Author Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread  (Read 14406263 times)

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Offline Specmaster

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16200 on: September 12, 2018, 10:34:26 pm »
Sounds fabulous, Cerebus can get his conversational best cutlery out, I'll pop round tomorrow for TEA and hot, fresh, flaky apple turnovers  :-+
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Offline Cerebus

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16201 on: September 12, 2018, 10:35:31 pm »
Hahaha. Got to be better than my current solution which is a combination of Pomona 4mm minigrabber leads, shitty plugs from aliexpress and even stuff as bad as wrapping the stripped wires off the 818's default power cable round the SLA terminals.

I got some of these recently for standard car battery terminals:



They are the mutt's nuts. Quick, reliable, built like a brick dunny. Don't know if they do a version that would fit the smaller terminals you get on some SLAs but worth grabbing if they do.
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Offline Neomys Sapiens

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16202 on: September 12, 2018, 10:38:03 pm »
Local Hamfest last weekend was a bit disappointing, but I also came quite late.
After haggling about a Harris Jaguar transceiver and not willing to spent 350.- for a Tek SG504 WITHOUT leveling head to A FRENCHMAN, I settled with a handful of exotic adaptors, a JFW attenuator with 0 to 110dB in 1 dB steps and some cables and mil parts.
Well, the bucks will be spend, somewhere. Maybe I'll visit Dortmund HamFair in december.
 

Offline bd139

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16203 on: September 12, 2018, 10:39:52 pm »
Local Hamfest last weekend was a bit disappointing, but I also came quite late.
After haggling about a Harris Jaguar transceiver and not willing to spent 350.- for a Tek SG504 WITHOUT leveling head to A FRENCHMAN, I settled with a handful of exotic adaptors, a JFW attenuator with 0 to 110dB in 1 dB steps and some cables and mil parts.
Well, the bucks will be spend, somewhere. Maybe I'll visit Dortmund HamFair in december.

My trick is getting friendly with the organisers and creeping in early  :-DD

Always a bit annoying when there's no cool stuff :(

Hahaha. Got to be better than my current solution which is a combination of Pomona 4mm minigrabber leads, shitty plugs from aliexpress and even stuff as bad as wrapping the stripped wires off the 818's default power cable round the SLA terminals.

I got some of these recently for standard car battery terminals:

*** REMOVED MONSTER CONNECTORS ***

They are the mutt's nuts. Quick, reliable, built like a brick dunny. Don't know if they do a version that would fit the smaller terminals you get on some SLAs but worth grabbing if they do.
My SLAs are diddy and certainly not worthy for such hulk-like connectors. I have a 7Ah one for portable use (4.8mm spade terminals) and a 24Ah one for home use (M5 bolt / eyelet crimps). I pull max 5A out of them for a few seconds and coast along at around 700mA the rest of the time.
 

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16204 on: September 12, 2018, 10:50:17 pm »
Got to be better than my current solution which is a combination of Pomona 4mm minigrabber leads, shitty plugs from aliexpress and even stuff as bad as wrapping the stripped wires off the 818's default power cable round the SLA terminals.
FFS, get some push on spade crimp connectors in blue and red and make up a dedicated SLA charge lead !
For the stud SLA types, get some bulldog clips and add male spade terminals to them and use the same lead.
Apply KISS principles and move on with something else.
« Last Edit: September 12, 2018, 10:53:22 pm by tautech »
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Offline Cerebus

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16205 on: September 12, 2018, 10:54:56 pm »
FFS, get some push on spade crimp connectors in blue and red and make up a dedicated SLA charge lead !
Apply KISS principle and move on with something else.

KISS would be to twist two heavy tails together, touch 'em to the battery terminals so they auto-weld, knock the twist apart, blob some epoxy over the welds and — job's a good 'un.   >:D
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Offline Specmaster

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16206 on: September 12, 2018, 10:57:44 pm »
Got to be better than my current solution which is a combination of Pomona 4mm minigrabber leads, shitty plugs from aliexpress and even stuff as bad as wrapping the stripped wires off the 818's default power cable round the SLA terminals.
FFS, get some push on spade crimp connectors in blue and red and make up a dedicated SLA charge lead !
Apply KISS principle and move on with something else.

You almost took the words out my mouth there. It can't be hard to make up dedicated plug in leads for each item the that needs powering up / recharging fitted with a standard barrel power plug/socket arrangement. Even better buy some suitable dedicated wall warts, 1 for each item to match the voltage and power rating / polarity and get a 3M labeller and stick labels on them to make sure that the correct wall wart is used for the right piece of equipment. There, job sorted right there and far far cheaper then having to keep repairing / replacing effing power supplies .  :palm: :palm:
« Last Edit: September 12, 2018, 10:59:32 pm by Specmaster »
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Offline bd139

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16207 on: September 12, 2018, 11:08:12 pm »
Plan is to make up these leads:

1. 30A Fused powerpole to M5 (for big SLA)
2. 10A fused powerpole to spade (for small SLA)
3. Powerpole to 4mm Pomona plugs (charging off PSU)
4. 5A fused powerpole to powerpole (ft-818)
5. 25A fused powerpole to molex (ft-450)
6. 2A fused powerpole to 2.1 DC (homebrew shit)
7. 2A fused powerpole to bench lighting (for during power failures)
8. Buy a bus box for powerpoles.

This solving not one but all problems. We get a lot of power cuts here due to some persistent problems with local grid so this gives me something to do when I’m at home and the power is out or I can take the 818 for the weekend with the small SLA.
« Last Edit: September 12, 2018, 11:10:11 pm by bd139 »
 

Online tautech

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16208 on: September 12, 2018, 11:10:03 pm »
Got to be better than my current solution which is a combination of Pomona 4mm minigrabber leads, shitty plugs from aliexpress and even stuff as bad as wrapping the stripped wires off the 818's default power cable round the SLA terminals.
FFS, get some push on spade crimp connectors in blue and red and make up a dedicated SLA charge lead !
Apply KISS principle and move on with something else.

You almost took the words out my mouth there. It can't be hard to make up dedicated plug in leads for each item the that needs powering up / recharging fitted with a standard barrel power plug/socket arrangement. Even better buy some suitable dedicated wall warts, 1 for each item to match the voltage and power rating / polarity and get a 3M labeller and stick labels on them to make sure that the correct wall wart is used for the right piece of equipment.
Nah.  :--
Needed a wallwart the other day from my 20L bucket of them and had to chop the leads for ~1/2 of them to untangle the ferking mess. A dedicated charging lead hanging with all your other test leads is the better solution.
Been there done that................

Plan is to make up these leads:

1. 30A Fused powerpole to M5 (for big SLA)
2. 10A fused powerpole to spade (for small SLA)
3. Powerpole to 4mm Pomona plugs (charging off PSU)
4. 5A fused powerpole to powerpole (ft-818)
5. 25A fused powerpole to molex (ft-450)
6. 2A fused powerpole to 2.1 DC (homebrew shit)
7. 2A fused powerpole to bench lighting (for during power failures)
8. Buy a bus box for powerpoles.

This solving not one but all problems.
And don't forget a bucket load of fuses for them !  :-DD
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Offline bd139

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16209 on: September 12, 2018, 11:10:43 pm »
I just ordered 40 fuses  :-DD
 

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16210 on: September 12, 2018, 11:11:17 pm »
I just ordered 40 fuses  :-DD
A weeks supply ?  >:D
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Offline bd139

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16211 on: September 12, 2018, 11:12:06 pm »
That was my fiat. Full beams? Not today! Ping.
 

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16212 on: September 12, 2018, 11:19:55 pm »
I find an electrical 2 core round mains flex excellent for making up dedicated leads, it's plenty supple enough and a 1-1.5mm2 offers enough current capability for most requirements.
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Offline Specmaster

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16213 on: September 12, 2018, 11:56:52 pm »
Just snagged this nice Fluke 8842 for the cool price of 100 quids, came with GPIB and AC module along with a set of none genuine but serviceable leads but was very brown / yellowish and sticky, cleaned up not too bad, still brown/yellow but the stickiness has gone.

Display is good and strong, last calibration date was 1999, so connected up to my voltage reference and bingo it agrees 100% with my other flukes, third one with the weak display removed from my stack now.

Pleased with this but the main feature of it is the ultra low resistance range of 20 ohms, and gives a resolution of 0.1m \$\Omega\$ but that is only available in the 4 wire mode  :palm:, that means I'll have to make up a dedicated set of leads to help with the tracking down short circuits on PCB's using normal probes.

Now I'm on the hunt for even more bargains, Ebay here I come.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2018, 12:36:37 am by Specmaster »
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Offline GregDunn

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16214 on: September 13, 2018, 12:25:55 am »
My trick is getting friendly with the organisers and creeping in early  :-DD

Always a bit annoying when there's no cool stuff :(

I bought my ticket to the last one online, and sure enough they had my paper ticket in an envelope at the table.  So I headed to the door, hoping to get in as one of the first, and the door security guy just winked and motioned me in.  That was 10 minutes early.  I did get some good things, but nothing that wouldn't have waited.  It was just nice to be in before 8 AM and out by 8:30 so the rest of my day was free.
 

Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16215 on: September 13, 2018, 12:53:55 am »
Got to be better than my current solution which is a combination of Pomona 4mm minigrabber leads, shitty plugs from aliexpress and even stuff as bad as wrapping the stripped wires off the 818's default power cable round the SLA terminals.
FFS, get some push on spade crimp connectors in blue and red and make up a dedicated SLA charge lead !
For the stud SLA types, get some bulldog clips and add male spade terminals to them and use the same lead.
Apply KISS principles and move on with something else.
I use an old 500VA UPS as an overnight SLA charger... there must be something wrong with me.  :-DD

mnem
Hey... it was there.  :-//
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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16216 on: September 13, 2018, 01:02:40 am »
Got to be better than my current solution which is a combination of Pomona 4mm minigrabber leads, shitty plugs from aliexpress and even stuff as bad as wrapping the stripped wires off the 818's default power cable round the SLA terminals.
FFS, get some push on spade crimp connectors in blue and red and make up a dedicated SLA charge lead !
For the stud SLA types, get some bulldog clips and add male spade terminals to them and use the same lead.
Apply KISS principles and move on with something else.
I use an old 500VA UPS as an overnight SLA charger... there must be something wrong with me.  :-DD

mnem
Hey... it was there.  :-//
Yep, there is !  :P
Those ferking things are notorious for cooking SLA's !
Carefully used SLA's last for years but not when they're abused.
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Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16217 on: September 13, 2018, 01:06:16 am »
In Other News...



Remoting into my dad's old laptop to do some file archiving so I can set up the new one I'm building for him. The final nail in the coffin... one of his sites requires a browser newer than anything that'll run on his, so now he HAS to migrate to something slightly less '63 Studebaker than the old spotted cow that I built for him in 2005.  :palm: Thank Ifni.  :phew:

mnem
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Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16218 on: September 13, 2018, 01:18:08 am »
I use an old 500VA UPS as an overnight SLA charger... there must be something wrong with me.  :-DD

mnem
Hey... it was there.  :-//
Yep, there is !  :P
Those ferking things are notorious for cooking SLA's !
Carefully used SLA's last for years but not when they're abused.
Do you REALLY think that an overnight CC/CV charge @ 13.8V is going to harm an SLA?

I have UPSes with 10-year-old batteries that still serve better than 70% capacity. Even my small ones last 5-7 years. As these typically come with the cheapest 7AH Chinese AGM batteries possible, I consider that excellent yield.

mnem
*Juicy*
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Offline bitseekerTopic starter

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16219 on: September 13, 2018, 01:58:46 am »
Just snagged this nice Fluke 8842 for the cool price of 100 quids, came with GPIB and AC module along with a set of none genuine but serviceable leads but was very brown / yellowish and sticky, cleaned up not too bad, still brown/yellow but the stickiness has gone.

Nice catch. When I was first hunting for a bench DMM, I passed up many Fluke 8840 because of the 8842's addition of that 20 \$\Omega\$ / 20mV range.

It looks like yours may benefit from some retro-brighting.
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Online tautech

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16220 on: September 13, 2018, 02:42:26 am »
I use an old 500VA UPS as an overnight SLA charger... there must be something wrong with me.  :-DD

mnem
Hey... it was there.  :-//
Yep, there is !  :P
Those ferking things are notorious for cooking SLA's !
Carefully used SLA's last for years but not when they're abused.
Do you REALLY think that an overnight CC/CV charge @ 13.8V is going to harm an SLA?

I have UPSes with 10-year-old batteries that still serve better than 70% capacity. Even my small ones last 5-7 years. As these typically come with the cheapest 7AH Chinese AGM batteries possible, I consider that excellent yield.

mnem
*Juicy*
Ok I'll take it back as you seem to UPS's that behave as they should.  :clap:
Not all do.  :(
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Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16221 on: September 13, 2018, 03:33:50 am »
Ok I'll take it back as you seem to UPS's that behave as they should.  :clap:
Not all do.  :(
Fair enough. It's true, the ones that last 10 years are the big 1500VA APC SMARTUPS; those are huge rack-mount beasts that come with a 5-7 year guarantee which includes the $250 RBC-26 cartridge. The little ones I have are their smallest "commercial" units and carry a similar 3-year warranty. There ARE a lot of just plain cheap UPSes out there that I wouldn't touch with a barge pole; the kind you get from Wally World, Orifice Depot, etc are often little more than a short-circuit looking for a place to happen.   :bullshit:

I don't know that I believe they'd necessarily harm a battery overnight, but similarly, I don't know that I'd trust them to actually charge it overnight either.  :palm:

mnem
My trust module doesn't.
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Online tautech

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16222 on: September 13, 2018, 04:09:52 am »
 ;D
And yet.............APC was a brand I had in mind. Got given a APC1000 that cooked batteries and looked into it some before shelving it.
Wasn't quite sure if divider components had drifted or it was just adjusted wrong but they don't have a trimmer instead there's some service mode for adjustments AFAIK.

Another project in the queue .....................
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Offline djos

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16223 on: September 13, 2018, 04:36:18 am »
;D
And yet.............APC was a brand I had in mind. Got given a APC1000 that cooked batteries and looked into it some before shelving it.
Wasn't quite sure if divider components had drifted or it was just adjusted wrong but they don't have a trimmer instead there's some service mode for adjustments AFAIK.

Another project in the queue .....................

I've alway run APC Smart UPS's, I'm an ex Server Admin and in my experience they just never die! Case in point, the 2 littlies in my Study are so old they only have Serial ports on them. Im actually amazed that PowerChute Biz Edition still Supports them - I've lost count of how many batteries they've been thru, but they typically last me ~3-4 years.

Offline Berni

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #16224 on: September 13, 2018, 05:19:00 am »

    So, what's up with this? (Note: Scheduled for Sep 18, 2018)

Looks like another high end boatanchor scope that costs as much as a small house, but i might be able to buy 20 years later on ebay and complain the shipping cost almost as much as the thing is worth.

Oh and by the way the high end scopes never stopped having that botanchor form factor, they even come with boatanchor power usage so it will keep you nice and warm in the winter.
 


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