semiconductor-parameter-analyzer/

Also, I bought more crap to poke at...

Got another test fixture for the 4145B, along with a case of adapter boards, complete with deteriorated foam.
I'll mix and match with what I've got to keep the best for the 4145B, the rest will go with the 4145A when I sell it.

I also got a TDS754D which doesn't work, so I'll fix it up and sell it off for a few extra $$. Here's hoping this one has the HDD option that I can pilfer, if not I have my eye on a couple more units for a good price (One is a bashed up parts unit) that I might get lucky with...

I had to completely replace the foam in the case of test fixture boards I got for my 4145B. I was lucky the set contained the tiny leads for connecting up your DUT, but it's missing one of them. I've been looking for an extra to complete the set, so if you come across any, let me know!

[TERRA Operative]

It's branded " Yokogawa - HP "... even has a little modified " YHP" HP looking logo on it... so which is it  then ?

A Yokogawa TE rebranded by HP, or the other way around ? Or a joint venture and both participated in the design equally ? Don't see the latter happening, not very practical...

So it's a bit like the Sony - Tek  ultra expensive curve tracers then, designed by Sony not Tek, well I think !

Apparently back in the day it was practically impossible for a foreign company to establish in Japan due to various laws and regulations etc, so partnerships were formed between companies.
HP/Yokogawa, Tek/Sony, etc etc.
There was a lot of model sharing between companies in the respective partnership, as well as joint development. So HP sold their own branded gear, Yokogawa sold their branded gear, then they also sold joint-branded gear too.
It was an easier way for foreign companies to crack into the Japanese market during the economic boom of the 80's/90's (Semiconductors used to be HUGE here) and an easy way for Japanese companies to expand their offerings.

[TERRA Operative]

I had to completely replace the foam in the case of test fixture boards I got for my 4145B. I was lucky the set contained the tiny leads for connecting up your DUT, but it's missing one of them. I've been looking for an extra to complete the set, so if you come across any, let me know!

Which wires do you need? I can get Staubli SLS205 stacking 2mm gold plated banana plugs, and also gold plated hook probes off the shelf in Akihabara so I'm making my own leads with teflon wire.
Maybe you can find these parts or equivalents locally?

https://www.sengoku.co.jp/mod/sgk_cart/detail.php?code=EEHD-5N3L

https://akizukidenshi.com/catalog/g/gP-11774/

[Neomys Sapiens]

Just wrote up the instructions to make a boot disk for your 4145B, including the MS-DOS CD .iso file to boot your PC from.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/how-to-make-a-new-boot-disk-for-your-hp-4145b-semiconductor-parameter-analyzer/

Also, I bought more crap to poke at...

Got another test fixture for the 4145B, along with a case of adapter boards, complete with deteriorated foam.
I'll mix and match with what I've got to keep the best for the 4145B, the rest will go with the 4145A when I sell it.

I also got a TDS754D which doesn't work, so I'll fix it up and sell it off for a few extra $$. Here's hoping this one has the HDD option that I can pilfer, if not I have my eye on a couple more units for a good price (One is a bashed up parts unit) that I might get lucky with...

I had to completely replace the foam in the case of test fixture boards I got for my 4145B. I was lucky the set contained the tiny leads for connecting up your DUT, but it's missing one of them. I've been looking for an extra to complete the set, so if you come across any, let me know!

Are those leads single wire? I strongly suspect that one size or another of MIL-C-39029 contacts will fit the bill. From the looks, I guess #22, 22D or 22M. If you measure your pins and thereby enable me to use the right ones (or provide me a link where I can check it), I could gladly provide you with a handful of properly crimped, diversely coloured ones. Need some Y-connected ones or other specialties?

[Neomys Sapiens]

I had to completely replace the foam in the case of test fixture boards I got for my 4145B. I was lucky the set contained the tiny leads for connecting up your DUT, but it's missing one of them. I've been looking for an extra to complete the set, so if you come across any, let me know!

Which wires do you need? I can get Staubli SLS205 stacking 2mm gold plated banana plugs, and also gold plated hook probes off the shelf in Akihabara so I'm making my own leads with teflon wire.
Maybe you can find these parts or equivalents locally?

https://www.sengoku.co.jp/mod/sgk_cart/detail.php?code=EEHD-5N3L

https://akizukidenshi.com/catalog/g/gP-11774/

Do the originals have springs on the pin contacts too?

[TERRA Operative]

I had to completely replace the foam in the case of test fixture boards I got for my 4145B. I was lucky the set contained the tiny leads for connecting up your DUT, but it's missing one of them. I've been looking for an extra to complete the set, so if you come across any, let me know!

Which wires do you need? I can get Staubli SLS205 stacking 2mm gold plated banana plugs, and also gold plated hook probes off the shelf in Akihabara so I'm making my own leads with teflon wire.
Maybe you can find these parts or equivalents locally?

https://www.sengoku.co.jp/mod/sgk_cart/detail.php?code=EEHD-5N3L

https://akizukidenshi.com/catalog/g/gP-11774/

Do the originals have springs on the pin contacts too?

I'm not sure, I'll know when I see the ones I just bought. The test fixture I do already have one of and the jacks inside are basically just 2mm tubes, like a standard 4mm banana jack but smaller, so the parts I linked to fit perfectly.

The wires are just hook up wire of some description, not coax etc. I chose to use Teflon insulated wire for the (hopefully) better insulating/leakage/dielectric/whatever/etc performance.

[Vince]

It's branded " Yokogawa - HP "... even has a little modified " YHP" HP looking logo on it... so which is it  then ?

A Yokogawa TE rebranded by HP, or the other way around ? Or a joint venture and both participated in the design equally ? Don't see the latter happening, not very practical...

So it's a bit like the Sony - Tek  ultra expensive curve tracers then, designed by Sony not Tek, well I think !

Apparently back in the day it was practically impossible for a foreign company to establish in Japan due to various laws and regulations etc, so partnerships were formed between companies.
HP/Yokogawa, Tek/Sony, etc etc.
There was a lot of model sharing between companies in the respective partnership, as well as joint development. So HP sold their own branded gear, Yokogawa sold their branded gear, then they also sold joint-branded gear too.
It was an easier way for foreign companies to crack into the Japanese market during the economic boom of the 80's/90's (Semiconductors used to be HUGE here) and an easy way for Japanese companies to expand their offerings.

OK thanks, so since it looks like a HP piece of TE... must have been designed by them then...

[Cerebus]

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 !

No, we find it easy because we learn Latin, where the French stole all their words from. 

Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes.
εἰ δὲ τὸ ἄνω μόνον, μικρότερον παιδείας ἔχεις.

(I can't vouch for the correctness of the Greek - I never got that far, it's copypasta. From my schoolboy days of enforced Latin I can roughly vouch for the Latin.)

[Vince]

I also got a TDS754D which doesn't work, so I'll fix it up and sell it off for a few extra $$. Here's hoping this one has the HDD option that I can pilfer, if not I have my eye on a couple more units for a good price (One is a bashed up parts unit) that I might get lucky with...

Boy you buy these old TDS all the time, you are the man ! 

I know who to talk to in some time when I will be on the market for a 784D or 794D ! By then you will be such a pro that you will be able to tell me all there is to know about them ! 

[cyclin_al]

Reason #24789 why I hate people.

I always do my laundry at 0300 or 0400 in the morning so I don't have to compete for the single washer/dryer in our complex. It's not unusual for me to find either the washer or dryer full of someone else's laundry that they were too lazy to remove and leave overnight. It gets removed and thrown on top of the machines. Too freaking bad if they don't like it. Take care of it on a timely basis. It ain't hard.

Anyway, do laundry this morning. Both machines were empty. Just pulled my clothes out of the dryer and all my t-shirts have multiple stains. The reason? Some jackass left a chap stick in the dryer. Yep, part of that is on me for not looking in the dryer. But a chap stick would be easy to miss. And I missed it. So now I'm re-washing the t-shirts after applying a stain remover. But I have a suspicion it's not going to work. And I will air dry the t-shirts. Not going back into the dryer.

And people wonder why I'm a grouchy old bastard. 

Ouch!

I was caught by a similar problem once.  If I could find the previous user of the washer, I would put him in the machine for a cycle ... or more ...

Previous user of the clothes washer was probably a mechanic with heavy dirty grease globs all over the clothes.  I used the machine for white office shirts.  Afterwards, there was no sense in trying to wash them again.  All my shirts went into the rag pile; then I had to go shopping.  Did I say that I hate shopping?  I hate shopping more than people; the only interesting part is the optimization problem to see how quickly I can get out liberated from the store.

I spoke with the laundromat owner, who pointed out the sign they are not responsible, but that they also knew of the problem and did not care to clean out the machine or even to tell me.
They lost a regular customer that day.

[Vince]

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.

Thanks for the link ! 

Expensive ? At 4 Euros a pop ?!  I find that very honest, I am perfectly fine with that ! And you can even order them in 3 or 5 meters length if need be, for a bit more money.

No it's a good price !  Look, the ones Peter_O found are much more expensive : Reichelt 30% more expensive, and the Amazon seller, depending on colour choice, is either 250% or 400% more expensive... actually more like 300% and 450+ %, because their cables are 20% shorter, only 1.80m long not 2m ! 

I agree about the electrical tape, it invariably turns into a VERY stick mess that I HATE. I despise the stuff ... 

Zip ties for rarely used cords hey why not... I guess it's cheap enough in high quantities. Will look into that...

Thanks again every body for all the suggestions since last night, I am completely overwhelmed, so many ideas, glad I asked !   

[Vince]

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 !

No, we find it easy because we learn Latin, where the French stole all their words from. 

Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes.
εἰ δὲ τὸ ἄνω μόνον, μικρότερον παιδείας ἔχεις.

(I can't vouch for the correctness of the Greek - I never got that far, it's copypasta. From my schoolboy days of enforced Latin I can roughly vouch for the Latin.)

Sorry Cerebus I didn't take Latin at school, only German then later English ! 
I know, I know... I am a disappointment again....  I wish I were smarter so I could have a conversation but well, it's not like there were a million frogs on TEA so you will have to make do with the one you got on hand sorry ! 

[TERRA Operative]

It's branded " Yokogawa - HP "... even has a little modified " YHP" HP looking logo on it... so which is it  then ?

A Yokogawa TE rebranded by HP, or the other way around ? Or a joint venture and both participated in the design equally ? Don't see the latter happening, not very practical...

So it's a bit like the Sony - Tek  ultra expensive curve tracers then, designed by Sony not Tek, well I think !

Apparently back in the day it was practically impossible for a foreign company to establish in Japan due to various laws and regulations etc, so partnerships were formed between companies.
HP/Yokogawa, Tek/Sony, etc etc.
There was a lot of model sharing between companies in the respective partnership, as well as joint development. So HP sold their own branded gear, Yokogawa sold their branded gear, then they also sold joint-branded gear too.
It was an easier way for foreign companies to crack into the Japanese market during the economic boom of the 80's/90's (Semiconductors used to be HUGE here) and an easy way for Japanese companies to expand their offerings.

OK thanks, so since it looks like a HP piece of TE... must have been designed by them then...

Maybe, maybe not. Yokogawa most probably contributed to the design at the very least, they did make some gear themselves using HP's 'design language'. There are even a few Yokogawa bits of gear floating around that have no HP branding but look decidedly HP-ish. I wouldn't doubt some cross-pollination was going on in both directions.

Boy you buy these old TDS all the time, you are the man ! 

I know who to talk to in some time when I will be on the market for a 784D or 794D ! By then you will be such a pro that you will be able to tell me all there is to know about them ! 

And I'm enjoying watching you get all that cool obscure-to-me gear too!
You are more than welcome to ask too many questions when the time comes.    I've been updating the Tekwiki with all the info I can find too, so don't forget to check that out too!

[Vince]

Jusr received the last bits of my Farnell order : the General Lee  BNC adpater for my vintage Metrix RF generator.

So excited... and quickly disappointed as well !  Adpaters do NOT fit... at all.

Looks like the problem, I think, comes from the fact that these Belling-Lee /. TV connectors, from pictures I usually see... have either the plug or socket that has 2 or 4 slits in the outer conductor, so one deforms to mate the other and make a good contact. Trouble is that in my case neither socket on the generator, nor the adapters.. have slits in them. So it's just two similarly sized solid metal cylinders... bzanging against one another. It just can't work....

If I had a Dremel (I  don't just yet), I guess I could try to cut a couple slits in the adapter, see if that helps... but not even sure that would fix it, as the metal is probably too hard/stiff and it would not deform enough when trying to shove it into the socket on the generator.

Oh well, I tried...

Guess I can buy one that's slit, made for a TV cable, and try to cobble together an adapter from that,; with some soldering and chainsawing...  where there is a will, there is a way, as they say !?!! 

[Vince]

Maybe, maybe not. Yokogawa most probably contributed to the design at the very least, they did make some gear themselves using HP's 'design language'. There are even a few Yokogawa bits of gear floating around that have no HP branding but look decidedly HP-ish. I wouldn't doubt some cross-pollination was going on in both directions.

Oh I see, lines are blurred then, it's a bit of a mess... adds mystery to these bits of kits then, trying to figure out what part of  a particular piece of TE was designed by HP or Yoko ! 

Boy you buy these old TDS all the time, you are the man ! 

I know who to talk to in some time when I will be on the market for a 784D or 794D ! By then you will be such a pro that you will be able to tell me all there is to know about them ! 

And I'm enjoying watching you get all that cool obscure-to-me gear too!
You are more than welcome to ask too many questions when the time comes.    I've been updating the Tekwiki with all the info I can find too, so don't forget to check that out too!

Oh do you ? Well you will be pleased to hear I have yet another cool piece of TE in the pipeline, just received it yesterday ! I put it aside for now because well... bench is covered all over with power cords at the moment you see !    Hoping to present it in a few days.

Might ask for rights to edit the Tekwiki as well... often find errors in the articles, whenever I look at an article pertaining to an old glowing scope I am working on. ALso some articles have very few and/or crappy pictures of the scopes, so I could add more and better pics.

[TERRA Operative]

Might ask for rights edit the Tekwiki as well... often find errors in the articles, whenever I look at an article pertaining to an old glowing scope I am working on. ALso some articles have very few and/or crappy pictures of the scopes, so I could add more and better pics.

Please do! The more good info there, the better for all of us!

[tggzzz]

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 !

No, we find it easy because we learn Latin, where the French stole all their words from. 

Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes.
εἰ δὲ τὸ ἄνω μόνον, μικρότερον παιδείας ἔχεις.

(I can't vouch for the correctness of the Greek - I never got that far, it's copypasta. From my schoolboy days of enforced Latin I can roughly vouch for the Latin.)

Sorry Cerebus I didn't take Latin at school, only German then later English ! 
I know, I know... I am a disappointment again....  I wish I were smarter so I could have a conversation but well, it's not like there were a million frogs on TEA so you will have to make do with the one you got on hand sorry ! 

They stuck me in the Latin class at school. It took me two whole lessons to escape to the German class. (Everybody learned French, for varying definitions of "learned")

[BU508A]

in the German part of the bay of evil,
there is a DMM from a company, which I've never heard of:
Wagner from Berlin (NAWTS)

https://www.ebay.de/itm/164788811370



As a bonus: the seller has added a picture of himself, wearing Bavarian lether trousers!
I'm pretty sure, this is a clear indicator for a trustful seller.