Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

I have returned from my relaxing and completely enjoyable mini vacation. I should do it more often.

Anyway, there is no way I'm going to slug through about 10 pages of unread posts. Did I miss anything significant?

[factory]

So, I was looking for a multimeter to put in the tool box and use for un-frequent electrical work. I currently have a cheap Mastercraft dmm (Canadian tire in-house brand made by Allsun in China) and it feel inadequate. I definitely need something that perspire professionalism and refinement. Something that will inspire pride when I finally reach in the toolbox to get the multimeter to check for power before changing a light fixture.

One of those ultra rugged DMM, waterproof and created for harsh environment would be perfect. Definitely adapted to my application.

So I got a second hand Meterman HD115B. HD stand for Heavy Duty. Spec and feature wise it's similar to the Fluke 27. Getting a Fluke 27 was an option but since it seem like everybody got one these days it would not have been super original.



...snip...

I'm a bit disappointed with the input protection. It's sold has a 1500V DC / 1000VAC meter but got 600V fuses ?  So the CATIII 1500V doesn't apply to the amp mode ? I don't understand the certification and how they pass. The water proofing seem really good though.

I've got a Wavetek version model HD160B, the ranges on mine are more suited to sparky use though. The 1500Vdc range is carried over from the old Beckman DMMs, which seemed to end up as Wavetek and now the HD series meter is branded Amprobe over here.


Edit: Interesting, the current "industrial" offerings from Amprobe, omit the 10A range & input jack.
https://www.amprobe.com/product-category/multimeters/industrial-multimeters/

Edit 2: Some pictures I took when the battery required replacement a while ago, not sure what the jumper next to the custom IC is for.







David

[mansaxel]

Did I miss anything significant?

Yes.

[med6753]

Did I miss anything significant?

Yes.

Well nothing like leaving me hanging by my fingernails.  Like what? Or are you just busting my balls? 

[m k]

F-650 pickup was not mentioned.

[Saskia]

absolutely. come join discord in an hour ...

[AVGresponding]

Or now.

[Cubdriver]

The mail has been delivered.







Verrah naace....

-Pat

[Specmaster]

Finally managed to get all the footage edited and posted on YT of the Steam Gala. Don't know what I did wrong last time, but only the first few minutes of the compilation worked  The footage shown is a sample of what happened between 1:42pm and 6:36pm. The day started at 10:00am but the car park was rammed so I went to the airfield first.

Very nice.  Did I spy one of the two 1959 stock units that London Underground painted in old Northern Line colours in the corner there a couple of minutes in?

@bd139 You said that you wanted to visit this sometime, all you need to do is to jump on a Central Line tube to Epping on a day when the EOR line is running, where when you arrive there will old routemasters or possibly and or RTs to take you to North Weald station where it all begins from.

https://www.eorailway.co.uk/

How do they manage the heritage steam operation where the line meets London Underground at Epping?  Has it been completely severed?

The lines are still physically connected, but all electrical lines are 100% severed, along with all signal links and there are crash buffers in both directions, and a few hundred feet distanced from each other for added safety.

[mnementh]

Boring Mundane Everyday Print #319: Battery Holder For Harbor Freight Hedge Trimmer   

         AutoDesk Online 3D Viewer

The collection of FrankenTools continues to grow!!! 

Today I finished this project up; a battery holder to use a Memorial Day Sale discounted Horror Fraught hedge trimmer with my existing Kobalt Batteries, the same as I did with my Makita SawzAll. It'll get put to the test tomorrow morning!

As always; for those who care, full details and 3DP nerd stats are over on the 3DP thread:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/3d-printing/3d-printer-yet/msg4232308/#msg4232308

mnem
I fought the lawn and the lawn won... 

[Vince]

I HATE DIODES !!!!!

Currently trying to identify/sort/organize all my salvaged beefy diodes. Most were pulled from CRT TV's or monitors.... their datasheet says they are "damping" diodes, for CRT Horizontal deflection.

The datasheet will tell you all sorts of things relevant to their intended use case, logical, fair enough, with all sorts of repetitive or non repetitive voltage or current stimuli, BUT they will never tell you the most basics of specs I wanna know for a freaking diode : what is the maximum  DC voltage and current they can sustain !!!   

I don't care if their diode can do 1,500Volts repetitive at 32.5kHz or 115,567kHz on a square wave with 35.78% duty cycle...... just tell me what freaking DC voltage and current it can handle FFS !!! 

So basically I have lots of cool beefy diodes but I can't contemplate reusing them because I have no idea what current and voltage they can actually handle, hence I might as well throw them away !!   
I

What package types?

Maybe the name is an omen.

Don't know what "omen" means sorry 

Package is irrelevant, the problem is the datasheet... but here it is anyway. I don't know how it's called, datasheet doesn't say. It's like a TO220 (on the pic as well, for size comparison), but much bigger.

FMQ-G2FS is 1500V/10A and FMQ-G5FMS is the same.
Whole set is over 1000V so that's pretty safe.
Number 5 seems to be among beefier ones so maybe 5A is safe.

Yes I know that of course, I already have that datasheet, hence my original post bitching about it.

[Vince]

I HATE DIODES !!!!!

Currently trying to identify/sort/organize all my salvaged beefy diodes. Most were pulled from CRT TV's or monitors.... their datasheet says they are "damping" diodes, for CRT Horizontal deflection.

The datasheet will tell you all sorts of things relevant to their intended use case, logical, fair enough, with all sorts of repetitive or non repetitive voltage or current stimuli, BUT they will never tell you the most basics of specs I wanna know for a freaking diode : what is the maximum  DC voltage and current they can sustain !!!   

I don't care if their diode can do 1,500Volts repetitive at 32.5kHz or 115,567kHz on a square wave with 35.78% duty cycle...... just tell me what freaking DC voltage and current it can handle FFS !!! 

So basically I have lots of cool beefy diodes but I can't contemplate reusing them because I have no idea what current and voltage they can actually handle, hence I might as well throw them away !!   

If only AC rating are given a conservative DC rating conversion is:
DC reverse voltage = AC voltage
DC average forward current = 1/2 AC average current.
DC peak current  = AC average current
Frequency is irrelevant.

Thanks ! 

[Vince]

That's fine and dandy but I like UF4007 more. It's the same 1A/1000V but fast. Just put 3 in series for a cheap & very sturdy 3kV diode and can run in the kHz, easy. Need a 1N4007 replacement? Still can do with these....

Might be some marginal use cases where they don't work as well, V_F looks to be quite a bit higher at max I_F, and maybe the capacitance too.

There is another issue with fast rectifiers - noise. A fast rectifier can generate switch-off transients that have harmonics well into the VHF range. I've had broadcast FM reception wiped out by a bridge rectifier that used fast diodes. Fix was to put a 1nF capacitor across each diode. Even regular diodes can cause issues at HF. You sometimes see capacitors across brodge rectifiers in professional radio receivers.

Thanks, learned something interesting !
I remember seeing such an arrangement on a schemtatic many years ago and was wondering what the hell was going on.... adding cost and complexity and decrease reliability and add a source of potential failure with serious consequences.... WHY !  There must have been some serious reason the guy did that, just could not figure it out on my own at the time...
Thanks for the explanation then

[graybeard]

I have been looking for one of these for 3 years because it can use full 17" width instruments.  This one has two levels.
I had this shipped to me yesterday. 
It had some issues.  I had to drill and tap two of the wheels that had the mounting hols stripped, replace a few screws and bolts.  But now it works!

[Vince]

Vince are you watching the big race 24 hrs of Le Mans while you're sorting diodes? 

Hell no !

I love sports cars but only if I can touch them sit in them and drive them and work on them... that's where the fun is.. looking at other people's cars going round and round a circuit is not exactly my cup of tea, it's boring as hell. I would love to have a decent sports car and take it to the track, but sitting by the side of the track no thanks...

Plus, I have lost any interest in racing since like 25 years ago. All cars are the same, it's all boring.. I honestly can't fathom why manufacturers even bother spending millions into motor racing. Like, say FIAT was racing in F1 and won... so what ? Am I going to rush in a FIAT dealership to buy a 3 cylinder 750cc diesel FIAT Panda ?! Are you kidding me ?

I liked F1 and the 24H in the '60s and 70's, early '80s maybe.... wasn't born of course back , or way too young, but watching archive footage it looked so much more fun and interesting than today !
There was real technical innovation, not all cars were the same, it was a real show. Cars exploded, took off 50 feet in the air, engines went airborne and swept the tribunes, there was a standing start with the drivers running to their cars, there was no telemetry, no real time planing on the radio,  Le Mans had that long straight were cars reached 400 km/h.. now it's all chicaned up.
Firefox tells me I might have just invented a new verb here, beware, patent pending.

Nope... I have long lost any interest in watching motor racing. I want to build my garage and go shove an old Lotus Esprit into it one day hopefully... a Sport 300 if I win the lottery, but a '90 Turbo SE  French spec in BRG/magnolia, would do it. Or a UK spec Azure blue/magnolia S4s, or an early UK spec '96/'97 V8 in  BRG/magnolia, hopefully with the dreaded leaky cylinder liners problem fixed.... by now they most likely all have been fixed of course, otherwise they would not be on the road anymore. Oh, and with the AP racing twin plate clutch mod courtesy of the Sport 350, of course. And the Sport 350 brakes as well while I am it, braking is useful.

[Kosmic]

So, I was looking for a multimeter to put in the tool box and use for un-frequent electrical work. I currently have a cheap Mastercraft dmm (Canadian tire in-house brand made by Allsun in China) and it feel inadequate. I definitely need something that perspire professionalism and refinement. Something that will inspire pride when I finally reach in the toolbox to get the multimeter to check for power before changing a light fixture.

One of those ultra rugged DMM, waterproof and created for harsh environment would be perfect. Definitely adapted to my application.

So I got a second hand Meterman HD115B. HD stand for Heavy Duty. Spec and feature wise it's similar to the Fluke 27. Getting a Fluke 27 was an option but since it seem like everybody got one these days it would not have been super original.



...snip...

I'm a bit disappointed with the input protection. It's sold has a 1500V DC / 1000VAC meter but got 600V fuses ?  So the CATIII 1500V doesn't apply to the amp mode ? I don't understand the certification and how they pass. The water proofing seem really good though.

I've got a Wavetek version model HD160B, the ranges on mine are more suited to sparky use though. The 1500Vdc range is carried over from the old Beckman DMMs, which seemed to end up as Wavetek and now the HD series meter is branded Amprobe over here.

I think Meterman was bought by Wavetek and then sold to Amprobe when Wavetek was split-up.

Interesting pictures, The HD160B seem to have a completely different PCB.

[exor]

Did I heard someone said pliers? 

[factory]

So, I was looking for a multimeter to put in the tool box and use for un-frequent electrical work. I currently have a cheap Mastercraft dmm (Canadian tire in-house brand made by Allsun in China) and it feel inadequate. I definitely need something that perspire professionalism and refinement. Something that will inspire pride when I finally reach in the toolbox to get the multimeter to check for power before changing a light fixture.

One of those ultra rugged DMM, waterproof and created for harsh environment would be perfect. Definitely adapted to my application.

So I got a second hand Meterman HD115B. HD stand for Heavy Duty. Spec and feature wise it's similar to the Fluke 27. Getting a Fluke 27 was an option but since it seem like everybody got one these days it would not have been super original.



...snip...

I'm a bit disappointed with the input protection. It's sold has a 1500V DC / 1000VAC meter but got 600V fuses ?  So the CATIII 1500V doesn't apply to the amp mode ? I don't understand the certification and how they pass. The water proofing seem really good though.

I've got a Wavetek version model HD160B, the ranges on mine are more suited to sparky use though. The 1500Vdc range is carried over from the old Beckman DMMs, which seemed to end up as Wavetek and now the HD series meter is branded Amprobe over here.

I think Meterman was bought by Wavetek and then sold to Amprobe when Wavetek was split-up.

Interesting pictures, The HD160B seem to have a completely different PCB.

I guess that's due to less functionality and auto-ranging instead of manual ranging.

David

[bd139]

Did I heard someone said pliers? 

How many hands do you have?

[Robert763]

Now I have one question: is it safe to put it below the stack of HP multimeters?
If so that would save a lot of space and would help me appreciate it a little bit more, as it is, I can hardly work in the "work"bench 

No it's not safe to stack equipment. 
I'd never stack more than 10 items. I can't reach any higher 

[exor]

Did I heard someone said pliers? 

How many hands do you have?

Just two, but I have soft spot for Belzer tools. 

[Neper]

No it's not safe to stack equipment. 
I'd never stack more than 10 items. I can't reach any higher 

https://youtu.be/LFrdqQZ8FFc

[mnementh]

Now I have one question: is it safe to put it below the stack of HP multimeters?  If so that would save a lot of space and would help me appreciate it a little bit more, as it is, I can hardly work in the "work"bench 

You could use that thing as a seat for an entire family and it wouldn't care one bit, those old HP machines are made strong. (I may or may not use some of my gear as a makeshift step to get to the top shelves.... )
You see that plastic strip along the top of the control panel? There is a groove there that interlocks with the feet of the unit put on top, they are designed to stack.

Stack it up and make a Test Equipment Tower to be proud of.

If you don't mind looking sideways, set it on its side. I had to use a trio of DVD recorders that way for several years at one gig; made me appreciate how adaptible the human mind is, because I actually got so used to it that using my own BluRay player at home felt odd because it was horizontal.

But yeah... those things are built like a brick shithouse. They'll hold up anything you can can lift bodily on top of them; up to and including dead bodies. 

mnem
 

[mnementh]

Does it make the price tag more bearable? Well I dont know... To be honest I'm still not sure whether I actually need this or not. And it's huge!! As big as an HP3455 and HP3456 together almost. I feel like might be buyer's remorse is kicking in.

Don't listen to those enablers. I can help you with that remorse. I'll liberate you from it for what you paid. No problemo. Friends in need and all that... 

(but seriously, if you feel like it, I'm interested.)

Well, after the advice from TERRA now I see the HP8656B, the 55 and 56 all beautifully united... I can't let go!
But many thanks for your offer, I feel now that I was quite lucky. I have very little experience in RF things and I esentially bought it for the HP logo (surrounded by overpriced old PROMAX counters and generators I felt it deserved something better), I'm now reading threads and the manual and I'm starting to appreciate it a lot more.

mnem
May as well pull up a comfy chair and have a taco... you're fucking doomed.

[mnementh]

Did I miss anything significant?

Yes.

Well nothing like leaving me hanging by my fingernails.  Like what? Or are you just busting my balls? 

yes.

mnem
                      Alternately, no. maybe.