Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

I'd rather kill myself than get stuck on a floating tin can full of norovirus

[tggzzz]

Oh, further west than Reading as well, still can't help but think that is like hard work just to get to play around with a radio and nothing worth listening to on it when you get it working, I mean its not even stereo or good music when you find a signal, I'd rather tune in to Med's all night-bender getting his arse chewed upon by a police K9 

Hahaha. It’s hard work for sure but keeps you alive. What’s life without a challenge?

A cruise? 

No. The question was about life, not living death or purgatory.

Having said that, cruising down the Kerala backwaters and Greek island hopping are fun. But they are short duration trips and you aren't sheperded on/off the prison boat by the purser. (The purser is always the last back on board, because he had to collect his tips from the shops the sheeple visited)

[Specmaster]

I'd rather kill myself than get stuck on a floating tin can full of norovirus

Far more challenging to try and survive that floating tin can of possible death, at least you stand a chance of living to tell the tail, and the other option is that you'll die anyway, now that's a challenge   

[xrunner]

Any TEA members need a sildering station? If you do I found one -

Sildering Station

[tggzzz]

It’s difficult to tell the difference between ham and gammon here 

This is great. S0 noise on all bands.

It would help if you connected an antenna. 

LMAO I actually thought something was broken but tuned it up, flat 1.1 SWR and made an SSB contact to a special event station here. Then to someone in France. Gave up after that as there was some interference from horse flies. 

Attached operating position photo. Bliss. Apart from the fucking flies. And yes those are gallows

Now are you ever going to laugh at people wearing traditional Australian hats?



I used to, but then I visited Myvatn in Iceland. Myvatn = midge lake, but they are midges on steroids and head straight up the CO2 gradient then make for the eyes. Sunglasses are no impediment, but it helps to stand upwind of other people.

[Specmaster]

Now are you ever going to laugh at people wearing traditional Australian hats?



I used to, but then I visited Myvatn in Iceland. Myvatn = midge lake, but they are midges on steroids and head straight up the CO2 gradient then make for the eyes. Sunglasses are no impediment, but it helps to stand upwind of other people.

I suppose the object there is to flail the little buggers to death with the beads on the tassels?

[bd139]

Now are you ever going to laugh at people wearing traditional Australian hats?



I used to, but then I visited Myvatn in Iceland. Myvatn = midge lake, but they are midges on steroids and head straight up the CO2 gradient then make for the eyes. Sunglasses are no impediment, but it helps to stand upwind of other people.

That's not a terrible idea that one.

We have a mosquito problem here unfortunately. I independently discovered the CO2 thing with them. I will quite happily sit there and bait them with my breath and grab 'em mid air.

[Specmaster]

Grab one of those electronic bug zapper bats, switch it on and swot them on the wing and shout "Frying Tonight" as they cook on the bat 

[tggzzz]

Now are you ever going to laugh at people wearing traditional Australian hats?



I used to, but then I visited Myvatn in Iceland. Myvatn = midge lake, but they are midges on steroids and head straight up the CO2 gradient then make for the eyes. Sunglasses are no impediment, but it helps to stand upwind of other people.

That's not a terrible idea that one.

We have a mosquito problem here unfortunately. I independently discovered the CO2 thing with them. I will quite happily sit there and bait them with my breath and grab 'em mid air.

I believe, but fortunately can't verify, that corks swinging a eye-level would be more effective than those plastic beads. But the image is from https://www.souvenirsaustralia.com so it is reasonable to presume that hat is as effective as a plastic bullfighting sword in Spain.

ISTR the little big buggers use the CO2 gradient at a distance, then switch to IR nearby.

[bd139]

Heat seeking bastards! 

[mnementh]

This is great. S0 noise on all bands.

It would help if you connected an antenna. 

I was about to say "I think your paper clip fell out of the back", but not sure if the old "I got this tuning off a paper-clip" thing is still even a thing...   

Random Personal Confuser Annoyance Time...



Has anybody else had a problem with the cursor randomly injecting shit like this when attempting to highlight text? It's almost like instead of highlighting the text, it's selecting some random snippet of html UNDER the visible text. The mouse is NOT jumping, and it is not a mis-click. Click & Hold is disabled. Sometimes it does this with no mouse click at all; just moving the cursor over text brings up snippets of html that appear to reference objects like the one above.

*sigh*

I originally thought it was maybe my old several-times-upgraded Win10 build or latent hidden drivers screwing stuff up, or possibly a fault in my gaming mouse driver. But THIS is a brand-new build of Win10 [Version 10.0.17763.615] & FireFox (always updated), never been run with anything but a plain-vanilla Dell optical mouse. I've been experiencing this randomly for months and months.

Hmmmm... Guess I need  to try other browsers, and hang out on other forums to see if this is browser or site-specific. 

mnem

[bd139]

Not seen that particular pain in the arse yet. I hope it doesn’t materialise as that’s one of those things that makes you want to drop kick the bugger over a wall.

Attacking the Tek 475 this evening. Fingers crossed.

[BU508A]

Hahaha. It’s hard work for sure but keeps you alive. What’s life without a challenge?

Want a challenge? Here we go, found this one on Amazon UK for ca. 10 Pounds:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/BigMouth-Ultimate-Wine-Bottle-Glass/dp/B00BCQ4D9A  <-- probably pun intended 

[bd139]

Been there done that challenge. I once drank so much vodka (around a litre) that I actually fought a moving train. I lost but was not seriously injured. I stopped drinking then 

[BU508A]

I'm pretty sure, the train was very glad to hear this. 

[bd139]

I think for the train it was a normal Saturday night in London

Forgot to post the hamfest gubbins earlier. I appear to have lost the crystal filters i got. Sure they will turn up somewhere.

£2 each:



May be an alterior motive to purchasing these, starting with E and ending with Y  (this is the sort of stuff that keeps me in test gear)

[bd139]

Definition of a bad tek day. Started playing with the 475 and the HT has given up suddenly. Had to strip it this far so far just to disconnect the multiplier 



Edit: unfortunately this one is a write off. The HV transformer is duff. Winding that supplies the multiplier is gone. I disconnected the mutliplier, no trace. Checked winding. Open circuit. Oh well was worth a £5 risk.

[med6753]

We are brothers in arms when it comes to "Tek Blues". One of my 465B's is starting to throw some temper tantrums with the power supply. It's in the project/repair cue. At least the recently repaired 7904 is going strong. 

This is what the lady got me for a birthday present. A sort of all in one electronics tool kit. The vast majority tools I already have but this kit has some useful stuff like plastic pry bars for taking apart things like smart phones/tablets. Also a great selection of miniature and unique bits like torx, star, etc. No "security bit" but you rarely see them anyway. The kit is Chinese (of course) but seems decent quality.



   

Edit......big time sucko with your 475 and the open HV transformer. Looks like that guy is a parts mule. 

[BU508A]

Today I was looking for a book and found in a box these nice ones:

Some journals from 1937 - The Telefunken Vacuum-Tube



Rothe / Kleen - A standard in vacuum tube electronics

Book 1:
Pity, I do not own this one.

Book 2, 1943:


Book 3, 1944:


Book 4, 1940:


Book 5, 1941:


Fundamentals of Electron Devices from McGraw-Hill, 1962


Vacuum tubes and their circuits, 1962


And another standard book: Barkhausen - Textbook of Vacuum Tubes - General Fundamentals, Book one, 1962


Transmitter Tubes, 1951


And one of my favourite books ever: Meinke/Gundlach - High Frequency engineering pocketbook, 1962


Example: Antennas


Example: Vacuum tube made Flip-Flop


Hope I will find someday the book one from the Rothe / Kleen series to a reasonable price.

[bitseeker]

What’s life without a challenge?

A cruise? 

Yes!

[Specmaster]

We are brothers in arms when it comes to "Tek Blues". One of my 465B's is starting to throw some temper tantrums with the power supply. It's in the project/repair cue. At least the recently repaired 7904 is going strong. 

This is what the lady got me for a birthday present. A sort of all in one electronics tool kit. The vast majority tools I already have but this kit has some useful stuff like plastic pry bars for taking apart things like smart phones/tablets. Also a great selection of miniature and unique bits like torx, star, etc. No "security bit" but you rarely see them anyway. The kit is Chinese (of course) but seems decent quality.



   

Edit......big time sucko with your 475 and the open HV transformer. Looks like that guy is a parts mule. 

Like meters, can never have too many tools.

[bitseeker]

I'd rather kill myself than get stuck on a floating tin can full of norovirus

That's a bad cruise, indeed.

[bitseeker]

This is what the lady got me for a birthday present. A sort of all in one electronics tool kit. The vast majority tools I already have but this kit has some useful stuff like plastic pry bars for taking apart things like smart phones/tablets. Also a great selection of miniature and unique bits like torx, star, etc. No "security bit" but you rarely see them anyway. The kit is Chinese (of course) but seems decent quality.

   

Like meters, can never have too many tools.

But then there's the rule that regardless how many tools you have, you'll still not have the right one when you need it most.

(Yeah, Murphy's half-brother or something.)

[0culus]

Awwwwww yeah....some quality RPN goodness incoming. 

[Neomys Sapiens]

I only managed to relieve three guys of their unwanted adaptors. Although my mind refuses the existence of such a thing. And snagged some cheap dental tools, of which most are the really usable types (some as scratching/trace cutting tools, some really fine hooks for lifting a SM foot and some lever-like types)

And a Belzer cable shear-cutter of which I did not even know that it exists. I already had it's larger sibling (240mm), but this one is about 170mm, so it is really handy.

BTW: is anyone around here in posession of a good HP filter of around 1100...1200MHz? And maybe willing to lend it to me? Full responsibility for it's wellbeing or replacement taken and all costs covered! A band reject blanking 980...1200MHz would also do.