Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

We're engineers here. Disposing of rats should have some mechanical or electrical properties at the very least

I propose microwave oven transformer, chicken wire and some beers 

[med6753]

We're engineers here. Disposing of rats should have some mechanical or electrical properties at the very least

I propose microwave oven transformer, chicken wire and some beers 

That has injury and ER visits written all over it. 

[Brumby]

The automotive variant: Car battery, ignition coil and a flasher can.

[bd139]

That probably sounds the most impressive.

This gets style points

[McBryce]

We're engineers here. Disposing of rats should have some mechanical or electrical properties at the very least

I propose microwave oven transformer, chicken wire and some beers 

If you're going to use microwave parts, you may as well make use of the Magnetron, not just the transformer.

McBryce.

[tggzzz]

Got rats? Get mink. 

Got mink, get cane toads?

[bd139]

Got rats? Get mink. 

Got mink, get cane toads?

Hahaha. That reminds me of my favourite video on the internet:

[Cerebus]

We're engineers here. Disposing of rats should have some mechanical or electrical properties at the very least rapid exothermic chemical reactions involved.

There, fixed that for ya!

[Cerebus]

That probably sounds the most impressive.

This gets style points

Half of me thinks that's probably cruel and faintly immoral, the other half is laughing out loud.

[Cerebus]

Got rats? Get mink. 

Got mink, get cane toads?

The problem with that philosophy is that it eventually, inevitably ends up with "Got Honey Badgers? Get an infantry battalion, an artillery regiment and the sappers.".

[Black Phoenix]

Half of me thinks that's probably cruel and faintly immoral, the other half is laughing out loud.

Come on, that thing really doesn't launch that far away and not with a lot of force, plus squirrels are very agile. He didn't suffer a lot. I was expecting a lot more force...

[capt bullshot]

I was intending to give you an update on how my work is totally taking care of the problem how to spend my time and energy, and report on how some people at work 'pulled a Elsie the Cow' (die Kuh Elsa) on me
....
And then OUR legal beagles start to play games over the signing of a NDA which would be a prerequisite to getting the abovementioned manufacturer to talk shop with me.
It is not that I need to dig to discover more related dung - it seems to be sufficient to stand near the shovel.

Someone had a short fuse? Got an open one to replace ...

[Black Phoenix]

What kind of thing is that monster that blow up protecting?

[bd139]

Looks like typical phase fuse on a bus bar. 630A is about right.

[mnementh]

We're engineers here. Disposing of rats should have some mechanical or electrical properties at the very least

I propose microwave oven transformer, chicken wire and some beers 

That has injury and ER visits written all over it. 

*sighs wistfully, thinking of his youth growing up in the wilds outside Pittsburgh* Ahhhh.... fun times...

mnem
moo?

That probably sounds the most impressive.

This gets style points

Half of me thinks that's probably cruel and faintly immoral, the other half is laughing out loud.

Half of you...? THAT MUCH...? Oh my... you have mellowed a bit during your time away from our little nuthouse... 

If you skip to 2:00 or so and do some PAUSE/PLAY abuse with the [SPACEBAR] you can see the moment of launch, then a frame where Rocket J. Squirrel seems to look right back at the camera, then some pretty impressive real-time organic computer PID loop operations and tail-powered moment-angle attitude control before it lands on its feet & scampers away.

I suspect if given a few more iterations, that squirrel will either develop a healthy distrust of white plastic cookware or an unhealthy addiction to being flung. 

mnem
*scritch-scritch-scratching at the back door*

"FUCK, Rocky, it's 2AM...! Go HOME!!!"

[mnementh]

Got rats? Get mink. 

Got mink, get cane toads?

The problem with that philosophy is that it eventually, inevitably ends up with "Got Honey Badgers? Get an infantry battalion, an artillery regiment and the sappers.".

AAAAND...? You're not showing me a down-side here...

mnem


*mnem's Internet Classics Power Hour*

[bd139]

Interesting fact. I was Weebl's sysadmin for a bit  ... back when it was called "new media" 

[capt bullshot]

What kind of thing is that monster that blow up protecting?

VFD (approx. child's coffin size) failure testing ... Can't provide more, videos and blown up DUTs  would look quite interesting.

This module wasn't blown in that test, this one is just a tiny little bit damaged in comparison.

[mnementh]

Interesting fact. I was Weebl's sysadmin for a bit  ... back when it was called "new media" 

You poor suffering bastard.  (And I say that with absolute sincerity; imagining the bandwidth they must've sucked during the Badgers and Kenya viral meme explosion )

mnem

[mnementh]

And Now for Something... Somewhat On Topic!



https://electronics360.globalspec.com/article/14251/100-years-of-the-theremin

mnem

[AVGresponding]

Oooh, semipacks... I don't miss having to replace those. Talk about the mess! Thermal paste everywhere, especially in places where you don't expect, and don't find until you see a blob on your sandwich...
Did you ever find one that the fuse had protected when it blew? I never did   

Also, I'll see your 630A and raise you this beastie:


One of a set of 3 (still intact) I keep meaning to put on fleabay and forgetting.   

[mnementh]

Jeebus... I bet the copper reclamation value alone of those is in the triple digits... 

mnem
 

[mansaxel]

Someone had a short fuse? Got an open one to replace ...

Impressive. My personal record is 315A, but that was three of them. And, we also triggered the 1250A circuit breaker that sat upstream. The EE surveying the problem (which turned out to be a busbar short on the load side of an UPS that the UPS compensated for by going into internal bypass and frying its solid state relays and the upstream fuses) muttered something about "improper selectivity" and reprogrammed the circuit breaker to be a tad slower to trig.

A problem that plagues three-phase systems, especially temporary ones, is the tendency to connect the big load on phase one, a boom box on phase two, and some festoon lights on phase three. Repeat for 10 consumers and you have one glowing and two idling phases. This had me swapping the phase one 150A fuse in a outside distro cabinet in a forest, in the middle of the night, in pitch black darkness. Except for the photons from one small Maglite.

[worsthorse]

I am scared of the outcome as such. Having had a deep technical discussion on the witch computer and written a python virtual machine which is similar to it, I propose that I may end up with several hundred dekatrons and a large electricity bill if I buy one

A1: you would soon sell it to get a Ge transistor serial machine, e.g. an Elliott 803 in the next room to the Witch. (And then regret and make/buy another dekatron machine)

A2: I'll buy you one dekatron, if others chip in.

A3: ah, youngsters. No self-control.

Don't even start me on A1. I already have a copy of this downloaded and enough transistors stashed to build it! http://www.smrcc.org.uk/members/g4ugm/Manuals/wirelessworldcomputer.pdf

Oh I really wish I hadn't clicked on that link and looked at that. Really.   

[med6753]

I'm still waiting for the capacitors to arrive for the RCA 54-45 scope so in the meantime decided to perform so prep work.


On the rear panel where these jacks that provided 6.3VAC and (Yikes!) 400VDC. I'm never going to use them and in the interest of safety removed the entire assembly.




Next is the B+ capacitor can located under the CRT. It's a 4 section cap of 1-40uf/450V and 3-20uf/450V. In order to remove it the CRT has to come out. It took a lot of careful prying to get the CRT socket off. It was really jammed on tight. But it eventually came off without damage.




After removing the CRT and the filter capacitor this terminal strip was installed for the 4 new discrete filer caps. That's about it until the capacitor order arrives.