Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Andreas]

perhaps a low noise amplifier?

with best regards

Andreas

[hwj-d]

I know, that's easy
It's 1000 100 KXvoltage reference PCB's to spend them to EEVBlog members with more than 37 posts   
 

[PA4TIM]

I'm Fred and I'm a test gear junky.  My route was a bit different
- Become a ham
- start repairing HAM gear
- need more test gear for that,
- a car full defective testgear for parts followed me home from a HAM who cleaned out his house.
- instead of parting, I repaired it all.
- got more stuff and repaired it.
- room started to become a problem upto the moment rearranging was no option anymore.

I love using it to repair testgear but without space it becomes hard.

The solution was a matter of luck and a big part not so much luck. I have been in a traffic accident in my youth (hit by a car doing 80km/h)
I recovered well from it, at least it looked that way. Things started to get worse a few years ago resulting in a 6 month therapy.
A few weeks after that a guy who was looking at his phone instead of the road did not see me and my motorbike standing for a trafficlight and hit me at 50km/h.
After that I could not do my job anymore. Then someone who owns a calibrating company asked me if I wanted to repair a Fluke calibrator. I did that and since them I work on test and calibration gear (and some other, industrial, stuff) I can work only a few hours so it won't make me rich but I love doing it. Most gear is rather exotic without any service doc, ( even a few times custom made )  but it is the best of both worlds, I can repair electronic  gear, get money for it and afterwards the stuff does not consume more lab space because it goes back to the owner. 

It works but I would not advise to follow my way...there are less painfull ways.

[tautech]

Welcome to TEA Fred.
Your path here is similar to mine but without the pain. 

That our hobby can now provide us with some small income is good. 
May you do well.

[BFX]

Triax cables. Oy! They immediately put a CAP (Costly Accessory Phobia) on my GAS.

So many acronyms to learn! 

TEA (Test Equipment Addict)
TN (Time Nut)
GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)
CAP (Costly Accessory Phobia)

and these -

SCOPE (Serious & Chronic Obsession with Personal Electronics)

DMM (Duplicate Meter Mania)

Keep this up and we could be the poster children for a whole new sub-specialty for the psychiatrists! 

I'm BFX
I recognized another two at me:

LSUG (Lazy to Sell Unused Gears) no explanation needed
HFO (High Frequency Obsession) may be it's mutation of GAS my gears will never have enough frequency range and I must buy faster scope, better generator, faster spectrum analyzer, faster ..... faster THz 

I'm failed in TEA therapy also today 
Aeroflex 3025 PXI RF Signal Generator 100 kHz to 6 GHz
Aeroflex 3035C PXI wideband RF digitizer 250 kHz to 6 GHz

[rrinker]

 Hmm, how about NTSC - Nixie Tube System Collector 

[xrunner]

I'm BFX
I recognized another two at me:

LSUG (Lazy to Sell Unused Gears) no explanation needed
HFO (High Frequency Obsession) may be it's mutation of GAS my gears will never have enough frequency range and I must buy faster scope, better generator, faster spectrum analyzer, faster ..... faster THz 

Hey those are great additions to the acronym base. So many disorders! 

I'm failed in TEA therapy also today 
Aeroflex 3025 PXI RF Signal Generator 100 kHz to 6 GHz
Aeroflex 3035C PXI wideband RF digitizer 250 kHz to 6 GHz

It's OK we understand in this group.

I discovered two more disorders today -

GPSDO (Generic Pathological Syndrome Desiring Oscilloscopes)

LED (Lab Equipment Disorder)

[bitseeker]

Oh, my. I guess we're going to have to start a glossary pretty soon. Perhaps I could add one to the OP.

[rachaelp]

Oh, my. I guess we're going to have to start a glossary pretty soon. Perhaps I could add one to the OP.

Maybe we need to ask Dave to make this an actual forum section? Then we can have a glossary thread pinned to the top of the list for people to easily find to enable quick diagnosis of their exact condition(s)?

Anyway, back to eBay....

[tautech]

Anyway, back to eBay....

You're hooked Rach. 

Is there any real hope/help for you poor poor souls ? 

[SingedFingers]

I just sold something. There is hope.

Then again there is a hole where it was which needs filling.

[BFX]

Oh I forgot one

CCMHA (Cheap China Modules History Accumulator) The urge to document history of engineering progress on small cheap Chinese electronic modules.

 

[iainwhite]

I just sold something. There is hope.

Also, I see that you turned down the offer of a free scope . . . .

[SingedFingers]

Yes. TBH that was primarily because my other half said we could turn it into a day trip with the kids. Which isn't going to be fun because it was 5 hours in the car, a pitiful 11 degrees all day and they're all sick and grumpy. This would inevitably end up in a just about welcome but miserable service station dinner KFC or something but you can't even do that now because Fleet services on the M3 burned down which was the strategic high point between children urinating themselves on the motorway or dying of starvation.

I'd actually rather Yodel drop kicked something fragile over my back fence

I like free test gear but I value my sanity.

[msraya]

Yes, I also..  . Last two years I spent some thousands of euros...
I get a CMU200, Stabilock 4032, Bird 43, 2xfull loaded 53131A, Keythley 2015, Rigol DSA-815TG, MSO1074-S, DP832A, Agilent 3GHz active probe, Tek 492BP.... I was very happy 

I'm trying to justify the spent.. Because right now, I do not have the time to use all the equipment...
But, in the years coming, I plan to use it... for sure... 
If my wife do not throw away all equipment by the window..

HI HI
Manuel
PD: I have a HP 53131A for sale HI HI..

[bitseeker]

Oh, my. I guess we're going to have to start a glossary pretty soon. Perhaps I could add one to the OP.

Maybe we need to ask Dave to make this an actual forum section? Then we can have a glossary thread pinned to the top of the list for people to easily find to enable quick diagnosis of their exact condition(s)?

Hmm, if a whole forum was started, that would mean that we've infected a large portion of the EEVblog population.

Meanwhile, I've updated my intro post to include a glossary with all the acronyms thus far and a few new ones, such as,

FUSS: Future Usefulness Speculation Syndrome - The inability to part with or sell equipment as a result of rationalization about potential projects for which it will one day be useful.

If I missed any, let me know.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg1114480/#msg1114480

[rachaelp]

Forgive me, I was weak. I gave in to a moment of desire and bought a Rohde & Schwarz APN62 audio signal generator from eBay.....

Best Regards,

Rachael

[Cubdriver]

And I'm now the proud owner of a Fluke 5440B with a dead display.   

-Pat

[SingedFingers]

Ooh VFD. That would put me right off anything. I owned a VCR years ago that had a duff one and I learned to drive it without a display because I couldn't get a replacement. Did my head in.

Sold another thing. I may have to leave the group. Farewell to the nixie counter and cheap chinese RF gen this week.

Then again, the eBay watch list says otherwise

[xrunner]

Forgive me, I was weak. I gave in to a moment of desire and bought a Rohde & Schwarz APN62 audio signal generator from eBay.....

Best Regards,

Rachael

You are forgiven, we all support each other here.

[lowimpedance]

Hmm, if a whole forum was started, that would mean that we've infected a large portion of the EEVblog population.

That would be a LOT of G.A.S .............

Of course I couldn't let that one go now could I !.

Okay time to get some fresh air ..................... and check the dumpster.

[Cubdriver]

Forgive me, I was weak. I gave in to a moment of desire and bought a Rohde & Schwarz APN62 audio signal generator from eBay.....

Best Regards,

Rachael

You are forgiven, we all support enable each other here.

Fixed it for you.   

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

Ooh VFD. That would put me right off anything. I owned a VCR years ago that had a duff one and I learned to drive it without a display because I couldn't get a replacement. Did my head in.

Yes, but it's STONE dead - both the 17 segment array on the left and the dot matrix on the right - not even a hint of light.  And some quick voltmeter checking showed some voltages were way off as in missing - like the filament voltage.  I need to do some power supply exploration.  The VFDs themselves look pristine, and are vacuum tight - getter flash on both is nice and metallic.  Fingers crossed...

Sold another thing. I may have to leave the group. Farewell to the nixie counter and cheap chinese RF gen this week.

Noooooooooo!  Not the nixies!!   

Then again, the eBay watch list says otherwise

evilBay...  I'm TRYING to stay away.  I really should shut off my feed!   

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

Forgive me, I was weak. I gave in to a moment of desire and bought a Rohde & Schwarz APN62 audio signal generator from eBay.....

Best Regards,

Rachael

We need peekshures when it arrives!

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

And finally a pic of the partially dismantled 5440B:



-Pat