Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Saskia]

For the nicotine glaze, I've found that at least for Japanese flavours, common dishsoap rips the stuff off much better than isopropyl alcohol etc.

best nicotine remover I have found is called red devil. used to clean arcade games, pinballs, etc that have been placed in those nicotine ridden gambling halls ...

[Zenith]

If you found HP 427As for £15 then that would be a bargain, I suspect you meant 432A or 435A/B, I'd still pick them up for spares myself at that price, assuming they were complete with feet etc, I think I have an early 432A here that needs a decent meter (has peeling scale disease), the 435 meter is not quite the same (scale labelling is slightly different).

The 1703A looks interesting, OK only 35MHz with analog storage CRT, but can run from low voltage DC, or an optional internal battery.
https://hpmemoryproject.org/an/pdf/sf_1700.pdf

David

I didn't look that closely but they weren't 432A (which I have) and they were HP power meters. To me they are basically useless, because of the probes. Anything HP is of interest, if the price is right, but for me that would have been a fiver apiece.

I know you are a connoisseur of these things, and had you been there and seen them, you might have snapped them up.

The seller said that the HP1703 had an EHT fault, so it might be a difficult fix. Analogue storage scopes tended to have expensive and short lived tubes. It's one to investigate in the long winter months. I expect I shall be able to extract £10 of value/entertainment from it.

[med6753]

The seller said that the HP1703 had an EHT fault, so it might be a difficult fix. Analogue storage scopes tended to have expensive and short lived tubes. It's one to investigate in the long winter months. I expect I shall be able to extract £10 of value/entertainment from it.

Tek storage CRT's also have a somewhat short lifespan but can still be used as a "normal" CRT long after the storage function has gone kaput. Don't know if hp storage CRT's can do the same.

Finding a good replacement is a rainbow colored unicorn.

[Zenith]

The seller said that the HP1703 had an EHT fault, so it might be a difficult fix. Analogue storage scopes tended to have expensive and short lived tubes. It's one to investigate in the long winter months. I expect I shall be able to extract £10 of value/entertainment from it.

Tek storage CRT's also have a somewhat short lifespan but can still be used as a "normal" CRT long after the storage function has gone kaput. Don't know if hp storage CRT's can do the same.

Finding a good replacement is a rainbow colored unicorn.

I was told by someone who spent many years designing oscilloscopes, and the last 15 years of his working life repairing oscilloscopes, that they went dim very quickly and were generally a PITA. He didn't single out any maker as better or worse.

I have a working HP analogue storage scope and that's something of a PITA to use as a normal scope.

[bd139]

If you found HP 427As for £15 then that would be a bargain, I suspect you meant 432A or 435A/B, I'd still pick them up for spares myself at that price, assuming they were complete with feet etc, I think I have an early 432A here that needs a decent meter (has peeling scale disease), the 435 meter is not quite the same (scale labelling is slightly different).

The 1703A looks interesting, OK only 35MHz with analog storage CRT, but can run from low voltage DC, or an optional internal battery.
https://hpmemoryproject.org/an/pdf/sf_1700.pdf

David

I didn't look that closely but they weren't 432A (which I have) and they were HP power meters. To me they are basically useless, because of the probes. Anything HP is of interest, if the price is right, but for me that would have been a fiver apiece.

I know you are a connoisseur of these things, and had you been there and seen them, you might have snapped them up.

The seller said that the HP1703 had an EHT fault, so it might be a difficult fix. Analogue storage scopes tended to have expensive and short lived tubes. It's one to investigate in the long winter months. I expect I shall be able to extract £10 of value/entertainment from it.

I did consider the 1703 for the knobs and parts if I'm honest. The EHT on them is actually fairly simple though so it might be fixable.

I bought another member of that series a couple of years back for £2 that was rancid just for the parts.

[Zenith]

I did consider the 1703 for the knobs and parts if I'm honest. The EHT on them is actually fairly simple though so it might be fixable.

I bought another member of that series a couple of years back for £2 that was rancid just for the parts.

I was mainly eyeing up the knobs.

If I fixed it, it would be embarrassing. I would give myself a pat on the back for sorting it out, but it would then be junk rather than rubbish. It would be a fairly useless working scope. But I'd feel reluctant to use it cruelly and rob it of its knobs and any other useful bits. That's not so say I wouldn't do it, but I'd feel a twinge.

Not to attempt to fix it is a few hours of innocent amusement turned down.

The dilemmas this TE addiction presents.

[Saskia]

Did I mention that I obtained the missing knobs for the Yamaha KX 260 tapedeck ?

[tggzzz]

The seller said that the HP1703 had an EHT fault, so it might be a difficult fix. Analogue storage scopes tended to have expensive and short lived tubes. It's one to investigate in the long winter months. I expect I shall be able to extract £10 of value/entertainment from it.

Tek storage CRT's also have a somewhat short lifespan but can still be used as a "normal" CRT long after the storage function has gone kaput. Don't know if hp storage CRT's can do the same.

Finding a good replacement is a rainbow colored unicorn.

I was told by someone who spent many years designing oscilloscopes, and the last 15 years of his working life repairing oscilloscopes, that they went dim very quickly and were generally a PITA. He didn't single out any maker as better or worse.

I have a working HP analogue storage scope and that's something of a PITA to use as a normal scope.

They always were a pain in the backside, and the principal use case for digitising scope. A Tek 464 a few of years ago merely confirmed that opinion, before I flipped it.

Having said that, as I mentioned to you yesterday, I have a 3 channel dual beam 10MHz Telequipment DM63 storage scope that is actually pleasant to use (now that the trace doesn't fade at 100Hz ) I was planning on flipping it for the reasons above and to reclaim space, but now I'm in two minds!

[BU508A]

Usagi is using here one boat anchor of a scope and I think, it's not a Tek one:

https://youtu.be/ryBe6NTYSe0?t=627

Edit:

Found the restoring video of this thing: it is an HP 150A:

[Robert763]

Usagi is using here one boat anchor of a scope and I think, it not a Tek one:

https://youtu.be/ryBe6NTYSe0?t=627

It's an HP don't know the model but suspect military variant of 150A

[tggzzz]

Mmmmm...  Nixie goodness!   

Yup; in two forms, filtered and unfiltered as per https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg4244440/#msg4244440



The more I use the the less I dislike them, which doesn't bode well for my flipping them

Well, I gritted my teeth and succeeded in flipping the 1620 at yesterdays hamfest, for a pleasingly large amount.

This looks almost like a 1420... for £499.99, without a "make offer" button.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174991878233

[Zenith]

CT type number and a Copenacre sticker on it. It has to be a special variant for the military. This could be a good or bad thing. It looks to be in as nice a cosmetic condition as could be hoped for.

For £500, he's having a larf.

[capt bullshot]

Ooopsie!
Looks like these went through some transmutation:

Brought this one from a Düsseldorf weekend trip, after killing its original contents it fits crappy power banks ...

For the TE records:


At least, I've got a lifetime supply of crappy powerbank electronics:




These are the worst I've seen (until now, there's always room to worsen this stuff further). The "standard" single cell protection chip, charging controlled by nothing than a diode, resistor and said chip. The 5V step-up converter is never turned off and sucks the cell do death within a year.

Anyway, from some experiments and experience, the recovered cells should be good for an average 1500mAh at light loads. Useful for replacing dead 3.6V NiCd NiMH packs and some other purposes.

[xrunner]

Have I done anything with those "Arduino" parts I got from the friend?

Well I took a Mega board and lashed up two of the sensors - Bosch BME680 and a CCS811 air quality sensors along with an OLED display. After being a little fussy (breadboard connections) it worked. Got data from both sensors. Don't know if they've ever been activated before. Anyway ... maybe another project. Perhaps a portable air quality sensor to bring with me to certain houses to warn me of the air quality in there!

 

[Ice-Tea]

I'm sorry Robert, that's not an option.

[med6753]

Have I done anything with those "Arduino" parts I got from the friend?

Well I took a Mega board and lashed up two of the sensors - Bosch BME680 and a CCS811 air quality sensors along with an OLED display. After being a little fussy (breadboard connections) it worked. Got data from both sensors. Don't know if they've ever been activated before. Anyway ... maybe another project. Perhaps a portable air quality sensor to bring with me to certain houses to warn me of the air quality in there!

 

When entering a Hobo residence wouldn't your nose tell you all you need to know and run in the other direction? 

[xrunner]

Have I done anything with those "Arduino" parts I got from the friend?

Well I took a Mega board and lashed up two of the sensors - Bosch BME680 and a CCS811 air quality sensors along with an OLED display. After being a little fussy (breadboard connections) it worked. Got data from both sensors. Don't know if they've ever been activated before. Anyway ... maybe another project. Perhaps a portable air quality sensor to bring with me to certain houses to warn me of the air quality in there!

 

When entering a Hobo residence wouldn't your nose tell you all you need to know and run in the other direction? 

Yea but that's subjective, this will document it to show them evidence. 

[mnementh]

End of sale update, that Peak ESR60 on eBay went in then end for £43.

Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, m'self.

mnem
 

Me neither, I only knew because eBay emailed me telling me that it was finishing soon and they knew that I'd viewed it and that was only because of the link posted here. I think I have enough cap and ESR testers anyway, and a Peak device would be one of the last things I'd consider.

Of the "lets abuse a microprocessor to do what a real piece of TE should do" Chinesium testers out there, the PEAK/ATLAS brand is probably one of the best product lines out there. It was the ESR60 in particular that I wouldn't touch, as I know from experience its inputs are unprotected.

Cheers,

mnem
 

[mnementh]

For the nicotine glaze, I've found that at least for Japanese flavours, common dishsoap rips the stuff off much better than isopropyl alcohol etc.

best nicotine remover I have found is called red devil. used to clean arcade games, pinballs, etc that have been placed in those nicotine ridden gambling halls ...

Best formula I've found is to just keep walking... 

mnem
"There's enough misery to go around without grabbing for more." ~Gramma Eddurds

[Cerebus]

I was mainly eyeing up the knobs.

Saucy! 

[mnementh]

Ooopsie!   Looks like these went through some transmutation:   

Good lord Cap'n... how many of those fukkin' things did you scrap?

The BMS on that looks like one of the common dual-chip designs; I see what should be one of the SOT363 chips managing charging, the other OVP/ODP, and the third is the buck/boost regulator. I see this arrangement used in all manner of cheap Lixx-powered consumer electronics nowadays, so you should have a good store of those chips for repair parts. 

What you need to look out for in these is they will often leverage the OVP to control charging with just the one chip, then apply 5V dropped through a diode to that. The OVP is supposed to be secondary protection, not primary charge control.

RANDOM MUSINGS MODE

The TSSOP-8 TP4056 is a much more robust BMS overall, and still one of the cheapest solutions in existence; I have no idea why they keep making these horrible kludges of SOT363 chips, except maybe they can all be placed in a single stop on the line with the same machine/no tooling changes...? 

/RANDOM MUSINGS

mnem


edited: completely wrong package type. d'oh!

[mnementh]

Have I done anything with those "Arduino" parts I got from the friend?

Well I took a Mega board and lashed up two of the sensors - Bosch BME680 and a CCS811 air quality sensors along with an OLED display. After being a little fussy (breadboard connections) it worked. Got data from both sensors. Don't know if they've ever been activated before. Anyway ... maybe another project. Perhaps a portable air quality sensor to bring with me to certain houses to warn me of the air quality in there!

 

When entering a Hobo residence wouldn't your nose tell you all you need to know and run in the other direction? 

Yea but that's subjective, this will document it to show them evidence. 

This line of reasoning presumes that one would willingly be close enough to present that evidence in person.   

mnem
I make no such promises.

[TERRA Operative]

End of sale update, that Peak ESR60 on eBay went in then end for £43.

Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, m'self.

mnem
 

Me neither, I only knew because eBay emailed me telling me that it was finishing soon and they knew that I'd viewed it and that was only because of the link posted here. I think I have enough cap and ESR testers anyway, and a Peak device would be one of the last things I'd consider.

Of the "lets abuse a microprocessor to do what a real piece of TE should do" Chinesium testers out there, the PEAK/ATLAS brand is probably one of the best product lines out there. It was the ESR60 in particular that I wouldn't touch, as I know from experience its inputs are unprotected.

Cheers,

mnem
 

*Puts a DCA75 back on the shopping list...

[Kosmic]

Well, I cave in and bought a Fluke pug 



I wanted a good thermocouple based ac voltmeter for a while and found this Fluke 8921A for not a lot of money (thank you Gixen for allowing me to snipe my way out  ). The Fluke 892X series was introduced around 1978 and was based on their new hybrid true rms converter. It was a direct competitor to the HP 3403C and was apparently cheaper when introduced to the market (1000$ vs 2600$).



From the side you can surely appreciate the nice yellowing, typical on Fluke instrument from that vintage.



Since I'm not necessarily interested to remove the shield, the inside is particularly uninteresting.



I like the fact that you can directly adjust the dBm reference on the front panel and don't need to do the conversion yourself. The meter read a bit low though and will probably need to be recalibrated and adjusted.



Still provide good performance at 20Mhz.



-3dB point is around 41MHz.



On the 2mV range, sensitivity is really good and can go as low as -65dBm (125uVrms).

[mansaxel]

End of sale update, that Peak ESR60 on eBay went in then end for £43.

Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, m'self.

mnem
 

Me neither, I only knew because eBay emailed me telling me that it was finishing soon and they knew that I'd viewed it and that was only because of the link posted here. I think I have enough cap and ESR testers anyway, and a Peak device would be one of the last things I'd consider.

Of the "lets abuse a microprocessor to do what a real piece of TE should do" Chinesium testers out there, the PEAK/ATLAS brand is probably one of the best product lines out there. It was the ESR60 in particular that I wouldn't touch, as I know from experience its inputs are unprotected.

Cheers,

mnem
 

*Puts a DCA75 back on the shopping list...

I have the DCA55. Very confident little bugger that. I like it a lot. Does one thing, does it well, and gives clear, exploitable results.

(And for L/C/R I've got the DE-5000, so don't see the need for a Peak device at the moment. )