Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Neper]

I'll vacuum it out as best I can. I don't even want to speculate how all that crap got in there but you can bet rodent pee and crap is mixed in with it.

...and then dispose of the vacuum cleaner as hasardous waste?

[Kosmic]

Another Solartron 7081 from UK.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284541597525

Look like crap and it's already more than what I would be willing to pay. Too bad, shipping to Canada was actually acceptable 

[mnementh]

More USPS follies. The 8416 vacuum tube shipped from Sussex, NJ on the 24th. Sussex is exactly 60 miles south from me. Yesterday was a national holiday but it still did move SOUTH to Teterboro, NJ distribution center and then FURTHER south to Jersey City, NJ distribution center where it currently sits. Where will it go from there? It will drive on the NYS Thruway right by my place to NORTH Albany, NY distribution center. Then go back SOUTH of me to Newburgh, NY distribution center before FINALLY arriving at my PO on Monday. Or so sez the tracking projection. In the old days I could get a package from the UK faster than that. 

Still better than ever passing through the N Houston SortHub... 

I had one package that literally bounced back & forth between that hub and a PO 20 miles from me for 3 weeks. I finally got lucky by guessing when it would still be at that PO, calling them and making sure it was there, then driving over and picking it up.

I have no doubt that if I had not done so, it would still be embedded in that oscillator circuit until either the package disintegrated from handling or that PO shut its doors as so many are doing now.   

mnem
*death by 1000 paper cuts*

[mnementh]

Who needs electronics?

edit for serial data transmission and reception

Ok, I can understand how the manual entry system and printing works, but the data decoding???

String, wire, bent metal, cams. That's all you need for mechanical engineering products. The student can supply the relevant details.

serial data transmission and reception   

Decode is a bar for each bit (5) mechanically set (or not) in sequence by the electromagnet.  Each bar has a set of slots according to the code  The print lever with corresponding lugs is then released to hit the paper
5 bit 50 Baud was one standard (Amateurs used 45.45 Baud).

Now you're talking Babbage-Tech! 

mnem
oooohhh... would you look at this lovely scarf I've woven on the teletype machine...?

[TERRA Operative]

Just like with the Japs...

I don't know if you realise, but that there's a racial slur... 

Sorry, none intended. 

Yet when I was a kiddy and your country started spreading its wings most of what you produced was genuinely called Jap crap however we can't say the same today and in time we won't be saying such about the Chinese too.
Most of the cars on Kiwi roads are Jap and you guys certainly know how to build them without designed in oil leaks unlike the Poms. 

The wife's country. I'm just a bloody Australian.

All good, Just a heads up incase someone gets offended somewhere else.

[tggzzz]

I'll vacuum it out as best I can. I don't even want to speculate how all that crap got in there but you can bet rodent pee and crap is mixed in with it.

...and then dispose of the vacuum cleaner as hasardous waste?

Normally I prefer bagless vacuum cleaners - but not in this case!

[med6753]

I'll vacuum it out as best I can. I don't even want to speculate how all that crap got in there but you can bet rodent pee and crap is mixed in with it.

...and then dispose of the vacuum cleaner as hasardous waste?

The shop vac and filter can be cleaned and hosed out. 

[mnementh]

This has to be the oldest Solartron I've seen so far: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334232124623

Hmmmmm... I do believe I see 3DP spacers made to refit that with modern output terminals and color coding. While I personally couldn't care less, it does set off the ol' anachronism detector something fierce... 

Another thought... do we really know if that was even made by the same Solartron we know & love for their "special" connectors...?

mnem
no    for me...

[tautech]

Just like with the Japs...

I don't know if you realise, but that there's a racial slur... 

Sorry, none intended. 

Yet when I was a kiddy and your country started spreading its wings most of what you produced was genuinely called Jap crap however we can't say the same today and in time we won't be saying such about the Chinese too.
Most of the cars on Kiwi roads are Jap and you guys certainly know how to build them without designed in oil leaks unlike the Poms. 

The wife's country. I'm just a bloody Australian.

From which part ?
Our Larry Major (older larrikin son) found skirt in Perth and has been there for getting on 10 years and hope all this CV shit passes so we can get over to see them again.

[mnementh]

Has anyone else noticed how eBay insists on opening a new window each time you click on an item and when you click return to search results, it leaves the window open  does anyone know how this can be altered or is this now a permanent feature of eBay??? If you are looking for something, and you click "Watch this item", it leaves the window open so you end up with loads of open windows 

Doesn't do that here. Yes, I get a new tab/window if I click on a searched item (it's done that for ages) but if I use the 'return to search' link it closes the new tab/window.

This sounds to me more likely a browser-related thing (or combination of the site and a certain browser) than necessarily site-specific.

OTOH, my butt is still sore from my last 3 fleaBay engagements, so haven't even opened a single tab there in months...

mnem
 

[Ice-Tea]

Another Solartron 7081 from UK.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284541597525

Look like crap and it's already more than what I would be willing to pay. Too bad, shipping to Canada was actually acceptable 

Christ... couldn't even be arsed to run a damp rag across it. 

[mnementh]

Insulating material to improve thermal stability?   

You agitator, you. 

Honestly, once you pull the choobs to put in your inventory, I don't see much difference there in how one would handle it vs the one full of furrzz in prior pix; just spray the effing thing with simple green and hose it out. 

After that, scrub surfaces with toothbrush/favorite sanitizer (wear gloves and a mask, if it makes you feel better), then let it dry out for a month near a heater vent and see iff'n it still reeks.

My primary concern would be to make sure I got all the corners hosed out and inspected to be sure no roach eggs before I brought it inside.

mnem
 

[TERRA Operative]

Just like with the Japs...

I don't know if you realise, but that there's a racial slur... 

Sorry, none intended. 

Yet when I was a kiddy and your country started spreading its wings most of what you produced was genuinely called Jap crap however we can't say the same today and in time we won't be saying such about the Chinese too.
Most of the cars on Kiwi roads are Jap and you guys certainly know how to build them without designed in oil leaks unlike the Poms. 

The wife's country. I'm just a bloody Australian.

From which part ?
Our Larry Major (older larrikin son) found skirt in Perth and has been there for getting on 10 years and hope all this CV shit passes so we can get over to see them again.

Adelaide originally, then Darwin for a year but the weather is crap before the wet season, so I went to Brisbane for a decade before coming to Japan.
I think I'm stuck here for a while now though... wife, son, car, house, etc.

[mnementh]

RedHat 8 nouveau driver crashing my graphics card in the company workstation. FFS.
does anybody know how to disable gnome from the console and enable x11 ?

https://linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=288

 

mnem
Hey, with my weak Kung-Fu it isn't often I get a chance to poke fun at you *NIX gurus; can you really blame me...?

[med6753]

The covers cleaned up well. Some sticker residue which Goo Gone will take care of. No re-paint required. The cover in the foreground has a dent in the top which tweaked the cover a bit. A block of wood and a BFH should fix that.

Tomorrow I'll start clean up of scope 1.

[Robert763]

Not heard of this manufacturer before, no doubt Robert, Cerebus, or tggzzz can elucidate: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224708780108

Not me.

Someone's going to have fun with that mains cable.

Nor me. The S+E logo vaguely rings a bell, but only a tiny handbell; that means I've seen it before but I can't add any useful information beyond that.

Found this: https://www.radiomuseum.org/dsp_hersteller_detail.cfm?company_id=12221

Yes, best known for their big reel to reel instrumentation tape recorders. I think the recorders were the main reason EMI bought them. The recorders were still in active use in the aviation industry well in to the 1990's. I know one company that only destroyed their archive 1" tapes around 2015. The tapes probably outlived the aircraft whose data was on them.

[Robert763]

Hey Med, is that mess in the scope not just sawdust ?

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Who the freak knows until I start cleaning. But it DOES stink so I suspect more than "just" sawdust.

Some woods do stink as you know but the smell is normally lost after a while as sawdust. Maybe a rat pee'd on the scope and it soaked some in to retain the stink.
Anyways it's probably been stored in a small workshop to get such a coating of dust.....I'm sure it will be just fine Med.

If you think that's bad you should have seen the state of aircooled avionics equipment back in the days when they allowed smoking on aircraft....

[Specmaster]

I reckon I'd stand a slightly better chance of beating this than my Kasparov Sensor Chess: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373803628767





This has to be the oldest Solartron I've seen so far: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334232124623





This is too salty for me, even fully working, and even with the seller sending an offer of £180: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265415769040





Здравствуйте товарищ милливольтметр! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175033826065





Not heard of this manufacturer before, no doubt Robert, Cerebus, or tggzzz can elucidate: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224708780108

Cool, I haven't seen a chess computer for years. I used to have one, but cannot remember what happened to it 

[Robert763]

Did anyone here get the HP LogicDart that was in the PP aucton?

[Cerebus]

Not heard of this manufacturer before, no doubt Robert, Cerebus, or tggzzz can elucidate: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224708780108

Not me.

Someone's going to have fun with that mains cable.

Nor me. The S+E logo vaguely rings a bell, but only a tiny handbell; that means I've seen it before but I can't add any useful information beyond that.

Found this: https://www.radiomuseum.org/dsp_hersteller_detail.cfm?company_id=12221

Yes, best known for their big reel to reel instrumentation tape recorders. I think the recorders were the main reason EMI bought them. The recorders were still in active use in the aviation industry well in to the 1990's. I know one company that only destroyed their archive 1" tapes around 2015. The tapes probably outlived the aircraft whose data was on them.

Ah! Now instead of C₈ handbell I think I'm getting G₆. Yes, I think I can remember seeing S+E tape machines rack mounted for data logging or telephone logging.

[Robert763]

"Used" Spectrum Analyser fro ProAvit on ebay
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255248173936
 

[Specmaster]

Insulating material to improve thermal stability?   

You agitator, you. 

Honestly, once you pull the choobs to put in your inventory, I don't see much difference there in how one would handle it vs the one full of furrzz in prior pix; just spray the effing thing with simple green and hose it out. 

After that, scrub surfaces with toothbrush/favorite sanitizer (wear gloves and a mask, if it makes you feel better), then let it dry out for a month near a heater vent and see iff'n it still reeks.

My primary concern would be to make sure I got all the corners hosed out and inspected to be sure no roach eggs before I brought it inside.

mnem
 

I'd give it a bloody good brushing while the tubes are still in situ to prevent any of that dust making its way into the sockets to cause problems later, then a good vacuuming with a good strong vacuum.  Then I'd give a wonderful dousing with Isopropyl and use a toothbrush in the corners to make sure any such eggs are not only killed by the dousing in alcohol but also removed, let it air out and dry thoroughly and then bring it inside.

[Specmaster]

"Used" Spectrum Analyser fro ProAvit on ebay
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255248173936
 

They can keep it 

[Specmaster]

Has anyone else noticed how eBay insists on opening a new window each time you click on an item and when you click return to search results, it leaves the window open  does anyone know how this can be altered or is this now a permanent feature of eBay??? If you are looking for something, and you click "Watch this item", it leaves the window open so you end up with loads of open windows 

Doesn't do that here. Yes, I get a new tab/window if I click on a searched item (it's done that for ages) but if I use the 'return to search' link it closes the new tab/window.

This sounds to me more likely a browser-related thing (or combination of the site and a certain browser) than necessarily site-specific.

OTOH, my butt is still sore from my last 3 fleaBay engagements, so haven't even opened a single tab there in months...

mnem
 

Thats what me and my boys all thought, but its the same in Firefox, Edge and Chrome. I was wondering if it might be Windoze 10 related as I don't recall noticing that before downloading the Novemeber update.

[xrunner]

"Used" Spectrum Analyser fro ProAvit on ebay
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255248173936
 

They can keep it 

"cables have been cut on the internals "