Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

I bet you're older than me, by quite some margin, but I love Avometers 

Yep, if you drop them, they're donald ducked, though the movements can survive, the casing will be shattered.

I don't love them, and have a couple of carcasses I will unload for a pittance.

Long ago I was working with GPO[1] Martlesham Heath and they told me of a "competition" between Avo 8 salesmen and  a DMM salesman. Everything was evenly matched until the DMM salesman picked up his offering, threw it across the room, and suggested repeating the competition.

[1] no, it wasn't BT for a few years

I suppose there's always lots of ridiculous comparisons to make, that being one of them. No instrument is meant to be thrown. I guess that's where the DMM salesman lost his argument - it was all evenly matched, until he lost his temper.

Edited: for quote bracket thing was missing.

I'll take objection to on this one. Fluke distributor visited the school where I was getting my first degree; that was part of the demonstration. Their professional sparky series of meters are designed to withstand a fall from the top of at least a 12-foot ladder. That's where their iconic yellow bumper holster came into being.

Cheers,

mnem
 

[bd139]

Just a slight warning for whoever has to deal with the soviet transistors(2G302 in the attached picture); it came out as CADMIUM COATED thru the mazes of my memories.
If anybody can confirm/deny my (almost)long forgotten memories, I(and the future owner) would be really grateful.

TI made equivalent to OC71. Was used where TI were cheaper than mullard. No cadmium AFAIK. That might have been associated with the nasty old silver cadmium cells of the era.

[factory]

Just a slight warning for whoever has to deal with the soviet transistors(2G302 in the attached picture); it came out as CADMIUM COATED thru the mazes of my memories.
If anybody can confirm/deny my (almost)long forgotten memories, I(and the future owner) would be really grateful.

Erm, those "soviet" transistors you mention have the Texas logo on them. 

I'm more interested in this lot for the Ge & other older types.

Apologies for costing bd another £7 on the first lot, I was too hot & tired last night, to spend time looking the first lot up individually, hopefully bd will keep some of them to help others with future repairs. I do have loads of general purpose types from the ex-work lot, but no Ge & very little higher frequency types.

David

[exor]

I’m aiming higher. This has been used in broadcast measuring van. And it came with manual with all the instructions one may ever need.
Hope it will re-activate and even elevate my DXing 
If not, I can still use it for 10MHz frequency reference GPS antenna, 4G router antenna, weather station, … 

Been there, done that. Be carefull they can kill. One nearly got me.

Thanks for the warning. Lightning? Collapsed? Accidental retracting?

[bd139]

Ok apparently I won that first lot of transistors 

Oh, so that was you, was it...   

Um, yes.

Now I'm going to be all mnementh and sit on my pile of gold and guard it 

The leads will stick in your arse like pins, at which point I shall chuckle maliciously.

The dual transistor parts are required for a couple of designs I have in the backlog which are "IC free". Whether or not a dual transistor is an IC is up for discussion but I'm not listening

They are not Integrated Circuits, because there is no electrical connection between them, nor are they circuits. No discussion is required. They are dual transistors fabricated onto the same substrate in order to thermally bond them and hopefully well trimmed in order to match performance characteristics.

You may therefore use them in good conscience, or at least you would if you had not overdid a fellow TEA to get them.

:PPP

I’m going to make a necklace out of them and wear it proudly now 

[Specmaster]

I bet you're older than me, by quite some margin, but I love Avometers 

Yep, if you drop them, they're donald ducked, though the movements can survive, the casing will be shattered.

I don't love them, and have a couple of carcasses I will unload for a pittance.

Long ago I was working with GPO[1] Martlesham Heath and they told me of a "competition" between Avo 8 salesmen and  a DMM salesman. Everything was evenly matched until the DMM salesman picked up his offering, threw it across the room, and suggested repeating the competition.

[1] no, it wasn't BT for a few years

I've heard that story before  but more to the point, which one got the order? I ask because they are loads of AVO's around branded as GPO and BT but I don't recall ever seeing a DMM with either logo on them?

[bd139]

Just a slight warning for whoever has to deal with the soviet transistors(2G302 in the attached picture); it came out as CADMIUM COATED thru the mazes of my memories.
If anybody can confirm/deny my (almost)long forgotten memories, I(and the future owner) would be really grateful.

Erm, those "soviet" transistors you mention have the Texas logo on them. 

I'm more interested in this lot for the Ge & other older types.

Apologies for costing bd another £7 on the first lot, I was too hot & tired last night, to spend time looking the first lot up individually, hopefully bd will keep some of them to help others with future repairs. I do have loads of general purpose types from the ex-work lot, but no Ge & very little higher frequency types.

David

No problems. I am happy with the price 

As mentioned if anyone needs any let me know. Anyone who has dealt with me knows my pricing for TEA members 

[bd139]

The £100 Spectrum Analyser arrived. Seems to be working OK. Picture shows local FM stations.
It also has an RF generator.
Anyone know what it is yet?  (I do obviously).

Interesting. TTi? I know they used windows CE on some of their devices.

[Specmaster]

I’m aiming higher. This has been used in broadcast measuring van. And it came with manual with all the instructions one may ever need.
Hope it will re-activate and even elevate my DXing 
If not, I can still use it for 10MHz frequency reference GPS antenna, 4G router antenna, weather station, … 

Been there, done that. Be carefull they can kill. One nearly got me.

Thanks for the warning. Lightning? Collapsed? Accidental retracting?

Exactly what I was thinking, nice of him to lob a grenade in and  leave you hanging 

[Robert763]

I’m aiming higher. This has been used in broadcast measuring van. And it came with manual with all the instructions one may ever need.
Hope it will re-activate and even elevate my DXing 
If not, I can still use it for 10MHz frequency reference GPS antenna, 4G router antenna, weather station, … 

Been there, done that. Be carefull they can kill. One nearly got me.

Thanks for the warning. Lightning? Collapsed? Accidental retracting?

Unexpected extension under pressure. Top section of a SCAM 12 came back down and hit me. I was on a ladder at he back to the trailer with nowhere to run. Causes:
Pre-existing damge to mast (seared screws)
Another user locking it off half errected dispite being told not to
Me being tired and interupted half way through the job.

[mnementh]

The Micronta FET meters are absolutely underrated gems of meters. Decent basic accuracy and flat impedance. Not expensive and surprisingly difficult to fuck up.

I see them as closer to an HP 427A than a Simpson 260.

I've thought about getting a Micronta FET meter in order to combine analog display with DMM light loading but I can't overcome the whole Radio Shack stigma.  And I have the two 427A sitting on the shelf already that I'm still meaning to take down and get to along with those two retired lab PCs I've never fired up.  I might get to that this weekend since I struck a few other items off the list yesterday evening.

I was talking aboot the case styling, which I vaguely recall hearing somewhere that it looks so much like a Simpson 260 because TRS hired an ex-Simpson engineer(s) to design it. As to the guts...



mnem
 

[Robert763]

The £100 Spectrum Analyser arrived. Seems to be working OK. Picture shows local FM stations.
It also has an RF generator.
Anyone know what it is yet?  (I do obviously).

Interesting. TTi? I know they used windows CE on some of their devices.

Well spotted on the WinCE but no not TTi. Theirs was based on a PDA so a lot smaller.

[Zenith]

Just a slight warning for whoever has to deal with the soviet transistors(2G302 in the attached picture); it came out as CADMIUM COATED thru the mazes of my memories.
If anybody can confirm/deny my (almost)long forgotten memories, I(and the future owner) would be really grateful.

I've no idea and you did say "slight warning", but is it that big a deal? Cadmium coated nuts and bolts were popular until a few years back, and its use is now restricted, but they may be come across in old equipment. Welding cadmium coated steel is a different matter. I've got a few yellowish metal canned transistors on old boards. It would certainly pay to wash your hands after handling them.

Something I have across and is extremely dangerous, is beryllia in insulators. It's probably OK as long as you don't break it up. There are usually warnings about it. There are PCBs in some capacitors and transformers. There are fuseholders with asbestos. There are also mercury filled switches.

[Specmaster]

I bet you're older than me, by quite some margin, but I love Avometers 

Yep, if you drop them, they're donald ducked, though the movements can survive, the casing will be shattered.

I don't love them, and have a couple of carcasses I will unload for a pittance.

Long ago I was working with GPO[1] Martlesham Heath and they told me of a "competition" between Avo 8 salesmen and  a DMM salesman. Everything was evenly matched until the DMM salesman picked up his offering, threw it across the room, and suggested repeating the competition.

[1] no, it wasn't BT for a few years

I suppose there's always lots of ridiculous comparisons to make, that being one of them. No instrument is meant to be thrown. I guess that's where the DMM salesman lost his argument - it was all evenly matched, until he lost his temper.

Edited: for quote bracket thing was missing.

I'll take objection to on this one. Fluke distributor visited the school where I was getting my first degree; that was part of the demonstration. Their professional sparky series of meters are designed to withstand a fall from the top of at least a 12-foot ladder.

Cheers,

mnem
 

Yep, good luck doing that with an AVO, but then only a blithering idiot would dream taking an AVO up a ladder.

[Zoli]

Just a slight warning for whoever has to deal with the soviet transistors(2G302 in the attached picture); it came out as CADMIUM COATED thru the mazes of my memories.
If anybody can confirm/deny my (almost)long forgotten memories, I(and the future owner) would be really grateful.

I've no idea and you did say "slight warning", but is it that big a deal? Cadmium coated nuts and bolts were popular until a few years back, and its use is now restricted, but they may be come across in old equipment. Welding cadmium coated steel is a different matter. I've got a few yellowish metal canned transistors on old boards. It would certainly pay to wash your hands after handling them.

Something I have across and is extremely dangerous, is beryllia in insulators. It's probably OK as long as you don't break it up. There are usually warnings about it. There are PCBs in some capacitors and transformers. There are fuseholders with asbestos. There are also mercury filled switches.

Looks like no more then a prop65 warning - sorry if my memories played fool, but "better safe then sorry".
 I will stand corrected.

[mnementh]

...You may therefore use them in good conscience, or at least you would if you had not overdid a fellow TEA to get them.  :PPP

I’m going to make a necklace out of them and wear it proudly now 

Why am I imagining bd wearing Crocodile Dundee's hat now... only with 2N3347s in the band rather than teeth...

"That's not a transistor... Now that's a transistor!!!"

mnem

BWAHAHAHA!!!

[mnementh]

I'll take objection on this one. Fluke distributor visited the school where I was getting my first degree; that was part of the demonstration. Their professional sparky series of meters are designed to withstand a fall from the top of at least a 12-foot ladder.

Cheers,

mnem
 

Yep, good luck doing that with an AVO, but then only a blithering idiot would dream taking an AVO up a ladder.

Then what the fuck good are they?

mnem
a portable meter that doesn't port...?

[Squarewave]

I bet you're older than me, by quite some margin, but I love Avometers 

Yep, if you drop them, they're donald ducked, though the movements can survive, the casing will be shattered.

I don't love them, and have a couple of carcasses I will unload for a pittance.

Long ago I was working with GPO[1] Martlesham Heath and they told me of a "competition" between Avo 8 salesmen and  a DMM salesman. Everything was evenly matched until the DMM salesman picked up his offering, threw it across the room, and suggested repeating the competition.

[1] no, it wasn't BT for a few years

I suppose there's always lots of ridiculous comparisons to make, that being one of them. No instrument is meant to be thrown. I guess that's where the DMM salesman lost his argument - it was all evenly matched, until he lost his temper.

Edited: for quote bracket thing was missing.

I'll take objection to on this one. Fluke distributor visited the school where I was getting my first degree; that was part of the demonstration. Their professional sparky series of meters are designed to withstand a fall from the top of at least a 12-foot ladder.

Cheers,

mnem
 

Yep, good luck doing that with an AVO, but then only a blithering idiot would dream taking an AVO up a ladder.

Yep, don't think that the full size AVOs were ever meant for anything other than bench/lab work of sorts. They made much smaller ones for out and about.

[Squarewave]

I'll take objection on this one. Fluke distributor visited the school where I was getting my first degree; that was part of the demonstration. Their professional sparky series of meters are designed to withstand a fall from the top of at least a 12-foot ladder.

Cheers,

mnem
 

Yep, good luck doing that with an AVO, but then only a blithering idiot would dream taking an AVO up a ladder.

Then what the fuck good are they?

mnem
a portable meter that doesn't port...?

AVO made smaller more portable meters, but the full size ones, such as the Model 8, I don't think was ever for general work up a ladder. I can't see why one would choose to.

[bd139]

Anyone fancy a gamble? 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165623099264

[mnementh]

Considering the item itself in the pic is a ESR60, which was infamous for not having any protection against accidentally being whacked by a charged capacitor... Ummm no. That was one of the main reasons I preordered and waited 3 months for my ESR70Plus.

mnem
 

[Specmaster]

Or indeed take a gamble on this item

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165623117385
Or even this item, listed as a Hard Drive USB 3.0 Portable 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165623132126

[factory]

On Avometers, I never got the obsession with them. Maybe I'm too young. Maybe I'm poisoned by the memory of crappy analogue meters. I've used Avos before but they just don't sit well with me. Why?

1. If you drop them they are toast.
2. They have weird battery requirements.
3. They have dubious safety characteristics and always did have.
4. They're bloody huge.
5. They appear to have been universally stored in damp sheds at their current age.
6. The bottom end of the scale is really janky even on new ones (compare to HP analogue meter calibration...)

We should just let the upcyclers have the bloody things...



Seeds of discord sewn. I shall now observe from a distance     

I bet you're older than me, by quite some margin, but I love Avometers 

Yep, if you drop them, they're donald ducked, though the movements can survive, the casing will be shattered. The ones I have from the 1920s, 1930s etc are a real example of people who've taken good care of them. I think they were always intended for bench use, though I have used one before when setting up load cells in an industrial setting, where I wanted to see the swing of the movement to give me good indication from the 0-10v range of the load cell.

I guess I'm lucky to have the space for all the stuff I have. TEA, is addictive, especially Avo and Marconi stuff, it's my weakness.

Editulation: I must say the calibration of my ones are good, consistent with calibrated standards and shows the same result as a 6.5 digit Agilent DMM in cal which we have at work.

We had an AVO 8 Mk5 that was perfect from the outside, the meter movement destroyed (the plastic that held the movement in place shattered). I did swap out the movement from another scrap one, only to find the tw&t that bought it on a scrap order then sold it on ePay for a premium as almost NOS condition.

Having been inside that one I never want to work on another Mk5, with those crappy flex wiring looms, I have one have that needs rehoming (reads low on most ranges), now I have a nice AVO Test Set Multirange No 1.



Also have many Taylor meters, aka Windsor for export models meters, some of these have a 5kV range.






 
And a few other makes: GEC Selectest, a fancy US made Phaostron 666 VOM (110V mains required), a wee Triplett 666H (also has 5kV range  ), probably one or two others I've forgotten.





David

[Cerebus]

I’m aiming higher. This has been used in broadcast measuring van. And it came with manual with all the instructions one may ever need.
Hope it will re-activate and even elevate my DXing 
If not, I can still use it for 10MHz frequency reference GPS antenna, 4G router antenna, weather station, … 

Been there, done that. Be carefull they can kill. One nearly got me.

Thanks for the warning. Lightning? Collapsed? Accidental retracting?

I'd imagine that a genuine risk with those is driving off after failing to retract it. Add almost any overhead structure, but especially HV power lines to "fire for effect".

[tautech]

I bet you're older than me, by quite some margin, but I love Avometers 

Yep, if you drop them, they're donald ducked, though the movements can survive, the casing will be shattered.

I don't love them, and have a couple of carcasses I will unload for a pittance.

Long ago I was working with GPO[1] Martlesham Heath and they told me of a "competition" between Avo 8 salesmen and  a DMM salesman. Everything was evenly matched until the DMM salesman picked up his offering, threw it across the room, and suggested repeating the competition.

[1] no, it wasn't BT for a few years

I suppose there's always lots of ridiculous comparisons to make, that being one of them. No instrument is meant to be thrown. I guess that's where the DMM salesman lost his argument - it was all evenly matched, until he lost his temper.

Edited: for quote bracket thing was missing.

I'll take objection to on this one. Fluke distributor visited the school where I was getting my first degree; that was part of the demonstration. Their professional sparky series of meters are designed to withstand a fall from the top of at least a 12-foot ladder.

Cheers,

mnem
 

Yep, good luck doing that with an AVO, but then only a blithering idiot would dream taking an AVO up a ladder.

Yep, don't think that the full size AVOs were ever meant for anything other than bench/lab work of sorts. They made much smaller ones for out and about.

You obviously overlook their PANCLIMATIC, soft cased with a shoulder/neck strap.