Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tggzzz]

I suspect you already have enough things going on in your life which absorb your energies, most of which are fun. You really don't need to take on something else of dubious benefit, and with a host of potential problems.

Even when true, sometimes distractions are welcome and beneficial.

[mnementh]

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure the RIFAmadness paper crap is in-between, the main DC filter cap and the switching transistor.  Not part of the mains input suppression, or filtering where they normally are fitted. The camera was on holiday when I pulled the board, to change the RIFA crap, so can't be certain of it's function.

Also be aware the power switch rod is quite fragile, mine broke despite following the manual.  Ended up with a zip tie bodge, round it to hold it in place.

David

Happened to me on the 54621D; I know to twist the screwdriver very, very gently and it still went ka-toink!

The switch rod is glass-filled resin; awesome for "switch feel", but entirely too rigid & brittle for this application where it is reasonable to expect that tab to be flexed to remove it at least a few times during the product's life. Simply a poor choice of design for the material; should've had a 2nd part nylon or spring-metal retaining clip.

Annoyed me enough that I just now went down to the dwagon-cave, opened the scope up and took a pic just so I could kvetch about it in here. 

mnem
*kvetch... kvetch... kvetchity-kvetch...*

[mnementh]

...Fair point. TBH I usually buy for fuck all and sell for lots of money. I am of Ferengi heritage 

What does your Ferengi heritage tell you about wind turbines?

Mine tells me they could be a good little earner; if you are already wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice and own more than a few thousand acres, if your hammerhead accountants and great white lawyers have been over the deal from top to bottom, and if your contract negotiation specialist is more or less happy - he's the kind of guy who leaves you counting your fingers when you shake hands, and you are relieved only the little finger has the tip off, then you look at your left hand, and the thumb and forefinger are gone. spending somebody else's money and just fulfilling a maintenance contract on them.

FTFY.   

mnem
*toddles off to feed the children*   Still not sure what I'll feed them to... 

[pcprogrammer]

Still better than FNIRSI. 

Don't knock on FNIRSI now it has new software

Nah, just kidding. The hardware is a piece of crap and the original software is not much better.

[mnementh]

problem there is that the turn key providers do not really like the panels I like (I do not want to go with the cheapest chinesium stuff), they do not offer microinverters...   I can see where they are coming from, but I would also like to see some options instead of: you can buy a multiple of x kWp. Take it or leave it.

You mean you can't find a contractor who'll do a cost-plus bid...? KAAAAA-CHINNNNG!   

In all seriousness; you may be shopping too low on the contractor food chain for the level of quality you want. 

mnem
somebody come over here and sell this lady what she wants...

[Specmaster]

problem there is that the turn key providers do not really like the panels I like (I do not want to go with the cheapest chinesium stuff), they do not offer microinverters, ...
I can see where they are coming from, but I would also like to see some options instead of: you can buy a multiple of x kWp. Take it or leave it.

The other problem that mnementh didn't say, is that if you do find someone willing to it as he says, do it piecemeal and it goes wrong, that's when you really will regret it because all you'll get is each of the contractors will pass the buck to the other ones and nobody is willing to fix it as they will all blame each other.

[Zenith]

I suspect you already have enough things going on in your life which absorb your energies, most of which are fun. You really don't need to take on something else of dubious benefit, and with a host of potential problems.

Even when true, sometimes distractions are welcome and beneficial.

Sometimes. Yes it's certainly possible to construct circumstances in which that would be true, and I'm sure they arise naturally.

Were I to come into a fortune of a couple of billion and had it in for you, I might put it to the test, purely in the interests of the spirit of enquiry. I might make the owners of the next door properties an offer they couldn't refuse and turn one into a refuge for battered wives and another into a respite centre for their estranged husbands. Neither welcome nor beneficial distractions I'd have thought, but as a glass half full kind of bloke, you might see it differently. These societal problems have to be addressed and so on.

Seriously, I can't see that small scale wind turbines, for people in usual circumstances, are anything but an exercise in self imposed misery - but I am open to be convinced otherwise.

[McBryce]

*currently watching the property manager's handyman kill himself
trying to replace a bathroom faucet that just needed new cartridges*

Fuck-a-doodle. The faucet tap he installed is some gewgaw "Arc Fashion" faucet tap that has a fixed spigot. The old one had a spigot that turns like a kitchen sink, so you could fill pitchers or a bucket for mopping. Waaaay useful.

And I specifically asked him to keep that feature when he shopped a new one. We waited a month and a half to get a perfectly serviceable faucet tap fixed; and got a downgrade instead.

fucking muppet. <- Nothing wrong with that sentence!

mnem

FTFY.

McBryce.

[bd139]

Life lesson of the day. Never drink vodka on a conference call because you’re bored. Turns out I get insanely critical of software development methodologies 

Hamfest trip planned for Sunday. Hitting the FRARS followed by a 12km hike around Dursley Door and Lulworth Cove with the eldest. Might slide a roast in there somewhere 

[xrunner]

Life lesson of the day. Never drink vodka on a conference call because you’re bored.

Well then, for what reason should you drink vodka on a conference call? 

[McBryce]

Life lesson of the day. Never drink vodka on a conference call because you’re bored. Turns out I get insanely critical of software development methodologies 

Hamfest trip planned for Sunday. Hitting the FRARS followed by a 12km hike around Dursley Door and Lulworth Cove with the eldest. Might slide a roast in there somewhere 

That's why I stick strictly to single malt whisky on conference calls (don't forget to turn the camera off).

McBryce.

[Saskia]

declare it as earl gray

[bd139]

Life lesson of the day. Never drink vodka on a conference call because you’re bored.

Well then, for what reason should you drink vodka on a conference call? 

Third critical production incident of the day 

I’m literally only doing this for the danger money and TE budget.

Might fall on a new SA this month. And no it won’t be Siglent (sorry tautech - can’t afford it. Well I can but I don’t want to  )

[duckduck]

Well the slightly younger HP 34401A that arrived last week seems to function OK (quick check on Sunday evening), quite a noticeable difference in display brightness too.

<SNIP>

The older one I was having trouble with when testing the 745A AC calibrator, seems to have died completely on all AC functions & frequency measurement, it was OK when I acquired it, another DMM for the lengthy repair queue. 

<SNIP>

David

I fixed my 34401A that had the exact same problem. See my post:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg4267654/#msg4267654

Message me when you go to fix it and, if it helps you, I'll mail you the parts I used to fix it. I ordered spares since they were tiny and cheap.

EDIT:

Added picture of schematic (highlights are mine)

C312 is a "Capacitor-Fxd 22 uF ±20% 20 V"
CR304 is a "Diode-Zener 3.3V 5% TO-236"

I'm wondering if I should do a preemptive replacement on mine. I actually have the tants already.

It was even a featured failure on EDN 

https://www.edn.com/repair-hp-34401a-capacitor-failure/

And xdevs:

https://xdevs.com/fix/hp34401a/

Edit: now I'm looking at hot air stations. Seeeee what we do to each other 

The EDN & Xdev 34401As, had various other tants in the DMM die.

The faulty 34401A won't be used again till I get a chance to repair it, could the infrequent use have helped the tants fail? the voltage rating seems a little on the low side (20V on 15V supply), duckduck did you upgrade them to 35V?
Do I need to buy some more soldering kit? not sure two Pace irons in chopstick mode is the best idea  (have used on scrap boards in the past), can't use the Ersa tweezers at work as they grew legs & walked out. 

David

Yes, I did upgrade the one tant I replaced to 35V (see URL). Now wondering if I should just replace them all...

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/kemet/T495D226K035ATE125/2309978

[bd139]

Life lesson of the day. Never drink vodka on a conference call because you’re bored. Turns out I get insanely critical of software development methodologies 

Hamfest trip planned for Sunday. Hitting the FRARS followed by a 12km hike around Dursley Door and Lulworth Cove with the eldest. Might slide a roast in there somewhere 

That's why I stick strictly to single malt whisky on conference calls (don't forget to turn the camera off).

McBryce.

Vodka is purity in a bottle.

Whiskey is impurity in a bottle.

We know where this leads. Actually fuck it perhaps I should start knocking back that bottle of Glenfiddich…

[bd139]

Well the slightly younger HP 34401A that arrived last week seems to function OK (quick check on Sunday evening), quite a noticeable difference in display brightness too.

<SNIP>

The older one I was having trouble with when testing the 745A AC calibrator, seems to have died completely on all AC functions & frequency measurement, it was OK when I acquired it, another DMM for the lengthy repair queue. 

<SNIP>

David

I fixed my 34401A that had the exact same problem. See my post:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg4267654/#msg4267654

Message me when you go to fix it and, if it helps you, I'll mail you the parts I used to fix it. I ordered spares since they were tiny and cheap.

EDIT:

Added picture of schematic (highlights are mine)

C312 is a "Capacitor-Fxd 22 uF ±20% 20 V"
CR304 is a "Diode-Zener 3.3V 5% TO-236"

I'm wondering if I should do a preemptive replacement on mine. I actually have the tants already.

It was even a featured failure on EDN 

https://www.edn.com/repair-hp-34401a-capacitor-failure/

And xdevs:

https://xdevs.com/fix/hp34401a/

Edit: now I'm looking at hot air stations. Seeeee what we do to each other 

The EDN & Xdev 34401As, had various other tants in the DMM die.

The faulty 34401A won't be used again till I get a chance to repair it, could the infrequent use have helped the tants fail? the voltage rating seems a little on the low side (20V on 15V supply), duckduck did you upgrade them to 35V?
Do I need to buy some more soldering kit? not sure two Pace irons in chopstick mode is the best idea  (have used on scrap boards in the past), can't use the Ersa tweezers at work as they grew legs & walked out. 

David

Yes, I did upgrade the one tant I replaced to 35V (see URL). Now wondering if I should just replace them all...

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/kemet/T495D226K035ATE125/2309978

That’s what I’m considering doing. I want to preserve my investment as long as possible.

[Squarewave]

I've recently acquired an IFR 1200S. Lovely looking set, I've not had the time to actually use it yet, but maybe soon!

[grizewald]

Is the Digikey website not working right for anyone else?

Yesterday I couldn't use the parametric search, today I managed to add one part to my cart then I was bounced with an error, and now the login button goes straight to a 404 page...

It seems to be working for me, but I still get some parts of their pages blank because I still haven't worked out which of the 30 third party sites I have to allow javascript from for it to work completely.

I have to say that I much prefer mouser's site for this reason. It takes the minimum of other sites allowed for it to work faultlessly.

Bloody profilers...

[Zenith]

Life lesson of the day. Never drink vodka on a conference call because you’re bored. Turns out I get insanely critical of software development methodologies 

Hamfest trip planned for Sunday. Hitting the FRARS followed by a 12km hike around Dursley Door and Lulworth Cove with the eldest. Might slide a roast in there somewhere 

That's why I stick strictly to single malt whisky on conference calls (don't forget to turn the camera off).

McBryce.

Vodka is purity in a bottle.

Whiskey is impurity in a bottle.

We know where this leads. Actually fuck it perhaps I should start knocking back that bottle of Glenfiddich…

Absinthe.

You may have heard. Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.

https://www.wikiart.org/en/edgar-degas/the-absinthe-drinker-1876

[Specmaster]

OMG, what have I done  , I just said yes to my first RPN calculator, so its official then, I'm either about to or I've joined the dark side, may the force with you be.
Incoming soon is a HP17BII and a HP10BII to keep my other HP10BII+ calculator company, making my HP collection upto 3.

[mnementh]

Life lesson of the day. Never drink vodka on a conference call because you’re bored. Turns out I get insanely critical of software development methodologies 

Hamfest trip planned for Sunday. Hitting the FRARS followed by a 12km hike around Dursley Door and Lulworth Cove with the eldest. Might slide a roast in there somewhere 

That's why I stick strictly to single malt whisky on conference calls (don't forget to turn the camera off).

McBryce.

Vodka is purity in a bottle.

Whiskey is impurity in a bottle.

We know where this leads. Actually fuck it perhaps I should start knocking back that bottle of Glenfiddich…

And that's when you wake up on somebody else lawn, in somebody else's underwear (and nothing else but a shit-eating grin) with this standing over you...

mnem
You know, Eddward from Cowboy Bebop is probably old enough now; she's at least 10x saner than your last 3 bd140s... but you'll probably go for Faye Valentine in a dye job.

[bd139]

Faye Valentine is basically what I go for when I’m drunk 

Ok so I managed to polish 350ml of vodka off and I haven’t bought any TE 

[mnementh]

You should jot down your comments on software development methodologies now, while they're fresh in your mind...

mnem
eat yer heart out, Daily WTF!

[mnementh]

problem there is that the turn key providers do not really like the panels I like (I do not want to go with the cheapest chinesium stuff), they do not offer microinverters, ...
I can see where they are coming from, but I would also like to see some options instead of: you can buy a multiple of x kWp. Take it or leave it.

The other problem that mnementh didn't say, is that if you do find someone willing to it as he says, do it piecemeal and it goes wrong, that's when you really will regret it because all you'll get is each of the contractors will pass the buck to the other ones and nobody is willing to fix it as they will all blame each other.

Well... that's kindof the deal you're making, iddn't it?

When you do anything piecemeal, you're taking on the responsibility of hiring competent subcontractors to do their specialty and making sure they do it right and that it all will work together. You, in essence, are taking on the role of being your own contractor; whether it be for the cost or just so you get exactly what you want.

The flip side of that is that you are 100% responsible for QC.

mnem
In most cases, being your own contractor is like being your own lawyer: you have a fool for a client.

[mansaxel]

Is the Digikey website not working right for anyone else?

Yesterday I couldn't use the parametric search, today I managed to add one part to my cart then I was bounced with an error, and now the login button goes straight to a 404 page...

It seems to be working for me, but I still get some parts of their pages blank because I still haven't worked out which of the 30 third party sites I have to allow javascript from for it to work completely.

I have to say that I much prefer mouser's site for this reason. It takes the minimum of other sites allowed for it to work faultlessly.

Bloody profilers...

Mouser is quite good, as they go. Still sucks ocean liners through hardline coax suitable for SMA connectors, of course; it's a web site made from commercial e-trade software components. TME is strange, in some ways, but actually usable. Mouser definitely has the edge on smooth shopping; whereas the Poles at TME still are in a command economy mindset where everything is optimised for complexity.  Reichelt won't even load for me.  Distrelec is quite good, but of course expensive. Since they shut their store down in Stockholm, I see 0 reason to shop from them.

Still, opened the 5372A up today at work and found a Saft 3,6V cell; this 1989 instrument already has been subjected to at least one battery swap; the fitted battery model is current and not hp sourced; Distrelec claims to have it in stock. Placed an order with the service department at work, who will, by force of habit, order from Distrelec. Then it's the red tape of being allowed to use a soldering iron and the Weller desoldering station at work...