What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[gamalot]

Arrived this morning: Xiaomi case containing 24 Wiha bits.
https://www.gearbest.com/screwdriver-screwdriver-set/pp_696715.html
To go with my ES120 battery screwdriver that only ships with two very small bits.

Is that actually Xiaomi or Wiha? It sounds like slapping a few brands with a good reputation on a box, especially considering the provenance. I could very well be wrong, though.

Regardless, it's a good looking set.

It's Xiaomi from Wiha. 

[Mr. Scram]

Apparently, it's real. Very nice. Two underappreciated brands with a lot of bang for buck.

https://www.wiha.com/en/press-reports/detail/wiha-proud-of-co-branding-partnership-with-chinese-smartphone-manufacturer-xiaomi/

[Mr.B]

Apparently, it's real. Very nice. Two under appreciated brands with a lot of bang for buck.

https://www.wiha.com/en/press-reports/detail/wiha-proud-of-co-branding-partnership-with-chinese-smartphone-manufacturer-xiaomi/

Yes, some sort of partnership deal.
I checked that out first before pulling the trigger.
The bits are very good quality and appear to be genuine Wiha.

[URI]

I ordered two 20mm plates of acrylic glass today to be used as the support for the console above my bench where all my boatanchors reside on.

Something has to be done: 


Don't worry, it's still safe because it still deformes/swings elastically, so it won't break all at once. 

It's so much out of the horizontal position because the support (the near triangular plate underneath the console) has rotated around the middle of its three mounting screws. And that was possible because the drilling holes are a bit larger than the screws diameter.
I plan to use the plates as a support that sits on the bench surface so that the 40mmx40mm Aluminium posts don't have to bear all the weight alone. I'll substitute the 40mmx40mm (2mm thickness) Aluminium posts with steel ones of the same size but 3mm thickness also.

If I take into consideration that nearly my whole test equipment is sitting up there it's no wonder it turned that way:
Three HP linear system power supplies (2x6643A,1x6632B), two HP 3488A, two HP 3456A voltmeters, one HP 3457A Multimeter, one Knick Calibrator (full width), one HP LCR Meter, three Fluke counters, two Philips Multimeters (PM2534/2535), one classic Tube Oscilloscope and a HP3437 System Voltmeter, my GPIB Cable stock plus the unavoidable junk everyone collects at his lab bench..   

[woody]

What can I say? Does not look like any size of acrylic is going to keep this afloat. Its the anchors that threaten to sink the ship, so it might be time to throw a couple overboard.  I'll be in the launch to catch the HP 3457A 

[Specmaster]

I'm so excited because I have just purchased for my next repair project some 500 trimmers, which has suddenly jumped to the head of the queue from nowhere, my Goldstar scope decided to play up last night 

[Back2Volts]

Arrived this morning: Xiaomi case containing 24 Wiha bits.
https://www.gearbest.com/screwdriver-screwdriver-set/pp_696715.html
To go with my ES120 battery screwdriver that only ships with two very small bits.

That is a very cool screwdriver !

[s8548a]

Plantronics Explorer 50 BT headset.

Sent from my 6043D using Tapatalk

[Mr.B]

That is a very cool screwdriver !

It is, yes...

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/ever-heard-of-an-open-source-screwdriver/

[GreyWoolfe]

I just picked up from my local surplus store an HP 3466A bench DMM for the princely sum of $30 USD.  It had been sitting for a couple of weeks and I found out why.  The test leads I brought and the test leads they had there were loose in the jacks.  I was able to test the meter by squeezing the leads in the jacks together a little.  I also replaced the plugs on the set of leads I am going to use with a set of plugs from Frankie's eBay store.  You can see how clean the meter is, I just touched the bezel with IPA where the price tag was.  The  meter works fine on and DCV but there is odd behavior on ACV.  When I press the button for ACV the indicator goes to instead of V, which it does when I press DCV.  I am very leery of trying to measure ACV  There is nothing in the manual that I could find indicating whether or not this happens.  If anyone has this meter, does your meter do the same?  It isn't a big deal.  It will be used for working on company equipment where I will use DCV and settings, no ACV.

[Specmaster]

I just picked up from my local surplus store an HP 3466A bench DMM for the princely sum of $30 USD.  It had been sitting for a couple of weeks and I found out why.  The test leads I brought and the test leads they had there were loose in the jacks.  I was able to test the meter by squeezing the leads in the jacks together a little.  I also replaced the plugs on the set of leads I am going to use with a set of plugs from Frankie's eBay store.  You can see how clean the meter is, I just touched the bezel with IPA where the price tag was.  The  meter works fine on and DCV but there is odd behavior on ACV.  When I press the button for ACV the indicator goes to instead of V, which it does when I press DCV.  I am very leery of trying to measure ACV  There is nothing in the manual that I could find indicating whether or not this happens.  If anyone has this meter, does your meter do the same?  It isn't a big deal.  It will be used for working on company equipment where I will use DCV and settings, no ACV.

I have this same model of meter in my collection and the answer is no, it does not do this and neither should it. Does the correct LED light up on DCV, it should be either mV or V depending on if the meter is in auto or a manual range has been selected.

However I think that this more likely down to dirty switch contacts or a bad connection inside somewhere.

[Mr. Scram]

I ordered two 20mm plates of acrylic glass today to be used as the support for the console above my bench where all my boatanchors reside on.

Something has to be done: 


Don't worry, it's still safe because it still deformes/swings elastically, so it won't break all at once. 

It's so much out of the horizontal position because the support (the near triangular plate underneath the console) has rotated around the middle of its three mounting screws. And that was possible because the drilling holes are a bit larger than the screws diameter.
I plan to use the plates as a support that sits on the bench surface so that the 40mmx40mm Aluminium posts don't have to bear all the weight alone. I'll substitute the 40mmx40mm (2mm thickness) Aluminium posts with steel ones of the same size but 3mm thickness also.

If I take into consideration that nearly my whole test equipment is sitting up there it's no wonder it turned that way:
Three HP linear system power supplies (2x6643A,1x6632B), two HP 3488A, two HP 3456A voltmeters, one HP 3457A Multimeter, one Knick Calibrator (full width), one HP LCR Meter, three Fluke counters, two Philips Multimeters (PM2534/2535), one classic Tube Oscilloscope and a HP3437 System Voltmeter, my GPIB Cable stock plus the unavoidable junk everyone collects at his lab bench..   

Just because I'm curious, how did acrylic get to be the solution of choice? That doesn't seem to be the cheapest or best load bearing solution.

[Specmaster]

Just ordered some 6 core molex cable to replace some broken ones on my Hameg HM408-1A so I can eliminate the leads as a reason for the power supply not firing up.

I really want to get this lovely machine running as I have never seen it running  properly. 

[GreyWoolfe]

I just picked up from my local surplus store an HP 3466A bench DMM for the princely sum of $30 USD.  It had been sitting for a couple of weeks and I found out why.  The test leads I brought and the test leads they had there were loose in the jacks.  I was able to test the meter by squeezing the leads in the jacks together a little.  I also replaced the plugs on the set of leads I am going to use with a set of plugs from Frankie's eBay store.  You can see how clean the meter is, I just touched the bezel with IPA where the price tag was.  The  meter works fine on and DCV but there is odd behavior on ACV.  When I press the button for ACV the indicator goes to instead of V, which it does when I press DCV.  I am very leery of trying to measure ACV  There is nothing in the manual that I could find indicating whether or not this happens.  If anyone has this meter, does your meter do the same?  It isn't a big deal.  It will be used for working on company equipment where I will use DCV and settings, no ACV.

I have this same model of meter in my collection and the answer is no, it does not do this and neither should it. Does the correct LED light up on DCV, it should be either mV or V depending on if the meter is in auto or a manual range has been selected.

However I think that this more likely down to dirty switch contacts or a bad connection inside somewhere.

Yes, it does and works fine on DCV.  I had it open but I am not sure where to spray with contact cleaner to actually get into the switch.  I will have to have another look at some point.  As I said, it won't ever see ACV so not a big deal if it doesn't get sorted.  I will also try working the switches to see if that helps.  I also didn't take it completely apart to look for bad solder joints.  That might also be on tap, then I can check the switch with a meter.  That is a project for another day.

Do you like the meter?  Regardless, I think I got an good price on it and it will serve my purposes for sure.

[Specmaster]

Yes I do like the meter a lot, its not my goto meter for everyday use however that duty tends to fall to my Iso-Tech IDM-203. Has yours got the battery option or is it just a plain 3466?
The meter itself is very easy to strip down and gives you complete access to the switches. There is a service manual on line that you can download for free, just google it.

I use it really when I need some extra accuracy or when I'm doing a worth while project that will take a bit of time to do, I also have a Fluke 8505A that gives me 6.5 digit accuracy but that is a beast of meter that takes up about 5 times the space on the bench that the 3466A does so it does not get used that often.

[URI]

I ordered two 20mm plates of acrylic glass today to be used as the support for the console above my bench where all my boatanchors reside on.

Just because I'm curious, how did acrylic get to be the solution of choice? That doesn't seem to be the cheapest or best load bearing solution.

Yes, it's rather expensive compared to something made of wood. I chose it anyway because I wanted my bench to be lighted from the light coming in through the window. Imagine the supports (50cm wide and 63cm high) would be made of wood (something not transparent) my bench would always have to be lightened artificially -even with full daylight outside.

I hope 20mm acrylic glass is stable and capable of bearing the load, otherwise it would be an expensive failure. 
But since whole cabins of elevators are made of acrylic glass I'm confident it'll cope..   
The acrylic glass will be attached to and held by a 40mmx40mm (3mm thick wall) steel post. So it won't be bearing the whole weight on its own.

[GreyWoolfe]

Yes I do like the meter a lot, its not my goto meter for everyday use however that duty tends to fall to my Iso-Tech IDM-203. Has yours got the battery option or is it just a plain 3466?
The meter itself is very easy to strip down and gives you complete access to the switches. There is a service manual on line that you can download for free, just google it.

I use it really when I need some extra accuracy or when I'm doing a worth while project that will take a bit of time to do, I also have a Fluke 8505A that gives me 6.5 digit accuracy but that is a beast of meter that takes up about 5 times the space on the bench that the 3466A does so it does not get used that often.

I did download the owner/service manual.  It does have the battery option.  There is no battery in it and it wasn't connected when I peeked inside.  I plan on getting back into it and try to clean the switches but, unfortunately, other things come first, like finding time to change the brakes on my van.  Work got in the way last week as I worked 60 hours including a chunk of the weekend.

[Specmaster]

I think it will do just fine but it might be an idea to try and brace the edges of the top shelf with some steel strips or angle iron back to the main vertical support because you say that you're going to be reusing the triangular plates that are there now, on the bottom? If you could get some steel strips to make a sort of triangular frame, it would benefit and help prevent your kit crashing to the bench or the floor if the glass should fail. The strips would not block any light in real terms either.

[URI]

I think it will do just fine but it might be an idea to try and brace the edges of the top shelf with some steel strips or angle iron back to the main vertical support because you say that you're going to be reusing the triangular plates that are there now, on the bottom? If you could get some steel strips to make a sort of triangular frame, it would benefit and help prevent your kit crashing to the bench or the floor if the glass should fail. The strips would not block any light in real terms either.

No, I won't be reusing the triangular plates. I will exchange the triangular plates with rectangular plates of 20mm acrylic glass that will rest upon the surface of the bench table and will go up to where the console sits now in one piece. So the upper horizontal edge of the acrylic glass plates will be in the identical position as the one of the triangular plates. By the way these are made only of 19mm MDF.

[Specmaster]

Oh well if their only MDF, I think the acrylic glass will just fine as they will be sitting on the bench top and attached to the top shelf at the edges and hopefully also at the centre support.

[Mr. Scram]

Oh well if their only MDF, I think the acrylic glass will just fine as they will be sitting on the bench top and attached to the top shelf at the edges and hopefully also at the centre support.

One problem of acrylic is that it tends to shatter, rather than gradually yield. Though thicker sheets may me better behaved.

[Johnny10]

Nice!   

[URI]

Oh well if their only MDF, I think the acrylic glass will just fine as they will be sitting on the bench top and attached to the top shelf at the edges and hopefully also at the centre support.

One problem of acrylic is that it tends to shatter, rather than gradually yield. Though thicker sheets may me better behaved.

Yep. I have already taken into account that acrylic glass tends to be easily damageable by notching effects.
In consequence I will use the whole cross section area of the plate and will also put a flat aluminium profile on top to even possible stress points.
For the screws that hold the plate to the post I'll use washers to minimize stress concentration.

[technix]

Have anyone tried hot air reworking on top of 8mm tempered glass?

[Red Squirrel]

I'm near the end of my night shift and went on Ebay.  That's a dangerous combination.

Just bought a 3kva variac.  Total impulse purchase.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/3-KVA-Variac-variable-autotransformer-120-volts-input-0-140-volts-output/311990280782?hash=item48a411e24e:g:HjUAAOSwyjBW7f-e

It will come in handy though as I've been meaning to mess with SMPS builds, so at least I can dial the voltage up a bit at a time instead of applying full 120 to my contraptions.