Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

Hamfests are dangerous. Lots of bargains. Shame there aren’t that many decent ones here in the UK any more.

The last hamfest I went to didn't have nuthin worth considering. And what was there was a whole bunch of wishful thinking. For example: a B&K 2120 20Mhz scope identical to mine for $60 USD. And it was beat up! 

Last one here they had several tested working (demonstrated!) HP 8558B in 180T chassis for £150. Literally only had 100 on me and the cash machine was empty 

[bitseeker]

Hi, my name is Greg and I'm a test equipmentaholic.

Hamfests are money sinks, right?  But I figured: $8 to get in, nothing really lost if I don't find anything.  Of course, immediately I see a table with some decent brand-name gear on it, and I start scanning for the model numbers.  I really wanted another power supply for testing analog breadboards - look! Here's an HP 6236B just like we used to have in the lab.  And a nice DMM so I could measure voltage and current simultaneously on amplifiers - oh!  A Fluke 8600A in great condition.

They had low prices on them, but there was a bigger sign saying "MAKE OFFER", so I did.  He accepted, which made back my entry fee and more, on just the power supply.  It will replace an old beater supply I picked up for $10 a long time ago, and is far nicer in every way.  And the Fluke: someone told me autoranging meters were addictive.  They were right.

Hi Greg! Welcome to the TEA house. You did great on that hamfest outing. Congrats. Both of those units look to be in great condition.

[bitseeker]

My University is trashing a bunch of components, and random crap. It makes me sad, and I'm grabbing way too much stuff I'll never use. I'm an addict. I need help.

What are we supposed to do with hundreds of 74S logic ICs, X5S capacitors, AC transformers, and 5% carbon resistors? There doesn't seem to be much of a market anymore, but I do wish the young students would learn how to use this stuff.

I picked up a box of wire wrap sockets, EEPROM programmer, Hall effect current sensors, tantalums, triax cable, stepper motor controller, and 250 lbs of other stuff I'll rarely use.

Maybe I'll be able to give some of it back next semester for the design students to use...

That's a shame to see good stuff tossed. It's good you're there to make use of it. I may be interested in the triax cables and any triax adapters depending on exactly what they are. Let me know.

(And how do I post anonymously?)

Not sure how anonymous you intend to be. If you don't log in, then your username isn't displayed. That's about it. Your IP address is recorded when you visit, but you could use a proxy or VPN to change that.

[Specmaster]

My University is trashing a bunch of components, and random crap. It makes me sad, and I'm grabbing way too much stuff I'll never use. I'm an addict. I need help.

What are we supposed to do with hundreds of 74S logic ICs, X5S capacitors, AC transformers, and 5% carbon resistors? There doesn't seem to be much of a market anymore, but I do wish the young students would learn how to use this stuff.

I picked up a box of wire wrap sockets, EEPROM programmer, Hall effect current sensors, tantalums, triax cable, stepper motor controller, and 250 lbs of other stuff I'll rarely use.

Maybe I'll be able to give some of it back next semester for the design students to use...

That's a shame to see good stuff tossed. It's good you're there to make use of it. I may be interested in the triax cables and any triax adapters depending on exactly what they are. Let me know.

(And how do I post anonymously?)

Not sure how anonymous you intend to be. If you don't log in, then your username isn't displayed. That's about it. Your IP address is recorded when you visit, but you could use a proxy or VPN to change that.

If he does that then he shouldn't be able to post, he can browse but not take part in the activities of the forum surely???

[med6753]

I was talking about a 465.....

PS - I don't have longings for low end stuff.  I have a 15MHz Hitachi V152B that covers that quite well.

How about Fluke or Philips scopes, just as good if not better then a 465?
 What are you looking for realistically?

It's nothing more than a classic example - one which has caught my eye.  It's not a spec sheet choice - it's an aesthetic appeal more than anything.  It would also be more impressive to visitors that I knew how to use it.

Silly, I know ... but there are a lot of positive vibes shared here on the 465.

Those vibes come at a high price. Attached is all the work I've done (so far) to get a basket case 465 up and running. It's been a long and hard road and still no where near done.

[Specmaster]

Yet another acquisition tonight, I secured a nice little 20MHz function generator, I'm on my way to getting some decent gear to awkment my Chinesium bits and one day take over from them. This is my 4th bit of TTi gear now, its nice to to have some British built test gear, to be like Trump, Britain First 

I also got myself some of those 4mm male to 4 female adaptors to allow shrouded meter leads to be used on the older meters like HP 3466A and 3478A, couldn't get red and black though, all gone so I got the last ones I could find on Ebay as I had a special voucher that had to be used today, so I'll have to make do with green and yellow adaptors, no hardship.

[Specmaster]

I was talking about a 465.....

PS - I don't have longings for low end stuff.  I have a 15MHz Hitachi V152B that covers that quite well.

How about Fluke or Philips scopes, just as good if not better then a 465?
 What are you looking for realistically?

It's nothing more than a classic example - one which has caught my eye.  It's not a spec sheet choice - it's an aesthetic appeal more than anything.  It would also be more impressive to visitors that I knew how to use it.

Silly, I know ... but there are a lot of positive vibes shared here on the 465.

Those vibes come at a high price. Attached is all the work I've done (so far) to get a basket case 465 up and running. It's been a long and hard road and still no where near done.

This document appears to be corrupted, my MS Office says it can't load it because its corrupted.

[med6753]

I was talking about a 465.....

PS - I don't have longings for low end stuff.  I have a 15MHz Hitachi V152B that covers that quite well.

How about Fluke or Philips scopes, just as good if not better then a 465?
 What are you looking for realistically?

It's nothing more than a classic example - one which has caught my eye.  It's not a spec sheet choice - it's an aesthetic appeal more than anything.  It would also be more impressive to visitors that I knew how to use it.

Silly, I know ... but there are a lot of positive vibes shared here on the 465.

Those vibes come at a high price. Attached is all the work I've done (so far) to get a basket case 465 up and running. It's been a long and hard road and still no where near done.

This document appears to be corrupted, my MS Office says it can't load it because its corrupted.

It's an Open Office document and MS Office should be able to handle it. Try opening it with something else.

[bitseeker]

(And how do I post anonymously?)

Not sure how anonymous you intend to be. If you don't log in, then your username isn't displayed. That's about it. Your IP address is recorded when you visit, but you could use a proxy or VPN to change that.

If he does that then he shouldn't be able to post, he can browse but not take part in the activities of the forum surely???

A long time ago, you could post without creating an account. I don't know about now. I'd be surprised if it worked.

[Specmaster]

No, notepad can't handle it either.

[bitseeker]

This document appears to be corrupted, my MS Office says it can't load it because its corrupted.

It's an Open Office document and MS Office should be able to handle it. Try opening it with something else.

Older MS Word might not support it. I tried it with Word 2013 and it loaded OK. You can install either Open Office or Libre Office. They're both free and support Open Document Format (.odf).

Yeah, Notepad can't handle much of anything. Open Document Format (e.g., .odf) and Office Open XML (e.g., .docx) files are compressed collections of XML files and require a compatible application for user-friendly viewing and editing.

[mnementh]

My University is trashing a bunch of components, and random crap. It makes me sad, and I'm grabbing way too much stuff I'll never use. I'm an addict. I need help.

What are we supposed to do with hundreds of 74S logic ICs, X5S capacitors, AC transformers, and 5% carbon resistors? There doesn't seem to be much of a market anymore, but I do wish the young students would learn how to use this stuff.

I picked up a box of wire wrap sockets, EEPROM programmer, Hall effect current sensors, tantalums, triax cable, stepper motor controller, and 250 lbs of other stuff I'll rarely use.

Maybe I'll be able to give some of it back next semester for the design students to use...


(And how do I post anonymously?)

That's quite the haul... just be mindful that a lot of that old junk is just that; junk. Most non-ceramic caps have a finite lifespan, used or not; and carbon resistors not stored in sealed containers are also suspect, and anything that uses paper as a component like transformers and some controls. Do yourself a favor and triage everything ruthlessly RIGHT NOW, before you get attached to it. Otherwise you'll wind up like me; over 50, up against time for a move with a garage full of JENGA (click to see TEA glossary) you need to sort for the few dozen or so bits that are of actual value.

This stage is inevitable; and it happens before you know it.

This document appears to be corrupted, my MS Office says it can't load it because its corrupted.

It's an Open Office document and MS Office should be able to handle it. Try opening it with something else.

Older MS Word might not support it. I tried it with Word 2013 and it loaded OK. You can install either Open Office or Libre Office. They're both free and support Open Document Format (.odf).

Yeah, Notepad can't handle much of anything. Open Document Format (e.g., .odf) and Office Open XML (e.g., .docx) files are compressed collections of XML files and require a compatible application for user-friendly viewing and editing.

Oh, FFS.  Here, have some .pdf


mnem
I am not my pants. No, I am not your pants either.

[Mr. Scram]

Yet another acquisition tonight, I secured a nice little 20MHz function generator, I'm on my way to getting some decent gear to awkment my Chinesium bits and one day take over from them. This is my 4th bit of TTi gear now, its nice to to have some British built test gear, to be like Trump, Britain First 

I also got myself some of those 4mm male to 4 female adaptors to allow shrouded meter leads to be used on the older meters like HP 3466A and 3478A, couldn't get red and black though, all gone so I got the last ones I could find on Ebay as I had a special voucher that had to be used today, so I'll have to make do with green and yellow adaptors, no hardship.

Nice score. Is that another one in the back?

[Cubdriver]

Ever have one of these crap out? I did.   

Caused my Kindle Fire to lock up. Luckily there wasn't much of anything important on it. And once I removed it the Kindle booted and re-formatted itself and is working fine.

Neither of my laptops can accommodate these micro SD's so I can't check it. 

You need to get one of these (ignore the dimensions; it was resting on a spec sheet):


-Pat

[mnementh]

It's always smaller than you think. 


mnem
Yes, you may touch it.

[GregDunn]

Hi Greg! Welcome to the TEA house. You did great on that hamfest outing. Congrats. Both of those units look to be in great condition.

This guy took really good care of his gear, apparently.  He wouldn't even take my money till he'd plugged them in and demonstrated working condition.  He also had a few Tek analog scopes, but I have to draw the line somewhere; I have one already and a new DSO, which together still take up less space than one of the oldies.  I also saw a HP141T with microwave plugins; I used one of those in our test lab years ago, but I just don't have any use (or space) for one...  Everything I picked up actually has an intended use on the bench, so it was a double win.

These days hamfests are really hit-or-miss.  There seem to be 4 basic types of items: (1) new ham gear, or crufty-looking as-is used gear; (2) ancient PCs; (3) a motley collection of test equipment; and (4) tools and soldering gear.  The ratios change from event to event, and whereas the really cool gear occasionally showed up at the outdoor tables, these days most of it is what my wife calls "clean out the basement before I do" stuff.  The only things I found of interest today were indoors, which was nice because it was air-conditioned and they could be plugged in and tested.  And the vendors all were super knowledgeable about what they had.  The guy selling soldering equipment knew the DC resistance of heating elements by heart, and the tip model numbers as well.  If only they were still running the retail stores...

[GregDunn]

Hamfests are dangerous. Lots of bargains. Shame there aren’t that many decent ones here in the UK any more.

The last hamfest I went to didn't have nuthin worth considering. And what was there was a whole bunch of wishful thinking. For example: a B&K 2120 20Mhz scope identical to mine for $60 USD. And it was beat up! 

There was plenty of junk at this one too.  It seems that some guys just clean out the ham shack and hope that those custom-built matching coils will work for someone else, or someone will be at the fest looking for old ISA PC cards.     In all fairness, though, there was one table full of odds and sods with a sign reading "Free to a good home" and honestly some of the items might have been useful to a hobbyist...

[djos]

I've gotta stop perusing this thread.  All this scope porn stirs up longings that I cannot afford from down under.  THEN we get the appearances of the 465 - one of the iconic examples of scopehood that I have always found attractive.

Oh, the pain.... the pain...

What? are you kidding me?

Dave reckons that you can get a good basic CRO for around 20 Aus Bucks, like that Hameg he got from an auction at his old university?

Maybe in the USA, here in Straya you can't even get a 10 Mhz piece of crap for less than $100!

But Dave is there in Australia with you[emoji848]

True, but most of his observations apply to America.

[Mr. Scram]

The US is perfect for getting decent test gear for good prices. The good stuff can be expensive in the EU and outright unavailable in AU.

[djos]

I finally got my DSO today and I'm quite happy with it so far. 

LOL... whenever I see their logo... something about it; I always first read it as LIN-T. Then my brain stutters, because who would willingly name themselves that?

I have to admit I quite like the charcoal great suit; much more modern-looking than the same old generic greige (grey-beige) all the Wriggol gear comes in. It's become so ubiquitous that now it's "the color of cheap".

I must say it didn't take long for me to like the Red and Grey colour scheme - it's actually even better looking in the flesh. 

[tggzzz]

Hamfests are dangerous. Lots of bargains. Shame there aren’t that many decent ones here in the UK any more.

The last hamfest I went to didn't have nuthin worth considering. And what was there was a whole bunch of wishful thinking. For example: a B&K 2120 20Mhz scope identical to mine for $60 USD. And it was beat up! 

So that's completely unlike fleabay, where you can see Tek 2465B for a mere £1219 (OBO!).

You have to think of hamfests as geek carboot sales or a geek fleamarket. I've found a 5-decade (actually 3+2) Dekastat resistor for £10, a Tek curve tracer plugin plus Tek timebase calibrator for £7 (had to bargain him up on that one!); I sold the plugin for £100.

[bd139]

Yes. The joy of the hamfest (radio rally here) is that there are lots of luddites who arent computer literate and are still working on 1960’s pricing.

Next Kempton I’m taking a fat wedge of cash so I can empty the place. I have no shame

[tggzzz]

Yes. The joy of the hamfest (radio rally here) is that there are lots of luddites who arent computer literate and are still working on 1960’s pricing.

Next Kempton I’m taking a fat wedge of cash so I can empty the place. I have no shame

I got the goodies I mentioned at hamfests in village halls away from any metropolis - rather hit and miss, but an amusing way of spending a Sunday morning

Kempton has more and better stuff at higher prices and you can see it working. It is also down to once per year, in April, so I'm unconvinced it will survive.

[bd139]

I really should go to those ones. I struggle with the motivation to haul my arse to one though sometimes.

I agree about long term survival probability being low. I’ve actually been thinking about all this and when I went to Kempton there was literally no one under 50 there other than reluctant tag alongs. This is the opposite of what I saw during training. There are mostly younger people aged 20-30 starting off and aren’t terribly social and don’t have a lot of time. And they’re buying QRP rigs for digimodes and kits from internet sellers. None of them go to clubs because of cultural differences and the ubiquity of parts that are new and cheap. Thus there is no attraction for them.

I can understand this.

[Specmaster]

Yet another acquisition tonight, I secured a nice little 20MHz function generator, I'm on my way to getting some decent gear to awkment my Chinesium bits and one day take over from them. This is my 4th bit of TTi gear now, its nice to to have some British built test gear, to be like Trump, Britain First 

I also got myself some of those 4mm male to 4 female adaptors to allow shrouded meter leads to be used on the older meters like HP 3466A and 3478A, couldn't get red and black though, all gone so I got the last ones I could find on Ebay as I had a special voucher that had to be used today, so I'll have to make do with green and yellow adaptors, no hardship.

Nice score. Is that another one in the back?

Yes it is but that photo is the one the seller used to sell it with, he had 2 of them, the first one sold with in hours of being on Ebay and the second one had a lot of watchers on it so I thought I had better snap it up quick so I did. Now I'm waiting for to be dispatched. Like so many of the modern stuff, the one I already have can do so much more then this but it also comes with a clunky interface, membrane buttons and many menus to navigate through to get to the function I want. This one, is much more accessible through the use rotary which will provide so much information just through a quick glance and will be of a magnitude better quality waveforms etc.