Author Topic: Equipment obession on this forum?  (Read 23308 times)

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Offline jeroen74Topic starter

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Equipment obession on this forum?
« on: February 07, 2013, 11:44:41 pm »
I have been on this forum for a while now, and I noticed it seems the majority of the topics are about lab equipment itself instead of discussing other electronic topics or how to use that gear; equipment by itself is only a tool to achieve something, not the purpose. If you know what I mean... like a car forum where only tools are discussed instead of how to actually fix a car.

Not meant to be critical, just wondering 8)
 

Offline c4757p

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2013, 11:47:07 pm »
Not the majority. It's just that lab equipment is pretty much the one thing we all have in common. There are tons of threads discussing other things, but they're not the ones everybody jumps in on.

Besides, equipment can be the "something" you achieve - somebody has to develop the equipment. There's a big difference between an oscilloscope and a screwdriver. Personally I like designing that sort of stuff much better than a lot of other things.
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Offline EEVblog

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2013, 11:47:55 pm »
This forum is whatever you make it.
If you discuss electronics design, people will discuss electronics design.
If you discuss test equipment, people will discuss test equipment.
If you discuss what people are discussing, then people will discuss what they are discussing  ;D

Dave.
 

Offline EEVblog

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2013, 11:55:37 pm »
Not the majority. It's just that lab equipment is pretty much the one thing we all have in common. There are tons of threads discussing other things, but they're not the ones everybody jumps in on.

If you looked at the stats then you might think test equipment is the majority.
e.g. is has the almost all of the Top 10 places.
But in reality I think that just the nature of the topic. e.g. everyone has an opinion on what multimeter or oscilloscope is best, and as you said it's something we all have in common.
But if you ask about say low noise opamp design, a much smaller percentage is going to have an interest and/or knowledge and/or opinion in that area, so the responses are fewer, and that would show up on the unread threads list.

And I think it also stems from my blogs of course. I review test gear and have an affinity for it, so that naturally tends to attract other like minded people.
So this forum has a bit of a rep of being the best place to come and talk test gear.

Dave.
 

Offline Lightages

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2013, 12:54:52 am »
Yes, I have become a bit obsessed with multimeters. One reason is that I thought I was buying something reasonable when I made a recent purchase only to find it was not even close on some of the claims made by the manufacturer. When those claims can affect personal safety and the well being of some expensive equipment I became determined to find the manufacturers and models that actually met their claims and specs. Basically I wanted to open others' eyes and try to steer people to the better equipment even if it isn't the most accepted brand. Sure you can buy a Fluke or an Agilent and get something safe, but they are not always the best buy nor within a person's budget for the features they want/need.

Obsessed? Probably, but it too will pass :)
 

Offline ivan747

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2013, 12:58:28 am »
I find it funny, because lately I have spent more timein the lab messing with measurements and equipment rather than breadboarding circuits  :palm:


I think I want to do an internship at a calibration lab  :-+
 

Offline SLJ

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2013, 01:57:11 am »
On other electronics forums I've seen that are more focused on a single topic, the test equipment sections are still one of the larger sections of discussion.  I think it's in part due to the fact that almost any area of electronics depends heavily on test equipment in some form to help develop, test, or trouble shoot circuits.  Everyone gets a dose.  Maybe it's an acquired taste for some but sooner or later (usually sooner) we all have to deal with test equipment.   Since meters are probably the most widely used over all areas of interest, I would expect more discussions on them than anything else. 

Of all the areas of electronics I've had an interest in over the years my main focus now is collecting vintage test equipment.  Go figure.

Offline marshallh

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2013, 02:01:24 am »
I kinda just skip over all of them... I don't really care which $20 chinese meter or chinese scope is hot this week, I only care about designing and building things
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Offline Harvs

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2013, 04:06:05 am »
I kinda just skip over all of them... I don't really care which $20 chinese meter or chinese scope is hot this week, I only care about designing and building things


I generally tend to agree.  People tend to spend too much time worrying about what their gear can't do instead of just getting on with designing and building interesting stuff that's within the limits of what their gear can do.


Though I've learnt tons from looking at how 70-80's test gear was designed, and therefore the "reverse engineering" type reviews and videos are great.
 

Online Mechatrommer

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2013, 10:38:02 am »
I have been on this forum for a while now, and I noticed it seems the majority of the topics are about lab equipment itself instead of discussing other electronic topics or how to use that gear; equipment by itself is only a tool to achieve something, not the purpose. If you know what I mean... like a car forum where only tools are discussed instead of how to actually fix a car.
Not meant to be critical, just wondering 8)
stick around for couple of years more. it actually a "mental test".
Nature: Evolution and the Illusion of Randomness (Stephen L. Talbott): Its now indisputable that... organisms “expertise” contextualizes its genome, and its nonsense to say that these powers are under the control of the genome being contextualized - Barbara McClintock
 

Offline robrenz

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2013, 01:24:06 pm »
Some of the "instrument" threads contain some technical merit and I have learned a lot following those parts of the discussions.

Offline Hydrawerk

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2013, 08:31:26 pm »
??
This forum is useful for sharing information about various meters, scopes, etc... Why not?
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Offline cwalex

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2013, 11:29:00 pm »
the equipment used like multimeters, scopes etc are tools but they are also gadgets. all geeks love gadgets and to talk about them. lots of people are confused about which equipment is needed or how to use it so discussions about it are bound to come up a lot. they are also expensive so when people are thinking about purchasing a piece then it makes sense to ask the knowledgable guys what to buy and why.
 

jucole

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #13 on: February 09, 2013, 12:29:45 am »
Test gear gives you superpowers!  the more superpowers you have, the easier it is to build / fix and learn.
 

Offline george graves

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #14 on: February 09, 2013, 12:51:57 am »
I'm always amazed with the awesome work some people do with the most modest set of tools.  On the other had, there are guys that go out and buy every piece of test gear they can get their hands on - as if collecting the equipment a bigger part of the hobby then actually doing work.

Offline notsob

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #15 on: February 09, 2013, 01:04:02 am »
I think you will find the "mine is bigger than yours" syndrome in all facets of life and it's not going to change anytime soon.
 

Offline baljemmett

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #16 on: February 09, 2013, 02:15:20 am »
On the other had, there are guys that go out and buy every piece of test gear they can get their hands on - as if collecting the equipment a bigger part of the hobby then actually doing work.

For some people that can indeed be so -- and not just in electronics.  For instance, I have a modest collection of a few dozen cameras -- because I enjoy playing with different designs, or having pieces that are somehow 'interesting', or in some cases just completing a series! -- whereas when it comes to actually taking photographs there are only two or three I use regularly.  And that's only when I find myself going somewhere there's something worth photographing, which is pretty rare lately...
 

Offline SLJ

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #17 on: February 09, 2013, 04:07:53 am »
I'm always amazed with the awesome work some people do with the most modest set of tools.  On the other had, there are guys that go out and buy every piece of test gear they can get their hands on - as if collecting the equipment a bigger part of the hobby then actually doing work.

There's nothing wrong with collecting test equipment.   That's my main focus now.  I've been a tech all my life.  Why would an interest in collecting test equipment be any different than collecting anything else someone was interested in?

For myself, I especially like finding and documenting strange or little known items that for one reason or another were unique or even unknown by most today. I spent many years having to design and maintain electronics.  Why shouldn't I get to a point where I just do what interests me the most. I find I like researching the history of items as much as I like working on them.  If some of us don't do it all that will be lost.  If it does not interest you just move on.

Maybe I find someone's SMD mounting problem of little interest to me but I don't sit here and bitch about them talking about it.  I just move on to something that interests me.  That's what a forum is about.

Offline David_AVD

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #18 on: February 09, 2013, 06:22:39 am »
I've seen people buy lots of fancy equipment thinking it will make up for their lack of basic electronics knowledge.  A reasonable DMM and a cheap oscilloscope will get you a long way.   :)
 

Offline Rick

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #19 on: February 09, 2013, 07:26:29 am »
Also equipment hoarding is contagious. I see someone collecting equipment I feel like doing the same.
There is some velleity too I think.
Luckily I stop when I run out of cash:) For example I have sworn I shall never buy handheld multimeters any more  ;D
Time to buy bench ones;)
 

Offline Lightages

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #20 on: February 09, 2013, 07:37:16 am »
There are basically three types of personalities in any activity. The first is the person who just wants to participate in the activity with whatever equipment is at hand and the activity is all that matters, whether it is high level or not. The second is the person who wants to do the activity the best he can with the given finances allotted. The third is the person who wants to have the best equipment for bragging rights or obsession. We probably all know someone in these three types.

Generally the bragging rights type do the least with their equipment. The other types are usually much more productive. I count myself in the second type but with the caveat I posted earlier that I am obsessed with finding the best bang for the buck and safe and reliable multimeter so that others can share in the information. If I were not living in Chile, where "quality" and "dong it right" are dirty words, I might not have gone off on this tangent.
 

Offline T4P

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #21 on: February 09, 2013, 08:06:40 am »
I find it odd because recently i decided to move all my equipments just a few inches close to where i usually sit!
Not "odd" do i mean, obsessed yes.
But the mission i set for myself is pretty much the same as Lightages, here in singapore, "reliability" and "doing it properly" are taboos. Seriously.
Many people just head out and get the cheapest meter they can or they just buy fluke and be done with it not knowing they have zero bang for buck
Fact is here on this tiny island no one cares whether they got the right meter for the job or not! Nor do they care for reliability which they do not know fluke and agilent posesses, EE students just run out and buy whatever meter they can get on their hands for 8$
Now, i want to set things right and straight. Accuracy "doing it properly" is one i always address. If something is inaccurate over time by a fair bit i will really shoot the particular meter to hell, like a UT71X
Then "reliability", well it's really important i can't stress it enough.
Sure you can buy a U1232 here for 300SGD (Not cheap i know) and a UT61E costs like 50$ with more resolution, but that's not what EE students here buy!
So when they break they just buy another 8$ meter and in the long run it costs them quite a lot and this is all part and parcel of doing it right, they buy without knowing anything and in use not even in the know how inaccurate it will eventually be
That's why i like the UT61E, sure it lacks a backlight and APO (Struck me in the back the other day ... i left it on for a week and goodbye GO-LITE or something battery)
but it's build quality is epic for a 50$ meter, well it sure is. It's stiff and such

Hence this is why i have a equipment obsession and would post my findings every so and then (Well Now at least)
and the obligatory greek guy insult "A certain greek guy thinks that you must spend 300USD to have a "meter" I still maintain my stance that you need to know what you are buying/doing"
 

HLA-27b

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #22 on: February 09, 2013, 08:47:31 am »
Completely agree with the OP's sentiments.
It is not about how good your shoes are, it is about how fast you run.
 

Offline Wuerstchenhund

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #23 on: February 09, 2013, 09:57:55 am »
I have been on this forum for a while now, and I noticed it seems the majority of the topics are about lab equipment itself instead of discussing other electronic topics or how to use that gear; equipment by itself is only a tool to achieve something, not the purpose. If you know what I mean... like a car forum where only tools are discussed instead of how to actually fix a car.

Not meant to be critical, just wondering 8)

I guess you're right. But frankly, this makes this forum pretty unique (where else can you find a forum that actually discusses test & measurement instruments, aside from maybe the manufacturer-specific forums?) and it's the main reason I registered here. At the end of the day, tools are pretty important, and especially T&M gear is quite complex and therefore a worthy topic for discussion.

And it's not that there's no room to discuss circuit design or other electronics topics.

Personally I'd like to see more discussions about midrange and high-end kit (even if it's older stuff), but then this is just my weirdness, and considering the audience (hobbyists), it's perfectly understandable why Rigol scopes and Uni-T multimeters are amongst the hottest topics on here. And still makes for some really interesting discussions.
 

Offline MrPlacid

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Re: Equipment obession on this forum?
« Reply #24 on: February 09, 2013, 10:40:23 am »
I guess I know what happen. I remember searching for Rigol Ds1052e tutorial on youtube and found Dave's videos. Dave is into "Don't turn it on, take it apart!", so people who watched his videos are looking for good tools and recommendations.

I purchased the Rigol Ds1052e before even knowing eevblog even existed. I didn't want to buy a used oscilloscope because I was new to electronics and wouldn't know how to use it in the first place. Lucky me, I saw dave video on updating the firmware and it worked!

So I believe it is the hardware people that saw Dave's video followed him here; plus the ee students looking for advice.
 


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