Author Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread  (Read 14555022 times)

Aiy, wkb and 20 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline bitseekerTopic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 9057
  • Country: us
  • Lots of engineer-tweakable parts inside!
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37450 on: August 26, 2019, 12:21:03 am »
Well I found out why that receiver didn’t work. Crappy toroid winding. One of the pads isn’t soldered underneath  :palm:.  Basically the antenna side isn’t connected at all ffs

(Attachment Link)

Need to undo a “user modification” as well.  :palm:

Not to mention the lackluster winding job. ;D
TEA is the way. | TEA Time channel
 

Offline bitseekerTopic starter

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 9057
  • Country: us
  • Lots of engineer-tweakable parts inside!
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37451 on: August 26, 2019, 12:23:13 am »
Gonna get the largest truck they have. Put the beds, TVs & toolboxes in first; then whatever else will fit. Anything that doesn't fit gets left behind.  :scared:

mnem
No, wait... wife says the children are not optional, so taking them too.  :o
If space is that limited why bother with large items like beds? Even rather high value beds have a low value density. Can you tell I’ve played one or two RPGs?

Life is an RPG, with no restore function. :o
TEA is the way. | TEA Time channel
 

Offline 0culus

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3032
  • Country: us
  • Electronics, RF, and TEA Hobbyist
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37452 on: August 26, 2019, 12:30:25 am »
Gonna be there any day now. 😁

mnem
*Sunday brunch widda family for a change*
U-Haul convoy ?
Gonna get the largest truck they have. Put the beds, TVs & toolboxes in first; then whatever else will fit. Anything that doesn't fit gets left behind.  :scared:

mnem
No, wait... wife says the children are not optional, so taking them too.  :o

This is the vehicle I envision mnem and family using (PC goes to Van Natta Bros. Forestry: http://www.vannattabros.com/dozer.html):



 

Offline mnementh

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 17541
  • Country: us
  • *Hiding in the Dwagon-Cave*
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37453 on: August 26, 2019, 12:34:59 am »
Not big enough.

mnem
Also, too mud.
alt-codes work here:  alt-0128 = €  alt-156 = £  alt-0216 = Ø  alt-225 = ß  alt-230 = µ  alt-234 = Ω  alt-236 = ∞  alt-248 = °
 

Offline 0culus

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3032
  • Country: us
  • Electronics, RF, and TEA Hobbyist
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37454 on: August 26, 2019, 12:40:37 am »
That truck will easily gross over 200,000 lbs. Stack it high!
 
The following users thanked this post: mnementh

Offline Mr. Scram

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 9810
  • Country: 00
  • Display aficionado
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37455 on: August 26, 2019, 01:03:08 am »
Life is an RPG, with no restore function. :o
Whisky. If you can’t remember what happened it didn’t happen at all.
 

Offline beanflying

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7358
  • Country: au
  • Toys so very many Toys.
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37456 on: August 26, 2019, 01:22:43 am »
Life is an RPG, with no restore function. :o
Whisky. If you can’t remember what happened it didn’t happen at all.

Added a bottle of Glenmorangie to the shacks selection of tipples yesterday. Uber special price or it is normally over my budget price/bottle I set.
Coffee, Food, R/C and electronics nerd in no particular order. Also CNC wannabe, 3D printer and Laser Cutter Junkie and just don't mention my TEA addiction....
 

Offline Brumby

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 12288
  • Country: au
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37457 on: August 26, 2019, 01:29:41 am »
 * Never found an alcohol with a taste I could enjoy.
 * Took one drag of a cigarette when I was 8 and never touched them again. (Why, people ... WHY?!!)

So why does my bank balance look like the noise floor of my scope...?

Oh, yeah .... kids.
(But they were worth it.)
« Last Edit: August 26, 2019, 01:31:26 am by Brumby »
 

Offline Mr. Scram

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 9810
  • Country: 00
  • Display aficionado
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37458 on: August 26, 2019, 01:34:17 am »
* Never found an alcohol with a taste I could enjoy.
 * Took one drag of a cigarette when I was 8 and never touched them again. (Why, people ... WHY?!!)

So why does my bank balance look like the noise floor of my scope...?

Oh, yeah .... kids.
(But they were worth it.)
To each his own. I never quite liked the taste of the noisy buggers.
 
The following users thanked this post: mnementh

Offline beanflying

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7358
  • Country: au
  • Toys so very many Toys.
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37459 on: August 26, 2019, 01:35:58 am »
No kids or ex anythings to support limited income at present but still a little spare for TEA and sipping Scotch  ;)
Coffee, Food, R/C and electronics nerd in no particular order. Also CNC wannabe, 3D printer and Laser Cutter Junkie and just don't mention my TEA addiction....
 
The following users thanked this post: xrunner

Offline Carl_Smith

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 288
  • Country: us
    • MegaMicroWatt - Carl Smith's Blog
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37460 on: August 26, 2019, 01:38:58 am »
So I've been following Ken Shiriff's blog posts about restoring the Apollo Guidance Computer.  His latest post is about the switching power supply.  Apparently NASA used tantalum capacitors 50 years ago and they actually still work.  Imagine that...

From http://www.righto.com/2019/08/reliable-after-50-years-apollo-guidance.html

Quote
We extensively tested the AGC's components before powering up the system. For the power supply, we first checked all the tantalum capacitors since tantalum capacitors are prone to shorting out. We found that the capacitors were all in good shape with the proper capacitances. This is in contrast to modern capacitors, which often leak or fail after a few years. NASA used expensive aerospace-grade capacitors and X-rayed each one to test for faults, and this made a large difference.

Offline ArthurDent

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1193
  • Country: us
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37461 on: August 26, 2019, 02:32:04 am »
From post 37450 Mystery part time.

https://u.cubeupload.com/worsthorse/IMG0591.jpg

This is a BNC to bare or stripped end insulated wire adapter. You push down on the top to open the slot in the side, insert a bare wire, and release. The spring holds the wire firmly in place. Think of it as a quick disconnect for a wire.

The second is a compensation network like what you'd find on a 10x scope probe to make the test signal look like a square wave. It would be for something quite specific and probably not useful other than for the nice housing and connectors.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2019, 02:41:04 am by ArthurDent »
 

Online Kosmic

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2505
  • Country: ca
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37462 on: August 26, 2019, 02:40:33 am »
I'm surprised you didn't have to shovel the ice off the beach first.  :-DD

I have no idea what happen over there in the winter and I don't want to know  :P

They have nice natural sandy beach during the summer though :)
 

Offline med6753

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 11313
  • Country: us
  • Tek nut
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37463 on: August 26, 2019, 03:48:36 am »
So I've been following Ken Shiriff's blog posts about restoring the Apollo Guidance Computer.  His latest post is about the switching power supply.  Apparently NASA used tantalum capacitors 50 years ago and they actually still work.  Imagine that...

From http://www.righto.com/2019/08/reliable-after-50-years-apollo-guidance.html

Quote
We extensively tested the AGC's components before powering up the system. For the power supply, we first checked all the tantalum capacitors since tantalum capacitors are prone to shorting out. We found that the capacitors were all in good shape with the proper capacitances. This is in contrast to modern capacitors, which often leak or fail after a few years. NASA used expensive aerospace-grade capacitors and X-rayed each one to test for faults, and this made a large difference.

I also read from someone who worked for NASA that they never used caps rated less than 35V and usually rated at 50V. Unlike Tek which commonly used 20V rated caps in 15V circuits.
An old gray beard with an attitude.
 

Offline Carl_Smith

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 288
  • Country: us
    • MegaMicroWatt - Carl Smith's Blog
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37464 on: August 26, 2019, 04:12:59 am »
So I've been following Ken Shiriff's blog posts about restoring the Apollo Guidance Computer.  His latest post is about the switching power supply.  Apparently NASA used tantalum capacitors 50 years ago and they actually still work.  Imagine that...

From http://www.righto.com/2019/08/reliable-after-50-years-apollo-guidance.html

Quote
We extensively tested the AGC's components before powering up the system. For the power supply, we first checked all the tantalum capacitors since tantalum capacitors are prone to shorting out. We found that the capacitors were all in good shape with the proper capacitances. This is in contrast to modern capacitors, which often leak or fail after a few years. NASA used expensive aerospace-grade capacitors and X-rayed each one to test for faults, and this made a large difference.

I also read from someone who worked for NASA that they never used caps rated less than 35V and usually rated at 50V. Unlike Tek which commonly used 20V rated caps in 15V circuits.

I wonder how much reliability is increased by over specifying the voltage rating like that.  I don't know that much about capacitor reliability.  I would think that it would help to start but at some point it would result in diminishing returns.

The x-raying each one before use implies they were expecting to find some that would have passed an electrical test but had some sort of mechanical deficiency that would negatively affect reliability.  More details on that aspect might be interesting.

Offline mnementh

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 17541
  • Country: us
  • *Hiding in the Dwagon-Cave*
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37465 on: August 26, 2019, 04:23:50 am »
Iin principle, it drastically increases the reverse voltage and ripple tolerance of electrolytic caps vs operating voltage. Especially in filter-abusive circuits like SMPS, both can be pretty egregious. It also lowers the IR, which means less drastic internal heating/cooling every use cycle.

mnem
*tzzzt*
alt-codes work here:  alt-0128 = €  alt-156 = £  alt-0216 = Ø  alt-225 = ß  alt-230 = µ  alt-234 = Ω  alt-236 = ∞  alt-248 = °
 

Offline mnementh

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 17541
  • Country: us
  • *Hiding in the Dwagon-Cave*
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37466 on: August 26, 2019, 04:27:17 am »
See all you freaks on the other side of 1500; this widdle dwagon is gonna go crawl into a nice cozy bed with an equally cozy wife.  :P

mnem
Maybe even my own...
alt-codes work here:  alt-0128 = €  alt-156 = £  alt-0216 = Ø  alt-225 = ß  alt-230 = µ  alt-234 = Ω  alt-236 = ∞  alt-248 = °
 

Offline worsthorse

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1237
  • Country: us
  • aina varma, usein väärin
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37467 on: August 26, 2019, 05:09:15 am »
From post 37450 Mystery part time.

https://u.cubeupload.com/worsthorse/IMG0591.jpg

This is a BNC to bare or stripped end insulated wire adapter. You push down on the top to open the slot in the side, insert a bare wire, and release. The spring holds the wire firmly in place. Think of it as a quick disconnect for a wire.


I would never have guessed this. Mahalo!

The second is a compensation network like what you'd find on a 10x scope probe to make the test signal look like a square wave. It would be for something quite specific and probably not useful other than for the nice housing and connectors.

This is what I guessed but it looks so, I dunno, manufactured or something that I figured there must be a zillion of them out there being used in some common way.

Thanks for the assist.
specialization is for insects.
 

Online tautech

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 28137
  • Country: nz
  • Taupaki Technologies Ltd. Siglent Distributor NZ.
    • Taupaki Technologies Ltd.
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37468 on: August 26, 2019, 05:39:13 am »
(Attachment Link)

EVERY. FUCKING. MORNING. From age 11 to age 17: up at 5am, from one barn to the other. And that guy's a effing amateur; during haying season I'd put two more layers of 5-square on before tapering down the top.

mnem
moo?
:)
Wish I'd taken pics of our 6 wheeler ATV with 11 bales on it. 
Up and down the farm tracks was fine but don't dare go onto any sidlings.  :scared:

(Attachment Link)

During the spring/mud season, we'd lease a Gator for a month or so for fence-tending season.

mnem
Don't. miss it. a bit.  :-DD
Never was keen on Deere Johns over here.....might be something to do with this old vid:
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/dear-john-basf-commercial-1981

Instead we were fairly early NZ adopters of good ol' Yankee Polaris as they could fair scoot along and the girls couldn't get into too much trouble on our hills as they're variable belt drive, a bit like an auto but won't stall.
We had one exactly like this from new and promptly removed the sides, boxes and tailgate and changed the front carrier to stack a couple of hay bales on.



Beat the snot outta it for years until we retired it for something a bit smaller but with more grunt.
Avid Rabid Hobbyist
Siglent Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SiglentVideo/videos
 
The following users thanked this post: mnementh

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 19280
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37469 on: August 26, 2019, 07:31:06 am »
Gonna get the largest truck they have. Put the beds, TVs & toolboxes in first; then whatever else will fit. Anything that doesn't fit gets left behind.  :scared:

mnem
No, wait... wife says the children are not optional, so taking them too.  :o
If space is that limited why bother with large items like beds? Even rather high value beds have a low value density. Can you tell I’ve played one or two RPGs?

Life is an RPG, with no restore function. :o

I didn't realise rocket propelled grenades came with a restore function. Maybe the Red Cross would be interested to know how to invoke it.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Online tggzzz

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 19280
  • Country: gb
  • Numbers, not adjectives
    • Having fun doing more, with less
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37470 on: August 26, 2019, 07:34:49 am »
Unlike Tek which commonly used 20V rated caps in 15V circuits.

Or 15V caps on a 13V rail, as people with 485s will discover.
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
Glider pilot's aphorism: "there is no substitute for span". Retort: "There is a substitute: skill+imagination. But you can buy span".
Having fun doing more, with less
 

Offline Zucca

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 4298
  • Country: it
  • EE meid in Itali
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37471 on: August 26, 2019, 08:04:30 am »
1500 pages.

eh no, I failed.
Can't know what you don't love. St. Augustine
Can't love what you don't know. Zucca
 

Online tautech

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 28137
  • Country: nz
  • Taupaki Technologies Ltd. Siglent Distributor NZ.
    • Taupaki Technologies Ltd.
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37472 on: August 26, 2019, 09:02:12 am »
Hmmmm....

I could delete an old post and make THIS the start of page 1500   >:D

Nah.  I like seeing the post count go up, not down.
You can have it unless someone else wants to play silly buggers.  >:D
Avid Rabid Hobbyist
Siglent Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SiglentVideo/videos
 

Offline Ero-Shan

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 568
  • Country: de
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37473 on: August 26, 2019, 10:53:39 am »
* Never found an alcohol with a taste I could enjoy.
 * Took one drag of a cigarette when I was 8 and never touched them again. (Why, people ... WHY?!!)

So why does my bank balance look like the noise floor of my scope...?

Oh, yeah .... kids.
(But they were worth it.)

Never been really drunk in my whole life, but 1 beer/week and a bit of liqueur is fine. Wine, however, makes my throat sore.
With cigarettes I had the exact same experience, only at a later age. Although I really wanted to be a smoker (back then they were 'cool').

Let's not talk about my bank balance. But I have no children. ;)
 

Offline Brumby

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 12288
  • Country: au
Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #37474 on: August 26, 2019, 11:12:40 am »
Hmmmm....

I could delete an old post and make THIS the start of page 1500   >:D

Nah.  I like seeing the post count go up, not down.
You can have it unless someone else wants to play silly buggers.  >:D
I saw that.

You can have it back.
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf