Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[0culus]

Hmmm, getting to those pins might be hard. I would think an extension cable might be easier to make for these plugins though, as they expect the mainframe/type 81 adapter (for 580 series) to provide a high impedance. Have you made one?

Just for giggles check those resistors with the plug-in on the bench. The 3A3 Vertical plug-in displayed same symptoms. Open plate resistor. Replaced and bingo....worked.

I want to make up a plug-in extension cable for the 561B but so far have not found a female 24 pin connector. There's a set on Ebay for the 561 and the 661 but they want $160 USD for them. Are you nucking futs? 

BTW....your 60Hz hum might be caused by the plug-in adapter required to use them on the 585A. Might be a good idea to check it completely.

I'll check it shortly. You mean V4383 right? I have found that you can improve access to a plugin that is using the Type 81 by removing the enclosure and just leaving the guts of the Type 81 in the scope.

Hmmm...it could be. It's quite a complex little beast with three tubes, a transformer, bridge rectifier, etc. I'll check it out too.

[xrunner]

Regarding the mall I said I went to for exercise - I took a few pics today of this dying place. The stores open at 10 am but the doors open at 9 am for people to walk. It's really a dead place and a wonder it's still open. Vast lengths of real estate that are likely never to be used again.

The GNC store you see just left last week leaving the telltale empty shelves. The candy store has been abandoned for at least 6 months. The owners just walked away, took a lot of the candy,  and left it. It's still half full of candy of all kinds. What a sham it's all going to waste. How long does candy last?

The Villa Italian place closed when the mall closed down for the Corona for 3 months. You can see two other abandoned food stores next to it on either side. The only other two food places left on the other side have been open, but the Villa owners walked away (but left the "Open" sign up). All that equipment is sitting in there. What will become of it?

It feels strange walking in there between 9 and 10 am because there are only a very few people walking. Such a huge amount of real estate going to waste. It can't hold out much longer.

 

[tonyalbus]

Regarding the mall I said I went to for exercise - I took a few pics today of this dying place. The stores open at 10 am but the doors open at 9 am for people to walk. It's really a dead place and a wonder it's still open. Vast lengths of real estate that are likely never to be used again.

The GNC store you see just left last week leaving the telltale empty shelves. The candy store has been abandoned for at least 6 months. The owners just walked away, took a lot of the candy,  and left it. It's still half full of candy of all kinds. What a sham it's all going to waste. How long does candy last?

The Villa Italian place closed when the mall closed down for the Corona for 3 months. You can see two other abandoned food stores next to it on either side. The only other two food places left on the other side have been open, but the Villa owners walked away (but left the "Open" sign up). All that equipment is sitting in there. What will become of it?

It feels strange walking in there between 9 and 10 am because there are only a very few people walking. Such a huge amount of real estate going to waste. It can't hold out much longer.

 

That looks very sad...

[SilverSolder]

Regarding the mall I said I went to for exercise - I took a few pics today of this dying place. The stores open at 10 am but the doors open at 9 am for people to walk. It's really a dead place and a wonder it's still open. Vast lengths of real estate that are likely never to be used again.

The GNC store you see just left last week leaving the telltale empty shelves. The candy store has been abandoned for at least 6 months. The owners just walked away, took a lot of the candy,  and left it. It's still half full of candy of all kinds. What a sham it's all going to waste. How long does candy last?

The Villa Italian place closed when the mall closed down for the Corona for 3 months. You can see two other abandoned food stores next to it on either side. The only other two food places left on the other side have been open, but the Villa owners walked away (but left the "Open" sign up). All that equipment is sitting in there. What will become of it?

It feels strange walking in there between 9 and 10 am because there are only a very few people walking. Such a huge amount of real estate going to waste. It can't hold out much longer.

 

Americans are increasingly falling out of love with McMalls.  I've noticed "cozier" neighbourhoods with smaller businesses and restaurants becoming more popular over the last many years.  There is "creeping Europization" going on.

[bd139]

Holy crap that's literally a wasteland of a mall. Everyone is complaining that the high street and retail is dead here but that's much much deader.

At least every alternate shop isn't a charity shop (good will over your side) or betting or kebab shop like here 

[0culus]

Regarding the mall I said I went to for exercise - I took a few pics today of this dying place. The stores open at 10 am but the doors open at 9 am for people to walk. It's really a dead place and a wonder it's still open. Vast lengths of real estate that are likely never to be used again.

The GNC store you see just left last week leaving the telltale empty shelves. The candy store has been abandoned for at least 6 months. The owners just walked away, took a lot of the candy,  and left it. It's still half full of candy of all kinds. What a sham it's all going to waste. How long does candy last?

The Villa Italian place closed when the mall closed down for the Corona for 3 months. You can see two other abandoned food stores next to it on either side. The only other two food places left on the other side have been open, but the Villa owners walked away (but left the "Open" sign up). All that equipment is sitting in there. What will become of it?

It feels strange walking in there between 9 and 10 am because there are only a very few people walking. Such a huge amount of real estate going to waste. It can't hold out much longer.

 

Outdoor malls are also becoming more popular. We have one in my area, and that's where a lot of the most high end stores for various things are. You'll find multiple jewelry stores, designer clothing outlets, upscale dining, Apple Store, etc. It's a way nicer experience than the actual mall.

[SilverSolder]

Holy crap that's literally a wasteland of a mall. Everyone is complaining that the high street and retail is dead here but that's much much deader.

At least every alternate shop isn't a charity shop (good will over your side) or betting or kebab shop like here 

The "official" high street in the UK is almost like an outdoor mall... endless repetition of the same chain stores.   The neighbourhoods that have an active business life are the ones selling things people want, and can afford to buy - often Asian areas of town, at least this seems true in the Midlands!

[bd139]

Holy crap that's literally a wasteland of a mall. Everyone is complaining that the high street and retail is dead here but that's much much deader.

At least every alternate shop isn't a charity shop (good will over your side) or betting or kebab shop like here 

The "official" high street in the UK is almost like an outdoor mall... endless repetition of the same chain stores.   The neighbourhoods that have an active business life are the ones selling things people want, and can afford to buy - often Asian areas of town, at least this seems true in the Midlands!

It's pretty good around here on the high street. No chains apart from one betting shop and a co-op supermarket:

Local high street: https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4687985,-0.3276399,3a,75y,130.27h,76.46t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgbdTQwqESRb-9ZXPpMwdEQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[mnementh]

Indeed. The future will be better. For some. The objective is making sure that you're on the "some" side of the fence where possible.

There is some appeal in some countries' approach of attempting to lift all boats / create a large middle class...   the dog-eat-dog model is a little tiresome, and I hate tripping over beggars on my way to the office!

It doesn't work though. I've been trying to do this for nigh on 25 years now and I've given up at this point. Some people just don't want to be lifted. And that's fine. We just need to factor it in. Universal Basic Income is a good answer but that tends to annoy the folk who will need to pay for it. And then this dissolves into the real problem with society which is that most people wouldn't piss on their neighbour if they were on fire...

We should start fixing that first.

I know what you mean, and we have to accept that by the definition of IQ, half the population has to be below average.

However, in the countries where some form of social democracy works,  the people you talk about aren't given an easy choice of letting themselves slip into the crapper...   to receive anything from the state, you get a case worker assigned that essentially manages your life and you will be required to see the doctor, dentist, and other professional help in an attempt to give you the best chance of getting out of your own way.  So, there is a price to pay to make it work...   the "losers" lose the liberty to be losers, unless they really work hard at it and finance it themselves!

Yeah... that's all the same ages old arguments trotted out over & over again to justify not doing ANYTHING. Meanwhile the 0.1% keep breaking the system... EVERY system... to KEEP THEMSELVES in that 0.1% at the cost of everyone else. 

We're at the point now where the system is so fucked-up it rewards corporations for NOT employing people. THAT is the first paradigm that has to shift; a complete 180 to the point where the system penalizes them for that behavior. After we actually get people working again so they can feed themselves, there will be wherewithal to consider those fundamental social aspects.

People don't have a lot of concern for their neighbor when their entire existence is defined by a borked system that deliberately pits their attention against an endless stream of "do-or-die" choices; you just don't have the luxury of caring for your brother when all your resources are tied up in basic survival.

And those 0.1% are the folks who created that borked system, to their own benefit, and they obviously are NOT going to fix it out of the goodness of their hearts. We will have to FORCE them to do so, just like the LAST TIME they did this about a century ago.

Authoritarianism is the antithesis of Democracy. Look for those who promote it; they are inevitably the right hand of those who are stealing the most from EVERYBODY.

mnem
 

[mnementh]

NewEgg heads-up:

   

While shopping for a WiFi-enabled picture frame to give my dad, I stumbled across these on today's ShellShocker. That EVO970 is a decent deal if you can work within 250GB, fer sherr; or RAID 0 two of them for a more civilized storage space with crazy high bandwidth. But what REALLY caught my eye is the preview of tomorrow's ShellShocker:



If you're looking to build a cheap system, I suggest you keep an eye on NewEgg in about 15 hours from now. Those 5s are NOT going to last long.

Cheers,

mnem
 

[0culus]

Hmmm, getting to those pins might be hard. I would think an extension cable might be easier to make for these plugins though, as they expect the mainframe/type 81 adapter (for 580 series) to provide a high impedance. Have you made one?

Just for giggles check those resistors with the plug-in on the bench. The 3A3 Vertical plug-in displayed same symptoms. Open plate resistor. Replaced and bingo....worked.

I want to make up a plug-in extension cable for the 561B but so far have not found a female 24 pin connector. There's a set on Ebay for the 561 and the 661 but they want $160 USD for them. Are you nucking futs? 

BTW....your 60Hz hum might be caused by the plug-in adapter required to use them on the 585A. Might be a good idea to check it completely.

I'll check it shortly. You mean V4383 right? I have found that you can improve access to a plugin that is using the Type 81 by removing the enclosure and just leaving the guts of the Type 81 in the scope.

Hmmm...it could be. It's quite a complex little beast with three tubes, a transformer, bridge rectifier, etc. I'll check it out too.

Couldn't find any open resistors...a couple are a tad high but not to the point they need replacing (still within tolerance). However, I do believe on closer inspection that the heaters to the 6AK5 tubes are not lighting. Both tubes have intact heaters...tested externally...so perhaps there is an issue with the heater circuits in the Type CA.

[med6753]

Hmmm, getting to those pins might be hard. I would think an extension cable might be easier to make for these plugins though, as they expect the mainframe/type 81 adapter (for 580 series) to provide a high impedance. Have you made one?

Just for giggles check those resistors with the plug-in on the bench. The 3A3 Vertical plug-in displayed same symptoms. Open plate resistor. Replaced and bingo....worked.

I want to make up a plug-in extension cable for the 561B but so far have not found a female 24 pin connector. There's a set on Ebay for the 561 and the 661 but they want $160 USD for them. Are you nucking futs? 

BTW....your 60Hz hum might be caused by the plug-in adapter required to use them on the 585A. Might be a good idea to check it completely.

I'll check it shortly. You mean V4383 right? I have found that you can improve access to a plugin that is using the Type 81 by removing the enclosure and just leaving the guts of the Type 81 in the scope.

Hmmm...it could be. It's quite a complex little beast with three tubes, a transformer, bridge rectifier, etc. I'll check it out too.

Couldn't find any open resistors...a couple are a tad high but not to the point they need replacing (still within tolerance). However, I do believe on closer inspection that the heaters to the 6AK5 tubes are not lighting. Both tubes have intact heaters...tested externally...so perhaps there is an issue with the heater circuits in the Type CA.

That would definitely be an issue. 

[med6753]

Best thing to do with the empty enclosed malls......plow them under and let the land return to a natural state.

There's too many of them anyway.

[0culus]

Hmmm, getting to those pins might be hard. I would think an extension cable might be easier to make for these plugins though, as they expect the mainframe/type 81 adapter (for 580 series) to provide a high impedance. Have you made one?

Just for giggles check those resistors with the plug-in on the bench. The 3A3 Vertical plug-in displayed same symptoms. Open plate resistor. Replaced and bingo....worked.

I want to make up a plug-in extension cable for the 561B but so far have not found a female 24 pin connector. There's a set on Ebay for the 561 and the 661 but they want $160 USD for them. Are you nucking futs? 

BTW....your 60Hz hum might be caused by the plug-in adapter required to use them on the 585A. Might be a good idea to check it completely.

I'll check it shortly. You mean V4383 right? I have found that you can improve access to a plugin that is using the Type 81 by removing the enclosure and just leaving the guts of the Type 81 in the scope.

Hmmm...it could be. It's quite a complex little beast with three tubes, a transformer, bridge rectifier, etc. I'll check it out too.

Couldn't find any open resistors...a couple are a tad high but not to the point they need replacing (still within tolerance). However, I do believe on closer inspection that the heaters to the 6AK5 tubes are not lighting. Both tubes have intact heaters...tested externally...so perhaps there is an issue with the heater circuits in the Type CA.

That would definitely be an issue. 

Yep...and I also believe, upon closer inspection, that someone dropped this poor plugin on it's connector. The plastic is damaged and the thing is pushed in a bit. Ugh. Too bad because it has Eimac property tags. Pretty neat.

[Cerebus]

Holy instrusive shit. Microsoft decided that installing Edge Chromium unasked on computers, pinning it to start and adding it to the desktop and confronting users with a full screen nag screen upon boot is how they regain the fragile trust of users. 

https://www.theverge.com/21310611/microsoft-edge-browser-forced-update-chromium-editorial

Microsoft doesn't seem to understand that even if they really did come up with the worlds best web browser nobody would care and nobody would use it because it's from Microsoft.

I don't get why Microsoft threw away their previous work on Edge and just turned it into a skin over a Chromium browser.  Not that I even intended to use Edge but I don't really like that there is now one less browser that's not part of the Google system.

Microsoft got in trouble in the 90's for far less of a "crime" than Google does today.

I think the difference is that Microsoft always used to rather obviously try and bully to get their own way. Google, on the other hand, just buys anybody who looks like a problem from Goole's point of view (be that competition, politicians or civil society groups). Morally it's no better, but it is quieter and less arrogant.

[AVGresponding]

Ugh... just printed off a return label for the fake Hakko. My printer is an old Lexcrap 2600, so printing anything is always a trial.

The seller accepted the return immediately and without protest, despite the "No Returns Accepted" on the listing, which lends credence to the idea that they knew it was snide (some more UK slang for our international friends to learn).

I'll take it to the PO on my way home tomorrow.


Bloody piston seized again on the brake caliper on my way to work this morning, and of course all my tools are at home.
Luckily I was headed to one of our depots which has a large HGV/LCV/PCV garage, so was able to borrow the necessary tools and anti-seize.
Limited on time so it's another half-assed job, I'll need to buy a seal kit and do it properly again soon^tm.   

[mnementh]

This is every bit as true now as it was back then... 

mnem
It has been 20 years since Steve Jobs unveiled OSX in his keynote at Macworld Expo. 

[McBryce]

You posted that video about 2 months ago*.

McBryce.

* I thought it was crap the first time too.

[capt bullshot]

Holy instrusive shit. Microsoft decided that installing Edge Chromium unasked on computers, pinning it to start and adding it to the desktop and confronting users with a full screen nag screen upon boot is how they regain the fragile trust of users. 

https://www.theverge.com/21310611/microsoft-edge-browser-forced-update-chromium-editorial

Clippy: "Can I help? What are you doing?"
Microsoft: "Loading a shotgun with a blank. Then I'm going to shoot myself in the foot."
Clippy: "Try a 00 buckshot shell instead."
Microsoft: "O.K. Thanks, I will."

I have never regretted turning off automatic updates...  (win 7)

So I did @work. IT department roughly took five years to detect what I've messed around with the computer Mwwhahahaha! <evilgrin>

[capt bullshot]

Quicker permanent fix 

No need to buy vendor lock-in hardware:

[mnementh]

Regarding the mall I said I went to for exercise - I took a few pics today of this dying place. The stores open at 10 am but the doors open at 9 am for people to walk. It's really a dead place and a wonder it's still open. Vast lengths of real estate that are likely never to be used again.

The GNC store you see just left last week leaving the telltale empty shelves. The candy store has been abandoned for at least 6 months. The owners just walked away, took a lot of the candy,  and left it. It's still half full of candy of all kinds. What a sham it's all going to waste. How long does candy last?

The Villa Italian place closed when the mall closed down for the Corona for 3 months. You can see two other abandoned food stores next to it on either side. The only other two food places left on the other side have been open, but the Villa owners walked away (but left the "Open" sign up). All that equipment is sitting in there. What will become of it?

It feels strange walking in there between 9 and 10 am because there are only a very few people walking. Such a huge amount of real estate going to waste. It can't hold out much longer.

 

Americans are increasingly falling out of love with McMalls.  I've noticed "cozier" neighbourhoods with smaller businesses and restaurants becoming more popular over the last many years.  There is "creeping Europization" going on.

I've hated them ever since I was a small child and spent 3 hours of terror lost in the maze, then sitting alone in a little white cubicle because nobody could tell my mother where the fucking security office was.   

Every one of them is nothing more than a monument to ego and rampant unchecked capitalism with no value other than to suck money like a vampire from the region they exist in. The one thing they SHOULD do is feed the local economy with taxes; but they ALWAYS strongarm the local government into giving them exemptions, so the end-result is they become a castle unto themselves without any representation of the local culture. In fact, their entire existence is to destroy local culture; grinding  everything around them into a bland paste of filth and unwashed fake beige stonework.

mnem
*blerk*

[mnementh]

You posted that video about 2 months ago*.

McBryce.

* I thought it was crap the first time too.

Good. Glad you remembered it. Like it or not, every word is still true. Especially the *NIX bits. 

mnem
 

[med6753]

I posted this once before. Makes even more sense now.

[Cerebus]

Archetypical cavemen.

mnem

BD's inoutlaws.

[mnementh]

mmmmmm.... sauteed raccoon's assholes on a stick. That's good eatin'... 

mnem
Can I have an extra side of butter & salsa...?