Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

A typical German flatjoke.

Since I didn't know the German word for bicycle it did indeed fall flat. 

[BU508A]

A typical German flatjoke.

I cannot help myself, I do have a sweet spot for this kind of jokes. 

And yes, the "Fahrrad" joke is really that old. With a long grey beard. 

[Vince]

I have no idea !!!  However it's not a thermal printer, it's just a pen plotter hence uses normal paper. So I guess if I search a bit, might be able to find a roll of paper that might fit, from some desktop / Business / accounting calculator or something....

For now, there is still a little bit of paper left in the thing.

A pen plotter? Really. I wouldn't have guessed that. I remember using an hp pen plotter a long time ago. Made some really neat old school pics. I'd love to see some plots come out of that thing, well sometime if you get it all set up. 

Yep pen plotter it is !
I figured it when I was working on the first GOULD. Even though it did not have the printer in it, the user manual did have a short paragraph about it, which made it clear. This was further confirmed when I looked in the service manual : there was a schematic describing the H/W interface between the CPU and the printer. Looking at how it was made and the kind control signal that it was producing, it was obvious it could only be a plotter not a printer.

[BU508A]

I'm transitioning... went back on hard keto last night; nothing but eggs and meats I've cooked from raw for the next week, until my guts get used to it and start working again.

I'm tired of feeling mostly like shit all the time because I'm right on the keto borderline; may as well feel like total shit for a few days and get it over with.

mnem

Get well soon and take care.

[nfmax]

I have no idea !!!  However it's not a thermal printer, it's just a pen plotter hence uses normal paper. So I guess if I search a bit, might be able to find a roll of paper that might fit, from some desktop / Business / accounting calculator or something....

For now, there is still a little bit of paper left in the thing.

A pen plotter? Really. I wouldn't have guessed that. I remember using an hp pen plotter a long time ago. Made some really neat old school pics. I'd love to see some plots come out of that thing, well sometime if you get it all set up. 

Yep pen plotter it is !
I figured it when I was working on the first GOULD. Even though it did not have the printer in it, the user manual did have a short paragraph about it, which made it clear. This was further confirmed when I looked in the service manual : there was a schematic describing the H/W interface between the CPU and the printer. Looking at how it was made and the kind control signal that it was producing, it was obvious it could only be a plotter not a printer.

Made by ALPS, I think? The Y motion is the paper moving on the drum, the X motion is a belt drive on the print head. There are holders for 4 tiny ball-point pens, of different colours. No idea if you can still get the pens anywhere

[Vince]

Oh no....... ohhhhh...... noooooooooo.... I did it AGAIN ! 

Remember just a few days ago I talked about this horrible Gould 1604 scope that drove me nuts when I fixed it a year ago ? How I said it was a horrible experience that brought many grey hair, and how I promised myself I would never, ever buy a Gould scope again ?.....

Some time ago, I had a Gould scope in my stash:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/show-your-strangest-crappiest-piece-of-te/msg1807304/#msg1807304



I don't have it anymore, but there might exist one more where it came from, might have been scrapped in the meantime, don't know. In case you're interested, I'll have a look tomorrow if it's still there and silently take it away for you (no one will ever miss it).

Oh that's nice of you !   

Will have to decline the offer though ! As you and others rightfully said.. .they are horrible scopes !
I should never have bough this one, I know it, but did it anyway for all the reasons I mentioned earlier. I have no desire to add more GOULD scopes to this one... and if I were reasonable I would just fix it and flog it for a small profit....
I don't know, let's fix it first, then in a few weeks I will see how I feel about it. If I still feel attached to it for some reason, might keep it for now. Else I wil sell it.... well, TRY to ! Need to find someone foolish enough to buy it ! 

I guess I will apply my usual tactic : I WILL put it up for sale, but with a price tag so high I am sure nobody would buy it. This way I can say to myself "Oh that's too bad, nobody wants it, so let's keep it !    " ... and IFFF it DOES somehow sell at a silly price, well I will just say " hey I was right to sell it, look how much money I made from it !!!!    ".

Just realized as you said, that the real problem with this printer is not finding paper... real problem are the dried out pens that are most likely 100% unobtainium which means this printer will never print anything anymore, so it's useless ! 
Maybe someones out there designed an interface that can take the plotter data as an input, and in return produce data to drive a thermal printer instead ? That would be cool...

[mnementh]

G10 number two is being a total buzzkill. Extra crusty, 3x as much scrubbity-ing, and finally go to test it and... boots okay, but lens error as soon as I hit ZOOM. 

mnem
*knocks self unconscious with a recidivism mallet*

G10 number two all apart again. I've gotten to a point now where it takes me aboot 20 minutes to strip one of these down; another very particular set of skills that will likely never net me a penny of profit. 

And as I'm sitting here, rolling the lens assembly around in my hands while rolling the problem around in my mind, I realize I have absolutely zero GAF for this project ATM. Non. Nada. Zilch.

mnem
*puts entire cardboard flat up on a bookshelf in the Basement of Doom*

[tggzzz]

Maybe someones out there designed an interface that can take the plotter data as an input, and in return produce data to drive a thermal printer instead ? That would be cool...

There's a reasonable chance the motion control is HPGL. If so and you can access the HPGL commands, then there are several HPGL conversion utilities.

[capt bullshot]

Some time ago, I had a Gould scope in my stash:


I don't have it anymore, but there might exist one more where it came from, might have been scrapped in the meantime, don't know. In case you're interested, I'll have a look tomorrow if it's still there and silently take it away for you (no one will ever miss it).

Oh that's nice of you !   

Will have to decline the offer though ! As you and others rightfully said.. .they are horrible scopes !

Wise decision to decline the offer
There's a reason why I don't have it anymore, it went back to where it came from and disappeared (into the scrap box, no one else wanted it).

[vk6zgo]

Are you sure you aren't Irish?

Irish? Not that I knew of. Some ancestry from France and Dutch Limburg, but why Irish?

How to describe the Irish....

It is commonly held by non-Irish English speakers that the Irish phrase things in a similar manner to your posting:

"That's not nice of you to say. Most things I've touched were already broken before I repaired them. ;-)"

It is quite a normal way of writing, but a "picky" person, like myself might point out that if it wasn't broken you wouldn't  have to repair it anyway.

I have made the comment whilst searching for something, that "it's always in the last place you look", only to be accused of an "Irishism", so it is a common remark, at least in Australia.

You, & others are so fluent in English that it is easy for native speakers to use phrases common in their own country, without thinking, to the bemusement of others.

I am as guilty of this as anyone.

There is a concurrent low-level discussion about the use of "was" where it is confusing for others even though it is common in some countries & other languages.

In another occasion a few pages back, I used the term "GPO" to mean "power socket", confusing some.

[Specmaster]

I doubt the first mechanic actually replaced the timing belt, if he did, then did he also replace the tensioner ?

Nope, it was replaced. I provided the new parts and asked for and got the old parts. I thought was that they set the new tensioner too tight.

Could be that, just a thought, were they genuine Honda parts or patten parts?

[mnementh]

Meh. This is the right way to do a heli... with two rotors in opposite directions.

mnem
flippin' frogs... could muff up a wet dream...

It's a bit overkill and impractical for most purposes you would want an heli for, Dwagon...      Of course to move a fat adult 1,546 year old Dwagon, it's suitable...

I thought it would be obvious why a Dwagon would want a helicopter of that calibre...

McBryce.

Heh... someone who gets me.   

Nah, that's why MIKE would want one!

-Pat

Just a quick toddle South as the dwagon flies; I'm sure we can share. Plus I'd get to torment Mike IRL from time to time... 

mnem
seriously; not seein' a downside here...

[xrunner]

Just realized as you said, that the real problem with this printer is not finding paper... real problem are the dried out pens that are most likely 100% unobtainium which means this printer will never print anything anymore, so it's useless ! 
Maybe someones out there designed an interface that can take the plotter data as an input, and in return produce data to drive a thermal printer instead ? That would be cool...

That's what hit me as I went to bed last night ... wait ...  are you going to do about the plotter pens? 

You may be able to hack in a temp pen made from a small marker or some such thing, but it won't last long. We'll challenge you with that task later ... 

[mnementh]

500 USD for an empty box with 6 binding posts

Some fool will buy it. But it won't be this fool. 

Hey they have "Make an offer" available. 

Go ahead, make their day. 

Hes been trying to flog that 732b face plate for a couple years now, I guess no one is as stupid as the seller themselves.

Drug dealer ad.

mnem

[Cerebus]

In another occasion a few pages back, I used the term "GPO" to mean "power socket", confusing some.

[Using the voice of Eccles, as portrayed by Spike Milligan] "Hey! I resemble that remark. I was not confused, I just didn't know who I was or what I was doing."

For those not acquainted with Eccles, see here for details (warning: involves precision timekeeping), it is all you need to know.

[Vince]

As for timin chains, when I was young I though it was the best thing in the world. Now that I am older and that YT exists and you can watch countless car related channels were pro mechacnis tell you about their daily work in the shop... I realise that's it's the other way around. There is an endless supply of timing chain problem, especially on mrefcent/modern/fancY/expensive German cars but also Ford.. whereas the number of timing belts snapping if not abuse and replaced according to maintenance schedule is... well enver heard of any. Has to exist if just to satisfiy statistics, but has to be in the ppm range compared to timing chain problems.

To be honest it appears most timing chain problems are due not to the chain itself, but to a very poor design of the chain GUIDE, made of plastic that disintegrates over time, which then leads to a floopt chain and goes haywire from there. Planned obsolescence to me but that's the modern world for you.

Had a timing belt snap in September 2013 at 350.000 kms on my 1995 Renault 21 TurboDiesel, but it was because the belt had never been changed due to being skint at the time, and  car was cheap and rusty so would not have been worth the money anyway. So chose to drive it until it broke. So well, it of course eventually broke, on the motorway.
So I would say this is a testament to how durable and abuse-proof belts are !   

Which leads me to my other and last comment on engines... it's not all black and white, either interference or non-(interference engine, as to will the engine survive or not ! 

GOOD DESIGN can also enter the mix and blurr the line !

See : when the belt snapped on my engine, the engine did survive just fine !  .. because, Renault did something clever (every once in a while it can happen). What they did is design the engine so that the belt snaps and the pistons kiss the valves, the rocker arms driving the valves will act as the weak link, as a fuse : they will snap right off, before the valve starts bending. So all I had to do was get a new rockers, which cost 30 Euros for a complete assembly at the junk yard, takes 5 minutes to replace, then put a new belt on and off you go ! Engine started on the button and ran smooth as a kitty ever since. Kept the car until 2018 and 450.000kmls. Was too rusty and would not pass the new more stringent MOT test, so I sold it to a black guy who said he would export it to his country in Africa, Congo I think he said.Down there they don't care about MOT.. as long as the car rune, they will keep using it.

[vk6zgo]

A typical German flatjoke.

A joke for the dour-------Scots would probably appreciate it.

[med6753]

I doubt the first mechanic actually replaced the timing belt, if he did, then did he also replace the tensioner ?

Nope, it was replaced. I provided the new parts and asked for and got the old parts. I thought was that they set the new tensioner too tight.

Could be that, just a thought, were they genuine Honda parts or patten parts?

As I said I provided the parts. And they were genuine Honda parts.

[med6753]

Are you sure you aren't Irish?

Irish? Not that I knew of. Some ancestry from France and Dutch Limburg, but why Irish?

How to describe the Irish....

It is commonly held by non-Irish English speakers that the Irish phrase things in a similar manner to your posting:

"That's not nice of you to say. Most things I've touched were already broken before I repaired them. ;-)"

It is quite a normal way of writing, but a "picky" person, like myself might point out that if it wasn't broken you wouldn't  have to repair it anyway.

I have made the comment whilst searching for something, that "it's always in the last place you look", only to be accused of an "Irishism", so it is a common remark, at least in Australia.

You, & others are so fluent in English that it is easy for native speakers to use phrases common in their own country, without thinking, to the bemusement of others.

I am as guilty of this as anyone.

There is a concurrent low-level discussion about the use of "was" where it is confusing for others even though it is common in some countries & other languages.

In another occasion a few pages back, I used the term "GPO" to mean "power socket", confusing some.

Yep, I get what you mean. For example....you don't take a shit. You leave a shit. 

At least I do. Don't want to know what the rest of you do. 

[med6753]

Now that I'm no longer banging my head against the wall figuring out the issues with the Type 547 I'm finally getting some of minor crap done. It has one 4.7 uf wet tant in each of the two Time Base circuits. Not any more.

One more 3 section aluminum can to replace and all capacitor work is done.

[mnementh]

...But in this video he simply substituted NiMH packs. I thought they had different charge requirements vs NiCad. Is that really a good idea without modifying the charge circuit?

In principle, yes... in practice, modern low-impedance and LSD NiMH AAs as sold for consumer use are amazingly abuse-tolerant and will serve for many years, as long as you get in the habit of fully discharging them and recharging them like once a month or so, and don't leave them on a constant trickle charge. I've swapped over to NiMH on oodles of RC transmitters and calculators over the last couple decades with zero change in the charge circuitry.



Alternately, could build a cheap 18650 pack with a cheap BMS PCB, but you'd need to add a CV/CC regulator set to 12.6V/~.5A in the charging circuit. That's what I did for the boi's BT speaker here:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/3d-printing/3d-printer-yet/msg3566783/#msg3566783

Works a treat!

mnem
*juicy*

[mnementh]

In other news, Hubby just totalled his Volvo S90 (the 1996 one). Timing belt went sploink. Eff my life.

Sorry to hear. 

What have you Murphy done, that he is hitting you and your husband that hard?

Ummm... aside from driving a car for 25 years on the original timing belt...? 

Tho... agreed. Murphy is piling it on right now.  Hope your luck changes soon, Saskia.

mnem
Blame it on this modern world; where there's soooo much to keep track of, no normal person possibly can...

[Vince]

Just realized as you said, that the real problem with this printer is not finding paper... real problem are the dried out pens that are most likely 100% unobtainium which means this printer will never print anything anymore, so it's useless ! 
Maybe someones out there designed an interface that can take the plotter data as an input, and in return produce data to drive a thermal printer instead ? That would be cool...

That's what hit me as I went to bed last night ... wait ...  are you going to do about the plotter pens? 

You may be able to hack in a temp pen made from a small marker or some such thing, but it won't last long. We'll challenge you with that task later ... 

Oh no don't give me ideas ! 

First let's try to fix the scope shall we ! 

Very low on the priority list though...

Then if I get some free time between between two jobs on the house, maybe I can challenge myself with these pens...
Looked at them more closely. There are 4 of them arranged on a little revolving holder, like bullets in a revolver hand gun...
We have Black, red, green and blue.
Pens are tiny, minuscule. Eye balled them with a ruler. I would say a tad under 5mm in diameter (3/16" for you) and 20mm or so in length (3/4" for you again !  ).

Am thinking... maybe I could open them up by cutting/sawing the tip of them. Then try to remove all the dried ink from them, then try to unclog the head/ball by forcing some chemical yet to be determined, to pass through it. Then once it's unclogged and liquid can flow smoothly past the ball... I could refill the pens using ink just from a regular/normal ball pen. Then I would need to seal the pen of course. I could just shove a small metal ball in there and seal it with a dab of superglue or something. You can buy metal ball easily on internet. Bought a bunch of them to replace a missing one in one of the rotary encoders on the front panel of my Tektronix TDS 310.

Hell yeah, I guess it's at least worth giving it a shot, not much to lose !   

[mnementh]

...In other news, Hubby just totalled his Volvo S90 (the 1996 one). Timing belt went sploink. Eff my life.

Ouch. I know the feeling. In December 2010 at 117K miles I had the timing belt replaced on the Honda Civic by what I thought was a competent mechanic.

Exactly one year later on December 2011 at 134K miles the timing belt snapped. Had it towed to another mechanic. Their assessment: All 16 valves were bent so the head would have to be pulled and rebuilt. There are witness marks on the top of the pistons where the valves hit them. The good news: No cylinder wall scoring and no damage to the bottom end of the engine. They concluded that the engine was fine except for the head and was worth fixing. I agreed. Now I know mnem is gonna come back and say there WAS damage to the bottom end of the engine. I will restate that there was not. That same engine now has 193K miles on it and runs like a top with no odd noises.

I was without the car for 2 weeks while the head was rebuilt. Cost was an arse ripping $2K but in the end was worth it. 

The question is not one of damage to the bottom end... I've rebuilt more Honda 4s than I can count and they have a well-overengineered reciprocating mass. There's a reason the tuner nerds can bolt on enough nitrous to double the HP on a bone-stock Civic and get it into the low 12s, and they do hold up. Unlike some GM products, where they'll bend a rod on a backfire. 

The big question, as always, is whether the damage caused some little stray chunk of metal time-bomb circulating in the oil that's gonna wipe out a bearing or cylinder wall some day. That's a gamble you take every time you crack a valve cover.

mnem
 

[mnementh]

For those laughing at my Peugeot 107, it has a timing chain & a completely new motor is ~500€ (bare motor but still...)

Pffft. Timing chain is no better intrinsically than a belt. Just ask any Saturn 4Cyl or Ecotec owner. Main problem with timing belt is time... it has to be replaced at certain intervals, where chains usually don't degrade.

Well, that and the fact they now design engines and the vehicle around them such that there are so many flag-hours in changing belt or chain that what should be periodic maintenance feels like being anally raped with a hot poker.

mnem