Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[beanflying]

Keeping up the HP theme. 419A Amplifier Board and trimmers. Love card mounted construction for easy access Fair bit of rework on the right hand side and a bit in the middle 

[mnementh]

"It's not fair to tempt... and tempting fate is just stupid." ~ grandmother

Well, its two red marked terminals for plus and minus is common HP style. I'm used to it. Forces me to always check twice.   

[ ]

Don't care that HP repeatedly did something extremely stupid. It's your instrument; you don't have to live with that stupidity. You wouldn't replace a duff tant with another of the same type; you'd upgrade. You wouldn't live with any of a dozen substandard AC power connections that were commonly used on old test equipment; you'd upgrade to a proper IEC socket. This is no different. Standards for safe marking of inputs and outputs have evolved.

Of course as it's your instrument, you are also allowed to propagate said stupidity if you wish... but that is at your own risk, and when you do plug it in backwards and let the magic smoke out of something, at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing your HP is "All original", including the original dumb ideas. 

[/ ]

Also, @URI:  PPPPPPPTTTTTTTTPPPPPBBBBBBBBBTTTTTTTTTPPPPPPPBBBBBB!!!!

mnem
Of course, I've had my own share of dumb ideas; let's start with having my first kid at age 40 and work our way back... 

[bitseeker]

Off topic again but for those interested here are some test shots on my new Canon 7D and Sigma 15-250 zoom lens.

Excellent, spec! Now I feel like having a photo day at the airport(s). There is an international and a municipal airfield not too far away from me. Big planes or little planes? Big planes or little planes? Decisions, decisions.

[Cubdriver]

Nice! 
-And I see that yours has two terminals with red markings for plus and minus, too. Classic.   

Yeah, they seem to be a bit schizo in that regard - my older ones seem to be red-black-black, and the newer ones are red-red-black.  I guess they changed the color coding because the negative isn't always tied to ground.  It bothered me at first, but now I just make sure to look at the markings.







(And it seems I've been on a bit of a 'power trip' over the last year and a half or so...)

-Pat

[bitseeker]

Wow, so much going on here... managed to catch up though.   

Impressive. (spoken with Darth Vader's voice)

Wow, so much going    Ok, while I was just reading and reading and reading I received a neat little power supply I got cheaply because it was equipped with a US power plug and wired for 115V. No problem with that as the service manual shows how to configure it for 230V.      The voltage fine adjustment knob has a missing piece but that's not a big deal. I rewired the little guy for 230V, swapped the US power cord with a CEE 7/4 ("Schuko") -plug cord. After that I performed a quick test and checked the electrolytic caps. -They were all better than their spec. As a result the little supply worked fine. But the meter needed adjustment. 

Nice find. Every time I see those in that green color, I feel like putting a US Army logo on it.

Can you post a closeup comparison between the look-alike and original binding posts? They do look very similar in that photo.

That screwcap on the (-) terminal though... you should for sure attack the red ring on it with a black Sharpie. Leaving it with two red rings like that is just taunting Murphy. 

HP did use that color scheme for quite a long time, I guess to differentiate between powered terminals (red) and ground (black). I'd also prefer red (power), black (common), black (ground) unless you have a green one handy to use for ground.

[mnementh]

Off topic again but for those interested here are some test shots on my new Canon 7D and Sigma 15-250 zoom lens.

Excellent, spec! Now I feel like having a photo day at the airport(s). There is an international and a municipal airfield not too far away from me. Big planes or little planes? Big planes or little planes? Decisions, decisions.

Little. Very, very little.   

mnem
*Changing the subject*

[bitseeker]

Tallking of which if anyone has any knob caps for HP stuff lying around they don't want, I'm interested. The lack of them is grating on me to the point I nearly spent £40 on something to sacrifice just for the knob caps

They must be in cahoots with feet. Trouble makers, all of them.

[bitseeker]

Tallking of which if anyone has any knob caps for HP stuff lying around they don't want, I'm interested. The lack of them is grating on me to the point I nearly spent £40 on something to sacrifice just for the knob caps

I didn't know they were worth that much, but these are just begging for make a silly offer.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hp-Agilent-Knob-joblot-HP-Rotary-Switch-Knob-Joblot/113617071108

Hehe, how about $5 + shipping for a single knob...and it's still missing the cap! https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-0370-2986-Knob/123610568443

[mnementh]

Nice! 
-And I see that yours has two terminals with red markings for plus and minus, too. Classic.   

Yeah, they seem to be a bit schizo in that regard - my older ones seem to be red-black-black, and the newer ones are red-red-black.  I guess they changed the color coding because the negative isn't always tied to ground.  It bothered me at first, but now I just make sure to look at the markings.

         (And it seems I've been on a bit of a 'power trip' over the last year and a half or so...)

-Pat

I get that, and I understand that there are a LOT of HP instruments out there with that confusing color labeling scheme... I have the same on my 3478A, and I think it's stupid there too. I'm still trying to decide how I'm going to resolve it, though I'm leaning towards gluing Scope Probe markers or colored silicone o-rings around the jacks. I'd still prefer something more straightforward, like color coded decals for the 4-wire source terminals and the "(-)"/"LO" input terminal. No idea how I'd make those though; I don't believe my 3DPrinter will do work that fine.

Other manufacturers resolved it by using a third color to indicate the connection that was below GND, and/or by using green for GND. no idea what HP were thinking there, though. I realize these power supplies were made this way to feed TTL logic and op-amps that needed (+) & (-) power rails on top of 5-12V for the analog circuitry; so it was new territory then. But it's like they picked the worst, most confusing solution possible.

mnem
The devil on my shoulder says: "One Word: Turnover.  "

[bitseeker]

It also doesn't help that they weren't consistent in their choice, either.

I don't have any Flukes with both common and ground terminals, but all the commons are black. The 8100A has HI (red), LO (black), and GUARD (blue).

[JXL]

Use heatshrink tubing to color code:

[bitseeker]

Oh, I haven't seen that before.

[Kosmic]

Off topic again but for those interested here are some test shots on my new Canon 7D and Sigma 15-250 zoom lens. I went to North Weald as planned but it was quiet so I went to Stansted instead and got real close to end of the runway (almost directly under the flightpath) and took a few photos to test the speed of focus and clarity of the new lens as well. I'm really impressed with the results so far, what do you guys think?

With the amount of birds flying around there, it's a surprise that there have not been many if any actual bird strikes reported, as you see in the 2nd and 3rd photos, this plane appears to have a near miss today.

I did try some 1080p video but they were just to close for comfort and I have to practise a bit more before I can post a short clip, it really needs to be mounted on a tripod as its a heavy camera and not meant to be handheld at arms length as both the zoom and focus are manually controlled. 

Nice pics!

The 7D look like a fine camera. Seeing all the new features in there make me wonder if I should upgrade mine. I still use my old Canon 5D.

If you are looking for a tripod I recommand Manfrotto. A bit more expansive but super solid and working really well. I forgot mine on the roof of my car once. Fell out of the car on a big boulevard at high speed. It's still in one piece with some marks 

[GregDunn]

Off topic again but for those interested here are some test shots on my new Canon 7D and Sigma 15-250 zoom lens.

Sigma makes some amazing glass.  I bought the 50-100 f/1.8 zoom for my 7d mk II and it's unbelievable.  Lightning fast focus and razor sharp - two things that many lenses claim but it really is.

[0culus]

Off topic again but for those interested here are some test shots on my new Canon 7D and Sigma 15-250 zoom lens. I went to North Weald as planned but it was quiet so I went to Stansted instead and got real close to end of the runway (almost directly under the flightpath) and took a few photos to test the speed of focus and clarity of the new lens as well. I'm really impressed with the results so far, what do you guys think?

With the amount of birds flying around there, it's a surprise that there have not been many if any actual bird strikes reported, as you see in the 2nd and 3rd photos, this plane appears to have a near miss today.

I did try some 1080p video but they were just to close for comfort and I have to practise a bit more before I can post a short clip, it really needs to be mounted on a tripod as its a heavy camera and not meant to be handheld at arms length as both the zoom and focus are manually controlled. 

Nice pics!

The 7D look like a fine camera. Seeing all the new features in there make me wonder if I should upgrade mine. I still use my old Canon 5D.

If you are looking for a tripod I recommand Manfrotto. A bit more expansive but super solid and working really well. I forgot mine on the roof of my car once. Fell out of the car on a big boulevard at high speed. It's still in one piece with some marks 

Second this. I haven't had time for photography in a while, but I use a Manfrotto tripod an it's well worth it.

[bd139]

It's still stupid. To paraphrase Dickens: "If HP presumes otherwise, then HP is a ass."

[EDIT]
If I had that supply, I would immediately move the cap with the black ring to COM, then paint the ring on the removed cap green for the GND terminal. What do you guys over there use for EARTH GND... GREEN w/YELLOW Stripe, right? That would be harder... but still doable with a steady hand, or maybe a bit of pinstriping tape. If I lived there, it would be a regular part of my toolkit for sure.
[/EDIT]

I agree it's stupid. If you have a look at the TTi power supply above it, it's got red/black/plain for +/-/GND respectively which is more sensible.

[bd139]

Tallking of which if anyone has any knob caps for HP stuff lying around they don't want, I'm interested. The lack of them is grating on me to the point I nearly spent £40 on something to sacrifice just for the knob caps

I didn't know they were worth that much, but these are just begging for make a silly offer.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hp-Agilent-Knob-joblot-HP-Rotary-Switch-Knob-Joblot/113617071108?hash=item1a741aec04:g:dQ4AAOSwoZJcCSdt:rk:8:pf:0

David

Yeah I saw that one a while back. I did consider making an offer on just three knobs. The seller is quite flexible. I have bought individual parts from his lots before.

However there's something horrid about putting money into a "test gear freddy krueger" outfit.

[VK5RC]

Tallking of which if anyone has any knob caps for HP stuff lying around they don't want, I'm interested. The lack of them is grating on me to the point I nearly spent £40 on something to sacrifice just for the knob caps

I didn't know they were worth that much, but these are just begging for make a silly offer.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hp-Agilent-Knob-joblot-HP-Rotary-Switch-Knob-Joblot/113617071108

Hehe, how about $5 + shipping for a single knob...and it's still missing the cap! https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-0370-2986-Knob/123610568443

If you want a laugh - post on that item is $50 to AUS!
I have had a little success in making a little plug with a drill press (as lathe) out of grey plastic - while not a great colour match, you don't see it unless you look for it.

[med6753]

This is a confirmed "go" for next Monday. I will be meeting my Brother in New Jersey to pick up these bad boys. They are surplus from the IBM Raleigh, North Carolina facility. He managed the snag them for me before they went to the scrapper. Him and his wife are visiting friends in New Jersey so I'll make the road trip and pick them up.

Apparently from the label the 2430 has issues. And I'll bet that's not it's only issue. That guy is sort of a "hybrid" early analog/DSO and it may be a real challenge to get it running. The condition of the 475A is also unknown but you can bet bastard tants will be part of the program. 

[VK5RC]

Re grey knob, picture below - I think I might take one of the original to a hobby store and get a better colour match.

[beanflying]

Tallking of which if anyone has any knob caps for HP stuff lying around they don't want, I'm interested. The lack of them is grating on me to the point I nearly spent £40 on something to sacrifice just for the knob caps

I didn't know they were worth that much, but these are just begging for make a silly offer.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hp-Agilent-Knob-joblot-HP-Rotary-Switch-Knob-Joblot/113617071108

Hehe, how about $5 + shipping for a single knob...and it's still missing the cap! https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-0370-2986-Knob/123610568443

If you want a laugh - post on that item is $50 to AUS!
I have had a little success in making a little plug with a drill press (as lathe) out of grey plastic - while not a great colour match, you don't see it unless you look for it.

There is this option to clone your vintage knob too. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2150377/?topicseen#msg2150377

Should  have a thread on knob and feet replacements? 3D, CNC, Resin or other options?

[bd139]

This is a confirmed "go" for next Monday. I will be meeting my Brother in New Jersey to pick up these bad boys. They are surplus from the IBM Raleigh, North Carolina facility. He managed the snag them for me before they went to the scrapper. Him and his wife are visiting friends in New Jersey so I'll make the road trip and pick them up.

Apparently from the label the 2430 has issues. And I'll bet that's not it's only issue. That guy is sort of a "hybrid" early analog/DSO and it may be a real challenge to get it running. The condition of the 475A is also unknown but you can bet bastard tants will be part of the program. 

Nice haul.

I think the 2430 has the same hybrids in it as the 2445 so worst case it can be a donormobile if you come across one of them in the future.

And the 475A, what can I say but probably the highest performing 4xx scope they made. Still need to fix mine. Haven't had the motivation recently.

[tggzzz]

And the 475A, what can I say but probably the highest performing 4xx scope they made.

<Cough>485</cough>. Including a real 50ohm input and attenuator, plus a pretty blue screen (usually)   None of that 50ohms stuffed across 20pF crap.

Still need to fix mine. Haven't had the motivation recently.

I have a 465B like that No sweep, hopefully just the trigger needs adjusting.

[med6753]

Nice haul.

I think the 2430 has the same hybrids in it as the 2445 so worst case it can be a donormobile if you come across one of them in the future.

And the 475A, what can I say but probably the highest performing 4xx scope they made. Still need to fix mine. Haven't had the motivation recently.

Been watching some you tube videos on the 2430 and the higher B/W 2440 and one of the bigger issues is the cal data is stored in NVRAM with a backup lithium battery. Of course after 30 years the battery has gone south and the scope loses all it's cookies. And a million dollars worth of test equipment is required to recal and it looks like it won't fully boot until that's complete. If that's true it will wind up for sale.   

[beanflying]

Oh Great another set of paws for next years 2,3,5 am Clomp Fest  Within easy broom reach but I am a softy 

Sort of Cute.....