Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

@Cerebus: should I refer to you as lord going forth?

Yes, you should. He likes it, and the shenanigans are worth it.

   You leave a handgun lying around where monkeys can pick it up, you deserve to get shot by it... Or as they used to say when I was growing up, get "Lit up like Tim Taylor".

You can't fix stupid; but the law almost always sides with the numpties.

Those who know better are by default tasked with locking the dangerous stuff away to protect them from themselves; and half the time, we have to fight those numpties for the privilege. This is our cross to bear.   

mnem
"When I was young and had no sense,
I went & peed on a electric fence.
It scorched my d*** and zapped my ba**s;
made me pee all over my overalls."

Amazing what you'll think is a good bet when you're 12. 

@mnementh: lmao. That made me snigger like a 12 year old.

Which part? I was adding some stuff I forgot, and now I don't remember what was what...  FUCK YOU, CRS!!!

Banggood always sounds like it should be a porn site.

When I started shopping there for RC junk, I had to wade through all sorts of listings for sex appliances and toys... now mostly all they have is lingerie and underwear. Some VERY strange underwear... 

Soldering up my PCBs now. Fingers cross I haven’t futzed anything.

mnem
I'm going to go home now, before I break anything else.

[bd139]

Hahahaha that cracked me up

Well I did fuck the board up which lead to some minor head scratching. When you move the component labels around in Kicad, make sure you stuff them next to the damn component that they belong to  . This lead to some problems with an RC decoupling network (low pass) which I accidentally turned into a high pass which was no bloody good as it was supplying DC to an opamp (look at C8 and R5). 

Apart from that, it's alive and appears to work...



Note lack of SMA goodies because they're not arriving until next week 

Going to respin the board with a less overkill regulator, ceramic caps both sides of the regulator, label fixes and shave a cm off the RHS I think. Should shave 5mA off the current as well.

But not before I've tested it and done a calibration curve!

Edit: really need a nice RF signal generator now. TEA breeds TEA

[Cerebus]

@Cerebus: should I refer to you as lord going forth?

Cerebus has technically only been a commoner, prime minister of Iest and Western Pope, so technically no, but Cerebus doesn't really care what you call Cerebus as long as you are prepared for the possible consequences, and aren't foolish enough to call Cerebus later for dinner.

[mnementh]

Oh, come now C, that sort of false modesty doesn't become Cerebus. It's almost like damning himself with faint praise. 

mnem
https://youtu.be/uBHPmYIxaiI

[med6753]

It has been a very productive day......

On the TEA side.....fixed the attenuator issues with the 7A15A Plug-in. The Fluke 8600A is back on the bench. I thought I had fixed the drift issue on the 20VDC range. Nope, still drifting. Changed some coupling caps but still not right. I have some ideas and will work on this more tomorrow.

On the automotive side.....hand washed and dried both cars. And some minor detailing.

On the domestic side.....laundry done (Yes dear, folded and put away.  ). Also cleaned the bathroom. Now it smells like a fragrant English Garden in full bloom.   

Amazing what you can get done when you divorce yourself from the rest of the world and don't allow it to interfere. Tomorrow more TEA and perhaps maybe I'll go out and get a haircut. 

Now gonna go relax and perhaps turn on the boob tube. Then sleep.

[Specmaster]

Wow certainly sounds like you have earned some rest and recreation time, well done you. 

[bitseeker]

Problem solved. Shitty banana plugs are gone!

Yay! I use those same style, too. Good patch cables, though a little stiff. I like being able to stack other banana plugs into them from two directions. They are pricey, but sometimes it's possible to run across a bundle of them at a good price.

[bitseeker]

Speaking of cables and connectors, have any of you used Cal Test stuff? Any good? I've seen it priced for more than Pomona.

[mnementh]

(SNIP) The lowest common denominator of employee is going to lick a tesla coil and then sue you. Just remember that.

I just stumbled across this again while scrolling... there's just something about the meter of the sentence.

I imagine it in Hugh Laurie's voice, and that it's, I'm done for. Snerking out loud all over again like Muttley.

https://youtu.be/FdghRwWfaOQ

mnem
Oh, wait... even worse: Morgan Freeman...     OMG, it hurts... and now I have this urge to go watch a Nature Documentary. 

[mnementh]

What about some Hirschmann cables? Definitely more expensive than the Chinese options, but still doable and a lot of bang for your buck.

I looked at their cables on Newark; prices seem pretty similar to Pomona.

That said... I did a Guurgle for "silicone test leads" and got ferking oodles of hits from Banggood; all stackable, 15A & 20A rated, and in shrouded & unshrouded varieties:

https://www.banggood.com/DANIU-P1050-5Pcs-5-Colours-1M-4mm-Banana-to-Banana-Plug-Soft-Silicone-Test-Cable-Lead-for-Multimeter-p-1136464.html

https://www.banggood.com/DANIU-4pcs-1M-4mm-Banana-to-Banana-Plug-Soft-Silicone-Test-Cable-Lead-for-Multimeter-4-Colors-p-1157595.html

https://www.banggood.com/P1018A-5Pcs-1M-4mm-Silicone-Banana-Plug-to-Crocodile-Alligator-Clip-Multimeter-Test-Probe-Lead-p-1131633.html

https://www.banggood.com/DANIU-5Pcs-5-Colors-Silicone-Banana-to-Banana-Plugs-Test-Probe-Leads-Cable-p-1157614.html


https://www.banggood.com/15A-1M-Stackable-Copper-Banana-Plug-Sheathed-Alligator-Test-Clip-Cable-Leads-p-1057690.html

https://www.banggood.com/P1036-5Pcs-1M-4mm-Banana-to-Banana-Plug-Test-Cable-Lead-for-Multimeter-5-Colors-p-1237898.html

Here's the whole "4mm banana leads" section:

https://www.banggood.com/search/banana-test-lead.html

Most of them appear pretty fair quality in pictures; bad part is most of them are the "Daniu" brand, which is what Specmaster's horrible connectors were. 


mnem
Damn.

[Specmaster]

What about some Hirschmann cables? Definitely more expensive than the Chinese options, but still doable and a lot of bang for your buck.

I looked at their cables on Newark; prices seem pretty similar to Pomona.

That said... I did a Guurgle for "silicone test leads" and got ferking oodles of hits from Banggood; all stackable, 15A & 20A rated, and in shrouded & unshrouded varieties:

https://www.banggood.com/DANIU-P1050-5Pcs-5-Colours-1M-4mm-Banana-to-Banana-Plug-Soft-Silicone-Test-Cable-Lead-for-Multimeter-p-1136464.html

https://www.banggood.com/DANIU-4pcs-1M-4mm-Banana-to-Banana-Plug-Soft-Silicone-Test-Cable-Lead-for-Multimeter-4-Colors-p-1157595.html

https://www.banggood.com/P1018A-5Pcs-1M-4mm-Silicone-Banana-Plug-to-Crocodile-Alligator-Clip-Multimeter-Test-Probe-Lead-p-1131633.html

https://www.banggood.com/DANIU-5Pcs-5-Colors-Silicone-Banana-to-Banana-Plugs-Test-Probe-Leads-Cable-p-1157614.html


https://www.banggood.com/15A-1M-Stackable-Copper-Banana-Plug-Sheathed-Alligator-Test-Clip-Cable-Leads-p-1057690.html

https://www.banggood.com/P1036-5Pcs-1M-4mm-Banana-to-Banana-Plug-Test-Cable-Lead-for-Multimeter-5-Colors-p-1237898.html

Here's the whole "4mm banana leads" section:

https://www.banggood.com/search/banana-test-lead.html

Most of them appear pretty fair quality in pictures; bad part is most of them are the "Daniu" brand, which is what bd139's horrible connectors were. 


mnem
Damn.

I think the dwagons flame is going out, it was my crappy connectors. Plus all I get on those links is flash sale and squishy toys [emoji23][emoji23][emoji91]

EDIT
I think the links aren't working from Tapatalk, they work just fine from the email. I think that is where I brought the premade leads from and they are fine but too long at times hence why I wanted to make shorter ones.

EDIT 2
Yup, I can confirm the above, I'm now on my computer and the links work just fine here as well, its just Tapatalk on my phone that was affected.

[Specmaster]

Well today the postman did manage to bring my latest DMM toy and its a very interesting and quirky one at that and if anyone has any information on the Metrix MX52 badged as ITT and sold by RS, stock No. 253-771 I'd be happy to receive any nuggets of info you may have. I'll "take it aparrt" later and let you guys have your weekend fix of pron. Heres a little teaser for you to wet your appetite, it has a LOGIC function build in as well .... could be interesting and possibly useful as well 

[mnementh]

You're absolutely right; no idea why I did that except my ongoing battle with CRS. It's fixed now. 

Similarly, when I first saw the pic I thought it was a Metex unit... but evidently I can't read either, since you clearly state Metrix.

And just now I picked up my coffee mug, only to find it balanced precariously on an unnoticed pen on my desktop.


I do believe my "situational awareness" subroutine is flaking out; maybe I need to go back to bed and do a hard reset. 

mnem
Getting old is not for wussies.

[Specmaster]

Metrix MX52 tear down session begins, The first thing you notice about this meter apart from its slightly odd looks is that there are no screws holding it together, how then do you gain access to the insides. Trawling the web for a manual reveals what the French jokingly call a user manual, 8 pages of general information about the meter and a cryptic picture that sort of shows you how to without actually stating it, there was a reference on the opening pages that the kickstand was a patented tool. You have to pull the input guard up and off, remove the kickstand and insert the tips in the side of the meter as indicated by the red arrow in my photo and pry the cover upwards and outwards to release 3 clips on each side.

This reveals the batter and fuse compartment, sealed against liquid ingress (IP66) and there are 2 ceramic fuses 10A and 630ma. Use the kickstand in the same fashion to remove the rear casing of the meter and this reveals a very beefy seal for the back so the IP66 rating is very believable. The input jacks are solid tubes and are connected to the pcb by way of 4 nuts and washers, very impressed and similar to the Fluke 25/27 series (albeit they used screws). Removing the nuts and washers and 2 self tappers halfway along the pcb, accessible via holes in the shielding and the pcb assembly is then only held in place by the battery and the fuses. Removing these allowed the assembly to be gently teased out of the case.

I have to say the case itself is made out of pretty thick plastic and is pretty rigid and impressive in its construction, the soft membrane buttons are released in a similar fashion as the fuses to maintain the IP66 rating.

Taking the photos during the process also revealed that this particular meter has had a hard life and the plastic has suffered some cracking, not visible normally so this deterred me from attempting to take apart the pcb layers of the meter any further as it was working OK and I didn't want to break it just for the sake of of some pron shots  although I did want to but I rather like this meter and its charm so I didn't go further with it.

I had already tested it and blow me down with a feather it still seems to be in calibration when connected up to my voltage, current and resistance references.

With the leads that would have been supplied with it when new, the leads are securely locked in to the input jacks and the there is a small locking mechanism that needed to be pressed at the time of unplugging each lead to release the lock. Given that the leads were shrouded, I'm not too sure what added safety this feature afforded although it is attention to detail.

It has Max hold function, Logic function, frequency, 5 steps of data logging and a nice centre zero function on the barograph so it is also very useful of working on FM radios etc.

[bd139]

Certainly looks well made! 

[Specmaster]

It is and once I've fully got my head around how to use the added features will mean that I gain space for more TEA items as this will effectively replace my Heathkit V-7AU with a more modern and safety wise better equivalent.

The problem being that the manual does not inform how to use each function 

[mnementh]

 

I just noticed... I'm one post away from 1500. Most of them annoying folks in here.  This should be some sort of milestone, I suppose...     

I think I'll celebrate with a "new" HP 3478A!

Curse you, Specmaster!!! 

mnem
Now I'm shopping those stackable test leads furr realzz... 

[mnementh]

 

That MX52 does look decently made... there's a lot of similar feel in the engineering to my experience with the Fluke ruggedized gear, which market I'm pretty sure it was intended for. I found these pics and some more at this eBay auction:  https://www.ebay.it/itm/292350405922

I found the same PDF "manual" you did; I'm pretty sure that was more a sales brochure than actual User Instruction.

Cheers!

mnem
*Currently shopping Emerilware*

[Specmaster]

I just noticed... I'm one post away from 1500. Most of them annoying folks in here.  This should be some sort of milestone, I suppose...     

I think I'll celebrate with a "new" HP 3478A!

Curse you, Specmaster!!! 

mnem
Now I'm shopping those stackable test leads furr realzz... 

Haha, you never annoy me, you do keep me amused however  My turn to say curses to you mnementh I've just shopped  shopping those stackable test leads as well and purchased some of those double header at each end and 10 of those with the hole through them for stacking in a slightly less safe fashion. 

[bitseeker]

I just noticed... I'm one post away from 1500. Most of them annoying folks in here.  This should be some sort of milestone, I suppose...     

Congratuations!

I think I'll celebrate with a "new" HP 3478A!


Curse you, Specmaster!!! 

Ah, so you grabbed the other cheap one. Cool!

Yeah, it's all Specmaster's fault this time. He got both of us.

[Specmaster]

 

That MX52 does look decently made... there's a lot of similar feel in the engineering to my experience with the Fluke ruggedized gear, which market I'm pretty sure it was intended for. I found these pics and some more at this eBay auction:  https://www.ebay.it/itm/292350405922

I found the same PDF "manual" you did; I'm pretty sure that was more a sales brochure than actual User Instruction.

Cheers!

mnem
*Currently shopping Emerilware*

I might try and see if I can locate one of those bumper cradles for it, it will protect it a bit more from those cracks getting whacked and opening up. Yes it is well made, very impressive and reminds me a lot of the Fluke 25/27 range as it has similar style of construction and both have been design with the military in mind as can be seen in the "user manual" which is TBH more like a sales brochure as it good about the specs and lacks anything about using the meter  So thats a fail right there then if they believe that anyone would be able to pick this up and instantly know what to do with it. The person who I got it from was amazed to hear that I had to put a battery in it, claiming they were told by someone that was powered by the cables when they were plugged in 

[med6753]

Got an unexpected win today. Needed a hard drive for an old laptop. So I order from Amazon one of those off brand 120GB SSD for $25 USD. (ADATA, made in Taiwan). It arrived today. The Amazon product label attached to the back of the box says it's 120GB. The ADATA box itself says it's 512GB. The drive itself says 512GB. What does it format as? 512GB.  Sweet! 512GB for $25. Can't beat that!     

[med6753]

 

That MX52 does look decently made... there's a lot of similar feel in the engineering to my experience with the Fluke ruggedized gear, which market I'm pretty sure it was intended for. I found these pics and some more at this eBay auction:  https://www.ebay.it/itm/292350405922

I found the same PDF "manual" you did; I'm pretty sure that was more a sales brochure than actual User Instruction.

Cheers!

mnem
*Currently shopping Emerilware*

I might try and see if I can locate one of those bumper cradles for it, it will protect it a bit more from those cracks getting whacked and opening up. Yes it is well made, very impressive and reminds me a lot of the Fluke 25/27 range as it has similar style of construction and both have been design with the military in mind as can be seen in the "user manual" which is TBH more like a sales brochure as it good about the specs and lacks anything about using the meter  So thats a fail right there then if they believe that anyone would be able to pick this up and instantly know what to do with it. The person who I got it from was amazed to hear that I had to put a battery in it, claiming they were told by someone that was powered by the cables when they were plugged in 

Agreed, that is a nice DMM. 

[bd139]

The person who I got it from was amazed to hear that I had to put a battery in it, claiming they were told by someone that was powered by the cables when they were plugged in 

There's always one

At least you probably couldn't sell him wireless power 

@med6753: nice one with the SSD  At least you got a good idiot 

Edit: winner here as well ... Aliexpress AD8307 ICs - £0.25 each versus £10.50 on RS. Perfect linearity within specs:

[bitseeker]

Got an unexpected win today. Needed a hard drive for an old laptop. So I order from Amazon one of those off brand 120GB SSD for $25 USD. (ADATA, made in Taiwan). It arrived today. The Amazon product label attached to the back of the box says it's 120GB. The ADATA box itself says it's 512GB. The drive itself says 512GB. What does it format as? 512GB.  Sweet! 512GB for $25. Can't beat that! 

Woah! Nice score. Just to be sure, put a 140GB file on it and compare its hash to the original. At least that'll ensure it's more than 120GB inside.