Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

OK....let me finish my coffee and then I'll go take a shower. 

[Cerebus]

I use only the finest MANCO Duck Tape for my empirical engineering (and YES... that IS the correct term, NOT DUCT TAPE. MANCO Invented the stuff) exploits & misadventures... unless Grrilla Glue or Hot-Snot is called for. 

I think he was refering to HPHT, not Gaffer tape.

[BU508A]

OK....let me finish my coffee and then I'll go take a shower. 

With soap?   

[VK5RC]

I get very confused re the names of the tapes, I thought Duct/Duck tape was plastic only and the cloth based tape was called Gaffer, but a quick google has me fuddled, The Duck company website https://www.duckbrand.com/about
Has has early ww2 photos of guys using a cloth tape, and they called it Duct tape early on.
Sincerely confused!
Rob

[McBryce]

I don't think there's a real definition to duct or gaffer tape, both got named for very unspecific reasons. Duct tape because it was used on ducting and gaffer tape because the Gaffer (head electrician in the film industry) used it.


McBryce.

[McBryce]

Any German colleagues here looking for a reasonably priced Keithley 2700?

https://www.ebay.de/itm/114010259493

McBryce.

[BU508A]

Any German colleagues here looking for a reasonably priced Keithley 2700?

https://www.ebay.de/itm/114010259493

McBryce.

Any idea where to source a VFD for them? I think, these VFD are compatible with the 2100, aren't they?

[McBryce]

No idea, but at that price it might be worth taking the chance anyway. I already have a Keithley 2000, otherwise I would have taken one of them (he actually has two on offer).

McBryce.

[tautech]

Whatever the old Yahoo group was called. Dunno what it's called now because I left that group way back before Yahoo shut down their groups.

The owner of old Yahoo TekScopes is now moved to group.io -> https://groups.io/g/TekScopes/

Older members automatically subscribed, all you need to activate at group.io.

When I left that group years ago I asked to be removed from the list because I didn't want to continue to receive the e-mails. But I see now you can opt out from receiving them. Was reading a few posts just for giggles and someone asked if bringing up a 465 on a variac was OK and got a response that the 465 has a switch mode supply and it will damage it. Duh.  The 465 has a linear supply and luckily someone corrected him.

The reason I'm still subscribing is because it has quite big of photos & files collections library regarding old Tek stuffs.

I don't see the point now the Tek wiki is available:
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Main_Page

[BravoV]

Whatever the old Yahoo group was called. Dunno what it's called now because I left that group way back before Yahoo shut down their groups.

The owner of old Yahoo TekScopes is now moved to group.io -> https://groups.io/g/TekScopes/

Older members automatically subscribed, all you need to activate at group.io.

When I left that group years ago I asked to be removed from the list because I didn't want to continue to receive the e-mails. But I see now you can opt out from receiving them. Was reading a few posts just for giggles and someone asked if bringing up a 465 on a variac was OK and got a response that the 465 has a switch mode supply and it will damage it. Duh.  The 465 has a linear supply and luckily someone corrected him.

The reason I'm still subscribing is because it has quite big of photos & files collections library regarding old Tek stuffs.

I don't see the point now the Tek wiki is available:
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Main_Page

It is, my interest mostly on member's contributed photos or files like firmware and etc, that Tek wiki is just plain standard reference, just like a Tek's brochures.

[Zucca]

A lazy ebay seller did not respond to any my messages for weeks and I opened a case in Ebay.
He still not responding, tomorrow I can call the Ebay cops to step in.

The problem was I did not received the device I paid for, but yesterday bingo it is here (I hope it will work)

I am temped to still call the ebay police to teach him a lesson, he did not even bother to give me a tracking....

Am I a bastard or an equalizer?

[BU508A]

Am I a bastard or an equalizer?

Yes.

  

[xrunner]

Am I a bastard or an equalizer?

You're a TEA member - that covers it all. 

[worsthorse]

WH...I see you're getting some good advice over here...

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tektronix-184-restoration/


And it's not surprising that you struck out on the other Tek group. A bunch of old fart primadonna's over there who are tight lipped with info unless you're part of the "in crowd". I found that out years ago when I first got the 2465 DMS. Only once did someone give me some good info on calibrating the Counter/Trigger option without thousands of dollars of TE. The rest of the time it was crickets and I'm sure those clowns were holding out on me. I may be an old fart myself but I'll always freely exchange my knowledge. 

Do you mean TekScopes? Because that's not the experience I've had at all there.  They were extremely helpful when I posted about searching for my first 7000 series mainframe, and I ended up purchasing my 7904A subsequently from list member.

My experience on TekScopes has generally been reasonable. The denizens seem helpful and there is a wealth of information in the archives. The OP (presumably WH) even thanked one person for their response to the question

I don't expect an answer to every question I ask, of course.

Yes it was me. I am grateful for, and try to acknowledge, whatever help I get whenever I post.

I also, honestly, haven't ever got many responses to my questions there.  That's not unique to that forum.  I imagine that stuff, like the calibration gear I find fascinating and fun to work on, isn't the sort of thing they are interested in talking about or helping out with anymore. Not my approach to things but is what it is.

[0culus]

I've found that, particularly on specialized mailing lists, you have to be a bit patient and wait for the right person to read your inquiry.

My experience on TekScopes has been positive, and not just because I was buying something. I learned a lot about different 7k models and which ones have pitfalls that may not be obvious to the newcomer. Made a couple of friends along the way, too, that I converse with via email outside the list.

[mnementh]

I don't think there's a real definition to duct or gaffer tape, both got named for very unspecific reasons. Duct tape because it was used on ducting and gaffer tape because the Gaffer (head electrician in the film industry) used it.


McBryce.

No, actually, the thing commonly called "duct tape" (or my favorite, NASCAR tape) was originally created for the US Military by Anderson tape MFG during WWII, on request for a waterproof sealing tape that could be used for temporary repair of tents and tarps, etc. This came to be known as "Duck tape" from the saying that it sealed "tighter than a duck's arse, and that's watertight", and would even seal when wet. It came to be used for sealing metal ductwork after the war, and then came about the whole "Duck Tape/Duct Tape" argument.

During the evolution of the companies involved, different colors evolved from the original GI Tan & Olive Drab to grey and silver for its popular use in ductwork, to black/white/blue for its use in music, theatrical and film productions. It was sometime around the age of Star Wars that descendant company MANCO made the "Duck Tape" name official and introduced a variety of colors for the consumer market.

mnem
Tape that duck!!!

[mnementh]

A lazy ebay seller did not respond to any my messages for weeks and I opened a case in Ebay. He still not responding, tomorrow I can call the Ebay cops to step in.The problem was I did not received the device I paid for, but yesterday bingo it is here (I hope it will work) I am temped to still call the ebay police to teach him a lesson, he did not even bother to give me a tracking....
Am I a bastard or an equalizer?   

Post factual feedback; a neutral rating is reasonable since it DID arrive eventually. Something to the effect of "VERY late shipping;seller zero response after many inquiries.Would NOT DBA." Also give low stars on both delivery time and communications brackets.

Then get on with your life. 

mnem
Do I really want to try and fix this prehistoric TV...?

[Mr. Scram]

No, actually, the thing commonly called "duct tape" (or my favorite, NASCAR tape) was originally created for the US Military by Anderson tape MFG during WWII, on request for a waterproof sealing tape that could be used for temporary repair of tents and tarps, etc. This came to be known as "Duck tape" from the saying that it sealed "tighter than a duck's arse, and that's watertight", and would even seal when wet. It came to be used for sealing metal ductwork after the war, and then came about the whole "Duck Tape/Duct Tape" argument.

During the evolution of the companies involved, different colors evolved from the original GI Tan & Olive Drab to grey and silver for its popular use in ductwork, to black/white/blue for its use in music, theatrical and film productions. It was sometime around the age of Star Wars that descendant company MANCO made the "Duck Tape" name official and introduced a variety of colors for the consumer market.

mnem
Tape that duck!!!

As charming as that story is it's apparently called after duck cloth. That story won't quite make the same impact on birthdays though.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duct_tape

[Mr. Scram]

Just saw the exit polls. Bloody hell.

[bd139]

Indeed. Watch over the next few weeks. https://www.gov.uk/challenge-election-result among other interesting things which will happen. This is not over yet!

[med6753]

Looks like you guys are going Brexit. IMHO...not a good thing. 

[bd139]

We’ll be with you guys in FVEY. Welcome to airstrip one in Oceania.

At least my Elecraft bill might be cheaper 

[med6753]

We’ll be with you guys in FVEY. Welcome to airstrip one in Oceania.

At least my Elecraft bill might be cheaper 

You're already with us in FVEY. Does that mean we'll have to send you foreign aid? 

[bd139]

Yes. Just don’t send us corn dogs 

For the non U.K. folk, watch the following map build up over the next few hours. The blue bits are where you don’t want to come and visit if you come here  https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2019/dec/12/uk-general-election-2019-full-results-live-labour-conservatives-tories

[Specmaster]

excuse my ignorance, but WTF is FVEY