Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mansaxel]

The bes I could manage in my Landie was, when driving along a single track road, to rotate the steering wheel through +-20degrees, without the car deviating.

That got the attention of oncoming drivers.

Yep the steering drop idlers wear out. Rebushing them is a pretty simple job.

The problem is the use of worm gear instead of rack and pinion. Now, worm gear has some strength advantages, which is why a cross-country vehicle would use it, but it definitely is more play-inducing than rack and pinion. 

[tautech]

The bes I could manage in my Landie was, when driving along a single track road, to rotate the steering wheel through +-20degrees, without the car deviating.

That got the attention of oncoming drivers.

Yep the steering drop idlers wear out. Rebushing them is a pretty simple job.

The problem is the use of worm gear instead of rack and pinion. Now, worm gear has some strength advantages, which is why a cross-country vehicle would use it, but it definitely is more play-inducing than rack and pinion.

Sure, then there's also ball joint slop to consider as with the idler system used there's another drag link pair that all add up and even steering knuckle preload when set correctly totally changes the lane wandering these are sometimes known for.
First thing I did on my S3 was have the std rims cut and widened 3" then hot dipped galved to better suit the 245/16 radials I then fitted to it instead of the 5" std rims.
The track width was increased 3" by doing so which made it a totally different vehicle and if you wanted a fright pop on the std tires again ! 

[mnementh]

Ah, understood. I call that displacement molding. Did it in university, never encountered it again.

McBryce.

Also called Investment Casting in some industrial circles, a term I found very confusing at first because my mind first went to the financial usage of the word investment and it sounded to me like it was a particularly lucrative casting process.

Ah, that's the word I was trying to remember. We actually called it displacement casting, not molding.

McBryce.

Yebbutt... none of those names specifically refer to the process which uses 3DP, and any means of referencing it using them would be much more convoluted and probably include the term Lost PLA anyways.

To "Makers" familiar with 3DP, Lost PLA means the same as Lost PLA Investment Casting would probably mean to you.

mnem
*toddles off to grill some bits o' pig*

[mnementh]

Echoes from a distant past

Part five - The Rohde & Schwarz vacuum tube millivoltmeter UVN BN 12001

(SNIP lots of amazing pics of analog millivolt meter)



...I hope, you've enjoyed it.   I'll add the schematics and pictures of the specs tomorrow. Thank you for watching!

As much as I love that all image-heavy pico-sensitive analog pulchritude... I'm sorry... but my takeaway is...

I wanna mug you for that AWG...

mnem
 

[Neper]

I do not trust myself with driving in the UK.

I don't trust myself with walking in the UK. While I have no probs driving over there I've almost killed myself many times crossing streets, over there.

[mnementh]

next week end of insane instrument auction here in Denmark
have a look
https://campenauktioner.hibid.com/catalog/348344/7277-net--flytteauktion-cobham-del-4---testudstyr--pandrup-/

For helvede mand, det var nogle fede tilbud der!

I will now immediately forget seeing so many 34401 in the same auction. Or I will go insane.

Oh God...

*goes and looks*



mnem
My god... it's full of stars...

[med6753]

MDAS. Multi discipline acquisition syndrome

Definition:
Started by studying Electrical Engineering.  Acquired eico and heathkit test gear, then moved up and got a decent Tektronics dual beam scope (USED of course, first foray into test equipment repair, used it for years,

Got job in Pro Audio. Used previous stated test gear

Got some really good audio gear.  Needed more really good audio gear,  turned into holy grail obsession.   

Discovered talent of writing software. Got really good at it,  Need my own mini computer. Got one used - figured out that test equipment is now inadequate. Need more test equipment. Ahh the pile rises.  Got mini computer working, now we need a bigger one.  Thankfully live in Minnesota where you write software all winter so you can write off the heating of your house by powering you  racks of disk drives and mini computers.  Oops, got summer contract. Buy 2nd air conditioner for house.

Discovered woodworking,  really good, cheap woodworking equipment consists of used 3 phase stuff.  Of course, house doesn't have 3 phase. Plus equipment this large needs small factory - but it is accurate.  Here we go again....

Years pass.  Discover that old holy grail audio gear is worth a bloody fortune.  However,  need to repair old test equipment,  need more test equipment to repair test equipment.. of course, the aquired test equipment is all boat anchor style.   Needs calibration and repair.  Upgrade skills by relearning old lessons.

Buy new test equipment. Discover that even the gee wiz of new stuff just doesn't  feel like old hp and tek gear.

Repair and recalibrate old audio gear. Aquire all of the branded mates to previously owned gear.   The pile grows

Repairing friends equipment of course will require more test gear!

Aquire gear that was out of reach during my teenage years. Ahh the joys of JBL and Altec pro gear. Now we delve into the speaker rabbit hole. Then we explore early VS current solid state amps  VS  tube (valve) - of course now we need good analytical gear. What we had needed improvement, the shelves get heavier.

Need better listening environment.  Is that microphone being used to calibrate my room actually calibrated?   NEED MORE TEST GEAR

Now we are taking up cooking,  available store-bought sausage falls short.   :phew:need better meat grinder.......

Welcome and you've definitely come to the right place. We can appreciate vintage audiophiles who also appreciate the vintage test equipment to go along to service it. And yes, both can become an obsession. What we can't stand and we will hunt you down is the audiophools who will rob for example Bugle Boy 6DJ8 vacuum tubes out of old Tek gear and scrap the rest. Scum of the earth. We see it on Ebay far too often. And those same scum needlessly drive up the prices of vacuum tubes. I recently had to pay $50 USD for a single 8416 vacuum tube because of those roaches. (8416 is 12.6V filament version of 6DJ8).

You need to post up some pictures. Show us what you got. Both audio gear and test gear. And don't be a stranger. Of course if you have questions servicing the vintage Tek and hp stuff don't be afraid to ask. 

[Brumby]

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

...

...

....

LOL... we discussed-ed that explicitly a little later in thread... we'll wait for you to catch up . And yes, I have decided that being dragged kicking and screaming into accepting it is far too much wasted energy.   

mnem
I'm lying... of course we won't wait; this place is as close to IRC chat as you're going to get on a BBS...

I realise that - but you don't know how many times I've come back to this thread to see the trans-atlantic brotherhood raising points to which I would like to speak only to run through 3 or more pages before I get a chance to respond.  I've had to walk away from adding my two cents' worth that I have a jar with $36.42 in it.

So, since my "fix" was elegantly simple, I decided "stuff it" and had my say.  So there. 



I do, however, accept the timeline jump observation and all the criticism that may apply thereto.   

[mnementh]

MDAS. Multi discipline acquisition syndrome

Definition:
Started by studying Electrical Engineering.  Acquired eico and heathkit test gear, then moved up and got a decent Tektronics dual beam scope (USED of course, first foray into test equipment repair, used it for years,

...    ...    ...   ...

Need better listening environment.  Is that microphone being used to calibrate my room actually calibrated?   NEED MORE TEST GEAR

Now we are taking up cooking,  available store-bought sausage falls short.    need better meat grinder.......

You belong here, fer sherr. 

Welcome to the nuthouse! The neverending taco truck in the corner is doing a 2-for-1 on Bacon egg & bean tacos, I just got some Columbian Supremo ground at COSTCO, so the coffee should be half-decent for a few days, even if beanflying is AWOL. Papa Smurf is tending his herd of hollow-state Teks in the front yard, while bd139 is on walkabout in the real world; if you see Saskia with a hand truck, give her a hand, willya?  The crusty old Aardvark in the corner might give you a run for your money in the kitchen, but watch out if he reaches for the conversational cutlery... Oh, and the pervy little dragon fancier schtick is mine; but I am accepting applications for internship at this time! 

mnem

[mnementh]

LOL... we discussed-ed that explicitly a little later in thread... we'll wait for you to catch up . And yes, I have decided that being dragged kicking and screaming into accepting it is far too much wasted energy.   

mnem
I'm lying... of course we won't wait; this place is as close to IRC chat as you're going to get on a BBS...

I realise that - but you don't know how many times I've come back to this thread to see the trans-atlantic brotherhood raising points to which I would like to speak only to run through 3 or more pages before I get a chance to respond.  I've had to walk away from adding my two cents' worth that I have a jar with $36.42 in it.

So, since my "fix" was elegantly simple, I decided "stuff it" and had my say.  So there... 

Fair dinkum, says I. 
Why should you be the only one who doesn't add his 2 cents worth... or his 2€, or his 2£... 

mnem
carry on.

[Cerebus]

The bes I could manage in my Landie was, when driving along a single track road, to rotate the steering wheel through +-20degrees, without the car deviating.

That got the attention of oncoming drivers.

Yep the steering drop idlers wear out. Rebushing them is a pretty simple job.

The problem is the use of worm gear instead of rack and pinion. Now, worm gear has some strength advantages, which is why a cross-country vehicle would use it, but it definitely is more play-inducing than rack and pinion.

Sure, then there's also ball joint slop to consider as with the idler system used there's another drag link pair that all add up and even steering knuckle preload when set correctly totally changes the lane wandering these are sometimes known for.
First thing I did on my S3 was have the std rims cut and widened 3" then hot dipped galved to better suit the 245/16 radials I then fitted to it instead of the 5" std rims.
The track width was increased 3" by doing so which made it a totally different vehicle and if you wanted a fright pop on the std tires again ! 

Ernie: Have you got ball joint slop?
Eric: No, it's just the way I walk.

[Specmaster]

I think the forum went down for a while earlier this morning 

Ok, then, seeing as the thread is slightly off the rails with all the chatter about driving etc, lets see how many of you will get this question right. About 20 years a go, the BBC had a poll to see what was considered to be the greatest car off all time and these are the contenders:-

McLaren F1
Ford Mustang
Black Taxi Cab
Rolls Royce
E Type Jaguar
Land Rover
Audi Quattro
Fiat 500
Citroen DS

And the winner is 

[mnementh]

I do not trust myself with driving in the UK.

I don't trust myself with walking in the UK. While I have no probs driving over there I've almost killed myself many times crossing streets, over there.

Yeeeaaaahhhh...

Our new town... the pedestrians are complete and utter morons. Crossing against the pedwalk lights, crossing wherever the fuck they feel like outside the pedwalk, and especially crossing diagonally in a 4-way intersection. 

Not just a few of them... literally most of them... driving anywhere around Hartford is literally a gawddamn whack-a-mole game, only you have to miss the stoopit fuckerzz. 

At first, I couldn't figure out where they got the idea crossing diagonally in a 4-way intersection was okay... until the other day, I saw a school crossing guard stopping traffic in all directions for a gaggle of idiot teenagers doing it, as if it weren't his job to make them cross safely within the pedwalk.

They are literally learning this idiotic behavior in school.   

mnem
I need to build a FPV cattle-prod drone...

[mnementh]

I think the forum went down for a while earlier this morning 

Ok, then, seeing as the thread is slightly off the rails with all the chatter about driving etc, lets see how many of you will get this question right. About 20 years a go, the BBC had a poll to see what was considered to be the greatest car off all time and these are the contenders:-

McLaren F1
Ford Mustang
Black Taxi Cab
Rolls Royce
E Type Jaguar
Land Rover
Audi Quattro
Fiat 500
Citroen DS

And the winner is 

The HULK.

mnem
Hulk always wins. (unless he's up against a omnipotent Titan, apparently... then it's a draw.) 

[mnementh]

Seriously tho... I'm gonna guess Black Cab after taking a quick look at this...

mnem
I've gotta think of the Beeb Bias, after all. 

[Zucca]

I do not trust myself with driving in the UK.

Your ancestors did a miracle!

The Dagen H still amaze me today.





Chapeaux to Sweden in 1967!

[Zucca]

MDAS. Multi discipline acquisition syndrome

NEED MORE TEST GEAR

Now we are taking up cooking,  available store-bought sausage falls short.   :phew:need better meat grinder.......

Solid Grandpas!

Here there are some addicted to audio. Ears must eat chocolate all the time!
Since you were good with writing SW, did you ever did a nice audio fanless PC as stream media thing?

PS: I know she will chime in.....

[Cerebus]

I do not trust myself with driving in the UK.

Your ancestors did a miracle!

The Dagen H still amaze me today.

Ah, everything has gone downhill since they went sinister. Everyone apparently started wearing terrible underwear. They used to have two great Swedish motor car companies, now they just have one Chinese one, and if the [little] Swedish TV I watch is anything to go by it would appear that Malmö is full of criminals and ageing alcoholics drinking on balconies. 

[cyclin_al]

Don't know about anyone else on here, but I'm very dissatisfied with the price of this digital VOM, 
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313870712122


David

Hmmm that's a weird / interesting unit you have here ! It bears TWO differetn HP logos and model numbers ?!
There is one for the upper half of the instrument that says "Display" and another badge for the lower half, the meter itself ! 

Does that mean HP sold the instrument without display, just the lower half part, and it was up to the buyer to buy the top / display half of the instrument ?! 

But the design is not modular... a single case for both halves...  and what's the point of selling a voltmeter with no display ? It's not usable...

Help me.... understand...  the concept here.... 

They top & bottom halves do indeed separate, there was a choice of 4.5 or 5.5 digit display modules and various lower modules for DVM, D-VOM, DMM and even a thermometer module.
None of mine came with the obscene price tag though, have two working 34740A display, a broken 34750A display, two working 2802A thermometer modules and a broken 34702A D-VOM module.


They made a counter system in the same way, 6 or 8 digit display, with choice of counter, universal counter and a DVM module for that. Haven't got a pic of mine, but its only the 6 digit 5300A with 10MHz 5301A counter module.

David

Tony Albus did a youtube video on exactly this system not too long ago:


Not too long ago ... wow, the last year went by super-quickly!

[vk6zgo]

As soon as you made the initial comment, in my minds eye, I saw a Landrover.

God awful things, especially the one I drove in Wyndham in 1967/68.
The nice, "rust resistant" aluminium bodywork was no match for the salt, & mine had holes in the roof, through which rain entered, so in the "Wet", it wasn't just the wiper that was the worry!

That last post put us over threshold.    This was ours -- Sold it around ~2018 for more than we paid for it.







Basic all vinyl interior  that didn't care if it got wet.  Good thing as the car leaked terribly when we got it.   I worked through the factory Water Ingress Manual (yes there is one)  and fixed all the leaks over a few weekends.



The back was set up to carry our dogs.  I had a ramp that slid under a false floor I built.  There were usually dog beds on top.



Full manual AWD as it should be  - transfer case with locking centre differential . . .   No electronics.  Nothing automatic.   

The hand brake is at the transmission and acts on both drive shafts.  The hand brake is very effective but awkward to use.  The Clutch on a Defender is heavy.  Takes a little strength and skill to drive one smoothly.

The heater has two settings, hot and volcano.   No aircon on ours.

ZSM381 never looked like that in its wildest dreams.
List of "creature comforts":-

No roof lining
Fixed seats, with the "seat cushion", a slab of foam rubber in a vinyl cover.
Bare metal dash.
Bare minimum of instrumentation.
One wiper
No floor mats
Bare metal pedals.
No door trim.
No heater--ventilation was by opening the rectangular vents under the windscreen.
Sliding windows.

[srb1954]

I do not trust myself with driving in the UK.

Your ancestors did a miracle!

The Dagen H still amaze me today.





Chapeaux to Sweden in 1967!

Did the Swedish government change the side that Y-fronts opened on in 1967?

That must have caused a lot of confusion, especially for a drunk occupant desperate for a pee.

[Robert763]

I think the forum went down for a while earlier this morning 

Ok, then, seeing as the thread is slightly off the rails with all the chatter about driving etc, lets see how many of you will get this question right. About 20 years a go, the BBC had a poll to see what was considered to be the greatest car off all time and these are the contenders:-

McLaren F1
Ford Mustang
Black Taxi Cab
Rolls Royce
E Type Jaguar
Land Rover
Audi Quattro
Fiat 500
Citroen DS

And the winner is 

Well I don't know what the poll said, a lot depends on who they asked, but if I could only have only one car for ever more it would be a Land Rover. 
Good enough for Royalty, goes anywhere,, space for the dog and with the right engine, more than quick enough.

[Specmaster]

I'll reveal the answer to my question later when a few more possible answers have been submitted.....

[med6753]

I'll reveal the answer to my question later when a few more possible answers have been submitted.....

Since the poll was done by the BBC chances are the vast majority of the responders were British. Which means the poll results would obviously be biased towards a British car. Same thing would happen if the poll was done here. Would be biased towards an American car.

Whatever the results that type of poll sucks. 

Edit....my answer. AMC Pacer. 

 

[m k]

Local rag had a problem picture.
What is the biggest number you can make if you can move two sticks.