Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[1Ghz]

Recently got Tektronix diplexer/external mixer, WM490K 18-26.5GHz waveguide mixer, WM490A 26.5-40GHz waveguide mixer, Inmet 8048 DC block and Agilent 3499B Switch/Control System (with 2x 44476B Microwave Switch Modules) from the local TE market for 494 USD include shipping.

My two HP front covers for spectrum analyzer arrived today.

BLASPHEMER!!! Get thee off to the Bay of EEEVIL and atone for thy sins posthaste!

Two Lord Tektronix' Prayers and 3 Hail Hewlett Packards should suffice to scrub thy soul clean.

mnem
That was a close one...

Oh, Lord i'll follow you.
I'll be back later. See you soon. 

Two Lord Tektronix' Prayers and one Hail Hewlett Packard more to go... 

All done! My soul is clean now!

[Vince]

To finish, took some piccies of the FRB power socket at the back, and the power cord, just for you, because I thought the professional and conscientious Sparky in you would approve the quality of the work 

   

As an electrician, those pictures cause me physical pain.

I know, right? That bulkhead connector is just  ...  I console myself with the hope that once Vince gets the thing mostly working, he'll actually dismantle the matching socket and install a power cord properly, at which point the ugly should be mostly hidden.

mnem
*toddles off to do something constructive*

Done with the donour, buttoned it up...  that included tidying the power cable... I feel better now... do you ? 

NO.
Single insulation
no strain relief at connector
Why didn't you take the connector off the grey cable and fit it directly on to the black cable?

Never said it was perfect, only that itr was better...
My only concern was to get rid of the terminal block because it was an immediate electrical hazard, and safety first. Also, it looked ugly, as well as impractical to roll the cable and store it.
It also looked easy enough to do and quick, which was all I was ready for last night, a 2 minute job.

The plug ? I simply didn't think of it, my main problem was the block, and that got sorted.

Now yes, would be good to redo that as well, I agree... problem is that my old friend warned me that it's a pain to assemble.
I just had a look before writing this. Only apparent screws are the two that constitute the strain relief. I removed that, but then what ? I just do not see how to open up this plug without damaging it.
The body is monolithic. My feeling is that the innards must slide out of the body, but don't know if they are supposed to come out the from tor the back of the body, never mind by what magic to unlock innards so they can move.

If you know how to do it, I am all ears...

[tggzzz]

As I grew up in Ireland but live in Germany, I can assure you that the "second thought" is very much true. Summer temperatures in Germany are generally around 8-10°C higher than in Ireland.

Ireland being surrounded by the Gulf Stream is the key. For that reason the average temperatures in southern Iceland are 0C-13C.

[mansaxel]

The body is monolithic. My feeling is that the innards must slide out of the body, but don't know if they are supposed to come out the from tor the back of the body, never mind by what magic to unlock innards so they can move.

If you know how to do it, I am all ears...

I would, based on most MS5015 and similar connector styles, assume that there is a threaded separation between backshell and connector body. Fitting the cable connector to the bulkhead one for leverage, with loose strain relief, I'd try to unscrew it. If you've already tried it, well, great minds think alike, also when they're wrong ;-)

[Vince]

OK I found the trick to crack that FRB plug open.

There is a retaining steel spring/clip, just pull it out and the plug falls apart.

At first I was afraid to mess with that spring as it sits right next to the mettalic ring of the locking mechanism for the bayonnet arrangement. Feared I would not be able to put it all back together if I dared messing with it...

But then I thought what the heck... let's live dangerously. SoI pulled the spring and success 

The return spring for the ring is not this one. It is hidden inside the plug.

Now that I have it apart, I understand why there was no strain relief to begin with !
There just is NO ROOM to do so  !
Picture below, I cut the wires to the proper length if one wants strain relief : only 10mm !
Not long enough to strip them and wiggle them to work them into the solder cups/terminals.
Will try anyway, but it's hopeless, and can't end up look up pretty no matter what.

[Vince]

The body is monolithic. My feeling is that the innards must slide out of the body, but don't know if they are supposed to come out the from tor the back of the body, never mind by what magic to unlock innards so they can move.

If you know how to do it, I am all ears...

I would, based on most MS5015 and similar connector styles, assume that there is a threaded separation between backshell and connector body. Fitting the cable connector to the bulkhead one for leverage, with loose strain relief, I'd try to unscrew it. If you've already tried it, well, great minds think alike, also when they're wrong ;-)

Our messages collided.... it's sussed out now 

No, no threaded separation, as I said it's monolithic. Just a 'U' shaped spring clip that you need to pull out, and then the guts slide out from the front.

[mansaxel]

OK I found the trick to crack that FRB plug open.

There is a retaining steel spring/clip, just pull it out and the plug falls apart.

At first I was afraid to mess with that spring as it sits right next to the mettalic ring of the locking mechanism for the bayonnet arrangement. Feared I would not be able to put it all back together if I dared messing with it...

But then I thought what the heck... let's live dangerously. SoI pulled the spring and success 

The return spring for the ring is not this one. It is hidden inside the plug.

Now that I have it apart, I understand why there was no strain relief to begin with !
There just is NO ROOM to do so  !
Picture below, I cut the wires to the proper length if one wants strain relief : only 10mm !
Not long enough to strip them and wiggle them to work them into the solder cups/terminals.
Will try anyway, but it's hopeless, and can't end up look up pretty no matter what.

Congratulations!

That's about par for the course for circular connectors. You should congratulate yourself there isn't a rubber grommet encircling the solder cups too.

[Vince]

Done ! 

I managed to do something decent. If you disagree that's fine, you are welcome to come here and do better.

It should hold up, it's functional, safe, the rest is cosmetics...

Only hope to get the job done without losing sanity was to hold the plug in a vice. I do have a tiny vice but... well because it's tiny, its 'C' clamp can't open wide enough to grab the edge of the bench.
So had to mount the vice on a thin piece of scrap wood (left over of the oak parquet I installed in the bedroom the other day....), then clamp that to the bench using a large C clamp.
Then suck the old solder from the cups, put new solder in, tin the wires, fit the earth wire first... then once that's done the cable stays in place so the other two wires are easier to solder. Then clean the flux residues.

It's as tight a fit as it can get for a 3x1.5mm2 mains cable... Were the wires just one mm shorter, I would not even consider the job... 

Anyway, it sure looks better now.... will look even better once I receive the socket to replace the TE side of things. Don't hold your breath though, the shipping delay on Ebay is given between 8 and 13 days...  even though the seller is local / in France. I guess he is lazy, or has a different full time job and only does Ebay on the side... I don't know.

[vk6zgo]

Oh we have already identified the power connector, FRB too, a few days ago on here ! 

There is one on Ebay, 11 Euros :

https://www.ebay.fr/itm/313500692435?hash=item48fe18efd3:g:tBAAAOSwnt5gedAH

EDIT : I felt weak, I just bought it.... 

I thought you might pick up some that old stuff dirt cheap & get several connectors.

[Vince]

Oh no, no way.

First I would need to know where to find old equipment that use these connectors.. then would need to buy it, drive to get it, or get it shipped.
Nothing is sold here for less than 50 Euros. Then add fuel or shipping... we are soon in the 100 Euros.. for a used socket.

That one on Ebay is new and 11 Euros shipped, it's a no brainer...

[Robert763]

OK I found the trick to crack that FRB plug open.

There is a retaining steel spring/clip, just pull it out and the plug falls apart.

At first I was afraid to mess with that spring as it sits right next to the mettalic ring of the locking mechanism for the bayonnet arrangement. Feared I would not be able to put it all back together if I dared messing with it...

But then I thought what the heck... let's live dangerously. SoI pulled the spring and success 

The return spring for the ring is not this one. It is hidden inside the plug.

Now that I have it apart, I understand why there was no strain relief to begin with !
There just is NO ROOM to do so  !
Picture below, I cut the wires to the proper length if one wants strain relief : only 10mm !
Not long enough to strip them and wiggle them to work them into the solder cups/terminals.
Will try anyway, but it's hopeless, and can't end up look up pretty no matter what.

Well done on the clip, I was about to tell you but been busy with work.
If you think that is bad you have obviously never wired a high density LEMO or Hirose connector   

[mnementh]

Done ! 

I managed to do something decent. If you disagree that's fine, you are welcome to come here and do better.

It should hold up, it's functional, safe, the rest is cosmetics...

Only hope to get the job done without losing sanity was to hold the plug in a vice. I do have a tiny vice but... well because it's tiny, its 'C' clamp can't open wide enough to grab the edge of the bench.
So had to mount the vice on a thin piece of scrap wood (left over of the oak parquet I installed in the bedroom the other day....), then clamp that to the bench using a large C clamp.
Then suck the old solder from the cups, put new solder in, tin the wires, fit the earth wire first... then once that's done the cable stays in place so the other two wires are easier to solder. Then clean the flux residues.

It's as tight a fit as it can get for a 3x1.5mm2 mains cable... Were the wires just one mm shorter, I would not even consider the job... 

Anyway, it sure looks better now.... will look even better once I receive the socket to replace the TE side of things. Don't hold your breath though, the shipping delay on Ebay is given between 8 and 13 days...  even though the seller is local / in France. I guess he is lazy, or has a different full time job and only does Ebay on the side... I don't know.

Okies... a good start, but now I feel obligated to pass on a few "advanced cable wrangling" pointers learned over many years of making custom cables.

First... before you even prep your wires... select and slip a piece of polyolefin (the flexible kind; the hard crunchy kind is PVC) heat-shrink tubing over the cable itself to use as as a strain-relief. Select to be large enough that it slides easily over the cable, but will still fit inside the outer housing of your connector.

If you need to color-code, put a short length then a longer length for the strain-relief. Slip both several feet down the cable or even all the way to the plug end, such that heat from soldering and heat-gun work cannot make them shrink prematurely.

Next, don't fret too much over the wire tails being a little too long. Once you've soldered your connector as you've done here, pull the cable through the housing such that you have ~500-1000mm to work with. Using your heat gun, heat the outer sheathing of the cable such that it is hot to the touch, but not hot enough you that it starts to melt and you can leave fingerprints in it.

Now, grip the cable with the cold part in one hand (get a right proper "wanking for all yer worth" grip here  ) and the heated part of the cable in the other, then pull/slide that hand down the length of the hot part of the cable towards the just-soldered connector. It usually does not take much force to make the outer sheathing walk down the individual wires such that your "too much too long tails" are again covered in the sheathing, and all nice and tidy again. Lay the cable out flat on your bench, and wait for the sheathing to cool completely.

Now, it is a simple matter of working your "strain relief" heat-shrink tubing back up the cable, through the outer housing, then placed such that it can be shrunk onto the outer sheathing. Heat-shrink the tubing, then reassemble the outer housing to the connector as you've done here, and of course also shrink the bit on the other end if you're doing color-coding.

For the really finicky customer, you can make your heat-shrink strain relief of two lengths of heat-shrink; one the color you're using, then another slightly longer in clear polyolefin, such that when assembled, the clear is over the colored tubing and extends 10-15mm past it down the cable. This makes a truly "premium" look to the finished product.

I don't expect you to take it apart and do it all over... just passing on a few tips for making it look and feel better next time you do one of these.

I'll try and find some pics to add here later... I'm on my MacPro right now and its time to get the kiddles ready for school.

mnem
 

[Cerebus]

As I grew up in Ireland but live in Germany, I can assure you that the "second thought" is very much true. Summer temperatures in Germany are generally around 8-10°C higher than in Ireland.

McBryce.

Actual August average difference +5ºC in Germany. (Eire 19ºC and Germany 24ºC)

[Vince]

If you think that is bad you have obviously never wired a high density LEMO or Hirose connector 

Given that I have not even ever heard these names you mention, I will have to trust you 

[Vince]

Done ! 

I managed to do something decent. If you disagree that's fine, you are welcome to come here and do better.

It should hold up, it's functional, safe, the rest is cosmetics...

Only hope to get the job done without losing sanity was to hold the plug in a vice. I do have a tiny vice but... well because it's tiny, its 'C' clamp can't open wide enough to grab the edge of the bench.
So had to mount the vice on a thin piece of scrap wood (left over of the oak parquet I installed in the bedroom the other day....), then clamp that to the bench using a large C clamp.
Then suck the old solder from the cups, put new solder in, tin the wires, fit the earth wire first... then once that's done the cable stays in place so the other two wires are easier to solder. Then clean the flux residues.

It's as tight a fit as it can get for a 3x1.5mm2 mains cable... Were the wires just one mm shorter, I would not even consider the job... 

Anyway, it sure looks better now.... will look even better once I receive the socket to replace the TE side of things. Don't hold your breath though, the shipping delay on Ebay is given between 8 and 13 days...  even though the seller is local / in France. I guess he is lazy, or has a different full time job and only does Ebay on the side... I don't know.

Okies... a good start, but now I feel obligated to pass on a few "advanced cable wrangling" pointers learned over many years of making custom cables.

First... before you even prep your wires... select and slip a piece of polyolefin (the flexible kind; the hard crunchy kind is PVC) heat-shrink tubing over the cable itself to use as as a strain-relief. Select to be large enough that it slides easily over the cable, but will still fit inside the outer housing of your connector.

If you need to color-code, put a short length then a longer length for the strain-relief. Slip both several feet down the cable or even all the way to the plug end, such that heat from soldering and heat-gun work cannot make them shrink prematurely.

Next, don't fret too much over the wire tails being a little too long. Once you've soldered your connector as you've done here, pull the cable through the housing such that you have ~500-1000mm to work with. Using your heat gun, heat the outer sheathing of the cable such that it is hot to the touch, but not hot enough you that it starts to melt and you can leave fingerprints in it.

Now, grip the cable with the cold part in one hand (get a right proper "wanking for all yer worth" grip here  ) and the heated part of the cable in the other, then pull/slide that hand down the length of the hot part of the cable towards the just-soldered connector. It usually does not take much force to make the outer sheathing walk down the individual wires such that your "too much too long tails" are again covered in the sheathing, and all nice and tidy again. Lay the cable out flat on your bench, and wait for the sheathing to cool completely.

Now, it is a simple matter of working your "strain relief" heat-shrink tubing back up the cable, through the outer housing, then placed such that it can be shrunk onto the outer sheathing and the outer housing. Heat-shrink the tubing, then reassemble the outer housing to the connector as you've done here, and of course also shrink the bit on the other end if you're doing color-coding.

For the really finicky customer, you can make your heat-shrink strain relief of two lengths of heat-shrink; one the color you're using, then another slightly longer in clear polyolefin, such that when assembled, the clear is over the colored tubing and extends 10-15mm past it down the cable. This makes a truly "premium" look to the finished product.

I don't exepct you to take it apart and do it all over... just passing on a few tips for making it look and feel better next time you do one of these.

I'll try and find some pics to add here later... I'm on my MacPro right now and its time to get the kiddles ready for school.

mnem
 

Wow... didn't think one could write so much about a 3 wire plug ! 
I don't understand half of it, will need to read it 3 or 4 times I guess.... yes pics would help here.. while you search for them, I will do my own research to figure out what the hell is this " polyolefin " that you are talking about...

[McBryce]

As I grew up in Ireland but live in Germany, I can assure you that the "second thought" is very much true. Summer temperatures in Germany are generally around 8-10°C higher than in Ireland.

McBryce.

Actual August average difference +5ºC in Germany. (Eire 19ºC and Germany 24ºC)

That'll be the reason I used the word "generally"

McBryce.

[Robert763]

Done ! 
<SNIP>

Okies... a good start, but now I feel obligated to pass on a few "advanced cable wrangling" pointers learned over many years of making custom cables.

First... before you even prep your wires... select and slip a piece of polyolefin (the flexible kind; the hard crunchy kind is PVC) heat-shrink tubing over the cable itself to use as as a strain-relief. Select to be large enough that it slides easily over the cable, but will still fit inside the outer housing of your connector.

If you need to color-code, put a short length then a longer length for the strain-relief. Slip both several feet down the cable or even all the way to the plug end, such that heat from soldering and heat-gun work cannot make them shrink prematurely.

Next, don't fret too much over the wire tails being a little too long. Once you've soldered your connector as you've done here, pull the cable through the housing such that you have ~500-1000mm to work with. Using your heat gun, heat the outer sheathing of the cable such that it is hot to the touch, but not hot enough you that it starts to melt and you can leave fingerprints in it.

Now, grip the cable with the cold part in one hand (get a right proper "wanking for all yer worth" grip here  ) and the heated part of the cable in the other, then pull/slide that hand down the length of the hot part of the cable towards the just-soldered connector. It usually does not take much force to make the outer sheathing walk down the individual wires such that your "too much too long tails" are again covered in the sheathing, and all nice and tidy again. Lay the cable out flat on your bench, and wait for the sheathing to cool completely.

Now, it is a simple matter of working your "strain relief" heat-shrink tubing back up the cable, through the outer housing, then placed such that it can be shrunk onto the outer sheathing and the outer housing. Heat-shrink the tubing, then reassemble the outer housing to the connector as you've done here, and of course also shrink the bit on the other end if you're doing color-coding.

For the really finicky customer, you can make your heat-shrink strain relief of two lengths of heat-shrink; one the color you're using, then another slightly longer in clear polyolefin, such that when assembled, the clear is over the colored tubing and extends 10-15mm past it down the cable. This makes a truly "premium" look to the finished product.

I don't exepct you to take it apart and do it all over... just passing on a few tips for making it look and feel better next time you do one of these.

I'll try and find some pics to add here later... I'm on my MacPro right now and its time to get the kiddles ready for school.

mnem
 

Heating the outer sheath of a cable and stretching it is very bad practice.
I puts stresses ito the cable and can cause the inner conductor insulation to be pulled back over time resulting in exposed conductors. It's a complete bodge don't do it.

[vk6zgo]

Oh no, no way.

First I would need to know where to find old equipment that use these connectors.. then would need to buy it, drive to get it, or get it shipped.
Nothing is sold here for less than 50 Euros. Then add fuel or shipping... we are soon in the 100 Euros.. for a used socket.

That one on Ebay is new and 11 Euros shipped, it's a no brainer...

I dunno what happened to the old LGT stuff in Oz---probably landfill, or maybe in some ham's shed.

[Cerebus]

If you think that is bad you have obviously never wired a high density LEMO or Hirose connector 

Given that I have not even ever heard these names you mention, I will have to trust you 

That's probably because you've never been rich enough to own Lemo connectors. Strictly not for the proles or Les Bourgeoisie, aristocrats only need apply. I've virtually only heard of them. I believe a rich gentleman once permitted me to touch one, for a minute.

[mnementh]

Done ! 
<SNIP>

Okies... a good start, but now I feel obligated to pass on a few "advanced cable wrangling" pointers learned over many years of making custom cables.

First... before you even prep your wires... select and slip a piece of polyolefin (the flexible kind; the hard crunchy kind is PVC) heat-shrink tubing over the cable itself to use as as a strain-relief. Select to be large enough that it slides easily over the cable, but will still fit inside the outer housing of your connector.

If you need to color-code, put a short length then a longer length for the strain-relief. Slip both several feet down the cable or even all the way to the plug end, such that heat from soldering and heat-gun work cannot make them shrink prematurely.

Next, don't fret too much over the wire tails being a little too long. Once you've soldered your connector as you've done here, pull the cable through the housing such that you have ~500-1000mm to work with. Using your heat gun, heat the outer sheathing of the cable such that it is hot to the touch, but not hot enough you that it starts to melt and you can leave fingerprints in it.

Now, grip the cable with the cold part in one hand (get a right proper "wanking for all yer worth" grip here  ) and the heated part of the cable in the other, then pull/slide that hand down the length of the hot part of the cable towards the just-soldered connector. It usually does not take much force to make the outer sheathing walk down the individual wires such that your "too much too long tails" are again covered in the sheathing, and all nice and tidy again. Lay the cable out flat on your bench, and wait for the sheathing to cool completely.

Now, it is a simple matter of working your "strain relief" heat-shrink tubing back up the cable, through the outer housing, then placed such that it can be shrunk onto the outer sheathing and the outer housing. Heat-shrink the tubing, then reassemble the outer housing to the connector as you've done here, and of course also shrink the bit on the other end if you're doing color-coding.

For the really finicky customer, you can make your heat-shrink strain relief of two lengths of heat-shrink; one the color you're using, then another slightly longer in clear polyolefin, such that when assembled, the clear is over the colored tubing and extends 10-15mm past it down the cable. This makes a truly "premium" look to the finished product.

I don't exepct you to take it apart and do it all over... just passing on a few tips for making it look and feel better next time you do one of these.

I'll try and find some pics to add here later... I'm on my MacPro right now and its time to get the kiddles ready for school.

mnem
 

Heating the outer sheath of a cable and stretching it is very bad practice.
I puts stresses ito the cable and can cause the inner conductor insulation to be pulled back over time resulting in exposed conductors. It's a complete bodge don't do it.

Interesting... perhaps you should tell Leviton this, as this process (aside from adding the heat-shrink when possible; that was mine) was their recommended practice with the hospital-grade plugs which were the only kind we were allowed to use to "fix" a power cord in the ISD AV lab where I got my start. This was literally taken from a flyer sent with the catalogs we ordered from.

The amount of stretching needed to make up a few millimeters doesn't amount to squat; vinyl-clad cable is designed to stretch and bend considerably more during normal use. Rubber-clad is another story altogether; it will slide a  mm or three, but the ropes in between the conductors bond pretty well to the rubber sheathing, and do not permit much stretching at all.

30 years and countless power cords later, many of which I've had to reterminate due to end-user abuse, I have never seen the issues you describe.   

Another tidbit from that product application flyer: When making up power cords and outlet boxes from bulk cable, there is a "right end" and a "wrong end" of the cable to put the plug on. If you look before you strip the sheathing, you'll see that at one end of the cable, the order of the "circle" of individual conductors matches the order of the terminals on the plug. If you put the plug on the other end, you have to fold one of your tails under the other one to make the connection. this can cause unnecessary stress on that conductor, and the extra tail length needed to do so can make it so the clamp doesn't contact only sheathing as it is supposed to.

mnem
 

[Cerebus]

Heating the outer sheath of a cable and stretching it is very bad practice.
I puts stresses ito the cable and can cause the inner conductor insulation to be pulled back over time resulting in exposed conductors. It's a complete bodge don't do it.

Interesting... perhaps you should tell Leviton this, as this process (aside from adding the heat-shrink when possible; that was mine) was their recommended practice with the hospital-grade plugs which were the only kind we were allowed to use to "fix" a power cord in the ISD AV lab where I got my start. This was literally taken from a flyer sent with the catalogs we ordered from.

If you're going with the "appeal to authority" argument it's traditional with respect to cabling to cite a NASA document or similar, not material that marketing stuffed in with a product catalogue. 

[mnementh]

Oh, FFS, C... if you can't trust product application notes made by the manufacturer EDIT: with their name on the bottom, what can you trust?

mnem
 

[david77]

If you think that is bad you have obviously never wired a high density LEMO or Hirose connector 

Given that I have not even ever heard these names you mention, I will have to trust you 

That's probably because you've never been rich enough to own Lemo connectors. Strictly not for the proles or Les Bourgeoisie, aristocrats only need apply. I've virtually only heard of them. I believe a rich gentleman once permitted me to touch one, for a minute.

I've got one in a drawer somewhere. Used to sell the things, the Lemo catalogue was not for the faint of heart.

[BU508A]

If you think that is bad you have obviously never wired a high density LEMO or Hirose connector 

Given that I have not even ever heard these names you mention, I will have to trust you 

That's probably because you've never been rich enough to own Lemo connectors. Strictly not for the proles or Les Bourgeoisie, aristocrats only need apply. I've virtually only heard of them. I believe a rich gentleman once permitted me to touch one, for a minute.

I've got one in a drawer somewhere. Used to sell the things, the Lemo catalogue was not for the faint of heart.

Have you seen the prices for Fischer connectors? Like the ones used in those Solartron DMMs?

[mnementh]

Recently got Tektronix diplexer/external mixer, WM490K 18-26.5GHz waveguide mixer, WM490A 26.5-40GHz waveguide mixer, Inmet 8048 DC block and Agilent 3499B Switch/Control System (with 2x 44476B Microwave Switch Modules) from the local TE market for 494 USD include shipping.

My two HP front covers for spectrum analyzer arrived today.

BLASPHEMER!!! Get thee off to the Bay of EEEVIL and atone for thy sins posthaste!

Two Lord Tektronix' Prayers and 3 Hail Hewlett Packards should suffice to scrub thy soul clean.

mnem
That was a close one...

Oh, Lord i'll follow you.
I'll be back later. See you soon. 

Two Lord Tektronix' Prayers and one Hail Hewlett Packard more to go... 

All done! My soul is clean now!

Good, good. Well done, my brother.

*gaze narrows suspiciously*

But that only covers your sins up to ~10 months ago; what sins have you committed in the meantime...?   

mnem