Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Vince]

[..} had four units to recap, I went with slightly overkill on the 2465B (with the TV trigger option board) with some Nichicon BT series.

[..] need to buy another EF651625 battery (didn't realise so many had the battery), wish I had seen Small Battery Company as they have the correct type for less than Farnell. Mouser offended me by not being able to send the battery (which is not made in the US). Don't think a round battery will fit on the board, you will probably need to add some wires & mount it somewhere else.

David

Ohhhh.....noooo.... 

When TerraOperative said the original Battery was available but no export.... it did not occur to me that maybe... as you saw.... you could by a non-original... with the package/specs ! 

Just searched Google for " LTC-7PN ", and sure enough you can by a LTC-7PN in Frog land. Farnell France has it like in the UK... for 20 Euros. Google found me a French website that sells them for half that price, 11 Euros.

The cylindrical one I bought is a Varta "half" length AA cell, 14.5mm diameter, with axial leads, so I should have no problem soldering it to the foot print on the PCB. Diameter-wise, it might fit without relocating it, because TerraOperative in his video did just that, using a Panasonic, see picture below, from his video.

Thanks then.... now I know if the Varta doesn't fit, no worries the LTC-7PN is still readily available locally for 11 Euros 

https://www.batteries4pro.com/fr/piles/lithium/3,18259-pile-lithium-36v-750mah-ef651625-ltc-7pn-4894128152996.html

That one from the French seller is not correct for the LTC-7PN (EF651625) used in some Tek 2445x 2465x scopes, seems to be missing the two mounting pins from the other side, look for the same part number but with four pins.




David

Ah yeah you are right. No big deal though, a bit of hot snot or a dab of super glue, will fix that !

... but no need to. Found another French site that sells the 4 pin version, same as yours it looks like.
Barely more expensive, 12 Euros instead of 11. Still way cheaper than Farnell then :

https://www.pilesminute.com/1919-pile-prismatique-ltc-7-ef651625-lithium-36v-750mah.html

OK so it's cool then, the battery "situation" is all figured out, I can get a nice OEM like replacement. 

[Specmaster]

DISQUALIFIED ! 

The Fluke 87 is hardly a cheap bare bone meter like the 10/11/12 are ! 
the 87 s a very nice meter, good accuracy, high count/resolution, good features, and expensive.

I would love to add one to my collection (have 4 old Fluke DMMs in all), but here at least, the Fluke brand markup is too much. They aren't good enough value for money. That's why I prefer buying Metrix MX 53/54/56, way better value for money overall.

I can't justify spending 90 euros on an old Fluke 73 say, or 75 ot 77 even, when the same money can get me a MX54/C for example. It just does not compute at all... 
So the few Flukes I do have, are only with me because I was lucky enough to find them at price point that makes sense.
If I can find a nice 87V for a price I like, I would buy it. Well, not now of course, no money for TE atm....

Of the 10 Fluke DMM's in my stash the 87 is the only one I bought new in 1997. Yes, it wasn't cheap.

I've never regretted the money spent on FLUKE. EVER. I got my 87 when I was working for Philips while working my way through my first degree, before they were even available for sale. I paid for it out of 6 paychecks, and it was my go-to meter for 30 years. IMHO, that is unbeatable ROI.

mnem
There's a reason this emoji looks like a FLUKE 87. 

I also love my Flukes, that being said, if I was buying a new meter, it wouldn't be a Fluke, it would be another Brymen, the second only new DMM I have brought in my life.

Fortunately, they're made such that you can buy one decades old and still be reasonably certain it will still say BAMMM!

mnem
 

That is true, all 5 of mine all agree within 1mV each other and that is dammed impressive 

[Robert763]

Resistor Nuts!
Just got my mitts on some nice resistors 
Yes that is over 200 Vishay S102C metal foil reistors. seven useful values from 240 R to 50 K, 0.01 and 0.02% nad of course ultra stable. Most common is 1 k 0.001%. S102Cs run about £15 each when new. There may be even more coming...

And in other news, I got no response from the seller to two messages about the Metrix MX52Ex. So I raised a case on ebay and got a £15 refund. so an unused DMM for £16 nd some repair time 

[Specmaster]

An off-the-beaten-track auction in Hampshire UK, collect or arrange collection. Looks like a silent key clearout. The crappy pictures appear to show a Tek 2445, A TTi function generator, a Gould oscillator, and an Advance RF signal generator.

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/pump-house-auctions/catalogue-id-srpum10214/lot-2757a91c-acad-4bfa-b319-ae5a01041ff4

The RF signal generator is a Heathkit one (possibly RF-1U), not an Advance.


David

The TTi Function Generator is TG120, 20MHz.

[mnementh]

...Found another French site that sells the 4 pin version, same as yours it looks like. Barely more expensive, 12 Euros instead of 11. Still way cheaper than Farnell then :

https://www.pilesminute.com/1919-pile-prismatique-ltc-7-ef651625-lithium-36v-750mah.html

OK so it's cool then, the battery "situation" is all figured out, I can get a nice OEM like replacement. 

Honestly, Vince... since you have that Varta cell on the way, I'd stick with that if it's a 1/2AA (14.5mm x 26mm) cell. It will def fit, as the Panasonic cell TerraOperative used is a BR-2/3A cell, which is ~17mm x 33.5. Varta's quality of manufacture is legend; probably the only brand I'd stack up against Panasonic in this application. I dunno that I can say that about the Chinesium one you linked to. All you need do is a little bead of silicone sealant along the bottom-most surface of the battery before you slide it into place. I've done more such replacements in various bits of gear than I can count.

mnem
 

[Specmaster]

Just got myself the bargain of a lifetime, a brand new and sealed Bosch 18V combo drill set worth £156 and I got it, with full warranty, for less than £50.

[Cerebus]

Resistor Nuts!
Just got my mitts on some nice resistors 
Yes that is over 200 Vishay S102C metal foil reistors. seven useful values from 240 R to 50 K, 0.01 and 0.02% nad of course ultra stable. Most common is 1 k 0.001%. S102Cs run about £15 each when new. There may be even more coming...

And in other news, I got no response from the seller to two messages about the Metrix MX52Ex. So I raised a case on ebay and got a £15 refund. so an unused DMM for £16 nd some repair time 

I just picked up a couple of 10k 0.1% ANs, which are very similar to the S102C, for £4 each. I had no immediate need for them but I had a need to purchase something arbitrary just to make sure that my new debit card had been activated properly and they were the first interesting thing I tripped over. Actual values 9,999.859Ω and 10,000.186Ω. Quite how far out from nominal any particular Vishay bulk metal foil resistor is, is a pretty arbitrary thing - they are all laser trimmed and they are all always well inside tolerance. I guess the point where they give up for "not particularly special" resistors (e.g. 0.1%) is a question of "How close can we get in two or three measure/trim cycles?".

One of the interesting side effects of the fact that they are all laser trimmed is that you can order completely arbitrary values from them for the same price as a standard value. For small orders that aren't worth the set up of the machine that prints the value on them they hand write the values on. Very cute.

[Zucca]

Business case calculation for solar panel installation...

According to my energy company planes, I have to give back the grid at lest 101.38 Kwh/month to break even and start to make .06-.04$/Kwh.
I am very temped to buy a stupid amount of LiFePo4 and serve them a glorious middle finger!

Of course I will cancel the contract on the 4th July...

[Saskia]

this is exactly what I would do and what I will be doing once I have the cash from the sale of my appartment which will hopefully happen next week (cash until early May)

[VK5RC]

Business case calculation for solar panel installation...

According to my energy company planes, I have to give back the grid at lest 101.38 Kwh/month to break even and start to make .06-.04$/Kwh.
I am very temped to buy a stupid amount of LiFePo4 and serve them a glorious middle finger!

Of course I will cancel the contract on the 4th July...

We had an 8kW of solar panels put on our roof about 7yrs ago, as 2 storey house ie awkward, it cost was about AUD~11k, we pay approx 38c/kWhr and receive 6c/kWhr fed back in, we have a sunny hot summer - so we now have minimal electricity bills all year except winter (6kW reverse cycle AC the only heating and cooling), the solar system paid for itself by the 4th year. Hopefully we are having a battery put in shortly (supply issues!) - I don't think the pay off period will be as good (at the current electricity prices) but I am betting that they won't stay the same. We also have a lot of solar in our state (south Australia) and they are talking about a feed in charge. If I recall correctly - our state, with a lot of solar and quite a few wind farms (37 degrees south - so in winter just get a bit of the roaring 40s) about 60% of the state's energy use is renewable ⚡👍.

[Vince]

Resistor Nuts!
Just got my mitts on some nice resistors 
Yes that is over 200 Vishay S102C metal foil reistors. seven useful values from 240 R to 50 K, 0.01 and 0.02% nad of course ultra stable. Most common is 1 k 0.001%. S102Cs run about £15 each when new.

The brightness of your LEDs will now be set peeeeerfectly ! 

And in other news, I got no response from the seller to two messages about the Metrix MX52Ex. So I raised a case on ebay and got a £15 refund. so an unused DMM for £16 nd some repair time 

This is indecent, stop bragging... I don't want to hear about this meter anymore, unless it's to sell it to me....

[Vince]

...Found another French site that sells the 4 pin version, same as yours it looks like. Barely more expensive, 12 Euros instead of 11. Still way cheaper than Farnell then :

https://www.pilesminute.com/1919-pile-prismatique-ltc-7-ef651625-lithium-36v-750mah.html

OK so it's cool then, the battery "situation" is all figured out, I can get a nice OEM like replacement. 

Honestly, Vince... since you have that Varta cell on the way, I'd stick with that if it's a 1/2AA (14.5mm x 26mm) cell. It will def fit, as the Panasonic cell TerraOperative used is a BR-2/3A cell, which is ~17mm x 33.5. Varta's quality of manufacture is legend; probably the only brand I'd stack up against Panasonic in this application. I dunno that I can say that about the Chinesium one you linked to. All you need do is a little bead of silicone sealant along the bottom-most surface of the battery before you slide it into place. I've done more such replacements in various bits of gear than I can count.

mnem
 

Yes sure, Varta first since I have already paid for it !
No need for silicone, as I said it's got axial leads so will be held firmly on both sides. It's small / light, a terminal on each side is plenty enough to keep it in place. It's not like I was playing football with the scope 
... That being said I guess a bit of silicone would not hurt, but I don't have the stuff they use on circuit boards. I would have to buy it, which means for the same price I might as well buy the proper battery to begin with... and reuse the Varta for something else...like fixing that GOULD 1604 scope which has a leaked battery. I could reuse the Varta there.

[Saskia]

@Zucca get them while you can. You can always install a battery later.

[TERRA Operative]

Hmm, no replies from the German ebay seller I'm looking to buy parts from (who only seems to ship in Germany).

Anyone know of a decent freight forwarding company in Germany?

[BU508A]

Hmm, no replies from the German ebay seller I'm looking to buy parts from (who only seems to ship in Germany).

Anyone know of a decent freight forwarding company in Germany?

PM me the details and I'll see, what I can do for you.

[Saskia]

sorry, too much on my mind right now. send link I can buy and forward if Mounty cannot help

[BU508A]

sorry, too much on my mind right now. send link I can buy and forward if Mounty cannot help

No worries, I think, I can sort this out.

[TERRA Operative]

Thanks to both! PM sent to BU508A

[mnementh]

...Found another French site that sells the 4 pin version, same as yours it looks like. Barely more expensive, 12 Euros instead of 11. Still way cheaper than Farnell then :

https://www.pilesminute.com/1919-pile-prismatique-ltc-7-ef651625-lithium-36v-750mah.html

OK so it's cool then, the battery "situation" is all figured out, I can get a nice OEM like replacement. 

Honestly, Vince... since you have that Varta cell on the way, I'd stick with that if it's a 1/2AA (14.5mm x 26mm) cell. It will def fit, as the Panasonic cell TerraOperative used is a BR-2/3A cell, which is ~17mm x 33.5. Varta's quality of manufacture is legend; probably the only brand I'd stack up against Panasonic in this application. I dunno that I can say that about the Chinesium one you linked to. All you need do is a little bead of silicone sealant along the bottom-most surface of the battery before you slide it into place. I've done more such replacements in various bits of gear than I can count.

mnem
 

Yes sure, Varta first since I have already paid for it !
No need for silicone, as I said it's got axial leads so will be held firmly on both sides. It's small / light, a terminal on each side is plenty enough to keep it in place. It's not like I was playing football with the scope 
... That being said I guess a bit of silicone would not hurt, but I don't have the stuff they use on circuit boards. I would have to buy it, which means for the same price I might as well buy the proper battery to begin with... and reuse the Varta for something else...like fixing that GOULD 1604 scope which has a leaked battery. I could reuse the Varta there.

Clear 100% silicone sealant as you get from the hardware store is all I've ever used. Just let it cure fully before you power up.

You're missing the main point, which is the quality of the cell. I'd glue the Varta 1/3AA cell or a Panny BR2/3 in place rather than that Chinesium battery that "fits perfectly" every time. They're a 30-year cell (yes, I know design life isn't that long; but we've all seen ones that were still serving duty 30 years later, and are not at all surprised); that Chinesium battery company hasn't even existed for half that long.

mnem

[Brumby]

Clear 100% silicone sealant as you get from the hardware store is all I've ever used.

I'd be inclined to add a "neutral cure" qualification to that.  Acid cure would make me anxious.  (Not that I've ever used silicone.)

[Zucca]

@Zucca get them while you can. You can always install a battery later.

Unfortunately I am not in a rush, here my plan:

1) Install first PVs in every possible inch on my roof and my south facing home wall. Microinverters of course.

2) Install geothermal, build a second garage and maybe install new windows (according to my Flir what I habe now is a joke, cheap ass builders I hate them so much)...

3) Do some math and buy enough LiFePo4 that so that if the sun will not appear in the sky, I will still have energy to power my home for three days of completely darkness.

[Robert763]

<SNIP>

Clear 100% silicone sealant as you get from the hardware store is all I've ever used. Just let it cure fully before you power up.

<SNIP>
mnem

NO, Hell No.   
NEVER use  general purpose silcone RTV sealant on PCBs or electronics. They release acetic acid during cure. some of this WILL get trapped between the rubber and components. This can cause corrosion. It does not matter how long you leave it to cure.
Non acid cure silicone is acceptable.

What is 100% silicone anyway? This product says it's 100% silicone but its white and contains mildewcide 
https://www.loctiteproducts.com/en/products/build/sealants/loctite_100_silcone.html

[mansaxel]

@Zucca get them while you can. You can always install a battery later.

Unfortunately I am not in a rush, here my plan:

1) Install first PVs in every possible inch on my roof and my south facing home wall. Microinverters of course.

Make certain that the µinverters are tested for EMI/RFI as a system, not in isolation without the antenna lengths that typically occur in an installed system.  The noise floor from a typical contractor-installed µinverter PV system must be seen on the SA to be believed... Here, both the aviation authority and the military have issued disconnect-and-dismantle orders to several home owners that had "professionals" install systems, sadly enough a bit too close to "something important".

Twisting the cables and screening the inverters apparently has made wonders in some installs, but they remain a nuisance.

[mnementh]

<SNIP>

Clear 100% silicone sealant as you get from the hardware store is all I've ever used. Just let it cure fully before you power up.

<SNIP>
mnem

NO, Hell No.   
NEVER use  general purpose silcone RTV sealant on PCBs or electronics. They release acetic acid during cure. some of this WILL get trapped between the rubber and components. This can cause corrosion. It does not matter how long you leave it to cure.
Non acid cure silicone is acceptable.

What is 100% silicone anyway? This product says it's 100% silicone but its white and contains mildewcide 
https://www.loctiteproducts.com/en/products/build/sealants/loctite_100_silcone.html

3 decades of experience repairing remote controls and PC MBs and other such gear says that's bunk. "Will be trapped" and "can" cause corrosion obviously is not the same as real life.

Do as you see fit. I'm not gonna argue this one; I've repaired and used remotes and computers for literally decades with regular 100% GE silicone, as available at any hardware store. I've never had damage to the PCB, nor electrical fault as long as I didn't power up before it was fully cured. And yes, some of these I've had to go back in 10-20 years later and repair other faults.

Definitely better than most of the hot-snot products I've seen used in production, some of which which hold moisture and become a path to ground. 

Cheers,

mnem
 

[Cerebus]

The acetoxy cure silicones, as well as exuding methanoic acid, have rather poor and unspecified dielectric properties. The real stuff, like Dow 738, comes in at 19 kV/mm and, if you can find it, is a better bet than building supplier's neutral cure silicone. If you can find it, it's only £10 for a 100ml tube, but like everything else at the moment there seem to be supply problems - my usual source has a 115 day lead time on it.