What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[gamalot]

I didn’t buy anything new, I just repaired my 12-year-old Thinkpad T410 and installed a new system on it. 

[deadlylover]

I didn’t buy anything new, I just repaired my 12-year-old Thinkpad T410 and installed a new system on it. 

Nice little machines, I have a T420, X230, X240. You can sometimes find them stupid cheap on the second hand market. The old 7 row keyboard is fantastic isn't it?

There is a very enthusiastic community of ThinkPad modders in China, they are designing 'modern' motherboards that fit into the old chassis. You can also get display converters so you can swap in a modern IPS display (LVDS>eDP converter, though some of them just steal the signal from the dock connector). I have one but haven't gotten around to installing it yet on the X230. (they also supply a CNC cut bezel to replace the old one, it's crazy!)

I installed the 12" MacBook speakers in my X230 and took measurements as well, I think you can probably count the number of laptops on the planet that sound better than it on one hand. 

[bsfeechannel]

Five BF245B for less than 60¢ a pop from, up until then, a reputable local brick and mortar shop.

All of them fake. Not even JFETs, possibly BJTs. Too good to be true.

Told them about it. They said they don't verify if what they are distributing is really what it says on the package. If more people complain they will pull the item from their shopping engine.

Returned the items, got a refund. Learned my lesson.

[HighVoltage]

I didn’t buy anything new, I just repaired my 12-year-old Thinkpad T410 and installed a new system on it. 

Always nice to see Thinkpad repaired.
I just fixed an old T61P a few weeks ago and it also runs perfect on Win10.

[shakalnokturn]

I didn’t buy anything new, I just repaired my 12-year-old Thinkpad T410 and installed a new system on it. 

Always nice to see Thinkpad repaired.
I just fixed an old T61P a few weeks ago and it also runs perfect on Win10.

I liked the T61p, really well built. Should look for a second hand one...

[gamalot]

Another good thing happened! Since my SSD is almost full, I bought another one online. Very surprisingly, Australia Post actually delivered my mail on Saturday morning, which has never happened in the past 6 years.   

[Mr.B]

...Australia Post actually delivered my mail on Saturday morning, which has never happened ...

Probably Covid.
New Zealand Post has such a large volume they are delivering 7 days a week at the moment.

[YurkshireLad]

I finally (!) bit the bullet and ordered a Korad bench power supply and a Hakko FX888D soldering station. They should arrive this week.

[armandine2]

finally (!) bit the bullet

and No time to die - not exactly a purchase but I did donate to The Guardian today after buying David Mitchell's review piece about 007 films - after a few mayo and ketchup denials on Friday.

[ledtester]

I ordered a 30cc tube of Amtech NC-559-V2-TF flux from Louis Rossman because he's selling it at half the price compared to everyone else ($17.99 vs. $34.99).

Processing of the order was very expeditious... I placed the order at 9:43 AM and at 11:06 AM I got an email saying the order had been shipped.

[deadlylover]

$40 mouse pad made in Japan...Artisan FX Zero. Worth every penny! 

The soft rubber base is spectacular, it sticks to the desk very well. I'm not much of a gamer any more so I wanted their slowest "control" pad for basic office use, it's still faster than most cloth pads while being very comfortable, I like it a lot.

[PlainName]

What mouse do you use?

Last time I used a mouse mat was, er, a very long time ago and I kind of assumed with the laser stuff nowadays a mat wasn't really needed unless you have a glass table or something.

[deadlylover]

What mouse do you use?

Logitech G304, just a nice little wireless gaming mouse that runs off a single AA. I kind of hate "normal" wireless/bluetooth mice because of the slight lag, so you almost "have" to get a gaming one to eliminate it.

A mouse pad isn't strictly necessary because of tracking issues or anything (modern sensors will track on damn near anything), it's just a preference thing. I always use mouse pads because it's quieter, smoother, doesn't bust up the mouse feet and it protects your table too. I really like the "stopping power" of a cloth pad.

[BBBbbb]

What mouse do you use?

Last time I used a mouse mat was, er, a very long time ago and I kind of assumed with the laser stuff nowadays a mat wasn't really needed unless you have a glass table or something.

It's more about smooth movement and extending the life of the pads on your mouse. This depends on the mouse as well, but for example on Logitech MX master 3, pads are not too forgiving.

But with some gamers the mat philosophy is getting close to audiofoolery.

[wkb]

2 JFW 75Ω-50Ω matching pads

[PlainName]

Thanks, both.

I'm addicted to the Logitech auto-hyperscroll thingy so some flavour of MX has been my weapon of choice for some time. I use it on an MDF worktop and although that's now very very smooth to the touch the mouse feet don't seem to have suffered. Perhaps I'm not pointing enough

[rsjsouza]

What mouse do you use?

Logitech G304, just a nice little wireless gaming mouse that runs off a single AA. I kind of hate "normal" wireless/bluetooth mice because of the slight lag, so you almost "have" to get a gaming one to eliminate it.

A mouse pad isn't strictly necessary because of tracking issues or anything (modern sensors will track on damn near anything), it's just a preference thing. I always use mouse pads because it's quieter, smoother, doesn't bust up the mouse feet and it protects your table too. I really like the "stopping power" of a cloth pad.

I am a big fan of good mousepads as well. I have been using the 3M below for several years now and I noticed a better control for CAD - however, the mice I like to use are a bit older (Logitech M510) and therefore might not have sensors as advanced as the ones in newer models.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/cbgbjw011273/

[TSCOLAN]

Hi,

Here is a "new" Tektronix 316 Oscilloscope

It was dead on arrival, of course, and was quite dusty. I washed it in the bathroom and let it dry for 10 days.

I started by checking the power supply : almost all electrolytics in this section were bad. Once replaced I did obtain a spot in X-Y mode ! Better : by using the calibrator output, the spot moved in both directions.

Schematics found online are not for my old unit : Tektronix made a lot of changes. I was fooled thinking that even if the tubes was not the same, waveforms should be similar... Eventually the 317 schematics showed me that the waveforms I have in my instrument are perfectly OK with this tube set.

Focusing on the time base, I noticed corroded legs on two NE2 neon bulbs. These are hard to find but they are said to be replaceable by a 82 volts Zener. I used 3 22v and 1 18v in series to obtain an approximate value. And the time base started to work again !

Next will be to take a look in the trigger section : in many time/div positions there are multiple traces on the screen, and they are not triggered at the same point.

Also some black beauty to replace but as it now kinda works il will be easier to do it a step at a time.

Thomas

[PlainName]

Looks nice. Shame to put the sides back on - maybe replace with acrylic panels?

[beanflying]

What mouse do you use?

Logitech G304, just a nice little wireless gaming mouse that runs off a single AA. I kind of hate "normal" wireless/bluetooth mice because of the slight lag, so you almost "have" to get a gaming one to eliminate it.

A mouse pad isn't strictly necessary because of tracking issues or anything (modern sensors will track on damn near anything), it's just a preference thing. I always use mouse pads because it's quieter, smoother, doesn't bust up the mouse feet and it protects your table too. I really like the "stopping power" of a cloth pad.

I am a big fan of good mousepads as well. I have been using the 3M below for several years now and I noticed a better control for CAD - however, the mice I like to use are a bit older (Logitech M510) and therefore might not have sensors as advanced as the ones in newer models.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/cbgbjw011273/

My heavily used M510 gets used straight on the cork top of my bench and the pads seem fine. I was using a mousepad prior to adding the cork but they chew up desk space so I got rid of it. Secondhand 3Dconnexion is settling in well with the CAD workflow after some early brain/hand interface issues.

Time to clean both 

[georges80]

Mouse pad... I have one that my younger son donated to me - it's 36" x 16" and the keyboard, mouse, laptop and more fits nicely on it. Has a soft compressible feel and is cloth covered and antislip on the back. Been using it daily for a month or so and I'm sold on the concept! Great for the mouse and comfortable (not cold, not hot) on the wrists etc.

Younger son is a keyboard nerd - there's a custom keyboard subculture - we're talking about finished keyboards that range into the thousands of dollars  so the mouse pad is part of that 'madness' 

I do a fair bit of cad (schematic, layout and some mechanical) and having a large pad under the whole workspace is very nice indeed.

cheers,
george.

[tautech]

Isn't a mouse pad something the pet mouse sleeps on ? 
Not used one for decades.

[ledtester]

Bought this flash unit at a local university garage sale mainly for the zip cord because it was dirt cheap.

When I got it home and opened up the battery compartment (which had been modified for an external power supply) I found some "0V" AA batteries that look like they were milled on a lathe. That made the purchase even more of a bargain.

[rsjsouza]

My heavily used M510 gets used straight on the cork top of my bench and the pads seem fine. I was using a mousepad prior to adding the cork but they chew up desk space so I got rid of it. Secondhand 3Dconnexion is settling in well with the CAD workflow after some early brain/hand interface issues.

Time to clean both 

Indeed the mouse runs very well on such rough surfaces, but my table has a very glossy surface and the sensor did not work very well.

[beanflying]

Purchased some more holes in 8mm 304L for the fixtures on my welding table. DXF sent 'please make one of each' thinking that will avoid errors at the Waterjet cutter with quantities. Received back 

On the plus side the tabs and slots are spot on and the holes are just on 0.05mm under the 20mm ready for a tweak to size with a reamer.

Welding thread in the Mech Eng section sometime soon.