Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

Well, it's the 1st April - technically the second month of spring - and the temperature outside my window at the moment is 0.3ºC, the sky's clearing so it'll go colder before the night's over, and we've got snow warnings for points east of me. Is this supposed to be some sort of April Fool's joke?

Last week it hit 20ºC or more, was sunny, and I was wandering around outside in a T-shirt feeling that spring had really arrived.   

Unusual, but not unheard of, to get snow here in April. The latest I have personally seen a dusting of snow is the first week of May.

[Specmaster]

We had snow over here today, just 40 miles north of here was a blizzard this morning I'm told and even here we have had at least 4  attempts at snowing.

[Brumby]

I have to drive hours to even find snow.... and I'm very happy to be in that situation.

Been to the snow once.  Yep.  Fine for those who like it - but I'll give it a miss, thank you very kindly.

[tautech]

25C autumn day in AK NZ for a never ending 2022 summer although the real signal autumn is here is when the clocks go back.....this weekend.....harder to be sure to be up for Discord when I'll spill the guts on why tautech hasn't been around much the last week.
Scary shit but we're on the mend. 

[vk6zgo]

My roof, yesterday morning 

They assist also to get a permit.... I did not know you need a permit to put solar panels on the roof.
Saskia, yes we should buy an island and do finally what we want. Soooo annoying.

Here a video I liked it...

am a commissioner in my municipality........and getting permits is still a pain in the ass. 

being friends with the local code enforcement officer does not help......it just means he has more opportunities to inspect my stuff for violations.

i consider myself "part of the problem".   tried to resign the commission but the chairman of the governing body asked me to stay until they could find a replacement.  that was a year and a half ago.

can not figure out how to piss them off enough to get fired.

Even that probably wouldn't work----I got fired from one job, & was reasonably happy about it, but they asked me to stay "until they could find a replacement".
A year later, I was still there, & heartily sick of the place, so I quit!
Your result would probably be them getting yet another 18 months out of you!

[Brumby]

...but they asked me to stay "until they could find a replacement".

That was your opportunity.  It would seem you gave an answer which should have been better considered.

[med6753]

Here you go Brumby. This one's for you. More 7000 series plug-in goodness.  Military 7603N on bench 1 for some power up time replacing a 465B/DM44 and 475A. I gotta pull the center plug-in and clean the attenuator deck. It's very noisy.

The military 7603N has no fan and a linear PSU and gets damn hot in the back. Later versions of the 7603 did have a fan. Adding a fan would involve cutting the covers because they are louvered rather than a screen like the 7904. Not gotta happen.

   

Ain't I a stinker? Can't help myself. 

[Scherms]

Pretty simple stuff but when things go right and using test gear that guarantees confidence, its such a huge relief...





 

[mansaxel]

(I miss the days when a flash of my press card would have a very salutary effect on anyone who was being "difficult" with a customer service issue.)

I don't have a Press card, but I've got a government approved ID card clearly issued as proof of employment, from Large Media House. The Press cards are similar, just with the added text PRESS in very large font.  That and my previous employer, who issues Service ID Cards, are useful as alternate ID when I want to make a point. Normally, I use my drivers license, which is also a Gummint Approved (and issued) ID. It has my SSN in QR code, which is heavily used by places like postal office storefronts who are required to ID me for package pickup.

TE yesterday: Had to diagnose depleted AAA cells in TENS machine. 1,1V; not enough. 8022B to the rescue.

TE today: Nothing, except I'm about to go look at a few fiber ferrules in a microscope which qualifies as testing.

[Specmaster]

My roof, yesterday morning 

They assist also to get a permit.... I did not know you need a permit to put solar panels on the roof.
Saskia, yes we should buy an island and do finally what we want. Soooo annoying.

Here a video I liked it...

am a commissioner in my municipality........and getting permits is still a pain in the ass. 

being friends with the local code enforcement officer does not help......it just means he has more opportunities to inspect my stuff for violations.

i consider myself "part of the problem".   tried to resign the commission but the chairman of the governing body asked me to stay until they could find a replacement.  that was a year and a half ago.

can not figure out how to piss them off enough to get fired.

Even that probably wouldn't work----I got fired from one job, & was reasonably happy about it, but they asked me to stay "until they could find a replacement".
A year later, I was still there, & heartily sick of the place, so I quit!
Your result would probably be them getting yet another 18 months out of you!

Hmm, I think my response would be that they can go stuff themselves. If I wasn't good enough for them not to fire me, then they can go to hell, I'm off.

[med6753]

(I miss the days when a flash of my press card would have a very salutary effect on anyone who was being "difficult" with a customer service issue.)

I don't have a Press card, but I've got a government approved ID card clearly issued as proof of employment, from Large Media House. The Press cards are similar, just with the added text PRESS in very large font.  That and my previous employer, who issues Service ID Cards, are useful as alternate ID when I want to make a point. Normally, I use my drivers license, which is also a Gummint Approved (and issued) ID. It has my SSN in QR code, which is heavily used by places like postal office storefronts who are required to ID me for package pickup.

TE yesterday: Had to diagnose depleted AAA cells in TENS machine. 1,1V; not enough. 8022B to the rescue.

TE today: Nothing, except I'm about to go look at a few fiber ferrules in a microscope which qualifies as testing.

I don't have a press card either. But I do have one of these. 

[Specmaster]

When SWMBO got up this morning around 06:30 she said it was snowing and that the car was completely covered, by the time I got up it had cleared, just looked out the window and its snowing again 

[capt bullshot]

Some TEA package arrived today:



And here's an empty space that is supposed to be filled with some TE:



There's another package within the package:

[Vince]

Yeah long live Mouser, many of them there, 8,500 !    Lucky you US bastards !

Here on Farnell MUCH less choice, only 174 references, and 90% of them aren't really available : not in their European stock / warehouses, US only, they charge 18 Euros to get them here ! 

Luckily out of the handful that can be bought locally, they happen to have the two values I need, 56pF and 250pF, yeah ! Exact same voltage rating as well, 500V, cool.

They are precision caps at that : 1% for one, 5% for the other, vs 10% for the old one. Should do it 

Bloody expensive at 5 Euros a pop ! Glad I only need 3 of them. So 15 Euros + 10 Euros shipping, 25 Euros for 3 tiny caps, wow.... 

Oh come on, you are joking, there must loads of suppliers in France who can supply these, you just have to use the search engines better.

Why would I be making this up ?! Just look for yourself on their site if you don't believe 

No need to use their search engine or parametric search, at the risk of missing on stuff indeed, no... their cap section is neatly organized and they have a sub-section devoted solely to Mica caps 

[Vince]

Yes I was wondering about that, but didn't post about it, one thing at a time I thought ! 
For now the purpose was to debug the thing.

But now that it's clear the Mica caps were the problem, yes I can now try to find a good replacement.
Problem is... I though Mica caps don't exist anymore these days ?! 

I don't know enough about the specs of mica o know what modern / readily available cap technology would be a good replacement.

A modern C0G/NP0 dielectric ceramic cap would also be a suitable substitute for mica in a circuit like this. These have adequate performance to match or exceed the mica caps in terms of tolerance, low loss and temperature stability.

SMD versions of C0G/NP0 caps are readily available from the usual suppliers but finding a supplier with a good range of leaded C0G/NP0 parts may be more difficult.

Thanks, will keep that in mind...

[Vince]

As for the mica capacitors (German: Glimmerkondensator or Glimmer Kondensator):

BTB electronics has some of them:
https://btb-elektronik.de/en/products/4410/silver-mica-capacitor/

They can also be found on ebay, search term "silver mica".
In the German ebay section there are some listed:

https://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2553889.m570.l1311&_nkw=glimmer+kondensator&_sacat=0

If you need help with ordering etc. I can assist. I can also order and send them to you if you want.


Edit:
another source: https://www.box73.de/index.php?cPath=82_174_272
and another: https://www.mos-electronic-shop.de/glimmerk-250v-500v-c-84_114.html

Thanks a bunch BU, looks much cheaper than Farnell 

[Brumby]

Here you go Brumby. This one's for you. More 7000 series plug-in goodness.  Military 7603N on bench 1 for some power up time replacing a 465B/DM44 and 475A. I gotta pull the center plug-in and clean the attenuator deck. It's very noisy.

The military 7603N has no fan and a linear PSU and gets damn hot in the back. Later versions of the 7603 did have a fan. Adding a fan would involve cutting the covers because they are louvered rather than a screen like the 7904. Not gotta happen.



Ain't I a stinker? Can't help myself. 

3 bays....  100MHz, I believe?  Hmmmm.   Beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.

How much for $hipping?

[capt bullshot]

Opening the box reveals this: A spanking brand new piece of TE in its original box.



Now find the differences (at least 5) between these two pictures:

[Cerebus]

A modern C0G/NP0 dielectric ceramic cap would also be a suitable substitute for mica in a circuit like this. These have adequate performance to match or exceed the mica caps in terms of tolerance, low loss and temperature stability.

SMD versions of C0G/NP0 caps are readily available from the usual suppliers but finding a supplier with a good range of leaded C0G/NP0 parts may be more difficult.

Thanks, will keep that in mind...

A lot of folks will already be aware of this, but it's worth mentioning.

Many modern leaded C0G/NP0 are in fact SMD capacitors in disguise. Tear the cap open and you'll find that the manufacturer has just taken an SMD cap, soldered/welded some leads to it, and given it an epoxy overcoat.

So, if one is having difficulty tracking down a non-SMD capacitor of a certain capacity/rating or physical lead spacing one could always "roll your own" after the fashion of the manufacturers. You'd just need a suitable SMD cap, some tinned copper wire and either some high temperature solder, or one of those battery tab resistance welders. If you wanted to go the whole nine yards you could dip coat the hand built cap in some suitable epoxy. Perhaps rather a palaver, but if it makes the difference between being able to fix something or scrapping it then perhaps worth the fuss.

[ch_scr]

Opening the box reveals this: A spanking brand new piece of TE in its original box.
...
Now find the differences (at least 5) between these two pictures:

Shiny! Seems like there was some precision measurement involved even before purchase, to make sure it fits the shelf 

[Cerebus]

Now snowing, and I have to go out. Bah!

(Only "Bah!" because it's enough snow to be a nuisance, and not enough to be fun.)

[mnementh]

(I miss the days when a flash of my press card would have a very salutary effect on anyone who was being "difficult" with a customer service issue.)

I don't have a Press card, but I've got a government approved ID card clearly issued as proof of employment, from Large Media House. The Press cards are similar, just with the added text PRESS in very large font.  That and my previous employer, who issues Service ID Cards, are useful as alternate ID when I want to make a point. Normally, I use my drivers license, which is also a Gummint Approved (and issued) ID. It has my SSN in QR code, which is heavily used by places like postal office storefronts who are required to ID me for package pickup.

TE yesterday: Had to diagnose depleted AAA cells in TENS machine. 1,1V; not enough. 8022B to the rescue.

TE today: Nothing, except I'm about to go look at a few fiber ferrules in a microscope which qualifies as testing.

I don't have a press card either. But I do have one of these. 

I understand those are still valid in certain regions of Canada, ehh...? 

mnem
...but not at the border. 

[mnementh]

Yes I was wondering about that, but didn't post about it, one thing at a time I thought ! 
For now the purpose was to debug the thing.

But now that it's clear the Mica caps were the problem, yes I can now try to find a good replacement.
Problem is... I though Mica caps don't exist anymore these days ?! 

I don't know enough about the specs of mica o know what modern / readily available cap technology would be a good replacement.

A modern C0G/NP0 dielectric ceramic cap would also be a suitable substitute for mica in a circuit like this. These have adequate performance to match or exceed the mica caps in terms of tolerance, low loss and temperature stability.

SMD versions of C0G/NP0 caps are readily available from the usual suppliers but finding a supplier with a good range of leaded C0G/NP0 parts may be more difficult.

Thanks, will keep that in mind...

Given the highly agitated state of the angry pixies involved in this circuit, I'd definitely double-check the derating curve on those.

mnem

[Vince]

A modern C0G/NP0 dielectric ceramic cap would also be a suitable substitute for mica in a circuit like this. These have adequate performance to match or exceed the mica caps in terms of tolerance, low loss and temperature stability.

SMD versions of C0G/NP0 caps are readily available from the usual suppliers but finding a supplier with a good range of leaded C0G/NP0 parts may be more difficult.

Thanks, will keep that in mind...

A lot of folks will already be aware of this, but it's worth mentioning.

Many modern leaded C0G/NP0 are in fact SMD capacitors in disguise. Tear the cap open and you'll find that the manufacturer has just taken an SMD cap, soldered/welded some leads to it, and given it an epoxy overcoat.

So, if one is having difficulty tracking down a non-SMD capacitor of a certain capacity/rating or physical lead spacing one could always "roll your own" after the fashion of the manufacturers. You'd just need a suitable SMD cap, some tinned copper wire and either some high temperature solder, or one of those battery tab resistance welders. If you wanted to go the whole nine yards you could dip coat the hand built cap in some suitable epoxy. Perhaps rather a palaver, but if it makes the difference between being able to fix something or scrapping it then perhaps worth the fuss.

Nope didn't know about that, thanks for that ! Interesting... yes I would do anything to fix an old TE rather than leave it rotting forever unfixed/unusable...

I have just ordered the Mica caps from btb-elektronik.de  thanks for the link BU ! 

They didn't have the 56pF one, but had a 100pF and 120pF which I will put in series, that makes for a 54.5pF which is close enough.

[tautech]

Yes I was wondering about that, but didn't post about it, one thing at a time I thought ! 
For now the purpose was to debug the thing.

But now that it's clear the Mica caps were the problem, yes I can now try to find a good replacement.
Problem is... I though Mica caps don't exist anymore these days ?! 

I don't know enough about the specs of mica o know what modern / readily available cap technology would be a good replacement.

A modern C0G/NP0 dielectric ceramic cap would also be a suitable substitute for mica in a circuit like this. These have adequate performance to match or exceed the mica caps in terms of tolerance, low loss and temperature stability.

SMD versions of C0G/NP0 caps are readily available from the usual suppliers but finding a supplier with a good range of leaded C0G/NP0 parts may be more difficult.

Thanks, will keep that in mind...

Given the highly agitated state of the angry pixies involved in this circuit, I'd definitely double-check the derating curve on those.

mnem

Yep, 500V rated SMD caps are not particularly small 1206 IIRC to get that sort of V rating.