Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[djos]

I think this is tantalums being dicks

Typically I skipped replacing them because the TH ones are pretty expensive now and they're usually quite reliable. Turns out I was wrong

1980s tantalums aren't the same as today's tantalums.

1980's tantalums are good for only one thing, setting your equipment on fire! Dangerous bloody things they are!

The current polymer tantalums are quite safe tho and apparently mostly self healing.

[tggzzz]

I think this is tantalums being dicks

Typically I skipped replacing them because the TH ones are pretty expensive now and they're usually quite reliable. Turns out I was wrong

I've bought not too expensive tant beads from, of all places CPC. The major disadvantage is they insist on sending you paper catalogues.

[bd139]

Ordered some from here: http://www.taydaelectronics.com/capacitors/tantalum-capacitors.html

Takes a couple of weeks to turn up but price is right and they're AVX rather than "Multicomp". CPC have never sent me a paper catalogue. Need something to start up the fire in the living room. CPC are actually really cheap on some stuff - good NP0 ceramic TH caps from there for less than 5p each and oodles of free inflatable packaging bags for the kids to scare the shit out of the wife with.

Accidentally bought some more kit this evening which is slightly special to me. I'll post pictures tomorrow when I've grabbed it. It's untested, probably dead and likely to explode but I fancied a go. Special as my mother actually may have assembled some of it

[Specmaster]

Careful, you'll run out of space soon, dead meter, new one arriving asap, but can understand the family connection, can't wait for the pics.

[bd139]

Space is already gone. My bench is the living room table and a couple of Ikea units behind it so it's a case of playing tetris with various piles to get what I need out for a task. I'll do a post on it at some point as I have less space than most of the people on here. I will displace the two "need new drum" laser printers to the tip to make room for these toys.

Plan was to move house this year but the whole brexit business has screwed the economy so stockpiling cash is a higher priority than spending it on assets that might suddenly devalue (and require selling toys to eat)

Edit: literally as I was hitting submit, the television has just made an interesting crackling noise and died! Fucking Samsung crap! Another project but one I don't want grr 

[Specmaster]

Thought my situation was bad, but you're description makes mine seem a bit more organised  Samsung sounds like a capacitor, any magic smoke and associated smell? 

[djos]

Edit: literally as I was hitting submit, the television has just made an interesting crackling noise and died! Fucking Samsung crap! Another project but one I don't want grr 

Samsung TV's are notorious for cheap and nasty caps which dont last, likely an easy fix.

[bd139]

Smells like capacitor. Will crack it open tomorrow. Going to bed now

[bitseeker]

Wow, it's capacitor week at the bd139 household.

[bd139]

It’s going to get worse too because what I just bought probably has a pile of knackered electeolytics in them.

[djos]

Just got a new 30v 5A Bench Supply to replace my ghetto ATX unit, should make life much easier! 

This one seems to show up under quite a few different brands - i'll take it apart shortly to check the earthing etc, but should do nicely for my basic purposes.

[bd139]

Congrats. At least it’s less likely to incinerate everything you connect to it. It scares me when I see people using PC switchers as bench supplies.

[djos]

Congrats. At least it’s less likely to incinerate everything you connect to it. It scares me when I see people using PC switchers as bench supplies.

Yeah that was one reason I bought it, I kept blowing stuff up with the ghetto unit due to the lack of current control. 

[bd139]

I still do that with current limited supplies - it just blows up slowly

[djos]

I still do that with current limited supplies - it just blows up slowly

 

[Bicurico]

OK.

Here it goes: I am a Test Equipment Addict and I suffer from it from a high degree, since I not only purchase test equipment, but the equipment that needs to be measured, as well.

I know, kind of stupid...



On of my interests has always been the reception of satellite TV. I am/was fascinated by it for a simple reason. I used to live in Germany, but at age 14 moved to Portugal. I missed Germany, of course, and when I first saw a demonstration of a satellite reception equipment back in 1987, I was certain that I had to own such thing. They were expensive back then and I only was able to have my own satellite dish and receiver around 1994.

That was round about the time that analogue satellite TV moved to digital. Encrypted analogue channels could be heuristaclly decrypted in real time by computers with TV cards. Amazing.

Then came all the smartcard piracy, which was more interesting, than the contents they allowed to watch.

Then bigger dishes, motorized dishes.

Then the first satellite field meter.

Then the amateur radio license and some radio scanners and even handheld transmitters.

Then TV and CATV reception.

Then TV, CATV and SAT field meter. Lots of them.

Then generic spectrum analyser for even more insight of the radio spectrum.

Now I started to get the gear that TV operators use: professional receivers, multiplexer, modulators.

I could actually setup my own CATV playout centre right now.



This comes with other test equipment, like oscilloscopes (analogue and the Rigol DS1054Z), multimeter, soldering station, hot air soldering station, etc.

This is all a learning process and the generic electronics equipment is used to repair broken stuff I buy.

Attached are two pictures, one is the evolution of the mind state, the other shows my cleaned up desk. Note that no field meter is shown, as they are all stored next to the desk, together with all the other stuff.

So, yes: I am an addict who started to buy stuff that needs to be measured, so I can buy TE, which leads to buying more stuff that needs to be measured. A viscious cycle.

Regards,
Vitor


 

[Mr. Scram]

Congrats. At least it’s less likely to incinerate everything you connect to it. It scares me when I see people using PC switchers as bench supplies.

There's nothing like a little oomph behind your snap, crackle and pop.

[Specmaster]

Just got a new 30v 5A Bench Supply to replace my ghetto ATX unit, should make life much easier! 

This one seems to show up under quite a few different brands - i'll take it apart shortly to check the earthing etc, but should do nicely for my basic purposes.

Yep they are good, 1 have 2 of them, do you know if it is smps or a linear? I find the linear are the best at delivering really smooth supplies.

[bd139]

Nice and easy to repair too. Some of the Chinese power supplies albeit cheap are made from jellybean parts and perform pretty well.

[Specmaster]

Nice desk area, welcome to the afflicted, you'll fit in here perfectly, although you still have plenty of space to fill 

[Specmaster]

Nice and easy to repair too. Some of the Chinese power supplies albeit cheap are made from jellybean parts and perform pretty well.

Some of them can have horrendous spikes on switch on which because they have no load switch, can damage delicate circuits / experiments I'm told. Seeing as I don't do that kind of thing, it doesn't bother me at all.

[Bicurico]

Nice desk area, welcome to the afflicted, you'll fit in here perfectly, although you still have plenty of space to fill 

Regarding space, not really. The space under the desk is almost full and the huge cupboard next to the table, where I store the field meter, general electronics, tools, parts, etc. is full, too.

Actually, I have gotten to a point, where I took some of the older satellite stuff and stored it at my father's house...

Regards,
Vitor

[Specmaster]

By space, I was referencing the small low level stacks, many of us have stacks 5 high or more so you still have that space to fill....

[djos]

Just got a new 30v 5A Bench Supply to replace my ghetto ATX unit, should make life much easier! 

This one seems to show up under quite a few different brands - i'll take it apart shortly to check the earthing etc, but should do nicely for my basic purposes.

Yep they are good, 1 have 2 of them, do you know if it is smps or a linear? I find the linear are the best at delivering really smooth supplies.

the "Manual" says it's a Switching PSU.

[Mr. Scram]

Nice and easy to repair too. Some of the Chinese power supplies albeit cheap are made from jellybean parts and perform pretty well.

I don't quite like putting Chinese no-name stuff on mains. Some will be decently designed and built, but some will inevitably be dangerous junk.