Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

Yep aware of those.  Have an archive of that ... Tangible copies are worth more to people. The books are technical classics really so seem to fetch a high amount of money.

You do get some proper loons though. One guy I sold a book to told me about the amateur radio doomsday prepper library he was building. I couldn't help picture him sitting there as a skeleton draped over his key because he forgot to pack food...

I'm just an honest businessman who knows how to put supply in touch with demand for a markup to pay for my TEA habit 



Talking of TEA habit, 5pm and no Tek scope bits have arrived yet. Was hoping to blow myself up on that 2235 power supply again this evening!

Over on the Tek forum, there's a 2215 going free if you want to collect from Brighton?

[Specmaster]

Sheesh.  You guys with all the TEA.  You have more money than I to burn on this, and here TEE is my middle name!  (Really, seriously, Tee is my middle name.)  I am a Test Equipment Enthusiast by name.

So sad.  I'm way behind. 

Its the same in all walks of life, there's always going to be those who are flush with cash that will be way out in front. Just work with what you have and slowly chip away when you can and before you know you will some way along that path in comparison to someone just starting, its all a matter of perspective 

[bd139]

Over on the Tek forum, there's a 2215 going free if you want to collect from Brighton?

Thanks for the heads up but can’t be bothered

Sheesh.  You guys with all the TEA.  You have more money than I to burn on this, and here TEE is my middle name!  (Really, seriously, Tee is my middle name.)  I am a Test Equipment Enthusiast by name.

So sad.  I'm way behind. 

Its the same in all walks of life, there's always going to be those who are flush with cash that will be way out in front. Just work with what you have and slowly chip away when you can and before you know you will some way along that path in comparison to someone just starting, its all a matter of perspective 

Definitely. Going back a few years now I started out this time with bugger all. So far my net expenditure is zero. Plan is adding value to make stuff working again. Running whole TEA off 0% interest credit card. Today’s balance is £12

[Neomys Sapiens]

On topic for once. Managed to snag a sacrificial 7B53A plugin for £20. This will provide me with a replacement sweep IC (if it works) for the 465, a couple of CA3046 ICs, button surrounds, a nice bourns 5k 10 turn pot and knob and a ton of Tek numbered transistors as spares.

The 10 turn pots are usually about £15-16 a go so it makes sense.

I may be tempted to fix the 465 now. Just need to work on the attenuators.

Did I inspire you to tackle the attenuators one more time with my successful repair? If so, I take full credit. 

After reading your repair report, I just want to remark that there are some tools which might be better suited to the task of adjusting those contacts: there are special, very thin adjusting pliers (which also come in very convenient shapes, such as angled sideways) as well as little levers with slotted protrusions at their ends (in varying slot widths and orientations) which were common in the age of open relays and stepping switches. The latter even lend themselves well to self manufacture. You can adjust even delicate contacts to perfection, which is much harder using ordinary tools.

I will provide pictures when I bring my digital camera back from the office in the next days.
German terms are Justierzange and Kontakt-Federspanner (spring tensioner).
p.s.: here's such an item
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Einsteller-Kontakt-Kontakteinsteller-Federspanner-Zuendkontakt-Bundeswehr-Bund-Bw-/152729403958?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

[Neomys Sapiens]

Well it's taken a few months of spare time, but I've finally read all the backlog in this thread.

For my own contribution I finally got my Stanford Research collection all* in one place.

*: There's a parts-only DS345 elsewhere, of course that's the one with the GPIB & RS232 ports, so I'll probably attempt a recovery at some point.

Impressive collection. I like the SRS gear, but I haven't managed to aquire one yet.
Their LCR bridge is definitely one of the better ones, and I'm still hoping for a affordable SG380, as it is the only signal generator fulfilling my wishes regarding size AND versatility AND range.
The 620 is a great counter, specially for time interval measurements.

[mnementh]

Over on the Tek forum, there's a 2215 going free if you want to collect from Brighton?

Thanks for the heads up but can’t be bothered

Ummm... you said you're having HV problems... the tripler/flyback transformer on the 22xx is pretty much unobtanium. I got lucky 10 years ago and bought the last one NOS/NIB that somebody had squirreled away.

Same with the HV diodes in the tripler circuit, IIRC.

mnem
"For free; TAKE! For buy; waste time." ~ grand-dad

[mnementh]

I had this book on my bench in the high school AV Lab where I got my start. Much of the intercom and phonograph gear was still valve-driven; I remember the old Wollensak reel-reels that were built like a freaking '57 New Yorker (in case you didn't know, that car is widely regarded as the ultimate demolition derby survivor) and almost as heavy as one.

Even now I can smell the musty old pulp (similar to a real ECG cross-reference) and feel the grain (not as smooth) under my touch... *Sigh*

mnem
*Suddenly feeling very old*

[bitseeker]

Well it's taken a few months of spare time, but I've finally read all the backlog in this thread.

Woah! That is quite a feat, indeed. We should have an award for the accomplishment.

For my own contribution I finally got my Stanford Research collection all* in one place.

Very nice collection on that side. I see you've got one of those pesky-handled Fluke A90's at the top of the stack, too.

Hehe. Can we get some good deals on test equipment in that shack?

[tautech]

Same with the HV diodes in the tripler circuit, IIRC.

mnem
"For free; TAKE! For buy; waste time." ~ grand-dad

Not sure about that...... well actually I am, there's squillions of them available.... let Google be your friend. 

[bitseeker]

Got this box-o-junque given to me today by the guy who operates our repeater. It was given to him by the previous repeater owner. Some interesting things such as attenuators, meters, preamps, box-o-ICs and a 10 MHz oscillator. The Simpson meters have no part numbers on the outside so have to open them up.

Lots of nice goodies in there, xrunner. Score!

I thought the 10 MHz osc. might be interesting so I opened it up. Is it home-made? Someone carefully packed it with slices of foam. No schematic but upon a quick glance it has an LM78L09 regulator, and a 2N2222 for the output, among the crystal and other parts. It works and gets hot, but the output waveform is not that pretty. Might check the output transistor, but we'll put it aside for now.

Yeah, that output is pretty funky. Might work OK, depending on how cranky the input is on whatever you intend to clock with it. Would be interesting to see what's generating the noise. I suppose you could always Schmidt trigger it, if all else fails.

Interesting box of stuff. Those Pomona boxes are worth their weight in gold even if the stuff in them is knackered 

Yeah, they caught my eye, too. Just swap out the innards with whatever little circuit you want and you're ready to go with the connectors already installed. I'm sure bd139 would love to get his hands on such a box of goodies.

[bitseeker]

Sheesh.  You guys with all the TEA.  You have more money than I to burn on this, and here TEE is my middle name!  (Really, seriously, Tee is my middle name.)  I am a Test Equipment Enthusiast by name.

So sad.  I'm way behind.

No worries, Housedad. It's not a race. Afterall, if you tap out early, then there's no more fun to be had. Find your pace and all will be well. We vicariously enjoy one another's equipment, too.

[bitseeker]

Sheesh.  You guys with all the TEA.  You have more money than I to burn on this, and here TEE is my middle name!  (Really, seriously, Tee is my middle name.)  I am a Test Equipment Enthusiast by name.

So sad.  I'm way behind. 

Its the same in all walks of life, there's always going to be those who are flush with cash that will be way out in front. Just work with what you have and slowly chip away when you can and before you know you will some way along that path in comparison to someone just starting, its all a matter of perspective 

Definitely. Going back a few years now I started out this time with bugger all. So far my net expenditure is zero. Plan is adding value to make stuff working again. Running whole TEA off 0% interest credit card. Today’s balance is £12

Well done, bd. I haven't yet reached break even. Too much non-TEA getting in the way of my repair queue.  I am making progress, though. Slowly, but surely.

[xrunner]

Just an update on my new TEA the hp 8904 Multifunction Synthesizer - it shipped today. I plan on doing some typical things such as replacing the backup battery, replacing the Schaffner line filter (another oldie design that likes to blow itself up  ), and enable all the options such as 001 which allows modulation of the output by the added internal channels. Apparently it's like the Rigol DS1054Z: it had everything inside but you had to pay to enable it (well before the hacks ...).

The Defpom has a few videos on the thing which will help me, provided my brain can learn the New Zealand accent he has - it's pretty thick. 

[Brumby]

Sheesh.  You guys with all the TEA.  You have more money than I to burn on this, and here TEE is my middle name!  (Really, seriously, Tee is my middle name.)  I am a Test Equipment Enthusiast by name.

So sad.  I'm way behind.

No worries, Housedad. It's not a race. Afterall, if you tap out early, then there's no more fun to be had. Find your pace and all will be well.

Housedad - I know exactly how you feel.  I keep reading about all these Tek 465's and 475's people are tripping over in North America and sigh about the desert that is Australia.

We vicariously enjoy one another's equipment, too.

This is how I deal with it.

[mnementh]

Same with the HV diodes in the tripler circuit, IIRC.

mnem
"For free; TAKE! For buy; waste time." ~ grand-dad

Not sure about that...... well actually I am, there's squillions of them available.... let Google be your friend. 

Meh... I said IIRC. So I didn't R C-ily. If the worst thing that happens to you in a day is you were wrong about 1/3 of an offhand comment on the internet... it's been a good day. 

mnem
 

[mnementh]

   

What sorcery is this?!?     I don't know whether to be terrified, amused, or nauseated. 

And I suppose more importantly... do I dare leave this crushed, folded, spindled, and otherwise accursed Kung-Fu cribbery alone in a room with my two small children, lest they offend it with their irrepressibly rude, unruly behavior and become the subject of its supernatural ire? 

mnem
It's like they turned a TARDIS inside-out. 

[bitseeker]

It's a trap!

[bd139]

That’s pretty neat. Sure beats the comedy I watched when the last mattress I bought turned up. King size jobby delivered by the chuckle brothers. One got himself and the mattress stuck in the door and had a panic attack 

Same with the HV diodes in the tripler circuit, IIRC.

mnem
"For free; TAKE! For buy; waste time." ~ grand-dad

Not sure about that...... well actually I am, there's squillions of them available.... let Google be your friend. 

I’ve actually had offers of parts from about three people now. The tek community is really helpful. Someone off list I already know actually lives about 10 minutes away in Feltham too and will extract any bits I need from an actual 2235 which got the CRT popped.

As for diodes I’ve got piles of the things now. I went crazy and bought a load. Then used two 

[tggzzz]

Same with the HV diodes in the tripler circuit, IIRC. [unobtanium]

What's so special about them that, say, http://hvstuff.com/high-voltage-diodes-and-rectifiers doesn't have them?

They sell 15kV 4A 100nS (hopefully ns!) diodes for a mere $25, or you can have 100kV 5mA diodes etc. A 12kV 5mA diode costs $0.34.

[bd139]

The 12KV 5mA ones from there are the one I bought 20 of

[capt bullshot]

This HP kit looks nice inside.
For comparison, my latest TEA addition: https://cb.wunderkis.de/wk/AC-Source-EAC/teardown/

Still have to figure out how to operate the thing, it doesn't have any controls, everything via RS232, no description or manual nor software available. Manufacturer has still to answer my email, wonder if they'll ever do. About the same time this thing was manufactured (1990 ... 2000), I've worked for a small company, the boss would have declined support for a long time out of production unit.

Well, I know where they are sited. If they don't answer, we can molest them personally.

Okay, it's just about 160km from me

No answer from them until now, didn't wait anymore and made my own project out of it:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/et-system-ac-source-eac-500/

[Cerebus]

   

What sorcery is this?!?     I don't know whether to be terrified, amused, or nauseated. 

And I suppose more importantly... do I dare leave this crushed, folded, spindled, and otherwise accursed Kung-Fu cribbery alone in a room with my two small children, lest they offend it with their irrepressibly rude, unruly behavior and become the subject of its supernatural ire? 

mnem
It's like they turned a TARDIS inside-out. 

Looks like an ideal companion to my Cat Eating Quilt-Monster^tm - which is  simply really the huge real down duvet that I used to have that could eat as many as four cats for Breakfast and still have room for more.

[mnementh]

Same with the HV diodes in the tripler circuit, IIRC. [unobtanium]

What's so special about them that, say, http://hvstuff.com/high-voltage-diodes-and-rectifiers doesn't have them?

They sell 15kV 4A 100nS (hopefully ns!) diodes for a mere $25, or you can have 100kV 5mA diodes etc. A 12kV 5mA diode costs $0.34.

Oh, sweet cheese and crackers... Try a little effing context, people...

Thanks for the heads up but can’t be bothered

Ummm... you said you're having HV problems... the tripler/flyback transformer on the 22xx is pretty much unobtanium. I got lucky 10 years ago and bought the last one NOS/NIB that somebody had squirreled away.

Same with the HV diodes in the tripler circuit, IIRC.

mnem
"For free; TAKE! For buy; waste time." ~ grand-dad

Not sure about that...... well actually I am, there's squillions of them available.... let Google be your friend. 

Meh... I said IIRC. So I didn't R C-ily. If the worst thing that happens to you in a day is you were wrong about 1/3 of an offhand comment on the internet... it's been a good day. 

mnem
 

If you must know, at the time I was thinking I remembered them being an odd combination of fast rise time and HV rating, and ridiculously expensive. I was ALSO thinking it wasn't worth the effing hassle of looking the little gawddammits up, so I deliberately predicated that 1/3 of my statement with "IIRC"...   

mnem
   
And now, I'll be fewked if I'm EVER gonna look 'em up unless someone puts a gun to my head... just on general principles. 

[bd139]

About to power up the “repaired” 2235 switcher. Wish me luck. If I don’t post again it took me out as well this time 

Safety glasses and ear protection donned!

[med6753]

...........BIG SNIP...........
mnem
   
And now, I'll be fewked if I'm EVER gonna look 'em up unless someone puts a gun to my head... just on general principles. 

Holy crap, who pissed in your wheaties this morning?  Go have some more coffee and calm the fuck down.