Author Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread  (Read 14704671 times)

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Offline Specmaster

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25575 on: February 17, 2019, 08:42:58 pm »
Yeah its a US Spec "extension cord" plug-in. The circle pin at the bottom is ground/Earth, the two flat spade looking pins are Hot and Neutral/return.
Yep thats the one alright  :-+
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Offline Specmaster

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25576 on: February 17, 2019, 08:50:50 pm »
Today on the ole Fleabay there was yet another mini Tek 222 scout scope sold, one that I had already made 2 offers on and made requests to see a photo of the front of the thing, switched on to prove that was actually working as claimed. Well I didn't get so was it anyone here who did manage to secure this what looked like quite a nice unit?

If so, please post pictures of it working and lets us all know what was it like inside etc. I'm a bit concerned about as the seller both times ignored my offers and requests for photos  :rant: so I was beginning to wonder if I had a lucky escape with this scope  :-//
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Offline Neomys Sapiens

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25577 on: February 17, 2019, 09:01:48 pm »
Thanks for the help. I recognized the pattern, but I had no idea that it was used as a device connector.
That is like a Schuko plug protruding from a device's rear.
 

Offline 0culus

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25578 on: February 17, 2019, 09:40:44 pm »
Thanks for the help. I recognized the pattern, but I had no idea that it was used as a device connector.
That is like a Schuko plug protruding from a device's rear.

Hey, I haven't forgotten about your hardware. I have been super busy with various things but I should be able to get them mailed off later next week.
 

Offline Wolfgang

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25579 on: February 17, 2019, 10:04:59 pm »
It takes me three PCB runs after that stage for the thing to work usually too  :-DD

Talking of fuck ups, here's a good one. I am refurbishing my 1:1 current balun that has been in service for months outside. I've made 17,000km contacts to Tasmania from UK with it so it worked to some degree. When I was weatherproofing it the adhesive had managed to get between the BNC connector on the bottom and the solder ring on the inside and there was no connection between the shield and the current balun inside at all!! My antenna tuner had tuned this out and I was still making contacts even though the transmission line's shield was not even connected for 3 months  :palm:

How did I identify this? Well the SWR was a little high when I stuck it on the MFJ above about 10MHz. I thought, hey there must be something frequency dependent going on here as that should be flat to about 30MHz in theory. So I stuffed a DMM across the feed line. Should read 50 ohms with a 50 ohm load on the balun output. Actually read open circuit for DC entirely. Looks like the actual shield connection turned into a not too terrible capacitor. I reckon I've been throwing 6W down that and only 1-2W has come out of the antenna  :palm: :palm: :palm: :palm: :palm:

Totally surprised that. Have scrapped it now and am building another one from scratch.

Edit: also possible I got about 5000 miles per watt out which is motivatingly long distance!

... other people sometimes even *buy* endfeed antrennas that deliberately grill away a substantial amount of the transmitted power. Your simple mistake accomplished the same effect with almost no effort ! >:D The moment when you just realize that you shot yourself in the foot is the moment where my personal learning curve is steepest. Anyway, happy experimenting !
 

Offline bd139

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25580 on: February 17, 2019, 10:51:41 pm »
Yeah it was the world’s worst end fed as well because it was on the end of 15m of RG58 feed too and in a load of leafy trees so my neighbour didn’t complain. Nature still pulled through.  :-DD

And you’re right it’s a valuable lesson learned. It’s the old mantra of soldering everything. To correct this I have ordered some nice nickel plated amphenol BNC parts and will solder the braid to the thread after installation. The cheap TE one I used was impossible to solder to. I actually soldered the BNCs into my return loss bridge to prevent this sort of stuff. Clearly forgot that  :palm:

It’s all fun though.
 

Offline med6753

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25581 on: February 17, 2019, 10:59:22 pm »
Aw crap, this sort of snuck up on me while I wasn't paying attention. Another snow even tonight. 2 to 4 inches expected. I'm tired of winter.  :palm:
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Offline tautech

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25582 on: February 17, 2019, 11:04:22 pm »
Aw crap, this sort of snuck up on me while I wasn't paying attention. Another snow even tonight. 2 to 4 inches expected. I'm tired of winter.  :palm:
Swap ya.
Looking for bench time whereas the weather here is such I feel guilty spending time inside as the list of fair weather jobs is immense.  :(
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Offline Wolfgang

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25583 on: February 17, 2019, 11:08:05 pm »
Yeah it was the world’s worst end fed as well because it was on the end of 15m of RG58 feed too and in a load of leafy trees so my neighbour didn’t complain. Nature still pulled through.  :-DD

And you’re right it’s a valuable lesson learned. It’s the old mantra of soldering everything. To correct this I have ordered some nice nickel plated amphenol BNC parts and will solder the braid to the thread after installation. The cheap TE one I used was impossible to solder to. I actually soldered the BNCs into my return loss bridge to prevent this sort of stuff. Clearly forgot that  :palm:

It’s all fun though.

There are lots of ways to meet EMC requirements :). I also had a connector desaster when I bought super cheap BNC sockets from the land of the rising sun, *only* to be used for prototypes. Their dielectric was made from polyester or some other crap, not PTFE. When I tried to solder the case to a groundplane, it could be done with some effort, but always with the side effect that all the interior fell out. Bingo !  :clap: Solution: I now have a 400W iron that solders it so fast that the core has no chance to move. I need to be fast, though (<1s).
 

Offline med6753

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25584 on: February 17, 2019, 11:10:21 pm »
Aw crap, this sort of snuck up on me while I wasn't paying attention. Another snow even tonight. 2 to 4 inches expected. I'm tired of winter.  :palm:
Swap ya.
Looking for bench time whereas the weather here is such I feel guilty spending time inside as the list of fair weather jobs is immense.  :(

Gladly. I want to get outside. Want to finish up arranging stuff in the garage (unheated) and also give the Honda CR-V a good cleaning. It is filthy from the recent snows but with more snow on the way that's not happening.  :--
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Offline Neomys Sapiens

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25585 on: February 18, 2019, 12:13:29 am »
Thanks for the help. I recognized the pattern, but I had no idea that it was used as a device connector.
That is like a Schuko plug protruding from a device's rear.

Hey, I haven't forgotten about your hardware. I have been super busy with various things but I should be able to get them mailed off later next week.
And your ground leads are packed and labeled now - same over here.
 
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Offline beanflying

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25586 on: February 18, 2019, 12:43:23 am »
Morning all lovely mild and Sunny here should be on a Bike because I am getting pudgy from sitting at the bench to much  ::)

We were chatting last week about getting into Calibration and why I don't want to. Interesting reading this is what the local Keysight Cal Lab is 'authorised' to test and to what standards from NATA (Our local NIST equivalent) https://www.nata.com.au/entity_scope/?q1=2k&str=&&BEName=TR

Anyone who thinks setting up a Nationally Certified Cal Lab is as easy as buying a Calibrator think again  ;)
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Offline Inverted18650

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25587 on: February 18, 2019, 01:00:05 am »
More great 5440A data. After the unit properly warmed up all night, I disconnect the leads and re ran the self-tests, which also runs an internal calibration. After passing all three tests again, I tracked the 1V output again and its pretty damn sharp. Just 6.5µV pk/pk swing, and the deviation is in the 100's of nV's. Pretty stoked.

edit** note: I may a chance to go get (3) of the 5440b/AF models. I CANNOT KEEP THEM ALL and I think I will only go down and get them if I can arrange to sell a couple first (thats probably a lie, Ill probably get them as soon as I am able, I may even walk there and hand carry them back if I need too  :blah:) But if anyone wants in on the ground floor of this deal and has cash to put up for their 5440B/AF then please let me know. This will be a short term offer though so you will have to act pretty quick if you want one at the same price I pay (plus a couple dollars for pickup).Also the 5440B/AF are the VFD display units, not like the dot matrix unit I have here.
« Last Edit: February 18, 2019, 01:42:55 am by Inverted18650 »
 

Offline Specmaster

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25588 on: February 18, 2019, 01:30:29 am »
Morning all lovely mild and Sunny here should be on a Bike because I am getting pudgy from sitting at the bench to much  ::)

We were chatting last week about getting into Calibration and why I don't want to. Interesting reading this is what the local Keysight Cal Lab is 'authorised' to test and to what standards from NATA (Our local NIST equivalent) https://www.nata.com.au/entity_scope/?q1=2k&str=&&BEName=TR

Anyone who thinks setting up a Nationally Certified Cal Lab is as easy as buying a Calibrator think again  ;)
Having the gear is one thing, being able to use it effectively and also gain accreditation status is another altogether. 

I'm happy with my run of the mill standards kit, a AD584-M and my Mastech MS7221 along with some 1% resistors and armed with new Brymen BM867 which confirms that the calibration devices are correct to 3 or 4 decimal places then I'm happy to call my other meters which also agree, to be calibration, a few uV is not going to send me into a dizzy spin to achieve perfection, what am I going to use them on that warrants that level of accuracy?  :-DMM
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Offline Inverted18650

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25589 on: February 18, 2019, 01:36:12 am »
Morning all lovely mild and Sunny here should be on a Bike because I am getting pudgy from sitting at the bench to much  ::)

We were chatting last week about getting into Calibration and why I don't want to. Interesting reading this is what the local Keysight Cal Lab is 'authorised' to test and to what standards from NATA (Our local NIST equivalent) https://www.nata.com.au/entity_scope/?q1=2k&str=&&BEName=TR

Anyone who thinks setting up a Nationally Certified Cal Lab is as easy as buying a Calibrator think again  ;)

That is about as much headache as it takes to become an authorized Apple repair facility. Who said anything about "just a calibrator" how about 8 of them! lol. Its a nightmare, so was getting my Seimens certifications, american free-fall license (to jump out of planes, nah that was fun) , AND my authorized 'terrorist hunting license' which was the hardest to get.  :-DD
« Last Edit: February 18, 2019, 01:38:08 am by Inverted18650 »
 

Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25590 on: February 18, 2019, 01:47:34 am »
   Found this while cruising around and I'll just leave it here.  :-DD

There, fixed that for ya.   :-DD

   
So I arrive at the last part of the triple score: the Transistor Devices load. Can't test or operate it yet, because:
CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME A CLUE WHAT TYPE OF POWER INPUT CONNECTOR THAT IS?
It is not IEC and I don't have one and I haven't seen it before.

It is a 110VAC NEMA (?) grounded power cord... literally, a 110/120VAC grounded extension cord plugs directly into it. This was an early attempt at standardized power plugs; IIRC, a female American "Hospital Grade" power socket (counterpart to the "Hospital Grade" plug meant to be used for making "Hospital-safe" extension cords) was made with dimensions specifically to plug into that receptacle.

mnem
*tzzt*
I don't think this is the right thing, I think you'll find that the device is fitted the male end, so he needs the female version, cable mounted?
   Which is what's at the "socket" end of a 120VAC extension cord, like the one I showed. Here... maybe this will make more sense; these are the "Type" of female 120VAC socket I'm talking about, but the "Hospital Grade" ones have VERY specific dimensions meant to fit perfectly in that receptacle. Obviously the other end is a grounded 120VAC plug.

mnem
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Offline Inverted18650

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25591 on: February 18, 2019, 02:05:19 am »
Looks pretty damn stable as well @ 1kVDC

Offline Brumby

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25592 on: February 18, 2019, 02:06:29 am »
Bean.....

Time-dependent PM awaiting!!
 

Offline beanflying

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25593 on: February 18, 2019, 02:14:11 am »
The remaining question now is how many RU of Crusty Anchors will be entering Brumbies life today and will it be sleeping bags in the garage, pans to the head or Flowers before adding them to his family life  :-DD

« Last Edit: February 18, 2019, 02:15:48 am by beanflying »
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Offline Inverted18650

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25594 on: February 18, 2019, 02:24:22 am »
Not all have to be Crusty..some are just BIG and worth it...the Fluke 5700 is far from an anchor.

Offline Brumby

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25595 on: February 18, 2019, 02:25:21 am »
Yes, well.
 

Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25596 on: February 18, 2019, 02:30:25 am »
The remaining question now is how many RU of Crusty Anchors will be entering Brumbies life today and will it be sleeping bags in the garage, pans to the head or Flowers before adding them to his family life  :-DD

Or he could just run away to Tavira Island, Portugal - as seen in your picture above.  :-+

mnem
Sounds like a win-win to me.
alt-codes work here:  alt-0128 = €  alt-156 = £  alt-0216 = Ø  alt-225 = ß  alt-230 = µ  alt-234 = Ω  alt-236 = ∞  alt-248 = °
 

Offline Brumby

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25597 on: February 18, 2019, 02:33:14 am »
The "unfortunate" part is that the shipping cost will be some petrol and about an hour round trip.

Just need bargain pricing.  Even then, there is the issue that there are "unknown faults" - and not forgetting the risk that this carries.....
 

Offline beanflying

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25598 on: February 18, 2019, 02:35:19 am »
I will rebuy number 1 from you and pay postage to me. I reckon it is worth it ;) Keep going be fearless  :-DD
Coffee, Food, R/C and electronics nerd in no particular order. Also CNC wannabe, 3D printer and Laser Cutter Junkie and just don't mention my TEA addiction....
 

Offline Inverted18650

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #25599 on: February 18, 2019, 02:55:43 am »
I wonder if I can afford a boat big enough to make the trip myself..or maybe a plane...now that would be an adventure. Where there is a will, there is a way. I suppose I could check a pallet at the gate for an INT'L flight....Id love to see there faces!

"Sir, the board bag and 4 surf boards we understand, as you are headed to Australia, but what is all this other stuff that looks like you may be repairing the plane in mid-air"
« Last Edit: February 18, 2019, 02:57:32 am by Inverted18650 »
 


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