Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

16-bit with some pretend 32-bit features. Plus it was slow, ran QDOS and Sinclair was involved 

https://youtu.be/hrj-EEnsacQ

^^^ blew everything away instantly. Some TE and electronic manufacturing pron in that video too.

Wooo... 640 x 256 pix-ells... and don't forget your pud-ules... 

No... I get it. I futzed around with a number of RISC minis at University. It was revolutionary at the time. In principle. It's also where I developed this little twitch... not because of the potential, but how everything connected to those machines was realized. It's like they were designed by people who hated the machines and the people who used them. 

mnem
Don't look at it!!!

[worsthorse]

Was mucking about on my bench tonight... is it possible that I really measured a 2Vpp 60Hz signal between neutral and earth ground or did I do something stupid? It has been a long day and I assume I am...

I was setting up the scope to do some A+B measurements on the 184 power supply and I had a scope probe hooked up between AC mains neutral and earth ground.  I wasn't imagining it, for when I unplugged the equipment from the mains, the trace went flat.

[tautech]

Was mucking about on my bench tonight... is it possible that I really measured a 2Vpp 60Hz signal between neutral and earth ground or did I do something stupid? It has been a long day and I assume I am...

I was setting up the scope to do some A+B measurements on the 184 power supply and I had a scope probe hooked up between AC mains neutral and earth ground.  I wasn't imagining it, for when I unplugged the equipment from the mains, the trace went flat.

Quite possible and nutthing to be overly concerned about at those levels.
Pop a load across it and then measure what's there. 

[bitseeker]

My favorite... my go-to pan... is the Chatham 11" griddle. I cook everything on it except eggs & spaghetti sauce. My OTHER favorite is the 8" frypan... this is literally the PERFECT 3-egg pan. A little butter, cover & cook on low-med head until the edges get lacy, then uncover, wait 30-ish seconds for the steam to evaporate, and wiggle the pan a little to break it loose. Either serve as is for over-medium or a quick swish-&-flip to make manhole covers the way my wife likes.  Literally NO UTENSILS REQUIRED...

Yum! Breakfast at mnem's for perfect eggs.

[beanflying]

My favorite... my go-to pan... is the Chatham 11" griddle. I cook everything on it except eggs & spaghetti sauce. My OTHER favorite is the 8" frypan... this is literally the PERFECT 3-egg pan. A little butter, cover & cook on low-med head until the edges get lacy, then uncover, wait 30-ish seconds for the steam to evaporate, and wiggle the pan a little to break it loose. Either serve as is for over-medium or a quick swish-&-flip to make manhole covers the way my wife likes.  Literally NO UTENSILS REQUIRED...

Yum! Breakfast at mnem's for perfect eggs.

I am concerned about the lack of Bacon specific mentions since he went North of the Border #spagettiisnotasubstituteforbacon 

Making the new lot of bitey blighters walk the plank to a mobile home. Taking their time but fairly calm about it 

[bitseeker]

Here's a gen-you-wine blast from the past...

https://youtu.be/Vai9bdnw_uo?t=806

I started it it t=806 because it's time to play Spot the Test Equipment as they visit a lab at Stanford. 

Back on topic, surprised no one commented on the neat gear in that lab.

That's because most of it is now in OUR labs. 

mnem
 

Spot on exactly what crossed my mind as the camera was panning the lab.

[med6753]

Was mucking about on my bench tonight... is it possible that I really measured a 2Vpp 60Hz signal between neutral and earth ground or did I do something stupid? It has been a long day and I assume I am...

I was setting up the scope to do some A+B measurements on the 184 power supply and I had a scope probe hooked up between AC mains neutral and earth ground.  I wasn't imagining it, for when I unplugged the equipment from the mains, the trace went flat.

Quite possible and nutthing to be overly concerned about at those levels.
Pop a load across it and then measure what's there. 

Agreed. The only place the neutral and ground should be connected is at the breaker panel. So there could be a considerable amount of wiring to your outlet and while the total resistance is low there would be a potential (but small) difference. 2V p-p doesn't sound unreasonable.

[tautech]

Making the new lot of bitey blighters walk the plank to a mobile home. Taking their time but fairly calm about it 

Nice. 

Totally new swarm or bees from the old hive returning ?
Leave the hive box there for a few days if you can so they well and truly make it their home before shifting them on one evening after tacking a door across their hive opening.

[beanflying]

New Swarm. The other one is happy 20km away. The owner of the Hive will pick it up in a couple of days then time for a few new weatherboards after some Ivy removal (Flamethrower would help).

Seems to have been a good year this swarm was #6 for him in the last two days and he has 5 more to get to. They are around 1k hives 

[tautech]

New Swarm. The other one is happy 20km away. The owner of the Hive will pick it up in a couple of days then time for a few new weatherboards after some Ivy removal (Flamethrower would help).

And burn the shed down. 

Honey bee swarms are pretty docile and I've even shaken a swarm off a branch without a sting and onto a sack on which their new hive was placed ready for them to shift in.

Seems to have been a good year this swarm was #6 for him in the last two days and he has 5 more to get to. They are around 1k hives 

Yeah swarming varies a bit from year to year but mostly it's a symptom of bee keepers not maintaining a lookout for queen cells this time of year.
I have a buddy with 500 hives up north in Manuka honey territory and he's always worried about his tax bill he's making such a killing. 

[SilverSolder]

[...] I have a buddy with 500 hives up north in Manuka honey territory and he's always worried about his tax bill he's making such a killing. 

We're obviously in the wrong line of business, @Tautech!

[mnementh]

My favorite... my go-to pan... is the Chatham 11" griddle. I cook everything on it except eggs & spaghetti sauce. My OTHER favorite is the 8" frypan... this is literally the PERFECT 3-egg pan. A little butter, cover & cook on low-med head until the edges get lacy, then uncover, wait 30-ish seconds for the steam to evaporate, and wiggle the pan a little to break it loose. Either serve as is for over-medium or a quick swish-&-flip to make manhole covers the way my wife likes.  Literally NO UTENSILS REQUIRED...

Yum! Breakfast at mnem's for perfect eggs.

I am concerned about the lack of Bacon specific mentions since he went North of the Border #spagettiisnotasubstituteforbacon 

   Making the new lot of bitey blighters walk the plank to a mobile home. Taking their time but fairly calm about it 

That's because I'm still close enough to the Dumbfuckistan border that all my favorite bits o' pig are still readily available, and at fair prices; bacon & eggs pretty much every day unless I'm in the mood for sausage (they have VERY GOOD breakfast faggots up here ) and/or bagels.

Cooking-wise, that's what the 11" Chatham griddle is for.  PERFECT size for 1lb of thick-cut, or 1/2-2/3 package of thin-cut bacon if I'm in the mood for crispy.

THERE... is that enough baconation for ya...?

HOLY FUCKING ASSCRACKERS!!! That actually WORKS...? Is there some form of pheromone you use to get them to shift to 'bugging out" mode or something...?

mnem

[mnementh]

   

Up on the bench this morning... a ORANGE CHEF Prep Pad. This was a kickstarter turned failure mode turned abandonware; I picked it up thrifting the other day for $4 not knowing its checkered past, only that it appears ridiculously over-engineered (machined from 2 slabs of aluminum and a food-grade phenolic surface... even a machined AL magnetic battery cover) and was pretty sure it was BT connected.

All the info I could find on it is in this github; it uses accelerometer data instead of a piezo transducer and appears that most of the important stuff is open datastream. Alas, my Kung-Fu is weak; I could understand about half of the gatt BT protocol stuff the guy is talking about and no idea if or how this thing can be made useful again even as a sideload app on android.

Considering it cost me $4, I'm down with it just being a nice, heavy, non-skid cutting board that happens to have some useless electronics inside; I was just wondering if any of you guys knew better than me. 

mnem
*drops back & punts*

[Cerebus]

I am concerned about the lack of Bacon specific mentions since he went North of the Border #spagettiisnotasubstituteforbacon 

You have to remember that 'merkin bacon is not quite the real thing^* (like 'merkin cheese); so much so that 'merkins use "Canadian bacon" as a generic for what the rest of the world thinks of as bacon. He's probably just taking a while to get used to the real thing and, pauses for a gasp, the dragon's taking it slowly on the bacon consumption until his taste buds adjust. 

^* I'm actually being serious here. 'Merkin bacon is like what we'd call in Britain streaky bacon. 'Merkin bacon is sliced cured pork belly, just the belly. Canadian bacon, or just 'bacon' in the rest of the world is the cured sliced loin of the pig with 10-12 inches of layered meat and fat from the back/side of the pig attached. So 'merkin bacon has a much higher proportion of fat to meat than 'bacon' or even British streaky bacon. 'Merkin cheese on the other hand is what they used to use to make white-wall tyres for Trabants and is not a foodstuff as the rest of the world recognises it.

[bd139]

'Merkin cheese on the other hand is what they used to use to make white-wall tyres for Trabants and is not a foodstuff as the rest of the world recognises it.

I'm inclined to agree there

[mnementh]

There is a thing called American cheese that is actual cheese; it is essentially very mild, un-aged cheddar cheese made of milk like any other cheese and sliced just like at the deli. I grew up on the stuff, but soon developed a taste for sharp cheddar and swiss, etc. This stuff has NOTHING to do with what is sold as "American Cheese" now; most of it is just whipped vegetable oil and they can't even legally call it cheese: they have to call it "pasteurized process cheese food" or some other ridiculous weasel-word marketeering  BS.

As for bacon... you know I love ya C, but fuck you man.  There is nothing WRONG with the cured fatback we 'merkins call bacon; it is just a different THING. What you call bacon we call "fried ham" or "frizzled hamsteaks"; and it is ALSO fucking awesome.

There's enough piggy love in my heart for both... I just try not to think of what goes on between "Wilbur" and the sliced deliciousness that is all my favorite bits o' pig. 

mnem
Also, WTFBBQ RIBS FTW!!!

[Cerebus]

There's enough piggy love in my heart for both... I just try not to think of what goes on between "Wilbur" and the sliced deliciousness that is all my favorite bits o' pig. 

I thought the bit  'between "Wilbur"' and a meal was a belching blast of searing hot flaming gas...

[worsthorse]

Was mucking about on my bench tonight... is it possible that I really measured a 2Vpp 60Hz signal between neutral and earth ground or did I do something stupid? It has been a long day and I assume I am...

I was setting up the scope to do some A+B measurements on the 184 power supply and I had a scope probe hooked up between AC mains neutral and earth ground.  I wasn't imagining it, for when I unplugged the equipment from the mains, the trace went flat.

Quite possible and nutthing to be overly concerned about at those levels.
Pop a load across it and then measure what's there. 

Agreed. The only place the neutral and ground should be connected is at the breaker panel. So there could be a considerable amount of wiring to your outlet and while the total resistance is low there would be a potential (but small) difference. 2V p-p doesn't sound unreasonable.

Thanks. Brain power significantly diminished last night. Hadn't considered the ohms between the socket at the bench and breaker at the panel. Onward!

[med6753]

'Merkin cheese on the other hand is what they used to use to make white-wall tyres for Trabants and is not a foodstuff as the rest of the world recognises it.

I'm inclined to agree there

Agreed, this shit called "American Cheese" isn't fit for consumption. Real Cheddar or IMPORTED Swiss on the other hand is good. DOMESTIC Swiss is shit too.   

[med6753]

Was mucking about on my bench tonight... is it possible that I really measured a 2Vpp 60Hz signal between neutral and earth ground or did I do something stupid? It has been a long day and I assume I am...

I was setting up the scope to do some A+B measurements on the 184 power supply and I had a scope probe hooked up between AC mains neutral and earth ground.  I wasn't imagining it, for when I unplugged the equipment from the mains, the trace went flat.

Quite possible and nutthing to be overly concerned about at those levels.
Pop a load across it and then measure what's there. 

Agreed. The only place the neutral and ground should be connected is at the breaker panel. So there could be a considerable amount of wiring to your outlet and while the total resistance is low there would be a potential (but small) difference. 2V p-p doesn't sound unreasonable.

Thanks. Brain power significantly diminished last night. Hadn't considered the ohms between the socket at the bench and breaker at the panel. Onward!

Also consider capacitive coupling to the hot wire too. And I can just about guarantee if you put any sort of load across it as Tautech mentioned that the voltage drops to zero...unless there's a fault.

[Cerebus]

Also consider capacitive coupling to the hot wire too. And I can just about guarantee if you put any sort of load across it as Tautech mentioned that the voltage drops to zero...unless there's a fault.

Called phantom voltage* by the Elec-chickens. Appears to be a voltage on the line if you read it with a meter, but it disappears like a ghost if you put a load across it.

*Not to be confused with the "phantom power" of the audio and telecoms world which is actually there but tries to appear as if it's not.

[nfmax]

This stuff has NOTHING to do with what is sold as "American Cheese" now; most of it is just whipped vegetable oil and they can't even legally call it cheese: they have to call it "pasteurized process cheese food" or some other ridiculous weasel-word marketeering  BS.

Meme bingo: Weasel cheese!

[Specmaster]

I am concerned about the lack of Bacon specific mentions since he went North of the Border #spagettiisnotasubstituteforbacon 

You have to remember that 'merkin bacon is not quite the real thing^* (like 'merkin cheese); so much so that 'merkins use "Canadian bacon" as a generic for what the rest of the world thinks of as bacon. He's probably just taking a while to get used to the real thing and, pauses for a gasp, the dragon's taking it slowly on the bacon consumption until his taste buds adjust. 

^* I'm actually being serious here. 'Merkin bacon is like what we'd call in Britain streaky bacon. 'Merkin bacon is sliced cured pork belly, just the belly. Canadian bacon, or just 'bacon' in the rest of the world is the cured sliced loin of the pig with 10-12 inches of layered meat and fat from the back/side of the pig attached. So 'merkin bacon has a much higher proportion of fat to meat than 'bacon' or even British streaky bacon. 'Merkin cheese on the other hand is what they used to use to make white-wall tyres for Trabants and is not a foodstuff as the rest of the world recognises it.

If Mr Johnson gets his way, we might have to resort to eating that Merkin bacon and Trabants white walls 

Edit: Just a thought, but I wonder if that Merkin Cheese is anything like the processed cheese slices that we slap on top of a burger over here?

[tggzzz]

I am concerned about the lack of Bacon specific mentions since he went North of the Border #spagettiisnotasubstituteforbacon 

You have to remember that 'merkin bacon is not quite the real thing^* (like 'merkin cheese); so much so that 'merkins use "Canadian bacon" as a generic for what the rest of the world thinks of as bacon. He's probably just taking a while to get used to the real thing and, pauses for a gasp, the dragon's taking it slowly on the bacon consumption until his taste buds adjust. 

^* I'm actually being serious here. 'Merkin bacon is like what we'd call in Britain streaky bacon. 'Merkin bacon is sliced cured pork belly, just the belly. Canadian bacon, or just 'bacon' in the rest of the world is the cured sliced loin of the pig with 10-12 inches of layered meat and fat from the back/side of the pig attached. So 'merkin bacon has a much higher proportion of fat to meat than 'bacon' or even British streaky bacon. 'Merkin cheese on the other hand is what they used to use to make white-wall tyres for Trabants and is not a foodstuff as the rest of the world recognises it.

You should also mention that the "curing" process includes salting, drying (unless it is that Danish abomination), and optionally smoking (or at least injected "essence of smoke).

The Danish bacon abomination was a marketing triumph from 40 years ago. They started injecting polyphosphate solutions (contemporary advert: "why sell meat when you can sell water"), which escapes and makes a white puddle when frying the Danish "bacon". The puddle mixed with the fat, flashes to steam, and spatters oil/water emulsion all over the hob/sideboard. Oh joy.

So they did a PT Barnum (white salmon marketed as "guaranteed not to go orange in the tin"), and heavy advertising persuaded twats that the sizzling sound was a virtue ("Danissssssh bacon").

As for cheese, general conclusions:

• best hard cheese: British
• best soft cheese: French and Italian
• American cheese: OK for gluing other cooking ingredients together; remarkable that people strived to make something with so little taste and texture. Poor in mousetraps: peanut butter is better
• other: avoid, except as a means of preserving milk

[bd139]

If Mr Johnson gets his way, we might have to resort to eating that Merkin bacon and Trabants white walls 

Edit: Just a thought, but I wonder if that Merkin Cheese is anything like the processed cheese slices that we slap on top of a burger over here?

We'll kill him first the flappy haired cunt. This shows you how fucked up the whole thing is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tufton_Street

Yes it's that cheese shaped crap. I've had both and compared

Major gear clear out here. This I assure you is temporary. Firstly to fund an IC-7300 as I've decided I'm going to be a good boy and save up first rather than whack it on a card. Secondly due to a recent family illness discovery which will result in me emptying out a house in the next 9 months  . Going to have too much to deal with on my hands.