What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[TheHolyHorse]

Got my self an oscilloscope, a SDS1104X-E.   

A very nice oscilloscope with very good bang for buck!   

(I got one as a second unit and to take it with me because it's also small and lightweight but I happen to use it more often than my primary oscilloscope.)

Yeah especially when you can hack it to 200MHz.

[Terry01]

Just a couple of bits and pieces.... 

[xrunner]

Another NanoVNA. Shown with case off.

[shakalnokturn]

Another NanoVNA. Shown with case off.

How long do those Lipo's last?
"Last" as in before bulging, not as in before discharging?

[maginnovision]

I accidentally bought a Keysight 1253B. Always make sure you've eaten and slept before ebaying.

[MadTux]

Well, my $550 Deckel CNC from back in 2017 is finally fully fixed and rebuild to about factory specifications and nearly back in operation.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/what-did-you-buy-today-post-your-latest-purchase!/msg1298855/#msg1298855

Should be capable of 3D milling and has universal table fitted, with a 0.001° DRO fitted in the rotation axis.


Never mind the trigger stick, that picture was a bit tricky, with all the mess on the floor ;-)

Price  back in 1986 was about $150'000, btw, so I paid about 0.4% original price, even better than most old test gear nowadays. Or about $0.4/kg. Rebuild was a lot of work and not exactly cheap, though.

[Kjelt]

Nice! Yeah with CNC and other machinery the biggest and heaviest and best gear is usually cheap since little hobbieists have the room or the tens of kW sockets to connect them 
Great for those who have the room and power to run it and a spouse who allows it.

[Black Phoenix]

My dream in terms of CNC Machining:



VARIAXIS 630-5X II T 5-Axis



Quite impossible to have it at home, 3 Phase with at least a Power Requirement of 82.2 kVA. I installed back in 2007 2 of these in a Plastic Moulding manifold manufacturing plant in Portugal and this machine is a beast. 5 Axis simultaneous machining via EIA/ISO Programming (CAD/CAM), 3 axis simultaneous via the Mazatrol easy programming directly on the machine controller or application installed on a PC.

The new ones are way more powerful and modern that this one, but this one was the most expensive one that I gone from the ordering to the delivery, installing and testing. All the process were coordinated by me to the customer, so it kept a soft spot on my heart.

If I had the money and the space and nothing more to worry, I would buy one of these. Yes totally overly overkill, totally, but a pleasure to see working in 5 axis simultaneous



Sorry about the tacky music, all Yamazaki Mazak Promotional Videos had this bad kind of musics. I always told the Japanese that they should put a more soft and mundane music and keep only the machining sounds, but they never listen, not when I was only the worker from a Distributor not a Main Branch like UK or the US.

[beanflying]

The more CNC based gear you have the more you realize you NEED. Ask me how I know 

I have been making a 'small' list of Router bits I 'need' for my 2.2kW router  At least the router was fairly cheap.

[Black Phoenix]

Yes, cheap is something they weren't: The 2 of them, plus 2x 24 Tool Magazines that you would connect to the back, plus extra 2 work tables, plus options could buy you a Bugatti Veyron and still have money for some tyre replacements and maintenance cost plus some full tanks of gasoline...

You had to have work to pay them, a lot of work, and Yudo Inc. Plastics had.

The cheapest lathe that we had, the QTN200 2 Axes simple without any options, the basics of basics were around EU€50,000

[beanflying]

Like with all gear easy access to the services for $ I factor in before buying and also what an expected payback time will be. I regard my 3D printers as paid for in jobs done for $. The first toy CNC that proceeded it was a learning experience but largely a step I should have maybe avoided (cheap Ali Express 3020). The Laser cutter is well on the way to payback and the larger CNC Router is still a WIP. Locally (within 3 hours drive) no one offers this sort of service.

Locally we have good metalworking and welding options from basic to Water, Plasma and Laser along with CNC Mills and Lathes if needed and paying some $ for those guys is far better for my mix than keeping the gear myself even though I am an OK welder. Part of why this works is I have been working on some CAD skills which was always the costly part for one offs done by others in the past.

Buying a 30-100k+ Mill would be nice but I can buy a heap of time on someone elses if needed.

[McBryce]

Well, my $550 Deckel CNC from back in 2017 is finally fully fixed and rebuild to about factory specifications and nearly back in operation.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/what-did-you-buy-today-post-your-latest-purchase!/msg1298855/#msg1298855

Should be capable of 3D milling and has universal table fitted, with a 0.001° DRO fitted in the rotation axis.


Never mind the trigger stick, that picture was a bit tricky, with all the mess on the floor ;-)

Price  back in 1986 was about $150'000, btw, so I paid about 0.4% original price, even better than most old test gear nowadays. Or about $0.4/kg. Rebuild was a lot of work and not exactly cheap, though.

Top marks for the redneck selfie-stick!

McBryce.

[shakalnokturn]

Two pieces of equipment turned-up yesterday:

Another F' ed-up arc welder: A Gys Spark 130.

Unbelievable how badly designed these things are: The control PCB is attached to the power IMS through tin soldered binding posts that also serve as electrical interconnect for the high currents.
Users bashing the welder around carelessly will tear the binding posts off the IMS, on this one the IMS is a complete wreck, I've phoned Gys who do replace them (themselves only) but won't sell me a spare. This is going to be quite challenging to repair.


A Metrix MX52 DMM, 35€ posted. Sold as untested.
Sure, when you can't read the display you can't really test the rest...



LCD display on initial test.
Not really readable.




Looking for battery corrosion under the foam.
Luckily this one is clean.




Checking rotary switch contacts with the endo-cam.
The early models were known for loosing the contact fingers.
One side...




And the other side, they are all in place.
They'll get a good spraying, just because a good spraying feels good.




Cleaning ze zebras.
Spraying the interconnect between main and display PCB with contact cleaner eases disassembly.




Re-checking the LCD.






Quick calibration check and readjustment where possible.
There is no easy adjustment for the Amps, needs to be tweaked by swapping resistors.

[FrankBuss]

Doesn't work for me. I always get rid of the old one before the new one. I got rid of my Carbide 3D in favor of Bantam.

Why did you change? I have a Nomad 883, and I like it.

[dr.diesel]

Furthering my solar install by taking 24-7 loads off grid:

[FrankBuss]

Right, it is smaller, but the work area is smaller, too. Sometimes I wish the work area of my machine is bigger, like the Shapeoko, but I wouldn't have much room for it. But looks like the Bantam is perfect for small PCBs.

[Microcheap]

After spending time and money with chinese junk I decided to buy some real good quality 0.5mm 63/37 solder wire from a local company. What a difference! Worth every penny and this roll should last for ever for my needs.

[thinkfat]

Yes, 4L has different capabilities and allows tighter constraints than 2L.

[tooki]

After spending time and money with chinese junk I decided to buy some real good quality 0.5mm 63/37 solder wire from a local company. What a difference! Worth every penny and this roll should last for ever for my needs.

Yep. I do not understand why people waste their time with Chinese solder. Even "expensive" solder is still cheap, when you consider how little of it you use in a project. I doubt if I've spent much more than $100 on solder in my whole lifetime, and I still have most of it!

[Teti]

After spending time and money with chinese junk I decided to buy some real good quality 0.5mm 63/37 solder wire from a local company. What a difference! Worth every penny and this roll should last for ever for my needs.

Now you got me intrigued, I might do the same. yeah, cheap Chinese solder wires are not the best for the serious stuff.

[deadlylover]

Now you got me intrigued, I might do the same. yeah, cheap Chinese solder wires are not the best for the serious stuff.

Never cheap out on solder wick and flux too!, speaking of which...

Bit of a tool haul from China, the wick was only a couple bucks and I was expecting it to be fake but I think it's the real deal. 

I also ordered some connector pliers from Japan, the KTC AD101. I'm just sick and tired of busting my fingers unplugging connectors that haven't been touched for 25 years, so I'm hoping this tool works well. It's like 80 dollarydoos so not a cheap one!
I've been getting by using normal needlenose pliers and slipping in a screwdriver to undo the "locks" but sometimes when you're upside down head first in a footwell trying to unplug the blower fan on an air-conditioning unit in a 1993 Toyota Supra because the heater core is leaking...yeah...I'll gladly pay $1000 for some damn pliers that work.

[maginnovision]

I usually buy a 10 pack of mg chem wick for $35. Works well and not expensive.

[Terry01]

Now you got me intrigued, I might do the same. yeah, cheap Chinese solder wires are not the best for the serious stuff.

Never cheap out on solder wick and flux too!, speaking of which...

Bit of a tool haul from China, the wick was only a couple bucks and I was expecting it to be fake but I think it's the real deal. 

I also ordered some connector pliers from Japan, the KTC AD101. I'm just sick and tired of busting my fingers unplugging connectors that haven't been touched for 25 years, so I'm hoping this tool works well. It's like 80 dollarydoos so not a cheap one!
I've been getting by using normal needlenose pliers and slipping in a screwdriver to undo the "locks" but sometimes when you're upside down head first in a footwell trying to unplug the blower fan on an air-conditioning unit in a 1993 Toyota Supra because the heater core is leaking...yeah...I'll gladly pay $1000 for some damn pliers that work.

      

[daqq]

Finally, my own spectrum analyzer... got it really cheap, works

[Terry01]

Finally, my own spectrum analyzer... got it really cheap, works
(Attachment Link)

Nice 1 buddy! Looks like a beauty