Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tautech]

 
Is that the mains input socket on the front panel ?


IEC !

[tggzzz]

Very nice. I wouldn't even know where to look for them ...

One in France if the seller will take an offer eBay auction: #352652284969

Thanks. A bit expensive with shipping (which also seems dangerous to them, according to Kosmic), and no payment option that fits.

I will specifically search for them from now on, every once in a while.

Some of them are fine with being upturned it is the older more open ones are not. There is an internal seal inside some of them to prevent transfer from side to side. In 'more recent' (60-70's) the cells were fitted to portable test gear as a voltage reference so this was a must. The smaller Cambridge one I am sure is one of these types and so are my two existing Muirheads. The older open/crusty one is likely not but see what arrives.

Unsaturated cells are more robust than the saturated cells shown, and were used in portable equipment. Unsaturated cells also had a much shorter lifetime, which will have been exceeded long ago.

The are only coming from 300km away by post so no air will be involved. 

Wanna bet? Have you seen the bizarre track that parcels take?

Most couriers explicitly exclude liquid mercury, amongst other things. If they are saturated, they will contain liquid mercury.

Seriously what a load of garbage when it comes to the life of Weston Cells either Saturated or Un-saturated. Some are still kicking well into their 4th and 5th decades plus some more in a lot of cases. My current two are getting on to 60 years old. Clearly some will have died along the way but a definitive " which will have been exceeded long ago" is  and a quick check in the Metrology section here let alone online will show that.

Strawman argument; alternatively please indicate where I wrote that. As most people in this forum will be well aware, "exceeding the lifetime" != "dead".

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/metrology/1000-my-(hi)story-of-the-weston-cell-of-the-volt-and-of-being-a-volt-nuts/

Perhaps the US NBS is a more definitive source than a bulletin board? Have a look at "The construction and characteristics of standard cells" http://digicoll.manoa.hawaii.edu/techreports/PDF/NBS84.pdf especially section 8.

Clearly from 1/2 way around the planet you know more about our local postal service than I do and the Carrier Pigeons they use.

Well, you are only one person on this board, in one country, and you haven't specified the carrier. However, looking at https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/dangerous-and-prohibited-goods-guide.pdf has many references to mercury being banned, including in instruments.

Instead of trying to turn this to me to provide PROOF of YOUR POINT you call my statement a Strawman. Get of your perch and stop trying to provoke the response you deserve and if are attempting to troll me across the site then keep it up. Eventually you will get what you appear to be wanting 

I already have a copy of that link from 1965 which I downloaded from the NIST site when I got my first ones. "Some of the Cells used by the NBS .... for nearly 60 years" There is no definitive statement as to lifetime but a 'general, probability and likely' 'usability' for cells of that time. Still NO definitive statement of lifetime. And yet you made the claim of 'exceeded lifetime' clearly you have superior knowledge 

Well, that's an exceedingly selective quote!

As can be seen in the screencaps below, the "60 years" is clearly referring to saturated cells. (N.B. I have a 70year old saturated cell well within spec despite an unknown history in a school and elsewhere)

In addition that section states that unsaturated cells have lifetimes from 8-12 years or 12-18 years, depending on when they were manufactured.

That distinction between saturated and unsaturated is as I stated.

[bd139]

Is that the mains input socket on the front panel ?


IEC !

Probably is. I rather like that approach. The last thing I built that had mains inlet had the IEC on the front and nothing on the back.

[tggzzz]

Is that the mains input socket on the front panel ?

I guess it implies that everything is attached to the front panel, and the rest of the case is simply a trough. That might be beneficial when resting the instrument on damp floors, especially while being moved around.

[VK5RC]

Yup, earth - what is an earth!
The whole instrument chassis sits inside the outer case - loaded from the front. From the feel - about 15kg of it.
Rob

[Brumby]

What's better than owning an HP45? Owning two HP45s, of course...



I forgot about the bid I placed on what appeared to be a wrecked HP45 on ebay, when I was thinking I might need bits to fix the first HP45. When I got number one working I promptly forgot about potential number two. Then, beep! you've got mail! and twenty bucks later I own another HP45 and charger.

I can still remember the moment I first saw a HP45.  It was on the grounds of the UNSW in the shade of the electrical engineering building.  I thought it was the most beautiful handful of electronics ever.  Graceful, sleek and oh so magic.  I was actually allowed to handle it for about a minute.  Very nice!

Do you now about the stopwatch Easter egg...?

[nixiefreqq]

Yeah, algebraic calculators are perverted sicko porn. 

Yep.

Was thinking the other day and came to the conclusion that yoda speaks in RPN.

Another local hamfest today. I wonder what will follow me home? 

Good luck! May the silent keys roll in their grave at the prices you pay 

yoda...rpn…….read that and almost pissed myself I did.


leave it to you guys to start an rpn war just when my internet connectivity has turned to shit.   

seems to be a dns resolution problem.  3 times out of 4 I get redirected to a "welcome, lets get started" url at my isp.  it wants to configure my dsl modem but fails every time.  tried hand jamming other dns server ip's into the router, but it did not help. 

all three computers, two kindle fires, and the even the freaking sat tv keep saying "welcome, lets get started".

called the 800 number and talked to a nice lady somewhere on the subcontinent who said my dsl modem is an antique, "no longer supported", and "may cause intermittent service issues".  (seems like we got dsl 12 or 13 years ago).  on Friday she promised a new one would be sent via ups next day delivery...…..but warned that in a third world area like Pennsylvania that means it will be delivered on Monday.

do all help desk personnel also speak rpn?

[factory]

Not sure what I should do about the power socket, try and bodge a USA power cable or 'heresy' change it to a IEC? What do you guys think?
Rob

That's a very nice HP 608D.
Personally I would keep it original, especially as it's on the front too, the connector needed is an American extension cord/lead, also used on some Tek & General Radio test gear.

Yup, earth - what is an earth!
The whole instrument chassis sits inside the outer case - loaded from the front. From the feel - about 15kg of it.
Rob

It's way more than 15kg, nearer 27kg (61lbs in catalog).

David

[factory]

your solution for wiring the old oval hp power sockets surely qualifies you for the "crown of bodge". 

   I think the seller I bought my HP 101A crystal oscillator from can also claim that crown, he just hacked up a common IEC lead till it fitted.     

I've had a few items with round crimp terminals bodged on too.

David
P.S. I have no idea where that lead is now and yes I still have it. 

These are actually NEC/NEMA modular power sockets; one of the first standardized power cord/sockets with ground dating back to the late 50s.

They were pretty universal for about 20 years on all manner of commercial/industrial/scholastic AV & electronics products. My AV Dept manager showed me how to do this bodge as a temporary fix (They were NOT supposed to leave the shop this way) on the bench with an IEC cord back in the 80s; you just use the tail-end of a 3mm or 1/8" drill bit to open up the 3 contact sockets a little, then use a carpet knife carve 1/8" deep x 1/2" down the skirt on all edges of the IEC connector. Once you've done a few, you get to where you can't even tell the plug's been hacked unless it's unplugged. 

The big problem with these sockets has nothing to do with the cord; they're supposed to be the same standardized pinout as the IEC cord. Problem is that a lot of manufacturers didn't fully adhere to the standard; they'd make the equipment with HOT & NEUTRAL swapped in the socket, and make their cord with the plug bass-ackwards to match. 

As a result, we had a standing order to check any of these devices that came through the shop for this condition and reverse it in the device, then check the cable for correct pinout and if wrong, cut the socket end off the cable and confirm correct HOT BLADE-BLACK wiring.  Or just cut both ends off and roundfile the cord with extreme prejudice. 

mnem
*roundfiling my life*

Volex did still make both the normal and reversed polarity cords some years ago.
And to confuse matters they is a slightly smaller version too (I have a calculator with one).

Do you have any more details on the actual standard for the connector type, the Volex data-sheet from 2007 just refers to the connector as being type PH163 and an Alpha data-sheet doesn't even mention the type.

Volex 17952 8 B1 (non-standard polarization).


Volex 17280 8 B1 (standard polarization).


David

[med6753]

Well that was 1.5 hours of my life I won't get back.   

Mt Beacon "Hamfest".....2 dealers selling new radio gear, the ARRL and their set up, and bunch of tables and chairs set up with the hobos drinking coffee and eating donuts. No private sellers. No surplus equipment. No NOTHING!   

To think I got up out of a nice comfy bed to hob-knob with hobos. NOT! 

[nixiefreqq]

Well that was 1.5 hours of my life I won't get back.   

Mt Beacon "Hamfest".....2 dealers selling new radio gear, the ARRL and their set up, and bunch of tables and chairs set up with the hobos drinking coffee and eating donuts. No private sellers. No surplus equipment. No NOTHING!   

To think I got up out of a nice comfy bed to hob-knob with hobos. NOT! 

was it raining?

learned a while ago that hams and water don't mix.

[bd139]

Well that was poo indeed. I'd have been rather annoying with it. TBH I've got a "hamfest shitlist" building up which has a couple on it so far for similar reasons.


Some luck today on the radio front. This whole thing is an excuse to actually play with test gear really. Found a TL071 in the junk box and an LM386 amplifier I built for another abandoned project. Have chucked them on the front of the radio and thrown an antenna up in a tree. After about 10 minutes of panic I realised the band was completely flipping dead apart from FT8 until this evening (duh!) so I lurked for a bit and got this.

https://youtu.be/GhvIohT9qkw

[Neomys Sapiens]

Care to joust?  Just remember, those probes are meant to be used with DMM's with 10MEG input impedance. If your DMM defaults to a higher input impedance on the lower ranges you'll get inaccurate readings.

With the exception of the Philips PM9246/03, which is selectable for 1.2MOhm, 10MOhm and 100MOhm.
So anyone with a different requirement should be on the lookout for this.

[tggzzz]

Well that was poo indeed. I'd have been rather annoying with it. TBH I've got a "hamfest shitlist" building up which has a couple on it so far for similar reasons.

Indeed. The problem is that small ones can be very variable. The interesting stuff depends on silent keys' relatives, clearouts, and serendipity. Yes, I've got some very interesting stuff occasionally, and bog-standard stock cupboard stuff at others. And "others" means time  and/or location.

I rationalise it in terms of "a day out" where I do something else in the area, or don't go too far.

Dunstable in two weeks. I'll probably try and flog some stuff, simply to avoid the walk from the car

Afterwards it will be either pick up my leopard skin or make the annual pilgramage to TNMoC, then probably virtually give an old friend a Tek time mark generator and saturated weston standard cell. Long day!

[mnementh]

Nice!! Always down for more RPN porn.   

One mans Porn is another's Perverted Sicko Porn

And we all know which gets the most views, by at least a factor of 10... 

Red Green is some of the funniest shit ever.   

Yup... there is no embarrassment that man won't suffer to put a smile on your face; I admire that dedication to one's craft. 

What keeps me coming back to his stuff, even though it is is textbook lowbrow humor and makes me groan at least half the time, is the fact that no matter how smart you may think you are, every man knows in his heart of hearts that no matter HOW RIDICULOUS his parodies get there is ALWAYS a kernel (popped or unpopped ) of truth in everything he portrays. 

Feel like in the medieval period. 


... as I just scored this little red sharp pointy thingy, a Fluke 80K-40 HV probe. 

Nice Probulator! Here's your Probulation Nation membership card, and complimentary box of rubber gloves. 

mnem
Would you like flies widdat?

[Ero-Shan]

your solution for wiring the old oval hp power sockets surely qualifies you for the "crown of bodge".

I'll wear it with all the dignity I can muster. 

Could've been worse!

See? I didn't all that bad. This guy (don't think it was a female) sure likes to live dangerously, where I am much too chicken for anything like that. 

[med6753]

Well that was 1.5 hours of my life I won't get back.   

Mt Beacon "Hamfest".....2 dealers selling new radio gear, the ARRL and their set up, and bunch of tables and chairs set up with the hobos drinking coffee and eating donuts. No private sellers. No surplus equipment. No NOTHING!   

To think I got up out of a nice comfy bed to hob-knob with hobos. NOT! 

was it raining?

learned a while ago that hams and water don't mix.

Yes, it was raining but the hamfest was all indoors.

[mnementh]

My latest technical writing fix:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hpagilent-1675x-logic-analyzer-card-memory-up-hack/msg2388675/#msg2388675

New Tekwiki made:
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/EDX-1_Electromyograph_Storage

Updates:
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Pacific_Measurements_1038

That EDX-1 seems like an excellent discovery... though probably prone to CRT abuse given the application. Are they a good candidate for "un-fuckerization" and return to service as a proper scope, or more likely only useful as a donor unit?

(SNIP)
Scope creep-a-thon happening. 

Welcome to my own personal hell... this whole "2465 Blower project" has turned into just such a charlie-foxtrot. On top of the ongoing "Hoeing out the garage" scope-creep charlie-foxtrot³.

Another local hamfest today. I wonder what will follow me home? 

Good luck! May the silent keys roll in their grave at the prices you pay 

I wonder if this one will resemble a hobo convention like last week. 

*Sitting here in my favoritest-for-doing-housework almost-at-the-end-of-its-life hole-y Tee-shirt & give-up-on-life-pants while sipping coffee from an oversized novelty mug*

HEY!!! I resemble that remark!!!   

Nothing like a cavity to make a pure sine wave - even if those waves are coming from 1955.

Put the glass back in place on the modulation meter, a bit of Meguires Plastix on the knobs, polished the bncs and a test run.
Photos below.

Not sure what I should do about the power socket, try and bodge a USA power cable or 'heresy' change it to a IEC? What do you guys think?
Rob

   That thing is beautiful just as-is. I'd grind a US grounded AC extension cord down on the belt-sander so it just fits in the cavity; this should preserve polarization of the hot/neutral as the blades are usually not centered in that type of socket.  Either make something like a spring-loaded contact for the GND so it makes contact with the metal body of the socket, or resistor & capacitor couple the body of the device to NEUTRAL as many SMPSes of the past did on VCRs, etc with exposed metal and screws connected to the chassis.

your solution for wiring the old oval hp power sockets surely qualifies you for the "crown of bodge". 

   I think the seller I bought my HP 101A crystal oscillator from can also claim that crown, he just hacked up a common IEC lead till it fitted.     

I've had a few items with round crimp terminals bodged on too.

David
P.S. I have no idea where that lead is now and yes I still have it. 

These are actually NEC/NEMA modular power sockets; one of the first standardized power cord/sockets with ground dating back to the late 50s.

They were pretty universal for about 20 years on all manner of commercial/industrial/scholastic AV & electronics products. My AV Dept manager showed me how to do this bodge as a temporary fix (They were NOT supposed to leave the shop this way) on the bench with an IEC cord back in the 80s; you just use the tail-end of a 3mm or 1/8" drill bit to open up the 3 contact sockets a little, then use a carpet knife carve 1/8" deep x 1/2" down the skirt on all edges of the IEC connector. Once you've done a few, you get to where you can't even tell the plug's been hacked unless it's unplugged. 

The big problem with these sockets has nothing to do with the cord; they're supposed to be the same standardized pinout as the IEC cord. Problem is that a lot of manufacturers didn't fully adhere to the standard; they'd make the equipment with HOT & NEUTRAL swapped in the socket, and make their cord with the plug bass-ackwards to match. 

As a result, we had a standing order to check any of these devices that came through the shop for this condition and reverse it in the device, then check the cable for correct pinout and if wrong, cut the socket end off the cable and confirm correct HOT BLADE-BLACK wiring.  Or just cut both ends off and roundfile the cord with extreme prejudice. 

mnem
*roundfiling my life*

Volex did still make both the normal and reversed polarity cords some years ago. And to confuse matters they is a slightly smaller version too (I have a calculator with one). Do you have any more details on the actual standard for the connector type, the Volex data-sheet from 2007 just refers to the connector as being type PH163 and an Alpha data-sheet doesn't even mention the type.

Volex 17952 8 B1 (non-standard polarization).      Volex 17280 8 B1 (standard polarization).   

David

Honestly, no. What you've located there is more details than anything I've seen since my high-school days. We ordered replacement cords from a Scholastic A/V supplier who would accept POs, so really didn't have anything but a catalog with a photo like the one below and their part number next to it. We had a catalog-handbook of all sorts of power cords with tech drawings like that in it, but that reference was from the dept head's personal collection. That was where I learned the difference between IEC, UL-Approved vs Non, NEMA, etc. standardized power cords & receptacles; you could usually find them listed by that type and current capacity in the catalogs of the time.

And I'll be honest, most of the terminology I'm using here is from memory; things have changed and I'm sure most of the memory cells that info is stored on are far beyond their best-by date.

mnem
 

[mnementh]

Well that was 1.5 hours of my life I won't get back.   

Mt Beacon "Hamfest".....2 dealers selling new radio gear, the ARRL and their set up, and bunch of tables and chairs set up with the hobos drinking coffee and eating donuts. No private sellers. No surplus equipment. No NOTHING!   

To think I got up out of a nice comfy bed to hob-knob with hobos. NOT! 

was it raining?   learned a while ago that hams and water don't mix.

Yes, it was raining but the hamfest was all indoors.

I think this phenomenon is as much ideological as it is practical in origin.

mnem
Yes, I said that with a straight face. You may stand in awe.

[med6753]

Well that was 1.5 hours of my life I won't get back.   

Mt Beacon "Hamfest".....2 dealers selling new radio gear, the ARRL and their set up, and bunch of tables and chairs set up with the hobos drinking coffee and eating donuts. No private sellers. No surplus equipment. No NOTHING!   

To think I got up out of a nice comfy bed to hob-knob with hobos. NOT! 

was it raining?   learned a while ago that hams and water don't mix.

Yes, it was raining but the hamfest was all indoors.

I think this phenomenon is as much ideological as it is practical in origin.

mnem
Yes, I said that with a straight face. You may stand in awe.

I'm sitting so I'll just give you an "awe shit". 

[worsthorse]

Well that was 1.5 hours of my life I won't get back.   

Mt Beacon "Hamfest".....2 dealers selling new radio gear, the ARRL and their set up, and bunch of tables and chairs set up with the hobos drinking coffee and eating donuts. No private sellers. No surplus equipment. No NOTHING!   

To think I got up out of a nice comfy bed to hob-knob with hobos. NOT! 

was it raining?   learned a while ago that hams and water don't mix.

Yes, it was raining but the hamfest was all indoors.

I think this phenomenon is as much ideological as it is practical in origin.

mnem
Yes, I said that with a straight face. You may stand in awe.

I'm sitting so I'll just give you an "awe shit". 

what he said. 

i am just back from a morning of providing radio support for a local running club's trail half marathon. the runs are always in the mountains or around a lake or, on a really good day, around a lake and a mountain.  i do 'em because i being around such things as lakes and mountains makes me a nicer person and the folks running appreciate having us around if something bad happens. usually, i arrive hours before the start and take an HF rig to experience the joy of operating with S1 noise levels on five watts.

today, i had to leave late, so the ham i was working with arrived before me, so he chose our spot. on the side of the road. without a view of the lake. in a parking lot. seems he didn't want to walk fifty yards down a trail carrying his HT and cup o' coffee.

 seriously.   

so i spent three hours leaning against a guard rail, mucking about with my HT's APRS while he sat in his car, listened to music and ate cookies. we might as well have been parked in lloyd center's parking lot.

i am sure he would have been at your hamfest had he not had a previous engagement.   

edit: did i mention his HT, which he wore on his belt in the car, had a rubber duck antenna? he was surprised that net control couldn't hear him, so i worked the race alone. i will let you guess how many letters he had in his call.

[Housedad]

Rob:  I checked out Surplus Sales of Nebraska and they have a socket that looks like the same on that RF generator and they might have a plug to fit.  Give them a call.

Here is the web page:
https://www.surplussales.com/Electrical/ElecAC-2.html

[bd139]

edit: did i mention his HT, which he wore on his belt in the car, had a rubber duck antenna? he was surprised that net control couldn't hear him, so i worked the race alone. i will let you guess how many letters he had in his call.

LMAO. That sounds like the local raynet whackers here. Radio is whacker bling-bling.

[Specmaster]

And now for something completely different, you "Mericans" should appreciate this one. A Huey preparing to fly from North Weald UK to Shuttleworth UK to day for a display at their first airshow of the season. This was something of a treat for me as it spends most of its life in a hanger and only comes out once or twice for airshows and today I was in the right spot for once. 

https://youtu.be/BK7ul5Yil1o

[0culus]

Needs a little "Fortunate Son" playing in the background. 

[edit] also jokes about 50,000 parts flying in close formation, etc.