Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Cubdriver]

A very humorous thread, thanks to all.

As an aside I work as a professional engineer and have done so for over thirty years. Started off in the UPS industry and now days am in the game of data centre design, general building design, troubleshooting of the same etc. A list of my gear:

Multimeter - Fluke 8020B. Had this since the late 80s.

Oscilloscope - Yokogawa DL708. A eight channel cro/recorder. Not fast, but in the power game I don't need fast. Purchased this in about 98 - I think.

Power Analyser - Fluke 435. About 13 years old from memory.

I used to also own a Tektronix 720P handheld cro but someone stole that back in about 2001.


I somehow doubt that I'd be allowed into your clubhouse.

Welcome, sibeen. Looks like you've just become the model member for moderation and contentment.

Bummer about the Tek 720P. The handheld CROs are really cool.

Indeed.  We'll have none of that!!  Let's get busy corrupting him!   

-Pat

[Berni]

I might probably get a taste of this soon...sigh, just thinking of the prospect of letting go is tough.

And here's what I have now:

Fluke 77AN
Fluke 87V
Triplett 2030-C
Uni-T UT200A
Agilent U1272A (with an incoming U1282A! )
DER EE DE-5000
Agilent 34410A
Agilent 33521A
2x Agilent 6236B
Agilent U8031A
Xantrex XBT 32-3FTP
FLIR E4 (got it since the E8 upgrade was probably the best TIC deal there is, even though I really didn't have any need for it)
Siglent SDG2082X (33521A alone doesn't count, you gotta have a dual channel arb)
Tek DPO2024B
Zeroplus LAP-C 16032 ("upgraded" to 32128)
Zeroplus LAP-C 322000 ("it was a good deal")
+ a bunch of other stuff

No, it's not addiction.  It's all about having the right tools for the job - or the job that you think you will have or will encounter....maybe...at one point in time...in the near future...oh well, your "lab" gotta be ready for anything

That's quite a nice pile of modern equipment. Sure wouldn't mind seeing a lab photo of it.

Most of my gear is over 20 years old cause that's what i could find cheep, but all of it is fully functional apart from maybe a wonky button or knob that misbehaves when handled in a certain way. Some of it is new tho, latest addition is the U1281A that i just got in the mail last week, first piece of test gear i got that says Keysight on it (Tho they made sure to plaster the logo all over there scope firmware, even for old scopes).

Hey! Have you been spying on all my saved searches? Security!

Oh don't worry i have severe enough GAS to know what test equipment is sweet to have but also common to find. Tho it did take months of hunting to find a nice deal on a clean working HP 8566, worth it tho.

[testmode]

I might probably get a taste of this soon...sigh, just thinking of the prospect of letting go is tough.

And here's what I have now:

Fluke 77AN
Fluke 87V
Triplett 2030-C
Uni-T UT200A
Agilent U1272A (with an incoming U1282A! )
DER EE DE-5000
Agilent 34410A
Agilent 33521A
2x Agilent 6236B
Agilent U8031A
Xantrex XBT 32-3FTP
FLIR E4 (got it since the E8 upgrade was probably the best TIC deal there is, even though I really didn't have any need for it)
Siglent SDG2082X (33521A alone doesn't count, you gotta have a dual channel arb)
Tek DPO2024B
Zeroplus LAP-C 16032 ("upgraded" to 32128)
Zeroplus LAP-C 322000 ("it was a good deal")
+ a bunch of other stuff

No, it's not addiction.  It's all about having the right tools for the job - or the job that you think you will have or will encounter....maybe...at one point in time...in the near future...oh well, your "lab" gotta be ready for anything

That's quite a nice pile of modern equipment. Sure wouldn't mind seeing a lab photo of it.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/whats-your-work-benchlab-look-like-post-some-pictures-of-your-lab/msg872430/#msg872430



It's a cramped lab right next to our bed and yes, my wife has a lot of things to say + many "looks" to show about it   This photo was from about a year ago but it looks pretty much the same now (apart from being a mess this time) plus the addition of the Xantrex XBT power supply and the Zeroplus LAP-C 322000 which are the only 2 equipments I have acquired in the past year - I guess I have "sobered" a little bit.  I have a bunch of eBay alerts for Keithley 2400 SMU, Racal-Dana freq counter, Agilent E3631 PS and 344xx DMM but so far I have managed to get past thru them.   But don't ask me how - there's no secret, it's mainly because I have no more space to put them in (typical Singapore household problem).  We'll probably move to a new place soon and I'm not sure if I should hope for a bigger room.  I have to admit, I miss the rush from getting a box of new/used test equipment.  Somebody help me!

[bitseeker]

Oh don't worry i have severe enough GAS to know what test equipment is sweet to have but also common to find. Tho it did take months of hunting to find a nice deal on a clean working HP 8566, worth it tho.

Yeah, a nice clean one with all the cables at a good price is quite elusive. Congrats on your find.

[Berni]

It's a cramped lab right next to our bed and yes, my wife has a lot of things to say + many "looks" to show about it   This photo was from about a year ago but it looks pretty much the same now (apart from being a mess this time) plus the addition of the Xantrex XBT power supply and the Zeroplus LAP-C 322000 which are the only 2 equipments I have acquired in the past year - I guess I have "sobered" a little bit.  I have a bunch of eBay alerts for Keithley 2400 SMU, Racal-Dana freq counter, Agilent E3631 PS and 344xx DMM but so far I have managed to get past thru them.   But don't ask me how - there's no secret, it's mainly because I have no more space to put them in (typical Singapore household problem).  We'll probably move to a new place soon and I'm not sure if I should hope for a bigger room.  I have to admit, I miss the rush from getting a box of new/used test equipment.  Somebody help me!

Very clean lab there. Its difficult to cram that much stuff in to a little corner and still have it look tidy.

Don't hope for a larger lab that much. I moved the lab to a dedicated room and it soon filled all the rest of the space. Just be happy that your lab is small enough that you can reach every shelf from your chair.

Yeah, a nice clean one with all the cables at a good price is quite elusive. Congrats on your find.

Indeed, they are all over ebay but most incomplete or in bad shape yet people still trying to sell them for a lot of money. I recently seen one on ebay is bidding with little interest that appears to be working but has a really horizontally fuzzy CRT. Could be a really good deal if you live near enough for shipping to be reasonable and just replace the CRT with one of those aftermarket LCD displays that one guy makes.

Tho there is no grantee that the 22GHz path is working properly. And to even check that you need a signal generator that goes that high. But hey the best deals involve risks.

[bitseeker]

I recently seen one on ebay is bidding with little interest that appears to be working but has a really horizontally fuzzy CRT.

Yeah, that one is really fuzzy. Like it had too much to drink.

Could be a really good deal if you live near enough for shipping to be reasonable and just replace the CRT with one of those aftermarket LCD displays that one guy makes.

(Un)fortunately, I'm not near enough. Otherwise, the price would be right.

[HighVoltage]

I love the Agilent gear so much, I buy at least one more 34401A every year (Hmm may be every month)
Well, I am also integrating the 34401A in to test stands that I am producing for customers but let me tell you, it is not so easy to let go of one.
This is a picture from about one year ago.
More DMM's made it in the last year to my lab and I should take a new picture for inventory.

[xrunner]

I love the Agilent gear so much, I buy at least one more 34401A every year (Hmm may be every month)

Holy Crap! 

[Berni]

I love the Agilent gear so much, I buy at least one more 34401A every year (Hmm may be every month)
Well, I am also integrating the 34401A in to test stands that I am producing for customers but let me tell you, it is not so easy to let go of one.
This is a picture from about one year ago.
More DMM's made it in the last year to my lab and I should take a new picture for inventory.

Dang that is a lot of bench DMMs!

The only Agilent bench DMM that i have is a 34461A (Tho most of the other gear i have is Agilent/HP). I never liked using it all that much so i never bought another bench DMM from Agilent again, however i got to really like Keithley DMMs. Maybe id consider a 34401A if it is significantly faster than what i have now.

[bitseeker]

I love the Agilent gear so much, I buy at least one more 34401A every year (Hmm may be every month)
Well, I am also integrating the 34401A in to test stands that I am producing for customers but let me tell you, it is not so easy to let go of one.
This is a picture from about one year ago.

I recognize those towers.

More DMM's made it in the last year to my lab and I should take a new picture for inventory.

Yes, we're due for a new pic. e.g., I don't see the 34411A. (Edit: is it one of the two on the left stack?)

The only Agilent bench DMM that i have is a 34461A (Tho most of the other gear i have is Agilent/HP). I never liked using it all that much so i never bought another bench DMM from Agilent again,

What did you not like about it? I'm not a fan of the long boot times of those new(er) generation of DMMs. I do like the old VFD models that are practically instant-on. I used to have two 34401A, but got a good deal on a 34410A, so I kept one of each. (See, doing a little GAS management.)

however i got to really like Keithley DMMs. Maybe id consider a 34401A if it is significantly faster than what i have now.

A friend of mine also likes Keithley DMMs. However, when he saw the large VFD digits on the 34401A, he got (at least) one.

To balance my HPAK bench DMMs, I got a couple of Keithley: a 196 and a 2700 (with 40-channel scanner card).

[Berni]

What did you not like about it? I'm not a fan of the long boot times of those new(er) generation of DMMs. I do like the old VFD models that are practically instant-on. I used to have two 34401A, but got a good deal on a 34410A, so I kept one of each. (See, doing a little GAS management.)

Well its a list of things:
- Ridiculously long boot time
- Soft power button
- Slow autoranging
- Clicks a relay when ranging between 100M and 10M range(means it clicks all the time if you let it autorange on ohms)
- Slow continuity buzzer
- Slow reading speed at high digit counts.

Not that its all bad, the LCD is nice and big, graphing features are nice, LAN and USB connectivity is useful to have.

Maybe i should go look at a review of one of those older Agilent DMMs...or maybe not or i might end up with even more DMMs

[bitseeker]

Maybe i should go look at a review of one of those older Agilent DMMs...or maybe not or i might end up with even more DMMs

The graphing is nice, but the various slowness issues turned me off, especially considering how much more the newer meters cost.

The 34410A is faster than the 34401A and has Ethernet support. However, the 34401A is fanless, which is nice in the home lab. I still find myself using the 34410A more often, though, as the adjustable NPLC is handy and the keyboard layout is better.

[Berni]

The graphing is nice, but the various slowness issues turned me off, especially considering how much more the newer meters cost.

The 34410A is faster than the 34401A and has Ethernet support. However, the 34401A is fanless, which is nice in the home lab. I still find myself using the 34410A more often, though, as the adjustable NPLC is handy and the keyboard layout is better.

Well i did look in to it and it is indeed a more useful looking DMM... Dang it! I really shouldn't buy yet another DMM.

[bitseeker]

Well i did look in to it and it is indeed a more useful looking DMM... Dang it! I really shouldn't buy yet another DMM.

TEA Tip of the Day: Sell the less desirable one.

[Berni]

TEA Tip of the Day: Sell the less desirable one.

That's what i said i will do with the old scope once i got a new one...well its still sitting there on the equipment shelf, right next to the new one. Both of them are digital so i don't have the excuse of needing two scope so that i can fix it when one of them dies as there is nothing to fix in these apart from the PSU

Well my main excuse for the old scope is that it boots quick. Like 3 times faster than that modern Agilent DMM and perhaps 6 times faster than my new Agilent scope.

Yeah i know i'm impatient. When i turn something on i want to use it not wait for it to do its behind the scenes OS dance.

[bitseeker]

That's what i said i will do with the old scope once i got a new one...well its still sitting there on the equipment shelf, right next to the new one.

That's OK. It's why you're at the TEA house, afterall.

[xrunner]

Well my main excuse for the old scope is that it boots quick. Like 3 times faster than that modern Agilent DMM and perhaps 6 times faster than my new Agilent scope.

Uh huh, Sure. It boots quick, it's a "backup" scope in case of an emergency, fill in the blank ________.

Berni - You don't need those excuses here in the TEA room. All you have to say is "Two scopes is better than one, three is better than two, ..." You get the idea. 

[Andreas]

Hello all,

I am glad that I am not affected by this virus.
I really do not have too much multimeters for my hobby.

The first one I got from my uncle when I was a child.
It was one of those cheap analog parts without any mirror for the needle.
Don´t know where I left it but usually I do not throw away any gear.

After having done some years of measurements I wanted a class 1 instrument with mirror.
It is a Pantec dolomiti. I still like the signal injector for fault tracking in analog stuff.
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/pantec_dolomiti.html

Then the first digital 3.5 digit multimeters were introduced.
So I got a METEX 3530.

I was also many years lucky with the metex but then I saw a 80000 count 4.8 digit multimeter.
So I couldnt resist.
I made some automated measurements with the included RS232 interface.
https://www.elv.de/faq/multifunktionales-multimeter-dt-80000-im-datenblatt-ist-eine-version-dt80000-und-eine-version-dt80000-a-mit-unterschiedlichen-messbereichen-erwaehnt-steht-die-dt80000-a-version-noch-zur-verfuegung.html

Then the time between aquisitions went down.
I found out that I need some handy instruments for daily measurements.
(On the DT80000 the battery change is rather time consuming).
So I got a PM110B for 4.95 Eur including a 9V battery.

I thought it was a good idea to have further PM110B since it has a 200uA range for current measurements.
Unfortunately I got only one PM 110 with minimum 2000uA range but with conductivity and battery tester.
http://www.pollin.de/shop/suchergebnis.html?S_TEXT=Digital-Multimeter+PM+110&log=internal&recommend=true

At the next order I ordered again two PM 110.
One for the car and one just as backup.
(Of course only for the included 9V battery).

Soon I recognized that the DT80000 went out of production at the manufacturer.
It would be a pity if I would have to rewrite the software for the automated measurements.
So I bought one of the last DT80000 from the dealer as spare unit.
And of course it is also very handy to measure current and voltage at the same time.

After that I thought it was also good to have a 6.5 digit multimeter.
I got a used HP34401A.
But can I really trust the measurements of a used device?
There is the problem with the man with only one clock.
So soon I aquired a K2000. I now see that they both show
similar values (well below 10 ppm difference).

Then my son in law asked me for a multimeter.
So I gave him the spare PM 110.
But of course without the 9V battery.

Of course I needed a replacement.
So I ordered again two PM 110.
This time for 7.95 EUR. (Including 9V-battery)
So I really should have bought more spare PM 110 when they were cheap.

Now I find that the resolution of the 6.5 digit multimeters is somewhat low.
So I am asking me if I should go for a 7.5 digit K2010 or for a 8.5 digit 3458A.

with best regards

Andreas

[HighVoltage]

Now I find that the resolution of the 6.5 digit multimeters is somewhat low.
So I am asking me if I should go for a 7.5 digit K2010 or for a 8.5 digit 3458A.

with best regards

Andreas

Yes, I am also not effected by this virus, that is why I can talk very normally about this subject.

A good combination to fulfill your need for 7.5 and 8.5 digits is what I did:

- Keysight 34470A
- Keithley DMM7510
- Agilent 3458A


But I am wondering now, if I should get a second 3458A, since I have no way to find out if my first 3458A is right on spot.

[hwj-d]

Virus? What virus? The trick is, to make it right from the beginning.   
Ok, so let me explain,

i'm an absolute beginner, lookin arround what stuff i need, what stuff others have there on their benches.
Only i had an old but helpfull Weller T40/E Magnastat, saw my first time Dave's vids and fall in love with this arduino things.

So, i bought a

- UT61-B that i can't really trust, emotionaly,  a
- DS1054Z, a
- DP832, then an old
- K2000 that i can't really trust, emotionaly. For that, i can emotionanly trust, for now, a
- 34461a, and then, to complete it for the first time, a
- SDG1025.

In the meantime, so it doesn't get boring, i bought half banggood, so that i'm ascending to 8266 and ESP32 
but bought this Third-Edition-Everywhere, to excuse me before myself.

Now, i'm almost on target to buy half DigiKey for parts, and i'm very proud to reconstruct successfuly Daves µCurrent Gold by my own. 

Yesterday i noticed, that i urgently need this "trinokular stereo zoom microscope with one-armed boom stativ". 

But then, then i can develop my own something. 

Ok, Dave has a nice new meter, there in the back...

[iainwhite]

But I am wondering now, if I should get a second 3458A, since I have no way to find out if my first 3458A is right on spot.

I think you should get another 3458A, just to be safe.

[xrunner]

But I am wondering now, if I should get a second 3458A, since I have no way to find out if my first 3458A is right on spot.

Absolutely! Yes. No question about it. Better buy two just in case.

[dr.diesel]

But I am wondering now, if I should get a second 3458A, since I have no way to find out if my first 3458A is right on spot.

I think you should get another 3458A, just to be safe.

Come on, everyone is doing it, I just bought a second one myself!

[Cubdriver]

But I am wondering now, if I should get a second 3458A, since I have no way to find out if my first 3458A is right on spot.

I think you should get another 3458A, just to be safe.

You need to get TWO more of them.  You have to have an odd number so there's a tiebreaker if the first two disagree.

-Pat

[xrunner]

You need to get TWO more of them.  You have to have an odd number so there's a tiebreaker if the first two disagree.

-Pat

But if two agree and the third does not - you still don't know if the two that agree are the ones that are wrong! You need yet another to help the first one!








(I love this thread)