Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

Went to the Chippenham hamfest. Put some treasures in the car, but couldn't be bothered to try to sell anything in a field in the drizzle.

One bloke had a three Tek2712 and two Tek492 21GHz spectrum analysers. One of the former was shown working on a pure sine wave inverter; the display was just about visible. One 492 had a broken blue screen shield and was missing a handle, which is essential for that lump of metal. Said he would sell them for £300, but hadn't when I left.

Didn't get much. A couple of metal enclosures for £1 each, yet another Cropico resistance box (cal ran out in 2014) all resistors measure OK, and some banana plugs.

I don't think much is sold at rallies for over £250 a pop.

What with one thing and another I missed it. It's small but it's been OK and worth the trip when I've been there in the past.

FRARS and Rugby are next for me. Rugby has been pretty good. I used to go up the A429 (Fosse Way) which was a nice drive, but they've turned it into one big speed trap.

I’m considering FRARS. Can make a day out of it and go and play on the coast for a bit.

Main concern is that it’s close to my moving date and I’ve got enough shit already to move 

[Brumby]

Yeah saw that one and considered it. Have too many meters already 

Are you sure you belong here...?   

[bd139]

Yeah saw that one and considered it. Have too many meters already 

Are you sure you belong here...?   

I’m not suggesting that I am not going to add more. I’m suggesting that I need to buy more power supplies before I buy more multimeters 

[Brumby]

Hmmmmm.... call me suspicious.

[mnementh]

There you have it... one freshly-minted [hp] challenge coin.

mnem

    fucking coffee...

[Vince]

What purpose does it serve ? Can I at least shove it into Saskia's Pinball machines to get a free game ??

[Zenith]

Went to the Chippenham hamfest. Put some treasures in the car, but couldn't be bothered to try to sell anything in a field in the drizzle.

One bloke had a three Tek2712 and two Tek492 21GHz spectrum analysers. One of the former was shown working on a pure sine wave inverter; the display was just about visible. One 492 had a broken blue screen shield and was missing a handle, which is essential for that lump of metal. Said he would sell them for £300, but hadn't when I left.

Didn't get much. A couple of metal enclosures for £1 each, yet another Cropico resistance box (cal ran out in 2014) all resistors measure OK, and some banana plugs.

I don't think much is sold at rallies for over £250 a pop.

What with one thing and another I missed it. It's small but it's been OK and worth the trip when I've been there in the past.

Agreed on both points.

FRARS and Rugby are next for me. Rugby has been pretty good. I used to go up the A429 (Fosse Way) which was a nice drive, but they've turned it into one big speed trap.

Fosse Way is still nicer than the M5/M42, and I'n happy it isn't so much of a death trap. Looks like a similar time/distance to RATS and FRARS, dammit!

Sounds like we aren't too far apart; I'm near Brizzle.

I'm not a speed demon. I've only picked up one ticket ever, and that was in a new 30mph limit. I really don't like driving and keeping an eye open for speed traps. I think it's dangerous. I'd rather concentrate on driving.

I've driven to Weymouth (fairly close to  Wimbourne) a few times. It's not that far, but the roads aren't great.

We used to work for different parts of the same large company. I remembered your name because you used to post on alt.sci.skeptic. I introduced myself at the Chippenham rally a year back.

I'm sure you live south of Bristol. I live north of Bristol.

There are a few rallies later in the year that are a bit far, but I think I'll do. Milton Keynes or Torbay. Hack Green because it's been recommended.

[Specmaster]

Yeah saw that one and considered it. Have too many meters already 

I did consider it myself for a while there, but decided against it after discovering that my occupational pension pot has had almost 30% of its value wiped out since Dec 2021 thanks to this bloody cost of living crisis. So I'll have to keep on with my state pension and topping that up monthly from my inheritance that Mum left me, while hoping that the economy turns around and starts to inflate the pension pot again, fingers crossed 

Mind you, it would keep my other 1906 company, trouble is that it has no bleeding diode mode 

[Specmaster]

Hmmmmm.... call me suspicious.

I did and you never answered me 

[Specmaster]

What purpose does it serve ? Can I at least shove it into Saskia's Pinball machines to get a free game ??

I think if you tried that, you might get 50gms shoved somewhere you might regret. 

[Vince]

Sorry Saskia, they are all a bunch of perverts here as you can see, you can't say nothing without them twisting it 

[Specmaster]

Sorry Saskia, they are all a bunch of perverts here as you can see, you can't say nothing without them twisting it 

I think Saskia already knows that by now 

[exor]

Now something old again: OR-X 311 from year 1991, made in Israel, used only few times during these 30 years.

I like the sturdy construction and feeling of quality, hybrid circuits, Amphenol connectors, Bourns potentiometers, stainless steel screws and nice output attenuators. And it even has a frequency counter.

But those knobs are quite ugly I have lots of knobs for 4mm, 6mm and 6,35mm shafts but these are 3,2mm, have to order proper ones some day.

[Saskia]

What purpose does it serve ? Can I at least shove it into Saskia's Pinball machines to get a free game ??

no.
you need Euros for that, but I am taking bribes ...

[Zenith]

Went to the Chippenham hamfest. Put some treasures in the car, but couldn't be bothered to try to sell anything in a field in the drizzle.

One bloke had a three Tek2712 and two Tek492 21GHz spectrum analysers. One of the former was shown working on a pure sine wave inverter; the display was just about visible. One 492 had a broken blue screen shield and was missing a handle, which is essential for that lump of metal. Said he would sell them for £300, but hadn't when I left.

Didn't get much. A couple of metal enclosures for £1 each, yet another Cropico resistance box (cal ran out in 2014) all resistors measure OK, and some banana plugs.

I don't think much is sold at rallies for over £250 a pop.

What with one thing and another I missed it. It's small but it's been OK and worth the trip when I've been there in the past.

FRARS and Rugby are next for me. Rugby has been pretty good. I used to go up the A429 (Fosse Way) which was a nice drive, but they've turned it into one big speed trap.

I’m considering FRARS. Can make a day out of it and go and play on the coast for a bit.

Main concern is that it’s close to my moving date and I’ve got enough shit already to move 

When you move you wonder where all the stuff came from.

Whenever I go to these things, houseroom is always at the back of my mind when tempted to acquire any more junk. No great big Marconi RF sig gens. Been there done it. Back in the day they could be picked up for £5 to £10 - I think they are a lot more now. Even if you can get them to work, they are just too bloody big.

[bd139]

No they are still £20 for a boat anchor one. I saw someone cart one off on a parcel trolley. I don't want one of those either. I was slightly tempted but couldn't be bothered to carry it 

Just nailed hopefully a simple repair job. Limping Black Star Meteor 600MHz counter for £19.99 delivered. Not yellowed yet!

"Initially powered on. No flashes on and off."

Almost guaranteed to be the blue Philips cap on the front panel (had the same issue twice before  )

[mnementh]

   There you have it... one freshly-minted [hp] challenge coin.

mnem

fucking coffee...

What purpose does it serve ? Can I at least shove it into Saskia's Pinball machines to get a free game ??

I suppose you could Google and find out what a challenge coin is... 



But in this particular case, it's what results when these bits fall off because you tried to print at too low resolution with crunky old moisture-laden filament and get crap layer adhesion. 

mnem

[bd139]

That quality of print would be perfect for printing very genuine broken HP feet 

[Zenith]

No they are still £20 for a boat anchor one. I saw someone cart one off on a parcel trolley. I don't want one of those either. I was slightly tempted but couldn't be bothered to carry it 

Just nailed hopefully a simple repair job. Limping Black Star Meteor 600MHz counter for £19.99 delivered. Not yellowed yet!

"Initially powered on. No flashes on and off."

Almost guaranteed to be the blue Philips cap on the front panel (had the same issue twice before  )

I hadn't asked the prices but thought they were a lot more than that now. I've seen them for silly money, £150-£200, on ebay, but that's ebay and asking and getting are two different things. I didn't check the completed listings.

The Black Star Meteor is a nice neat little thing. You could probably fit about ten of those into the case of a TF801.

[bd139]

Yeah saw that one and considered it. Have too many meters already 

I did consider it myself for a while there, but decided against it after discovering that my occupational pension pot has had almost 30% of its value wiped out since Dec 2021 thanks to this bloody cost of living crisis. So I'll have to keep on with my state pension and topping that up monthly from my inheritance that Mum left me, while hoping that the economy turns around and starts to inflate the pension pot again, fingers crossed 

Mind you, it would keep my other 1906 company, trouble is that it has no bleeding diode mode 

Every meter tends to have a diode mode. In 2K resistance range generally leads to diode drop being reported.

1906 is no exception (check the manual)

[bd139]

No they are still £20 for a boat anchor one. I saw someone cart one off on a parcel trolley. I don't want one of those either. I was slightly tempted but couldn't be bothered to carry it 

Just nailed hopefully a simple repair job. Limping Black Star Meteor 600MHz counter for £19.99 delivered. Not yellowed yet!

"Initially powered on. No flashes on and off."

Almost guaranteed to be the blue Philips cap on the front panel (had the same issue twice before  )

I hadn't asked the prices but thought they were a lot more than that now. I've seen them for silly money, £150-£200, on ebay, but that's ebay and asking and getting are two different things. I didn't check the completed listings.

The Black Star Meteor is a nice neat little thing. You could probably fit about ten of those into the case of a TF801.

Depends how much the seller is lying about them generally. All the good stuff at hamfests is under the table and is either broken, robbed or not working. That's also where the fun is. I've seen stupid prices like £350 for an untested 2022 but I got a working 3311A function generator from the same guy for £20 

Yeah the Meteor is also mostly an empty box.

[mnementh]

Sorry Saskia, they are all a bunch of perverts here as you can see, you can't say nothing without them twisting it 

I think Saskia already knows that by now 

Wait... what...? Somebody's being a perv in here and it wasn't me...? 

mnem
*resident pervy little dwagon fancier*

[mnementh]

That quality of print would be perfect for printing very genuine broken HP feet 

Seems to me there's already a glut on the market for those... 

mnem
that's okay... I can send you all the broken bits. It'll be no tribble at all.   

[Robert763]

Bouht a vintage geiger counter on ebay. Conditon statement was used but description said "untested. but we all know that ebay consider the selected condition paramount.
It arrived today and guess what, two very badly corroded D cells inside  second one won't come out at all.
Also turned out it didn't have the advertised beta sensitive tube either.
A nice meassage to the seller got "you have to pay for return postage" and  "can't list as anything other than new or used in that category" which is not true. I ponited this out ad said I'd take a 50% refund. They said no somewhat rudely 
So I said I can't post it back becuase the knackerd battery won't come out and Royal Mail says you can't post any kind of damaged battery.
Awaiting a reply but Think I'll be opening a case.

[Specmaster]

Bouht a vintage geiger counter on ebay. Conditon statement was used but description said "untested. but we all know that ebay consider the selected condition paramount.
It arrived today and guess what, two very badly corroded D cells inside  second one won't come out at all.
Also turned out it didn't have the advertised beta sensitive tube either.
A nice meassage to the seller got "you have to pay for return postage" and  "can't list as anything other than new or used in that category" which is not true. I ponited this out ad said I'd take a 50% refund. They said no somewhat rudely 
So I said I can't post it back becuase the knackerd battery won't come out and Royal Mail says you can't post any kind of damaged battery.
Awaiting a reply but Think I'll be opening a case.

I think that in the section the seller is talking about, they are correct, however, there is still plenty of opportunity when they invite you to give a more detailed description further in the listing. Go ahead and open a dispute, the seller is not going to play ball with you, I doubt.