Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Cubdriver]

Fruh-gee-lee.  Must be Eyetralian!

-Pat

[mnementh]

SQWEEEEE!

Packages delivered. Fuckwit's gone. I think my wife scared him off.

I am showing incredible restraint by posting this pic BEFORE tearing it open... g'bye now!!!


mnem
 

Cool, tell us how it was packed, mine has now been shipped from GSP to international destination so hopefully it'll get here quicker than forecast.

           

Just like Oakley sez:  "Thermonuclear Protection." 

Shipped priority, new carton (NOT recycled), H-Taped top & bottom. Not only H-Taped, but stapled AND double-walled carton. Inside that, the good ol- "Spray-foam Cube of Goodness". Inside THAT, my little pink bundle of joy. And not just a pink wrapper... but a pink anti-static coated bag.  And finally.... my DOA baby. 

It's pretty hard to pack better; clearly these are professionals who didn't cut corners getting my meter here intact. While I wish I could have saved a few dollars, I don't begrudge them a penny spent on shipping. That package would have survived even those guys who chuck it over the fence.   

And worst part of all... it's fixed and all functions appear nominal against my Sperry and Aneng 8002 & 8008. Once I put hands on the 16V battery for my voltage reference, I'll check the DC voltage readings against it. But its late and I feel crunky due to lack of Sudafed, so I'm gonna go pass out now.


mnem
ZZZzzzZZZzzzZZZzzz...

[tautech]

Ya wat ?
They packed a Fluke 189 like that ? 
Wow, just wow !

[med6753]

Ya wat ?
They packed a Fluke 189 like that ? 
Wow, just wow !

Ditto. "Spared no expense".   

Me glad you finally got a 189 that works. BTW....what was the resolution with that other clown who sold you the busted one? 

[med6753]

And that, boys and girls, is where wisdom comes from... learning the hard way when it's time to cut your losses. 

Well-done med6753! May she serve you well and true! 


mnem
"When you find you're riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount." ~ Lakotah proverb passed down to me by my grand-dad

And this old gray beard has learned something else from experience.  Never, EVER, assume a piece of vintage equipment is fully fixed and functional unless you give it a good burn-in...or run-in....of at least 6 to 7 hours of more. The 465B after many hours has developed an intermittent connection on Channel 2 Volts/Div switch position .2 volts/division. The waveform is dancing around. I'll have to get in there with IPA and clean the contacts.

And, this is one area where you do NOT use deoxit. It can de-tune the attenuators.

[Cubdriver]

Looks like that Fluke was well packed.  The guy I got my HP 5248M from could use some lessons.  It appears uninjured by its travels, but that was certainly not thanks to the extensive cushioning with the box it made its journey in.  There were a few pieces of foam on the bottom, a few on the top, and it was wrapped in about three layers of large bubble wrap.  The handles were nearly bumping against the inside of the box.   



Thankfully as things I buy go it is relatively lightweight, so nothing appears to have been broken off enroute.

It does, however, appear to have some issues with the oscillator, or somewhere along the signal chain, as it does not count in the self test mode.  Oh, and the fan sounds like a JT-8D with bad bearings spooling up.

Another thing to fix.   


The video also includes a cameo appearance by Piglet, my favorite cable chewer...

-Pat

[bitseeker]

That package would have survived even those guys who chuck it over the fence.   

Just what I was about to say when I saw all that expanded foam packing in the oversized box. Pretty amazing.

[bitseeker]

Me glad you finally got a 189 that works. BTW....what was the resolution with that other clown who sold you the busted one? 

Did you want to buy it? It's available for a short while longer for...$50 (so far). https://www.ebay.com/itm/FLUKE-189-TRUE-RMS-MULTIMETER-WITH-LEADS-AND-BAG-FOR-PARTS-OR-REPAIR/263878907548

Now with batteries and fuses!

[bitseeker]

The guy I got my HP 5248M from could use some lessons.  It appears uninjured by its travels, but that was certainly not thanks to the extensive cushioning with the box it made its journey in.

...

It does, however, appear to have some issues with the oscillator, or somewhere along the signal chain, as it does not count in the self test mode.  Oh, and the fan sounds like a JT-8D with bad bearings spooling up.

That's quite a spool up alright! Did you put a scope or counter on the oscillator's output BNC? I was waiting for that.

While I was on your channel, I checked out your HP 522B. Neat to watch it count — like bubbles — and rather relaxing. I literally counts "up" from zero.

I subscribed for more glowy videos!

The video also includes a cameo appearance by Piglet, my favorite cable chewer...

Hi Piglet! Nice, dense fur.

[Ero-Shan]

Wait for a cold day and ask yourself that again 

No.  THIS is the one that can heat the house...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bih5W9DsPo#fauxfullscreen

-Pat

I would sure love to have one of them, as a good TEA member should strive to have at least one example of every display technology used! Power consumption wouldn't matter much, as it would only be used every now and then for demonstration purposes.

They're not easy to come by, though ...

[Cubdriver]

Wait for a cold day and ask yourself that again 

No.  THIS is the one that can heat the house...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bih5W9DsPo#fauxfullscreen

-Pat

I would sure love to have one of them, as a good TEA member should strive to have at least one example of every display technology used! Power consumption wouldn't matter much, as it would only be used every now and then for demonstration purposes.

They're not easy to come by, though ...

For sure - that one was on my watch list for a few years before one showed up.  One definitely needs patience in the collection of really old stuff like that!

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

The guy I got my HP 5248M from could use some lessons.  It appears uninjured by its travels, but that was certainly not thanks to the extensive cushioning with the box it made its journey in.

...

It does, however, appear to have some issues with the oscillator, or somewhere along the signal chain, as it does not count in the self test mode.  Oh, and the fan sounds like a JT-8D with bad bearings spooling up.

That's quite a spool up alright! Did you put a scope or counter on the oscillator's output BNC? I was waiting for that.

While I was on your channel, I checked out your HP 522B. Neat to watch it count — like bubbles — and rather relaxing. I literally counts "up" from zero.

I subscribed for more glowy videos!

The video also includes a cameo appearance by Piglet, my favorite cable chewer...

Hi Piglet! Nice, dense fur.

That is perhaps the noisiest muffin fan I've yet come across.  Seems something in the enclosure was resonating with it, too.

No scoping yet - this was just 'take it out of the box and see what happens when you power it up' thing.  That will be a next step to see if there's any activity there.

Those linear decade counters are rather hypnotizing to watch free run, aren't they?  Much more annoying to have to try to read, though - I think my eyes would get tired from bouncing up and down going across trying to register the value in my head!  Still, back in the day they were amazing technology.

I have actually just gotten a real video camera to record some stuff I was doing for work.  Maybe I'll attempt some real troubleshooting and repair videos at some point, recording with something better suited for the task than an iPhone is...

Piglet has the. softest. fur.  It feels mink like.  I did not expect her to hop up there and then not want to move.  I'm surprised she didn't bolt when the jet engi...  ...err... I mean muffin fan.. howled to life!

Dayum, I have subscribers now!  I'll have to make more glowy videos...   

-Pat

[tautech]

Dayum, I have subscribers now!  I'll have to make more glowy videos...   

-Pat

Haha. I did one on Siglent stuff and got 2 subs immediately. Shittiest vid too on a phone. 

Got a 12mp compact the other day so to try and do a few more....and hopefully better.

[Specmaster]

SQWEEEEE!

Packages delivered. Fuckwit's gone. I think my wife scared him off.

I am showing incredible restraint by posting this pic BEFORE tearing it open... g'bye now!!!


mnem
 

Cool, tell us how it was packed, mine has now been shipped from GSP to international destination so hopefully it'll get here quicker than forecast.

           

Just like Oakley sez:  "Thermonuclear Protection." 

Shipped priority, new carton (NOT recycled), H-Taped top & bottom. Not only H-Taped, but stapled AND double-walled carton. Inside that, the good ol- "Spray-foam Cube of Goodness". Inside THAT, my little pink bundle of joy. And not just a pink wrapper... but a pink anti-static coated bag.  And finally.... my DOA baby. 

It's pretty hard to pack better; clearly these are professionals who didn't cut corners getting my meter here intact. While I wish I could have saved a few dollars, I don't begrudge them a penny spent on shipping. That package would have survived even those guys who chuck it over the fence.   

And worst part of all... it's fixed and all functions appear nominal against my Sperry and Aneng 8002 & 8008. Once I put hands on the 16V battery for my voltage reference, I'll check the DC voltage readings against it. But its late and I feel crunky due to lack of Sudafed, so I'm gonna go pass out now.


mnem
ZZZzzzZZZzzzZZZzzz...

That is something else [emoji122] brilliant packing on that, and better still the meter works even though their stuff seems to be sold as powered up but not tested, so sold as is etc. Now I'm really looking forward to getting mine delivered [emoji41]. It's currently showing on the tracking as shipped from GSP Centre to International Destination yeeeeessss. Oh, there's just one problem with your 189, it's yellow and not red [emoji6][emoji106]

[bd139]

Ugh hangover.

Nice one with the 189. That was a killer deal 

[Zucca]

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/(de)-fs-30x-0603-resistor-kit/

[Berni]

So i have done some playing around with my HP 4145B (From this post:  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg1743695/#msg1743695 )

The UI has quite a few tricks up its sleeve, not very intuitive at first but once you get used to it its actually a really quick to navigate UI.

So comparing the characteristics of two transistors? Yep it can do that with 1 push of a button to freeze the current waveform on the screen and do all the other measurements overlayed. Here i have measured a NPN and then swapped it out to the next one from the same bag, you can see the new part has a little bit more gain.





So the next impressive thing about this thing is the range on the ports. It can do +/- 100V on all 4 SMU ports with up to 1mV resolution while supplying and measuring up to 100mA (Less at high voltages). But whats most impressive is that it has current ranges down to 1nA full scale. This gives it s 0.05pA resolution. So to demonstrate this capabiliy here i have measured the reverse leakage of a silicon diode from 0 to 1V.





Next trick it can do it math. A math expression that takes a voltage or current on any port can be entered in as a new trace. The expresion can contain the usual  + - * / but also does roots, exponents, logs and brackets. It takes si prefixed (m,u,n,p) in there too for easy work with large or small values and has some built in scientific constants too. Even when entering values into fields like setting the sweep step you can input a math expression and it will solve it and enter the result.

As an example of the math features here is another NPN transistor plot but this time with hFE added as an extra trace. Also a marker is placed on the curve showing that at a Vce = 0.5V and Ib = 30uA the transistor is providing a collector current of 2.923mA with a hFE gain of 97.4.

[bd139]

That’s rather cool that is. Very useful for matching transistors.

[Berni]

That’s rather cool that is. Very useful for matching transistors.

You can actually measure up to 4 transistors simultaneously. If they are a FET you can connect the sources all to voltage output port 1 that is set to 0V. Connect the gates to the voltage output port 2 and use it to sweep the bias on them and then connect the drains separately to each of the 4 SMU channels. The mesurement speed would be the same 1 to 60 seconds (Depending on how long of an integration time you use and the number of points) as for a single transistor.

EDIT: Oh and i just noticed the font for large characters from 1 to 9 looks a lot like the style of font used on nixie tubes. I always thought the font looked interesting but i couldn't quite point down to why.

[nixiefreqq]

both of my 5245M's came with noisy fans.

identical problem.  there were small fractures in the hub part of the blade shroud.  looked like the material had shrunk with age and developed tension cracks.  iirc the fix was just some jb weld and a couple of hours wrapped with some very thin steel wire to compress the hub back into place.

that 5248M is sweeeeet!

(so is piglet)

[Cubdriver]

both of my 5245M's came with noisy fans.

identical problem.  there were small fractures in the hub part of the blade shroud.  looked like the material had shrunk with age and developed tension cracks.  iirc the fix was just some jb weld and a couple of hours wrapped with some very thin steel wire to compress the hub back into place.

that 5248M is sweeeeet!

(so is piglet)

Thanks for the tip on the fan.  Given the way the sound throbbed and cycled as it spooled up, that sounds (no pun intended) like a strong possibility.

And I will pass your compliment on to the Chief Cable Muncher; I'm sure she'll be pleased.

-Pat

[mnementh]

Ya wat ?
They packed a Fluke 189 like that ? 
Wow, just wow !

Ditto. "Spared no expense".   

Me glad you finally got a 189 that works. BTW....what was the resolution with that other clown who sold you the busted one? 

Member ID bigtex5522 was a d-bag to the bitter end. I left the anger and BS at home; posted simple factual feedback. "Not as described; meter clearly tampered with after photos in auction. Disputed." He decided to go full scrotum-hat and since he couldn't post negative, posted positive feedback with malignant content: "As-is for parts or repair! Learn to read, moron!" I contacted customer support, they removed the comment and gave him a "friendly reminder" that it was a violation of eBay policy to post retaliatory positive feedback containing disparaging comments. I got to keep the positive point, just no comment. It's all over now; you guys can all add him to your plonker list.

Me glad you finally got a 189 that works. BTW....what was the resolution with that other clown who sold you the busted one? 

Did you want to buy it? It's available for a short while longer for...$50 (so far). https://www.ebay.com/itm/FLUKE-189-TRUE-RMS-MULTIMETER-WITH-LEADS-AND-BAG-FOR-PARTS-OR-REPAIR/263878907548

Now with batteries and fuses!

Good. Scrotum-hat had to spend $15 on fuses to sell his garbage on fleabay. AFTER paying for shipping both ways on my purchase. Those crappy Costco batteries were visible in the original listing; but to his credit, you CAN see that the meter has missing screws now. That and my feedback are well-reflected in the current bidding.

Glad I went with my gut reaction when I saw the meter had been tampered with; which was to not even open it up, but take pictures then put it right back in the box and tape it shut until the dispute was over.

Right now I'm shopping for DMM-44/DMM-11 equivalent fuses. fuu-uuuuu... when did these damned things get get so expensive?  Maybe I should just shit-can the Ragu 17B I robbed fuses out of for testing. Okay, maybe I can take my mind off it for a little while by printing up a new stand/rear bail...


mnem
Thank Ifni for small favors.

[mnementh]

And that, boys and girls, is where wisdom comes from... learning the hard way when it's time to cut your losses. 

Well-done med6753! May she serve you well and true! 


mnem
"When you find you're riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount." ~ Lakotah proverb passed down to me by my grand-dad

And this old gray beard has learned something else from experience.  Never, EVER, assume a piece of vintage equipment is fully fixed and functional unless you give it a good burn-in...or run-in....of at least 6 to 7 hours of more. (SNIP)

There, fixed that for ya.

The guy I got my HP 5248M from could use some lessons.  It appears uninjured by its travels, but that was certainly not thanks to the extensive cushioning with the box it made its journey in.

...

It does, however, appear to have some issues with the oscillator, or somewhere along the signal chain, as it does not count in the self test mode.  Oh, and the fan sounds like a JT-8D with bad bearings spooling up.

That's quite a spool up alright! Did you put a scope or counter on the oscillator's output BNC? I was waiting for that.

While I was on your channel, I checked out your HP 522B. Neat to watch it count — like bubbles — and rather relaxing. I literally counts "up" from zero.

I subscribed for more glowy videos!

The video also includes a cameo appearance by Piglet, my favorite cable chewer...

Hi Piglet! Nice, dense fur.

That is perhaps the noisiest muffin fan I've yet come across.  Seems something in the enclosure was resonating with it, too.

No scoping yet - this was just 'take it out of the box and see what happens when you power it up' thing.  That will be a next step to see if there's any activity there.

Those linear decade counters are rather hypnotizing to watch free run, aren't they?  Much more annoying to have to try to read, though - I think my eyes would get tired from bouncing up and down going across trying to register the value in my head!  Still, back in the day they were amazing technology.

I have actually just gotten a real video camera to record some stuff I was doing for work.  Maybe I'll attempt some real troubleshooting and repair videos at some point, recording with something better suited for the task than an iPhone is...

Piglet has the. softest. fur.  It feels mink like.  I did not expect her to hop up there and then not want to move.  I'm surprised she didn't bolt when the jet engi...  ...err... I mean muffin fan.. howled to life!

Dayum, I have subscribers now!  I'll have to make more glowy videos...   

-Pat

KITTTEEEEHHH!!!    

That is a pretty distinctive sound, and I recognize it. It is the sound of a line-voltage powered muffin fan with bad ball-bearings. By the timbre, I'm going to guess NIDEC or ROTRON. Good news is these fans ARE made to be rebuildable. Bad news is that even with new bearings, the 50/60 cycle power source resonates like a murr-furr throughout the entire chassis of anything they're installed in; look for rubber bushing mounts that may have rotted or turned into rock or marshmallow.

Just imagine working all day in the room with a 70s-80s era refrigerator-format server with 2-4 rows x 8-12 of these bastards in a 6" version that ran full-tilt 24/7/365... no wonder banking staff went batshit crazy and drove off cliffs back then. 

both of my 5245M's came with noisy fans.

identical problem.  there were small fractures in the hub part of the blade shroud.  looked like the material had shrunk with age and developed tension cracks.  iirc the fix was just some jb weld and a couple of hours wrapped with some very thin steel wire to compress the hub back into place.

that 5248M is sweeeeet!

(so is piglet)

Thanks for the tip on the fan.  Given the way the sound throbbed and cycled as it spooled up, that sounds (no pun intended) like a strong possibility.

And I will pass your compliment on to the Chief Cable Muncher; I'm sure she'll be pleased.

-Pat

I don't know if I hope I'm wrong or if I hope you're wrong. I know rebuilding a 6" NIDEC is a major PITA; but the MacGyver-fyin' you suggest sounds like just as much ass-ache, if not more.


mnem
This is real life; of course there will be a test. When you're least prepared for it.

[bitseeker]

Piglet has the. softest. fur.  It feels mink like.  I did not expect her to hop up there and then not want to move.  I'm surprised she didn't bolt when the jet engi...  ...err... I mean muffin fan.. howled to life!

My neighbor has a cat with fur like that. Just amazing. You can't help but run your fingers through it again, and again, and...

Dayum, I have subscribers now!  I'll have to make more glowy videos...   

That's right. TEA channel #1. We're anxiously awaiting the next notification.

[bitseeker]

So i have done some playing around with my HP 4145B (From this post:  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg1743695/#msg1743695 )

The UI has quite a few tricks up its sleeve, not very intuitive at first but once you get used to it its actually a really quick to navigate UI.

Wow, that's some piece of gear. Although I've seen some at reasonable prices (with 5.25" or 3.5" drive), they usually don't have the boot/config disk. I suppose that's kind of important unless you have the means to create one and are prepared to calibrate it.