Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[srb1954]

I was going to point this offer out to everyone here, but then I saw that it's "Only To Be Used By Qualified Electrician or Electronic Engineer" !! 
So for all of those here with the appropriate qualifications... 

https://www.ebay.de/itm/265418163607

McBryce.

Does it come with a calibration certificate?

[Vince]

Sure, but it's 500 bucks extra ! 

[Specmaster]

Sure, but it's 500 bucks extra ! 

[Saskia]

Reichelt Retail Therapy.

Left a GW Instek 1202B DSO behind, got mail from my boss to get it for him.
Got a Wago set (43€), a patch panel, 2 Brennenstuhl PDUs, an Anycubic Vyper and some other assorted stuff.

[BU508A]

Reichelt Retail Therapy.

Left a GW Instek 1202B DSO behind, got mail from my boss to get it for him.
Got a Wago set (43€), a patch panel, 2 Brennenstuhl PDUs, an Anycubic Vyper and some other assorted stuff.

One day, I'll visit together with Saskia this Reichelt store....

One day...

[Andrew_Debbie]

Dana 5100 related.    Some parts for the PROM burner arrived along with other items. 

Had to laugh at the TFXTDOOL  zif sockets.   At $0.61 each I wasn't expecting much.  These met my expectations.  They only need to work a few times.  If they don't work at all, I will spend the £20+ for a genuine part.





I may regret these.    Used them to pad out the order.

[mnementh]

Reichelt Retail Therapy.

Left a GW Instek 1202B DSO behind, got mail from my boss to get it for him. Got a Wago set (43€), a patch panel, 2 Brennenstuhl PDUs, an Anycubic Vyper and some other assorted stuff.

That Vyper is a disturbingly close clone of my CR-6SE. If it's half the printer mine is, it'll be the one you wanna keep, especially if you got it at any discount off the usual ~$360 street price. Guess they got tired of hearing everybody rave about the CR-6SE.

Now on BF Sale for $309: https://www.anycubic.com/products/anycubic-vyper

mnem

[TERRA Operative]

Another member gave me a heads up on this one, must have just been listed today.

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/j1021868031

FFFFuuuuuuuuu.... Should I start a 'Go-Fund-Me' to accept donations to bring this one into the family? 

[25 CPS]

shit I need one now... Stark VT-9 

You might have better luck finding the Hickok 209A version of this.  Stark built a lot of Hickok designs under license in Canada which meant they were made in low numbers and only sold here so they're not all that common, even here.

One of the oddities about mine and you can see this in the picture I posted is that it's from the old dual frequency era when there was a good chunk of Ontario still on 25 Hz power and it's got 25/60 stamped in the frequency box.  I didn't notice from Mr. Carlson's video if his is the same.  Frequency standardization was still a work in progress then.  Mine still needs restoration too.  It's in the lineup but there's only so many hours in a day...

[Specmaster]

Guys, do you have a Fluke 8840A, 8842A or 8842AF with a flakey VFD display? If so then you might find this link of interest, someone on the forum has developed a replacement LED display that is almost a drop-in replacement albeit with a few slight modifications. Fortunately, both of my displays are very good, I did have another that had a worn out module but I managed to flip that one.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fluke-884042-series-universal-replacement-display/new/#new

[Saskia]

Reichelt Retail Therapy.

Left a GW Instek 1202B DSO behind, got mail from my boss to get it for him. Got a Wago set (43€), a patch panel, 2 Brennenstuhl PDUs, an Anycubic Vyper and some other assorted stuff.

That Vyper is a disturbingly close clone of my CR-6SE. If it's half the printer mine is, it'll be the one you wanna keep, especially if you got it at any discount off the usual ~$360 street price. Guess they got tired of hearing everybody rave about the CR-6SE.

Now on BF Sale for $309: https://www.anycubic.com/products/anycubic-vyper

mnem

very significant discount ...

[25 CPS]

I did a little bit more digging on the Stark VT-9 and uncovered a vintage advertisement for it:

http://pacifictv.ca/pixs/starkvt9ad.jpg

$201.80 in 1954 dollars.  Ouch.  I almost don't want to know but I put it in the Bank of Canada inflation calculator and that is the equivalent of $2045 now.  We're spoiled with what $2k can buy in terms of lab equipment these days.

[Neper]

...the old dual frequency era when there was a good chunk of Ontario still on 25 Hz power...

That's interesting and I've never heard of it before. The German and Austrian mainline railways still run with 15 kV at 16 2/3 Hz, the reason for that being that the early traction motors suffered from excessive brush sparking at 50 Hz.

[mnementh]

Guys, do you have a Fluke 8840A, 8842A or 8842AF with a flakey VFD display? If so then you might find this link of interest, someone on the forum has developed a replacement LED display that is almost a drop-in replacement albeit with a few slight modifications. Fortunately, both of my displays are very good, I did have another that had a worn out module but I managed to flip that one.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fluke-884042-series-universal-replacement-display/new/#new

I like the IDEA of a dot-matrix display for these that one can customize fonts, notification shape/size/location etc... but honestly, I think that AHOL's blue LED "near drop-in" replacement is probably a better solution for most of us, especially if you provide it with a dedicated power source such that any concern of it excessively loading the meter's power supply is rendered moot. I also appreciate AHOL's dedication to customer service once problems were found. Here's the thread; I'll let y'all decide fer yerselves:



https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/ebay-led-display-module-fluke-8840a42a-(diy-kit)-replace-broken-damaged-vfd/

mnem
Also, a friendly      at Vince and his Jihad against blue LEDs; I quite like the 485nm blue ones AHOL chose. 

[Specmaster]

Thanks for adding the other link, I had meant to do that as well as it provides 2 possible solutions to the faded VFD look.

[mnementh]

Yeah, sadly we'll have to wait for the New Year and production of Rev5, as his last production run sold out in only 3 weeks:

eBay auction: #154612343972

mnem
 

[Saskia]

picked up the scope for my boss. saw an ender 3 V2 but left it there ...

[Kosmic]

Another member gave me a heads up on this one, must have just been listed today.

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/j1021868031

FFFFuuuuuuuuu.... Should I start a 'Go-Fund-Me' to accept donations to bring this one into the family? 

I wouldn't touch the Cesium reference. The tube has a limited life expectancy and the one you find on the used market are normally dead.

[mnementh]

picked up the scope for my boss. saw an ender 3 V2 but left it there ...

Yeah, the Ender is fast becoming the model that's only kept up because people don't know how much better the current generation is.

Not that they're a bad printer... it's that the CR-6SE and its kin are so much more printer for a few bucks more.

mnem
"It just works." ~me

[TERRA Operative]

Another member gave me a heads up on this one, must have just been listed today.

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/j1021868031

FFFFuuuuuuuuu.... Should I start a 'Go-Fund-Me' to accept donations to bring this one into the family? 

I wouldn't touch the Cesium reference. The tubes has a limited life expectancy and the one you find on the used market are normally dead.

Yeah, I was thinking that. If it goes for a stupid low price, it would be good for parts though.

[mnementh]

I wouldn't touch it either... just in case it's been fuckerized by a gorilla and full of cesium dust and make you glow in the dark.

Even 60 years old that would still gonna be dangerous.

mnem
"...Must be these strangers that come every night;
Their saucer-shaped eyes put people uptight!
Leave little green footprints that glow in the dark;
I hope they get home all right. "

[mansaxel]

Work is killing me today.

Why I do not start my company and do what I want how I want?
Who has his own company here?

I had one, parallel to working at my then-ususal employer. It all went bellyup in the financial crisis; nobody wanted education when bottom line was in the red.  I'd rather not again. But one never knows.

[med6753]

Here is the last of the 5 plug-in's from last Saturday's haul. The 2nd Type 1A1. Didn't realize it until I got it on the bench that it's missing the pull assemblies for the Invert switch on both channels. Hence the 2 holes. That's no big deal really. It's a rarely used function anyway. And if I can't fix the other Type 1A1 that shows a short on the -150VDC bus then it will become a parts unit.

It cleaned up well. I performed the same resistance checks on the interconnect and this plug-in is OK and no shorts. So later today I'll install it in the Type 547 and see if it works.

Other stuff.....the capacitors for the Type 1A4 are out for delivery. The 8614 vacuum tube for the Type W is shipping today for delivery on Monday. The Type CA plug-in installed in the Type 535A is still cooking. It's now fully warmed up and ready to adjust DC balance and check compensation. 


 

[mnementh]

ooooh, shiny!

Looking good as always, Papa Smurf.

Those invert pull-shafts would be a good candidate for 3DP; at least for the knob-end if not the whole thing.

And I see you have a secret stash of those little Tek toggle-switch caps. More than a few in here gonn' be a little jelly o' dat. 

mnem
 

[mansaxel]

...the old dual frequency era when there was a good chunk of Ontario still on 25 Hz power...

That's interesting and I've never heard of it before. The German and Austrian mainline railways still run with 15 kV at 16 2/3 Hz, the reason for that being that the early traction motors suffered from excessive brush sparking at 50 Hz.

Same in Schweiz, Norway and Sweden too. But not Denmark; they did not have any catenary mainline until the late 1980s, opting for steam and diesel, so when electrifying they went with 50Hz 25KV instead. For the 16²/₃Hz there was a mix of supply systems in play; some hydroelectric generation up north in Sweden was single-phase and correct frequency, but the most lines were fed by rotary conversion plants, frequently installed on railway cars parked in bedrock tunnels along the lines.  In the 80s, semiconductor conversion became possible, but rotaries were used pretty long after that.