Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

I'd keep the TDS210 and the PM3390B and get rid of everything else. TDS210 as a daily driver and the PM3390B when you need some more wumph

Yes I might just do that, i need the space, but I also love the Iwatsu cos a 4 channel scope, well a 2 + 2 channel. It is a boat anchor so I'll have to think about it [emoji6]

[bd139]

I'd keep the TDS210 and the PM3390B and get rid of everything else. TDS210 as a daily driver and the PM3390B when you need some more wumph

Yes I might just do that, i need the space, but I also love the Iwatsu cos a 4 channel scope, well a 2 + 2 channel. It is a boat anchor so I'll have to think about it [emoji6]

Connect the MTB Gate output of the PM3390 into the ext trigger on the TDS210 and you have a 4 channel scope with two screens

[Specmaster]

I'd keep the TDS210 and the PM3390B and get rid of everything else. TDS210 as a daily driver and the PM3390B when you need some more wumph

Yes I might just do that, i need the space, but I also love the Iwatsu cos a 4 channel scope, well a 2 + 2 channel. It is a boat anchor so I'll have to think about it [emoji6]

Connect the MTB Gate output of the PM3390 into the ext trigger on the TDS210 and you have a 4 channel scope with two screens

Bloody brilliant idea, I'll try that later, thanks 

[med6753]

Here's the after cleaning shots, its come up like a new one, well pleased, will have to move my Hitachi now to compensate for it but its got magazoom as well and all that shit

I really just understand why people let their equipment get into such a filthy state just fails me to understand the logic behind it 

Looks great! I don't understand either why some people let their equipment get filthy...especially equipment that still functions properly.

[PA0PBZ]

Tek 2445B Replaced the NVRAM, recapped the power supply.
Tek TDS210 Replaced the backlight with LED, recapped the power supply.
Rigol DS1054Z ... nothing yet 
Hitachi V-1585 In process of improving the frequency counter accuracy.
Mini DSO DS203 Installed Wildcat software. Amazing little scope.

After seeing Miti do his confession I guess I can't stay behind, so here goes:

Hitachi V222
Keysight  MSOX3034A  liberated
Philips PM3240X
Rigol DS1102E   liberated
Rigol DS2072     liberated
Tek 2230
Tek 2430
Tek THS710  (2x)
Tek DSA601  Probably wins from all the others together in weight and volume

I'm not even going to ask for a cure 

[mnementh]

Surely the purpose of a lighted keyboard is to assist game players in locating keys in the dark or semi dark at night and typists like me who still haven't mastered touch typing. In a well lit room that's not a problem as key and legend are clearly visible?

That's a bit of an "Ehhhh...." thing; the symbols aren't bright white, but rather a dull translucent grey on black keys. This is the beam of one of my tactical flashlights to simulaTE A worst-case scenario; sunlight falling across half of the keyboard. To have white-white symbols, you have to use whiter plastic underneath the caps. This requires an individual LED under each key to get adequate illumination. This of course costs much more, so the keyboard isn't as affordable. You get the idea; everything's a trade-off. 

As a former somewhat heavy gamer, albeit nearly 20 years ago now, back before I got married and had kids, it’s mostly about the cool factor. And there’s nothing wrong with that 

My current “actually doing stuff” keyboard is a Cherry G83 business line unit in boring “white with crud” scheme.

Yes and no. Modern twitch-trigger FPS gamers develop reaction times in the single-digit-to-teens millisecond range; (Seriously!) they're operating entirely by muscle memory and the feel of the keyboard, whether the keys are "non-interfering" (a big problem with membrane keypads), and quality of keystroke is a VERY important factor.

There is a whole industry now around making keyboards that FEEL and respond essentially like an old IBM board with the Cherry keys; they grade them by the colors Cherry used to use for their mechano-magnetic individual switches with a reed switch inside based on the firmness, how heavy the detent action is and how effing noisy they are. They even make keyboards now where you can change out the individual switches so that the ones you usually mash the crap out of in a gaming scenario have extra-firm action.

Guys like me who've been around since IBM still actually made a PC know and long for keyboards with that "IBM Selectric" feel; typing on anything less kindof feels like wearing two condoms. When you're a bareback guy.  This last 20 years of "Race to the bottom" in terms of cheapest possible PC hardware means that keyboard quality has been a muddle of misery for me and folks who actually know the difference.

For two decades I've kept various old IBM and IBM/Lexmark keyboards alive with 5-Pin DIN/PS2 dongles, rewiring keyboard cables and generally putting up with a dingy and yellowing "greyeige" colored desktop with a huge footprint on the keyboard. My last one was one of the first IBM/Lenovo keyboards actually made in black (How long ago was it that Lenovo had the "Black is the new black!" campaign?); it has the brown switches in it (Not as firm, about half as noisy as the really firm blue ones that gamers tend to prefer) and I personally couldn't care less that my typing sounds like a constant rattle of marbles dropped on a concrete floor. 

However... since those noisy-ass gaming keyboards have hit the mainstream, ordinary folks who just type a lot started buying them... and so formed a whole counter-current in the workplace against "keyboard clatter". This is where keyboards like mine have developed a niche; a reasonably quiet keyboard that just has a halfway-decent feel is again available, and at a reasonable price so folks don't mind taking a gamble on buying their own for a work PC. I have my PC in the corner of the living room so I can play my Flight Sims on the big screen; as a result, I've had to come to terms with family members who just want to be able to hear the effing TV when I'm doing my groups. 

Since they're still marketed as a "gaming" keyboard, backlighting is pretty much a must-have. It's like a "minimum requirement" to be called a gaming keyboard now; both for the "dimly-lit visibility" angle and the bling factor.

The backlighting is important for me because old eyes & poor lighting in the corner; I got used to backlit back in the days when I lugged a modded ToughBook around, and I MISS it. But I wasn't prepared to spend more than $50 on ANY keyboard that didn't at least come close to the feel of my old black IBM/Lexmark. That's really impossible with a membrane keyboard, but this is one of the best I've used.

Redragon makes the same keyboard with individual mechanical switches; they're Cherry clones, but that's to be expected at the $50 bracket. I may upgrade to that one as a second keyboard... it looks like the backlighting is a bit crisper.


mnem
*muted clickety-clickety-click*

[mnementh]

Well the codeine (30mg no less) isn’t touching it now so grr. Going to try cider later. That worked last time I did this 

Codeine doesn't really kill the pain; it more removes you from it, sets it aside in a nice little ball you can look at, contemplate and roll around in your mind like a model airplane or snow globe. If the pain is big enough though... it is just overwhelmed, and the line between the two states is razor-thin.

Remember to NOT go to sleep if you ignore the big red warnings and mix in alcohol; you may not wake up.


mnem
Dammit... all this talk of bacon has me hungry again!

[Specmaster]

That's a very valid point BD but its one that I'm sure you are aware off anyway and besides, you still have a longing for play time with your toys so I doubt that you'd put that at risk.

[mnementh]

   

Here's the after cleaning shots, its come up like a new one, well pleased, will have to move my Hitachi now to compensate for it but its got magazoom as well and all that shit
I really just don't understand why people let their equipment get into such a filthy state just fails me to understand the logic behind it 

You got a steal of a deal there! Those are the auctions I look for; good gear hidden under a layer of filth so nobody wants to pay anything for them. 


mnem
*Veteran of a thousand psychic wars eBay auctions*

[Specmaster]

   

Here's the after cleaning shots, its come up like a new one, well pleased, will have to move my Hitachi now to compensate for it but its got magazoom as well and all that shit
I really just don't understand why people let their equipment get into such a filthy state just fails me to understand the logic behind it 

You got a steal of a deal there! Those are the auctions I look for; good gear hidden under a layer of filth so nobody wants to pay anything for them. 


mnem
*Veteran of a thousand psychic wars eBay auctions*

Still cost me £124, bd139 had the best buy really although I did get an add on module, parallel printer interface (wow big deal) with mine. I think the 3 of us all look for that kind of a deal as I'm not afraid to do a spot of cleaning and general TLC to extract the swan that hiding behind the ugly duckling.

[Specmaster]

Surely the purpose of a lighted keyboard is to assist game players in locating keys in the dark or semi dark at night and typists like me who still haven't mastered touch typing. In a well lit room that's not a problem as key and legend are clearly visible?

That's a bit of an "Ehhhh...." thing; the symbols aren't bright white, but rather a dull translucent grey on black keys. This is the beam of one of my tactical flashlights to simulaTE A worst-case scenario; sunlight falling across half of the keyboard. To have white-white symbols, you have to use whiter plastic underneath the caps. This requires an individual LED under each key to get adequate illumination. This of course costs much more, so the keyboard isn't as affordable. You get the idea; everything's a trade-off. 

mnem
*muted clickety-clickety-click*

Are yes, I'm with you there, thats the reason why I have this Corsair gaming keyboard (real mechanical keyboard with Cherry (red) switches because the letters are not really clearly visible these days unless they are printed on the keycaps which very quickly become worn away, and as we get older and need to wear glasses our eyes are not as sensitive as they were when we much younger.

The keyboard I have is lit red only but has 3 level of brightness and off.

Geez, look at the dust on that, the camera sees things I can't so what's that telling me??

EDIT. The key caps are actually lit up in red although the camera seems not to have seen that instead picked up on the red glow emanating from under the key caps.

[mnementh]

LOL... Mine is brand-new and I STILL had to hit it with the dust-brush; first shots taken for that glare comparison looked like a disaster area.

Fortunately, one of the functions is a KB lock; perfect for a quick brush-out. I like that yours has a roller-knob for scroll/volume; I wanted that too but it was one of the sacrifices I made to get a KB in my price range. Fn+F2/F3 for volume is tolerable; I'm already getting used to it.

USB Hub/Passthrough was another feature I gave up... I'm already thinking about modding that in. 


mnem
Thank Ifni for Prime streaming music.

[bitseeker]

Here's the after cleaning shots, its come up like a new one, well pleased, will have to move my Hitachi now to compensate for it but its got magazoom as well and all that shit

Looks great, Spec. Congrats!

I really just don't understand why people let their equipment get into such a filthy state just fails me to understand the logic behind it 

Don't question it. If everyone made their stuff nice before selling, we'd probably have to pay more for it.

[bitseeker]

Well the codeine (30mg no less) isn’t touching it now so grr. Going to try cider later. That worked last time I did this 

Oof! Sure hope that heals up soon, bd. Meanwhile, I suppose you can get more reps with the soldering iron as exercise.

[Specmaster]

Here's the after cleaning shots, its come up like a new one, well pleased, will have to move my Hitachi now to compensate for it but its got magazoom as well and all that shit

Looks great, Spec. Congrats!

I really just don't understand why people let their equipment get into such a filthy state just fails me to understand the logic behind it 

Don't question it. If everyone made their stuff nice before selling, we'd probably have to pay more for it.

True but I always make sure my gear is as presentable as I can make them so I can get a better price. It makes the upgrading less expensive to keep SWMBO happy.

[mnementh]

   

Well truck a duck... Looks like it's all done with edge-lighting and diffusion panels. 

Damn, they've gotten a LOT better with this tech; it only has 9 RGB (Not WS2812 as I earlier thought would be easiest) LEDs on one edge in a 3 x 3 matrix to make 3 RGB channels for the rainbow effects. I'm amazed they're able to get that much usable light out of this arrangement! 

Yes, I AM already thinking about how to populate & properly drive those empty spots in the edge PCB... 


mnem
*Lit*

[Specmaster]

Here's my keyboard again with the lights off and the leds at the middle level setting, still the phone camera see the keycaps legends as almost white when if fact they are bright red. 

[bitseeker]

I really just don't understand why people let their equipment get into such a filthy state just fails me to understand the logic behind it 

Don't question it. If everyone made their stuff nice before selling, we'd probably have to pay more for it.

True but I always make sure my gear is as presentable as I can make them so I can get a better price. It makes the upgrading less expensive to keep SWMBO happy.

But of course! We are the minority. I still get a chuckle when seeing listings set to "Seller Refurbished" and they look just as dirty and residue-laden as the typical used or for-parts items.

[bitseeker]

   

Well truck a duck... Looks like it's all done with edge-lighting and diffusion panels. 

Damn, they've gotten a LOT better with this tech; it only has 9 RGB (Not WS2812 as I earlier thought would be easiest) LEDs on one edge in a 3 x 3 matrix to make 3 RGB channels for the rainbow effects. I'm amazed they're able to get that much usable light out of this arrangement! 

That's neat. I haven't seen inside these things before. The lighting certainly is more even than back in the "old days."

Here's my keyboard again with the lights off and the leds at the middle level setting, still the phone camera see the keycaps legends as almost white when if fact they are bright red. 

Yeah, the labels are over-exposed. Can you choose the focus point? If so, select the brightest spot you can in the hopes the auto-exposure will stop down more.

[Brumby]

Here's my keyboard again with the lights off and the leds at the middle level setting, still the phone camera see the keycaps legends as almost white when if fact they are bright red. 

The human eye is much more adept at dealing with brightness variations than most cameras.  Any camera with automatic exposure settings in use will do the same as you have shown.

The camera will see the red lettering - but the relative brightness is way greater than the rest of the scene and the automatic exposure will try to "average out" the exposure to get as much detail as possible.  This means the lettering just blows the RGB values through the roof.  You would need a manual exposure setting to get the lettering to show up as red - but, then, the back illumination would be much less bright.

[Specmaster]

Here's my keyboard again with the lights off and the leds at the middle level setting, still the phone camera see the keycaps legends as almost white when if fact they are bright red. 

The human eye is much more adept at dealing with brightness variations than most cameras.  Any camera with automatic exposure settings in use will do the same as you have shown.

The camera will see the red lettering - but the relative brightness is way greater than the rest of the scene and the automatic exposure will try to "average out" the exposure to get as much detail as possible.  This means the lettering just blows the RGB values through the roof.  You would need a manual exposure setting to get the lettering to show up as red - but, then, the back illumination would be much less bright.

Here it is again this time with a few settings changed and also a few caps removed to show this has an LED per key cap and it is currently shown on its lowest setting. It is not an RGB, pure red LEDs are used everywhere.

[bitseeker]

15% off "everything" on eBay for a few more hours. See page for details & restrictions.

https://pages.ebay.com/promo/2018/0808/67811.html

[Cubdriver]

15% off "everything" on eBay for a few more hours. See page for details & restrictions.

https://pages.ebay.com/promo/2018/0808/67811.html

Damn you, I just bought another friggin' counter!!   

-Pat

[xrunner]

15% off "everything" on eBay for a few more hours. See page for details & restrictions.

https://pages.ebay.com/promo/2018/0808/67811.html

Damn you, I just bought another friggin' counter!!   

-Pat

LOL!

[bitseeker]

You're very welcome, Pat. Cheers! (And post pics )

I bit the bullet and snagged a Keithley 2-slot male to 3-lug female triax adapter. Octopart lists them at $92 and up. This one was $50 (plus shipping) BIN or $25 starting bid. With tonight's deadline for the 15% off, I went for the BIN, which covered the shipping. Now, I'll finally be able to use my K220 and K614, though not at the same time, yet.

Also, I ordered four of those el cheapo (but fine for general use) 1x/10x 100 MHz probes for use with my old HP 54601A.