Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bitseeker]

It looks properly powered and glowing!

[Brumby]

It does look pretty - but everyone knows red ones go faster.

[beanflying]

Several hours of settling and dropped what I suspect is my most accurate meter on the Fluke 335D. I know the Advantest is off.

Mmmm The evidence is that my 18 year old out of Cal 34401A is a chunk better than a 5 year old non Calibrated and non adjusted 34461A. Buy good quality stale old TEA is the answer it seems

[Brumby]

My 8656B ...

I pulled bits.  I checked the schematic.  I did tests.  Everything said it should work, so I put it back together.

I now have output.   
                                  ... and the attenuation looks like it is functioning normally.


Not sure how I feel right now....

[bd139]

I have this problem regularly. I like to think that I’m glad I’m not a surgeon when this happens. That makes me feel better about it.

[Brumby]

I'm glad that the attenuator surgery was done on one from the junker.  All the bits in the functioning unit are original to that unit (except for 20cm of spiral wrap and 3 cable ties).

I don't have the gear for any sort of calibration check, but I might have a play ... tomorrow.

[beanflying]

I'm glad that the attenuator surgery was done on one from the junker.  All the bits in the functioning unit are original to that unit (except for 20cm of spiral wrap and 3 cable ties).

I don't have the gear for any sort of calibration check, but I might have a play ... tomorrow.

Did you show it the big Hammer and threaten it by chance? Or did you whisper sweet nothings into it's signal input

[Brumby]

The hammer might have come into the equation if there was no success.  Sweet nothings were the furthest thing from my mind.

I think I'll try the external modulation input and run a short range FM radio station.  Need a radio, preferably with digital tuning.

Then there's the question - do I keep it or flip it?

[beanflying]

Will you ever get another working one for $55 again? I suspect never but do you need the higher end frequencies?

What is it worth on evilbay with some evidence it works in some form if you are prepared to let it go around a few times? $4-500 USD? The 001 Oscillator in the junker if it works is worth decent $ too.

Buy yourself a decent Arb Sig Gen and add an old 6 1/2 digit meter to the fleet with the $.

[Brumby]

In practical terms, I'm not into RF, so I'd very likely never really gain any real benefit - but I have to admit that, as I was learning how to drive the unit, I become entranced by the UI and found myself being able to dial up values, set increments and so on.

Being my first functional bit of HP kit makes it hard to say goodbye - but if I could score $400-500 USD for it, I would find it difficult to justify keeping it.

Testing the junker's 001 oscillator is a must, so that might be next on the agenda.  Pity I can't do accurate frequency checking.

[Zucca]

Your Canon 5D is actually an upgrade to mine, with Canon, the lower the number the higher grade the camera is culminating with the 1D at some £5,400 just for the body. The ranges in the single digit are the top models and goes like 7, 6, 5 and then 1 so in reality yours is 2 steps up from mine and 1 step down from the top model.

Oh nooo... another rabbit hole. How can be possible? TEA is growing in all directions.
Got a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM about a year ago for 1100€ on evilbay when new it was 2K€. It was working fine then about 3 months ago I noticed the manual focus was skipping in one direction. Oh well I will send in for repair. Got the letter from Canon Deutschalnd back yesterday: USM, Stabilization System and IS are done. My budget was 250€ worst case for this repair. And here it comes... wait...

909,76€

to get the shit fixed, 376€ are labor work (4h) already included.

[Neomys Sapiens]

.....
If you are looking for a tripod I recommand Manfrotto. A bit more expansive but super solid and working really well. I forgot mine on the roof of my car once. Fell out of the car on a big boulevard at high speed. It's still in one piece with some marks 

When I was looking for a tripod ~30years ago, I asked for a Manfrotto first. My photo dealer looked at me disapprovingly and asked me why I want to go cheap after buying a good SLR and optics (then F3).
He did show me Gitzo and I was sold. The F3 has bitten the dust, some Leicas did come and go - the tripod is still with me and has carried various sizable antennas, a big industrial lighting fixture and any sort of optical stuff. Very beautiful finish and nearly indestructable.

Ok it's not the best 

For the price I'm really satisfied. Sure better than the stuff you can buy from china.

Main reason for telling this was that I was aware of Manfrotto, but not of the other because of more presence in the market. Nowadays the two companies both belong to Vinten group, so it's their HI/Low mix, presumably.

[Neomys Sapiens]

I h8 customs!
Here a tip for everyone: when sending each other things free of charge, ALWAYS state a value (low, of course) and type of goods. Because any omission will send the nosy customs guys on a search, which might prove detrimental to the cause. When picking up Beanflying's package, they had already looked at it and they were hard to convince that I got this free of charge, when on ebay.de someone offers GR-874 adaptors for 50.- apiece. And the Pomona plugs! And even the cable lugs would be 10.- with them. So it either was duty for a value of 200.- of nothing, because below 22.-. Luckily they wanted to close and after I made it clear that I would appeal against the 200.- assessment, they gave in. 

[Specmaster]

Your Canon 5D is actually an upgrade to mine, with Canon, the lower the number the higher grade the camera is culminating with the 1D at some £5,400 just for the body. The ranges in the single digit are the top models and goes like 7, 6, 5 and then 1 so in reality yours is 2 steps up from mine and 1 step down from the top model.

Oh nooo... another rabbit hole. How can be possible? TEA is growing in all directions.
Got a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM about a year ago for 1100€ on evilbay when new it was 2K€. It was working fine then about 3 months ago I noticed the manual focus was skipping in one direction. Oh well I will send in for repair. Got the letter from Canon Deutschalnd back yesterday: USM, Stabilization System and IS are done. My budget was 250€ worst case for this repair. And here it comes... wait...

909,76€

to get the shit fixed, 376€ are labor work (4h) already included.

Have a right moan at them, let them know that you don't expect to buy a proffesional lens and have fall it apart. I know of someone who had similar problems and complained strongly and they did the repair FOC.

[Zucca]

I h8 customs!

I don't understand how it works in Germany. Sometime it is for free, sometime I have to pay. I tried to understand it but no way, so I gave up. I try to cut the (anyway) bullshit discussion to minimum, so I prepare the PayPal invoice printed and pay the 19% on it. They start to argue, I show the paper and they become silent.

PS: It seems smart people are not needed at custom. So any attempt of reasonable discussion is a battle already lost in the beginning.

[Zucca]

I know of someone who had similar problems and complained strongly and they did the repair FOC.

He probably had the receipt and was the only owner. In my case I am in underwear and the lens was dropped from previous owner, I just did not noticed it was so bad.
This time I lost in ebay spectacularly.

[salvagedcircuitry]

Your Canon 5D is actually an upgrade to mine, with Canon, the lower the number the higher grade the camera is culminating with the 1D at some £5,400 just for the body. The ranges in the single digit are the top models and goes like 7, 6, 5 and then 1 so in reality yours is 2 steps up from mine and 1 step down from the top model.

Oh nooo... another rabbit hole. How can be possible? TEA is growing in all directions.
Got a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM about a year ago for 1100€ on evilbay when new it was 2K€. It was working fine then about 3 months ago I noticed the manual focus was skipping in one direction. Oh well I will send in for repair. Got the letter from Canon Deutschalnd back yesterday: USM, Stabilization System and IS are done. My budget was 250€ worst case for this repair. And here it comes... wait...

909,76€

to get the shit fixed, 376€ are labor work (4h) already included.

Wow. That's a lot, but not surprising. The good news is that Canon is one of the few camera companies that will actually sell you parts as an end user. So if you are up to it, you could give the repair a try. I don't think they will provide you a service manual, but they might give you a parts diagram if you ask nicely.

[mnementh]

It looks properly powered and glowing!

Yeah... while the new case does support the RGB "unicorn barf" lighting effects that seem to be so popular... I decided to stick with solid blue as it's a "classic look" now, and goes well with all the blue bits on the MB.

It does look pretty - but everyone knows red ones go faster.

      Okay...   

mnem
*Photo-editing-ily*

[mnementh]

My 8656B ...

I pulled bits.  I checked the schematic.  I did tests.  Everything said it should work, so I put it back together.

I now have output.   
                                  ... and the attenuation looks like it is functioning normally.


Not sure how I feel right now....

I had a similar problem with a relay cabinet back in the day when I was working automation... one of the air solenoids for a welding jig was intermittent. The line foreman replaced the solenoid itself, verified it had voltage when it should, so when it continued to malfunction they called me. I checked for the usual; cleaned out the cabinet with compressed air, looked for binding pivot points, went over every crimped connection between it and the cabinet, even removed and inspected the associated relay, which looked like brand new, even the contacts were shiny silver and you could see the pattern where the contacts wiped with self-cleaning action.

Put it back in & ran the test routine 50 cycles and the jig performed flawlessly. Line foreman decided it was working, let it run til it dropped again. I stood there and watched that relay work for over 30 minutes... it performed flawlessly. Then I happened to notice a little shiny dot on the top of the relay directly under the suspect one in the next row down. At first I thought it was just a bit of overspray or a sticker; but I put my finger on it and it came away stuck to it. Turned out to be a little disc of clear blister-pack plastic like one might expect if one punched a hole through a carded part with a paper punch. I might never have noticed that thing, the lighting was just right.

I can't prove it, but I believe that disc had somehow gotten lodged in the relay, and when I handled it, the little gawddammitt fell out.

I had the same problem with my 3478A. Cleaned the F/R switch a dozen times, no joy. Took it apart and cleaned it bit by bit manually, found NOTHING. Put it back together and it worked perfectly, and continues to do so to this day. I would still be baffled by this turn of events, except for the fact that while going back through my pics of the work, I found this.



The point being... while it is true that "Murphy's a bitch, and she has puppies.", if you DO get lucky and make something work without knowing how or why... sometimes the best course is to just use the damned thing and see if it continues to work. "When Ifni smiles upon you, smile back and say 'Thank you'."

About 80% of Helldesk Service DEPENDS on this principle. 

mnem
"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

[mnementh]

I have this problem regularly. I like to think that I’m glad I’m not a surgeon when this happens. That makes me feel better about it.

Things you NEVER want to hear in the operating theater:

"Ooops!"

"Is it supposed to be that color?"

"Where's THAT go?"

"Is it supposed to squirt like THAT?"

"Where's my watch?"

"You've already had kids, right?"

mnem
Somebody stop me...

[beanflying]

Reminds my of many years ago being called out to look at a faulty Pressure Pump on a farm. Tuned out to be a dead earwig between the switch contacts. Sunday afternoon emergency call out was lucrative for my 20 minutes on site. Farmer wasn't happy but when are they ever 

[mnementh]

The hammer might have come into the equation if there was no success.  Sweet nothings were the furthest thing from my mind.

I think I'll try the external modulation input and run a short range FM radio station.  Need a radio, preferably with digital tuning.

Then there's the question - do I keep it or flip it?

Will you ever get another working one for $55 again? I suspect never but do you need the higher end frequencies?

What is it worth on evilbay with some evidence it works in some form if you are prepared to let it go around a few times? $4-500 USD? The 001 Oscillator in the junker if it works is worth decent $ too.

Buy yourself a decent Arb Sig Gen and add an old 6 1/2 digit meter to the fleet with the $.

My grandfather used to say: "What's it worth? It's worth keeping."

Of course, he was also the granddaddy of all hoarders. I'm talking literally a barnful. And a houseful. 

mnem
We all got the disease from SOMEWHERE.

[mnementh]

Reminds my of many years ago being called out to look at a faulty Pressure Pump on a farm. Tuned out to be a dead earwig between the switch contacts. Sunday afternoon emergency call out was lucrative for my 20 minutes on site. Farmer wasn't happy but when are they ever 

Yeah, that's a tough call. Do you tell the unvarnished truth, or replace the switch on GP  to justify being there? Some clients require that I replace the part, no matter what. Some allow me to use my best judgement. Some tell me to err on the side of caution.

If I'm working for myself, I usually tell them the truth and let them decide if they want to pay X amount and probably be good to go, or X plus Y amount to have brand-new installed and not have to wonder how long it will last.

Surprisingly, I often get the latter... and I either put the old part in my stash of emergency spares or in the new part box and hand it to the customer, as they choose.

mnem
"Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick any two."

[GregDunn]

Your Canon 5D is actually an upgrade to mine, with Canon, the lower the number the higher grade the camera is culminating with the 1D at some £5,400 just for the body. The ranges in the single digit are the top models and goes like 7, 6, 5 and then 1 so in reality yours is 2 steps up from mine and 1 step down from the top model.

Oh nooo... another rabbit hole. How can be possible? TEA is growing in all directions.
Got a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM about a year ago for 1100€ on evilbay when new it was 2K€. It was working fine then about 3 months ago I noticed the manual focus was skipping in one direction. Oh well I will send in for repair. Got the letter from Canon Deutschalnd back yesterday: USM, Stabilization System and IS are done. My budget was 250€ worst case for this repair. And here it comes... wait...

909,76€

to get the shit fixed, 376€ are labor work (4h) already included.

I know it's not an option for everyone, but I have subscribed to Canon's CPS Gold membership.  It provides a free clean and check for all gear which has coverage, a sizable discount on repair and shipping plus expedited turnaround.  So far it has been a wash in terms of cost, but knowing that if the worst happens they can have a repair or loaner in my hands quickly makes for peace of mind.  They'll also do an estimate if you're unsure about whether it's going to be worth it.

[beanflying]

Yeah, that's a tough call. Do you tell the unvarnished truth, or replace the switch on GP  to justify being there? Some clients require that I replace the part, no matter what. Some allow me to use my best judgement. Some tell me to err on the side of caution.

If I'm working for myself, I usually tell them the truth and let them decide if they want to pay X amount and probably be good to go, or X plus Y amount to have brand-new installed and not have to wonder how long it will last.

Surprisingly, I often get the latter... and I either put the old part in my stash of emergency spares or in the new part box and hand it to the customer, as they choose.

mnem
"Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick any two."

Would have added $25-40 of Switch to the job and taken another 15 minutes to fit resulting in even more Dairy Farmer (most sooky) unhappiness. The contacts and the switch bodies on these are open to insects of all sorts including spiders of the nasty bitey kind. Normally the spring would smoosh (technical term) them into pulp and the 240V induced spark would bake their bodies away but this earwig had enough exo skeleton to prevent the smooshing.