Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[HighVoltage]

I have agreed withe other half to sell another supply, probably the shitty Heathkit one.

That is good, then you can buy a few more of these much better quality Agilent E36xxA power supplies. They come in many different voltages and nicely stack on top of each other.

[SingedFingers]

Thats the plan   Need one that kicks out 3A @ 20v as well ... any recommendations?

That one will *need* current limiting

[Berni]

And alas an HP6236B equivalent just appeared like magic after I posted that so here we go again for a reasonable £125...



I have agreed withe other half to sell another supply, probably the shitty Heathkit one.

These are actually very nice supplies. I scored two of them on the cheep (I think 75 USD each) and i was quite impressed with them. I liked them so much intact that i went and bought another 2 from the same guy since he still had a few. Two out of the bunch did need the LED display board glued back in so it would sit right, because the tiny tab that holds it snapped in shipping. The plastic on the front panel does get quite brittle with age (So be very gentle on the front clips when taking the cover off)

Also i found that you can make the LED display update as fast as you want by replacing a single ceramic capacitor used as part of a RC oscillator. I set the update rate to about 10 Hz and that made it a joy to set the voltage. You could make it update faster than 30Hz if you wanted but i don't like the numbers becoming a blur, yet the meter still stays bang on to the last digit verified to my good bench meter.

If you are looking for a good quality simple analog PSU these things are what you want to look for. My only complaint with them is that they are a bit low power but they still cover most use cases just fine.

[tggzzz]

Thats the plan   Need one that kicks out 3A @ 20v as well ... any recommendations?

That one will *need* current limiting

I have an HP6632A system power supply that I'm looking to get rid of.

It will source and sink 5A at 20V.
It has constant current, constant voltage modes, over-voltage and over-current foldback limiting

I haven't tested the current sinking, nor the HPIB interface.

[SingedFingers]

Think that's probably overkill for my requirements to be honest although I would love one.

I genuinely need to get rid of some stuff now if I'm honest and focus on some design projects rather than repair/purchase ones as well

And alas an HP6236B equivalent just appeared like magic after I posted that so here we go again for a reasonable £125...



I have agreed withe other half to sell another supply, probably the shitty Heathkit one.

These are actually very nice supplies. I scored two of them on the cheep (I think 75 USD each) and i was quite impressed with them. I liked them so much intact that i went and bought another 2 from the same guy since he still had a few. Two out of the bunch did need the LED display board glued back in so it would sit right, because the tiny tab that holds it snapped in shipping. The plastic on the front panel does get quite brittle with age (So be very gentle on the front clips when taking the cover off)

Also i found that you can make the LED display update as fast as you want by replacing a single ceramic capacitor used as part of a RC oscillator. I set the update rate to about 10 Hz and that made it a joy to set the voltage. You could make it update faster than 30Hz if you wanted but i don't like the numbers becoming a blur, yet the meter still stays bang on to the last digit verified to my good bench meter.

If you are looking for a good quality simple analog PSU these things are what you want to look for. My only complaint with them is that they are a bit low power but they still cover most use cases just fine.

Thanks for the tips. Appreciated. This is exactly what I bought it for.

My requirements are pretty modest as most things I build with the supplies I have are just subcircuits of larger systems. The final devices always have their own power supplies or a switch mode wall wart. For example the long running "build my own scope" project has a homebrew royer converter which runs off 9-15v and delivers +/-15v, 6.3v and two 300v windings. That is what I need the bigger supply to develop.

I've got a Heath triple supply which is equivalent to the Agilent one really but it has analogue metering and some parts in it I don't fancy finding replacements for if it goes phut (which it has before). The thing also has no protection or consideration for the user either

TBH the main uses cases will be testing dual rail op amp and transistor circuits and providing 3.3 and 5v logic supplies which it is pretty good for.

Edit: I notice farnell are still selling these for £490 ex / £588 inc so that wasn't a bad deal: http://uk.farnell.com/keysight-technologies/e3630a/power-supply-3ch-20v-2-5a-fixed/dp/1214486

Would not have paid that for it new.

[tggzzz]

Think that's probably overkill for my requirements to be honest although I would love one.

I genuinely need to get rid of some stuff now if I'm honest and focus on some design projects rather than repair/purchase ones as well

Ditto

AFAIK the HP6632A works perfectly, and I'll sell it for much less than that Farnell price!
OTOH it is single output and there's no potentiometer to vary the voltage.

[Berni]

Wow i had no idea they still sell these things. They go for quite a pretty penny too.

I found Farnell still sells the HP 6032A for almost 7 grand! Its quite a lovely beast of a PSU with 60V 50A 1000W output with the output terminals being busbars. Never again will you say  the words "I wish i had a bigger PSU". Finding a load to test it at max power is a bit tricky tho.

[SingedFingers]

Also has a computer-me-bob in it which tends to put me off (that is the day job )

[TiN]

Another broken PCB module from Fluke calibrator just got away by mere 2$. Phew, that was a close call, but I'm saved. Or not? 

[bitseeker]

TiN, it depends if you needed that PCB to finish a repair or not.

By the way, what was that thing that you received and were teasing us about a few pages ago?

[W2NAP]

i been spending too much cash..... just a few of the things i bought in the last couple days

Really been wanting to snag a HP5340A 18ghz freq counter.. NIXIE TUBES!

seen the Rigol DS1102E with a decent low price so I snagged that as well.

[mmagin]

i been spending too much cash..... just a few of the things i bought in the last couple days

Really been wanting to snag a HP5340A 18ghz freq counter.. NIXIE TUBES!

Wow, that's some old-school microwave frequency counting.  Looks like some very early HP-IB too.  I'm guessing it's less tolerant of modulation than the more clever scheme in the later 5342A that I have, but if you have the space for another full-rack item, that's pretty sweet!

Speaking of nixies, ever since reading http://hpmemoryproject.org/an/pdf/an_69.pdf the other day, I have been wondering how rare a HO4-3460A is   Though it's not really any more accurate than the basic 3460A  http://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1965-08.pdf 

[Cubdriver]

i been spending too much cash..... just a few of the things i bought in the last couple days

Really been wanting to snag a HP5340A 18ghz freq counter.. NIXIE TUBES!

seen the Rigol DS1102E with a decent low price so I snagged that as well.

Ha, ha - you've got nixies!        NOW you're in trouble.  Beware - they're infectious, and they multiply!!!

I started about four years ago with a 5245L and have since lost count (or perhaps more precisely I'm afraid to count and find out just how bad the infestation really is...) 

I need to clear the bench and get the 5340A opened up again to see if the replacement board I got cures what ails it...

-Pat

[W2NAP]

i been spending too much cash..... just a few of the things i bought in the last couple days

Really been wanting to snag a HP5340A 18ghz freq counter.. NIXIE TUBES!

seen the Rigol DS1102E with a decent low price so I snagged that as well.

Ha, ha - you've got nixies!        NOW you're in trouble.  Beware - they're infectious, and they multiply!!!

I started about four years ago with a 5245L and have since lost count (or perhaps more precisely I'm afraid to count and find out just how bad the infestation really is...) 

I need to clear the bench and get the 5340A opened up again to see if the replacement board I got cures what ails it...

-Pat

i love the look of nixies. i remember as a kid maybe 4 or 5, mom stopped at a yard sale and on a table was a clock. but the clock was different from all other clocks I had seen, and i wanted it. oh boy did i carry on to mom to buy it for me (it was like a dollar or two) she gave in bought it when i got home I plugged it in, it was a nixie tube clock. sadly it burned up in a house fire some years later.

my 5340 should be here by end of week, so i will get to check it out see what is wrong (if anything) and ill post some pics of it.

[W2NAP]

i been spending too much cash..... just a few of the things i bought in the last couple days

Really been wanting to snag a HP5340A 18ghz freq counter.. NIXIE TUBES!

Wow, that's some old-school microwave frequency counting.  Looks like some very early HP-IB too.  I'm guessing it's less tolerant of modulation than the more clever scheme in the later 5342A that I have, but if you have the space for another full-rack item, that's pretty sweet!

Speaking of nixies, ever since reading http://hpmemoryproject.org/an/pdf/an_69.pdf the other day, I have been wondering how rare a HO4-3460A is   Though it's not really any more accurate than the basic 3460A  http://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1965-08.pdf 

the 5340 will sit nice above my fluke 6060a/an

[Cubdriver]

the 5340 will sit nice above my fluke 6060a/an

I just looked that up.  Fluke did have a thing for VFDs, didn't they?

-Pat

[rachaelp]

Forgive me (again).... I have been weak (again)..... 

I seem to have a thing for Rohde & Schwarz gear at the moment as I have just scored a Rohde & Schwarz AFG from evilBay....

It's faulty so will need repairing but that's half the fun of buying old test equipment right?!

So I will post up pics for evidence once it's here 

Best Regards,

Rachael

[W2NAP]

the 5340 will sit nice above my fluke 6060a/an

I just looked that up.  Fluke did have a thing for VFDs, didn't they?

-Pat

yes, but i love it. it looks good.

[mmagin]

I've had this for a while (and the ancient capacitor standard too).  A Fluke impedance bridge I don't really have for any practical reason, I just got it because it has a Dekapot AND a Magic Eye tube.  Seems fairly accurate anyway, though the Q/D capacitor has a mechanical problem.

Bleh, stupid iphone picture rotation.   

[JenniferG]

Hi. My name is Jennifer... and I think I might be addicted.. intervention?

[Cubdriver]

Hi. My name is Jennifer... and I think I might be addicted.. intervention?

We don't offer intervention services here.  We actively incite and encourage.   

www.ebay.com   

-Pat

[AF6LJ]

This is the official TEA (Test Equipment Anonymous) house for everyone who has GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). Share your stories of woe, trying to manage all the wonderful test gear you keep scoring. Maybe group therapy will cure you. Then, again, maybe not. Well, as long as you enjoy it, what's one more multimeter in the grand scheme of things?


Glossary of Terms and Condition Variations

• CAP: Costly Accessory Phobia - Counteracts the effects of TEA.
• CCMHA: Cheap China Modules History Accumulator - The urge to document history of engineering progress on small cheap Chinese electronic modules.
• DMM: Duplicate Meter Mania
• FUSS: Future Usefulness Speculation Syndrome - The inability to part with or sell equipment as a result of rationalization about potential projects for which it will one day be useful.
• GAS: Gear Acquisition Syndrome
• GPSDO: Generic Pathological Syndrome Desiring Oscilloscopes
• HFO: High Frequency Obsession - May be a mutation of TEA. The gear you own will never have enough frequency range driving you to buy faster scopes, better generators, faster spectrum analyzers, etc.
• LED: Lab Equipment Disorder
• LSUG: Lazy to Sell Unused Gear
• METH: Maintaining Endangered Test gear at Home
• NOS: Now On Sale or New Old Stock - A serious contributor to TEA.
• NTSC: Nixie Tube System Collector
• PETA: Preservation of Equipment Through Acquisition
• SCOPE: Serious & Chronic Obsession with Personal Electronics
• SPEED: Systematic Preservation of Endangered Electronic Devices
• TEA: Test Equipment Anonymous, Test Equipment Addict or Test Equipment Addiction
• TN: Time Nut - One who is obsessed with timing and time accuracy. A significant contributor to TEA.
• VN: Volt Nut - One who is obsessed with measurements and measuring accuracy, precision and resolution. A significant contributor to TEA.

These are great.

[JenniferG]

lol @ "endangered test gear".

[rachaelp]

Hi. My name is Jennifer... and I think I might be addicted.. intervention?

Welcome Jennifer! No interventions here, just a friendly ear when you want to talk about your latest Test Equipment Acquisitions (TEA's).

Best Wishes,

Rachael

[SingedFingers]

Well I got my E3630A. Couple of cracked binding posts but meh to that; I only use them as 4mm jacks. Check out was fine - fully working even under short conditions.

Only problem is this bastard RIFA X2 which is coming out straight away. I will order another vendor's X2 after one blew up in my scope.



Nice power supply - am impressed.



So I've now got 5 power supplies. Better get rid of at least one