Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Cerebus]

Have opened a case with the seller of the original part now. Their service and communications are terrible so I’m just claiming it back via eBay now. They’re disinterested in dealing with it or sending another part out and are pushing back asking to give it another couple of days after it has been missing for two weeks now on a RM 24h delivery I paid for. So screw them. User test-equip forget it. Shame because they have a lot of tek and HP parts.

Replying to self - eBay decided in favour of me almost instantly. Refund on the way. Good job as always 

Discovered recently that due to the chip shortage, the availability of shit Arduino clones is pretty bad and the prices have gone through the roof. Considering buying the last decent "on device programmable microcontroller and electric swiss army knife" at the moment, the BBC Micro  . That and the user and printer ports give you a 6522 VIA worth of IO to play with, BASIC, assembly support and decent documentation...

Plenty of STM32F401 Black Pill boards around at around the £5 mark.

Yeah but I’m not inclined to punch myself in the balls arguing with the tool chain for them 

Funnily enough I use them for precisely the opposite reason. I set up my toolchain for STM32 stuff once and for all (using ChibiOS  & the ARM version of GCC) and it gives me no problems at all on a range of X Pill boards, ST's dev boards, and my own homebrewed boards.

[nixiefreqq]

And the ugly duckling turns into, well, a much less ugly duckling...  Couldn't quite get ALL the staining out, but some long soaks with Goof Off Gunk and Adhesive Remover Gel followed by some attention with a Mr. Clean magic eraser got the majority of it off.  I didn't want to soak the area by the front panel label too much for fear it would soak under and ruin label, so some of the staining in the nooks and crannies and edges by the label aren't as clean as I'd like them to be, but relative to how it showed up I think it looks pretty good.

Excellent job!

I printed several sets of labels on the same piece of clear laser adhesive paper. After cleaning the plastic with alcohol I taped it down on a cutting mat so it wouldn't move. I carefully aligned the label and applied it. I then removed the panel so I could hold it and use a new razor blade to cut around the outside. I used a new X-Acto blade to cut out the holes.

Honestly, if you didn't know any better you wouldn't notice there was a label on there. Pat if you need any labels let me know I got 4 left.

now that there is truly beauteous.

[nixiefreqq]

what is a bbc computer?

is it a brit thing?

(really......have no idea what that is)

[bd139]

Have opened a case with the seller of the original part now. Their service and communications are terrible so I’m just claiming it back via eBay now. They’re disinterested in dealing with it or sending another part out and are pushing back asking to give it another couple of days after it has been missing for two weeks now on a RM 24h delivery I paid for. So screw them. User test-equip forget it. Shame because they have a lot of tek and HP parts.

Replying to self - eBay decided in favour of me almost instantly. Refund on the way. Good job as always 

Discovered recently that due to the chip shortage, the availability of shit Arduino clones is pretty bad and the prices have gone through the roof. Considering buying the last decent "on device programmable microcontroller and electric swiss army knife" at the moment, the BBC Micro  . That and the user and printer ports give you a 6522 VIA worth of IO to play with, BASIC, assembly support and decent documentation...

Plenty of STM32F401 Black Pill boards around at around the £5 mark.

Yeah but I’m not inclined to punch myself in the balls arguing with the tool chain for them 

Funnily enough I use them for precisely the opposite reason. I set up my toolchain for STM32 stuff once and for all (using ChibiOS  & the ARM version of GCC) and it gives me no problems at all on a range of X Pill boards, ST's dev boards, and my own homebrewed boards.

Ah I’ve got an AVR GCC tool chain I just unzip and go with on Debian. Just type “make deps” to install all the packages,  “make” to compile and “make prog” to zap with a USBasp programmer. Fill in main.c and job done.

[bd139]

what is a bbc computer?

is it a brit thing?

(really......have no idea what that is)

Yes it is. They didn’t sell in America.

Extremely important bit of kit historically. The guys who designed it designed the ARM processor that everyone has loads of everywhere. 6502 machine which was highly extensible and had a powerful OS, BASIC and assembler built in.

Emulator here which is quite frankly bloody amazing: https://virtual.bbcmic.ro/?disc1=elite.ssd&autoboot

While everyone was peeing their panties over m68k turds we had proper 32 bit RISC machines here in 1987 

https://youtu.be/MNXypBxNGMo

Edit: I’m sure everyone will come along and extol the virtues of the competing platforms of the era but they lacked versatility and quality, something Acorn was already on top of as they were a fairly extensive industrial computer supplier already.

[nixiefreqq]

thanks.   found the wiki page for bbc micro.


got it now.   

[PA0PBZ]

what is a bbc computer?

is it a brit thing?

(really......have no idea what that is)

Yes it is. They didn’t sell in America.

Funny you'd say that, I have a model here that was made for the US market with lots of shielding to comply to whatever it needed to. I guess the fact that I have one confirms that they didn't sell (very well) in the US.

[bd139]

what is a bbc computer?

is it a brit thing?

(really......have no idea what that is)

Yes it is. They didn’t sell in America.

Funny you'd say that, I have a model here that was made for the US market with lots of shielding to comply to whatever it needed to. I guess the fact that I have one confirms that they didn't sell (very well) in the US.

Yes they pushed a load over there which were used in schools then replaced with Macs (and C64’s if I remember for tax reasons) fairly quickly. The backlogged stock was re-engineered for PAL standards and sold cheap on the European market. That’s probably where yours came from. If you look inside there’s usually a bunch of DIN sockets with shitty soldering wired to the board with jump wires which was part of the rework.

Been using BBCs a while here (1982)

[tautech]

Just done something really stupid and no it wasn't a TE purchase.
Went into workshop to continue work on a project. I had "borrowed" the IEC lead from the METCAL to power something last night because it was handy. So today I plugged it in and then went to change the bit, It had been off all night so I didn't bother with the silicone pad. Yes, the damm power button was in and the bits get hot very quick. I now have 1" long blisters on my thumb and forefinger and a 1/4" one on the second finger 
Yes, correct first aid and aloe vera gel was applied but I still feel like a right twit and it still hurts...

WTF, you been watching these soldering tutorials again ?
Obviously you weren't looking at her fingers ! 

[BU508A]

Been using BBCs a while here (1982)

And for the curtains, were you advised by med6753?

      

[mnementh]

Just done something really stupid and no it wasn't a TE purchase.
Went into workshop to continue work on a project. I had "borrowed" the IEC lead from the METCAL to power something last night because it was handy. So today I plugged it in and then went to change the bit, It had been off all night so I didn't bother with the silicone pad. Yes, the damm power button was in and the bits get hot very quick. I now have 1" long blisters on my thumb and forefinger and a 1/4" one on the second finger 
Yes, correct first aid and aloe vera gel was applied but I still feel like a right twit and it still hurts...

An all too familiar pain. More than once (no, I refuse to admit the exact number ) I have removed a tip from my MetCal or OLED T12 station, put the tip and potholder on the bench while I plug a new tip in, then grabbed the still-hot tip to put it away bare-handed.

Your particular failure mode couldn't happen on my bench, as the T12 has a captive cord and my old MX500 doesn't do hot-swap; you have to flip the power off/on any time a tip is removed or handle unplugged.

mnem
Why do I smell grilling hot dogs?

[Zoli]

Just done something really stupid and no it wasn't a TE purchase.
Went into workshop to continue work on a project. I had "borrowed" the IEC lead from the METCAL to power something last night because it was handy. So today I plugged it in and then went to change the bit, It had been off all night so I didn't bother with the silicone pad. Yes, the damm power button was in and the bits get hot very quick. I now have 1" long blisters on my thumb and forefinger and a 1/4" one on the second finger 
Yes, correct first aid and aloe vera gel was applied but I still feel like a right twit and it still hurts...

Overall I have something like 5cm² of solder scars, the oldest is 47 years old, and still clearly visible.
As side note, before I had thermally controlled irons, I used to clean the tip of the soldering gun with my left thumb and pointer; after a couple of days of work(I've soldered largely intermittently back then) the fingers became 220 resistant(don't ask me how I know...)

[bd139]

Been using BBCs a while here (1982)

And for the curtains, were you advised by med6753?

      

 

[Cerebus]

Been using BBCs a while here (1982)

And for the curtains, were you advised by med6753?

      

Na, they're not pink!

[mnementh]

Have opened a case with the seller of the original part now. Their service and communications are terrible so I’m just claiming it back via eBay now. They’re disinterested in dealing with it or sending another part out and are pushing back asking to give it another couple of days after it has been missing for two weeks now on a RM 24h delivery I paid for. So screw them. User test-equip forget it. Shame because they have a lot of tek and HP parts.

Replying to self - eBay decided in favour of me almost instantly. Refund on the way. Good job as always 

Discovered recently that due to the chip shortage, the availability of shit Arduino clones is pretty bad and the prices have gone through the roof. Considering buying the last decent "on device programmable microcontroller and electric swiss army knife" at the moment, the BBC Micro  . That and the user and printer ports give you a 6522 VIA worth of IO to play with, BASIC, assembly support and decent documentation...

Plenty of STM32F401 Black Pill boards around at around the £5 mark.

Yeah but I’m not inclined to punch myself in the balls arguing with the tool chain for them 

That's why I suggested the SAMD21. If you don't feel like punching yourself in the balls with your least favorite Python IDE, you can wipe the bootloader and punch yourself in the balls with ArduIDE.

2 kinds of    for twice the pleasure!!! 

mnem
Or just use the scope that already works.

[BU508A]

Been using BBCs a while here (1982)

And for the curtains, were you advised by med6753?

      

Na, they're not pink!

The picture is from 1982, so you can expect further development on the part of med6753.

  

[mnementh]

On the Bench ALL OVER the EFFING BENCH Tonight...



A few days ago I got a bug up my arse to make a debugging breakout for the 54600A/54621D J900 connector; I needed to be able to get probes on with the monitor live and I needed to be able to insert a substitute BRIGHTNESS pot for the CDM-7SF191 monitor. You know, just in case there might be a easy way to make it work.

   

I started with a scrap of PCB I had that was already the right size, then added a bit of socket header and pin header, then on pins 7-12 I substituted pins from Dupont splice header to be able to use common Dupont female breadboarding jumpers to break out the signals for testing. 

   

Here's the pinout (ribbon plug flipped hole-side up) and the finished breakout in place on the back of the 54600A.

   

First thing I wanted to look at was the full-bright vs half-bright signals on the 54600A; as expected, they are TTL.



After poking around pins 7-12 of the 54621D, I found only one that looked anything like signal. Rigol is displaying VSync & HSync of both scopes; looks like there's additional information carried on the 54621D's VSync, but otherwise the same TTL signals. Pins 7, 8, 9, & 12 I couldn't distinguish anything valid apart from ambient noise; pin 10 is connected to GND fill on mainboard.

   

Pin 11 has signal; it varies from 0.6-1.2V P-P. HP is showing a zoom of a single wave captured as close as I could manage to the same time as that on LeSiglent. I want to say VGA of some sort, but the porches aren't always where I expect them to be; maybe blanking the screen or writing text, I suspect?

Unfortunately for my hopes of modding the CDM-7SF191 to work in place of the missing CDM-7SX191, it appears the output from the 54621D is a single-channel analog signal with TTL sync. My first guess would be SVGA at 800 x 600. Either that, or the other pins are dead and that points to what killed this scope in the first place.

Later, I may drop the mainboard on the 54621D just to poke around, see if those pins at J900 go somewhere.

But hey... the Rigol and LeSiglent both got used in anger today. Made it pretty clear my thoughts of selling off the 1054Zed were ill-considered.

mnem
 

[Vince]

On the Bench ALL OVER the EFFING BENCH Tonight...

mnem
 

Wow, the old HP Megazoom looks so beautiful compared to the other scopes. It just oozes charm and beauty 


Thanks for justifying me having 40+ scopes here, and 2 dozen probes... I don't have a GAS problem, no, I am merely trying to be prepared for the day where I will actually do something like you did... I have now an excuse. I don't feel guilty or silly or unreasonable any longer. I feel rather perfectly lucid and rational.

Thank you so much 

That said, I think I could still downsize from 40+ to say 30 scopes.... maybe. Just... maybe.

[tautech]

That said, I think I could still downsize from 40+ to say 30 scopes.... maybe. Just... maybe.

Down to just 16 here however another 11 are coming and another 10 to follow that.
Downsizing is certainly possible and generally very beneficial. 

[Vince]

That does not count, I am sure these scopes are only in transit and will be transferred to their actual owner once they click the "Buy" button on Tautech Website....

[tautech]

That does not count, I am sure these scopes are only in transit and will be transferred to their actual owner once they click the "Buy" button on Tautech Website....

We don't do the Buy Now BS and instead work with customers to find the best fit for their needs......not everyone has enough experience to know what their best fit might be.
Interesting one this week is a fine example, chap wanted a cheap and basic scope something like Med has, SDS1052DL that we don't normally stock but against better judgement got a couple for those that are on a tight budget whereas normally our rock bottom unit is SDS1202X-E like BD has which offer soooooo much more for not a lot more cost.
The DL really interested him until he lined it up against the 2ch X-E then he dove a bit deeper into his pockets and made a far better purchase that gives him a scope to grow into as skills develop.....this stuff is just another day at the office however you never tire from fitting any customer into a better choice for their needs.

Another this week was for a student doing a Masters or something needing a 350 MHz DSO and thinking they would need to dig deep for a 5kX series scope like the one posted on P5054 yet a much cheaper and suitably capable SDS2352X-E is available for just $ 840.....the order came through the very next morning and another Uni is setting us up as a supplier.
It's not always about upselling. 

[cyclin_al]

Searching for equipment pretty broadly by manufacturer name to see what turns up locally can cause some frustration.  A lot of Hickock products were manufactured under license here by Stark.

The result:  Tons of merchandise from the Ironman movies with the occasional piece of interesting electronics mixed in.

I think I have a similar search going.  I too would like an interesting piece of Stark gear.

My son is a huge fan of Ironman, so he would think it was cool also.  It might be inspirational for electronics for him???
By the way, in the Captain America film, there is some Stark gear.  Not sure if it is real Stark gear, or if it something else with the Stark label added simply to make the link to Ironman.

-- happy hunting!

[TERRA Operative]

I printed several sets of labels on the same piece of clear laser adhesive paper. After cleaning the plastic with alcohol I taped it down on a cutting mat so it wouldn't move. I carefully aligned the label and applied it. I then removed the panel so I could hold it and use a new razor blade to cut around the outside. I used a new X-Acto blade to cut out the holes.

Honestly, if you didn't know any better you wouldn't notice there was a label on there. Pat if you need any labels let me know I got 4 left.

When I make labels like this, I go one step further and laminate over the top of the laser print with a second layer of either clear packing tape or a scrap bit of the adhesive paper.
That way the graphics will never ever get scratched off again.

[vk6zgo]

Enough already!

I agree. All that arguing is why I don't post nearly as much as I used to. I have better things to do. I've been waiting to post an update but not until that crap dies down.

You're making up for it on a "more fun" thread!  

[TERRA Operative]

Getting solar now has my attention .... if I can get myself motivated to dive in.  Two storey freestanding house with roof orientation and pitch within 2º of ideal for a fixed installation, plus it's a gable roof, so a nice rectangular area available, with only a solar hot water panel to work around.  Afternoon shading from a spectacular Jacaranda in my front yard is a nuisance, but the wife loves that tree.  I can't get too gung-ho about trimming that as there is an absolutely massive gum tree across the road that I can't touch that will also shade things.  Microinverters feel like the appropriate direction, but that's just one of a couple of significant decisions that will require some homework.

I've sure that your friends here could *ahem* find a way to ameliorate the problem. There are a range of solutions available:

• The German solution, where the tree gets accelerated up off to Valhalla by chemical propellants, brisance varying from none to "Oh shit".
• The New York farmboy solution where they discover too late that an over-engined, over-weight vehicle really does only go in straight lines. (Will require assistant to "hold mah beer")
• The mid New York solution where they get accidentally covered in non-breathing, impervious blue paint while re-painting TE cases.
• The English solution, where I talk them to death.

 

Or a sneaky couple of copper nails hammered in flush to make them hidden.....