Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[BU508A]

TBF I spent four days at a non aircon accommodation block (basically low grade motel) at Edwards AFB once when it was 40 oC and I didn't melt. I'm a lot less of a lard ass now so might survive still  .  Oh and Taco Bell every night 

That was a depressing week. My only trip to the US to date 

Ok dumb question but I really don't know - do you all need AC at all over there at any time of the year?

Nope.

You get it in some offices and some public transport and that’s about it.

We shipped all the pussies to the other side of the pond 

I have it in the car, where it wasn't a choice, it was already there, and I have had one in the bedroom for three summers now.

I'm not fussed by daytime heat, but our hefty Victorian end of terrace just soaks up heat in the summer and doesn't cool down much at night. I'm already a "hot sleeper" and can get too hot in bed in the middle of winter. Once we started getting summers where the bedroom temperature would not fall significantly at night I started getting unpleasantly uncomfortable. So I got a portable 4kW air conditioner and run it for a few hours before bedtime then turn it off.

Here's the Kitchen temperature for the past day as an indication of what the bedroom would be like without cooling:



(Yes, I do have a bunch of Zigbee thermometers feeding into an MQTT instance.  )

I use the car air con because it's there but could happily live without it. The best thing about it is that you can turn it on remotely and so don't have to slap your bare beshorted legs onto a red hot car seat - that alone is worth the price of admission.

If summertime wouldn't happen, I would not miss it at all.

[Cerebus]

For reference:

Lotus: will get nicked.
 
TR7: garage around it is more likely to get nicked.

There used to be a bloke, let's call him Morgan*, an ex-student from Brunel who had over the years made a habit of coming back at weekends to help out with the ticket office for Weekend gigs. As far as I can tell he'd been doing this since he graduated, either in the early years of the university or the late years of the technical college it grew out of.

Morgan was in his mid to late fifties, ugly, moon faced, double chins beneath a receding chin, a conspicuous overbite, with horn rimmed glasses that had been out of fashion for 50 years, balding with a terrible comb-over, generally describable as greasy and sweaty. He wore checked jackets with a bad tie, over-tight collar and those shit brown polyester trousers that only existed in the 1970s and were four inches too short exposing argyle socks and brown suede Hush Puppies. He used to refer to any female students helping out as "his girls**" and against all reality gave every impression of thinking of himself as some sort of "lady's man". He used to drive a TR7, and when I see or think of a TR7 it's "Morgan" that I immediately think of.

The direct relevance is that he used to park his TR7 on the road in front of the University, a place no one in their right mind parked as the mean "parking to theft" time there was on the order of 1 to 2 hours. Nobody ever touched it.

* I don't know who I think I'm fooling by changing his name. Anyone who knew him will immediately recognise the description.

** He once made the mistake of describing my mate Caroline thusly within her hearing. The dressing down was something to hear, including phrases such as "impotent greasy old pervert".

[Robert763]

And here I am still asking again myself why I am not buying a NanoVNA in the next 10 minutes

In my case it's because it's difficult to find one that isn't a shitty Chinese low ball version. They have TERRIBLE supply chain and cloning issues and half the official resellers are shipping junk ones out. The fake ones used to fail cal but they now load in firmware which ignores that cal step  .

Yep,
That's why I just bought a DG8SAQ V3 VNA. SDRkits sell them but I picked up a used one on ebay. At £145 inc shipping it's more than a nanoVNA and does not have a screen but is a far better VNA.
https://www.sdr-kits.net/introducing-DG8SAQ-VNWA3

In other news the internet and cable TV had been out from about 13:30 to 20:10 because some idiot dug up the fibre 

[tautech]

Here are some (hopefully) more sensible ebay picks to help take the taste away:
...................
Central screen goodness:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144631693525

Calling BD, recognize the timebase and channel plugins ?

[Robert763]

In other news, from the thermometer outside my front window:

As low as 20 overnight, geez, I never noticed, that we had the cooling fan all night and slept on top of the bed, it was that sticky here 

I knew fitting air-air heat pumps was a good idea 

[factory]

Here are some (hopefully) more sensible ebay picks to help take the taste away:
...................
Central screen goodness:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144631693525

Calling BD, recognize the timebase and channel plugins ?

Doesn't look good, someone has robbed two BNC connectors & the delay control. 

David

[bd139]

Telequipment. Worth 50% less than the sum of its parts. If none of the parts worked.

[tautech]

Telequipment.

Yet listed as a Tek.
Maybe mum's soldering was really so bad they wouldn't put their name on it. 

[bd139]

Probably 

I think it was a D755. Post office spec. And the label fell off. Probably like the BNCs probably fell off.

[Cerebus]

In other news, from the thermometer outside my front window:

As low as 20 overnight, geez, I never noticed, that we had the cooling fan all night and slept on top of the bed, it was that sticky here 

I knew fitting air-air heat pumps was a good idea 

I was saying to SWMBO not yesterday that I'd happily chuck the money at doing exactly that but I know this place, the logistics, the layout and the grief and disruption of physically having it fitted (or fitting it myself) is not something I'd be so sanguine about.

[bd139]

And here I am still asking again myself why I am not buying a NanoVNA in the next 10 minutes

In my case it's because it's difficult to find one that isn't a shitty Chinese low ball version. They have TERRIBLE supply chain and cloning issues and half the official resellers are shipping junk ones out. The fake ones used to fail cal but they now load in firmware which ignores that cal step  .

Yep,
That's why I just bought a DG8SAQ V3 VNA. SDRkits sell them but I picked up a used one on ebay. At £145 inc shipping it's more than a nanoVNA and does not have a screen but is a far better VNA.
https://www.sdr-kits.net/introducing-DG8SAQ-VNWA3

In other news the internet and cable TV had been out from about 13:30 to 20:10 because some idiot dug up the fibre 

Tempting. Dynamic range is better as well up to 90dB at under 100MHz. And 1Hz steps. Much better value for money. Only down side is it’s bloody windows based.

Been there with the fibre cut 

[Cubdriver]

The ugly duckling arrived today.


It doesn't display anything but decimal points and an occasional dash, but DOES appear to be autoranging - when turned on then set to auto with no input, the decimal point steps to the left predictably as if it's incrementing down to the most sensitive range.


Set to resistance, it displays a string of dashes which go away if the common and V-Ω terminals are shorted>  This makes me suspect that it is actually measuring, but there are display issues as I suspect that the dashes are an overrrange indication in the resistance mode.


More to come after I've had some time to dig into it.

-Pat

[Neper]

Aside from the fact neither car could keep the water out to save its owner's life, at least Wet Nellie had an excuse for the fact the operator had to wear SCUBA gear.

Reminds me of a Volvo 480 I once had. The first Volvo with a glued-in windscreen. We called it the racing footbath.

If only the water hadn't always dripped onto the big PCB that carried the whole control electronics. In the end, I stood next to it on the town's busiest square, the car keys in my hand, while everything electric, pop-up headlights, wipers, windscreen washer, horn, you name it, was going on and off at 1 second intervals like a mad orchestrion.

[mnementh]

For reference:

Lotus: will get nicked.
 
TR7: garage around it is more likely to get nicked.

There used to be a bloke, let's call him Morgan*, an ex-student from Brunel who had over the years made a habit of coming back at weekends to help out with the ticket office for Weekend gigs. As far as I can tell he'd been doing this since he graduated, either in the early years of the university or the late years of the technical college it grew out of.

Morgan was in his mid to late fifties, ugly, moon faced, double chins beneath a receding chin, a conspicuous overbite, with horn rimmed glasses that had been out of fashion for 50 years, balding with a terrible comb-over, generally describable as greasy and sweaty. He wore checked jackets with a bad tie, over-tight collar and those shit brown polyester trousers that only existed in the 1970s and were four inches too short exposing argyle socks and brown suede Hush Puppies. He used to refer to any female students helping out as "his girls**" and against all reality gave every impression of thinking of himself as some sort of "lady's man". He used to drive a TR7, and when I see or think of a TR7 it's "Morgan" that I immediately think of.

The direct relevance is that he used to park his TR7 on the road in front of the University, a place no one in their right mind parked as the mean "parking to theft" time there was on the order of 1 to 2 hours. Nobody ever touched it.

* I don't know who I think I'm fooling by changing his name. Anyone who knew him will immediately recognise the description.

** He once made the mistake of describing my mate Caroline thusly within her hearing. The dressing down was something to hear, including phrases such as "impotent greasy old pervert".

When I think of TR7.... I think of rust falling on my feet while I drive, double-clutching the 2-3 shift or skipping it altogether because that's the only way to get to 4th. Ifni help you if you made the mistake of parking downhill with the car in reverse; it would take both feet on the clutch pedal (and this was in my youth, when I could leg press a even ton) to get the clutch to release so you could take it out of gear.

mnem
Still 10x the car as my Mk1 Capri, tho.

[xrunner]

The ugly duckling arrived today.

-Pat

I have one I restored years ago. I practically had to re-draw the entire side panel because it was all rubbed off. Not a good job I need to re-do it better. If you need any info from a working model let me know.

[mnementh]

The ugly duckling arrived today...   

-Pat

mnem
I'm gonna tell the world; you're a dirty little girl!
Someone grab that bitch by the neck!
Rub her down, scrub her back,
Turn her inside out!
'Cause I bet she, oh, I bet she'
Let me tell you now, I bet she...
Oh, I bet she hasn't had a bath in years.

Oh, oh
Ah, ah
Yes, I bet she, oh, I bet she,
Oh, now, I bet she, yeah I bet she,
Oh, I bet she hasn't had a bath in years...

[tautech]

mnem
Still 10x the car as my Mk1 Capri, tho.

Which motor mnem ?

[mnementh]

...I have to thank whoever posted the 54654N CLIP, as the part # of the Jackal IC is the same one used in my 54615B, around it is the 40MHz oscillator & 74393 IC.

David

Which occasion...? I'm pretty sure all the regulars have posted it at least a couple times each... We loves our 246xx-es and 546xxx-es in here. 

mnem
"We support both religions, Tek and HP! Come on in, make yourself comfortable by the cathode ray's glow..."

[mnementh]

mnem
Still 10x the car as my Mk1 Capri, tho.

Which motor mnem ?

The little Cologne V4; what were they, a 1500...? 1300...? Ghahhh.     Can you believe I scratch-built headers for that fuxxoring little automotive backbirth? I thought it'd be just like my Cologne-V6 Spitfire project, only more room to work. Well that part was true... every time I'd swing a wrench, my elbow would go through some newly discovered rust spot. 

mnem
"The gift that keeps on giving..."

[DH7DN]

And here I am still asking again myself why I am not buying a NanoVNA in the next 10 minutes

In my case it's because it's difficult to find one that isn't a shitty Chinese low ball version. They have TERRIBLE supply chain and cloning issues and half the official resellers are shipping junk ones out. The fake ones used to fail cal but they now load in firmware which ignores that cal step  .

Yep,
That's why I just bought a DG8SAQ V3 VNA. SDRkits sell them but I picked up a used one on ebay. At £145 inc shipping it's more than a nanoVNA and does not have a screen but is a far better VNA.
https://www.sdr-kits.net/introducing-DG8SAQ-VNWA3

In other news the internet and cable TV had been out from about 13:30 to 20:10 because some idiot dug up the fibre 

I was considering buying DG8SAQ VNA, too. The entry level price is approx 300 GBP and it was over my budget. It may be a better soundcard  but I didn't really care about the performance because both devices are decent when compared to a professional VNA. They are comparable to a certain degree and good enough to do simple VNA measurements.

I just wanted a portable VNA device with a display for quick measurements. Joe Smith also released an excellent VNA measurement software which adds a ton of usability to the device. I've used DG8SAQ VNA at uni few years ago and it was a great tool although the software is kinda meh (Windows only, limited functionality, "crappy" interface) but people seem to be happy with it.

[tautech]

mnem
Still 10x the car as my Mk1 Capri, tho.

Which motor mnem ?

The little Cologne V4; what were they, a 1500...? 1300...? Ghahhh.     Can you believe I scratch-built headers for that fuxxoring little automotive backbirth? I thought it'd be just like my Cologne-V6 Spitfire project, only more room to work. Well that part was true... every time I'd swing a wrench, my elbow would go through some new rust spot. 

mnem
"The gift that keeps on giving..."

Oh that V4 dog, yep 
It was a 2/3rds version of the 3l V6 which many also thought were a puss bucket but they went good with the std twin throat Webber and the 3l Capri is still a sought after model as they were quite a rocket ship in their day.

Pop had a Mk4 Zepher with the 3l innit and probably the first set of wheels I did the ton in way the fuck back in the 70’s. 

[mnementh]

mnem
Still 10x the car as my Mk1 Capri, tho.

Which motor mnem ?

The little Cologne V4; what were they, a 1500...? 1300...? Ghahhh.     Can you believe I scratch-built headers for that fuxxoring little automotive backbirth? I thought it'd be just like my Cologne-V6 Spitfire project, only more room to work. Well that part was true... every time I'd swing a wrench, my elbow would go through some new rust spot. 

mnem
"The gift that keeps on giving..."

Oh that V4 dog, yep 
It was a 2/3rds version of the 3l V6 which many also thought were a puss bucket but they went good with the std twin throat Webber and the 3l Capri is still a sought after model as they were quite a rocket ship in their day.

Pop had a Mk4 Zepher with the 3l innit and probably the first set of wheels I did the ton in way the fuck back in the 70’s. 

Yeah; guy who bought it when I got sick of it wanted the motor and trans for some little French shoebox that looked like a Opel Manta. Cologne V6 was a fucking bullet-proof mule of a motor though; on the Spitfire I machined ~40mm of the divider in the stock intake out and made a plate to fit the Ford 500 2bbl... little bastard ran like hell! Would do wheelstands in 1st & 2nd, no lie! 

mnem
 

[Cubdriver]

I have one I restored years ago. I practically had to re-draw the entire side panel because it was all rubbed off. Not a good job I need to re-do it better. If you need any info from a working model let me know.

Good to know - thanks!  Fortunately, the side panel on mine is the one part of the enclosure that seems to be in good shape and looks only to need a little bit of cleaning to get the crud out of the recesses and corners.  Appreciate the warning regarding its delicacy; I'll make sure not to use anything too aggressive and not to scrub the printed areas:


I have a paper manual ordered from our favorite site, and have also downloaded one of the scanned ones from online.  If the need to pick your brain arises I will be in touch!

-Pat

[tautech]

mnem
Still 10x the car as my Mk1 Capri, tho.

Which motor mnem ?

The little Cologne V4; what were they, a 1500...? 1300...? Ghahhh.     Can you believe I scratch-built headers for that fuxxoring little automotive backbirth? I thought it'd be just like my Cologne-V6 Spitfire project, only more room to work. Well that part was true... every time I'd swing a wrench, my elbow would go through some new rust spot. 

mnem
"The gift that keeps on giving..."

Oh that V4 dog, yep 
It was a 2/3rds version of the 3l V6 which many also thought were a puss bucket but they went good with the std twin throat Webber and the 3l Capri is still a sought after model as they were quite a rocket ship in their day.

Pop had a Mk4 Zepher with the 3l innit and probably the first set of wheels I did the ton in way the fuck back in the 70’s. 

Yeah; guy who bought it when I got sick of it wanted the motor and trans for some little French shoebox that looked like a Opel Manta. Cologne V6 was a fucking bullet-proof mule of a motor though; on the Spitfire I machined ~40mm of the divider in the stock intake out and made a plate to fit the Ford 500 2bbl... little bastard ran like hell! Would do wheelstands in 1st & 2nd, no lie! 

mnem
 

Yours have the Hex rod dizzy and oil pump drive ?

[xrunner]

That's a good picture, I might be able to use that. I'm thinking of some clear laser adhesive paper I think I had for another project. Should be able to run it through Gimp magic tools and come up with something useful. I'll post something if I succeed.

Good to know - thanks!  Fortunately, the side panel on mine is the one part of the enclosure that seems to be in good shape and looks only to need a little bit of cleaning to get the crud out of the recesses and corners.  Appreciate the warning regarding its delicacy; I'll make sure not to use anything too aggressive and not to scrub the printed areas: