"And so it begins" http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=%20And%20so%20it%20begins
Let us know your address before you are committed to the lunatic asylum.
Jackson, et al stole that quote from Babylon5 a decade earlier; he's a shameless Bab5 fanboi, and Tolkein never actually wrote those words. UD is hardly a valid reference; more like Wikipedia for the "Jackass" crowd.
I just redid the worktop of my main bench; a jobsite I was on down here they were tearing out a cashwrap with cultured marble top and I got a nice piece 92" x 29" to make the whole bench (two drafting tables side x side) into one contiguous surface.
You do NOT want to see what's BEHIND me...
what did you buy this time then
You do NOT want to see what's BEHIND me...
Not wanting to put a damper on things, but as far as the conversation between bd139 and myself went, we were talking about desoldering stations rather soldering stations. it was about removing a multipole latching push switch from my HP 3466A which failed today. bd139 said he tried to desolder one before with a manual pump and it didn't work out, but I said I have a powered pump like the one Dave did a blog on and bd139 was going to Ebay to look?
Mind you having said all of that, as always there are some pretty things arise from the conversations in this group
ebay did bad things to me
I just redid the worktop of my main bench; a jobsite I was on down here they were tearing out a cashwrap with cultured marble top and I got a nice piece 92" x 29" to make the whole bench (two drafting tables side x side) into one contiguous surface.
A solid marble benchtop! Me likey (at least until the pores start to fill with "stuff" -- gotta seal that top).QuoteYou do NOT want to see what's BEHIND me...
That depends if it's test equipment.
Well, on the subject of desoldering setups, MetCal is also at the top of the list. The MX-DS1 uses a venturi to generate the vacuum; which actuates in milliseconds as opposed to others which draw a vacuum with a pump. This makes it one of the best functioning desoldering heads available. Also, since it runs from air, you can remote locate your compressor and never hear the pump running. In combination with a MX-500 power unit like mine, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better setup, plus you get the best soldering station as a happy coincidence. Main downside is you need an air compressor to run it; I know that just breaks your heart.
Hmm I've been told before how good MetCal are but they are also very expensive, perfect if you're awash with money or use it professionally but I don't think that fits many TEA people otherwise we wouldnt be looking at repairing 30 year old equipment to add to our collections. However, don't misconstrue me, I for one would love to get my hands on the newer more expensive, up market gear but unless I win the lottery, that is not going to happen
If you look inside the scope calibrators they’re not particularly clever little boxes. Not sure why they fetch such a high price. You can calibrate a scope to a reasonable degree with a 10Mhz crystal oscillator and some divider ICs. Vertical cal can be done with a battery, pot and DMM. Rise time of a 100MHz scope is in the order of 3.5ns so you don’t need a crazy fast edge. I reckon you could build something superior for $5 of stuff from Tayda.
Exactly; saved me the trouble of writing that. With skill, thought and imagination, it is possible to do much more with much less.
Specialised test equipment and instructions (especially scope calibration instructions) often call for specialised test gear for two reasons:Note that isn't the whole story, but it is certainly a 90% story sufficient to get a scope working again.
- technicians can follow a do-what-I'm-told process to get a result that conforms to a defined corporate process
- it makes writing such step-by-step instructions much easier
OTOH engineers that understand the details of what they are trying to achieve can often find other way of skinning a cat. You've mentioned a couple of techniques, but obviously there are others.
Any crystal controlled oscillator (e.g. a cheap DDS unit) is more than sufficiently accurate for calibrating a timebase.
Calibrating voltage and linearity is made easier with any form of step-based attenuator. Understanding the front-end's construction and operation means that each gain stage (actually attenuation!) means you don't need high voltages.
Probably the trickiest is tweaking to get good transient behaviour. That requires any modern logic gate plus VHF/UHF construction techniques.
I was hoping to not have to seal it soon... hence the shiny new cutting mat. I know... wishful thinking.
It's WORSE than test equipment. I am a... Model Aviator. *Cue sound of frightened horses whinnying in the background*
Aha! Well, I've got a plane in a box waiting for me to assemble it. You know, I really need to retire so I can get more important things done.
I use my test gear to design and build inferior replacements!
I was hoping to not have to seal it soon... hence the shiny new cutting mat. I know... wishful thinking.
Yeah, definitely seal it while it's still pristine. It's still good that you have the cutting mat. Don't want to scar the stone.QuoteIt's WORSE than test equipment. I am a... Model Aviator. *Cue sound of frightened horses whinnying in the background*
Aha! Well, I've got a plane in a box waiting for me to assemble it. You know, I really need to retire so I can get more important things done.
Well, on the subject of desoldering setups, MetCal is also at the top of the list. The MX-DS1 uses a venturi to generate the vacuum; which actuates in milliseconds as opposed to others which draw a vacuum with a pump. This makes it one of the best functioning desoldering heads available. Also, since it runs from air, you can remote locate your compressor and never hear the pump running. In combination with a MX-500 power unit like mine, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better setup, plus you get the best soldering station as a happy coincidence. Main downside is you need an air compressor to run it; I know that just breaks your heart.Hmm I've been told before how good MetCal are but they are also very expensive, perfect if you're awash with money or use it professionally but I don't think that fits many TEA people otherwise we wouldnt be looking at repairing 30 year old equipment to add to our collections. However, don't misconstrue me, I for one would love to get my hands on the newer more expensive, up market gear but unless I win the lottery, that is not going to happen
http://preview.tinyurl.com/tektronix7704A
I have no clue why but i am obsessed with oscilloscopes now, i know its a pipe dream to hope it goes for around a 100 but if it does is it a good bet of it working without a headache?
http://preview.tinyurl.com/tektronix7704A
I have no clue why but i am obsessed with oscilloscopes now, i know its a pipe dream to hope it goes for around a 100 but if it does is it a good bet of it working without a headache?
Ero-Shan, you're very welcome and thank you for your nice comments as well. Regard to your camera, are you certain that the batteries are good quality ones, fully charged and within their shelf life?. Unless your 3v power supply has some serious oomph behind (no current limiting etc.) then if the batteries are OK, you have some serious heavy loadings happening inside, or what's more likely is that the contacts at the other end to the ones you connect your clips to, have serious corrosion going on giving you a high resistance to current flow in the battery mode so the camera believes that they flat?
You shouldn't bid until the last 2 - 10 seconds, depending on your Internet connection and/or itchy trigger finger.