Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

Well that was a turn up for the books. My missing IC turned up!

RM 19 days for 2nd class signed for.

Seller has refunded already 

On the plus side, you no longer have to build the programmer or do the programming....

[bd139]

Yes I decided to use my principle of least effort here. If I procrastinate enough, maybe the problem will go away 

(do not apply to medical concerns)

[Vince]

You seem overly optimistic, sounds like you take it for granted that this chip actually works ! 
You don't know that yet, so you may still end up having to go back to programming ! 

[bd139]

It's NOS part. Will test later.

Will make sure I pay the seller on confirmation it works as this was most certainly not their fault.

[dl6lr]

Yesterday I got bored, so I grabbed the acquired -hp- 4952A and gave it a wash. Looks much better now. Opened the case and found a non-cracked RIFA.
Note to myself: Replace next time you open the cabinet.
The NiCd seems to be empty but not totally dead, squeaks about memory loss on first start but later the day it started up silently. Will replace it anyway.

The CRT is deeply burnt but readable and sharp. Possibly unobtainium.

The keyboard is working except the "3" key. SWMBO suggested to use keys 1 + 2 instead 
Unsoldered the key, opened it and cleaned the contacts, reassembled and resoldered it. It is now working like new.

Stay tuned.

[Neper]

Quite so. Now, if they started supergluing Jacob Rees-Mogg and friends to things they'd have the British public on side in no time at all. 

How about founding a royal society for gluing toffs on top of each other?

[med6753]

You seem overly optimistic, sounds like you take it for granted that this chip actually works ! 
You don't know that yet, so you may still end up having to go back to programming ! 

I have one ready to send to him if that one is duff.

[Specmaster]

Quite so. Now, if they started supergluing Jacob Rees-Mogg and friends to things they'd have the British public on side in no time at all. 

How about founding a royal society for gluing toffs on top of each other?

Sounds like a fun idea.

[mnementh]

It is my understanding that a toddy however is another thing altogether. A hot toddy is usually some form of tea, coffee, or cider with additional alcohol, drunk after dinner or before bed to aid sleep, or to take the chill off a cold evening. But it doesn't have to be hot; just that it's something alcoholic you like the taste of. The point in general being that it is some alcoholic concoction you make just for you, like some dishes are "comfort food".

I'm certain C will be along to correct this assumption shortly... I am, after all, a wine/whiskey/liqueur heathen. 

mnem
 

Well the name toddy comes from Indian 'todi' and was appropriated by British colonists and brought back home. In England a hot toddy is spirits (usually whisky)  with honey, lemon and hot water, taken for a cold, or as a warming drink when coming in from the cold and wet. In India todi (or toddy) was a sweet drink made with sap from the coconut palm. I suspect that grandma-ji or ama-ji probably held a hot todi out as a cure for all ills (cf Jewish grandmothers and Chicken Soup) and that's how it started its journey to what the British know it as today. So, for pukka hot toddy you should probably use palm sugar, not honey.

Ferment todi and you get palm wine. Distil that and you get Arrak (which is Arabic/Persian for "paint stripper and tar remover for camel's hooves").

The preparation of todi is old enough that the trade leant itself to a surname - variously spelt Todiwala, Toddiwallah, or Toddywallah.

An aside on Wallahs: The -wallah ending is typically used to mean 'bloke whose job is the previous word' so a punkahwallah is a man whose job it is to standaround and fan his betters with a punkah fan. The Brits took that ending to themselves so you'd get charwallah (teaboy) and so on. People who served in Indian were want to use the word Wallah to just mean 'bloke' as slang when they got back to the UK. My father served in the British Army in Indian pre-WWII and used to say things like "He knows a wallah who can get them for 10/- each.".


Cyrus Todiwala OBEA well-known chef

Oklay... I'm confused. Which admittedly, takes very little anymore... 

So is this broader usage a regional thing, or just colloquial usage? Or is it another case of egregious cultural misappropriation (which practice, we 'merkins have raised to an art form), and you scone-eaters who know what a proper toddy is supposed to be really wish we would fucking stop...?

mnem
Or do I need to start sending Mr Toddywallah a royalty check for stealing his name every time I misuse the term...?

[dl6lr]

It's NOS part. Will test later.

Will make sure I pay the seller on confirmation it works as this was most certainly not their fault.

I like that attitude. A lot of people would not even think about it.

[Specmaster]

Well that was a turn up for the books. My missing IC turned up!

RM 19 days for 2nd class signed for.

Seller has refunded already 

Ironic really, my son keeps berating me for using various couriers instead of RM, thing is that generally couriers are less expensive I find and normally are far quicker than their advertised service times. Then, here you show that RM do cock up at times, and before when I used to use them almost all the time, I did have loads of issues with them, both with items I sent to people and with incoming stuff.

My son sends out loads of F1 models and he never seems to have problems..odd that.

[Specmaster]

It's NOS part. Will test later.

Will make sure I pay the seller on confirmation it works as this was most certainly not their fault.

I like that attitude. A lot of people would not even think about it.

A bit difficult not to really seeing as it was a signed for delivery, and besides it is the honourable thing to do when it so clearly was RM's fault.

[Zenith]

Ironic really, my son keeps berating me for using various couriers instead of RM, thing is that generally couriers are less expensive I find and normally are far quicker than their advertised service times. Then, here you show that RM do cock up at times, and before when I used to use them almost all the time, I did have loads of issues with them, both with items I sent to people and with incoming stuff.

My son sends out loads of F1 models and he never seems to have problems..odd that.

I find RM are very variable. Using the same service, sometimes things arrive within 24 hours, sometimes it's well over a week.

[bd139]

Oh look some TE content 

Ok Tek 465B update. Couldn't resist it and have some dead time to burn. Literally burn today. Eish.

So stripped down the 465B and decided to test the pin that was controlling the faulty address line to make sure that it wasn't being shorted to something other than the 5V rail before stuffing a new chip in it. Tested fine. Looks like the chip was a random failure of some sort. I will see if I can crack open the cerdip and have a look at some point at what happened but I lack a suitable vice and microscope (at the moment  ).

To do this, I slipped the leg off something else into the hole and clipped it with the Keysight micrograbbers. They are quite good. Fluke 75 because, well it was already on the desk.



After I was happy I probably wasn't going to blow the investment up immediately, in it went:



The entire unit channel switching was retested and all is good 

Showcase shot of course of both working 465's connected to the DG811.  They have been put away as they suck up 90W and it's too fucking hot to run them for more than that.



Not visible too well from the picture is the 465B is super crisp compared to the 465. Once I get my probe situation sorted I will check the power supply out on the 465. It may need some filter caps. I have a plan for a new way to solve the capacitor problems in these scopes which I will detail shortly. It involves a simple "module" on one PCB. No individual adapter boards!

Remaining issues are the CH1 attenuator knob on the 465B is on the wrong location clearly because I was drunk when I cleaned it. The slope switch on the 465 delay timebase is broken and they both need new feet. I will sort those issues out when I've moved.

Now I'm going to sit in front of the fan with a pot noodle and beer like a chav 

Payment has been sent to the seller as discussed with them on iMessage. Always good to foster good business relations because I'm probably going to need them in the future and I'm sure they need reliable customers too.

[nixiefreqq]

Random spur of the moment TEA Acquisition... Just cos' I've always wanted one, the price was rather low and it seems to be in great condition.

McBryce.

your mileage may vary....but that is my least favorite piece of TE.

bought mine new in about 1993 and it gets very little use.

the little slide on clip ground leads on the probes are dogshit, unreliable, and mostly self destructed in the first couple of years.

had to replace the electroluminescent backlight panel about 10 years ago.  it was not too difficult but the color has never looked right since.

the banana jacks on top are used only for ohms, diode test, and mV up to 3V.  for any voltage test above 3V you have to switch to the bnc jacks and use a probe.  i always forget and it annoys the shit outa' me.

the connector on the power supply is dogshit and practically unobtanium when you have to replace it. and replace it you will.

but it is handy when you need to make isolated/differential measurements.  just slap in some batteries.  then it is for sure isolated and you are good to go.

why do i keep it?  because it is one of the things the evil one wanted out of the divorce in '94.....but i got it.

You'd have a fight on your hands if you tried to take mine away from me!   

I paid less than a set of fluke probes go for on ebay, so I thought I'd give it a go. I already have a Siglent SHS806, so I don't really (insert the forbidden n-word here) it.

McBryce.

if mine had been acquired as a bargain the negative aspects would probably not be a bother.  (maybe the real problem is its association with that evil woman?).  TE is just equipment to do a job.  TEA can be an emotional and life altering ordeal.

[GreyWoolfe]

After signing out last evening a toddy of vodka and dry was the plan and a few minutes in front of the goggle box before retiring however there was Callahan from '76 with his 44 Mag and not to watch it would've been plain rude.
So Monday nights are Dirty Harry nights for a few weeks here, ain't watched that stuff in years. 

The .44 Magnum. A truly insane cartridge. Having shot them from a genuine Dirty Harry S&W Model 29 revolver with the 8 inch barrel, I wouldn't think of using just one hand when firing it. The recoil is like stopping a train! It's quite easy to be accurate with it though, as long as you take single shots to allow some time to recover your senses before the next deafening explosion!

 

The contrast when shooting .45 ACP cartridges with the classic Colt M1911 pistol and its comparatively stubby 5 inch barrel couldn't be more striking. I could get good groupings at 25 metres standing with the Model 29. Hitting anything smaller than a barn door at 25 metres with the M1911 was a real challenge. Partly because of the short barrel, but also because despite the fact I'm right handed, I shoot left handed which means I end up dodging the cartridges as they get ejected from the side of the Colt and fly past dangerously close to my eye.

well, hubby and me used to double tap with the .44 Mag. I did sell my .500 S&W (the one with a 2.75" barrel, no comp, cuz nobody would let me try it on their range.

Had a buddy years ago had a Ruger Super Blackhawk in 44 Mag.  Was a joy to shoot, even 1 handed.  The way the revolver naturally rolled in your hand greatly reduced felt recoil.  I had an M1911 chambered in .38 Super Auto.  Had adjustable sights installed and it was pleasant to shoot and accurate enough to keep all shots on paper targets at 25 yards.  I remember being at an outdoor range once back in the day and some poser had one of those .500 S&W.  He couldn't hit paper 15 feet in front of him as he flinched badly every time he pulled the trigger.  Wonder if he was compensating for something.    Then again, I did have a Dan Wesson
357 with the 4 and 8 in heavy vent barrels.  Maybe I was compensating.  Nah. Tautech, I also owned a Beretta 945 .22 pocket pistol back then.  Stinger hypervelocity ammo would punch quarter sized holes in steel lockers at 10 feet.  I miss that one.

[med6753]

For those who think my benches are never a mess. 465B spread all over bench 1 and 2. I finally have some time today to clean this up.

The severe storms last night bypassed here. Not even a rumble of thunder. It's 8 AM here and I already have the A/C cranked up in anticipation of +90 F temps today.


 

[mnementh]

Well that was a turn up for the books. My missing IC turned up!

RM 19 days for 2nd class signed for.

Seller has refunded already 

As it wasn't his fault, you might do the honorable thing. OTOH, if they already got refunded by eBay, for the lost parcel... 

EDIT: Woops... you already did. Enlightened self-interest is a rare thing, these days... 

mnem
I am MOOP.

[Cerebus]

Quite so. Now, if they started supergluing Jacob Rees-Mogg and friends to things they'd have the British public on side in no time at all. 

How about founding a royal society for gluing toffs on top of each other?

  

With an annual competition held in Trafalgar Square? First pile higher than Nelson's Column wins?

[Cerebus]

Oklay... I'm confused. Which admittedly, takes very little anymore... 

So is this broader usage a regional thing, or just colloquial usage? Or is it another case of egregious cultural misappropriation (which practice, we 'merkins have raised to an art form), and you scone-eaters who know what a proper toddy is supposed to be really wish we would fucking stop...?

mnem
Or do I need to start sending Mr Toddywallah a royalty check for stealing his name every time I misuse the term...?

Er, I dunno, it's officially too hot to think. I'm not sure which bit you're referring to, but basically it's misappropriation of the name all the way down the line with the meaning changing the further it got from Indian.

[Cerebus]

OK, the temperature here seems to have peaked for the day at 40.48ºC. Feels like I could solder things by blowing through a straw. Am now going to go and sit in a corner and quietly melt.

[BU508A]

For those who think my benches are never a mess. 465B spread all over bench 1 and 2. I finally have some time today to clean this up.

The severe storms last night bypassed here. Not even a rumble of thunder. It's 8 AM here and I already have the A/C cranked up in anticipation of +90 F temps today.

I can't spot any mess. What are you talking about?     

[mnementh]

Yes I decided to use my principle of least effort here. If I procrastinate enough, maybe the problem will go away 

(do not apply to medical concerns)

Yes... My Welsh ancestors had a similar saying, only it lacked that sense of urgency...

mnem
*at the dentist*

[mnementh]

OK, the temperature here seems to have peaked for the day at 40.48ºC. Feels like I could solder things by blowing through a straw. Am now going to go and sit in a corner and quietly melt.

*airlifts our resident aardvark a pitcher of chilled apricot brandy and a bale of chocolate-covered ants*

mnem
"heh... let's get C wasted and just listen to him talk..."

[vk6zgo]

If you see one cockroach, there are many more hiding in the walls....
You saw 3, time to go thermonuclear. You got a nest of them somewhere.........

I was under the impression that radiation was relatively useless with cockroaches

The radiant heat from the blast would kill cockroaches, even at distances where humans would survive.
They have no way of regulating their body heat-----hit one with a paint stripper, & they expire rapidly.