Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[pcprogrammer]

When you have multiple others reporting your posts as derailing the thread, you have gone too far.
This forum works on a reporting system, mods only get alerted if someone reports a post.
We get a lot of "storm in a tea cup" complaints of course, but when multiple people report the same posts we know the community doesn't like it.

I don't know if it is done, but from the point where the off topic drift became obvious I did not see a direct complaint against a specific off topic post or poster. Just a couple of "please stay on topic" requests from some members. I would like to think that we are all sensible adults here and would have the decency to first give a fair warning in the thread itself or via a personal message, instead of "sneakily" inform the "police".

And with this I mean a polite inform to the poster in question that his/her posts are off topic and are not appreciated.

For me that would be the civil way to operate and avoid what has happened know. Reporting to the moderators should be a last resort in this situation.

But that is my opinion, take from it what you like.

[Zoli]

...
Have not gotten around to mounting the crossovers into the Quadral Montan yet. Will probably do so during the week end and do a quick function test using one of my 10€ amps. Just to make sure that nothing is shorted, because that would actually blow out the power amp tranny-istors (to quote Vince). Once that's done: carefully reassemble, but in all the dampening material, fix them up, get the decent speaker cable (some would say audiophool, but I don't care about that, and then get the power amp hooked up. Once this works, swap out the preamp for the TA-E 88 that I just ferengied (see the Rules of Audio Aquisition, #283) and check operations. Drive out the marten by practicing sax and bagpipes.

Just in a case you don't know about them:
https://www.iconoclastcable.com/
Actually engineered cables for quality; beside they're open and detailed about the designs - totally opposite to the audiophoolery.
As bonus, look up Blue Jeans Cable(one of the partners; the other is Belden) vs. Monster cables; fun read.

[bd139]

Still $572 for a 6 foot RCA cable. That’s bananas. There is no measurable difference between those cables and a $5 radio shack cable at line level. I’d expect triax blessed by the ghost of Bob Pease for that money.

Incoming TE today. Black Star 600. Limping. Reading the service manual there is an external reference option available which consists of adding a couple of parts and a BNC whacked on the back. I shall have to do that.

[BU508A]

I suspect you being a little biased, dear BU508A, as we are the only people in the world who will put up with your stream of dad jokes! 

 

Everybody needs a hobby to his hobby. 
And I'm quite sure, that our teal coloured TEA fellow will confirm, that my dad jokes are made from the finest quality. 

[Saskia]

https://www.thisweekinpinball.com/american-pinball-announces-legends-of-valhalla-pinball-deep-dive-in-depth-overview-of-the-machine-features-rules-and-more/


efffff. I need moooolahhhh ...

[Squarewave]

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.

I think it would be useful for me to have it, it's a lot more portable than my Marconi TF2370 and TF2380 and there's so much more I could do with one too.

With the cost of VNAs, though, my old boat anchor HP VNA will probably always stay, but I do have a nano also which is great for setting up HF antennas too.

[Specmaster]

<snip>
I think, this thread has transformed in something more than just the biggest thread in the EEVBlog forum. It is a kind of community with inhabitants from all over the world. They meet here regularly, discussing mostly TE stuff and sometimes other topics but from my point of view they are always coming back to TE. Another reason for why I'm looking at this thread as a community is, that the TEA members are helping each other if they can, e.g. sending spare parts, helping organizing things in other countries as locals etc.

Yes, there are differences and yes, I totally agree to exclude certain topics such as guns, religion, politics, health things (Covid for example). They have clearly the potential to damage this community and I'd really prefer to see this not going to happen. There are enough dysfunctional things going on all around the world and this place is something like a comfort zone, showing me, that there are other people outside which are sharing similar interests of mine.

Occasionly OT stuff such as weird videos, little personal stories etc. which aren't directly TE related are for me something like colour dots and sometimes a source of inspiration. But they should not take too long or drift too far way.

TL;DR
Thank you for being such tolerant mods and also thank you for being tough when it's necessary.
I for myself do really appreciate the balance you and your co-moderators have found.
My (our) part is to endure the things that run counter to my (our) views and to ask now and then to stay on topic.

This is how I also see this forum and this thread,  people from all over the globe come together to help each other in many forms, and we learn from each other. This forum is if you can think of it in this fashion, like a clubhouse where we all meet up and if we were all to physically travel to a clubhouse, it would be unrealistic to expect that all conversation would be about our common bond, that just would not happen.

I personally have found many items posted here of great interest to me, others not so, but being a fully grown adult, I exercise my own censorship, and skip over posts that hold no interest. Does anyone read every article printed in a newspaper, or a magazine, if you do than you must be the exception, you decide what you want to read, is a forum any different really?

I don't think that I can name a single member here who has not posted from time to time something completely unrelated to its core theme, and this thread has continued to grow rapidly, and in stark contrast to many others. I'm a member of other forums, many of which are all but dead having only a handful of new posts, since 2021 and this I can only put down to rigid rules. So basically in a nutshell, those who have PM'd the moderators about some posts that have appeared here, I hope that have they searched their souls deeply and can honestly 100% say that they have not been guilty of posting similar things themselves from time to time?.

I was brought up to remember two important pillars of life, "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone" and also people need to be aware that "when pointing a finger at someone, you also have 3 of your own fingers pointing straight back at you" (assuming, of course, you haven't lost any in an accident etc).

Lets all draw a line in the sand and forwards together, with tolerances of each other, please?

[Specmaster]

<snip>
Just in a case you don't know about them:
https://www.iconoclastcable.com/
Actually engineered cables for quality; beside they're open and detailed about the designs - totally opposite to the audiophoolery.
As bonus, look up Blue Jeans Cable(one of the partners; the other is Belden) vs. Monster cables; fun read.

My eldest Son is a huge fan of Monster cables, having worked in Currys, which for those that don't know, is a huge chain of stores in the UK selling anything electrical from washing machines through to mobile phones and audio gear. He was sent to a training course run by Monster Cables, and they do a brilliant job of brainwashing people IMO.

He swears that he can hear the differences in sound quality and also see the differences in video quality, even though I recall reading an in depth review of such cables over normal standard ones using test equipment and the results showed no advantage was apparent. 

[tggzzz]

When you have multiple others reporting your posts as derailing the thread, you have gone too far.
This forum works on a reporting system, mods only get alerted if someone reports a post.

So please... give us some concrete guidelines. "I know OT when I see it" isn't a fair rubrik.

I can't. As I said above, the forum works on a community reporting system. Your posts have been reported by multiple, so maybe you need to lay off on the off topic stuff for a while.
The occasional OT post has always been fine on the forum, it's natural.

Unfortunately there is not "one rule for all" as many people get reported a LOT more than others, and are therefore ticking off more people. I don't think there is a single person here who doesn't make an OT post or joke or whatever from time to time and that's fine.

All sane, IMHO.

Is there an automated way that a post's author could be automatically notified if a post has attracted complaints, optionally with a threshold of >=2 complaints? If the warning is private and the complainer's identity is withheld, that could act as a low-maintenance "early warning" for the poster. I can also see ways that might add to your workload, which would be undesirable.

[tggzzz]

Lets all draw a line in the sand and forwards together, with tolerances of each other, please?

I don't disagree with your other points, but such tolerance can be tested by someone that repeatedly exceeds other people's tolerance. No, I don't expect an answer to "what should be done when that happens".

FWIW, I can't remember reporting any post in this thread. But then I'm pretty adept at using visual clues to skip past posts that can only waste my life

I first came across that technique 40 years ago, when discussing "green ink letters" with a vulture capitalist in a pub

[Saskia]

like linefeed/formfeed posts ?
re cables - I try to use good connectors such as WBT and reasonably good cable. with up to 70 amps of current going over the speaker cable a 22 ga cable would create a bad feeling ... so I am using 4 mm^2 or an over the top cable out of the surplus bin of my friend the speaker developer.
There is no way I would be willing to pay ott bucks for a speaker or chinch cable.

He brought me finished speaker cables for my Montan. If I understood him correctly it would cost me dual digit, not triple digit money. This would be acceptable.

I don't buy into electron right or left turning directional sensitive special cable. I am not into worshipping cable manufacturers; I do buy into the SA analysis from my listening position.

[Brumby]

So please... give us some concrete guidelines. "I know OT when I see it" isn't a fair rubrik.

I can't.

And you're right to respond that way, Dave.  Any attempt to codify guidelines will fail and there would be blood in the streets along the way.

From my experience, "concrete guidelines" get used to hold everyone to the flame - bringing wrath upon anyone who steps a nanometre "over the line".  This is a recipe for disaster which will bring the whole thread to its knees - and be detrimental to the EEVblog as a whole.  IMHO, the best way of dealing with this is exactly the way it is being dealt with right now.

If anyone wonders what will or won't be acceptable, then I simply suggest they step back, take on the perspective of "a reasonable person" and (if they are capable) take objective look.  The answer will rarely be black or white - but a shade of grey.  The trick is to be able to work out when the grey is too dark ... and this is where the community input is essential.

[Zenith]

[
I think it would be useful for me to have it, it's a lot more portable than my Marconi TF2370 and TF2380 and there's so much more I could do with one too.

With the cost of VNAs, though, my old boat anchor HP VNA will probably always stay, but I do have a nano also which is great for setting up HF antennas too.

I don't know how funds are with you, but have you thought of getting a Rigol or Siglent SA, maybe as well as the HP?

I have a few scopes here, Tek, an HP, a 20MHz solid state scope about 30 years old. I have a few valve scopes, most of which work. The one I reach for is the 100MHz Siglent. It's pleasant to use, it's light, it doesn't take up any room, it has a load of features that are useful enough, such as a fairly good frequency counter, which often saves the trouble of firing up a dedicated frequency counter.

[Saskia]

found a pair of T+A TMR 80 on ebay classifieds.
Pickup tomorrow.
https://hifi-wiki.com/index.php/T%2BA_Criterion_TMR_80
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=t%2Ba+tmr+80&t=bravened&iax=images&ia=images
excellent speakers for the money (asking price is 70€ ...) even though some gorillas painted them over.

Also, I have spares ...

These will go splendidly with a Nakamichi SR3 or SR4 receiver. Been there, done that.  (tbh this would be the 300 quid stereo combo that is inexpensive but still very very good.) Unless Vince makes a fuss about it it will go to the game/arcade room.

[Saskia]

[
I think it would be useful for me to have it, it's a lot more portable than my Marconi TF2370 and TF2380 and there's so much more I could do with one too.

With the cost of VNAs, though, my old boat anchor HP VNA will probably always stay, but I do have a nano also which is great for setting up HF antennas too.

I don't know how funds are with you, but have you thought of getting a Rigol or Siglent SA, maybe as well as the HP?

I have a few scopes here, Tek, an HP, a 20MHz solid state scope about 30 years old. I have a few valve scopes, most of which work. The one I reach for is the 100MHz Siglent. It's pleasant to use, it's light, it doesn't take up any room, it has a load of features that are useful enough, such as a fairly good frequency counter, which often saves the trouble of firing up a dedicated frequency counter.

I can relate, my fav scope was the Keysight 2002a until they started with the private customer get lost rubbish. I scored an RTC 1002 from R+S which came fully loaded for silly money and I just could not resist. It will be my future scope of choice.

[Saskia]

actually, now that you mention it ...
nah.
will lug down my Nakamichi test receiver and hook up 2 yamaha monitors (one of them needs fixing) and try to repair the CD player during my lunch break.

[bd139]

Very boring repair. I'm disappointed 

Black Star 600 arrived. Spent £20 on it including delivery. Seller described it as "*Spares or repairs*. Initially powered on. No flashes on and off."

Plugged it in, yep it does indeed turn on and off with some clicking. Suspicious!

Cracked it open. Mostly empty space but in good condition overall.



Decided the first thing to do was bisect the problem so I hooked up a bench supply to the internal lines and pushed 5V into it. And it entirely works. So it's the mains side end.



After some inspection the culprit was found. All too simple 



After redoing this joint completely it works perfectly!



Aaand into the cupboard until I've moved. Told you it was a boring fix

Total time elapsed was about 15 minutes. I expect more trouble for my money!!!!!! 

[pcprogrammer]

... But then I'm pretty adept at using visual clues to skip past posts that can only waste my life

Either on or off topic that is a skill needed in this thread. There are many different on topic sub threads here that make skimming needed. Some are about vintage oscilloscopes, others about radios, pinball machines, amplifiers, power supplies, etc.

For that matter having this thread as a lookup for solving a specific problem is horrible due to the above mentioned. One can find a post of interest with for instance google, but then might need a lot of skimming to trace down the belonging posts to find answers to a question one can have.

For this the test Equipment section is a far better place to start a thread with a specific question, where it is just that topic that is addressed.

[mnementh]

<snip>
I think, this thread has transformed in something more than just the biggest thread in the EEVBlog forum. It is a kind of community with inhabitants from all over the world. They meet here regularly, discussing mostly TE stuff and sometimes other topics but from my point of view they are always coming back to TE. Another reason for why I'm looking at this thread as a community is, that the TEA members are helping each other if they can, e.g. sending spare parts, helping organizing things in other countries as locals etc.

Yes, there are differences and yes, I totally agree to exclude certain topics such as guns, religion, politics, health things (Covid for example). They have clearly the potential to damage this community and I'd really prefer to see this not going to happen. There are enough dysfunctional things going on all around the world and this place is something like a comfort zone, showing me, that there are other people outside which are sharing similar interests of mine.

Occasionly OT stuff such as weird videos, little personal stories etc. which aren't directly TE related are for me something like colour dots and sometimes a source of inspiration. But they should not take too long or drift too far way.

TL;DR
Thank you for being such tolerant mods and also thank you for being tough when it's necessary.
I for myself do really appreciate the balance you and your co-moderators have found.
My (our) part is to endure the things that run counter to my (our) views and to ask now and then to stay on topic.

This is how I also see this forum and this thread,  people from all over the globe come together to help each other in many forms, and we learn from each other. This forum is if you can think of it in this fashion, like a clubhouse where we all meet up and if we were all to physically travel to a clubhouse, it would be unrealistic to expect that all conversation would be about our common bond, that just would not happen.

I personally have found many items posted here of great interest to me, others not so, but being a fully grown adult, I exercise my own censorship, and skip over posts that hold no interest. Does anyone read every article printed in a newspaper, or a magazine, if you do than you must be the exception, you decide what you want to read, is a forum any different really?

I don't think that I can name a single member here who has not posted from time to time something completely unrelated to its core theme, and this thread has continued to grow rapidly, and in stark contrast to many others. I'm a member of other forums, many of which are all but dead having only a handful of new posts, since 2021 and this I can only put down to rigid rules. So basically in a nutshell, those who have PM'd the moderators about some posts that have appeared here, I hope that have they searched their souls deeply and can honestly 100% say that they have not been guilty of posting similar things themselves from time to time?.

I was brought up to remember two important pillars of life, "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone" and also people need to be aware that "when pointing a finger at someone, you also have 3 of your own fingers pointing straight back at you" (assuming, of course, you haven't lost any in an accident etc).

Lets all draw a line in the sand and forwards together, with tolerances of each other, please?

That's kind of the heart of the matter, isn't it? Tolerance. It seems to be the one thing some people cannot tolerate.

I generally try to live by two simple rules:

Don't bother anybody.
Don't be too easily bothered.

It's the second part some folk seem to have a hard time living with.

mnem
I prepared Explosive Runes today.

[tggzzz]

... But then I'm pretty adept at using visual clues to skip past posts that can only waste my life

Either on or off topic that is a skill needed in this thread.

... and elsewhere on this forum and in real life. Information used to be hard to obtain; now it is only hard to find because it is obscured by drivel/trivia.

For that matter having this thread as a lookup for solving a specific problem is horrible due to the above mentioned. One can find a post of interest with for instance google, but then might need a lot of skimming to trace down the belonging posts to find answers to a question one can have.

For this the test Equipment section is a far better place to start a thread with a specific question, where it is just that topic that is addressed.

Several times I've suggested people spawn a separate thread for interesting repairs etc, purely so the useful information isn't lost in the seemingly infinitely long bowels of this thread.

[bd139]

Yes I only spawn off threads for stuff that I haven’t done a hundred times already or are long projects like the Marconi 2022E. Cleaning and replacing a couple of caps is not worthy of a thread.

[Zenith]

So please... give us some concrete guidelines. "I know OT when I see it" isn't a fair rubrik.

I can't.

And you're right to respond that way, Dave.  Any attempt to codify guidelines will fail and there would be blood in the streets along the way.

From my experience, "concrete guidelines" get used to hold everyone to the flame - bringing wrath upon anyone who steps a nanometre "over the line".  This is a recipe for disaster which will bring the whole thread to its knees - and be detrimental to the EEVblog as a whole.  IMHO, the best way of dealing with this is exactly the way it is being dealt with right now.

Agreed.

I don't believe it's a thing that can be given a complete and exact rational basis. Someone with the power to do something about it, makes a judgement that things have gone too far. They can give reasons - it's not completely arbitrary - but they don't have to justify it, explaining why one case was going too far and a similar one wasn't. There are good reasons for showing flexibility and tolerance, but sometimes they come to the decision that things have gone too far.

[Saskia]

question: would it be interesting to see a pinball repair thread ?

It's not really applied electronics but combines a multitude of tasks and I have not really a clue if it would be of any interest to anyone outside of our little community ?

[bd139]

question: would it be interesting to see a pinball repair thread ?

It's not really applied electronics but combines a multitude of tasks and I have not really a clue if it would be of any interest to anyone outside of our little community ?

I would participate. It’s interesting to me.

[xrunner]

question: would it be interesting to see a pinball repair thread ?

It's not really applied electronics but combines a multitude of tasks and I have not really a clue if it would be of any interest to anyone outside of our little community ?

I think that's a great idea. It's electronics and I bet people would love it. It's interesting to read in this thread but IMHO, I wouldn't put it here because it gets lost too fast. That's why I stopped posting most of my repair stuff in here because it gets swept away too fast with off-topic posts. But now perhaps it will be better and I might start again.

But yea, make a pinball repair thread and members will enjoy it.