Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

Do all you lot of brussels-sprout-suckers mind terribly if I just have coleslaw and like it...? 

mnem
mini-cabbages are just as dumb as mini-carrots...

[Robert763]

On TEA,
The Keithley 199 arrived. Looks very nice. Photos soon
Photos added. Looks well within specification and display is very nice 

[McBryce]

The Fluke 93 arrived too. Looks like new, seems to have had very little use. No idea what the batteries SoH is but I used it for several hours on the battery last night and it still has charge. Pretty pleased with it as a handscope. Despite it being old and having few bells or whistles, it will definitely come in handy.

McBryce.

[Saskia]

Do all you lot of brussels-sprout-suckers mind terribly if I just have coleslaw and like it...? 

mnem
mini-cabbages are just as dumb as mini-carrots...

Bring me one of those chickens.

[mnementh]

mnem
Yes, you may touch it. 

[TERRA Operative]

For anyone with a Tek TDS500/600/700 etc etc series scope, I just uploaded the TDS Family Programming Examples Software disk (063-1134-00) to Tekwiki.

https://w140.com/tekwiki/images/d/d7/063-1134-00_V1.2.zip

You're welcome.



Now to find the 'Maintenance Utility Disk'........

[Vince]

/off to count how many ATMega128A-AU is hiding in those pieces of tapes

[...}

/And the results are in: I wish 42, but the reality sez 59; now, what to do with that many ATMegas(selling is not an option)? Anyone interested?

HERE HERE  !!! 

59 is way too many I agree with you !! 

If they can cross the Atlantic, I would be more than happy to give some of them a good home.

[..]

Yes, your chips would be very much welcome here, appreciated and loved ! 

This week 10 will go your way, with surprise added.

Thank you very much ! 

[med6753]

Next TE project. Take advantage of that "dead space" and add another shelf. Will be perfect for 2400 and 400 series scopes. BOM already written up and will get started on it next week. Stay tuned.

[Specmaster]

I needed to knock out some errands at home today so I grabbed that U1231A + U1177A multimeter and IR -> Bluetooth dongle I picked up for cheap a while ago and got started by putting new batteries in the U1177A which wouldn't power up.  And groan:



Pop those out, do a fast cleanup job with an old toothbrush and it still won't power up with new batteries.  I'll go at the battery contacts properly later and see if it can be salvaged.

Next, the thermometer receiver in the bathroom conked so I took the batteries that were going to go into the U1177A and went to put them in that.  And groan:





Today seems to be the day for leaked AAA cells.  At least I was able to get the thermometer receiver cleaned up and working again.  My next test equipment project is going to be to pull everything that's battery powered and replace the batteries and start a spreadsheet to track battery changes.  I'm tossing the idea around of replacing them annually if they don't run down and get replaced sooner to stay ahead of any potential leaks damaging something that could be expensive.

I know a lot of people seek long battery life in multimeters for understandable reasons but at the same time, there is something to be said for meters running them down quick enough that they don't hang around long enough to become destructive.

Ouch!!!

Eneloops will be your friends.


Those blue ones are over ten years old.

-Pat

I think to a large extent, is just pure pot luck, I've had some old Every Ready D cells that have been installed for over 20 years and not leaked, likewise Duracell for around 10 years with no bother at all, YMMV.

[mnementh]

   Next TE project. Take advantage of that "dead space" and add another shelf.

Will be perfect for 2400 and 400 series scopes. BOM already written up and will get started on it next week. Stay tuned.

Oh good lord, Papa Smurf is reaching for his power tools... somebody get him a    stat!!!

mnem
or a glowy counter... or pulse generator... somethin'...

[Brumby]

(I can see another rope getting introduced into this thread....  )

[med6753]

   Next TE project. Take advantage of that "dead space" and add another shelf.

Will be perfect for 2400 and 400 series scopes. BOM already written up and will get started on it next week. Stay tuned.

Oh good lord, Papa Smurf is reaching for his power tools... somebody get him a    stat!!!

mnem
or a glowy counter... or pulse generator... somethin'...

Huh? What incident in the past has made others fear for their safety and run for the hills? 

I still have 4 fingers/hand and 8 toes. 

[Specmaster]

Totally agree, TH FTW.

I don't believe that I ever wrote that I find SMD horrible. It is a requirement for much of what we want to do.

True, you never wrote that, but is it not true that SMD stuff can be a real PITA to repair, some items using SMD's are impossible to repair, at least not without some really expensive gear and hands as steady as those of a surgeon

[Specmaster]

In case anyone is unaware, this is what is happening in London at the minute. I feel for those poor people affected and hope that everyone is safe and sound. If only the blonde buffoon hadn't reduced the fire cover when he should have been increasing it eh
[video]

Finally got some time to look at the footage you posted. Truly horrific. I've never lost everything in a fire and hope I never do. It's hard to imagine how the people who used to live in those burned out shells are feeling at the moment.

When I look at how little people's gardens protected them from the fire, it also makes me think about my situation...



I live in the apartment marked by the red dot at the end of the building. If the forest that my bedroom looks out towards ever caught fire, it's game over and probably so quickly I wouldn't be able to save more than my passport, my daughter and our skins.

I'm hearing reports of yet another devastating fire in the Dagenham area of East London, where a field fire has spread and caused the evacuation of 5 streets and some houses have been lost in this fire as well, Cerebus might well know more, its his neck of the woods is that.

[med6753]

I'm hearing reports of yet another devastating fire in the Dagenham area of East London, where a field fire has spread and caused the evacuation of 5 streets and some houses have been lost in this fire as well, Cerebus might well know more, its his neck of the woods is that.

Why am I getting the impression that your major metropolitan FD is ill equipped or lacks the training to effectively fight rapidly spreading brush fires? Seems like basic firefighting 101 to me. 

[bd139]

Staff shortage. No one wants to do the job. And staff cuts going back to 2010.

[Specmaster]

Staff shortage. No one wants to do the job. And staff cuts going back to 2010.

Our PM while he was mayor of London, shut 10 fire stations, sold off the spare fire engines for as little as £2 each and cut 510 jobs in 2015, then in 2017, we had that horrific fire at Grenfell Towers, which claimed 74 lives, form your own opinions on the reason why.

https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/gallery/dagenham-fire-devastating-photos-show-24543866

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40301289

[med6753]

Staff shortage. No one wants to do the job. And staff cuts going back to 2010.

That's surprising. Most paid fire departments here, and especially in large cities, are well staffed and make a good buck.

Rural fire departments like here are a different story. Most are volunteer and unpaid so yes, they are short staffed. And folks bitch about response times but no one will step up and volunteer.

[mnementh]

   Next TE project. Take advantage of that "dead space" and add another shelf.

Will be perfect for 2400 and 400 series scopes. BOM already written up and will get started on it next week. Stay tuned.

Oh good lord, Papa Smurf is reaching for his power tools... somebody get him a    stat!!!

mnem
or a glowy counter... or pulse generator... somethin'...

Huh? What incident in the past has made others fear for their safety and run for the hills? 

I still have 4 fingers/hand and 8 toes. 

We all know you haven't gotten your fix of paint fumes for a while, Papa Smurf, and are just substituting stain and varnish. It's okay... we understand; you're among friends here. We'll help any way we can.

mnem

         *just for med*

[Cubdriver]

Ouch!!!

Eneloops will be your friends.


Those blue ones are over ten years old.

-Pat

I think to a large extent, is just pure pot luck, I've had some old Every Ready D cells that have been installed for over 20 years and not leaked, likewise Duracell for around 10 years with no bother at all, YMMV.

I think it’s likely a combination of several things, as in years (ok, decades at this point) past, I rarely had a Corrodacell leak, but in the last 10-15 years or so see it alarmingly often.  I have a photo of some that began leaking in their retail package (bought from Home Depot, so not of sketchy provenance) while still several years shy of their 'best by' date.

I suspect it’s likely due to a combination of corporate bean counters and environmental regulations - the bean counters for 'value engineering' things to use the least possible amount of material in their construction, and the new regs for changing the chemistry and making it more corrosive.  The problem seems worse in the smaller cells (AA, AAA) than the bigger ones - maybe because so many are made they’ve been 'optimized' more (read that cheapened further), or being physically smaller sealing isn’t as robust and/or any internal pressure build up has less room to expand into so is inclined to squirt out sooner.

Like you, I’ve come across older ones that are dead as a door nail yet still sealed up, but far too many of more recent vintage have puked alkaline schmutz into things for me to trust them at this point.  I first learned of the Eneloops on a photography forum in 2010ish, bought some to use in flash units which tend to go through AA cells at a rather costly rate, and have been using them since then as much as possible.  There are a few things that don’t like the lower voltage (my good stud finder, for instance), but wherever else I can do so I use them now.  While it’s admittedly a very small sample size, none of them have yet leaked on me, while in the same time frame I’ve seen too many Duracells puke their guts out.

-Pat

[Kosmic]

Cheap (65$) Tek p6046 differential probe on ebay. Working order and with all accessories. I would go for it, but already have one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185500027746

[Robert763]

<snip>

I think to a large extent, is just pure pot luck, I've had some old Every Ready D cells that have been installed for over 20 years and not leaked, likewise Duracell for around 10 years with no bother at all, YMMV.
[/quote]

Not luck. Two issues: Fakes and removal of mercury
Fakes issue is obvious
Hg was added to re-combine gases. Removed bcause it's toxic initial repalcemnts din't work well. Current ones OK
So very old batteries are OK genuine current ones OK. Fakes and ones from several years ago likely not OK.

[capt bullshot]

I think it’s likely a combination of several things, as in years (ok, decades at this point) past, I rarely had a Corrodacell leak, but in the last 10-15 years or so see it alarmingly often.  I have a photo of some that began leaking in their retail package (bought from Home Depot, so not of sketchy provenance) while still several years shy of their 'best by' date.

I suspect it’s likely due to a combination of corporate bean counters and environmental regulations - the bean counters for 'value engineering' things to use the least possible amount of material in their construction, and the new regs for changing the chemistry and making it more corrosive.  The problem seems worse in the smaller cells (AA, AAA) than the bigger ones - maybe because so many are made they’ve been 'optimized' more (read that cheapened further), or being physically smaller sealing isn’t as robust and/or any internal pressure build up has less room to expand into so is inclined to squirt out sooner.

Here's an explanation:

https://www.powerstream.com/why-do-batteries-leak-white-stuff.htm

There are side reactions that generate hydrogen gas--basically the zinc breaks down the water. This gas will build up in pressure and eventually vent, driving some of the liquid electrolyte out with it. Manufacturers at one time uses mercury to form a non-reactive skin on the zinc to prevent this, but of course due to government mandates mercury is no longer used in alkaline batteries.

[bd139]

34401A. £250. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374184377229

Would buy it but I’ve already got a really nice one

[Cerebus]

WRT my recent question regarding very specific pinball transformers it seems that I was able to dig one up, I have the Hermes shipping number.
I had to cough up 300 Brussels sprouts Pesos for it though.

You can have my Brussels sprouts for all eternity if you're feeling short. 

mnem
now my broccoli... that's another story altogether. I'll fight you over that. 

If I prepare the Brussel sprouts(insert a (relatively thin)slice of garlic in each cut open stem; add a hint of fresh ground black pepper; steam it just crunchy; salt), after the first you will fight me over the rest
/off to count how many ATMega128A-AU is hiding in those pieces of tapes

Cut them in halves, dip them in boiling water for 1 minute, then fry them in a generous amount of butter with equally generous amounts of salt and pepper, until there's some browning. Serve.

Almost.

You forgot to add the bacon lardons before the frying stage. Cook to completion, then pick out the Brussel's Sprouts, discard, and serve what's left.