Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Mr. Scram]

No.

You are (on the way to) an expert.

An expert is a person who made every possible mistake (Hans-Peter Dürr).

I don't feel they're mutually exclusive 

[mnementh]

Indeed. It's Sunday and I'm bored so I blew up a capacitor for the sake of forum and my children's education

This is a tiddler. The big ones will take your hand off.

https://youtu.be/SE0SfHuzkaU

Impressive demonstration and as you rightly said, a big one is capable of taking your hand off should it be in the vicinity of it, even at a low voltage like 32V, you don't want to pick a fight with with it.

Yup.

I especially love the retort from those old Sprague aluminum cans with the rim rolled around a phenolic plate to which the leads are riveted; it's like they DELIBERATELY designed it to be a pipe bomb. 


mnem
Electrons may be very, very small, but when they gang up on you they ALWAYS win.

[bitseeker]

Gentlemen, I'm afraid I have some bad news to tell you. I don't think there's an easy way of saying this, so I'll just get it out. Yesterday I found out I'm an idiot. It's hard to swallow, I know, but it's true.

Naw - fuses aren't for idiots they are for those of us that have the power of extreme concentration which crowds out all other matters. 

Now that description I like 

I'll agree it is very fair description. 

I also suffer from Extreme Concentration Syndrome. Perhaps it plays a role in the myriad other afflictions in the TEA Glossary.

[bitseeker]

That's why some of us make a fuss when people talk about welding up their own air compressor reservoirs from any old bits of scrap lying around, or proposes welding up a corroded through compressor reservoir with the cheap MIG welder they bought at the local big-box DIY store. Imagine what it's like when your little 5ml, 500um wall thickness aluminium pressure vessel gets scaled up to a 100l, 5mm wall thickness steel pressure vessel.

That's what keeps me from buying a compressor from Harbor Freight. Cheaptankexplosionphobia.

[bitseeker]

A new addition to the LED love-fest, a 3466A, batteries dead of course but replaced with eneloops easily. All working - within specs. Quick outside clean up.
One of the most unusual voltage setting systems - select 2 or 3 of 5 resistors for the 4 voltage settings.

What kind of batteries did the Eneloops replace? Did you have to adjust the charging current?

[Specmaster]

A new addition to the LED love-fest, a 3466A, batteries dead of course but replaced with eneloops easily. All working - within specs. Quick outside clean up.
One of the most unusual voltage setting systems - select 2 or 3 of 5 resistors for the 4 voltage settings.

What kind of batteries did the Eneloops replace? Did you have to adjust the charging current?

The battery was a small lead acid (sealed) one that was installed in a bracket attached to the top of the meter casing and was laying on its side.

[Mr. Scram]

That's what keeps me from buying a compressor from Harbor Freight. Cheaptankexplosionphobia.

If you're afraid of a cheap tank exploding, you should see the punch the more expensive sturdy ones pack when they go.

[bitseeker]

A new addition to the LED love-fest, a 3466A, batteries dead of course but replaced with eneloops easily.

What kind of batteries did the Eneloops replace? Did you have to adjust the charging current?

The battery was a small lead acid (sealed) one that was installed in a bracket attached to the top of the meter casing and was laying on its side.

I see. The charging current was OK for NiMH?

[Specmaster]

That's what keeps me from buying a compressor from Harbor Freight. Cheaptankexplosionphobia.

If you're afraid of a cheap tank exploding, you should see the punch the more expensive sturdy ones pack when they go.

Any pressurised container is capable of tremendous damage when the integrity of the vessel is interrupted, look at the incidences of pressured boilers , even a humble electric immersion water boiler can unimaginable when they get beyond a safe pressure, punching large holes in the fabric of a building and even I'm sure in some cases bringing it down when they let go.

[Specmaster]

A new addition to the LED love-fest, a 3466A, batteries dead of course but replaced with eneloops easily.

What kind of batteries did the Eneloops replace? Did you have to adjust the charging current?

The battery was a small lead acid (sealed) one that was installed in a bracket attached to the top of the meter casing and was laying on its side.

I see. The charging current was OK for NiMH?

I'm not sure as I replaced my lead acid with another lead acid, thus keeping its integrity.

[bitseeker]

Oh. OK, so the question is for Rob (VK5RC), then.

[bitseeker]

That's what keeps me from buying a compressor from Harbor Freight. Cheaptankexplosionphobia.

If you're afraid of a cheap tank exploding, you should see the punch the more expensive sturdy ones pack when they go.

What's a good alternative for pressurized air for occasional cleaning duties? Attach a hose to the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner?

[Mr. Scram]

What's a good alternative for pressurized air for occasional cleaning duties? Attach a hose to the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner?

Not being a wuss and getting on with it. As has been noted above, you have boilers and other devices in your home right now. There's plenty of safety measures implemented and if you're not being stupid, chances of something going wrong are slim to none. You're probably more likely to fatally trip over a multimeter.

[Specmaster]

That's what keeps me from buying a compressor from Harbor Freight. Cheaptankexplosionphobia.

If you're afraid of a cheap tank exploding, you should see the punch the more expensive sturdy ones pack when they go.

What's a good alternative for pressurized air for occasional cleaning duties? Attach a hose to the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner?

I have one of those pumps that you stand on the bottom (has 2 feet sticking out) and a large cylinder (plastic) with a piston in it that you pump up and down by hand and there is a short hose that is used for pumping up footballs and air beds etc. I find that you can get a quite good air flow from that and it is delivered from a fairly small nozzle so the pressure is good as well as the volume of air per pump stroke. The pump is also double acting so it pumps air on both the down ward stroke and the up stroke as well. The downside is that it does require 1 person to work the pump, and another to direct the nozzle where it is needed.

[Specmaster]

I would be surprised if one of those cheap air compressors from Harbor Freight and the like could realistically generate sufficient pressure to cause the tank to give way. I would expect that one would have to dramatically uprate the motor size etc before that was a real risk, never upgrade something like beyond what it was designed to do, playing with fire if anyone did that.

[Specmaster]

Well thats the third item on my Ebay list that I beaten at last second on, lets see what happens with the remaining 4 shall we, this is not helping my TEA much is it, I'm stagnating here through no fault of mine 

[Cerebus]

The downside is that it does require 1 person to work the pump, and another to direct the nozzle where it is needed.

Ideal for child labour then. 

[Specmaster]

The downside is that it does require 1 person to work the pump, and another to direct the nozzle where it is needed.

Ideal for child labour then. 

Precisely, my sons usually do one or the other functions, not sure if they qualify for child labour though, in their 30's 

[Specmaster]

Oh. OK, so the question is for Rob (VK5RC), then.

Does this line of questions mean that you just won a 3466A on Ebay UK then by any chance?

[bitseeker]

Nope, didn't win a 3466A. In true TEA fashion, I'm just as curious about others' acquisitions and mods in addition to my own. I have some 3478A, which don't have a battery option, hence the interest.

[bitseeker]

What's a good alternative for pressurized air for occasional cleaning duties? Attach a hose to the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner?

Not being a wuss and getting on with it.

Alrighty, then!

[Specmaster]

Oh I see, only I was pipped at the post in my attempt to acquire another one to keep the other one company 

[bd139]

Was that the HP one with the missing fuse holder? What did that go for in the end?

I won a buy it now finally. Been nearly a month now. Got a Fluke 8000A with the original 7 segment display where the segments are each made of two LEDs. Needs tidying up but is shown powered up and is listed as working. £26 was possibly a bit high but I figured the wife has spent more on ornaments that don’t do anything. 3.5 entire digits of cool 

The pile-o-Flukes is go again!

[Specmaster]

Was that the HP one with the missing fuse holder? What did that go for in the end?

I won a buy it now finally. Been nearly a month now. Got a Fluke 8000A with the original 7 segment display where the segments are each made of two LEDs. Needs tidying up but is shown powered up and is listed as working. £26 was possibly a bit high but I figured the wife has spent more on ornaments that don’t do anything. 3.5 entire digits of cool 

The pile-o-Flukes is go again!

Yes it was that meter and the bloody annoying thing is I missed it by 5p, it went for £33.55. There was also another Fluke 27, went for £39, grrr.

Was that 8000A the one from Amersham, the blue one? I looked at but decided against it because it has a manual switcher.

[neo]

Well i have found true obsession, i bought a fluke 8400A to fix my 8400A using funds that, technically, i don't have yet using bits and pieces of earlier conversations to give myself the answer i needed.