Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Ice-Tea]

I'm out. Way to clunky for just one channel, and many measurements are not possible with just one channel. For a price tag that I won't disclose because most probably you'd never speak to me again afterwards, I'd consider it an interesting teardown and other studies object. It's quite a challenge to verify 1MHz power analyzer measurements, requires thought and time, and at the moment I don't have an appropriate rabbit hole

I wouldn't mind sending it to you for fun and giggles? Just have to be aware it's on eBay and if it sells t you'll have to put it back together again and drop it off at a DPD point. Oh, and don't kill it.

Also: if you're bored I have a DOA 34401A that might be interested in meeting someone with too much time on their hands...

That's a good idea, so I can count on this thing leaving my lab at some unknown point in the future, freeing up the space again.
Wouldn't mind if there's a borked 34401A in the package, but atm it may take serious time until I start looking at it (suppose you want it back in the same or better state).

All right! I'll pack them up. Yokogawa under the condition of packing it up again within a few days if needed. Conditions for the 34401A: wenn schon denn schon.

[mnementh]

Wire-nuts are still, and will be, replace-on-sight for me.

I would agree that Wago is a much superior connector and I intend on trying them out the next time I have to do some wiring. However, why disturb a wire nut that has probably been in place for decades and is functioning properly? No need to answer because I already know the answer. You don't trust them and you have the full support and backing of the majority of this group. Fine, I'll go along with that.

Now applying the same principle why do I always get nannies waving their fingers at me when I mention that I will replacing all electrolytic capacitors in a piece of equipment with a proven track record of failure? After all, they have been in place for decades and functioning properly...right? Well, not quite. But I always get a Mary Poppins or two think I'm being wasteful. No, smart. Perhaps they should open their umbrellas and fly away. 

Not me. If a cap is old enough to buy a drink, it is suspect. Old enough to collect a pension, time for compulsory retirement.

Your time is your most valuable asset; why waste it trying to save a few $$ on some moldy old caps?

mnem

[med6753]

Bacon, egg & cheese tacos and freshly-perked 100% Columbian coffee. yummm.

that is all.

mnem

Sounds keto to me. Not.

Just like the last time you said this, I'm still making my breakfast tacos with Carb Balance Tortillas. 4 grams net carbs FTW. 

mnem
"It's kinda like  déjà vu... kinda like  déjà vu..."

I don't recall saying that once before. Maybe I did. The mind is a terrible thing to lose.

For the past few weeks I've been on basically a no carb keto diet. Recent trip to the primary dr and routine blood work shows that my current diabetic medication (Metformin) is no longer working. A1C has shot upwards. So decided to buckle down on the diet and also bought a monitor to check my blood sugar. Fasting blood sugar is typically averaging around 150. Should be 120 or less or ideally 100 or less. Can't raise the Metformin any higher. Alternatives were the very heavily advertised Januvia, Rybelsus, Ozempic, etc. I checked my drug plan and the co-pays for these drugs is ridiculous. Fuck the drug companies, not paying that. So my only alternative is to go on insulin which I accept as necessary. In discussions with dr now as to which insulin is appropriate. And the cost is reasonable under my drug plan. So it looks like my daily routine will now involve injecting myself. Getting old sucks. Oh well.         

[cyclin_al]

GWN regulation is antiquated.  Maximum of 160W total and 4 lamps of forward illumination.  With LED lighting, wattage is no longer a practical limitation.  Counting bulbs is near impossible with integrated headlamps.  Some people are now running LED light bars with impunity...  Extra lighting can be installed for off-road use, just not used when on-road (ie. do not get caught).

If you look in most countries' small print amending regulations for vehicle construction you'll most likely find some sort of all-encompassing regulation that says something to the effect that "A vehicle constructed to UNECE WP.29 regulations shall satisfy all national regulations". The UNECE Vehicle Regulations are an attempt to unify vehicle construction regulations worldwide, which makes sense because each country legislating for the same technical parameters (e.g. minimum headlamp height) but varying subtlely nation by nation is a dumb idea and a true headache for motor manufacturers around the world.

So even if your local regulations are antiquated you'll probably find that they can be trumped by the UNECE regulations which are an evolving set of requirements and are at least considered for updating twice yearly. Canada is a 'contracting party' to the UNECE.

The whole UNECE thing is one of those oddities where the body has gone on to outlive its original purpose (an international treaty organization managing the economic reconstruction of Europe after the 2nd world war) to become something completely different while retaining the same name. The "World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations" (WP.29) which is part of UNECE has been around since 1958.

Over here most major items are covered by Federal standards. But not all of them. For example. In NYS if I have to replace the cat convertor it must be one that is CARB (California Air Resources Board) certified. It cannot be a generic replacement like most other states. And those CARB certified convertors naturally are much more expensive. Now does NYS do tailpipe tests like California? Nope. But if you install a generic non-certified convertor it won't pass NYS annual inspection.

So that is why the Canadian Standards have become so vague. I was not aware of UNECE in the background.  I was aware that the Canadian Standards were a copy and paste from the US Federal Regulations.  Not sure if the CARB part has been adopted.  Want to bring a new car design into Canada?  Just get it certified first in the US; after that is rubber stamping for Canada.

[med6753]

Well Pat, it appears you nailed it. I waved that red flag in front of Murphy and he ran with it. Rather than USPS sending the package north towards me from their international center in NYC they sent it west to Phillipsburg, NJ which is on the NJ/PA border. Why? Who the freak knows.  I have a picture of the package and it's properly addressed. I can only hope there is a method to their madness but I wouldn't bet on it. 

The package left Phillipsburg a few hours ago to parts unknown.

[TERRA Operative]

Well shit.
My older version PG506 Calibration Generator needs a new 2N2907 in the power supply section (the one in there appears to have turned into a diode and burnt a resistor, possibly from being unplugged when turned on maybe).

Guess what I don't have, and isn't stocked in the usual stores in Akihabara.... Another thing to add to my next Digikey order.

[AVGresponding]

Well shit.
My older version PG506 Calibration Generator needs a new 2N2907 in the power supply section (the one in there appears to have turned into a diode and burnt a resistor, possibly from being unplugged when turned on maybe).

Guess what I don't have, and isn't stocked in the usual stores in Akihabara.... Another thing to add to my next Digikey order.

That's pretty much as jelly-bean as components get, don't you have anything similar?

[TERRA Operative]

I have a bunch of parts, but not sure on substitutions. What are acceptable replacements for this part?

[AVGresponding]

I have a bunch of parts, but not sure on substitutions. What are acceptable replacements for this part?

TITS Rev 5 is not hugely helpful, 2N2907A and BSW24 are the only ones it lists. You could probably use most any of these though.


EDIT: Might be easiest to rummage through your general purpose small PNP stock to see if any match the most important parameters ie V_CE 40V, I_C 600mA max, P_DISS 400mW max. Hard to say if you need the 200MHz, or what other V characteristics might be important without seeing the circuit.

[med6753]

I have a bunch of parts, but not sure on substitutions. What are acceptable replacements for this part?

NTE159M.

[Cerebus]

Fasting blood sugar is typically averaging around 150. Should be 120 or less or ideally 100 or less.

As with many things those numbers are meaningless without units. One presumes you mean mg/dL rather than the mmol/L used in most of the world because fasting blood sugar of 150 mmol/L would be well above the generally accepted level of lethality of 16.7 mmol/L. This is one of the rare cases where it's not just the US who have odd units but there's a completely random selection of countries that use mg/dL and the rest and the WHO use mmol/L.

For those used to thinking in international standard units, Med's (100 mg/dL, 120 mg/dL, 150 mg/dL) are in round figures (5.6 mmol/L, 6.7 mmol/L, 8.3 mmol/L). "Normal" average fasting blood glucose is 5.5 mmol/L (99 mg/dL) and "normal" non-fasting is below 6.9 mmol/L (125 mg/dL).

...In discussions with dr now as to which insulin is appropriate. And the cost is reasonable under my drug plan. So it looks like my daily routine will now involve injecting myself. Getting old sucks. Oh well.         

Don't knock it, you could be like some of my type I diabetic friends and have been having to do it all your life.

[tggzzz]

Recent trip to the primary dr and routine blood work shows that my current diabetic medication (Metformin) is no longer working.

That, and the other points you mention do indeed suck. But there may be hope.

My mother was a type 2 diabetic on metformin for a couple of decades. For the last few years of her life she wasn't eating much at all, so the doctors discontinued her metformin. I intermittently monitored her blood sugar level, and it was usually 8-10 <UK units> (where <3 <UK units> => eat sugar now!)

There has recently been discussion about whether low calorie diets are a reliable technique. Obviously you wouldn't trust me or an anecdote, but you may be interested in
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/treating-your-diabetes/type2-diabetes-remission
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/professionals/diabetes-discoveries-practice/achieving-type-2-diabetes-remission-through-weight-loss
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520897/ (N.B. state conflict of interest)

[mnementh]

Just like the last time you said this, I'm still making my breakfast tacos with Carb Balance Tortillas. 4 grams net carbs FTW. 

mnem
"It's kinda like  déjà vu... kinda like  déjà vu..."

I don't recall saying that once before. Maybe I did. The mind is a terrible thing to lose.

For the past few weeks I've been on basically a no carb keto diet. Recent trip to the primary dr and routine blood work shows that my current diabetic medication (Metformin) is no longer working. A1C has shot upwards. So decided to buckle down on the diet and also bought a monitor to check my blood sugar. Fasting blood sugar is typically averaging around 150. Should be 120 or less or ideally 100 or less. Can't raise the Metformin any higher. Alternatives were the very heavily advertised Januvia, Rybelsus, Ozempic, etc. I checked my drug plan and the co-pays for these drugs is ridiculous. Fuck the drug companies, not paying that. So my only alternative is to go on insulin which I accept as necessary. In discussions with dr now as to which insulin is appropriate. And the cost is reasonable under my drug plan. So it looks like my daily routine will now involve injecting myself. Getting old sucks. Oh well.     

Of all the things I've lost, it's my mind I miss the most.   Sorry for being snarky aboot it. 

Aww, man... that blows. Keto is hard to maintain; I really can only ever manage it for a few weeks at a time then a day or 3 off. Transitioning back into ketosis after is just the pits. 

For a while there in Canada I was managing to do both walkies with the kids 3x a week and an upper body dumbbell workout the other days widda boi; then I could make occasional guerrilla attacks on the diet... like one meal in 3 or 4 days with pasta, bread, and/or a slice of pie for dessert... and not lose the ketosis if I was really good the next few days. But this winter has beaten me up pretty hard and we're just now getting back to the dumbbell regimen. 

My wife, OTOH... her numbers are the best they've been in over a decade. This gig has her walking pretty much all day; she's lost as much as I have and not dieting at all, aside from very vague "not too much sugar" and "not too much starch" at any meal. She's expecting the doc to decrease her Metformin the next time she has a checkup.

My best advice is the same as bd139's... get walking, keep walking, and do as much of it as you can physically bear the pain and keep pushing against that wall.

I totally regret letting "packing and moving" be an excuse for getting out of the habit. Now I have to claw my way back into the habit... and it gets harder every. fucking. time.

What's your daily carb threshold? I've been doing a goal of 15grams/1500 calories, but lately have been backsliding more towards 20gr/1800 calories a day or two a week. Weighing every fucking thing that goes in your mouth is a unmitigated drag. 

mnem
 

[med6753]

Fasting blood sugar is typically averaging around 150. Should be 120 or less or ideally 100 or less.

As with many things those numbers are meaningless without units. One presumes you mean mg/dL rather than the mmol/L used in most of the world because fasting blood sugar of 150 mmol/L would be well above the generally accepted level of lethality of 16.7 mmol/L. This is one of the rare cases where it's not just the US who have odd units but there's a completely random selection of countries that use mg/dL and the rest and the WHO use mmol/L.

For those used to thinking in international standard units, Med's (100 mg/dL, 120 mg/dL, 150 mg/dL) are in round figures (5.6 mmol/L, 6.7 mmol/L, 8.3 mmol/L). "Normal" average fasting blood glucose is 5.5 mmol/L (99 mg/dL) and "normal" non-fasting is below 6.9 mmol/L (125 mg/dL).

...In discussions with dr now as to which insulin is appropriate. And the cost is reasonable under my drug plan. So it looks like my daily routine will now involve injecting myself. Getting old sucks. Oh well.         

Don't knock it, you could be like some of my type I diabetic friends and have been having to do it all your life.

Unit of measure is indeed mg/dL.

[mnementh]

Yeah, I knew that... I've used both, and most folks who've ever actually had to will know what the numbers mean no matter which scale. You put it in context well enough anyways with "should be" and "ideally" numbers. 

mnem
Keep the faith, buddy.

[Cubdriver]

I found the rubidium reference, and am letting things cook for a while.  It looks like the 5340A is pretty good, but the 5216A is about 50 Hz off.  I'm going to leave them running for a few hours then try tweaking it and getting it more accurate.



-Pat

[mansaxel]

I found the rubidium reference, and am letting things cook for a while.  It looks like the 5340A is pretty good, but the 5216A is about 50 Hz off.  I'm going to leave them running for a few hours then try tweaking it and getting it more accurate.



-Pat

Piles of TE like this one is a major driver in my gathering. You are a role model.

But, of course, now, that you've gotfound a Rb clock, wouldn't it be nice to let a GNSS receiver steer it?  For more vintage points, you could beat it towards WWV, of course, but I'm quite happy to accept USNO via space...

[factory]

Well shit.
My older version PG506 Calibration Generator needs a new 2N2907 in the power supply section (the one in there appears to have turned into a diode and burnt a resistor, possibly from being unplugged when turned on maybe).

Guess what I don't have, and isn't stocked in the usual stores in Akihabara.... Another thing to add to my next Digikey order.

One or two alternates from the D.A.T.A. Digest 1994 telephone directory. 


David

[mnementh]

From the GREAT WHEEL KEEPS TURNING Dept...

On the way back from the store today, I saw a kid sporting the Arsenio Hall tall flat-top haircut... 

I found it oddly comforting.

mnem
moo...?

[mnementh]

I found the rubidium reference, and am letting things cook for a while.  It looks like the 5340A is pretty good, but the 5216A is about 50 Hz off.  I'm going to leave them running for a few hours then try tweaking it and getting it more accurate.

   -Pat

Piles of TE like this one is a major driver in my gathering. You are a role model.

But, of course, now, that you've gotfound a Rb clock, wouldn't it be nice to let a GNSS receiver steer it?  For more vintage points, you could beat it towards WWV, of course, but I'm quite happy to accept USNO via space...

As long as he's not a roll model...   

   https://xkcd.com/524/

mnem
*runs around collecting all the soggy ol' boots for future ammunition*

[Ice-Tea]

Rather nice 34790A. Previous owner had a nice breakout box for it.

[Specmaster]

Oh crap, today I tackled the non-performing woofer in the N/S/F door of the car. After the second attempt, I managed to remove the door card without breaking anything and according to the owners' forum, a typical problem for my car is the breaking of cables in the rubber conduit that goes from the body to the door. Prodding the meter probes into the woofer cable on the speaker proved that was not the issue, as signals are reaching woofer terminals OK. Joy of joys, this woofer is pop riveted into the door, so I got to use my new Bosch cordless drill for the first time.

Those rivets put up a hard battle and some of them I had to grind away as they were just spinning in the door, so drilling was not a complete success.

I have never seen a speaker fail in such away before, there are no external visual signs the woofer has suffered any form of damage, no smell, nothing, touching the cone revealed the issue, there was zero movement. Measured the resistance, spot on at 2 so no short circuit of the voice coil, but the cone will not budge, regardless of the amount of force applied to it. I've seen speakers that have been overloaded, melt the voice coil and stick the magnets and they stunk and had either shorted coils or were open circuit, but none of that has occurred here.

Nothing on eBay only the normal woofers from the standard car and 4 and zero luck with any car breakers, my car is a pretty rare best with the uprated Canton stereo. The only place I can find a replacement is in Germany, 50 Euros and thanks to the B word, another 20 Euros shipping and the possibilities of have import taxes on top of that, oh goody.


 

[mnementh]

Driver frozen up is a very common failure mode; I've replaced more than I can count. 

Get a pair of cheap aftermarket 4Ω speakers the right size and replace both so the sound is the same. If that speaker measures 2Ω DCR, actual impedance will be a bit higher; more like 2.5-3Ω. Inversely, a 4Ω impedance speaker will usually measure 3-3.6Ω DCR.

Under any circumstances, in most cases using a lower impedance speaker will do nothing except higher impedance speaker will do nothing except lower speaker loading and decrease max volume a bit, which will make the amp run a bit cooler.

I know it sounds like more work... but you have to count the time looking for a match for this rare beast when doing your final tally.

mnem
No rest for the wicked.

[Specmaster]

Driver frozen up is a very common failure mode; I've replaced more than I can count. 

Get a pair of cheap aftermarket 4Ω speakers the right size and replace both so the sound is the same. If that speaker measures 2Ω DCR, actual impedance will be a bit higher; more like 2.5-3Ω. Inversely, a 4Ω impedance speaker will usually measure 3-3.6Ω DCR.

Under any circumstances, in most cases using a lower impedance speaker will do nothing except decrease max volume a bit and make the amp run a bit cooler.

I know it sounds like more work... but you have to count the time looking for a match for this rare beast when doing your final tally.

mnem
No rest for the wicked.

I'd have to do that 4 times, the car has 4 woofers, 1 per door and they are bastards to remove, the rivets seem to be made from stainless steel and chew drill bits like there's no tomorrow.

[tautech]

I'd have to do that 4 times, the car has 4 woofers, 1 per door and they are bastards to remove, the rivets seem to be made from stainless steel and chew drill bits like there's no tomorrow.

Hold the drill at some angle instead of straight on for spinners....once you have a recess to keep the drill tip centered.