Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[AVGresponding]

No, I meant ginger ale.

Ginger beer is hard to find, and expensive (comparatively) and since mostly it's non-alcoholic these days, there's not a huge difference.

I'll grant you it doesn't taste quite as good, but since I'm using cheap vodka anyway, it doesn't really matter   

I suppose if you were nitpicking you might want to say it's not really a Moscow Mule therefore, but it's not something I'd personally pick the nits off...   

[Specmaster]

At least someone was keeping the Pommie end up today (Attachment Link)

Yep only one limey and he was green ! 

Nope, this limey was there but you'd all ffing finished 

Is your Rolex broken ? 

Rolex indeed!, best watch I've got is a Citizen atomic Eco Drive Red Arrows edition, 2 off them  along with a string of other Citizen and Accurist watches (maybe I'm a time nut  ) but I wasn't wearing any of them, I was wearing a Fitbit that had run out of juice  But maybe next week eh? 

[bd139]

Ive got a Casio F91W for emergencies and that’s it. Outperforms watches costing 1000x as much 

I have returned to the world of the living now. Total nightmare the last 18 hours. Ugh. I think I prefer small children to teenagers.

Also just forgot to bid on that Keithley 191 on eBay. Fuck!

[Brumby]

At least someone was keeping the Pommie end up today (Attachment Link)

Yep only one limey and he was green ! 

Nope, this limey was there but you'd all ffing finished 

Does this mean you were also at the Battle of Hastings?


(I know my TARDIS has been in the workshop for far too long.)

[med6753]

Gee....the jibs and jabs that are flying back and forth between the UK and down under and I wasn't even part of it. This Yank is just sitting back and watching the fun. 

[med6753]

And yes, we had 10 participants in last night's Discord, the most ever, and FINALLY had UK representation by ThickPhilM. I shall, for the moment, rescind the "bunch of wankers" label pending future appearances.     

[Specmaster]

Gee....the jibs and jabs that are flying back and forth between the UK and down under and I wasn't even part of it. This Yank is just sitting back and watching the fun. 

Yeah, but it's all water of a ducks back to me 

[bd139]

Yeah it’s not like it’s us who are the traitors really is it? 

[Specmaster]

And now back on topic again, I've just noticed that one of the small panel mounted sockets for component leads is actually broken and the missing piece of plastic is actually missing otherwise I could just glue it back on. Does anyone know of where these may be available from, the smallest so far that I have come across has been 2mm and I think these are 1mm. They look to be pretty corroded anyway so it would be nice to replace all 4 of them.

The unit is so sensitive that if I use leads with 4mm bananas and crock clips on the other end (1m long) on lower values the meter can actually read the capacitance between the leads as well. I have a very short set of leads that could be used if necessary, but its so much better to just push the capacitors leads directly into the sockets. I like the way that they have arranged the sockets to provide maybe the 3 most common pitches between the leads to maximise the accuracy of the readings, awesome.

[worsthorse]

Yeah it’s not like it’s us who are the traitors really is it? 

it has been, what, like three hundred years?  you all are just never going to let that go, are you?     .

[mnementh]

Found the culprit. Was a HDMI cable with a borked pin. Weird; it actually caused a glitch on both devices connected, even tho it was only on the Roku. Straightened the borked pin with a dental pick and all is well; been watching HD content & playing Street Fighter IV with my son for hours.

This is the HDMI switch I have: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07MSG1LXS/

It does both IR remote and auto switches to whatever input just became active. They only include a USB power cable, no power pack. My TV doesn’t provide enough current to run it through the HDMI, so I’m powering it with an old 1A white cube iPwn charger; they seem more reliable than most for continuous use. The remote takes a CR2032 even tho the instructions say CR2025. 

I’ll post followup in a few months; let y’all know if it all keeps working. 

mnem
*toddling off to ded*

Nice! I always prefer to find something easy and mechanical to fix on such gizmos; board level repair on something like that is way past my gear and experience levels.
Pretty sure my problem is glitchy firmware, as turning it off and on again always fixes it...
They seem pretty identical in function and capability, I power mine off a Samsung phone charger, and I always try to cram a 2032 in place of a 2025 if I can, as I have a near infinite supply of cheap ones   
This is my wee beastie: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4x1-4K-HDMI-V2-0-Switcher-Audio-Extractor-RCA-Converter-3-5MM-Jack-Optical-SPDIF/293040696886
Interesting how ebay will show purchases from the beginning of time on a mobile phone, but nothing older than a few months on my pc   

Sorry for any confusion on Discord yesterday regarding my nickname. I pay play (wow, interesting Freudian slip) an MMORPG called PWI (officially Perfect World International, but I prefer Picking Wallets Insultingly) and have used pretty much every chat client available in the various guilds I've been in.  I didn't even remember I'd already made a discord account... 
Since the guild I'm in now uses Teamspeak, I'll try to remember to change my Discord nickname from Spara (Sparafucile is my ign) to ThickPhilM for next time!

Yeah, as with all these cheap China-direct hard goods, it's the luck of the draw whether you get a good unit. Then another lottery again whether it keeps being a good unit.

Yours may have crappy firmware, it may have a flaky brain IC, it may have a loose solder joint somewhere. Hmmm... just like all of us in here.

It's pretty clearly a totally different design tho; different feature set and different layout. If you're feeling froggy, you might try hunting up the one I have on your eBay. I'm sure the same vendor or his brother sells there. 

Nope, this limey was there but you'd all ffing finished 

Is your Rolex broken ? 

Specmaster's Polex marches to the beat of a different drummer. 

I like a Moscow Mule   

(vodka, lime juice, ginger ale)

I developed a drink I called a "DewSki" that others at the local watering hole actually liked; a tall glass of Mountain Dew (a US lemon-lime soda loaded with sugar and caffeine that looks like anti-freeze) over ice with vodka to taste (depending on mood, this is somewhere between two fingers and enough to make your eyes water if you take a deep breath). One of these days I need to go back home & see if it's still on the menu...

mnem
mmmmm.... nice crippsy hash browns... and leftover hash browns for lunch...

[Specmaster]

Yeah it’s not like it’s us who are the traitors really is it? 

Quite right, we're the good guys 

[med6753]

Yeah it’s not like it’s us who are the traitors really is it? 

it has been, what, like three hundred years?  you all are just never going to let that go, are you?     .

They're still sore that a rag tag army of farmers and woodsman beat their arse. 

[Brumby]

Yeah it’s not like it’s us who are the traitors really is it? 

it has been, what, like three hundred years?  you all are just never going to let that go, are you?     .

They're still sore that a rag tag army of farmers and woodsman beat their arse. 

OK - Now we sit back and bring out the popcorn.   

[Specmaster]

Yeah it’s not like it’s us who are the traitors really is it? 

it has been, what, like three hundred years?  you all are just never going to let that go, are you?     .

Nope, I just didn't want to be the first to mention it.    .

[med6753]

And now back on topic again, I've just noticed that one of the small panel mounted sockets for component leads is actually broken and the missing piece of plastic is actually missing otherwise I could just glue it back on. Does anyone know of where these may be available from, the smallest so far that I have come across has been 2mm and I think these are 1mm. They look to be pretty corroded anyway so it would be nice to replace all 4 of them.

The unit is so sensitive that if I use leads with 4mm bananas and crock clips on the other end (1m long) on lower values the meter can actually read the capacitance between the leads as well. I have a very short set of leads that could be used if necessary, but its so much better to just push the capacitors leads directly into the sockets. I like the way that they have arranged the sockets to provide maybe the 3 most common pitches between the leads to maximise the accuracy of the readings, awesome.

Wow, they are really chewed up or is it just plastic rot?

[Specmaster]

I think its plastic rot really but the contacts don't look to great either.

[bd139]

Yeah it’s not like it’s us who are the traitors really is it? 

it has been, what, like three hundred years?  you all are just never going to let that go, are you?     .

They're still sore that a rag tag army of farmers and woodsman beat their arse. 

We let you go. The food was rubbish. Prefer a curry to a burger here 

[mnementh]

Yeah it’s not like it’s us who are the traitors really is it? 

Nope. Just your brilliant leaders. 

mnem

       "Evil knows evil."

[Specmaster]

Yeah it’s not like it’s us who are the traitors really is it? 

Nope. Just your brilliant leaders. 

mnem
(Attachment Link)
       "Evil knows evil."

correct, just yours, perhaps we send Johnson and Trump off to an uninhabited island and let them get on with it.

[mnementh]

And now back on topic again, I've just noticed that one of the small panel mounted sockets for component leads is actually broken and the missing piece of plastic is actually missing otherwise I could just glue it back on. Does anyone know of where these may be available from, the smallest so far that I have come across has been 2mm and I think these are 1mm. They look to be pretty corroded anyway so it would be nice to replace all 4 of them.

The unit is so sensitive that if I use leads with 4mm bananas and crock clips on the other end (1m long) on lower values the meter can actually read the capacitance between the leads as well. I have a very short set of leads that could be used if necessary, but its so much better to just push the capacitors leads directly into the sockets. I like the way that they have arranged the sockets to provide maybe the 3 most common pitches between the leads to maximise the accuracy of the readings, awesome.

The contacts look like something that could be substituted with female pins from a DB9 plug. The insulator sockets to hold them... dang. That just screams 3DP project to me.

mnem

[Specmaster]

Nope, still ain't getting a 3DP for the sake of 4 sockets, noway 

[med6753]

Nope, still ain't getting a 3DP for the sake of 4 sockets, noway 

Just across town I know someone who has a 3D printer who would be more than happy to help you. 

Ain't I a stinker. 

[bd139]

@specmaster: http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/25084.pdf

[BravoV]

Incoming & unpacking. promise, will do TEA's eyes candies shots ... yes, it has top handle.