Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[capt bullshot]

A special bonus point to the first person to correctly describe what purpose D1 serves

I can figure two purposes:
1. help with measuring the quiescent current of parts of the circuit, since you've attached a test point
2. when U1 pin 9 switches, the common R1, R2, C2 node sees voltages below BATT- and above BATT+, the diode will allow the supply voltage of U1 to rise above BATT+ and the stored energy of C2 will be used to supply U1 for some time, reducing the influence of R1 to the timing.

[BU508A]

A request to go against the spirit of the group:

At work, we've established that we need a Timing Interval Analyser. I tried buying the one Robert had for sale, but was too late. Does anyone else have a hp 5371A or one of the Yokogawa TA series, or similar, they'd be willing to part with?

It needs to be reasonably well working (another break with the spirit) and it can cost some money (again, against the very moral fibre!) but not "Korea instrument reseller insane".  An official-looking invoice is a cool thing.  In Europe is a definite bonus.

Ice-Tea?

There is one in German ebay Kleinanzeigen since quite some time, waiting for someone to buy it (NAWTS).
Price tag: 400 Euro
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/yokogawa-jittermeter-time-interval-analyzer-ta320/1339444881-168-8416


Edit:
just saw the response from the Captain.

This guy:
https://messgeraete-markt.de/

A well known seller of TEA (at least for some of the German members of the TEA party), has some of the Yokogawa TA series (320, 520, 720) in his stock.
IMO, he can meet all your criteria.

He's also got an ebay shop, and his stock definitely is larger than what is shown at the website and ebay listings. So just contact him (Mr. Knopf) and ask what he's got for you.

I second that. Messgeräte Markt from Düsseldorf (Knopf HiFi) is a very reputable and good seller for test equipment. If you can get an instrument from him, which will fit your requirements, go for it.

Edit 2:
Link to the ebay shop with the listings of the Yokogawa Time Interval Analyzers.

NAWTS, too

[tautech]

Back to chainsawing today after getting rained out yesterday. 
Still, it was nice to swing on my big bertha chainsaw which hadn't been used in anger for a couple of years and now the 5' tree is down it can go back into stowage until needed again....big heavy brute of a thing.
I'll get a pic later....

Well they say the plans of mice and men can go astray and today they did .....
Got the pic I promised but #2 saw (the real workhorse) didn't wanna play and cost me several hours fixing the darn thing. 

These run a CDI with a LV feed to a secondary HT coil near the cylinder and this LV lead resonates in the last 25mm although they are routed and fixed in clips and grooves on route to the HT coil. This last 25mm a known failure point yet it's the first I've ever had fail and at both ends where it terminates into a 3mm push on crimp terminal.
Just thank my lucky stars I have 3 of these units in various states of repair for one to donate the necessary bits for a fix. 
Groundhog day tomorrow ! 

Anyways a pic of 120cc Bertha sporting a 3 foot bar.

[tggzzz]

A special bonus point to the first person to correctly describe what purpose D1 serves

I wish all schematics were as well laid out and informative as that!

I guess D1 prevents SCR latchup when there's no battery and the voltage across C1 decays.

[bd139]

Oh I did it again.  Bought a Tek 465B 

[med6753]

Oh I did it again.  Bought a Tek 465B 

Ask me if I'm surprised?

NOT! 

[med6753]

This thread has been so active lately that if you're off it for even a day you get hopelessly behind. Which I am right now so I'm not even going to try to catch up. Don't some of you have a life other than this thread? 

Anyway, I did get the covers painted for that sad sack Type 547 and it almost looks pristine. The solution for the plug-in gap arrived yesterday but haven't had a chance to implement yet. Later today and then pictures.

This morning oil change on the Civic before it gets hot....which it is today. +90 F.

[factory]

Poor counters can’t get no love…. 


-Pat

Just curious : the two instruments at the bottom... they have  a mix of period knobs, and next generation plastic knobs found on later HP TE... did HP create these hybrid monsters, they came from the factory like that  ?:!  or did you just put these knobs yourself to replace missing ones ? Not judging... just curious to learn... if HP did that themselves, I wanna know...

Funny that in all the years I've had them I never noticed that.  Yes, they did come like that, with the larger, better 60s style knobs for the function and range switches, and the blech (IMO) 70s style knobs for the input level setting.  So yes, HP did indeed create these hybrid monsters.

-Pat

You mean late 50s style for the function/range knobs and mid 60s for the others, those were used on the 1966 design prefix 180A oscilloscope I have, I'm not sure what the earliest use of them is.


David

[bd139]

Oh I did it again.  Bought a Tek 465B 

Just seen it has option 007 - DC input. Never had one with DC input before. Interesting.

[med6753]

Oh I did it again.  Bought a Tek 465B 

Just seen it has option 007 - DC input. Never had one with DC input before. Interesting.

Neither have I. Would be interesting to see if it works.

OK.....later. Off to do an oil change.

[factory]

Oh I did it again.  Bought a Tek 465B 

Just seen it has option 007 - DC input. Never had one with DC input before. Interesting.

Nice option, will run of 12V to 24V, looking at Tek wiki I hope you got the DC power lead with it.

David

[bd139]

Oh I did it again.  Bought a Tek 465B 

Just seen it has option 007 - DC input. Never had one with DC input before. Interesting.

Nice option, will run of 12V to 24V, looking at Tek wiki I hope you got the DC power lead with it.

David

No DC lead.

Just checked the service manual and it’s just an inverter coupled to the usual AC transformer that runs at 400Hz. I was slightly worried it was a whole different power supply stack up which might be an ass to deal with.

Probably won’t ever fire up the DC option if I’m honest.

[Vince]

Got  chip marked 74HCT4060 

4060 is 4000 series CMOS of course... and 74HCT is.. well 74 series. Two different things. How can I see both merged into one single part number ! Is it a 4060 or a 74 chip ?!

That's an easy one:
4060 function and pinout in HC / HCT technology. So basically it runs off 5V only and faster than the original 4060

Oh no I am confused now... as I wrote last night, the datasheet I pulled for that 74HC/T 4060 says that HC and HCT can be supplied from 2V to 6V, not just a fixed 5V ?! 

HCT gives TTL input thresholds but I guess obviously it can only be true if you choose to power the chip at 5V rather than 6V or 2V or 4V or whatever... 

[tggzzz]

Oh I did it again.  Bought a Tek 465B 

So, Twickenham<->Chieveley<->Andover tomorrow?

Well, if you need another where the trigger/sweep doesn't work and I CBA'd to look at it...

I'll probably go to Chieveley tomorrow, since it currently looks like it won't be raining. Doubt I'll be selling anything other than pre-orders, though.

[capt bullshot]

Got  chip marked 74HCT4060 

4060 is 4000 series CMOS of course... and 74HCT is.. well 74 series. Two different things. How can I see both merged into one single part number ! Is it a 4060 or a 74 chip ?!

That's an easy one:
4060 function and pinout in HC / HCT technology. So basically it runs off 5V only and faster than the original 4060

Oh no I am confused now... as I wrote last night, the datasheet I pulled for that 74HC/T 4060 says that HC and HCT can be supplied from 2V to 6V, not just a fixed 5V ?! 

HCT gives TTL input thresholds but I guess obviously it can only be true if you choose to power the chip at 5V rather than 6V or 2V or 4V or whatever... 

Sorry for confusing you more than necessary ...
HC runs from 2 ... 6V, HCT is specified 5V +/- 0.25V or similar but will run from a wider range too. When I was talking of 5V only I was meaning this is a typical 5V logic IC, not their maximum or typical supply range, in contrary to 4000 series which are "12V logic" or "high voltage logic" as a very coarse classification. HC and HCT is just 5V to me, and I'm way too lazy to mention the whole lot of correct supply voltage ranges and their implications when talking about these logic series.

[Vince]

Ah OK, phew! 

[bd139]

Oh I did it again.  Bought a Tek 465B 

So, Twickenham<->Chieveley<->Andover tomorrow?

Well, if you need another where the trigger/sweep doesn't work and I CBA'd to look at it...

I'll probably go to Chieveley tomorrow, since it currently looks like it won't be raining. Doubt I'll be selling anything other than pre-orders, though.

Yes keeping an eye on the weather for that too. Might take that off your hands. Figure I need a parts mule. I have a bearer with me to carry it tomorrow 

I only noticed the Andover location after I paid for delivery so have asked if I can pick up anyway. I got 10% off that price with the current offer as well which was nice.

I prefer a considerably lower price but it looks like it doesn’t work through user error rather than something electrical. Of course YMMV on that.

[mnementh]

Personally the old CMOS 4000 series are DEAD other than the CD4007 which is still quite useful as it's basically uncommitted MOSFET inverter which can be snuck into various analogue circuits.

The 4000 series have one nice characteristic: operation at IIRC 3V to 15V

Back in the late 70s I used some to build a fllter with a Q of 4000 using 10% capacitors, capable of measuring 1pW using  bog-standard LF351 op amps, and a dynamic range of 180dB (90dB optical).

And of course the 4046 PLL . 4000 series small scale logic is no moer dead than any other small scale logic that isn''t 3.3V or less.
It's just the dragon stirring.

*yawwwwwwwwwwwwnnn...*

*scritch-scritch-blep*

Huhhhh? what's this now...?

mnem
why are my earfrills burning...?

[mnementh]

Back to chainsawing today after getting rained out yesterday. 
Still, it was nice to swing on my big bertha chainsaw which hadn't been used in anger for a couple of years and now the 5' tree is down it can go back into stowage until needed again....big heavy brute of a thing.
I'll get a pic later....

Well they say the plans of mice and men can go astray and today they did .....
Got the pic I promised but #2 saw (the real workhorse) didn't wanna play and cost me several hours fixing the darn thing. 

These run a CDI with a LV feed to a secondary HT coil near the cylinder and this LV lead resonates in the last 25mm although they are routed and fixed in clips and grooves on route to the HT coil. This last 25mm a known failure point yet it's the first I've ever had fail and at both ends where it terminates into a 3mm push on crimp terminal.
Just thank my lucky stars I have 3 of these units in various states of repair for one to donate the necessary bits for a fix. 
Groundhog day tomorrow ! 

Anyways a pic of 120cc Bertha sporting a 3 foot bar.

If you have a bar long enough to go through that in a single pass, or can be arsed to find some way to make clean, even cuts that big... you might wanna go ahead and cut the last several feet of it into 4-6" slabs. There's a whole subculture thing the last few decades making end and occasional tables and shite out of that; they want the slab as intact as possible, as if a giant microtome slice of the tree, bark & all. The gnarlier the better, too.

Diagonal slices are also a popular thing for coffee tables... but I'd guess it all needs to be either thick slabs to allow recutting or well-seasoned wood so it doesn't warp like crazy after the cut. But these things sell well into the thousands of dollars a copy once finished.

Just thinking of the opportunity now that the thing is cut...

mnem
I like trees. They're good for my O₂ habit.

[mnementh]

This thread has been so active lately that if you're off it for even a day you get hopelessly behind. Which I am right now so I'm not even going to try to catch up. Don't some of you have a life other than this thread? 

This is the busiest thread, and it's on eevBlog. Of course we oscillate. 

mnem
now as to how stable that oscillator is... ehhhhhhh...

[tggzzz]

Oh I did it again.  Bought a Tek 465B 

So, Twickenham<->Chieveley<->Andover tomorrow?

Well, if you need another where the trigger/sweep doesn't work and I CBA'd to look at it...

I'll probably go to Chieveley tomorrow, since it currently looks like it won't be raining. Doubt I'll be selling anything other than pre-orders, though.

Yes keeping an eye on the weather for that too. Might take that off your hands. Figure I need a parts mule. I have a bearer with me to carry it tomorrow 

I only noticed the Andover location after I paid for delivery so have asked if I can pick up anyway. I got 10% off that price with the current offer as well which was nice.

I prefer a considerably lower price but it looks like it doesn’t work through user error rather than something electrical. Of course YMMV on that.

I'll give it another check to confirm what does/doesn't work, and lob it in the back of the car. If we meet, fine; if not, fine.

[TERRA Operative]

Well, I'm an idiot...... Or Advantest could have put all the info in the fkn service manual....

After chasing my tail on the Error 05 on this R6144 Volt/Current Generator, I opened up the User manual on a whim and saw that there was more info regarding the error messages than in the Service manual!

The service manual says "Check these parts: blah blah blah" and nothing else, not even what the error means. The User manual says "This error means 'this', press these buttons to fix it".

Turns out Error 05 just needs the SRAM reset, so once I pressed the magic button on boot, it was all cleared, no errors any more. Fkn hell, if only I had read the User manual to service this unit instead of being such a dumbarse to go straight to the Service manual.....   

Anyway, now it boots with no errors (but... I did find and replace a bunch of faulty parts, so not is all wasted anyway, and I know all logic chips on the processor board are good now....). Next step is to wait for the replacement flat-flex cable to arrive from Aliexpress to replace the existing busted one for connecting to the front panel PCB.

All going well, I'll have a functioning R6144 soon, ready for adjustment and calibration. Then I'll use it to calibrate my TDS210 scope.


Anyway, back to the important things, polishing off my 5th Smirnoff. 

[med6753]

Well, I'm an idiot...... Or Advantest could have put all the info in the fkn service manual....

After chasing my tail on the Error 05 on this R6144 Volt/Current Generator, I opened up the User manual on a whim and saw that there was more info regarding the error messages than in the Service manual!

The service manual says "Check these parts: blah blah blah" and nothing else, not even what the error means. The User manual says "This error means 'this', press these buttons to fix it".

Turns out Error 05 just needs the SRAM reset, so once I pressed the magic button on boot, it was all cleared, no errors any more. Fkn hell, if only I had read the User manual to service this unit instead of being such a dumbarse to go straight to the Service manual.....   

Anyway, now it boots with no errors (but... I did find and replace a bunch of faulty parts, so not is all wasted anyway, and I know all logic chips on the processor board are good now....). Next step is to wait for the replacement flat-flex cable to arrive from Aliexpress to replace the existing busted one for connecting to the front panel PCB.

All going well, I'll have a functioning R6144 soon, ready for adjustment and calibration. Then I'll use it to calibrate my TDS210 scope.


Anyway, back to the important things, polishing off my 5th Smirnoff. 

How many times have I told myself......RTFM......after beating my head against the wall.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. 

[bd139]

Only an idiot reads the manual before doing something. I discovered that the return of investment favours those who don’t read the manual. Especially if paid hourly 

Edit: decided to write a book this afternoon while cleaning.

[mansaxel]

New TE arrival!

TDS520, with acquisition and processor errors at boot!  More data to come. Optical state: Grimy but with all parts accounted for.