Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[factory]

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

Well some disappointment arrived today, eight Burroughs tubes, no mention of the rusty pins or cracks in the glass in the listing, they were described as used untested, but the ebay condition of "used "states they are "fully operational". 

After setting up the Sullivan T2900 for 250V, a decade box set to 47k for current limiting and a DMM to monitor voltage across the tube under test, I checked all of them. Sadly only three of the eight tubes work, now waiting for a response from the seller as £45 shipped is way too much for three tubes. 






Got a couple of crystal ovens to check (from the same seller) another day, they were more reasonably priced.

David

[bd139]

Yeah I'd want my money back on that. Not even a discount is acceptable 

Just bought something pointless but vintage cool. Some good old RCA 3028A's boxed NOS. £18 which is fair-ish price but they are nicely boxed and gold legged





Not sure if I'm going to keep them prisoner or use them. They are rather neat little three transistor differential amplifiers and can be wired as cascodes, AGC amplifiers, RF amplifiers and single/differential converters up to a whopping 120MHz or so. Fun fun fun!

[AVGresponding]

These 5 went for £77 plus shipping!  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165604422595





On the other hand, someone got a decent price here, just under £70 shipped:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385035596361

[factory]

The other delivery today, opened the box & immediately thought why have they sent these, must be a mistake? 


Turns out they were used as packing, quite heavy though, but they did the job & no damage to the contents. 


Very similar to the first counter I ever bought, but this one is good for at least 60MHz instead of 32MHz.


Racal 9037 smoke test (tants) another day.   

David

[bd139]

Well at least you'll be ok when the monkeypox mutates into an air transmissible variant

[med6753]

Suddenly some TE has shown up on my local CL.

https://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/ele/d/vails-gate-tektronix/7518261208.html

The plug-in's appear to be in excellent shape but his price is wishful thinking. But I am thinking of asking him if he would price the 7B92A and the TM equipment rack separately.

You probably would get a better deal if he separated out the SG505 and sold that separately. That plug-in alone would account for at least 50% of the total price for the TM500 gear.

Guess Med isn't interested in the curve tracer plug-in in pic 8? 

David

Nope, not interested.

[xrunner]

Sending a message to wear one - before you open the case? 

The other delivery today, opened the box & immediately thought why have they sent these, must be a mistake? 

[Specmaster]

Well at least you'll be ok when the monkeypox mutates into an air transmissible variant

More than likely part of that load of duff PPE gear that the children in Westminster purchased, ending up as packing materials 

[Cerebus]

Sending a message to wear one - before you open the case? 

The other delivery today, opened the box & immediately thought why have they sent these, must be a mistake? 

Probably one of the many batches that were made when every clueless factory owner started churning them out, to every possible clueless middle man buyer, to sell to every government and health service in the world, who promptly rejected them as "not conforming to specification"  and have been accruing in their millions in warehouses around the world. Wearing them might not be the greatest of ideas. At least someone has found a use for them.

[tautech]

Be afraid.....tautech has wielded the soldering iron today and made a VNA SMD test fixture inspired by Chris Grossman's video testing components with his SVA1015X.
As I had plenty of SMA>PCB fittings, veroboard and some SIL turned pin sockets I made it a little different to his so to do without one SMD cable and it swept S21 ~7dB high in places and nulled out just fine with a Through Cal.
The furthermost right turned pin is the coax center conductor while all those to the left are connected to the braid and a # are used so to be able to match most components you might like to sweep.

Not played with it much just yet as need to dig out a few more caps and crystals and although we do have a pile of pretty cool toys I'm pretty green at this.

Interested to see what happens when you poke a crystal in it 

I’d love to see an S21 sweep of a crystal with 1Hz span.

Been busy downloading and unpacking beta FW for the new SHS X models along with a 2hr chat with a customer and EE buddy 1500km away.......
Anyways found and extracted some crystals, a couple of 32KHz ones from an old PC mainboard and a 20MHz one from a 10BaseT LAN card both in the junk PCB pile heap.....once again justifying its existence. 

AFAIKT I need a series fixture for this not the shunt one I made yesterday. 
https://electronicprojectsforfun.wordpress.com/rf-measurement-techniques/measuring-crystals-resonators/

I should really do a proper job and knock one of them together too. 

[exor]

In addition bending component leads one can use Belzer 2615K pliers when making a new power cord

[bd139]

Be afraid.....tautech has wielded the soldering iron today and made a VNA SMD test fixture inspired by Chris Grossman's video testing components with his SVA1015X.
As I had plenty of SMA>PCB fittings, veroboard and some SIL turned pin sockets I made it a little different to his so to do without one SMD cable and it swept S21 ~7dB high in places and nulled out just fine with a Through Cal.
The furthermost right turned pin is the coax center conductor while all those to the left are connected to the braid and a # are used so to be able to match most components you might like to sweep.

Not played with it much just yet as need to dig out a few more caps and crystals and although we do have a pile of pretty cool toys I'm pretty green at this.

Interested to see what happens when you poke a crystal in it 

I’d love to see an S21 sweep of a crystal with 1Hz span.

Been busy downloading and unpacking beta FW for the new SHS X models along with a 2hr chat with a customer and EE buddy 1500km away.......
Anyways found and extracted some crystals, a couple of 32KHz ones from an old PC mainboard and a 20MHz one from a 10BaseT LAN card both in the junk PCB pile heap.....once again justifying its existence. 

AFAIKT I need a series fixture for this not the shunt one I made yesterday. 
https://electronicprojectsforfun.wordpress.com/rf-measurement-techniques/measuring-crystals-resonators/

I should really do a proper job and knock one of them together too. 

Yep will need one for that.

Usual rig is:

signal generator -> attenuator pad -> series fixture -> attenuator pad -> power detector

Crystal is swept to find the series and parallel resonant frequencies.

I'm going to try and do the same with the 2022E when I get it working and the HP400E and we can compare notes 

[AVGresponding]

I should really do a proper job and knock one of them together too. 

"Job and knock" here means that once you've done the job you were asked to do, you can fuck off home, and get paid the full day.

[themadhippy]

More than likely part of that load of duff PPE gear that the children in Westminster purchased,

Sorry but i find that post both offensive and derogatory. Children are much more intelligent, sensible , throw less tantrums  and  dont tell as many lies compared to  the idiots in westminster

[tautech]

Usual rig is:
signal generator -> attenuator pad -> series fixture -> attenuator pad -> power detector

The only bit missing here ^ however why pads when you have adjustable stimulus and sensitivity ?

Attempting this with the new SNA5004A rather that SVA1032X as I need to get used to the quite different UI in the thing to know how to drive it properly. 

I should really do a proper job and knock one of them together too. 

"Job and knock" here means that once you've done the job you were asked to do, you can fuck off home, and get paid the full day.

Ok, then just to please you I'll bash the fixture together !   

[bd139]

Usual rig is:
signal generator -> attenuator pad -> series fixture -> attenuator pad -> power detector

The only bit missing here ^ however why pads when you have adjustable stimulus and sensitivity ?

Attempting this with the new SNA5004A rather that SVA1032X as I need to get used to the quite different UI in the thing to know how to drive it properly. 

The pads are there to provide a resistive termination to the crystal. If you have any capacitance in the crystal fixture it can "pull" the crystal parameters. In fact that's why crystals have a load specification in pF usually.

Good example here with the Marconi 2022E replacement oscillator.



If you remove the resistors and model C62/D13 as a single variable capacitor (around 22-40pF) in series with C63, C64 (120pF each) that'll give a total loop capacitance with the parasitic capacitance of the transistor of around 30pF . This is by no coincidence the loading of the crystal. D13 is voltage variable to compensate for the frequency. The reason the frequency needs compensation is that it's a property of the parasitic loading of the crystal so when you tune an oscillator you're actually just trying to get rid of the manufacturing variations of parasitics. Fun fun fun.

Same goes for a VNA fixture. Transmission line cables are parasitic as are bits of fixture. Attenuation isolates some of those properties from the DUT. In this case 3dB is probably a good starting point but 10dB would give it better termination.

Lots of pads also complicate some VNA measurements due to the total use of dynamic range plus the S21 loss of the DUT so can be interesting test case and exploratory exercise in VNA fun.

NanoVNA pukes doing this as well as there's only 70dB and you have to inject a low signal of -30dBm into the DUT anyway. Difficult to get good peaks and dips to get any reasonable resolution. Grr. In that case you're actually better with a signal generator, counter and RF voltmeter!

[nixiefreqq]

had to run down the basement and pull these out to convince myself that bd has not been sneaking into my house at night.

they were part of a care package my old man sent me about 30 years ago.

never looked them up before......assumed they were some kind of op amp.

someday swmbo will probably probably dispose of them along with a couple of tons of other useless crap (in her mind)

[tautech]

OK then can't do that as the only thing I could use is a 10dB N type pad ....but I only have 1 ! 

[bd139]

If you’ve got some E12 resistors you can add a 3db at each end using a DIY pi attenuator. 270 ohms in series and 18 in each parallel element. That’s 49 ohms and 3.08dB which is close enough 

[tautech]

If you’ve got some E12 resistors you can add a 3db at each end using a DIY pi attenuator. 270 ohms in series and 18 in each parallel element. That’s 49 ohms and 3.08dB which is close enough 

Well yes I could conjure up that with some 0805 SMD components ..........

[Cerebus]

had to run down the basement and pull these out to convince myself that bd has not been sneaking into my house at night.

He has, or rather will have been, in your house doing that. He's finally got his time machine working, and will have sneaked into your house tomorrow, nicked them, will have gone back to today to post about it, so that you would post about it, so that he can then will have broken into your house...  You get the idea: classic  timey-wimey paradox-causality chain stuff. Just a little test run, nothing to worry about...

Remember next week, when as far as you're concerned Emperor Christopher I of Ferenginar has always been your ruler, you heard it here first.

[nixiefreqq]

had to run down the basement and pull these out to convince myself that bd has not been sneaking into my house at night.

He has, or rather will have been, in your house doing that. He's finally got his time machine working, and will have sneaked into your house tomorrow, nicked them, will have gone back to today to post about it, so that you would post about it, so that he can then will have broken into your house...  You get the idea: classic  timey-wimey paradox-causality chain stuff. Just a little test run, nothing to worry about...

Remember next week, when as far as you're concerned Emperor Christopher I of Ferenginar has always been your ruler, you heard it here first.

my plan for deterrence is doomed.   scattered TI calculators all over the domicile and instructed both cats to be vigilant.  (oliver heaviside and duff man).  but what chance do you have against a ferengi with a time machine?

[Saskia]

had a call with the authorities.
For a wind mill I need a building permit, but I am to officially ask and they will check if they will allow a 3 - 5 kW turbine
If I put PV onto the roof, I don't need a building permit. If I put it into the garden, I need a building permit, unless it is only temporary in which case they will tolerate it for the time being.
 

What turbine specs did you have in mind ?
This 1200mm bit bigger one than we installed a few weeks back was dropped off to install:
https://www.jaycar.co.nz/500w-12-24vdc-wind-turbine/p/MG4550?pos=3&queryId=6bcbf8f1ed01ef062243fe012b9566ef

That's ~500 in real money.

If the damn weather improves enough to get up the hill !

I actually found a reasonably priced wind turbine with a nominal 3.5 kW rating and a 5m rotor ... however 5m is way too much for installation in our garden, I cannot put up the required mast as it could have to be approximately 27m high ...
https://en.wind-turbine.com/wind-turbines/42840/1xantaris-small-wind-turbine-3-5-kw-complete-with-mast-price-vs.html

[GreyWoolfe]

That's a good question for the group... How much dragon-fire do you keep on tap?

Soldering stations, any kind of jet-flame type torch (no, not flashlights you scone-eaters), hot air guns including hot air rework...?

On my bench right now I have 2 Hot-air rework, a big paint-stripper heat gun, my Ungar heat-shrink tubing gun, and the cheapie cylindrical hot air gun I bought to get by with in Canuckistan. I have My Aoyue soldering station (also Hot air rework #2), my T12-OLED station, my Metcal, my Weller GT7 in a drawer under the bench, a couple-three Bernzomatic propane and one of their oxy-propane torches, and a couple butane crack-pipe torches. That I know of right now.

I know I have a bin in back of the racks full of soldering iron bits; doubtless enough to make 2 more, plus there's my old Weller WTCPN, my old ATTEN, and at least a couple Radidio Shack type firestarters for travel. I would literally have to open up at least 3 bins and rummage to get a accurate count. 

I also have squirreled away ~90% of my once daily-driver Smiths Oxy-acetylene torches, but they needs new hoses and I can't find the threaded collar for the brazing tips. Prolly need the regs rebuilt by now.

mnem

I have a Metcal MX-500 with wand and Talon tweezers, Hakko FX-951, Quick 957DW, Zhongdi ZD-985, 2 small handheld butane torches, 2 propane torches and a heat gun.

As a ham myself, I take umbrage with the generalized descriptions of hams( even if they are true).  I shower and even change my underwear every day, never smoked a day in my life and pay pest control to keep little critters out of my house, so put THAT in your waveguide and smoke it!!!!!!   I have walked away from freebies due to nicotine crustiness.  Only thing worse than smoking is chewing tobacco.  Back when I was doing Dell warranty repair work, I would run into tower computers so gummed up with nicotine dust the fans couldn't turn.  I ended up keeping Lysol wipes in my car to clean my hands when I left.

DAFUQ?!?

I cannae recall the last time I said a disparaging word aboot HAMs... in here... recently... 

I mean, yeah, I have ragged on the air pollution produced by our stereotypical skipland cousins more than a few times... but what does that have to do with a dragon-fire head-count?

mnem
I'm all out of pithy.

OK, my bad there.  The first part was for you listing my toys.  The second part was for general consumption.  I'm the ID10T for not differentiating between the 2.      Can I use coming down with COVID as an excuse for my stupidity?

[tautech]

had a call with the authorities.
For a wind mill I need a building permit, but I am to officially ask and they will check if they will allow a 3 - 5 kW turbine
If I put PV onto the roof, I don't need a building permit. If I put it into the garden, I need a building permit, unless it is only temporary in which case they will tolerate it for the time being.
 

What turbine specs did you have in mind ?
This 1200mm bit bigger one than we installed a few weeks back was dropped off to install:
https://www.jaycar.co.nz/500w-12-24vdc-wind-turbine/p/MG4550?pos=3&queryId=6bcbf8f1ed01ef062243fe012b9566ef

That's ~500 in real money.

If the damn weather improves enough to get up the hill !

I actually found a reasonably priced wind turbine with a nominal 3.5 kW rating and a 5m rotor ... however 5m is way too much for installation in our garden, I cannot put up the required mast as it could have to be approximately 27m high ...
https://en.wind-turbine.com/wind-turbines/42840/1xantaris-small-wind-turbine-3-5-kw-complete-with-mast-price-vs.html

You could always say it's not a permanent installation but just for research.