What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[PlainName]

Those crimpers are fantastic - even the cheapest of cheap ones from Ebay or Ali are OK. One thing to watch though - don't think you can crimp butt joints and then remove the crimper afterwards...

[TerraHertz]

This was, technically, not a purchase, it was a birthday present. But it is amazing. Get one. I've made 3 crimps with it, and I'm in love.

Yes! Ferrule crimpers are great. So many uses. Being able to undo & reconnect wires in screw terminal blocks any number of times, without rapidly cutting through all the wire strands.
I even use them on most mains wiring now. Btw, you can produce a rounded result on large ferrules (to make them fit in tight round terminal sockets) by crimping once, rotating 45 degrees, then crimping again. Just have to get the angle right - balanced 'right on the tips'. Otherwise it pops back to match the square jaws.

Now go to Aliexpress, and buy some bulk assortments of the ferrules. They are extremely cheap that way, compared to buying from local stores.

[xrunner]

Ha I got the exact same set including that tool. 

[Cubdriver]

I got a very similar hex crimp Molex ferrule tool not too long ago.  Definitely very useful and handy to have, and with the radially closing die jaws, it's much easier to get the wire out than it is in the more common plier-style ones that mash them into a three sided die.



-Pat

<edit to add image>

[mansaxel]

This was, technically, not a purchase, it was a birthday present. But it is amazing. Get one. I've made 3 crimps with it, and I'm in love.

Is your wife also reading the TEA thread?   

No, she's reading from a text file in our shared volume in our AFS cell, and, in this case, telling her sister and brothers what I'd wished for. I was extremely lucky this year, as I am most every year. Now, I'll have to come up with new things to wish for until Christmas. Wonder where I'll get the inspiration for that..

[bsfeechannel]

0.5-6mm faston terminal crimper.

[TerraHertz]

I got a very similar hex crimp Molex ferrule tool not too long ago.  Definitely very useful and handy to have, and with the radially closing die jaws, it's much easier to get the wire out than it is in the more common plier-style ones that mash them into a three sided die.



-Pat

Sounds good, doesn't fit the budget. AU$275.27 Oh well, that goes on the wish list.
https://www.digikey.com.au/product-detail/en/molex/2002180700/WM16544-ND/7066388

Incidentally, what is the largest size ring lug that will fit back through the fully open jaws?
Because, there's a bit of an amusing trap there.

Among my latest arrivals:

Hence can you guess what I also bought, and is still on the way? (And why I'm broke again now. Because shipping costs, arrrgh!)

[Cubdriver]

I got a very similar hex crimp Molex ferrule tool not too long ago.  Definitely very useful and handy to have, and with the radially closing die jaws, it's much easier to get the wire out than it is in the more common plier-style ones that mash them into a three sided die.



-Pat

Sounds good, doesn't fit the budget. AU$275.27 Oh well, that goes on the wish list.
https://www.digikey.com.au/product-detail/en/molex/2002180700/WM16544-ND/7066388

Incidentally, what is the largest size ring lug that will fit back through the fully open jaws?
Because, there's a bit of an amusing trap there.

Among my latest arrivals:

Hence can you guess what I also bought, and is still on the way? (And why I'm broke again now. Because shipping costs, arrrgh!)

The sleeve crimper fully open is 7.5mm flat-to-flat, and just under 8.5mm point-to-point.   I found them on the Firth of Malevolence for a bit over 120 US clams shipped, so I figured I'd grab them after looking up the price at DK/Mouser as I'd been toying with the idea of getting a ferrule crimper for a while but wasn't crazy about the plier-types.  Proper crimpers are insanely expensive, but they're just so nice to use.  I'm not sure how they'd do on regular crimp lugs as they're designed for the thin copper wire sleeves and as they're 'self adjusting' my assumption is that the jaws are pushed in by spring pressure rather than a solid mechanical actuator.

As to what you have coming - a new soldering station?          I don't even want to *think* about what it would cost to ship a 4145A and/or B down under - they're rather bulky beasts!  (And have triaxial connnectors, too.   I missed buying a test fixture for them that included cables a few years ago and am still kicking myself for not bidding higher.   

Good luck with your new toys; here's hoping that they arrive in fine fettle.

-Pat

[AlfBaz]

My new lab

[AlfBaz]

The back on third where the single door is will be the clean room/lab, instruments etc.
The other 2 thirds will be the workshop, with reflow oven, 3D printers, desktop milling machine etc

[TerraHertz]

As to what you have coming - a new soldering station?          I don't even want to *think* about what it would cost to ship a 4145A and/or B down under - they're rather bulky beasts!  (And have triaxial connnectors, too.   I missed buying a test fixture for them that included cables a few years ago and am still kicking myself for not bidding higher.

Thanks for the measurements. I'll see what I can find on the eeeeeee-cove.
The 4145B. Fingers crossed against the shipping demons. The manuals - I'd bought all 3 prior to buying a unit, mainly for interest. But it turned out very well. The A version manual includes board schematics, while the B manual doesn't, but does have more on the display unit. Then the manual just for the display is significantly different again.

Triaxials - covered. I found lots of the cable 2nd hand very cheap, and also an affordable source of the connectors on Aliexpress. The quality turns out to be just as good as the 'real' ones.
AliExpress  Chengtec Store
Triaxial BNC male connector, domestic high quality, JY75-1.5 / JY75-2 / JY75-3 1553B cable  US $16.55
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/cheap-triax-connector/msg3137890/#msg3137890

Now I get to embark on the HP 16058A side quest. Are these things the most expensive box of air ever? Whhhhy are they so expensive? And how does _everyone_ that ever bought a new 4145B manage to lose all the invariably supplied standard accessories?

I'm really looking forward to messing around with the vector display. It's a very cool thing all on its own.

[Cubdriver]

As to what you have coming - a new soldering station?          I don't even want to *think* about what it would cost to ship a 4145A and/or B down under - they're rather bulky beasts!  (And have triaxial connnectors, too.   I missed buying a test fixture for them that included cables a few years ago and am still kicking myself for not bidding higher.

Thanks for the measurements. I'll see what I can find on the eeeeeee-cove.
The 4145B. Fingers crossed against the shipping demons. The manuals - I'd bought all 3 prior to buying a unit, mainly for interest. But it turned out very well. The A version manual includes board schematics, while the B manual doesn't, but does have more on the display unit. Then the manual just for the display is significantly different again.

Triaxials - covered. I found lots of the cable 2nd hand very cheap, and also an affordable source of the connectors on Aliexpress. The quality turns out to be just as good as the 'real' ones.
AliExpress  Chengtec Store
Triaxial BNC male connector, domestic high quality, JY75-1.5 / JY75-2 / JY75-3 1553B cable  US $16.55
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/cheap-triax-connector/msg3137890/#msg3137890

Now I get to embark on the HP 16058A side quest. Are these things the most expensive box of air ever? Whhhhy are they so expensive? And how does _everyone_ that ever bought a new 4145B manage to lose all the invariably supplied standard accessories?

I'm really looking forward to messing around with the vector display. It's a very cool thing all on its own.

Thanks for the tip on the connectors from Aliexpress - I may wind up making my first order to them.  Found some of the triax cable for about a buck a foot; have that coming from the bay.

[girishv]

Bought 27 Nos of AVX IOT Kit. Paid 18c each.



https://www.avx.com/docs/techinfo/samplekits/AVX-IoT-Passives-Kit.pdf

[radiokot]

More soviet nixie tube  IN-2, IN-6, IN-14, IN-12...

[lukego]

TUC-100 ultrasonic cleaner with 10L of Safewash SWAS cleaning fluid. This is to replace the completely unsuitable little ultrasonic cleaner that I picked up from Amazon that is designed for cleaning jewelry.

I'm hoping this will solve my problem of always having trace amounts of omnipresent "ambient flux" making things stick to my tweezers and so on. Also to reduce wear and tear of brushing fairly hard and laboriously with IPA+toothbrush to get tacky flux out from between pins.

The cleaning fluid datasheet boasts that it should be able to absorb about a kilo of horrid burnt flux residue and still produce cleanliness up to military standards (if I'm reading it correctly.) That should keep me out of trouble for a decade or two! (He says not having reviewed what military standards are but assuming they are above the ad-hoc cleaning of my workbench!)

[ChristofferB]

An F.W. Bell gaussmeter in a bit rough condition- Electronics looks as new though, and look at the previous owner's cal stickers!!! That alone is enough to love this 1970s bit of gear

[IDEngineer]

Nice find on the gaussmeter. I do enough work with magnetics that I'd love to have one.

[ChristofferB]

There are a lot of them on Ebay for not much.. the probes are pretty pricey though!

[jmelson]

Well, it is all coming together, VERY slowly.  I bought a Quad QSA-30A pick and place machine, made by Samsung.
It is about a 2000 vintage, I had some misgivings on getting such an old machine.  But, my Philips CSM84 that I started with is now 25 years old and solid as a rock.  I have only had one electronic problem the entire time I've had it (13 years) which was a conveyor sensor that went flaky and then died.

So, I thought I should have similar luck with the Quad.  The machine has been hacked over by monkeys, and I'm giving our simian cousins a bad rap there.  The feeder power supplies have been blown out and replaced twice, leaving the old supplies in place and wired around, now using a combination of used PC power supplies.  One of the placement heads was replaced with one from a similar machine, but the rotation motor was not compatible.  In working on that, somebody took the ball spline out and lost about 30 balls!  I had to mike the balls and order some more and try to reload the spline -- VERY tricky and tedious.  I ordered a motor from China and put it in, and now that works.  Now, the fiducial camera had partially failed, it will not sync to the external sync supplied by the vision system.  it worked 3 weeks ago.  The main interface board between the VME computer and PC went bad a week after I got it, and I spent a week trying to diagnose, and then finally ordered a replacement from Korea.  That never came, so I had to order another.  That came quickly and the machine comes "ready" again, so I can continue fixing stuff.

Oh, yeah, I got the machine for $500 plus buyer's premium, I was the only bidder.  After very careful inspection of the auction pictures, I bought what appeared to be the newest and most complete machine they had.  I can't imagine what shape the others were in!

Jon

[jonovid]

just got this aliexpress e-Bike kit  got it all set up on the week end.
 e-bikes are like the power steering & power assisted brakes on your car.
you wonder how you, get along without this. .
must thank Louis Rossmann of Yt for inspiration.  so get one & try it. see his NY e-bike videos.
If you can build a PC than e-Bike kits are no more complicated with assembly

[lukego]

Deionized water.

I tested my TUC-100 ultrasonic cleaner with SafeWash fluid for the first time and it worked well: removed all the Amtech tacky flux from my boards and got my tweezers so clean that parts don't stick to them anymore. However, the metal surfaces like solder joints all came out looking cloudy with some white residue evenly distributed across them. Hypothesis is that this is salts and minerals deposited during my post-wash rinse with tap water.

[djos]

I just use distilled water in my cleaner and then dry the parts off with a quick shake and maybe a blast with the hot air station @ 100c into the connectors.

[Mr.B]

just got this aliexpress e-Bike kit  got it all set up on the week end...

Can you supply:
Link to Ali store.
Opinion on the mechanical build quality for the price.
Have you inspected the internals of the controller for build quality?

Thanks in advance.

[jonovid]

just got this aliexpress e-Bike kit  got it all set up on the week end...

Can you supply:
Link to Ali store.
Opinion on the mechanical build quality for the price.
Have you inspected the internals of the controller for build quality?

Thanks in advance.

Jueshuai
https://jueshuai.aliexpress.com/store/1295626?spm=2114.12010611.pcShopHead_6111296.0

good mechanical build quality for the price   
no I did not teardown the BMS power unit at this time.
but I look in the ends of the case. 

no instruction manuals , as usual do your homework. 

[lukego]

Metcal MX500 for £160. Two years old from a reputable seller. I don't need it but it's too tempting as an affordable way to experiment with induction heating

I'm wondering now whether the Hakko FX-1002 micro iron is compatible with the MX500? I know that the FX-1001 is so I'm hopeful.