Author Topic: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!  (Read 2742957 times)

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Offline McBryce

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase
« Reply #9375 on: February 22, 2020, 08:33:13 am »
Does it work well? I am looking at getting one of these and am a little gun shy.
As far as I know they tend to work well initially but don't always last. That was a while back though, I'm not sure about current versions.

I was given one of those HP USB-GPIB intefaces (it was included in a box of random cables I bought), but I've never tried it out. I'm not sure if it's real or fake. Is there a thread showing the differences or how to tell which it is? And what software can I use (Win 10) to test it. Does it show up as a COM port?

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Offline beanflying

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase
« Reply #9376 on: February 22, 2020, 08:51:32 am »
Does it work well? I am looking at getting one of these and am a little gun shy.
As far as I know they tend to work well initially but don't always last. That was a while back though, I'm not sure about current versions.

I was given one of those HP USB-GPIB intefaces (it was included in a box of random cables I bought), but I've never tried it out. I'm not sure if it's real or fake. Is there a thread showing the differences or how to tell which it is? And what software can I use (Win 10) to test it. Does it show up as a COM port?

McBryce.

Somewhere in hear the truth may lay  ;) If you split it and the plastic is conductively coated then most likely the real thing. I am not aware of any of the clones made with that done https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/flood-of-new-agilent-82357b-gpib-usb-adaptors-on-ebay-the-real-deal/
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Offline Ed.Kloonk

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9377 on: February 22, 2020, 09:09:05 am »
16 horsies of 4-stroke electric start loveliness from China. Actually more like 12hp, cos we checked.  ;)

Paired today with a 50 year old 7.5kva 3-phase alternator. 

Test jig: 3 electric jugs, 235v each phase, bang on 50hz. Woo hoo!

And I extend a raised extended middle finger to those people within the power company who refuse to cut down dangerous trees.

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Offline McBryce

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9378 on: February 22, 2020, 10:27:18 am »
Just found my Agilent USB-GPIB and had a look. It seems to be a geniune one, but it's the older "A" version. So what Win 10 software will recognise this, so that I can give it a test run?

McBryce.
30 Years making cars more difficult to repair.
 

Offline Kjelt

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9379 on: February 22, 2020, 01:10:00 pm »
In my favorite scrapyard I bumped into these three (two and a half) Bernstein TH PCB clamps from the 80s.
I own the new brown Bernstein generic clamps but always wanted to have these.
Now for only €5.- a piece it was a nobrainer.
Have to clean them, gently grease the mechanism and restore the mechanism to clamp the part to the pcb while soldering the other side.
 
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Offline HighVoltage

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9380 on: February 22, 2020, 02:07:53 pm »
Bernstein makes the best table clamps, I have many of them and highly recommend them.
What a price you got!
There are 3 kinds of people in this world, those who can count and those who can not.
 
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Offline Kjelt

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9381 on: February 22, 2020, 05:32:10 pm »
Yes that is unprecedented, they do not know what they have got which is good if you know what it is.
Curious if they still sell these Edit: they still sell these  :)
And also the accessoiries.  :-+ I love it when companies that sell good stuff stick to their product and sell spare parts.

https://www.conrad.nl/p/bernstein-bankschroefvoet-407378

https://www.bernstein-werkzeuge.de/fileadmin/ArtikelKatalogseiten/CP_9-270.pdf
« Last Edit: February 22, 2020, 05:41:28 pm by Kjelt »
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9382 on: February 22, 2020, 07:26:10 pm »
Just found my Agilent USB-GPIB and had a look. It seems to be a geniune one, but it's the older "A" version. So what Win 10 software will recognise this, so that I can give it a test run?

McBryce.

You can start by installing the Keysight Instrument Control Bundle. Other software that supports the VISA standard generally works once you have the Keysight drivers installed (via the linked bundle). If you want to develop your own software, you can use a VISA-compatible library for your favorite programming language. For example, PyVISA enables you to talk to GPIB devices using Python.
TEA is the way. | TEA Time channel
 
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Online coppercone2

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9383 on: February 23, 2020, 06:47:13 am »
thermal camera
 

Offline exe

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9384 on: February 23, 2020, 11:38:58 am »
Quote from: exe
... Not ideal, but good-enough so I can ditch lt4320 in favor FERD in my designs. Here is the datasheet if someone interested: https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/ferd40u50c.pdf ....
Just curious .. what don't you like about the LT4320 approach? I've made 100s devices over many years without ever an issue? Even up to 50A bridges

It is pricey, and I had troubles buying one, as available distributors didn't always have it in stock at the time. I also found it is hard to route on the pcb. It also specifies minimum output voltage of 9V. Frankly, I haven't even tried it yet, as I was worried to burn one, and not to be able to buy a replacement.

Now I buy from Mouser, so not a problem. But now I'm thinking that for modest currents of 2-4A I might just use these beefy diodes. One might ask why bother with active rectification at such low currents, but it does make a difference when voltage headroom is small, and the plastic enclosure doesn't let dissipating much heat.
 

Offline digsys

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9385 on: February 23, 2020, 01:17:36 pm »
Quote from: exe
It is pricey, and I had troubles buying one, as available distributors didn't always have it in stock at the time. I also found it is hard to route on the pcb. It also specifies minimum output voltage of 9V. Frankly, I haven't even tried it yet, as I was worried to burn one, and not to be able to buy a replacement.
Now I buy from Mouser, so not a problem. But now I'm thinking that for modest currents of 2-4A I might just use these beefy diodes. One might ask why bother with active rectification at such low currents, but it does make a difference when voltage headroom is small, and the plastic enclosure doesn't let dissipating much heat.
Fair enough if price is an issue. This is one of my bridges (5A) using their SMD with thermal pad. They also have a DIL version. A less than 1" squ PCB, with FETs shown, at 5A, it barely gets warm. (I even use lower Rds FETs). The SMD looks like a bastid to solder, but I worked out an easy assembly plan. Voltage drop is absolute minimal.


« Last Edit: February 23, 2020, 01:20:58 pm by digsys »
Hello <tap> <tap> .. is this thing on?
 
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Offline beanflying

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9386 on: February 24, 2020, 03:20:18 am »
I brought a secondhand Vacuum from the Op Shop (goodwill) just over the road from home for $10 just for the hose to chop into bits and hook up some tools to the shop vac I already own. 

:rant: Dam thing works better than my shop vac and is a lot quieter :palm:

Sorry Volta you are still parts  >:D Cloth bags and sawdust are a bad idea.
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Offline deadlylover

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9387 on: February 25, 2020, 11:23:38 am »
Popped my cherry on buying laptop schematics/boardviews from what seemed like a dodgy site on the internet. Well I can confirm that laptopserviz.bg is legit, you basically get a link to download the file after you purchase (part of order confirmation so it only took a minute). No affiliation with the seller, it was a bit hard to Google around to see if they're legit, so I hope it helps someone else out there. :-DD

Now to fix this HP Spectre X360 that a friend gave me to repair...time to channel my inner Louis Rossmann.  >:D

Ughh this boardview only works with Allegro viewer...it feels like software from the 90s and is so clunky to use, you NEED a multi monitor setup to work semi efficiently because you'll be toggling layers on and off constantly. Ahhh time to play Where's Wally.
 

Offline av500

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9388 on: February 25, 2020, 12:14:04 pm »
just in, HP 5221B in good condition, 1969 date code, somebody replaced the pre-IEC connector with a fixed power cord. Already bought another Nixie tube and 2 of the 3 "rare" HP IC, for the 1820-0116 I will try to kludge in a 7475 and thus upgrade this to option 001 "6 digits"

938076-0

 
 
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Offline olkipukki

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9389 on: February 25, 2020, 12:37:38 pm »
I bought a cheap tap die set and managed to break up the tap holder in a most time-critical moment :wtf:   :palm:
Okay, the lesson learnt  :-[ and I have ordered a proper one

938080-0

Once arrived, really surprise that it made in Germany, specially packed and ship to Japan, and finally sold and delivered back in EU  :popcorn:

938086-1
 
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Offline HighVoltage

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9390 on: February 25, 2020, 01:08:39 pm »
I bought a cheap tap die set and managed to break up the tap holder in a most time-critical moment :wtf:   :palm:
Okay, the lesson learnt  :-[ and I have ordered a proper one

Once arrived, really surprise that it made in Germany, specially packed and ship to Japan, and finally sold and delivered back in EU  :popcorn:


There are lots of fake tools around with a "Made in Germany" label.
These days we never know, if it is true or not.
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Offline Zucca

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9391 on: February 25, 2020, 01:12:11 pm »
Now for only €5.- a piece it was a nobrainer.

Holy shit.
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Can't love what you don't know. Zucca
 
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Offline olkipukki

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9392 on: February 25, 2020, 01:29:23 pm »

There are lots of fake tools around with a "Made in Germany" label.
These days we never know, if it is true or not.

True, but I bought from reputable & trustful source; such as buying a chip from Mouser or Digikey. yes, fake is possible, but very unlikely.
 

Offline Kilrah

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9393 on: February 25, 2020, 05:05:40 pm »
Now to fix this HP Spectre X360 that a friend gave me to repair...time to channel my inner Louis Rossmann.  >:D
What's wrong with it? Also repaired an X360 that was going to go to the trash, but didn't find the schematics... fault was no power, found the problem by observation/luck, small SMD cap next to the RAM looked a bit strange, popped it off and bam. Used it for a couple of months since I had wanted to try the convertible form factor, then sold it and bought an XPS 13 2 in 1 since I was convinced (HP was 15", so ok to test the concept but way too heavy and bulky for it to make sense beyond that, and also it was slow as a dog).
 
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Offline Nominal Animal

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9394 on: February 25, 2020, 05:55:00 pm »
ordered a proper [tap holder]
I have a similar, a cheapie one, and it is really nice.  I just wish it had a thick disk or ring instead of the flimsy bar in mine.  You know, like a large valve handle.  It'd be easier to control the pressure, and make it easier to tap small holes using your hand instead of your fingers.
 

Offline deadlylover

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9395 on: February 26, 2020, 02:15:03 am »
What's wrong with it? Also repaired an X360 that was going to go to the trash, but didn't find the schematics... fault was no power, found the problem by observation/luck, small SMD cap next to the RAM looked a bit strange, popped it off and bam.

No power as well.

One of the SMD caps shorted for the AC-INPUT to ground on the VCCSA power rail (for the CPU I think). I replaced them and it worked for a few minutes but now it's dead again, I need to do more troubleshooting.

I've found online that it's fairly common for caps on this machine to blow up all over the place, very strange.
 

Offline McBryce

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9396 on: February 26, 2020, 08:41:58 am »
Cracked (and hence usually shorted) ceramic SMDs are quite common in laptops, usually because the board can flex due to lack of fixings between the board and case or because the entire device flexes.


McBryce.
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Offline TerraHertz

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9397 on: February 26, 2020, 09:49:38 am »
Way back in 2014 I bought a HP 83480A scope mainframe, without plugins. It was pretty cheap at US $112, a whim buy, and I'd expected to buy some plugins fairly quickly, assuming they'd be in similar price range.
Oops! Turns out the plugins are still compatible with current high-end Agilent/whatever-their-name-is-now, and are ebay-priced in the thousands.
So the scope frame sat around without modules.

Till now. The modules I wanted (HP 83482A : 30 GHz integrated optical channel and 40 GHz electrical channel) are still up in the thousands. My second choice (HP 83485A : 20 GHz integrated optical channel, and 20 GHz electrical channel) are usually pricey too. But a couple came up closer to my range. After some bargaining, I got two for US $450 each.  The pair are exactly the same functionally, except produced before and after the company changed from HP to Agilent. More than just the logo on the fascia changed, so they look a little different. No matter.





It's interesting that almost always, when such modules are listed on ebay they are missing the _essential_ APC 3.5 f-f gold plated port-savers, and SMA shorting or 50R caps. Which just shows that the sellers have no f-ing clue what they are selling, because these inputs are rated +-2V MAX, and this is not a joke. Reading the manuals, the absolutely required anti-static measures are extreme.  For instance rigorously shorting the internal conductor of coax to the shield, and both to the module frame, before connecting the cable to the port. Coax cable is a capacitor, and can accumulate enough charge to kill these delicate ports.

I've seen one of these type inputs get static-blown by some fool (my boss at the time) casually touching it, and it cost multiple thousands and a long delay to get it repaired.

Why are the port-savers almost always missing on ebay units? Yet the prices are still thousands, as if the units are 'known good' - which without static protection on the ports, they are absolutely NOT.
Maybe ebay sellers think "oooh, pretty gold connector, I can sell that separately." So they remove them, very possibly static zapping the input in the process, but also not knowing....

These APC connectors are easily damaged by mishandling. One thing NOT to do, _ever_ is rotate the mating connector. This can spall the precision gold plated mating surfaces. Instead one MUST rotate only the outer stainless steel nut, while holding the inserted connector motionless apart from being pulled carefully inwards. Then torque to a precise tightness.

Another thing to NEVER do, is insert an SMA connector into the APC 3.5 port on the sampler. They do fit, but SMA have looser tolerances and can (likely) degrade the APC 3.5 connector.  Hence the use of sacrificial APC 3.5 female to female connectors in these ports. One end only ever touches the port's APC 3.5 and just stays there. The other end gets SMAs attached. Once it's become worn, it's replaced.

Anyway, this seller's modules were minus the APC 3.5 and shorting cap. Typical. Which means they might be blown. I explained the static issue to the seller and asked if he could please form some al-foil over the ports, for shipping. The modules would be handled by staff at my US reshipper, and they of course can't be expected to understand the static damage risks with exposed APC ports.

So what did he do? In preparing to pack and ship he very kindly screwed SMA bulkhead f-f connectors into all four ports, then 'closed' them with short SMA cables. Sigh. By the time he sent me photos it was too late, done and posted.  I sent him a page from the manual about care and handling of APC 3.5 connector ports, so maybe in future he'll know.

They arrived yesterday, after some nerve-wracking hickups. No shipping damage.



Fortunately he only made them loose finger-tight, and visually the APC 3.5 surfaces look OK still. I hope to try the modules tomorrow, fingers crossed.

Here's inside one.



Now I have to find four of those APC 3.5 (f-f) port protectors. So far, no luck finding any. Maybe I'm searching wrong, but I can't find any on ebay, or even who makes them. I don't expect to be able to afford new ones.



Anyone know where I might find four of these, in reasonable condition?  (Not that I can properly gauge them. That's another thing I need to buy at some point.)

In the meantime I can 'borrow' some from a HP 54121A sampler head. But swapping them back and forth defeats the aim of minimizing wear on the ports.

Edit to add: This is what APC static-sensitive ports should look like at all times when not actually in use;



And this is what they typically look like on ebay. For such prices you get to roll a dice:

« Last Edit: February 26, 2020, 11:29:07 am by TerraHertz »
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Online Vgkid

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9398 on: February 27, 2020, 12:11:19 am »
Looking through pasternack/times mw, and maury, then ebay...
The cheapest I found: They only list 2.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Echoic-3-5mm-Female-3-5mm-Female-Coaxial-Adapter-Connector-26-5GHz-RF-Microwave/184128562921?hash=item2adeeae6e9:g:7T0AAOSwie9bdK51
Looking into that reveals the sellers site:
http://echoicrf.com/products/
Judge from there.
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Offline TerraHertz

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Re: What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!
« Reply #9399 on: February 27, 2020, 06:29:59 am »
Looking through pasternack/times mw, and maury, then ebay...
The cheapest I found: They only list 2.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Echoic-3-5mm-Female-3-5mm-Female-Coaxial-Adapter-Connector-26-5GHz-RF-Microwave/184128562921?hash=item2adeeae6e9:g:7T0AAOSwie9bdK51
Actually, for new that is very reasonable.  Thanks for the link.  But I need 4, preferably all the same. Also a bit doubtful if stainless is a good idea for this usage.

Quote
Looking into that reveals the sellers site:
http://echoicrf.com/products/
Judge from there.

Sounds like there's an interesting story there. Small business, bit eccentric. I like the personal accolades visible in the page source code. Like "Dr.Yuk exudes a degree of creative instinctiveness..."


Hmm. Searching ebay for HP 54121A, there are _so_many_! Most with nearly identical prices. Most without those port protectors, and ALL without the quite special interface cable to the HP 54120B mainframe, without which both are useless.
Where do all those port protectors go? Gold scrappers maybe? Arrrgh.  And the cables... but what else is new.

But a few do have them. Let's see if they'll take a sensible offer. Aaaand no, they won't.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2020, 06:50:24 am by TerraHertz »
Collecting old scopes, logic analyzers, and unfinished projects. http://everist.org
 


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