Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Cerebus]

Well I expect that he was attempting to shut off their escape route and give his ground based colleagues time to arrive to question the young idiots.

Exactly, and I bet their standing orders tell them not to attempt tactics like that expect in extreme circumstances. One thing to trash a million dollar helicopter trying to stop an active gunman, quite another just to question some youths for a relatively minor offence.

[Specmaster]

Back on topic, Seeing as my memory battery never arrived today, I thought that I'd attempt to complete the 4503 calibration using the 2x AA's currently installed anyway, if nothing else it would help to pass the bleeding time I thought. So with that in mind I switched it on and it ran through all the power on tests, no problem, no cal error message just straight into the normal default DC volts auto ranging as per manual states it should. Imagine my surprise when I got my DC reference standard connected to it was reading approx 1 volt lower across all 4 voltages    .

Measured the battery voltage and sure enough it was still reading 2.48V, so it hadn't dropped below a safe value and lost some calibration data. After a while leaving the 4503 powered and connected to the AD584 the readings had actually increased and was now reading above the true value on all 4 settings 

2.4998v becomes 2.5012V
5.0030V becomes 5.094V
7.5055V becomes 7.659V
10.0082V becomes 10.157V

Is this fluctuation the result of an incomplete calibration done or is there something more serious at foot here?

You did leave it on to warm up for 30 minutes or so before you started at all, didn't you? Those drifts look about right for warm up drifts (apart from the 10V which looks like a lot).

Yes I did leave it for a while to warm up first, but that does not explain why the readings were almost 1v lower on all 4 voltages to start with? Also I can now add to those readings in as much as I left everything running while I went to the toilet and on my return the readings once were again reading almost 1v lower again?

[Specmaster]

You just can't make these things up can you?

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/m5-police-issue-coronavirus-lockdown-4022808

[URI]

And now for something completely different.... Popped out to get some provisions, now regretting not stock piling a bit more, had hoped that things would have normalised by now, had to form a queue from the other side of the car park, 2m apart and the flaming shop entrance is not even on the photo, it's still way off to the right even further, with a strict one way system in force for entry and exit to the shop  And then once in the shop, was unable to complete a weekly shop even and only 1 adult at a time is allowed in the shop, so if a couple go shopping then one of them has to remain in the car park.

This message appeared in my inbox this morning, and I live in Essex 

Same here. I send my eldest shopping as I'm not bothering with that shit 

I’m liking that poster. That’s excellent 

BTW final idiot count here is we lost 20 phone towers to fucktards

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/apr/06/at-least-20-uk-phone-masts-vandalised-over-false-5g-coronavirus-claims

Yeah, I heard about the phone towers being attacked and that they were blaming 5G for Covid-19 but didn't post it because I was at the unable to find any supportive evidence before I got pole-axed for being a rumour monger again.

That's really ill shit -you can't think that stupid even if you tried to!    

Of course, you can, have you forgotten that 52% of the British population who voted, apparently voted for Brexit, that must surely tell you something 

You're right, sadly. Before the outcome of the Brexit referendum I couldn't imagine it happening.   

[URI]

Btw, Covid-19:

Absorbing news related to Covid-19 makes me sick of it alone -so I mostly ignore it and just try to stay safe and healthy.

A kind of 'keep calm and carry on'.

Having TEA every now and then helps me a lot.   

[Specmaster]

Btw, Covid-19:

Absorbing news related to Covid-19 makes me sick of it alone -so I mostly ignore it and just try to stay safe and healthy.

A kind of 'keep calm and carry on'.

Having TEA every now and then helps me a lot.   

Same thing here, you need something to distract you otherwise you could go stir crazy and put a lot of people at risk, including yourself, if only thought of the real consequences of their own actions, then maybe we wouldn't be in this global shit.

[Saskia]

on unrelated news the GTX 1060 which I bathed in IPA apparently works, at least in my test system.
Canon has sent me a note stating that the repaired EF 24-105 IS STM lense has been handed over to the friendly UPS neighborhood driver.

[BU508A]

That was NOT me.

Recently. in the Great White North:


Shopping like a dragon.
 

[bd139]

Ooooooookay 

Just went for an amble out for my daily exercise and managed 6.85km. Definitely getting better. This thing does fuck your lungs up a bit though. 

[mnementh]

Btw, Covid-19:

Absorbing news related to Covid-19 makes me sick of it alone -so I mostly ignore it and just try to stay safe and healthy.

A kind of 'keep calm and carry on'.

Having TEA every now and then helps me a lot.   

Same thing here, you need something to distract you otherwise you could go stir crazy and put a lot of people at risk, including yourself, if only thought of the real consequences of their own actions, then maybe we wouldn't be in this global shit.

We need to start thinking this way with the voting booth, especially.

mnem
"The core fallacy of Democracy is that 'the majority is correct'. You don't count brains by counting noses." ~ mom

[tggzzz]

Today I stuck an unterminated piece of wire up its input, and used that to measure the frequency of the 50Hz mains. The values agreed with those on http://gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

I also found the cal out on my HP8562 spectrum analyser is out by 100Hz in 300MHz. That's 0.3ppm - absolutely disgusting, if you ask me. I ought to dig out my uBlox GPS receiver, and have a look at that.

Good catch, look like it's in good shape 

For good measure, you should double check the power supply. In most 53310A the caps in the power supply end up dying and leaking all over the place, causing a lot of damages.

Haven't spotted any problems, yet.

IC datestamps contain 1996, so 25 years old.

I've had a look at the PSU caps. None  are bulging, there's no sign of leakage, and generally the inside and outside is very clean; even the white gunk is intact. While I've recapped many PSUs, I'm reluctant to remove all the caps and gunk without a reason. I ought to look at the ripple on the +5.10V line, but I can't see a spec for it.

Nice! The 53310A is really a sleeper instrument. You wonder how the heck you ever lived without it. 

One of the things mine gets used the most for is as a counter. This might sound silly, but it makes a really excellent counter. With an external GPSDO ref, it makes tuning other frequency references a snap. And, unlike a normal counter, you can zoom way in on the signal for effective minute adjustments.

As an aside, if yours doesn't have the deep memory option installed, this is easy to add (you can still buy the SRAMs). You just populate the empty DIP sockets and move a couple jumpers. It noticeably improves the performance of the panorama function; also I believe it increases the depth of memory available for panorama, so you can use a larger time window.

I'd heard about the tuning ability, and it makes sense.

It does have the deep RAM; the only thing it doesn't have is opt 031, the high resolution variant of opt 030 2.5GHz RF channel C.

All in all it looks like a good buy.

[med6753]

Ooooooookay 

Just went for an amble out for my daily exercise and managed 6.85km. Definitely getting better. This thing does fuck your lungs up a bit though. 

I think it's great. It states very clearly "stay the fuck away from me". 

I have not heard of any police jackassery like you guys are seeing in the UK with random stops and questioning if the travel is essential. I think it's because we have strict laws concerning "reasonable cause" and illegal search and seizure. And we are not under a declared travel ban. It's voluntary and most people are getting it and staying home.

I'm staying busy for the most part. I want to paint the bedroom and I have all the supplies except the paint itself. I plan on going grocery shopping tomorrow and then I'll make a quick stop at local home center and get it. They are open conducting normal business.

On the TEA front I do have a complete set of replacement capacitors to re-cap the PSU in the Tek 2430. Plus a few other minor things.     

[bd139]

Today I stuck an unterminated piece of wire up its input, and used that to measure the frequency of the 50Hz mains. The values agreed with those on http://gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

I also found the cal out on my HP8562 spectrum analyser is out by 100Hz in 300MHz. That's 0.3ppm - absolutely disgusting, if you ask me. I ought to dig out my uBlox GPS receiver, and have a look at that.

Good catch, look like it's in good shape 

For good measure, you should double check the power supply. In most 53310A the caps in the power supply end up dying and leaking all over the place, causing a lot of damages.

Haven't spotted any problems, yet.

IC datestamps contain 1996, so 25 years old.

I've had a look at the PSU caps. None  are bulging, there's no sign of leakage, and generally the inside and outside is very clean; even the white gunk is intact. While I've recapped many PSUs, I'm reluctant to remove all the caps and gunk without a reason. I ought to look at the ripple on the +5.10V line, but I can't see a spec for it.

Nice! The 53310A is really a sleeper instrument. You wonder how the heck you ever lived without it. 

One of the things mine gets used the most for is as a counter. This might sound silly, but it makes a really excellent counter. With an external GPSDO ref, it makes tuning other frequency references a snap. And, unlike a normal counter, you can zoom way in on the signal for effective minute adjustments.

As an aside, if yours doesn't have the deep memory option installed, this is easy to add (you can still buy the SRAMs). You just populate the empty DIP sockets and move a couple jumpers. It noticeably improves the performance of the panorama function; also I believe it increases the depth of memory available for panorama, so you can use a larger time window.

I'd heard about the tuning ability, and it makes sense.

It does have the deep RAM; the only thing it doesn't have is opt 031, the high resolution variant of opt 030 2.5GHz RF channel C.

All in all it looks like a good buy.

Got a pretty good deal there indeed. I’ve seen them go for a lot more than you paid.

I was watching an Agilent counter until it hit £440 earlier and then I ran away quickly 

[tggzzz]

Today I stuck an unterminated piece of wire up its input, and used that to measure the frequency of the 50Hz mains. The values agreed with those on http://gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

I also found the cal out on my HP8562 spectrum analyser is out by 100Hz in 300MHz. That's 0.3ppm - absolutely disgusting, if you ask me. I ought to dig out my uBlox GPS receiver, and have a look at that.

...

It does have the deep RAM; the only thing it doesn't have is opt 031, the high resolution variant of opt 030 2.5GHz RF channel C.

All in all it looks like a good buy.

Got a pretty good deal there indeed. I’ve seen them go for a lot more than you paid.

I was watching an Agilent counter until it hit £440 earlier and then I ran away quickly 

The art is knowing when to walk away from a deal.

Give my daughter a good price for it, if I follow BoJo (I'm leaving her my login details)

[Specmaster]

BBC news flash, Boris Johnson is now in ICU and Dominic Raab is now acting PM.

[bd139]

Hmm not sure which is good or bad news these days 🤔

Counter link for ref https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114168822974

[xrunner]

BBC news flash, Boris Johnson is now in ICU and Dominic Raab is now acting PM.

Just saw that over here ...

[tautech]

I think I'd just spend all day blowing shit up if I had an acetylene cylinder lying around 

Actually I think I'd get a rodentator and soup it up a bit. Probably more fun than with propane.

Got any hardware stores close by ?
Potato cannons are fun.......and practical ......if you need to launch your fishing sinker and bait a long way. 

[mnementh]

That was NOT me.

Recently. in the Great White North:
   Shopping like a dragon.   

Pffft. I have performed Shakespeare as well as Rodgers & Hammerstein dressed like that. Also got my nose picked by Virginia Hey at ScaperCon.

mnem

[bd139]

I think I'd just spend all day blowing shit up if I had an acetylene cylinder lying around 

Actually I think I'd get a rodentator and soup it up a bit. Probably more fun than with propane.

Got any hardware stores close by ?
Potato cannons are fun.......and practical ......if you need to launch your fishing sinker and bait a long way. 

A good friend of mine, now unfortunately heavily disabled and incapable of such mischief, used to build potato cannons. His idea of a good evening was donning hard hats from army surplus, firing the potato’s straight up and seeing how much Abbots you can neck before it hits you on the head.  . I actually laughed so hard when we were doing this that I popped a blood vessel in my face. 

[mnementh]

med's not dead... he just smells that way.   

mnem

Meds warming his CRV up for a long trip North to see the dragon, and sort his scaley arse out 

Meh.....not worth my time or effort. But he should watch out for that cruise missile. 

mnem
 

[Cerebus]

Hmm not sure which is good or bad news these days 🤔

Counter link for ref https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114168822974

Well, Boris is a bumbling idiot, Raab is a vicious idiot. You takes your pick and you takes the consequences.

[Saskia]

@mnementh
here's my certification launch photo. note the airfield in the background ...

As for distraction from the current situation (and our German speaking friends):
https://youtu.be/m3wrI5jaiPM

this is pretty dark humour.

TEA: prepared a Cyclone-II board to phool around with 6809 cores and get some basic understanding of the intel toolchain.

[bd139]

Hmm not sure which is good or bad news these days 🤔

Counter link for ref https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114168822974

Well, Boris is a bumbling idiot, Raab is a vicious idiot. You takes your pick and you takes the consequences.

I sincerely hope that Boris coughed on Raab on the way out of the office. Judging by how fast Cummings was legging it a few days back there's some hope...

[tautech]

I think I'd just spend all day blowing shit up if I had an acetylene cylinder lying around 

Actually I think I'd get a rodentator and soup it up a bit. Probably more fun than with propane.

Got any hardware stores close by ?
Potato cannons are fun.......and practical ......if you need to launch your fishing sinker and bait a long way. 

A good friend of mine, now unfortunately heavily disabled and incapable of such mischief, used to build potato cannons. His idea of a good evening was donning hard hats from army surplus, firing the potato’s straight up and seeing how much Abbots you can neck before it hits you on the head.  . I actually laughed so hard when we were doing this that I popped a blood vessel in my face. 

Very amusing but not very practical.   

First saw one some 25 yrs ago when up our local west coast beach where a guy was using one to launch his fishing line and a 150 yd launch was no sweat.