Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[maginnovision]

2% silver stuff is amazing. I bought a roll of this a while back to use on some old Tek stuff and it is just the best stuff to use: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/solders/1047303/ (Felder 62/36/2 RA 0.5mm)

Only problem is the price! I am using it to assemble my K2 which I think deserves decent solder unlike my shitty prototypes

Yeah, my 20 year old 2% silver roll is tucked away for only special duties. Works great on multi layer heat robbing PCB's. 

------------
Keeps looking over shoulder to judge if current leaded solder stocks will see me out or not.......probably, but what might the kids use when I'm pushing up daisy's ..............better get some more ! ASAP.

Yep I just did that. Bought ten rolls of 60/40 as backup off ebay. Specmaster took advantage of the deal as well but got a make an offer discount whereas I didn't 

I noticed there's usually lots of it at hamfests these days but it's probably got extra nicotine flux 

I don't even pay full price when they don't have the make offer button.

I don't either, cos I have a pay after delivery account so I get an extra 2 weeks credit. That's great, but it's easy to run up a bigger bill than you thought if not paying attention [emoji848]

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

That's one way to do it. I message sellers with no make offer button with... an offer. Usually works out.

[bd139]

Hell, lead is everywhere as roof flashings and even waste pipes from yesteryear and the only reason it's not still in common use is cost......and the loss of skills to work with it.

Or, as in my house, in the water supply from the road.

I've lived here for 30 years, and have been very sure to run the water for 1 minutes to clear the water out of those pipes.

Really ? 

I thought the Romans learnt the dangers of lead for water reticulation pipes, surely you house doesn't predate the Romans. 

Yeah same here when we moved in. I had the entire water supply ripped out all the way to the street.

That and I did the entire electrics again as it was a flipping fire hazard.

We've had some utterly stupid shit here in the UK.

[beanflying]

Hell, lead is everywhere as roof flashings and even waste pipes from yesteryear and the only reason it's not still in common use is cost......and the loss of skills to work with it.

Or, as in my house, in the water supply from the road.

I've lived here for 30 years, and have been very sure to run the water for 1 minutes to clear the water out of those pipes.

Really ? 

I thought the Romans learnt the dangers of lead for water reticulation pipes, surely you house doesn't predate the Romans. 

We had Lead pipe removed from a 1920's build House in Oz when Mum and Dad brought it in the 70's. Made a heap of sinkers with the leftovers

More scary was the cloth wiring in steel conduit 

[tautech]

Hell, lead is everywhere as roof flashings and even waste pipes from yesteryear and the only reason it's not still in common use is cost......and the loss of skills to work with it.

Or, as in my house, in the water supply from the road.

I've lived here for 30 years, and have been very sure to run the water for 1 minutes to clear the water out of those pipes.

Really ? 

I thought the Romans learnt the dangers of lead for water reticulation pipes, surely you house doesn't predate the Romans. 

Yeah same here when we moved in. I had the entire water supply ripped out all the way to the street.

That and I did the entire electrics again as it was a flipping fire hazard.

We've had some utterly stupid shit here in the UK.

Yep some old electrical shit here too. Still got a couple of circuits of steel conduit with cotton covered rubber insulated conductors that date back to 1935 when power first came through here. Dad was a wee lad of 4 and could still remember how it changed their lives with light at the flick of a switch even though he had to use a stick to reach it. 

Pulled some PVC's through a couple that looked a bit mangy on the ends when doing alterations a while back.

Of risk in later years was black rubber TPS that perished as the years went by and could arc between phase and earth which would start house fires.
They were the first things we replaced when moving in as newlyweds and luckily there were only a couple of circuits with it as we were on the bones of our arse in the early days.

More scary was the cloth wiring in steel conduit 

The steel conduit runs are pretty safe while a sound earth remains connected. 

[bd139]

Yeah scary isn't it. Makes you wonder how we survived as a species sometimes 

I think the thing that sticks in my mind is my grandmother standing on a step ladder to plug the (flammable) electric blanket into the light fitting.

[tautech]

Yeah scary isn't it. Makes you wonder how we survived as a species sometimes 

I think the thing that sticks in my mind is my grandmother standing on a step ladder to plug the (flammable) electric blanket into the light fitting.

Or the cast iron bed warmers they filled with hot fire coals to warm beds. 

No wonder city fires were so feared.

[bd139]

Yeah that's terrible.  I thought similar things when I heard of distributed power generation a few years back.  I think I'd rather have been cold! In the last 100 years we've sussed a lot of stuff really haven't we?

However it's quite scary when you think about the fact that the only times safety improvements actually get actioned in law are after someone lost their life. 1850-1990 or so was pretty hazardous 

[tautech]

Yeah that's terrible.  I thought similar things when I heard of distributed power generation a few years back.  I think I'd rather have been cold! In the last 100 years we've sussed a lot of stuff really haven't we?

However it's quite scary when you think about the fact that the only times safety improvements actually get actioned in law are after someone lost their life. 1850-1990 or so was pretty hazardous 

Sure but so much has been gained for the good of mankind.
I think about my gran too, born in the late 1890's and she saw developed in her lifetime; electrical power, lighting, reticulated water, electrically heated water and houses, washing machines, electric stoves, motorcars, diesel electric trains, telephone, radio, flushing toilets, man on the moon, computers and all manner of other inventions of which most involved electricity.
She passed at 96 some 25 years ago and happy with the cards she'd been dealt.
The 1900's were special times for all mankind and we have mostly electricity to thank for it.
History will show the greatest advances had been made then and it was a special time for anyone that lived through it.

[Mr. Scram]

Yeah that's terrible.  I thought similar things when I heard of distributed power generation a few years back.  I think I'd rather have been cold! In the last 100 years we've sussed a lot of stuff really haven't we?

However it's quite scary when you think about the fact that the only times safety improvements actually get actioned in law are after someone lost their life. 1850-1990 or so was pretty hazardous 

Makes you wonder what things we do currently will be viewed as idiotic in 50 years time.

[Specmaster]

Yeah scary isn't it. Makes you wonder how we survived as a species sometimes 

I think the thing that sticks in my mind is my grandmother standing on a step ladder to plug the (flammable) electric blanket into the light fitting.

Did she use one of these dreadful Y lamp holder adaptors?

Speaking of dodgy electrics, my sister in law rang me last night, just got back from a holiday in Madeira and turned her electrics on and found out she had no hot water. Popped round, thermostat reset had tripped, not sure why, no electrical leakage but piss poor earthing to the tank, earth just twisted onto an earth stud which is also loose as hell   That is how her plumber left it 2 years ago when she had a new water cylinder fitted. Going back today to fix the earthing but need to find a DP changeover switch so I can add in the 2nd immersion heater circuit that he disconnected as he only fitted a single socketed cylinder and tapped up the removed cable. I want to give her the option of adding in a quick temp boost during the day if required without running the risk of of the normal tarif supply back feeding to the economy 7.

[tggzzz]

Hell, lead is everywhere as roof flashings and even waste pipes from yesteryear and the only reason it's not still in common use is cost......and the loss of skills to work with it.

Or, as in my house, in the water supply from the road.

I've lived here for 30 years, and have been very sure to run the water for 1 minutes to clear the water out of those pipes.

Really ? 

I thought the Romans learnt the dangers of lead for water reticulation pipes, surely you house doesn't predate the Romans. 

I don't think they did understand the risks; they boiled food in lead-lined pans and liked the sweet flavour of lead suphate (IIRC)

Yeah same here when we moved in. I had the entire water supply ripped out all the way to the street.

I had the lead level measured, and it was just legal back then (not now). Tests after running the water were perfectly acceptable.

We've had some utterly stupid shit here in the UK.

When daughter was in a student house at university, the entire heating failed at the boiler.

She could still get hot showers in one bathroom; presumably that shower was fed from the adjoining house.

The main electrical supply cutoff switch was rusted. The technician took one look it, and ran away - said the electricity company would have to do it.

[tggzzz]

Yeah scary isn't it. Makes you wonder how we survived as a species sometimes 

I've got an old thick HMSO publication that shows pictures of building defects on one page, and description/remedies on the other.

It makes you wonder how houses ever stayed up, and saves a fortune in surveyors fees that would be wasted on houses you wouldn't buy.

[tggzzz]

Yep some old electrical shit here too. Still got a couple of circuits of steel conduit with cotton covered rubber insulated conductors that date back to 1935 when power first came through here. Dad was a wee lad of 4 and could still remember how it changed their lives with light at the flick of a switch even though he had to use a stick to reach it. 

I've seen single insulated wires supported in wooden E-profile conduits.

I've seen "two" conductor cables that looked reasonably normal - until you noticed the earth conductor was the lead sheath. Junction boxes were metal, with the earth continuity being made (allegedly) by low pressure compression contacts when the top/bottom of the box was screwed together.

Fortunately neither of those were in use.

[mnementh]

While in general I agree with this sentiment, lead is one thing I don't throw in that cauldron. It is as evil as mercury, and much less carefully handled in general.

Bottom line is we don't NEED lead for anything. There are better, safer products for almost everything we use it for. Contamination from batteries arises from the fact that we treat recycling as a BUSINESS, not as the public service it has to be for us to survive as a species. This means that recycled batteries get sent where there aren't any laws protecting people and the environment, recycled in a manner that poisons us all, and then most of that lead gets shipped back to us... all because this is still cheaper than fucking processing it ourselves safely. 

mnem
"Oh, I'm gonna be sore in the mornin'..."

Well yes and no.
You might be surprised that a big user of lead is the yachting industry where no other material offers the density of lead for keels at anything like its price point.

My buddy down the road uses lead fill for the hammers in his piling business, some of which are 3+ tonne each.

It'll always be part of our lives whether we like it or not...........oh and how many tonnes of it are driving around world roads as wheel balance weights ?

Still not a damned thing there we NEED lead for. It's just easier and cheaper, BECAUSE we don't factor the real cost of properly handling the stuff into the cost of what we use it for. During wartime, we managed quite well with iron and steel instead of lead for every damned thing in your list.

Yachting and pile-driving? SERIOUSLY? You're going to dig those out as "absolute must-haves" for lead? If we as a species are to survive, we will have to do better than than to allow rich-people hobbies and propping up bass-ackwards real-estate properties to be an excuse for not handling toxic materials safely.

Everything we call "progress" in the last 5 decades has come at the cost of NOT making the producers pay up front for the real production cost of what we use, because that would cut into the ungodly profits of a few hundred individuals whom we allow to own our governments.

Shockingly, we've managed to do more damage to the planet in my lifetime than all the preceding millions of years we've existed in any recognizable form. 

mnem
At least we excel at something... Yay us...?!?

[mnementh]

   Non Productive Afternoon     So many interesting data type channels to look at more closely around 433

So... how far away is the alien mothership, and have they taken over our satellite defense network yet? 

Yeah scary isn't it. Makes you wonder how we survived as a species sometimes 

I think the thing that sticks in my mind is my grandmother standing on a step ladder to plug the (flammable) electric blanket into the light fitting.

That's okay. We won't have to wonder that for much longer. 

mnem
 

[med6753]

While you guys were discussing (arguing?) the environmental impacts of lead I had to open windows to blow the stink out. Pretty big magic smoke release. Been a long time since the last one. Working on a 7A24 plug-in and for some reason the +15V v2 supply on the main board is a solid short to ground. Took out at 3.3mH inductor wound around a 10 ohm resistor in spectacular fashion. Gonna be fun trying to find the source as it supplies over half the board. Oh well. 

Geez....still stinks in here. 

Taaaaants to quote mnem.

Good luck with that one 

If only things were that simple. Not one tant in sight. Nor aluminum cap either. Something else decided to short. That's where I left it last night. Will work on it again today.

The package from Canada is out of delivery! 

[med6753]

Well, got lucky. I found the short. That big L bracket that bolts to the main board and the attenuator switch deck. I reassembled it with left screw on the board screw down and nut from the backside. Somehow....and I'm still not sure....it shorted the +15V to ground. Reassembled it with the nut on the front side as shown and short gone. Verified it with an external supply. It now comes up. Now I need to figure out a replacement for that burnt inductor/resistor combo.

[mnementh]

mnem
I tell ya; that NEVER gets old... 

[med6753]

Perfect! This scrap board has 4 of them. 3.2mH wrapped around a 10 ohm resistor. 

[mnementh]

Yeah that's terrible.  I thought similar things when I heard of distributed power generation a few years back.  I think I'd rather have been cold! In the last 100 years we've sussed a lot of stuff really haven't we?
However it's quite scary when you think about the fact that the only times safety improvements actually get actioned in law are after someone lost their life. 1850-1990 or so was pretty hazardous 

Makes you wonder what things we do currently will be viewed as idiotic in 50 years time.

Supply-side Economics, granting the liquid coal strip-mining... err, fracking industry a waiver to the Clean Air & Water Act, Computerized Voting Machines, not censoring Facebook to DEATH, believing Google when they said "Don't be evil" and at least a hundred different occasions we didn't march on Washington with torches and pitchforks immediately come to mind... and that's just MY generation. 

mnem
"When gravity fails and negativity don't pull you through..."

[med6753]

mnem
I tell ya; that NEVER gets old... 

Well, while you learned engineers stand around the water cooler discussing world economics and chemical safety this lowly technician is doing something productive so.......     

[med6753]

Busy day here. Canada Post showed up. Crusty old Heath OL-1 Scope and Heath V-7A VTVM. Plus a bonus....a CT-1 probe!

They are crusty and neglected but I see potential. Nice long term project.

Kosmic.....thanks so much to be willing to take the time to send them to me. Your packaging was EXCELLENT. Took me forever to get all the bubble wrap off. 

[mnementh]

   mnem   I tell ya; that NEVER gets old... 

Well, while you learned engineers stand around the water cooler discussing world economics and chemical safety this lowly technician is doing something productive so.......    

And with only a FEW casualties!!!    WELL DONE! 


And I'll have you know... I AM doing something VERY important. I'm shopping Anniversary Presents for my wife. 

mnem
 Lick me.    It's okay; I'm DC.

[mnementh]

Busy day here. Canada Post showed up. Crusty old Heath OL-1 Scope and Heath V-7A VTVM. Plus a bonus....a CT-1 probe! They are crusty and neglected but I see potential. Nice long term project.

   Kosmic.....thanks so much to be willing to take the time to send them to me. Your packaging was EXCELLENT. Took me forever to get all the bubble wrap off. 

Good luck my friend; those look to be quite the undertaking. It will be educational for all involved, and us innocent bystanders as well, I'll wager. 

mnem
 

[bitseeker]

I thought to myself for a long time now that I bet most if not all probes are made at the same place and big brands like Tek etc buy and badge them. I'm happy with my probes via ebay and seem to get good results with them.

Seems that way but it's not.

There's 3 or 4 eastern probe manufacturers, most are pretty easy to find but one of the biggest that make the P**** probes is not. You'll find them re-badged and sold under several names as well as their own.

There's some quite reasonable probes coming from this part of the world now.

Perhaps we need a "recommended" section on the OP for probes and other stuff. I have a couple of items in the Miscellany section that y'all have recommended, but maybe these good finds deserve their own section.

Thoughts?