Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

I couldn't resist. Full beans to the Type 422. Channel 1 is there for the most part but noisy. Channel 2 is bouncing around like a Mexican jumping bean which explains the thick trace. But not bad considering the abuse this scope has experienced. Definite possibilities. 

[Cerebus]

Visited local home center to stock up on another can case of Krylon Gloss Bahama Sea. Gonna need it. 

TFTFY

[2nOrderEDO]

Hello folks, first post here at the TEA,

I was able to score a very nice HP3400A in very good condition. I was hunting this instrument for almost a year, but didn't like the ones I saw on ebay, so I did set a notification for new ones coming in. About two weeks ago I received a notification that this fine unit was now on sale and after looking at its condition I insta-bought it.

I'm also about to receive an 3577A (expecting it this week or next) and I also may score a very nice scope next monday.

[med6753]

Police and Ambulance have been encrypted for a while now some of the others are on an RMR (Fire, Rescue etc) that are still open.

While that's true there and here, I've got the impression that is not true for most similar communications in North America. Med, for instance, is able to listen into his local police radio.

Correct. Most activity in my county is centered around 155MHz and is in the clear. That's not to say that there aren't encrypted channels (there are) but 911 dispatch for Fire/Rescue/Police is open. 

[med6753]

Visited local home center to stock up on another can case of Krylon Gloss Bahama Sea. Gonna need it. 

TFTFY

You're a fucking riot. 

[Cerebus]

British Scottish engineering invented the modern world. Not with silly little 2.0 litre V10s though.

TFTFY. James Clark Maxwell, Alexander Graham Bell, Logie Baird, James Watt, the list goes on. I never cease to wonder at the way us Brits always say it's British if came from Scotland and is something to be proud of and it only becomes Scottish if it's dispreputable (Buckfast drinkers), yuckky (haggis*), or life threatening (Scottish Country Dancing).


*Personally I like haggis.

James Clerk Maxwell was indeed Scottish (part of Britain, just like England is), and expanded on the work of the likes of Newton (do you prefer English or British for him?) and Faraday (same question, I just call them all British, myself).

Arguably Baird's electro-mechanical system was an also-ran, with the electronic systems from RCA and Farnsworth (which Baird used under license) bearing more relevance to modern image technology.

Watt took someone else's idea (Thomas Newcomen, British English) and improved it. Also without the business acumen and manufacturing knowhow of Matthew Boulton (English British), his improvements would likely have been largely attributed to other people, when he couldn't have afforded to extend his patent, and also probably would have been made bankrupt.

I notice the conspicuous absence of a few names, such as Frank Whittle (Bringlish), Tim Berners-Lee (Engtish), and Alan Turing (Very English and persecuted to death for being gay).

Meh. I just have an innate distrust of any flag waving. It's not necessary to list the nationality of every British inventor, mathematician or scientist of any consequence and weight their nationality by the weight of their contribution to justify the point that a lot of things people take pride in as being British were contributed by Scots.

[Cerebus]

Visited local home center to stock up on another can case of Krylon Gloss Bahama Sea. Gonna need it. 

TFTFY

You're a fucking riot. 

I do like for us to keep the standard of friendly ragging at its customary level. 

[Cerebus]

Hello folks, first post here at the TEA,

Wilkommen, bienvenue, welcome ...

[Wonders off doing a Joel Grey impression]

[mnementh]

Know what you need now med...? A 454.

mnem
 

[Saskia]

oooohkey,

finally received a stuck SEPA transaction that was held back by the clawing kraken fingers of a fintech 

[mnementh]

Hello folks, first post here at the TEA,

I was able to score a very nice HP3400A in very good condition. I was hunting this instrument for almost a year, but didn't like the ones I saw on ebay, so I did set a notification for new ones coming in. About two weeks ago I received a notification that this fine unit was now on sale and after looking at its condition I insta-bought it.

I'm also about to receive an 3577A (expecting it this week or next) and I also may score a very nice scope next monday.

That's a good start.  Welcome to the nuthouse; the neverending Taco truck is over in the corner, bean's grinding a fresh batch for the coffee wagon and watch oot for Papa Smurf - he just got a new stockpile of Bloo Paint, so there will be collateral damage. 

Hurry up, bean... I'm dyin' ovah heahh!  

mnem

[Cerebus]

Police and Ambulance have been encrypted for a while now some of the others are on an RMR (Fire, Rescue etc) that are still open.

While that's true there and here, I've got the impression that is not true for most similar communications in North America. Med, for instance, is able to listen into his local police radio.

Correct. Most activity in my county is centered around 155MHz and is in the clear. That's not to say that there aren't encrypted channels (there are) but 911 dispatch for Fire/Rescue/Police is open.

While I can see perfectly legitimate reasons for emergency services to need secured (in the sense of private) communications - it's definitely not good for the police to announce over the radio that they're outside No. 42 somewhere and they think there are burglars on the premises only for the burglars inside to also be able to hear that - there's a tension between that and the comfort that anyone can monitor their communications to make sure that they're going about their jobs the way we all want them to.

[Cerebus]

oooohkey,

finally received a stuck SEPA transaction that was held back by the clawing kraken fingers of a fintech 

SEPA - Single Euro Payments Area. I had to Google that, so I suspect that other people might need the additional clarification too.

[Robert763]

More ebay madness
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CB-Radio-Para-Dynamics-Frequency-Counter/224368497635

[bd139]

Yeah that’s worth about £5.

some more crazy shit. Got outbid on that 465B. Went for £102. I put £84 down which was far more than it was worth untested already 

Also a completely fucked up fluke 8024b has hit £9.50 already. Give up  . Not worth buying second hand gear when the new stuff has a warranty now.

Just going to say fuck it, head over to Telonic and buy a whole lab at this rate.

[Ice-Tea]

Hello folks, first post here at the TEA,

I was able to score a very nice HP3400A in very good condition. I was hunting this instrument for almost a year, but didn't like the ones I saw on ebay, so I did set a notification for new ones coming in. About two weeks ago I received a notification that this fine unit was now on sale and after looking at its condition I insta-bought it.

I'm also about to receive an 3577A (expecting it this week or next) and I also may score a very nice scope next monday.


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Welcome. However, these may be things you have an actual need for. You won't truly fit in untill your garage is filled with stuff you don't need. You'll be calling it your 'repair queu' 

Seriously though, welcome

[Zucca]

Hello folks, first post here at the TEA,

Finally somebody from Spain, bienvenido.

[nixiefreqq]

damn you and your beautiful hp3400a.

now you have me looking for one to keep my hp400e company.

[med6753]

Know what you need now med...? A 454.

mnem
 

I had the opportunity yesterday but declined. He had a "semi" working 454 plus two duff units for another $50 USD. Decided against it. For now. 

[nixiefreqq]

we were coming out of walmart last evening after our normal saturday visit to the family restaurant.

swmbo said.  "hey.....whats wrong with your bumper?"  sure enough.  the gap between the drivers side rear end cap and the rear panel was about an inch wider than on the passenger's side.  shit.  looked really hard and could see a mark on the plastic step cover where something had whacked it. (it looked like it had been that way a while, but there was no real visible damage).

remembered how easy it was to fix a bumper on my 1968 volkswagen beetle and decided to at least investigate.

so my fat ass was under the truck early this morning.  what a cluster fuck.  bumpers are not just a piece of metal these days.  this one is made up of two big honeycomb plastic end caps, a big plastic step cover, and a long stamped steel plate.  getting it apart is a mystery of hidden or unreachable clips, bolts, and snaps.  just getting the step cover off took an hour.  (after i found the final clip hidden behind the license plate).  after another 30 minutes when the steel plate was finally off i could see a slight bend where the horizontal and vertical pieces were spot welded together.  spend 30 minutes carefully bending, hammering, and prying the damn thing back into what looked like the right shape.  45 minutes later it was back together and it passed inspection by the little woman.   the drivers side gap is still about a 3/16 inch too wide but you really have to run back and forth comparing the port and starboard sides to notice it.

oh......and it was raining the whole time.  but the truck was backed about a foot into the open garage door.

makes me wish for the days of gluing finger stock back in hp8569b rotors.

almost as painful....but not quite.  (working on automotive bullshit puts me in a mood).

[mansaxel]

oooohkey,

finally received a stuck SEPA transaction that was held back by the clawing kraken fingers of a fintech 

The Union you usually have Opinions on has decided that such transfers may at most be delayed by 24 hours. You might have valid reason to complain.

Wikipedia says:

• bei Lastschriften gibt es keine Zeitverzögerungen (Float) mehr
• bei Überweisungen ist der Float auf einen Tag beschränkt (seit 2012, Rechtsvorschrift: s. u.)

The backing is in an EU law from 2012: Rechtsgrundlage ist die Verordnung (EU) Nr. 260/2012 des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates vom 14. März 2012 zur Festlegung der technischen Vorschriften und der Geschäftsanforderungen für Überweisungen und Lastschriften in Euro und zur Änderung der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 924/2009.

But yes, the Euro and the Union is just a farce. Ein Schauspiel, um den Einwohnern verwirren.

In the end, the Fintech company will of course have a loop hole. Much like the established fact that only US hedge funds with the right people in command are allowed to short stock and profit from it.

[Saskia]

the fintech (Kraken) held my funds without notifying me after countermanding a decision to enable fiat transfers to my account.
My recourse in this matter is to withdraw my funds from them and do business elsewhere.
Bittrex comes to mind.

It's not worth pursuing something for 50 euros in fees plus delays as long as you have alternatives.

as for the state of the union:
I would have wanted it to stay an economic union, not a political one. It would have spared us a lot of grief.
And (even though some of you will most certainly disagree) I applaud Farage on his successful Brexit campaign.
Why ?
Because GB will not need to bow to a centrist unelected shitshow from Brussels that reminds me of the central
committee of the communist party  of the soviet union.
I concur, though, that the implementation of Brexit was
 - a masterpiece of how not to do it
 - a demonstration of "if you really want to leave socialist paradise, we will make you pay for it to deter anyone else from following in your footsteps

But that is just my opinion ... you are welcome to disagree.

[Robert763]

Another one
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Agilent-multimeter-U1241AN/265068611383?  £200 when a new U2141B is only $220 

[mansaxel]

remembered how easy it was to fix a bumper on my 1968 volkswagen beetle and decided to at least investigate.

Speaking of bumpers, we were hit by a Vespa in our V70 summer before last in southern France. I was making a left turn and the Vespa driver decided to overtake me. She hit us at perhaps 210° just by the left front wheel, and was -- short of a few bruises -- unhurt.  The force pushed the entire front, which includes the visible parts of the bumper, off the car, and put a few dents in the fender and the hood. So, there I was, on the French Riviera, in 40° heat, trying to patch the car up for a 2000+ km drive home. Your story matches mine in many things. I always carry a pretty complete tool kit, and more so for long travels. This of course includes soft iron wire, the kind used to lash up rebar. The plastic rivets that hold the upper edge of the grille of course had sheared off completely, so I rigged new tiedowns with the wire, and this repair brought us all the way home.

Once home, I bought new rivets, knocked the dents out of the fender, and used liberal amounts of cyanoacrelate to glue everything back in shape. I had to buy a few pieces of structural plastic; there's a "facelift hook" with a screw that pulls the front backwards and holds it in place on each side inside the wheel well, and it sits on a large plastic skeleton piece. They were pretty bad to start with, and the crash did them over completely, so had to fit new ones. Volvo still have them, in stock. Quite OK for a 20yo car.

[Robert763]

Reorganised some TE today. It's now on a shelf and connected to a power strip. Much better than the floor where some had been.