Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[SoundTech-LG]

Always liked the gold trim and wood sides, performed nicely as well. quite a heavy piece though.
CDP-x779ES Wonder though if it's still working. Need to dust it off and find out.
Laser probably dead or spindle motor froze by now...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/224227102895?hash=item3434fa10af:g:UB8AAOSwAjVfpzZk

[SoundTech-LG]

Specifications

Disc format: CD

Digital converter: 2 x CXD2562Q

CD Mechanism: KSS-272A

Frequency response: 2Hz to 20kHz

Dynamic range: 100dB

Signal to Noise Ratio: 119dB

Channel separation: 110dB

Total harmonic distortion: 0.0015%

Line output: 2V

Digital outputs: coaxial, optical

Dimensions: 470 x 125 x 375mm

Weight: 16.5kg     HA!! Beat ya' by .5 kG !!!

Accessories: RM-D995 remote commander

Year: 1992

[Zenith]

Also brings back memories of the green glowing eye to tune your radio on. If I'm right they were called "cat eyes"?

Edit: Yes got it right https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_eye_tube

They were also used in tape recorders as level meters, and in some test equipment such as bridges. They were also used as indicators in the direction finding part of the R1155 (British WWII airborne receiver). The end on viewed ones (EM34 etc) only stayed bright for a few hundred hours. They came out because in the 30s valves were cheaper than moving coil meters.

There were loads of different types.

http://www.solorb.com/elect/misc/magiceye

[Saskia]

won't import high end stuff from the US Too risky in terms of shipping.

[factory]

As long as they're using NOS surplus Russian nixies, and not Burroughs or National tubes that have been obtained by scrapping out vintage gear, I'm a little less annoyed by them, but only slightly - still don't like repurposing destroying any test gear to make a clock.  If you want a clock, make a damned clock, and build an enclosure for it - don't strip something else.

-Pat

Nixie clocks are one of my pet peeves. And as for wrecking a nice piece of vintage equipment to make one. GRRRRRHHHH!!!!

I've got a couple of vintage TE clocks, these were made by a few TE manufacturers for adding timecode to recorder printouts & tape recording. In the case of the HP can also be used to automate the printing, with several selectable rates.





Bought some used tubes last night that will hopefully do for the Systron, it's been used so much that many tubes have metallic deposits inside the glass, making them dark & useless.

David

[Specmaster]

<snip>

Exactly. The three pushbuttons on the left switch between four presets and the big tuning dial. The frequencies were set by the dealer to BBC Radio 2, 3, and 4 (Radio 1 was medium wave only) and the frequency of the local BBC station. There was nothing else on FM at the time. Its successor, the T48, didn't even have a dial but only buttons for the four BBC stations. Those were the days...

Back in those days, I don't think that here in the UK there was any other choice of FM station at the time. Hang  about, there might have been in London area, I think Capital Radio was around then.

[Cubdriver]

B&K Precision and Sencore, based on what I've heard from people who've used them professionally, are considered to be high end in the category of 'service grade' instrumentation.

-Pat

I think Hickok falls into the category too but I also think they built counterfeit Tek Type 535's for the military.

Agreed, though I tend to think of Hickok as more an old-school TE manufacturer since they are best known for their tube testers and had been around forever.  Kind of a notch above service grade and more industrial level (made up by me just now to explain my thinking), which in my mind is below 'lab', like HP and Tek, but above 'service'.  (I never claimed to make much sense!)

Funnily enough, I recently acquired a Hickok transistor tester that basically looks like a baby tube tester - same enclosure design as their other testers - hinged tolex-covered clamshell case with a sloped panel and a roll chart.  I put a new power cord on it, but haven’t yet played with it much.

-Pat

[nixiefreqq]

always did want a nixie time code generator, but never came across one.

this one has to do as the big ass clock above my desk.

[Cerebus]

Not sure if I still have it somewhere, but the small tuning meter on the lower left looks very familiar.

Also brings back memories of the green glowing eye to tune your radio on. If I'm right they were called "cat eyes"?

Edit: Yes got it right https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_eye_tube

Back in the 60s/70s I used to have a Philips reel to reel tape recorder that used a magic eye tube as the recording level meter.

[Cubdriver]

As long as they're using NOS surplus Russian nixies, and not Burroughs or National tubes that have been obtained by scrapping out vintage gear, I'm a little less annoyed by them, but only slightly - still don't like repurposing destroying any test gear to make a clock.  If you want a clock, make a damned clock, and build an enclosure for it - don't strip something else.

-Pat

Nixie clocks are one of my pet peeves. And as for wrecking a nice piece of vintage equipment to make one. GRRRRRHHHH!!!!

I've got a couple of vintage TE clocks, these were made by a few TE manufacturers for adding timecode to recorder printouts & tape recording. In the case of the HP can also be used to automate the printing, with several selectable rates.





Bought some used tubes last night that will hopefully do for the Systron, it's been used so much that many tubes have metallic deposits inside the glass, making them dark & useless.

David

I would love to have one of those HP clocks.  Currently have a Kinemetrics 468-DC True Time receiver with a panaplex display, but unfortunately the signal it’s meant to use was discontinued at the beginning of 2005, so for now it’s a paperweight.  At some point I’ll figure out a way to drive it.

-Pat

[duckduck]

Where is everyone? We have a relatively new TEA poster that needs our assistance:

I've got the option to buy an HP esa-l1500a spectrum analyzer from a friend, hmmmm, should I should I not....it would be nice to add a much more modern SA to my line of older Marconi mega boat anchors.

He's not a hoarder/collector like me, so as he's getting a Rigol, which is much smaller and compact, he's willing to let the HP go......

 

Squarewave, we in Test Equipment Anonymous hear your plea for help. I think I speak for everyone when I say that since the HP SA is test equipment, you should definitely buy it.

It is rare to have a chance to buy test equipment from people that you can trust. When you show up to collect it, make sure to ask your friend if they have anything else that they would like to sell.

Also, you are not a "hoarder". You are a collector of vintage electronic measuring instuments, helping to keep history alive. Wear your TEA badge with pride.

EDIT:

<SNIP>
I've got a couple of vintage TE clocks, these were made by a few TE manufacturers for adding timecode to recorder printouts & tape recording. In the case of the HP can also be used to automate the printing, with several selectable rates.



<SNIP>

That is simply beautiful.

[Cubdriver]

Here’s a pic of the Hickok transistor tester:


Just plugged it in in an effort to recharge the internal batteries, but I suspect I will be replacing them given their age.

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

I've got the option to buy an HP esa-l1500a spectrum analyzer from a friend, hmmmm, should I should I not....it would be nice to add a much more modern SA to my line of older Marconi mega boat anchors.

He's not a hoarder/collector like me, so as he's getting a Rigol, which is much smaller and compact, he's willing to let the HP go......

 

Whoops - missed this earlier.  Agree w/ duckduck - buy it.  And you are a conservator of vintage electronic equipment, not a hoarder.  Hoarders keep old newspapers and magazines and empty pizza boxes.  We collectors and preservers of vintage gear are on a much higher plane.
(Now if I could just convince my friends of that….  )

-Pat

[Neomys Sapiens]

Here’s a pic of the Hickok transistor tester:

Just plugged it in in an effort to recharge the internal batteries, but I suspect I will be replacing them given their age.

-Pat

Indeed those ears do convey a rather sceptical assessment!

[Cerebus]

<snip>

Exactly. The three pushbuttons on the left switch between four presets and the big tuning dial. The frequencies were set by the dealer to BBC Radio 2, 3, and 4 (Radio 1 was medium wave only) and the frequency of the local BBC station. There was nothing else on FM at the time. Its successor, the T48, didn't even have a dial but only buttons for the four BBC stations. Those were the days...

Back in those days, I don't think that here in the UK there was any other choice of FM station at the time. Hang  about, there might have been in London area, I think Capital Radio was around then.

It's going to depend on the exact date of that set. FM transmission of  the home service, light programme and third programme was carried on FM from the 50s. The change to Radio 2, 3 and 4 was 1967 from memory. Commercial radio wasn't licensed until 1973, when LBC first started broadcasting on [checks] Oct 8th on both FM and AM.

[bd139]

Here’s a pic of the Hickok transistor tester:


Just plugged it in in an effort to recharge the internal batteries, but I suspect I will be replacing them given their age.

-Pat

Impressive looking device.

However I always thought that transistor testers were a bit snake oil compared to valve testers. It's like there was a market that needed to be filled even though it was obsolete. You could do all the service level tests on a transitor with a crappy analogue multimeter, a battery and a couple of resistors 

Edit: all the lab and production level tests would require a curve tracer, signal generator and an impedance bridge.

[Per Hansson]

Curious Marc got his hands on a HP 711A 500V PSU from the early 60's.
And he replaced some caps (recapping porn for med6753  ).

Posted this comment on Youtube below on the day the video was released but of course it was moderated and hidden due to the evil Youtube link within!
It's a pretty cool supply I must say, a bit similar to the Heathkit IP17 but allot better built! (well, more expensive too!)

The use of the microswitch S1A/S1B for rough regulation control was clever!
I also like how the capacitors are used for voltage control, from the manual Section III Page 3:
"Any ripple in the output voltage is coupled by capacitor C4 to the grid of control tube V4B."
"Any ripple in the output is coupled to the grid of V3B by capacitor C7."
If you want to be get this perfect you should install your new film capacitors with the foil side right way around else they could also couple noise back.
This Mr Carlson video goes into using a scope at the linked timestamp to test for it:
https://youtu.be/BnR_DLd1PDI?t=484 Looking forward to your next video!

[med6753]

I've got the option to buy an HP esa-l1500a spectrum analyzer from a friend, hmmmm, should I should I not....it would be nice to add a much more modern SA to my line of older Marconi mega boat anchors.

He's not a hoarder/collector like me, so as he's getting a Rigol, which is much smaller and compact, he's willing to let the HP go......

 

Whoops - missed this earlier.  Agree w/ duckduck - buy it.  And you are a conservator of vintage electronic equipment, not a hoarder.  Hoarders keep old newspapers and magazines and empty pizza boxes.  We collectors and preservers of vintage gear are on a much higher plane.
(Now if I could just convince my friends of that….  )

-Pat

I am a conservator, not a hoarder. But you might suspect you have a problem if your place looks like this. But I am convinced I don't have a problem. Others do.

I am a conservator
I am a conservator
I am nucking futs. 






   

[dl6lr]

[ribbon speedo]
Make that the 50s and 60s. The photo shows the speedometer of a Opel Rekord A or B, made from 1963 to 66, the last model with this feature. By the 70s they were out of fashion.

So you see that my relatives only drove old cars at that time (my parents never had a car). I remember an uncle from Denmark had a Ford 17M up to the late seventies if not eighties.

[med6753]

Here’s a pic of the Hickok transistor tester:


Just plugged it in in an effort to recharge the internal batteries, but I suspect I will be replacing them given their age.

-Pat

[tautech]

Not sure if I still have it somewhere, but the small tuning meter on the lower left looks very familiar.

Also brings back memories of the green glowing eye to tune your radio on. If I'm right they were called "cat eyes"?

Edit: Yes got it right https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_eye_tube

Back in the 60s/70s I used to have a Philips reel to reel tape recorder that used a magic eye tube as the recording level meter.

There's been some increased interest in magic eye tubes lately however I have no regrets passing the only one I had onto Neo and we're still waiting to see 'what would Neo do' with it. 
3 vids on them, first from Defpom fixing the Heathkit Cap tester he recently got and another I stumbled on a day ago:

[Cubdriver]

Here’s a pic of the Hickok transistor tester:


Just plugged it in in an effort to recharge the internal batteries, but I suspect I will be replacing them given their age.

-Pat

LOL - not an uncommon occurrence in these parts...

Edit to add - another recent acquisition added to the repair queue - $85 shipped was too good to resist:




I just noticed that the 1A5 has been relieved of the 'variable' pot for the vertical attenuator - will have to do some research and see what can replace it.   


-Pat

[Cubdriver]

I've got the option to buy an HP esa-l1500a spectrum analyzer from a friend, hmmmm, should I should I not....it would be nice to add a much more modern SA to my line of older Marconi mega boat anchors.

He's not a hoarder/collector like me, so as he's getting a Rigol, which is much smaller and compact, he's willing to let the HP go......

 

Whoops - missed this earlier.  Agree w/ duckduck - buy it.  And you are a conservator of vintage electronic equipment, not a hoarder.  Hoarders keep old newspapers and magazines and empty pizza boxes.  We collectors and preservers of vintage gear are on a much higher plane.
(Now if I could just convince my friends of that….  )

-Pat

I am a conservator, not a hoarder. But you might suspect you have a problem if your place looks like this. But I am convinced I don't have a problem. Others do.

I am a conservator
I am a conservator
I am nucking futs. 

You DO have a problem - I see waaay too much empty space in those photos, space that would be better filled with test gear.     <ducks and runs>

-Pat

[med6753]

D Lab is short for Douchebag Lab. He has a record for destroying vintage tube gear while he sips his wine and comes off as a jerk.   

[bd139]

D Lab is short for Douchebag Lab. He has a record for destroying vintage tube gear while he sips his wine and comes off as a jerk.   

Yep. He's basically radio Flanders...