What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[Smokey]

Got one of these Frys storage bin racks as well.  Thanks for the tip.
http://frys.com/product/8943453


The way the bins hook on the back with those little plastic tabs is a little flimsy.  Don't expect those to last very long, especially with anything heavy.  Still a good deal for $12.38

[nfmax]

I bought a book!

Arthur & I were postgrads together in what was then the Optical Fibre Group at Southampton University. Many years later our paths crossed again, this time working together in fibre-optic sensing. Now Arthur has written a book about the technology, a good high-level introduction, if you are interested, with lots of applications information & many references.

Amazon says it's unreleased. Did you buy direct from Wiley?

hardcover and ebook seem available in plenty of places already since early this year, including amazon.... Softcover version is the one that's about to be released.

I bought the hardcover from amazon.co.uk - the paperback is scheduled for December publication, but as the hardcover was late, I wouldn't bet on it.

[VK5RC]

Me too!
In the area I work, encounter this way too often from the administrative systems.

[canibalimao]

I think that happens in all labour areas. What you can, in some specific cases, an administrative system that's not stupid 

[cat87]

Came in today. A Toshiba Sonolayer 32B  ultrasound. Fully functioning, and with the probe for it. I'll have a play with it once I get home. On me of course... I'll get to know myself inside out 

[AF6LJ]

Oh this will be fun, Very Cool.

[canibalimao]

At first glance, the probe image look like a vacuum cleaner 

[little_grey]

I got told once the key to a good marage is good storage solutions.
so i got a job lot of these for cheap! some for work and some for home


be sure to get some ultasound gel, it will help it get a good signal.

[cat87]

At first glance, the probe image look like a vacuum cleaner 

Yeah, it's quite big, compared to modern ones 
Also the connector for the probe looks expensive. I've seen similar ones on test racks and I know they cost an arm and a leg, or two

be sure to get some ultasound gel, it will help it get a good signal.

The seller was nice enough to give me a tube (about a quarter left in it) of the stuff.

So, after playing around with it, I think I'm either pregnant (I'm a guy, by the way) or I've got that Alien thing in me, waiting to come out. Will see. 

[BBBbbb]

The connector seems similar to the usual ones used today, but anyways I'm not sure any of them are available commercially.

So, after playing around with it, I think I'm either pregnant (I'm a guy, by the way) or I've got that Alien thing in me, waiting to come out. Will see. 

Can't comment on your pregnancy, but whatever it is (boy or girl) hope it becomes an engineer.
Are you sure that probe is for pregnancy?

[Panourias]

I am planning to buy this!
SUPER LOW price!and NEW! and the seller 100% zero feedback! 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FLIR-E8-NIST-Compact-Thermal-Imaging-Camera-with-320-x-240-IR-Resolution-and-MSX/263170895582

PS I am new to the site,Greetings to you all from Greece

[cat87]

SUPER LOW price!and NEW! and the seller 100% zero feedback! 

We all have to start somewhere, right?
Welcome to the fold.

Are you sure that probe is for pregnancy?

From what I found on the net, looks to be a linear array type of probe. It's indicated as used for small and vascular stuff. The regular abdominal probe is the curved one. Thank the gods I didn't get the  "endo-cavity" probe.  That would have been awkward to test and play around with.

[aargee]

At first glance, the probe image look like a vacuum cleaner 

Yeah, it's quite big, compared to modern ones 
Also the connector for the probe looks expensive. I've seen similar ones on test racks and I know they cost an arm and a leg, or two

be sure to get some ultasound gel, it will help it get a good signal.

The seller was nice enough to give me a tube (about a quarter left in it) of the stuff.

So, after playing around with it, I think I'm either pregnant (I'm a guy, by the way) or I've got that Alien thing in me, waiting to come out. Will see. 

That's a crap image, but that goes with the age of the machine.. it looks like a Vectrex game console with an ultrasound add-on.
Are you using gel? If you're scanning your abdo, gas will be your problem, impervious to US.

[cat87]

That's a crap image, but that goes with the age of the machine.. it looks like a Vectrex game console with an ultrasound add-on.

  Yes it is. That's because in that image, the probe was standing in its cradle. Once I started  aaa.... probing myself, I  guess, I was too fascinated to take any more pictures. Also I couldn't hold the camera still with the probe in hand.

[little_grey]

i think you need to try harder 

be interesting to see if it were able to cope with metal work.
I used to use a very simple version (without imaging) to test welds

[cat87]

i think you need to try harder 

Will do 

be interesting to see if it were able to cope with metal work.

Same here. Will try that too. Oh, it's going to be a nice weekend 

[neo]

Well not today but recent, took me a bit to sort through the hamfest stuff but here goes.
Fluke 8050A pristine condition original everything complete with fresh nicads, sharp lcd, manual, test leads and rf probe.

Keithley 177 missing handle otherwise nice condition and very accurate.

Hickok 209A very clean with non butchered internals. Needs a full restoration, wax caps and the test leads and power cord are trashed.

BK precision 801, measures very accurately in MHz though nothing at all when set to kHz. It was cheap and now it is a project.

Pyramid PS-26K which as promised will put out alot of current BUT the meter does not show that if set to 15V and connected to 1 ohm load, not even its maximum rated current out 15A instead of 25, it drops the voltage to 11 volts. The panel meter does not appear to be reading the voltage and the specifications are bunk, if nothing else i can toy with it and make it better.

LG 1920x1080 24" monitor working for 10 bucks with the only catch being that it has been repaired by hobbyist before me. This makes the 5th monitor on my desktop, third HD one.

A small army footlocker, think milk crate, half full of old panel meters including some really nice ones not just generic this or that but purpose built. Those are always the prettiest.

4, 1-50 ohm 225W variable resistors.

1, 50 ohm 200W fixed resistor.

A literal shoe box full of wall warts.

4 large miscellaneous boxes bought for one item but have many useful items in them.

And when i got home from hamfest i spent what was left of my money on a very big bag of parts.  Misc. from ebay but from futerlec,
100, 74F00 because they were cheapest; 200, 14 pin IC sockets; 200, 16 pin IC sockets; 25, CD4029 counters; rest is also misc.

For those among you who might find it funny.  I got the display cord for the new monitor on ebay the day before they realized someone had botched a listing and that they were giving them away for free.

[alexanderbrevig]

I purchased a complete in-ear / wireless stage / DMX lights / rehearsal recording solution.
It consists of 3 racks, and here's my sketch for it (work in progress):



Can't wait to build this thing

EDIT: It's mainly for my band, but having access to som IEM and wireless mics always comes in handy when I do work as a live audio engineer too.

[alank2]

I bought 10 of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-Electronic-Project-Breadboard-Univ-Terminal-Strip-840-tie-points-NO-BOX-/191994779221

The seller even put together a qty 10 auction for me which is still up.

They look like the 3M with gold plating.  My only gripe is that they didn't come with the aluminum back to stick them all to.

[bitseeker]

Ah, those are the ones with split power busses, correct?

[alank2]

Ah, those are the ones with split power busses, correct?

Yes.  The left side and right side power busses are separate.

[djos]

Just bought a few little OLED display's for various projects - I cant believe how cheap they are now! 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/0-91-128x32-IIC-I2C-Blue-OLED-LCD-Display-DIY-Module-DC3-3V-5V-For-PIC-Arduino/302180328999?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

[MattSR]

Taking after FrankBuss's lead in this post here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/what-did-you-buy-today-post-your-latest-purchase!/msg1283454/#msg1283454

I decided to follow suit and buy a similar adaptor off eBay too. It arrived all ok, and I just tested it out with my HP 8924C using the supplied Agilent Interactive IO software, and it works as expected. I can query it and get a valid response. I also tested it on my HP 8901B modulation analyzer and it worked perfectly too - I must admit it was kinda neat interfacing to a piece of equipment designed and first manufactured in the 1970's, using a USB interface running on a relatively modern computer!

Next step is to get it all working with linux-gpib (like FrankBuss did) and using the Python bindings, write some code to automate some test procedures that I occasionally do.

[MattSR]

...and also added to the cache of RF test gear is a few attenuators.

First up is a Weinschel branded unit that was purchased off eBay, it requires a heatsink to mount to (which I have but am yet to hook it up) when swept on a VNA it tested well and truly within spec. It fluctuated by about 0.7db over the entire 0-4GHz range. Comes with decent quality N female connectors as well (Mmmm, gold plated Beryllium. Yum.)




Next in the list is another Weinschel unit, this time it comes encapsulated in a heatsink, so it will work fine as is - again its a 20db unit, and it swept within about 0.9db from DC-4GHz as well!

[MattSR]

..and because the ones rated at 100 watts heated up a little too quickly for my application, I splashed out on a 200 watt rated "BECEN" branded Chinese made unit as well. This one sits in from of my HP 8924C and 8901B to protect it from 100+ watt transmitters when they're being tuned/aligned. I prefer the external units as opposed to modifying my 8924C for Option 060 - especially considering the internal heatsink is about the size of a pack of cigarettes and can only handle 100 watts for 10 seconds or so!

Both of these also swept from 50 kilohertz to 4GHz and were within 0.7db!

Older 100W 30db eBay/Chinese unit:-



New 200 watt Chinese/BECEN branded unit:-