Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

Micronta stuff was relatively well made for the era. It was usually imported stuff that had some QA added around it and a decent manual written. To be honest they were good value and that's usually what mattered to most people before the ubiquity of credit. If you couldn't afford a Simpson 260 or a Fluke 8020A then their products were a good option.

Yep, grew up with a Micronta analog meter at home. I think it met its demise when doing the tango with the mains outlet.

Yes that’s what happened to my first one. It got put on DC mode in an AC socket and basically smashed the needle back and forwards at 50Hz until it fell off. Then it caught fire. Then I left it to see what happened. It melted. Then I got told off for blowing stuff up. Again.

Kikusui was a bit classy for Tandy

So you think I may be wrong then? Just that I seem to keep thinking every time I look at it that it reminds me of a Tandy meter, albeit all ones I can find pictures of have different fascias, but I still have niggling thought about. Maybe its my mind playing tricks on me, never mind. 

There were some very common design aspects around then. Heathkit sold some DMMs that looked pretty similar too.

[Specmaster]

It was interesting to note that in that photo of George Dobbs, I saw that he too has an Avo meter and the same RF signal generator I have as well, which fine for AM radio, just wish I could find an affordable  AM/FM one 

[bitseeker]

Yep, grew up with a Micronta analog meter at home. I think it met its demise when doing the tango with the mains outlet.

Yes that’s what happened to my first one. It got put on DC mode in an AC socket and basically smashed the needle back and forwards at 50Hz until it fell off. Then it caught fire. Then I left it to see what happened. It melted. Then I got told off for blowing stuff up. Again.

Oh, that's quite the way to go. I had heard that ours went pop and the probe tips melted. I suspect it was in current mode.

[bd139]

It was interesting to note that in that photo of George Dobbs, I saw that he too has an Avo meter and the same RF signal generator I have as well, which fine for AM radio, just wish I could find an affordable  AM/FM one 

Tech TE20? I am in the same boat. I need a decent generator. Marconi 2019A would be nice. I thoroughly regret selling the one I paid a fiver for. I’ll post a photo of it later from my pre eev blog days

Yep, grew up with a Micronta analog meter at home. I think it met its demise when doing the tango with the mains outlet.

Yes that’s what happened to my first one. It got put on DC mode in an AC socket and basically smashed the needle back and forwards at 50Hz until it fell off. Then it caught fire. Then I left it to see what happened. It melted. Then I got told off for blowing stuff up. Again.

Oh, that's quite the way to go. I had heard that ours went pop and the probe tips melted. I suspect it was in current mode.

The probes on them are made from chinesium. If you stuck them up your butt they would melt. Mine were properly mangled.

[Specmaster]

Yep, grew up with a Micronta analog meter at home. I think it met its demise when doing the tango with the mains outlet.

Yes that’s what happened to my first one. It got put on DC mode in an AC socket and basically smashed the needle back and forwards at 50Hz until it fell off. Then it caught fire. Then I left it to see what happened. It melted. Then I got told off for blowing stuff up. Again.

Oh, that's quite the way to go. I had heard that ours went pop and the probe tips melted. I suspect it was in current mode.

Hmm, I'm getting the distinct impression here that you two have had a checkered career in destruction of our beloved test gear, I don't recall that I can make any such claim in my life, I like to offer them a safe haven in my protective care 

[bd139]

They were noble sacrifices 

[mnementh]

Should I be embarrassed that I own a couple Micronta meters as well? Back in the day when there was a 'shack on every 3rd street corner, they rebadged meters made by reputable manufacturers. My first digital meter was one of these 22-171 pocket calculator models. Literally handy as a pocket on a shirt.  I had one of their 22-182 models with serial out, and in a box somewhere in the garage, I still have one of their 22-193 clamshell and one of their 22-220 FET Analog models. Might still have the 22-182, but I haven't seen it since like 2 moves ago.



The best meter is the one you have when you need it; as long as you know how to use it and you know it isn't just completely out to lunch inaccurate.

mnem
*Back to the bench*

Gotta love that 22-220 FET analogue meter it really looks good

Embarrassed by owning a Micronta meter, why the hell would you be, as far as I know (never knowingly owned one) there was nothing wrong with them back in the day and over they were sold under I believe a few names during the time, two of them being Realistic and Micronta, and the shops were called Tandy and they certainly weren't cheap either.

Yes; I read somewhere that whomever they rebadged it from actually got one of the retired engineers from Simpson to design it, hence the similarity to the 260.

(SNIP)

Yep, grew up with a Micronta analog meter at home. I think it met its demise when doing the tango with the mains outlet.

Yes that’s what happened to my first one. It got put on DC mode in an AC socket and basically smashed the needle back and forwards at 50Hz until it fell off. Then it caught fire. Then I left it to see what happened. It melted. Then I got told off for blowing stuff up. Again.

Oh, that's quite the way to go. I had heard that ours went pop and the probe tips melted. I suspect it was in current mode.

The probes on them are made from chinesium. If you stuck them up your butt they would melt. Mine were properly mangled.

True enough; every Radio Shack meter I ever owned had chrome-plated brass tips on the probes. I don't think any of their manufacturers ever heard of nickel hard-point or stainless.

My go-to probes are these sets of Oldaker Screw-Tite modular probes from the Golden Age of HAM radio; I made adapters to fit standard 4mm modular leads when the original shrouds & leads died of crackage. These are all that remain of a dozen pairs of tips and leads bought for cheap (stolen, really) from a local electronics vendor that was closing up when I was in my 20s. They are a joy in the hand, have medium-hard nickel-stainless tips and are medical-sharp when new; I sharpen them sparingly now to keep these last few alive as long as possible, and to dampen their taste for blood a little. 


Cheers,


mnem
"Oww... oww... owwdammit OWWW!" ~ me, more than once.   

[bitseeker]

Yep, grew up with a Micronta analog meter at home. I think it met its demise when doing the tango with the mains outlet.

Yes that’s what happened to my first one. It got put on DC mode in an AC socket and basically smashed the needle back and forwards at 50Hz until it fell off. Then it caught fire. Then I left it to see what happened. It melted. Then I got told off for blowing stuff up. Again.

Oh, that's quite the way to go. I had heard that ours went pop and the probe tips melted. I suspect it was in current mode.

Hmm, I'm getting the distinct impression here that you two have had a checkered career in destruction of our beloved test gear, I don't recall that I can make any such claim in my life, I like to offer them a safe haven in my protective care 

In my defense, I was not present when such destruction occurred.

[bitseeker]

mnem
"Oww... oww... owwdammit OWWW!" ~ me, more than once.   

Yeah, same, after purchasing a couple sets of ProbeMaster DMM probes.

[beanflying]

Owners of crusty Analogue meters  ID the probe inserts and are the wire links from a meter?

[Specmaster]

Owners of crusty Analogue meters  ID the probe inserts and are the wire links from a meter?

The probes are from an Avo 8

[beanflying]

Mmm Has Probes. Should I buy a meter to suit 

[imidis]

Would it be embarrassing to admit I have two?

They are nowhere near as pristine as this.  Both are battle scarred and one has a shot LCD.

I don't see why it would be, I know it's not a valuable. But it looks lonely. (the one in the picture) and no ones taken it in. 

[GerryBags]

I recently got a pair of Pomona itty bitties with pogo tips that should be just the ticket if I ever have to extract information from people rather than circuitry. Just hook them up to the PSU instead of the meter. I've already had one up a finger nail, when they do finally lose grip you're exerting a fair amount of force. I'd confess to the Great Train Robbery rather than have that happen again.

[tggzzz]

I recently got a pair of Pomona itty bitties with pogo tips that should be just the ticket if I ever have to extract information from people rather than circuitry. Just hook them up to the PSU instead of the meter. I've already had one up a finger nail, when they do finally lose grip you're exerting a fair amount of force. I'd confess to the Great Train Robbery rather than have that happen again.

Watch out for naked telecom glass fibres: they insert themselves and then break off. If you are lucky it emerges a few weeks later of it own accord.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Are you pleased with your meter?

As I said, 10 years after aquisition I took it to work for a calibration: PASS (all ranges within spec).
It made my like Schlumberger. Except that is is not RMS and has no min/max etc. In the picture one can see my 7151 computing multimeter from Schlumberger sitting on a shelf (looks like an 7150).
As long as you don't compare it with such or my Prema, it is fine.

[mnementh]

[EDIT for Clarification]
 ...I sharpen them sparingly now to keep these last few alive as long as possible, and to dampen their taste for blood a little. 
[[/EDIT]

mnem
"Oww... oww... owwdammit OWWW!" ~ me, more than once.   

Yeah, same, after purchasing a couple sets of ProbeMaster DMM probes.

Similar taste for blood to mine, or cost?

The ProbeMasters seem comparable in price, quality for quality, to Fluke's offerings. Fluke of course is not cheap, but they're made to stand up to mechanics and assembly line workers and maybe even management-types. Though for a good, rugged everyday set of leads on a field meter, the Fluke TL175s are a bargain; for the last 20 years you can get them at any Fry's for ~ $20 and they are damn near bulletproof. Plus the slide-out tip sheaths are a godsend when you're standing on a ladder and poking around in a live machinery control panel that may have 440V right next to the 5-24V stuff you're troubleshooting.   

I recently got a pair of Pomona itty bitties with pogo tips that should be just the ticket if I ever have to extract information from people rather than circuitry. Just hook them up to the PSU instead of the meter. I've already had one up a finger nail, when they do finally lose grip you're exerting a fair amount of force. I'd confess to the Great Train Robbery rather than have that happen again.

Oh, my preferred "Terror object Number 7" is hanging on the wall... and I have multiple ready sources of 10-40KV to go with it; some even battery powered. 

Watch out for naked telecom glass fibres: they insert themselves and then break off. If you are lucky it emerges a few weeks later of it own accord.

*PTSD cringe, remembering similar evils suffered at the hands of carbon fiber rod used in RC aircraft*



My personal worst test probe bugbear would have to be working with bed-of-nails test fixtures like these. While most such jigs have pins that won't bottom out with exposed points, making it hard to actually impale yourself, what they WILL do is slice the everlovin' HELL out of a forearm dragged across them, making it look (and feel, once the cuts inevitably get infected before they heal) like you lost a skirmish with a wolverine. Worse yet, if you drag your arm across them at just the right angle, you can make them bind up enough that dozens of them do poke into you about 1/4" or so deep.


mnem
Say "Hi" to the Probulator, boys and girls.

[bitseeker]

...I sharpen them sparingly now to keep these last few alive as long as possible, and to dampen their taste for blood a little. 
mnem
"Oww... oww... owwdammit OWWW!" ~ me, more than once.   

Yeah, same, after purchasing a couple sets of ProbeMaster DMM probes.

Similar taste for blood to mine, or cost?

Similar taste for blood. Somehow, your quote of me quoting you ended up with an extra line of context that my quote didn't have, resulting in the ambiguity. Fascinating.

[beanflying]

740B is back on the rack waiting for parts again. Get the feeling a 6 month restoration is coming up ....

Time to defluff the 6632B and fit some Terillium copper front terminals to it. For 100w output the transformer is maybe a little over specced.

[bitseeker]

Quite the infestation of dust bunnies in there.

[Cubdriver]

I've added a bunch of PoI to the first post. Thanks to those who've PM'ed candidates to me thus far.

I was looking for the closeup pic of a dot LED character that I think Pat posted, but haven't successfully found it yet. If anyone sees it, send me the URL. Thanks!

I stuck those in the macro gallery - images 51 through 66.  Gallery link:
https://pmanning.smugmug.com/Macro

Edit to add - unless you meant the pics of them lit up; those are in the 8662A gallery:
https://pmanning.smugmug.com/Electronics/HP-8662A-Synthesized-Signal-Generator

Thanks, Pat. I was trying to find your post in this thread that included the closeup of it lit. Maybe it wasn't in this thread? I'm pretty sure it was.

Ahh!  Found it!  It was in the 'what did you buy today' thread.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/what-did-you-buy-today-post-your-latest-purchase!/msg1429850/#msg1429850

Post #5809 if the above link doesn't work.

-Pat

[beanflying]

Compared to my Manson Switch and Linear supplies the Agilent is impressive for the lack of a rats nest wiring solution 

[bitseeker]

Ahh!  Found it!  It was in the 'what did you buy today' thread.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/what-did-you-buy-today-post-your-latest-purchase!/msg1429850/#msg1429850

D'oh! No wonder why I couldn't find it by searching this thread.

All these threads, they're merging in my mind.

[beanflying]

Yep that's the SMF search engine FAILING like I mentioned a few days ago. Root searches work 'ok' but unless Dave adds a few mods (there is issues with that too) to the SMF basic platform Google site search is still best.

[Specmaster]

Yep that's the SMF search engine FAILING like I mentioned a few days ago. Root searches work 'ok' but unless Dave adds a few mods (there is issues with that too) to the SMF basic platform Google site search is still best.

Amen to that.