Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Vince]

The sticky diode mountain is no more...  thanks to Optivisor. This Chinese piece of junk finally paid for itself. It worked just fine, so much so that I could envisage looking at these hundreds of tiny glass diodes one by one right now.. so I did.

Result :

Ended up throwing away about 80 of them because their package was so minuscule, not even long enough to be called cylindrical, more like a tiny bead of glass... that there simply was no space for any markings on them, so there was none.

Then the rest was quite more diversified than I thought, 14 different zip bags in all ! Was well worth my time in the end, glad I made the effort to endure this sorting session...

So I have 5 types of signal diodes + 9 different values of Zener diodes !

Diodes :

- 1N4150  300mA 50V
- 1N4148  150mA 75V
- BAV21 250mA 200V, quite beefy for a tiny package 
- BA204 150mA 50V ...only ONE off ! Doesn't look anything special so might as well discard it to avoid needlessly cluttering my drawers... need to rationalize inventory...
- TD129 50mA 50V apparently "obsolete", couldn't even find a datasheet for it ! Found only a couple vendors for it... Apparently it's nothing special and people just replace it with a common 1N4148 which has better specs. So since I have only 2 of these, might as well throw them away ?!....

Zener : 9 different values from 2.7V up to 30V, all from the ZPD series bar one, the 6.8V one which is a ZTK. Go figure.
4 of these I have only one or two off, but the others, the majority then, I have a good number of them, a dozen or so about, at a quick glance.

So overall piccie to sum it up :

- First row the beefier, rectifier diodes, that I sorted earlier today.
- Second row the small signal glass diodes
- Third row the Zener diodes sorted by voltage.

Quite happy, I have a bit of everything, all nicely sorted and labeled, that was a good day ! 

For now I can just cram all the Zener bags into a single little drawer, for compactness.
Same for the signal diodes, for now at least. Will probably spread them again later on, once I buy another of this smurf blue large 50 drawers unit.... H/W store has already increased its price I see ! Was 26,90 Euros a few days ago when I bought it, now up to 29,90 Euros, bastards !!!! 

https://www.castorama.fr/casier-de-rangement-mac-allister-metal-50-tiroirs/3663602905448_CAFR.prd

Luckily they have not increased the price of the smaller unit, that I intend to buy another one of, to store all my film/plastic and ceramic caps. Still at 22,90 Euros.

https://www.castorama.fr/casier-de-rangement-mac-allister-plastique-24-tiroirs/3663602905431_CAFR.prd

[Vince]

Vince can you get any sort of conductivity from the bottom of that pretty pile to the other side? 

Then proceeded to further sort the diodes. Separated all the tiny glass transparent small signal ones, from the chunkier ones. For the latter are much easier to read the markings from ! 
So I have now meself some "brand new" diodes.... which I promptly put into labelled zip bags. Long live zip bags and labels...
I looked them up quickly on Google to write down basic specs on the labels. Here is what I happen to have then :

V_f=  ?

Alas no ! Tried several meters, none can give me a reading, they all suck big time !!! 

Vince can you get any sort of conductivity from the bottom of that pretty pile to the other side? 

Then proceeded to further sort the diodes. Separated all the tiny glass transparent small signal ones, from the chunkier ones. For the latter are much easier to read the markings from ! 
So I have now meself some "brand new" diodes.... which I promptly put into labelled zip bags. Long live zip bags and labels...
I looked them up quickly on Google to write down basic specs on the labels. Here is what I happen to have then :

V_f=  ?

Alas no ! Tried several meters, none can give me a reading, they all suck big time !!! 

How do you mean they all suck, they all have a diode mode don't they?

Of course they do ! I was just exhibiting a bit of sarcasm considering the situation ! 

[mnementh]

mnem
 

[Vince]

My Optivisor didn't quite give me that level of detail I must admit...

[mnementh]

You really need to look into one of those cheap Chinese component tester. Many of the newer ones will ID Zeners up to 8-15V, and most will identify switching (1N4148, etc) diodes as well, or at least give enuf parameters you can figure that out.

I wholeheartedly recommend the ESR02; offered under many brands but always looks like this in maroon or black. If you shop carefully, you should be able to pick it up with tweezer probes for US$25-35 equiv. Flexibility and more importantly, usability (usable sockets, SMD testbed and tweezer options) put the value off the hook.

https://www.amazon.com/Transistor-Component-Capacitor-Inductance-Electric/dp/B08PDKVWLZ/

mnem

[BU508A]

Teardown time!

A friend of mine sent me this Star Trek:TOS Communicator.
She complained that the battery life had dropped rapidly and
was now less than an hour (previously it was around 4 hours).
Measured around 4.1V of the battery which isn't that bad.
I think, I'll connect it to my Manyuo electronic load to check its capacity.

I opened the device and removed the LiPo battery.



I found this battery on ebay as a replacement:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/175068850363

[Vince]

You really need to look into one of those cheap Chinese component tester. Many of the newer ones will ID Zeners up to 8-15V, and most will identify switching (1N4148, etc) diodes as well, or at least give enuf parameters you can figure that out.

I wholeheartedly recommend the ESR02; offered under many brands but always looks like this in maroon or black. If you shop carefully, you should be able to pick it up with tweezer probes for US$25-35 equiv. Flexibility and more importantly, usability (usable sockets, SMD testbed and tweezer options) put the value off the hook.

https://www.amazon.com/Transistor-Component-Capacitor-Inductance-Electric/dp/B08PDKVWLZ/

mnem

I am not sure I understand ? Other than the fancy case, it looks like the usual cheap tester everybody has ? I already have one, you can see it in the picture above... it does not have a case so I could get it cheaper, but it looks to be no more no less than your fancy one ?!

I love it  but in the case of this mountain of diodes, it would not have helped me in the slightest : I already know they are diodes, and I already know the pinout, the cathode is clearly marked... what I need to know is the actual part number on them so I can sort them, label them, and pull the datasheet. The tester can't do that...

[GreyWoolfe]

Mrs. GreyWoolfe and I did the diet thing for years....

Yeah, I've done the Dub-Dub. Did not work for me. Period. I'll worry about the "changing my lifestyle" self-affirmation stuff once I actually lose the weight. Again.

Honestly, the more I actually do hard Keto, the easier it becomes to just not eat stoopit shit...

SWMBO & I have been on "Lite 'n Easy" for a couple of years, now.
I dunno if it is an Oz only firm or not, but anyhow, it works like so:-

On Friday, we have several large styrofoam boxes delivered, containing our meals for the week. The "Dinners" are all frozen (like TV dinners, but a couple of levels better quality), the lunches are varied, some just refrigerated, some frozen, mostly a mixture.
We opted out of breakfast.

Most of the time, we have very little problem "sticking to the program"...

Actually, that's a good point... @GreyWoolfe - Are you doing the Dub-Dub food, where everything is premade, or are you doing the recipe program, where you cook it yourself?

I did the latter, as I couldn't see the point in buying TV dinners when I enjoy cooking, and already know how to weigh/calculate carbs & cals/record my intake. 

mnem
*toddles off to buy some metal for 3DP upgrades*

Nope, no prepackaged, processed to dumbfuckistan and back TV dinners.  Both of us know which end of the knife to hold.  Nothing canned except black olives and tomato puree.  Mostly fresh but also frozen veggies.  We buy large packages of chicken breast that we portion out for multiple meals, Frozen raw peeled shrimp and vacuum packed wild caught salmon, sometimes we do both fresh depending on visual quality.  We do like sampling vegan protein alternatives and have some favorites that we repeat buy.  One of the big grocery stores, Publix, has the best chicken hot and sweet Italian sausage.  Almost all of my carb intake comes from oat bran or rolled oats bought in bulk for brekkies and various squashes especially spaghetti and acorn when available.  Zucchini and yellow squash get spiralized and, for us, makes a great pasta substitute.  Tons of spices and hot sauce for flavor.  Also, there are tons of good WW recipes that we modify for our particular tastes and for my diabetic self.  The hardest thing to get used to in the beginning was portion control, now we don't even think about, we've been doing it enough. 

Mrs. GreyWoolfe and I did the diet thing for years.  For us, diets aren't sustainable.  Last diet we did I lost 200 lbs. 

Let me just stop you there while we get this into perspective.

For those of us who don't think of people's weight in lbs (a purely North American thing) that's 90.9 kg or 14 stone 4 lb. That's more than I've ever weighted. That's more than a whole Cerebus with outdoor clothing and boots (or naked with light armour).


Gobsmacked!

And I ended up putting it all back on as the diet we did wasn't sustainable in any way but we wanted quick results.  This time, when I lose a whole Cerebus again, it will be due to lifestyle changes, smart food choices and a serious determination not to go back to being 385 pounds, 175 kilos again.  Hoping to get to 185-195 pounds, 84-86 kilos but wherever the scale stops, that I will be quite happy with.  Currently at 269 pounds, 112 kilos and we have no time frame to get to our ideal weight, it will happen when it will happen.  Still way overweight but I physically so much better and my mental state has also improved dramatically.

[AVGresponding]

Well my Brother PT300 label printer arrived this morning, it allegedly failed to switch on after being stored for a while. Popped some batteries in it, pressed the power button and hey presto it fired straight up, stuck a tape in it and printed a label perfectly. Tried to cut the tape using the built-in cutter, and it failed, the cutter was all badly gummed up with glue. Removed and cleaned, refitted, cuts after a fashion, needs a new cutter, which currently are unavailable everywhere. Very fiddly to do, but may just be able to resharpen the blade on my diamond block, when I find it again 

So no great repair to do on it at all, ordered a lot of new tapes for, which is handy as the tapes also fit the PC label printer PT1230PC.

I'm now the proud owner of 1 x PT650m 2 x PT300 and 1 x PY1230PC.

I didn't need the second PT300 but as it was on eBay as BIN for £2.94 and delivered for £6.14 all in I thought why not take a chance, and it paid off handsomely 

The power button on my Brother 550 can be temperamental.

Ooh, thats a posh one that, looks like you could print address labels on it?

Widest label tapes it takes are 24mm, so I guess so. You can connect it to a PC or phone with a usb lead and print pics too, in quite low res, but still useful.

[AVGresponding]

You really need to look into one of those cheap Chinese component tester. Many of the newer ones will ID Zeners up to 8-15V, and most will identify switching (1N4148, etc) diodes as well, or at least give enuf parameters you can figure that out.

I wholeheartedly recommend the ESR02; offered under many brands but always looks like this in maroon or black. If you shop carefully, you should be able to pick it up with tweezer probes for US$25-35 equiv. Flexibility and more importantly, usability (usable sockets, SMD testbed and tweezer options) put the value off the hook.

https://www.amazon.com/Transistor-Component-Capacitor-Inductance-Electric/dp/B08PDKVWLZ/

mnem

I am not sure I understand ? Other than the fancy case, it looks like the usual cheap tester everybody has ? I already have one, you can see it in the picture above... it does not have a case so I could get it cheaper, but it looks to be no more no less than your fancy one ?!

I love it  but in the case of this mountain of diodes, it would not have helped me in the slightest : I already know they are diodes, and I already know the pinout, the cathode is clearly marked... what I need to know is the actual part number on them so I can sort them, label them, and pull the datasheet. The tester can't do that...

For basic diode testing any old multimeter is fine. For serious diode testing, there's no substitute for a good power supply, a good multimeter, and a pen and paper. Well, there is a curve tracer I suppose, but good ones are very expensive.

[Robert763]

The sticky diode mountain is no more...  thanks to Optivisor. This Chinese piece of junk finally paid for itself. It worked just fine, so much so that I could envisage looking at these hundreds of tiny glass diodes one by one right now.. so I did.

Result :

Ended up throwing away about 80 of them because their package was so minuscule, not even long enough to be called cylindrical, more like a tiny bead of glass... that there simply was no space for any markings on them, so there was none.

Then the rest was quite more diversified than I thought, 14 different zip bags in all ! Was well worth my time in the end, glad I made the effort to endure this sorting session...

So I have 5 types of signal diodes + 9 different values of Zener diodes !

Diodes :

- 1N4150  300mA 50V
- 1N4148  150mA 75V
- BAV21 250mA 200V, quite beefy for a tiny package 
- BA204 150mA 50V ...only ONE off ! Doesn't look anything special so might as well discard it to avoid needlessly cluttering my drawers... need to rationalize inventory...
- TD129 50mA 50V apparently "obsolete", couldn't even find a datasheet for it ! Found only a couple vendors for it... Apparently it's nothing special and people just replace it with a common 1N4148 which has better specs. So since I have only 2 of these, might as well throw them away ?!....

Zener : 9 different values from 2.7V up to 30V, all from the ZPD series bar one, the 6.8V one which is a ZTK. Go figure.
4 of these I have only one or two off, but the others, the majority then, I have a good number of them, a dozen or so about, at a quick glance.

So overall piccie to sum it up :

- First row the beefier, rectifier diodes, that I sorted earlier today.
- Second row the small signal glass diodes
- Third row the Zener diodes sorted by voltage.

Quite happy, I have a bit of everything, all nicely sorted and labeled, that was a good day ! 

For now I can just cram all the Zener bags into a single little drawer, for compactness.
Same for the signal diodes, for now at least. Will probably spread them again later on, once I buy another of this smurf blue large 50 drawers unit.... H/W store has already increased its price I see ! Was 26,90 Euros a few days ago when I bought it, now up to 29,90 Euros, bastards !!!! 

https://www.castorama.fr/casier-de-rangement-mac-allister-metal-50-tiroirs/3663602905448_CAFR.prd

Luckily they have not increased the price of the smaller unit, that I intend to buy another one of, to store all my film/plastic and ceramic caps. Still at 22,90 Euros.

https://www.castorama.fr/casier-de-rangement-mac-allister-plastique-24-tiroirs/3663602905431_CAFR.prd

The ZTY 6V8 diode is not a standard zener. It's a temperature compensated voltage reference. Basically a 6V2 zenner in series with a silicon diode. The positive temperature coefficent of the zener is cancelled by the negative of the diode.
If you check it wirh a DMM on diode check it will read open in both directions. This is because the two diodes are back to back. You have to check it in reverse with a current limited source of >7 V

[AVGresponding]

ebay tat time.

If I had the space/need for this boat anchor, I'd be bidding on it:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294806489753





Cheap compared to a 3458, no bids though:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125136030787





Wonder how crazy this will get?  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373923557010





BIN is a bit ambitious on these two imo:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284645118906 and https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284647852228





Quite a bit of TTi stuff. Hope none of these are on your secret watch list Specmaster!  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275159353981



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373925530450



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373923536771



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224811548123



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325037207361





HFM?!?  https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/LpoAAOSwUqVh8~tf/s-l1600.jpg





A bit rich for my blood, considering it would have to go straight to the repair queue:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275163214258





This seems reasonably priced:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284647934923





Not TE, but maybe interesting to some. I've been looking at in-car mini-disc players, and came across this one. It has more sockets in the back than the back of a socket shop! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363645094456





This seems a possible bargain for one of the septics on here:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224814128192





Old and basic, but at least it's functional:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134021672847





Potential barg if you live anywhere near High Wycombe:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403467319794





"New, other" even so, £150 seems like all the money to me:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134017559032

[Specmaster]

ebay tat time.

If I had the space/need for this boat anchor, I'd be bidding on it:  [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294806489753[/url]





Cheap compared to a 3458, no bids though:  [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125136030787[/url]





Wonder how crazy this will get?  [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373923557010[/url]





BIN is a bit ambitious on these two imo:  [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284645118906[/url] and [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284647852228[/url]





Quite a bit of TTi stuff. Hope none of these are on your secret watch list Specmaster!  [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275159353981[/url]



[url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373925530450[/url]



[url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373923536771[/url]



[url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224811548123[/url]



[url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325037207361[/url]





HFM?!?  [url]https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/LpoAAOSwUqVh8~tf/s-l1600.jpg[/url]





A bit rich for my blood, considering it would have to go straight to the repair queue:  [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275163214258[/url]





This seems reasonably priced:  [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284647934923[/url]





Not TE, but maybe interesting to some. I've been looking at in-car mini-disc players, and came across this one. It has more sockets in the back than the back of a socket shop! [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363645094456[/url]





This seems a possible bargain for one of the septics on here:  [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224814128192[/url]





Old and basic, but at least it's functional:  [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134021672847[/url]





Potential barg if you live anywhere near High Wycombe:  [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403467319794[/url]





"New, other" even so, £150 seems like all the money to me:  [url]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134017559032[/url]

Nah, you're OK, go for em if you want to. Those 1604's are not too bad a price really, 2 recently sold for around the £200+ mark although I'd much rather have my 1906 with its extra functions and digit and if IIRC I paid a hell of a lot less for it as well and its almost a minter too.

[Robert763]

ebay tat time.

<SNIP>



Not TE, but maybe interesting to some. I've been looking at in-car mini-disc players, and came across this one. It has more sockets in the back than the back of a socket shop! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363645094456




<SNIP>

How old is that thing? It supports Mini-Disc and MagicGate 
Must be some kind of Sony clone.

[mnementh]

Teardown time!

A friend of mine sent me this Star Trek:TOS Communicator.
She complained that the battery life had dropped rapidly and
was now less than an hour (previously it was around 4 hours).
Measured around 4.1V of the battery which isn't that bad.
I think, I'll connect it to my Manyuo electronic load to check its capacity.

I opened the device and removed the LiPo battery.



I found this battery on ebay as a replacement:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/175068850363

The "part number" on Chinesium LiPos is not actually a part number; it is nominal size in the format xx.x mm thick by xx mm deep including tab area by xx mm wide including seam flaps.

Unless you know you have adequate extra room (which by pic I'm not sure, particularly that 0.2mm extra thickness), you need to shop by those dimensions rather than advertised mAH capacity.

mnem

[Brumby]

ebay tat time.

If I had the space/need for this boat anchor, I'd be bidding on it:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294806489753

Mine is a bit different...

[Kosmic]

You really need to look into one of those cheap Chinese component tester. Many of the newer ones will ID Zeners up to 8-15V, and most will identify switching (1N4148, etc) diodes as well, or at least give enuf parameters you can figure that out.

I wholeheartedly recommend the ESR02; offered under many brands but always looks like this in maroon or black. If you shop carefully, you should be able to pick it up with tweezer probes for US$25-35 equiv. Flexibility and more importantly, usability (usable sockets, SMD testbed and tweezer options) put the value off the hook.

https://www.amazon.com/Transistor-Component-Capacitor-Inductance-Electric/dp/B08PDKVWLZ/

mnem

I am not sure I understand ? Other than the fancy case, it looks like the usual cheap tester everybody has ? I already have one, you can see it in the picture above... it does not have a case so I could get it cheaper, but it looks to be no more no less than your fancy one ?!

I love it  but in the case of this mountain of diodes, it would not have helped me in the slightest : I already know they are diodes, and I already know the pinout, the cathode is clearly marked... what I need to know is the actual part number on them so I can sort them, label them, and pull the datasheet. The tester can't do that...

For basic diode testing any old multimeter is fine. For serious diode testing, there's no substitute for a good power supply, a good multimeter, and a pen and paper. Well, there is a curve tracer I suppose, but good ones are very expensive.

Don't forget Octopus (component tester). They are easy to build and with the right transfo could reach higher voltage (24 or 48V ?).

The one I built a while ago only goes up to 12V though. Combined to my 12Bits USB scope, I get interesting results.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2723020/#msg2723020

More info on octopus here: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/QEX_Next_Issue/May-June2017/Ferreora.pdf

[mnementh]

You really need to look into one of those cheap Chinese component tester. Many of the newer ones will ID Zeners up to 8-15V, and most will identify switching (1N4148, etc) diodes as well, or at least give enuf parameters you can figure that out.

I wholeheartedly recommend the ESR02; offered under many brands but always looks like this in maroon or black. If you shop carefully, you should be able to pick it up with tweezer probes for US$25-35 equiv. Flexibility and more importantly, usability (usable sockets, SMD testbed and tweezer options) put the value off the hook.

https://www.amazon.com/Transistor-Component-Capacitor-Inductance-Electric/dp/B08PDKVWLZ/

mnem

I am not sure I understand ? Other than the fancy case, it looks like the usual cheap tester everybody has ? I already have one, you can see it in the picture above... it does not have a case so I could get it cheaper, but it looks to be no more no less than your fancy one ?!

I love it  but in the case of this mountain of diodes, it would not have helped me in the slightest : I already know they are diodes, and I already know the pinout, the cathode is clearly marked... what I need to know is the actual part number on them so I can sort them, label them, and pull the datasheet. The tester can't do that...

As I said... USABILITY.

I've bought a dozen of these over the years, and I've closely watched the evolution they've undergone from generation to generation... and the old bare-board ones are shite compared to the newer ones. First is the firmware; how new a firmware you can get is directly dependent on the PCB in question. The older bare-board designs are way cheaper for a reason: Nobody is developing new FW for them anymore, because the hardware is too primitive.

The newer firmwares are for newer processors with more ROM, and more complex FW with a larger database and more sophisticated testing. The ESR02 is one of the newest families of the "cheap Chinesium component testers", and it simply has one of the best developed FWs out there until you get into serious HW like the DE-5000 and PEAK/Atlas ESR70Plus, which I also own.

Next... AGAIN USABILITY. The case on this tester has one of the best, most convenient HARDWARE UIs out there, and unlike many, the battery life is exemplary.

The combination of component slots, built-in discharge port, and the SMD test pad are simply one of the easiest to use, and greatly improve workflow when sorting random components. Add a tweezer probe for ~US$7, and it becomes a useful diag tool somewhere halfway between the MasTech MS8910 (total waste of money) and the MS8911 (amazing bang/buck).

I've owned one or more versions of all the popular cheap Chinesium testers out there, and some of the not-so-popular ones. The ESR02 is by far the best bang/buck of them, and well worth the difference. In real terms, we're talking about $7-12 difference, which is jack-shit to pay for the convenience of the design.

mnem
 

[Vince]

I don't deny that yours is more polished and ergonomic, but I still don't understand how your super duper F/W is automagically going to print me on screen, reliably, the actual part number of all these diodes, which was I did here by hand ?

[mnementh]

Mrs. GreyWoolfe and I did the diet thing for years.  For us, diets aren't sustainable.  Last diet we did I lost 200 lbs. 

Let me just stop you there while we get this into perspective.

For those of us who don't think of people's weight in lbs (a purely North American thing) that's 90.9 kg or 14 stone 4 lb. That's more than I've ever weighted. That's more than a whole Cerebus with outdoor clothing and boots (or naked with light armour). Gobsmacked!

And I ended up putting it all back on as the diet we did wasn't sustainable in any way but we wanted quick results.  This time, when I lose a whole Cerebus again, it will be due to lifestyle changes, smart food choices and a serious determination not to go back to being 385 pounds, 175 kilos again.  Hoping to get to 185-195 pounds, 84-86 kilos but wherever the scale stops, that I will be quite happy with.  Currently at 269 pounds, 112 kilos and we have no time frame to get to our ideal weight, it will happen when it will happen.  Still way overweight but I physically so much better and my mental state has also improved dramatically.

I'm glad this worked for you. The difference for me is that I'm not yet diabetic, and if I'm going to stay that way, the low-carb diet (diet as in what you eat, not as in some fad to make you feel better about being fat) has to become my lifestyle permanently. And that I've actually done the Dub-Dub, and it did not work for me.

I've been there, and I've achieved my goal twice before, and I've let bouts of depression over life changes take over my eating habits. I hope that I can make it stick this time; but the truth is, I don't have time. I'm morbidly obese, and I need to lose at least another 20 kilos in the next 6 months. Period.

Cheers,

mnem

[Vince]

You really need to look into one of those cheap Chinese component tester. Many of the newer ones will ID Zeners up to 8-15V, and most will identify switching (1N4148, etc) diodes as well, or at least give enuf parameters you can figure that out.

I wholeheartedly recommend the ESR02; offered under many brands but always looks like this in maroon or black. If you shop carefully, you should be able to pick it up with tweezer probes for US$25-35 equiv. Flexibility and more importantly, usability (usable sockets, SMD testbed and tweezer options) put the value off the hook.

https://www.amazon.com/Transistor-Component-Capacitor-Inductance-Electric/dp/B08PDKVWLZ/

mnem

I am not sure I understand ? Other than the fancy case, it looks like the usual cheap tester everybody has ? I already have one, you can see it in the picture above... it does not have a case so I could get it cheaper, but it looks to be no more no less than your fancy one ?!

I love it  but in the case of this mountain of diodes, it would not have helped me in the slightest : I already know they are diodes, and I already know the pinout, the cathode is clearly marked... what I need to know is the actual part number on them so I can sort them, label them, and pull the datasheet. The tester can't do that...

For basic diode testing any old multimeter is fine. For serious diode testing, there's no substitute for a good power supply, a good multimeter, and a pen and paper. Well, there is a curve tracer I suppose, but good ones are very expensive.

Don't forget Octopus (component tester). They are easy to build and with the right transfo could reach higher voltage (24 or 48V ?).

The one I built a while ago only goes up to 12V though. Combined to my 12Bits USB scope, I get interesting results.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2723020/#msg2723020

More info on octopus here: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/QEX_Next_Issue/May-June2017/Ferreora.pdf

Octopus ? Who needs an Octopus when you have a lovely Tek 575 glowing curve tracer ?!    Well OK, I need to restore it first....
OK the octopus let's you use modern accurate volt and am-meters, and if you go fancy, trace the curves on a computer screen and do some analysis on curves... like extrapolate Vf graphically, measure dynamic impedance etc.. that's cool. But it will never be as a cool and sexy as a beauuuutiful 575 


DE-5000 : yes it's been my plan for some time now, to get one. For my limited budget, it's the best bang for buck.

[mnementh]

ebay tat time.   HFM?!?   

For those playing along at home: eBay auction: #154830257268

Honestly, given how popular these scopes are, even at that price ($109.00 shipped to the US) lot of assache saved for the money. A nice little cottage industry for a niche market, as it were.  It would be nice if the cells were at least included, but then the shipping would increase exponentially, so... 

mnem
 

[Cerebus]

...
First is the firmware; how new a firmware you can get is directly dependent on the PCB in question.
...
The newer firmwares are for newer processors with more ROM,
...

Sorry, just a linguistic quirk that always annoys/throws me. Firmware is a mass noun without number, like butter, or snow. Mass nouns are uncountable. Contrast with countable nouns like cat, house, or coin.

One can't have "a firmware" or "firmwares". There is "firmware", there is "the firmware [for a particular device]" and there is a "collection [or set] of firmware", but there isn't a singular definitive or a plural. You get the same thing with "code" in the software sense. "Where's the code?" makes sense, "Show me the code.", so does "They have code for this.", but "They have codes for this." doesn't.

You can always tell when a politician is talking out of their arse about computers when you hear them say "codes" or "softwares" when they should have said "code" or "software".

[factory]

ebay tat time.

If I had the space/need for this boat anchor, I'd be bidding on it:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294806489753

Mine is a bit different...

Damn you AVG, I was kind of hoping it would come down in price a bit more, the plug-in is no different, but it has the storage frame, probably with unknown/knackered condition storage tube, they have no-protection & are very very easily damaged. 
The storage function on the 141S I have here, is pretty much unusable because the tube is trashed.

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1323069&postcount=16
With an HP storage scope, ALWAYS set the trace brightness in one of the storage modes, NEVER in 'Conv'

In 'Conv' you cannot see when you have the beam current too high and flaring occurs... it's easy to have the beam current high enough that it eventually physically cuts through the storage mesh.

There is no protection on these things. Tektronix were a bit cleverer in this area.

With a spectrum analyser, I suggest you use it in storage mode only and just turn the persistence control low so you don't get multiple trace build-up.

HP CRTs are completely irreplaceable, especially storage ones because people can easily ruin them. There aren't many storage mainframes left in working order.

David

[mnementh]

...
First is the firmware; how new a firmware you can get is directly dependent on the PCB in question.
...
The newer firmwares are for newer processors with more ROM,
...

Sorry, just a linguistic quirk that always annoys/throws me. Firmware is a mass noun without number, like butter, or snow. Mass nouns are uncountable. Contrast with countable nouns like cat, house, or coin.

One can't have "a firmware" or "firmwares". There is "firmware", there is "the firmware [for a particular device]" and there is a "collection [or set] of firmware", but there isn't a singular definitive or a plural. You get the same thing with "code" in the software sense. "Where's the code?" makes sense, "Show me the code.", so does "They have code for this.", but "They have codes for this." doesn't.

You can always tell when a politician is talking out of their arse about computers when you hear them say "codes" when they should have said "code".

Yeah... 

While I do in general agree with the "erosion of minimal standards" POV you've expressed here, in this case I'm going to call the "living language" argument, as whether or not we like the way usage evolves, eventually it becomes the norm, and therefore correct. 

In this case, in context, the terms have a known meaning, as a contraction or abbreviation for "how new a version of the firmware" or referring to "a grouping of many versions of a base firmware" that are in common usage.

Technology is advancing far faster than we have established language to describe it; we are going to have to learn to live with these "growing pains" type language inconsistency scenarios for a lot longer than I have time left on this mudball.

mnem