What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[ledtester]

I received a socket wrench for BNC nuts today. After years of tormenting them with flat-nose pliers, I was fed up.

16mm/5/8" deep reach socket works too. 

If you have a  3D printer...

https://github.com/threedaymonk/printable-tools/tree/main/hex-sockets

mentioned in this video (at 13:30):

Mailbag! - Gadget Reboot
https://youtu.be/2CQ11uEcPWM?t=13m30s

[Furna]

It did arrive a couple of days ago but still it is a newcomer to the bench ...
I am very happy about its (small) dimensions and features.

[Aldo22]

Today I got one of those $9 electronic loads from AE.
Incredibly cheap. Kind of like “my first electronic load”.
Of course, it's toy level in terms of operation, but it seems to work pretty well so far.
ZK-FX35 (Max. 35W, 1.5V-25V, 0-5A)

[gamalot]

Some SWM34SRET6-50 MCUs from Synwit suitable for RGB LCD driving have 8M bytes of SDRAM stacked inside the package.

[msuffidy]

I got this solar lights kit from a chain store here in Canada for around $5. I did so specifically to get out the solar wafer. I was interested in building a solar charger, but in a way maybe it is all really there right now. Maybe just cut the wire going to the leds? I may have to convert whatever is going through there? To hopefully 5V USB.

Really fast nighttime status toggle:
https://web.ncf.ca/fs864/pickup/silly.mp4

Maybe it works like this:

[gamalot]

I bought this Fluke 52 II as a 'for parts' item, and it couldn't power on. I disassembled it and found signs of suspected battery leakage causing corrosion on the PCB. After ultrasonic cleaning and reassembly, it started working normally.

Its casing has wear and tear, but it's not very noticeable. The plastic lens of the display has deep scratches that are quite unpleasant to look at. Is there any good way to fix it?

[the Chris]

The plastic lens of the display has deep scratches that are quite unpleasant to look at. Is there any good way to fix it?

Displays with scratches can be healed with polishing creams for acrylic displays often offered for mobile phones like Displex. It works astonishing well.

Even deep scratches can be polished away but then you have to treat the whole display so that the material gets removed evenly. Otherwise you could end up with a "dent" polished into display that throws an irritating curved reflexion of ambient lights. But that would still better than deep scratches though so don't be scared to try out.

[gamalot]

I found a can of car headlight polishing cream, but it was clearly insufficient to deal with the deep scratches, so I used 3000-grit sandpaper, the finest I could find. The result was very satisfying; although there are still some slight marks, they are basically negligible.

But, unfortunately, something bad happened. When I used IPA to clean the screen, it cracked from the edge of the lower left corner, just like another 52 II that I bought last year. Well done, Fluke! 

Now I'm going to take a shower. If anyone tries to use a Dremel for polishing, please be aware of the splattering polishing cream. 

[McBryce]

I found a can of car headlight polishing cream, but it was clearly insufficient to deal with the deep scratches, so I used 3000-grit sandpaper, the finest I could find. The result was very satisfying; although there are still some slight marks, they are basically negligible.

But, unfortunately, something bad happened. When I used IPA to clean the screen, it cracked from the edge of the lower left corner, just like another 52 II that I bought last year. Well done, Fluke! 

Now I'm going to take a shower. If anyone tries to use a Dremel for polishing, please be aware of the splattering polishing cream. 

I wouldn't recommend using a dremel for polishing plexiglas. At high speeds they can can get hot enough to scorch the glass. BTW: For fine scratches you can also use toothpaste.

McBryce. 

[shapirus]

But, unfortunately, something bad happened. When I used IPA to clean the screen, it cracked from the edge of the lower left corner, just like another 52 II that I bought last year. Well done, Fluke! 

I have seen clear plastics (type unknown) cracking instantly when coming into contact with alcohols. I don't remember if it was IPA or ethanol in that case.
Now I try to always test it on a scrap piece first or avoid using alcohol with them at all.

[Zucca]

I wouldn't recommend using a dremel for polishing plexiglas. At high speeds they can can get hot enough to scorch the glass. BTW: For fine scratches you can also use toothpaste.
McBryce.

+1

I use 1200, 3K, 5K, 7K wet sand paper. Final pass with poly watch on cotton rag.
Use only your hands. The poly watch is stupid expensive, I would not buy it again. There are cheaper alternative.

The final result is very satisfying and acceptable but far away from perfection.
That said you can restart the process again if you really want to get closer to perfection.
It's a patience game.

Don't use IPA to clean clear plastic, hot water and dish soap.

[RAPo]

A NexTool W2 especially for the wrench part.

[msuffidy]

I wouldn't recommend using a dremel for polishing plexiglas.

I have used the (sandpaper to abrasive liquid)step down method for sanding scratches out of CDs so you can read them. I really did it for other people because I am not brain dead enough to mess up CDs. The idea is you have to get under the deepest scratch and then slowly approach a level surface. It is really a lot of work, and I never got it 100% the way a CD is. But I did read the CDs.

[Messtechniker]

El cheapo Kelvin clips.
Low current/low voltage/low price.
Works for me and a 10 Ohm 0.1% resistor

[Calambres]

Beware of El Cheapo Kelvin Clips. Mine were not wired as Kelvins at all!
I had to rewire them myself.

[Messtechniker]

The clips I have are - as you can see - definitely OK.
Also checked the clips with a 1 kOhm 0.005% resistor measured some 35 years ago with a calibrated instrument I do not remember any more.
Same clips type as supplied with my LCR meter, by the way. Nothing apparently wrong with these either.

[coppercone2]

what drift did you get in 35 years?

[Zucca]

Lindstrom 8148

Little and nice cutters, about $30 shipped.

[Messtechniker]

what drift did you get in 35 years?

Difficult to tell, because of differing measurement instrumentation. But still in-spec with a fair margin.

[Black Phoenix]

I bought this Fluke 52 II as a 'for parts' item, and it couldn't power on. I disassembled it and found signs of suspected battery leakage causing corrosion on the PCB. After ultrasonic cleaning and reassembly, it started working normally.

Its casing has wear and tear, but it's not very noticeable. The plastic lens of the display has deep scratches that are quite unpleasant to look at. Is there any good way to fix it?

Yes, for some reason the plastic of the older 50-II series of thermometers are crap: I had a 54-II, since 2009, where the original case broke by normal use, no fall damage or any kind of damage since I take care a lot about by stuff. Replaced by a new one, and started cracking in the corners of the lens 2 years later. Replaced again and sold it in 2023.

I recommend replacing it with the newer 54-IIB case, it's easy to spot because the shade of grey is different, don't remember if lighter or darker. But you may need to add some shims in the LCD to make it contact the zebra strips on the PCB - at least in my case it missed some segments when normally assembled, had to put some layers of Kapton tape on the top as a shim. I may be able to source some directly here in Hong Kong/Shenzhen. But they will have the Chinese Lettering on the back for the warnings, since Fluke have their own Chinese versions here for most products.

Regarding me, I have to thank TERRA Operative for a MiniPRO TL866CS EEPROM programmer.

[woody]

Lindstrom 8148
Little and nice cutters, about $30 shipped.

Can you tell me where you get these for $30?? All my known suppliers charge at least double this amount.

[wkb]

Lindstrom 8148
Little and nice cutters, about $30 shipped.

Can you tell me where you get these for $30?? All my known suppliers charge at least double this amount.

I got mine for (I think) €20 or so, at a Dutch hamfair. They sometimes turn up, new, as surplus. Lovely cutter!

[up8051]

Some SWM34SRET6-50 MCUs from Synwit suitable for RGB LCD driving have 8M bytes of SDRAM stacked inside the package.

Interesting chip.
Where did you buy it.

BR JarekC

[gamalot]

Some SWM34SRET6-50 MCUs from Synwit suitable for RGB LCD driving have 8M bytes of SDRAM stacked inside the package.

Interesting chip.
Where did you buy it.

BR JarekC

from 淘宝网 taobao.com

https://www.taobao.com/list/item/807119014056.htm

[Addicted2AnalogTek]

Scored a Tek 11802 mainframe + SD22 head for next to nothing.  Advertised as "No Power" condition, and repaired within the same day it was delivered (yesterday).

Also, A-2 & A-3 TurboTorch tips and some Organic white rice flour....