Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[0culus]

Oh-Oh....

SWMBO just got a survey ... about "her" browsing habits around a Hewlett Packard 8656B  *Gulp*  I know I bought under my account - but it is just possible I looked at a couple under hers.  She knows I will look at all sorts of stuff like this and we've seen "recommendations" of items based on each other's browsing (seems eBay thinks grouping browsing under the one IP address is good enough) - but this is next level exposure.  As a bonus, she now knows what it looks like - so what might have been an anonymous box hiding in a corner, will now get instantly recognised.

The rest of the day is going to be interesting.

 

Quick, add it to the other boat anchors so it's camouflaged!

[jlw]

mnem
FUCK dusting. With a capital FUCK.
[/quote]

"After four years, it doesn't get any worse." -Quentin Crisp, on housecleaning.

[beanflying]

Oh-Oh....

SWMBO just got a survey ... about "her" browsing habits around a Hewlett Packard 8656B  *Gulp*  I know I bought under my account - but it is just possible I looked at a couple under hers.  She knows I will look at all sorts of stuff like this and we've seen "recommendations" of items based on each other's browsing (seems eBay thinks grouping browsing under the one IP address is good enough) - but this is next level exposure.  As a bonus, she now knows what it looks like - so what might have been an anonymous box hiding in a corner, will now get instantly recognised.

The rest of the day is going to be interesting.

 

Quick, add it to the other boat anchors so it's camouflaged!

Quick @ Brumby go buy more Anchors so the two you now own can be hidden among them 

[0culus]

Finally got around to cleaning up my other auction score, another HP 3455A. This one is much cleaner and in better shape than my other one, which will now be relegated to parts mule. I really like these meters because (1) they are cheap (I got this one for less than $50!) (2) for boat anchors they aren't particularly heavy and (3) they stack with my other HP boat anchors.

[Specmaster]

Yes yes, I give you that but you knew what I meant, you rascally dwagon. A friend once had a Kia Sportage and gave me a lift in it and noticed how the doors felt to be incredibly light. This was borne out a few weeks later when he turned up with the bottom of the driver door ripped open and he said that he found it like in the morning so someone had hit and drove off overnight. I couldn't help noticing the metal was about the same thickness of a coke cola can. I prodded other panels like the front wing and was disgusted with the way that they flexed when pressing on them.

There are plenty of older cars with very thick steel metalwork and they're not very safe or reliable, plus it does a number on the car's economy. I don't know any modern car without flexing panels, to be honest.

Try a Skoda Superb 2013 model, built like a tank. Sure you push hard enough the panels will flex a little. Some cars do actually feel as soft and flexible as a Coke can and some Kia's do.

[Zucca]

Your cookie footprint and all those signed in MS and Google accounts still identify you so the VPN bit is entirely pointless.

I browse always 100% in incognito and have no more MS or Google account. I am so happy.
Sure I have to click to some captcha traffic lights or cars idiot images but at the end of the day it´s a good feeling somehow.

[Brumby]

Oh-Oh....

SWMBO just got a survey ... about "her" browsing habits around a Hewlett Packard 8656B  *Gulp*  I know I bought under my account - but it is just possible I looked at a couple under hers.  She knows I will look at all sorts of stuff like this and we've seen "recommendations" of items based on each other's browsing (seems eBay thinks grouping browsing under the one IP address is good enough) - but this is next level exposure.  As a bonus, she now knows what it looks like - so what might have been an anonymous box hiding in a corner, will now get instantly recognised.

The rest of the day is going to be interesting.

 

Quick, add it to the other boat anchors so it's camouflaged!

These are the first two .... there is no camouflage.   

Quick @ Brumby go buy more Anchors so the two you now own can be hidden among them 

I feel I should tell you to back off ... but, instead, I just want to ask you what else you've found that's local to me.




Oh no.  I've slipped over the edge.   

[beanflying]

Geez want me to contact and buy them for you too. Be Nice and take SHMBO for a little drive up the coast what could go wrong

You NEED this to fill in the lower frequencies until the HP gets going.....

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/glendale/other-electronics-computers/signal-generator/1210443395

[Brumby]

I could say that Inverted has a Leader function gen with my name on it - but there's always room for another .....

...... OMG.  It's happening !

[jlw]

Finally got around to cleaning up my other auction score, another HP 3455A. This one is much cleaner and in better shape than my other one, which will now be relegated to parts mule. I really like these meters because (1) they are cheap (I got this one for less than $50!) (2) for boat anchors they aren't particularly heavy and (3) they stack with my other HP boat anchors.

Mine's a bit flakey in that it will not respond to keys until it warms up, sometimes.  The ambient sweet spot seems tiny.  And the GPIB is weird.  But I paid what you did.  When it works I like it well enough to kludge together a kelvin cable from banana cables and alligator clips.

[mnementh]

I thought I had my thing under control, as evidenced by months without gear acquisition and the exhibiting of a quiet sort of contentment with the stuff I had on the bench. 

Then I went to the Salem Hamfest.
(SNIP)
*sigh* 

perhaps its time to start working the steps again. on the other hand, i just finished testing the hundred dollar 6061A and its pretty much and in spec, so maybe not.

Welcome home!!!    

Should I feel concerned Tom Cruise is going to jump out of the box blinding me with his fake whitened smile 

Oh-Oh....

SWMBO just got a survey ... about "her" browsing habits around a Hewlett Packard 8656B  *Gulp*  I know I bought under my account - but it is just possible I looked at a couple under hers.  She knows I will look at all sorts of stuff like this and we've seen "recommendations" of items based on each other's browsing (seems eBay thinks grouping browsing under the one IP address is good enough) - but this is next level exposure.  As a bonus, she now knows what it looks like - so what might have been an anonymous box hiding in a corner, will now get instantly recognised.

The rest of the day is going to be interesting.

Quick, add it to the other boat anchors so it's camouflaged!

Quick @ Brumby go buy more Anchors so the two you now own can be hidden among them 

Where's Brumby?!?

mnem

[xrunner]

Had an idea for an Arduino project and pulled it back out of the drawer, and ordered some OLED displays and other sensors. I told a friend I was playing with it again, and he said he didn't want any of his Arduino parts anymore, and he gave them all to me. So now I have plenty I think LOL. 

[nixiefreqq]

the latest domestic development is that a key down on 80m results in the satellite receiver randomly jumping channels.....and swmbo runs into the radio room 15 seconds later threatening violence.   my attempt to shut down the station and deny all upon hearing her yell did not work.  (she checks to see if the amp is warm).

ok.....all I need is a handful of 9mm snap on ferrites.

got on ebay and found a guy with an american flag on the listing.  says "ships from US stock".  item location - new jersey.

good price, free shipping.  so i bought a bag on sunday afternoon.  got around to checking the tracking today.  it says "enroute to dhl commerce".  what?  isn't that usually international shipping?   click on "seller information" and it says he is in china.  and the delivery date is the middle of next month.

swmbo spents most of her time watching those true crime tv shows that start with reinacted scenes of happy people and then transition to the blood spattered crime scene where they got whacked.  ya'  don't want the tv going all wonky right before the detective figures out who done it.

these chinese guys pretending to be from nj are gonna get me killed!

[Specmaster]

Yeah, we get that all the time here as well, but the good thing is that they also normally expiate their shipping to try and cover up for the fact that they are not shipping from the stated item location. The give away is apart from sometimes they do take longer to arrive, is that when you get the item you will normally see one of two things. The first is that the item comes with a chinese post label and then another english label is applied to the top, suggesting that they are shipped to that stated location and then a local address label is applied and reposted, or the ship direct to you from China, meaning the stated location might be a person acting as a drop shipper, collecting orders, taking a commision and forwarding your order to the dealer in China

[Brumby]

Is this how it goes...?

You have a 5381A laid bare on your desk and then along comes a faulty 8656B that pushes its way in and occupies all the available space, demanding full attention for the rest of the day?  (FYI, I think it was noticed ... standing on edge, taking over my desk for the evening.  Nothing has been said ... yet.)

Some updates on the "functional" unit....
- Power on, all segments and LEDs light, fan spins up, no smoke
- Frequency, modulation and attenuation functions seem to operate from the front panel as described.
- The internal timebase output provides a 10MHz signal at about 8V RMS
- The Option 001 High Precision Timebase output provides a 10MHz signal at about 8V RMS
- The difference between in frequency between these two at about 15 minutes from power on appears to be less than 7Hz
- Modulation output provides a 1V peak signal of 400Hz or 1kHz (as selected)
- No RF output that I could detect, irrespective of settings.  Edit: and what is that RF output connector?

... but the most interesting thing I did find was a strip of masking tape hidden in plain view on the underside of the unit:

[mnementh]

So... this is how MY morning has been going.     How about YOURS? 

mnem
 That is my LAST custom-sleeved SATA cable.   

[URI]

1029 pages...   

Uff, I'm not able to keep up the last weeks. On page 1013 right now*.

Still alive but reading.   



--
*-feeling like sysiphos..

[bd139]

the latest domestic development is that a key down on 80m results in the satellite receiver randomly jumping channels.....and swmbo runs into the radio room 15 seconds later threatening violence.   my attempt to shut down the station and deny all upon hearing her yell did not work.  (she checks to see if the amp is warm).

My ADSL router was dropping out if I keyed down on 20m. This turned out to be that damn BNC connector in my balun I mentioned earlier. No shield continuity. Check this:



 

Note: I snipped the balun out here to debug the thing.

[PA0PBZ]

That could either mean that the output is wrong below a setting of -116dB or that the output never gets above -116dB. Time to get a receiver hooked up.

[nixiefreqq]

the latest domestic development is that a key down on 80m results in the satellite receiver randomly jumping channels.....and swmbo runs into the radio room 15 seconds later threatening violence.   my attempt to shut down the station and deny all upon hearing her yell did not work.  (she checks to see if the amp is warm).

My ADSL router was dropping out if I keyed down on 20m. This turned out to be that damn BNC connector in my balun I mentioned earlier. No shield continuity. Check this:


 

Note: I snipped the balun out here to debug the thing.

thats the last thing ida' checked.  (guess it was indeed the last thing you checked)

it sure looks like it almost HAS to make a connection.  isn't there a nut and a star lock washer that holds the solder lug ring?

what is broken?   or is that bnc different from the ones in my junk box?

[0culus]

the latest domestic development is that a key down on 80m results in the satellite receiver randomly jumping channels.....and swmbo runs into the radio room 15 seconds later threatening violence.   my attempt to shut down the station and deny all upon hearing her yell did not work.  (she checks to see if the amp is warm).

My ADSL router was dropping out if I keyed down on 20m. This turned out to be that damn BNC connector in my balun I mentioned earlier. No shield continuity. Check this:



 

Note: I snipped the balun out here to debug the thing.

I'm curious about what your ADSL router setup is if you need a balun...new to me...

[mnementh]

He's talking about the balun on his 20m rig; it's effed up, meaning he's TXing all kinds of RF interference when he keys up.

mnem
Murphy just keeps punching me in the dick today...

[mnementh]

   

Seriously? Brand effing new USB 3 card, and instead of unplugging, the connector comes apart. 

After all the grief it cost to get this damned dual HDD bay in my new case, I find only one of the SATA bays supports locking connectors. And of course, it will NOT stay plugged in. Well,... it's good enough for NASA and the NHRA, so I guess a little safety wire is gonna have to be good enough for my new PC. 

Got 12" locking SATA cables (which I tried to order last time, but could only find 10" as "Prime-Fulfilled by Amazon) on the way.

mnem
Fuck you, Murphy!

[tautech]

So... this is how MY morning has been going.     How about YOURS? 

mnem
 That is my LAST custom-sleeved SATA cable.   

Ham fisted dwagon ? 

Today looks alright as I take in some caffeine but yesterday was a real bitch.........our main water pump broke, really broke. 
Castings smashed and gunna be a quite involved welding job that I really don't need right now. 
Much smaller backup pump installed.
Damn Murphy !

[bd139]

He's talking about the balun on his 20m rig; it's effed up, meaning he's TXing all kinds of RF interference when he keys up.

That’s the one