Cerebus, bd139, Ice-Tea, med6753, Specmaster, Robert763, GioCosco, cyclin_al, 25 CPS, mnementh, Eric-H, Ismo and 77 Guests are viewing this topic.
Yes, but my point was that the entire MHz Hz part of the MHz symbol is a single custom character in a custom font, purpose-made and baked into the silicon, just so they could fit it all in the space of one character; and that they did this so it could be generated fast enough to render legibly in the space between sweeps on a 400MHz scope. In the age of the VIC-20 and Commodore-64.Now THAT is some fucking hardcore engineering, and it was on something so mundane, we don't even give it a second thought... things like THAT are what set Tek apart. mnem*Big fan of old school*
Quote from: med6753 on April 18, 2019, 02:19:27 pmQuote from: mnementh on April 18, 2019, 01:13:49 pmGuilty on all counts... though I've never done the last one as a permanent repair; only as a diag step. Well, okay... that's a lie. I've done it on stuff I never intended to let anybody else use but me. We've all MacGyver-fied stuff for our own use. And I've done some truly horrific stuff cutting & splicing to make power packs out of other power packs... Good / fast / cheap. Pick any two one. And hurry up; this POS already done pissed me off. You're just jealous of my booty fab skills. mnem*Hangs head in mock shame* Yep, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! Can I get a touche??? Nope. I'm gonna cling to my position with a death-grip: That particular "fix" is an order of magnitude more evil than anything I've ever done; it went way beyond "Bodge", "MacGyver-fying" or "Empirical Engineering" and landed squarely in the "Butchery / Ghetto-rigged" category... I get needing the instrument WORKING... But no reason in the world you couldn't have left that back cover off until you get around to fixing it proper with a new fan motor or source a squirrelcage fan of the proper dimensions to fit in that spacious cavity. Of course, this is coming from a guy who just spent $75 to ship a gift Tek 454... so judge my position accordingly. I know full well that half the allure of that hack for you was knowing that it would make me cringe so hard you could hear it from all the way over there. mnemHarrumphh!
Quote from: mnementh on April 18, 2019, 01:13:49 pmGuilty on all counts... though I've never done the last one as a permanent repair; only as a diag step. Well, okay... that's a lie. I've done it on stuff I never intended to let anybody else use but me. We've all MacGyver-fied stuff for our own use. And I've done some truly horrific stuff cutting & splicing to make power packs out of other power packs... Good / fast / cheap. Pick any two one. And hurry up; this POS already done pissed me off. You're just jealous of my booty fab skills. mnem*Hangs head in mock shame* Yep, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! Can I get a touche???
Guilty on all counts... though I've never done the last one as a permanent repair; only as a diag step. Well, okay... that's a lie. I've done it on stuff I never intended to let anybody else use but me. We've all MacGyver-fied stuff for our own use. And I've done some truly horrific stuff cutting & splicing to make power packs out of other power packs... Good / fast / cheap. Pick any two one. And hurry up; this POS already done pissed me off. You're just jealous of my booty fab skills. mnem*Hangs head in mock shame*
Quote from: bd139 on April 18, 2019, 01:42:02 pmOn scopes, I'm finding that the Tek 2225's trigger is a fuck load better than the Rigol one. Bear in mind it's a 50MHz unit it'll trigger up to 180MHz. Rigol one won't trigger at all on this particular waveform as it's got a high harmonic content unless I do a single capture. How did Rigol screw that up?Good triggering is often vital when debugging, and always was a strong point with Tek scopes.Here's an assessment: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/which-oscilloscope-to-choose-for-libs/msg772010/#msg772010which includes "Thus I used over 60 different customer supplied oscilloscopes. ... A surprising number of small 100 Mhz and up low end scopes, no matter what vendor, had lousy trigger hardware and even worse trigger software."
On scopes, I'm finding that the Tek 2225's trigger is a fuck load better than the Rigol one. Bear in mind it's a 50MHz unit it'll trigger up to 180MHz. Rigol one won't trigger at all on this particular waveform as it's got a high harmonic content unless I do a single capture. How did Rigol screw that up?
I've done the debugging I needed to do with the Rigol. Thinking of shifting it again. I lose £40 and gain a BM22s every time I flog one I bought so not the end of the world and I solved a difficult CAN bus problem in the car with it (citroen SMM was bloody wrong!). The audio control stalk refused to work with the new radio I put in it as the Citroen bluetooth receiver was a poppy pile of shit. Fucking wheeled computers. Hankering for a defender again now. All you needed to fix most things was a DMM and a hammer
Quote from: beanflying on April 18, 2019, 02:30:12 pmSomeone should really make @Med a nice 3DP Fan mount for that butchered horror show hack I'm game. What you got?
Someone should really make @Med a nice 3DP Fan mount for that butchered horror show hack
Better than the Italian POS I had before!
...At this point, the eyes of my young interlocutor glazed over, and I stopped ranting. And, yes, I need coffee.
Quote from: mnementh on April 18, 2019, 02:38:34 pm...I know full well that half the allure of that hack for you was knowing that it would make me cringe so hard you could hear it from all the way over there. mnemHarrumphh!You're just jealous of my booty fab skills.
...I know full well that half the allure of that hack for you was knowing that it would make me cringe so hard you could hear it from all the way over there. mnemHarrumphh!
Quote from: med6753 on April 18, 2019, 02:33:14 pmQuote from: beanflying on April 18, 2019, 02:30:12 pmSomeone should really make @Med a nice 3DP Fan mount for that butchered horror show hack I'm game. What you got? I need something dimensionally to work from and I don't own a Tek of that persuasion Failing that you do the drawings and someone might make it for you After midnight and I am waiting for the last Tek foot Cap to come off the printer Foreground is the 100% 3DP rear is the complete surviving original one.
Quote from: wch on April 18, 2019, 07:15:41 amSpent the evening with the guy who saved a workshop of electronics from a real estate agent's dumpster. Tested scopes, service monitors, power supplies and meters. I came away with a Fluke 8800 (working), HP3400A (not working), HP PSU (not working, don't remember the number) and he has three scopes, two service monitors, and a power supply to sell on ebay.The find of the evening came while we were sorting through boxes of printer switches, random power cords, etc:Damn if it didn't have the AC adapter still attached and lit up when I hit the power switch. Do you want it? I was just going to throw it in with a bunch of computers going to ecycle. I allowed as I would find it useful and set it aside.An HP45! Yes, the very same model my vo-tech instructor used to flaunt while checking our (slide-rule-calculated) quiz and test answers. I haven't seen one in more than forty years. It cost 395USD in 1973 and was the first calculator to have a shift keyHappily, the battery (last changed in 1986) didn't leak. Tomorrow I will figure out how to build a replacement battery pack and put it back into daily use.let me make a useful suggestion. those things have a way of slipping out of a pocket and landing smack in the middle of what would otherwise be a interesting TEA picture.get a good sharp 3/16" drill bit and place a hole between the 7 and 8 key. slip some paracord thru the opening and tie it securely. make the other end of the cord fast to something stout. (the trailer hitch on a pickup comes to mind).problem solved.ps that's why we are here...….to help people with their addictions...….and rpn is a disease.
Spent the evening with the guy who saved a workshop of electronics from a real estate agent's dumpster. Tested scopes, service monitors, power supplies and meters. I came away with a Fluke 8800 (working), HP3400A (not working), HP PSU (not working, don't remember the number) and he has three scopes, two service monitors, and a power supply to sell on ebay.The find of the evening came while we were sorting through boxes of printer switches, random power cords, etc:Damn if it didn't have the AC adapter still attached and lit up when I hit the power switch. Do you want it? I was just going to throw it in with a bunch of computers going to ecycle. I allowed as I would find it useful and set it aside.An HP45! Yes, the very same model my vo-tech instructor used to flaunt while checking our (slide-rule-calculated) quiz and test answers. I haven't seen one in more than forty years. It cost 395USD in 1973 and was the first calculator to have a shift keyHappily, the battery (last changed in 1986) didn't leak. Tomorrow I will figure out how to build a replacement battery pack and put it back into daily use.
Quote from: beanflying on April 18, 2019, 02:51:25 pmQuote from: med6753 on April 18, 2019, 02:33:14 pmQuote from: beanflying on April 18, 2019, 02:30:12 pmSomeone should really make @Med a nice 3DP Fan mount for that butchered horror show hack I'm game. What you got? I need something dimensionally to work from and I don't own a Tek of that persuasion Failing that you do the drawings and someone might make it for you After midnight and I am waiting for the last Tek foot Cap to come off the printer Foreground is the 100% 3DP rear is the complete surviving original one.You fuckers; now you're ganging up on me. You're gonna make me drag out my parts mule and figure out what he needs to fix it right, aren't ya? Bean, maybe you should move that OE foot up to the top row, so it's not the one that always gets whacked when you pick the beast up. That worked for several years on my 454 before the remaining ones crumbled of their own accord...mnem*Shuffle-shuffle... rummage-rummage...*
Quote from: Specmaster on April 17, 2019, 05:59:18 pmOk then here the photos of the 2 Solartron 7150 plus meters that I managed to win at last weeks auction. Those two are a stunning catch, nice one!I would have been worried by the fact they came from RAF Sealand. Being right by the sea in North Wales is hardly a friendly environment for any test equipment. The fact that the cases are pretty much sealed on the Solartrons is probably what saved them from becoming salty horrors inside.I'm calling today a winner. Took the car for its yearly inspection and it sailed through with no problems. Then I paid a visit to the local DHL depot to pick this up rather than wait until after Easter:Double win!
Ok then here the photos of the 2 Solartron 7150 plus meters that I managed to win at last weeks auction.
Oh yeh, enjoy your meter, I've got the same model, seems odd having effectively a bench meter capability in a handheld. It's a awesome meter indeed.
Quote from: nixiefreqq on April 18, 2019, 11:39:42 amQuote from: wch on April 18, 2019, 07:15:41 amAn HP45! Yes, the very same model my vo-tech instructor used to flaunt while checking our (slide-rule-calculated) quiz and test answers. I haven't seen one in more than forty years. It cost 395USD in 1973 and was the first calculator to have a shift keyHappily, the battery (last changed in 1986) didn't leak. Tomorrow I will figure out how to build a replacement battery pack and put it back into daily use.let me make a useful suggestion. those things have a way of slipping out of a pocket and landing smack in the middle of what would otherwise be a interesting TEA picture.get a good sharp 3/16" drill bit and place a hole between the 7 and 8 key. slip some paracord thru the opening and tie it securely. make the other end of the cord fast to something stout. (the trailer hitch on a pickup comes to mind).problem solved.ps that's why we are here...….to help people with their addictions...….and rpn is a disease.Only 1 problem with your post, that calculator regardless of it being RPN is never fitting anyone's pocket [emoji41]Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk
Quote from: wch on April 18, 2019, 07:15:41 amAn HP45! Yes, the very same model my vo-tech instructor used to flaunt while checking our (slide-rule-calculated) quiz and test answers. I haven't seen one in more than forty years. It cost 395USD in 1973 and was the first calculator to have a shift keyHappily, the battery (last changed in 1986) didn't leak. Tomorrow I will figure out how to build a replacement battery pack and put it back into daily use.let me make a useful suggestion. those things have a way of slipping out of a pocket and landing smack in the middle of what would otherwise be a interesting TEA picture.get a good sharp 3/16" drill bit and place a hole between the 7 and 8 key. slip some paracord thru the opening and tie it securely. make the other end of the cord fast to something stout. (the trailer hitch on a pickup comes to mind).problem solved.ps that's why we are here...….to help people with their addictions...….and rpn is a disease.
An HP45! Yes, the very same model my vo-tech instructor used to flaunt while checking our (slide-rule-calculated) quiz and test answers. I haven't seen one in more than forty years. It cost 395USD in 1973 and was the first calculator to have a shift keyHappily, the battery (last changed in 1986) didn't leak. Tomorrow I will figure out how to build a replacement battery pack and put it back into daily use.
Quote from: Specmaster on April 18, 2019, 03:09:30 pmQuote from: nixiefreqq on April 18, 2019, 11:39:42 amQuote from: wch on April 18, 2019, 07:15:41 amAn HP45! Yes, the very same model my vo-tech instructor used to flaunt while checking our (slide-rule-calculated) quiz and test answers. I haven't seen one in more than forty years. It cost 395USD in 1973 and was the first calculator to have a shift keyHappily, the battery (last changed in 1986) didn't leak. Tomorrow I will figure out how to build a replacement battery pack and put it back into daily use.let me make a useful suggestion. those things have a way of slipping out of a pocket and landing smack in the middle of what would otherwise be a interesting TEA picture.get a good sharp 3/16" drill bit and place a hole between the 7 and 8 key. slip some paracord thru the opening and tie it securely. make the other end of the cord fast to something stout. (the trailer hitch on a pickup comes to mind).problem solved.ps that's why we are here...….to help people with their addictions...….and rpn is a disease.Only 1 problem with your post, that calculator regardless of it being RPN is never fitting anyone's pocket [emoji41]Sent from my POT-LX1 using TapatalkNice try, but no cigar...From http://codex99.com/design/the-hp35.html"In what has to be one of the most famous design briefs in electronics history, Bill Hewlett asked Osborne and Cochran to shrink the 9100. “I want it to be a tenth of the volume, ten times as fast and cost a tenth as much.” Where Hewlett wanted the 9100 to fit in his secretary’s desk return, he wanted this new device to fit in his shirt pocket."Here's my first, and probably last selfie, of my HP35 in my shirt pocket Sent from my computer using WhackAKey.
Quote from: tggzzz on April 18, 2019, 03:41:20 pmQuote from: Specmaster on April 18, 2019, 03:09:30 pmQuote from: nixiefreqq on April 18, 2019, 11:39:42 amQuote from: wch on April 18, 2019, 07:15:41 amAn HP45! Yes, the very same model my vo-tech instructor used to flaunt while checking our (slide-rule-calculated) quiz and test answers. I haven't seen one in more than forty years. It cost 395USD in 1973 and was the first calculator to have a shift keyHappily, the battery (last changed in 1986) didn't leak. Tomorrow I will figure out how to build a replacement battery pack and put it back into daily use.let me make a useful suggestion. those things have a way of slipping out of a pocket and landing smack in the middle of what would otherwise be a interesting TEA picture.get a good sharp 3/16" drill bit and place a hole between the 7 and 8 key. slip some paracord thru the opening and tie it securely. make the other end of the cord fast to something stout. (the trailer hitch on a pickup comes to mind).problem solved.ps that's why we are here...….to help people with their addictions...….and rpn is a disease.Only 1 problem with your post, that calculator regardless of it being RPN is never fitting anyone's pocket [emoji41]Sent from my POT-LX1 using TapatalkNice try, but no cigar...From http://codex99.com/design/the-hp35.html"In what has to be one of the most famous design briefs in electronics history, Bill Hewlett asked Osborne and Cochran to shrink the 9100. “I want it to be a tenth of the volume, ten times as fast and cost a tenth as much.” Where Hewlett wanted the 9100 to fit in his secretary’s desk return, he wanted this new device to fit in his shirt pocket."Here's my first, and probably last selfie, of my HP35 in my shirt pocket Sent from my computer using WhackAKey.Well as it appens [emoji6] I have 2 of the old style HP calcs, one takes plug in cartridges and the other has the magnetic card reader/writer and if IIRC another standard scientific one, like your black one and I'd rather not pop any of them in my pocket. So I have some RPN calcs (HP not working, project's in waiting) but I do have somewhere a working Sinclair Scientific calculator which is RPN [emoji16] but prefer to use a normal calculator. Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk
Quote from: nixiefreqq on April 18, 2019, 11:39:42 amQuote from: wch on April 18, 2019, 07:15:41 amSpent the evening with the guy who saved a workshop of electronics from a real estate agent's dumpster. Tested scopes, service monitors, power supplies and meters. I came away with a Fluke 8800 (working), HP3400A (not working), HP PSU (not working, don't remember the number) and he has three scopes, two service monitors, and a power supply to sell on ebay.The find of the evening came while we were sorting through boxes of printer switches, random power cords, etc:Damn if it didn't have the AC adapter still attached and lit up when I hit the power switch. Do you want it? I was just going to throw it in with a bunch of computers going to ecycle. I allowed as I would find it useful and set it aside.An HP45! Yes, the very same model my vo-tech instructor used to flaunt while checking our (slide-rule-calculated) quiz and test answers. I haven't seen one in more than forty years. It cost 395USD in 1973 and was the first calculator to have a shift keyHappily, the battery (last changed in 1986) didn't leak. Tomorrow I will figure out how to build a replacement battery pack and put it back into daily use.let me make a useful suggestion. those things have a way of slipping out of a pocket and landing smack in the middle of what would otherwise be a interesting TEA picture.get a good sharp 3/16" drill bit and place a hole between the 7 and 8 key. slip some paracord thru the opening and tie it securely. make the other end of the cord fast to something stout. (the trailer hitch on a pickup comes to mind).problem solved.ps that's why we are here...….to help people with their addictions...….and rpn is a disease.Only 1 problem with your post, that calculator regardless of it being RPN is never fitting anyone's pocket [emoji41]Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk
Not too worried about surge as we have a surge protector built into our CU. Currently looking at these: https://www.brennenstuhl.com/en-AE/products/extension-leads/premium-line-extension-socket-6-way-5m-05vv-f-3g1-25-black-lightgrey-with-plug-gb ... CPC sell them. Made in Germany instead of China
I do have somewhere a working Sinclair Scientific calculator which is RPN [emoji16] but prefer to use a normal calculator. Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk
I had this discussion the other day... Why do you use this old stuff when you can buy a brand x fill-in-the-blank that does all that, is firmware upgradable, weighs a tenth as much, and has a color screen and wifi, to boot? Because...dollar for dollar, it generally works better, especially at the limits,it is often more reliable in the oops-i-shouldn't-have-done-that sense,it is thoroughly documented with schematics, BOMs, test procedures, and almost always, theory of operation information,it is repairable by design,it is more carefully manufactured, it was designed by people that used what they built, every single day.I am glad I own a Siglent SA that, for 1300USD, doesn't take a lot of square inches of bench, and works well enough for ninety-five percent of what I do. But it is, for the most part, an unfathomable, unrepairable, unmodifiable (except by accident) black box. More importantly, it is not a joy to operate because Siglent's objectives are quite different from those of the people that designed and built my big, heavy, beautiful 475 and it shows in every way.At this point, the eyes of my young interlocutor glazed over, and I stopped ranting. And, yes, I need coffee.