Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

Yes seen those. I decided it was too expensive and too much of an arse ache to put together. An MFJ-259B landed at the right price so I snapped that up

I actually built a sweeperino with return loss bridge a while ago to use for this purpose as well. That worked pretty well and got my last antenna tuned nicely.



Incidentally I ran the RLB through the MFJ-259B when it turned up and that was flat to 63MHz which was quite a surprise.

I am looking at heading in the direction of simpler solutions generally so the next attempt will be a noise bridge I think.

[VK5RC]

No worries, rather bizarrely I still enjoy building 'kits' !
For the older smd-terrified guys in my radio club I built 3 of them.
Rob

[bd139]

Yeah I like a good kit too. Currently humming and hawing over an Elecraft K2.

Would also give me an excuse to use all this test gear then! 

[mnementh]

...I might pull the 7404 it feeds into in the desperate hope there is a fault with the 7404 that's holding the output low.  If it's the MK500P, then it looks like they are around, but not in great numbers.  If you want a laugh - have a look at the one offering on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/143112726483

Well that's totally pants. Like he's trying to get the price of the whole instrument from one part; and no way of knowing if that would fix anything. There's a lot of "tested, working" parts on fleaBagy that are neither. 

Good job you have got further in a day than I 'felt' the need to in 6 months 

I have a few 7404 circa 1978 vintage IC's I could have included 

I think the ones I have might be a better match ... circa 1975, I think.   

   Be a REAL MAN; build it from discretes! It's  ONLY 6 of these!!!

   That should be the full list, unless it was operated by a grad student sometime in its life. 

mnem
*Currently doing a teardown on a $40 1000W computer PSU*

Hoping its that easy, as I travel alot, no time to tinker with yet. 

I feel you. Have several "must-do" projects on at the same time right now; not a lot of time for the "fun". Even the PC modding thing... which is usually fun for me... is turning into a chore due to time pressure and the fact I need stuff off that PC.   

Oh, and wife is away at her annual TMEA convention (Music Teacher's Seminary thing); so I'm Mister Mom on top of it all. 

mnem
 

[mnementh]

Think I am becoming a more of a sheetmetal worker. Bottom end of my 10 decade 25W Vishay's the other decade in the box will have paralleled 3W 200 for 6W for the 100  decade. Waiting on a 3 layer rotary switch instead of the two shown to share the current a bit better on the low range.

It is now Little Creatures O'Clock and 25C in the shack

Sheet metal? WHERE? 

That's all quite delicious cast and extruded aluminum, baybee!!!  Could only be better if it were CNC milled! 

Think I’m going down the same route as you 

The stories I could tell. Wrong forum. 

I too have fallen victim to the power of a well-swung tail. Repeatedly. 

mnem
I do love me "an inconvenient female". They're the only ones worth the effort. 

[mnementh]

My "Little Black Book" is all tucked away in the brain cells, never to be put to paper. When I die the evidence goes with me. 

Same here, makes me wonder if there ever was a little book in the first place. Strikes me as a rather dangerous thing to do, if SWMBO ever got her hands on it, we'll never be able to sleep at night for fear of never ever waking up again

Not as bad as looking for the number of one of your old doobie hangouts and finding where she has gone and "graded" every entry in the damned thing. Some time. In the several months since you last looked in it. 

mnem
Define "crazy"?!?

[med6753]

Spent some time today working on the 465B Channel 2 attenuator deck issue and I found the problem. And unfortunately it's fatal. Some gorilla has been in here before me and they stripped several of stand off screw holes causing inconsistent contact across the entire assembly. And the front plate is bent so the BNC must have taken a shot at one time and was replaced. So this whole mess has got to go. I'll keep and eye out for a cheap junker but this really isn't a priority and it will function just fine as a single trace scope.

This isn't the first time I've had to clean up after this damn gorilla and I'm sure it won't be the last.   

[Specmaster]

The world is sadly full of Gorillas, maybe a cull is required 

[med6753]

My "Little Black Book" is all tucked away in the brain cells, never to be put to paper. When I die the evidence goes with me. 

Same here, makes me wonder if there ever was a little book in the first place. Strikes me as a rather dangerous thing to do, if SWMBO ever got her hands on it, we'll never be able to sleep at night for fear of never ever waking up again

Not as bad as looking for the number of one of your old doobie hangouts and finding where she has gone and "graded" every entry in the damned thing. Some time. In the several months since you last looked in it. 

mnem
Define "crazy"?!?

So she was keeping score in HER book?  Where did you rate? 

[mnementh]

No. She had MY little black book long enough to identify everyone in it, and graded them all. In pink pen. With notes. 

I still don't know if she called them and compared notes, or if she just knew most of the same people as I did and guessed on the rest. Don't wanna know either. I just put it back in the back of my dresser and went on about my life as if I'd never looked in it. We lasted almost a year after that; and no blood was spilled. Well, none that wasn't voluntary. 

mnem
Life is complicated.

[mnementh]

The world is sadly full of Gorillas, maybe a cull is required 

Hey... some of us are just clumsy dwagons. 

mnem
Have mercy...

[tautech]

Spent some time today working on the 465B Channel 2 attenuator deck issue and I found the problem. And unfortunately it's fatal. Some gorilla has been in here before me and they stripped several of stand off screw holes causing inconsistent contact across the entire assembly. And the front plate is bent so the BNC must have taken a shot at one time and was replaced. So this whole mess has got to go. I'll keep and eye out for a cheap junker but this really isn't a priority and it will function just fine as a single trace scope.

This isn't the first time I've had to clean up after this damn gorilla and I'm sure it won't be the last.   

And you won't consider re-tapping them just oversize and fitting a different screw ? 

[Specmaster]

The world is sadly full of Gorillas, maybe a cull is required 

Hey... some of us are just clumsy dwagons. 

mnem
Have mercy...

Certainly clumsy with a certain black book, Just don't know where you got the energy to try and keep more than 1 doobie happy  , I found 1 was enough, coping with moods, headaches etc 

[bd139]

That’s why they invented beer. To take the pain away.

[Specmaster]

Spent some time today working on the 465B Channel 2 attenuator deck issue and I found the problem. And unfortunately it's fatal. Some gorilla has been in here before me and they stripped several of stand off screw holes causing inconsistent contact across the entire assembly. And the front plate is bent so the BNC must have taken a shot at one time and was replaced. So this whole mess has got to go. I'll keep and eye out for a cheap junker but this really isn't a priority and it will function just fine as a single trace scope.

This isn't the first time I've had to clean up after this damn gorilla and I'm sure it won't be the last.   

And you won't consider re-tapping them just oversize and fitting a different screw ? 

Maybe a another screw with a locking nut on the other side?

[Neomys Sapiens]

Especially considering what you lady does, I imagine your ears are also open.

She's NYPD and I'm at minimum 75 miles north of NYC so unfortunately too far away to pick up. And I'm just running the whip antenna anyway. But it's good enough to pick up all of my county. Especially since one of the repeaters is only 2 miles away. 

Come on, BOS/PSB-Dx is a thing! Get a nice LogPer or a directional array! I was having Frankfurt and Karlsruhe regular except in inclement weather - with a discone!

I'm sure the landlord will get a little pissy if I start erecting antennas on his roof. 

Mine was fine with it. Although I have them mounted under the roof for practical reasons.
But when I thought that I had to run the cables down by the bach, he told me that he wouldn't care if I did it on front. Ok, I'll have to assume responsibility for the drilled window frame, but I intend to stay here anyway for longer

[med6753]

Spent some time today working on the 465B Channel 2 attenuator deck issue and I found the problem. And unfortunately it's fatal. Some gorilla has been in here before me and they stripped several of stand off screw holes causing inconsistent contact across the entire assembly. And the front plate is bent so the BNC must have taken a shot at one time and was replaced. So this whole mess has got to go. I'll keep and eye out for a cheap junker but this really isn't a priority and it will function just fine as a single trace scope.

This isn't the first time I've had to clean up after this damn gorilla and I'm sure it won't be the last.   

And you won't consider re-tapping them just oversize and fitting a different screw ? 

The stripped holes are in plastic and there's not much material. And the screws themselves are special with built in stand-offs and threaded at top for the top shield. I suppose with a lot of work it's possible to fix it but I don't think it's worth it. If I really needed it, yes, I would probably attempt it. It would be easier to replace it. And also the front plate is bent. That is a relatively easy fix.   

[med6753]

Spent some time today working on the 465B Channel 2 attenuator deck issue and I found the problem. And unfortunately it's fatal. Some gorilla has been in here before me and they stripped several of stand off screw holes causing inconsistent contact across the entire assembly. And the front plate is bent so the BNC must have taken a shot at one time and was replaced. So this whole mess has got to go. I'll keep and eye out for a cheap junker but this really isn't a priority and it will function just fine as a single trace scope.

This isn't the first time I've had to clean up after this damn gorilla and I'm sure it won't be the last.   

And you won't consider re-tapping them just oversize and fitting a different screw ? 

Maybe a another screw with a locking nut on the other side?

Blind holes in plastic.

[nfmax]

I still don't know if she called them and compared notes, or if she just knew most of the same people as I did and guessed on the rest. Don't wanna know either. I just put it back in the back of my dresser and went on about my life as if I'd never looked in it. We lasted almost a year after that; and no blood was spilled. Well, none that wasn't voluntary. 

mnem
Life is complicated.

Relationships are complex:they have a real part, and an imaginary part...

[tautech]

Spent some time today working on the 465B Channel 2 attenuator deck issue and I found the problem. And unfortunately it's fatal. Some gorilla has been in here before me and they stripped several of stand off screw holes causing inconsistent contact across the entire assembly. And the front plate is bent so the BNC must have taken a shot at one time and was replaced. So this whole mess has got to go. I'll keep and eye out for a cheap junker but this really isn't a priority and it will function just fine as a single trace scope.

This isn't the first time I've had to clean up after this damn gorilla and I'm sure it won't be the last.   

And you won't consider re-tapping them just oversize and fitting a different screw ? 

Maybe a another screw with a locking nut on the other side?

Blind holes in plastic.

Self tappers.

[Cubdriver]

Blind holes in plastic.

Fill with epoxy, redrill and retap?

-Pat

[tautech]

Blind holes in plastic.

Fill with epoxy, redrill and retap?

-Pat

Depending on the plastic results can be disappointing without some type of primer to get a good adhere.
Back when 465's were built they didn't have the good self tappers we do now.

Med, some pics and screw diameter and length measurements please.

[med6753]

Blind holes in plastic.

Fill with epoxy, redrill and retap?

-Pat

Depending on the plastic results can be disappointing without some type of primer to get a good adhere.
Back when 465's were built they didn't have the good self tappers we do now.

Med, some pics and screw diameter and length measurements please.

Maybe another time. I already put it all back together and into the case.

But here's a pix I took last week. See the 4 stand offs, one in each corner? The 2 on the right are stripped. They go through the attenuator assembly into the switch assembly which is plastic. And also further to the right not pictured are 2 regular screws which are also stripped plus in that same area the right angle plate that goes against the front cover is bent. The BNC is attached to that and it must have taken a hit.

   

[tautech]

Thanks Med......trying to dream up a decent remedy. 

[bd139]

Buy another 465B. I had three once  .  Got two good ones out of it.