Rant about test equipment handles.

[GregDunn]

I have numerous different brands of equipment in the lab, and there's something I can't figure out - either it's a total lack of thought by the mechanical designers or there's a reason that's completely opaque to me.

Why do so many pieces of bench gear have handles which interfere with proper placement/operation of the unit?  I have pieces from half a dozen different companies which allow you to use the handle as a carrier or as a support for benchtop use.  However, all of my gear sits on a shelf at eye level, and is usually stacked vertically because I have several DMMs, signal generators, and others - no room on the benchtop.  The Fluke and HP gear can be stacked nicely; either the handle rotates back behind the meter (Fluke) or the handles fold into the sides when not in use (HP, Heathkit) - and better still, most of my HP gear has a retractable stand/bail so you can prop it up if needed on the benchtop.  The rest... either the handle sits in front of the front panel or won't rotate back far enough to allow the meter to sit flat / allow stacking.  Note that these are not units which have cooling grilles, nor do they get warm in use (which might justify the handle keeping you from stacking it).  They just have an intrusive obstacle that I never use.

The Dana DMM has an easily removable handle, so that was a quick fix.  My ESI bridge and Schlumberger counter have the handle pivots riveted to the case so you can't remove the handle without permanent modification.  Personally, I don't even understand why most of these units have handles; they're AC-powered bench units, and not portable.  Is this just a holdover from when people moved their gear around a lot, and wanted a handle on it?  I'd rather grip a small meter in both hands or hold it firmly under my arm if I'm going to be moving it at all; I don't even use the handles as handles on the Flukes.

[tautech]

Yeah well everyone has a different setup and while many stack their gear others bring out their TE onto the bench when they need it. As gear gets smaller and lighter it makes sense to have a decent folding bail so that it can be tilted to give good viewing angles when not stacked above the bench.
Tilting bails have been around for what seems like forever and in various designs and quality.

I have a good few Siglent units at an avionics training school and recently a trainee tried to fold the all plastic bail back under a AWG without spreading the legs so the detents were released from the panel steel case.
Result = detents broken off the handle. 

Head instructor: tautech, please get us another tilting bail handle.
tautech: Siglent, please send me a tilting bail handle for SDG805. (they fit all Siglent equipment that use the same flat AWG/DMM form factor)
Oh, BTW Siglent, what is their cost ? ....Your cost is $4. 

You beauty  so sent it through to them @ NC as the paperwork would've cost more. 

[GregDunn]

Yeah well everyone has a different setup and while many stack their gear others bring out their TE onto the bench when they need it. As gear gets smaller and lighter it makes sense to have a decent folding bail so that it can be tilted to give good viewing angles when not stacked above the bench.
Tilting bails have been around for what seems like forever and in various designs and quality.

Yup, and both HP and Fluke nailed the form factor 40+ years ago so you could have handles, stackability and an adjustable bail all in one unit.  I can't believe either of them patented the concept?  Even my cheap-cheap Feeltech AWG has it all - the bail is plenty strong enough to use as a handle given the feather weight of the unit.  On some of these devices, it just seems like the mechanical designer "ass"umed everyone used their gear the same way.

[bd139]

My Rigol DS1022Z is pretty good. The handle folds flat against the unit so it can sit on my shelf or I can drag it around fine. Plus the handle comes off if you don't want it.

The biggest pain is the Tektronix 4xx's. You can't stack shit on them. They usually end up with a couple of old paperback books on top and then something on top of that.

[GregDunn]

Same with my Siglent scope; tilts, stacks and is portable.  The only thing I have a problem with is that it weighs less than the force a good solid button push requires.  When stacked, I have had to wedge it against the shelf so that it doesn't fall over from me making selections.      Still better than having it take up space on my work area.

[Circlotron]

Wait till fashion designers dictate the shape of test equipment. Instead of being stackable boxes they will all be curvy for no good reason.

[GregDunn]

Wait till fashion designers dictate the shape of test equipment. Instead of being stackable boxes they will all be curvy for no good reason.

I think we're there already.   

[Mr. Scram]

Wait till fashion designers dictate the shape of test equipment. Instead of being stackable boxes they will all be curvy for no good reason.

Equipment often already is curvy and for a reason. It generally means they couldn't get the thermals to behave when stacked in a pile.

[bd139]

Or the designers got at it 

[coppercone2]

It's cheap chassis designers that are responsible.

Excellent handles:
-LQD lambda power supply, leather strap on top, very nice riveted into the chassis. You even retain it if you use it in a rackmount configuration. Those LQD supplies are one of my golden standards for good chassis design.

-Older HP-Tower style meters (i.e. their ACvoltmeter). So long you replace the leather handle its real nice. Stacking tube gear is just dumb anyway.

-Tektronix instruments with the bale. Pretty decent. The nicest one I have for a tektronix that does not interfere with the stacking is the CFG280. It tucks in under the rubber feet. It has to tuck in under the rubber feet or you can't stack it without fucking cribbing. Fuck equipment that does not tuck in the fucking bale under the fucking feet god damn. 

-Tektronix 70ps pulse generator (forgot the model number): This is fucking beautiful. There is a handle that blends into the front of the instrument. It's also able to pull the inside of the instrument out for repair when you need to repair after a thumb screw on the back is loosened. It's probably the best design I have seen for small test equipment.

-Tektronix P6042 current probe: very similar to above. Beautiful.

-Agilent E5100 series network analyzer: real nice too, kinda like the lambdas and it fits snugly into the side so you don't need to worry about it not fitting because of the carry strap

-rigol 1052e : real nice blends in 100% to the top. You can coil your probes and leave them ontop of the oscilloscope even if its tucked in under a low bench.





Medicore:
-Sorensen/Xantrex power supplies: small nylon belt off to the side. It works but its very minimalist and crappy
-1970's HP spectrum analyzer etc: the fucking handle works great but it does not tuck in under the feet so you end up removing it to use it
-Wavetek278: There is a handle that sticks out the front no matter what you do. Its always ready to grab (part of the rackmount set). I don't know how to feel about this one. On one hand its really robust, it protects the power switch and the bnc connectors a bit, on the other hand its always in your face and it sticks out like 1.5 inches. It's ready to grab off the shelf to clobber alien invaders I guess. If they had it on both sides it would be better even if its more intrusive because then you can drop it out on the front face and its fully protected. I don't really mind D handles that stick out the front of a instrument because often it will get good protection from this.

Keep in mind your not supposed to really stack that shit for thermal reasons.

Remember if you design a tilting bale: UNDER THE TALL RUBBER FEET PLEASE

[tautech]

Same with my Siglent scope; tilts, stacks and is portable.  The only thing I have a problem with is that it weighs less than the force a good solid button push requires.  When stacked, I have had to wedge it against the shelf so that it doesn't fall over from me making selections. 

Sure, but it's designed this way as a compromise and the way in which you use the buttons has everything to do with stability.
First, the buttons used most frequently are in the lower regions of the front panel so no stability issues arise from using them.
OTOH, the buttons used less frequently are near the top so that the fingers of the hand that presses them can be placed on the top of the scope for stability and then the thumb is be used to activate the buttons.

Try it, and after short time you should see the sense in this method of operation. For the encoders close to the top, the same principle applies except the forefinger and thumb are used while other fingers remain on the top of the scope. This method allows fine control of non-detented encoders to make precise selections.
Initially it's not intuitive after years of using CRO's but the usage adjustment for modern DSO's is relatively simple to adapt to.

[coppercone2]

lol, put some lead sheet in a zip lock bag and double sided tape it to the bottom of the instrument.

You want poorly balanced? Try a fluke multimeter. The new ones like a 289 are a bit better, but the old Fluke V with its rubber flexible strut? horrid. Also try putting a 87 on something thats not sand paper. it runs away from your finger.