Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[factory]

I think they tried to use Uncle Bumblefuck's box opener...

Or perhaps the embiggener. * 

mnem
*hiding out from THE SUCK*  *I know for quite a while his favored box opener was a cordless mini chainsaw... but damned if I can find one of those vids right now. It's like the fucking YT search engine KNOWS what I want, and deliberately feeds me everything BUT that. 

Maybe this one with the DySuck, opened with the Bosch chainsaw;



I EOL'ed an older one last week, had to resort to using a crowbar to get it open due to lack of long Torx drivers. 

David

[med6753]

I thought that ad was for the Triumph TR-7...

(Attachment Link)

Confidence in the stunt relied on the belief that the British Army regularly parachuted vehicles. Only later was it admitted that nobody actually knew if the British Army had ever dropped a vehicle successfully.

EDIT: No, wait... it was MGB.  https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/12/04/mgb-8000-foot-plunge-for-tv
mnem
 

The USAF did one more better. 

[mnementh]

Yeah, but that was deliberate vandalism and the culprit was court-martialed.   https://www.stripes.com/news/sergeant-who-sent-3-humvees-plummeting-from-plane-found-guilty-1.526073



I found it much more amusing that the MGB ad guys figured it all out from scratch, and successful in only 2 takes.    I would SO love to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation where they pitched "Take 2"... 

mnem
 

[med6753]

Yeah, but that was deliberate vandalism and the culprit was court-martialed and found guilty. https://www.stripes.com/news/sergeant-who-sent-3-humvees-plummeting-from-plane-found-guilty-1.526073

(Attachment Link)

I found it much more amusing that the MBG ad guys figured it all from scratch, and successful in only 2 takes.    I would SO love to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation where they pitched "Take 2"... 

mnem
 

Wow, I didn't realize it was a deliberate act and they caught who was responsible. What a dumbass.   

[mnementh]

   INDEED...

mnem
 

[mnementh]

I think they tried to use Uncle Bumblefuck's box opener...   Or perhaps the embiggener. * 

mnem
*hiding out from THE SUCK*  *I know for quite a while his favored box opener was a cordless mini chainsaw... but damned if I can find one of those vids right now. It's like the fucking YT search engine KNOWS what I want, and deliberately feeds me everything BUT that. 

Maybe this one with the DySuck, opened with the Bosch chainsaw;

https://youtu.be/NPTzNJMd19A

I EOL'ed an older one last week, had to resort to using a crowbar to get it open due to lack of long Torx drivers. 

David

LOLOL... anytime I feel like shit, all I have to do is tune into BOLTR for a few minutes of his "picturesque speech" and the weight on my shoulders is 50lbs lighter... he reminds me muchly of my grand-dad (after he got a few beers in him and the conservative-attitude shields lost integrity); feels both funny and nostalgic at the same time. 

Wouldja lookit this Ridley Scott ALIEN abortion... I suddenly feel insecure! What in the Holy Toast even is this; looks like a kid from the 50's got aholda some Japanese space station designs...   

mnem
*still hiding out from the suck*

[BU508A]

Speaking of side cutters:

I have one of these Schmitz with Tungsten Carbide cutters. Very nice. Can withstand copper, hardened steel and toenails.

https://www.amazon.com/Tungsten-schmitz-3437HS22-Dissipative-professionals/dp/B00ADM5LDG/

[DaJMasta]

I have no doubt they are great side cutters, but I often find mine to be sort of disposable... I want them to be durable, but will wear them hard enough in a couple years that they would need sharpening or would break the return spring or something.

Given that, I sprung for a somewhat cheaper set on amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J19N2RS




...and yes I got the 5 pack.

[BU508A]

 

[bd139]

So true. Talking of which, random turn up for the night. After arguing with a problem this evening I discovered the trigger on my 20MHz Hameg is less shit than the trigger on the Rigol at low speeds 

Literally the bastard thing will not trigger on sub-1Hz signals properly. The trigger point glitches all over the fucking place.

[med6753]

So true. Talking of which, random turn up for the night. After arguing with a problem this evening I discovered the trigger on my 20MHz Hameg is less shit than the trigger on the Rigol at low speeds 

Literally the bastard thing will not trigger on sub-1Hz signals properly. The trigger point glitches all over the fucking place.

You know what the solution is don't you? 


Psst...Get a Tek

[bd139]

Hahaha. I've got the 475 still here. That's just as much of a bastard unfortunately as the trigger drifts as it's warming up. The 465B trigger was much much better than the 465 and 475 were.

Philips and Hameg both trigger reliably without any fannying around or warm up

Edit: it's really embarrassing that an ass end 20MHz scope with bare minimum features is actually ranking high on the "just works" list

[med6753]

Hahaha. I've got the 475 still here. That's just as much of a bastard unfortunately as the trigger drifts as it's warming up. The 465B trigger was much much better than the 465 and 475 were.

Philips and Hameg both trigger reliably without any fannying around or warm up

Edit: it's really embarrassing that an ass end 20MHz scope with bare minimum features is actually ranking high on the "just works" list

I noticed the same thing. The 475A Trigger is finicky until warmed up but once warm is stable. And yes, the 465B Trigger is good right from the get go. Same with the 485 (The one that the Trigger works  )

Edit......but if you get a 2465 your troubles will be over. 

[Neomys Sapiens]

So we have missed. Did not see DC1MC either.
I came at 1230 and found it the worst UKW-tagung yet. More gear until this one.
HTB did not even attend. And I did not see the NGSM power supply, as I would have bought it right away.
That calibrator? When this ex-yugoslavian Grossschlawiner puts such a device out for this price - RUN!

Well, I snagged a bagful of what you call 'RF voodoo' (circulators, directional couplers etc) and a handful of exotic adaptors.

I don't have any comparison since this was my first "UKW Tagung". But I must admit, I was a little bit disappointed.
I considered buying that Fluke 5100B but then I get away from that. I did not really trust its shape and I did not
trust that seller. You know him? And his reputation?

Please do not post personal details. Link to the source of the information if it is pertinent.

[Specmaster]

Me too. Albeit not Lindstroms. I bet you actually put them back though.

Yes, that's the real problem, having to go hunt for them. The family hace access yo normal sidecutters, in fact SWMBO has many pairs that she uses for cutting support wires for cake decorating. Can't use them for toe nails cos the cutters are to thick[emoji53]

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

[Specmaster]

So true. Talking of which, random turn up for the night. After arguing with a problem this evening I discovered the trigger on my 20MHz Hameg is less shit than the trigger on the Rigol at low speeds 

Literally the bastard thing will not trigger on sub-1Hz signals properly. The trigger point glitches all over the fucking place.

Yep, you found loads of problems with your last Rigol too, which is why so many couldn't believe you that got another one and sold your TDS210 which I think does that well. [emoji849]

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

[BU508A]

So true. Talking of which, random turn up for the night. After arguing with a problem this evening I discovered the trigger on my 20MHz Hameg is less shit than the trigger on the Rigol at low speeds 

Literally the bastard thing will not trigger on sub-1Hz signals properly. The trigger point glitches all over the fucking place.

Yep, you found loads of problems with your last Rigol too, which is why so many couldn't believe you that got another one and sold your TDS210 which I think does that well. [emoji849]

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

Maybe bd139 likes to hunting down issues he would not have with better equipement?

[BU508A]

Hahaha. I've got the 475 still here. That's just as much of a bastard unfortunately as the trigger drifts as it's warming up. The 465B trigger was much much better than the 465 and 475 were.

Philips and Hameg both trigger reliably without any fannying around or warm up

Edit: it's really embarrassing that an ass end 20MHz scope with bare minimum features is actually ranking high on the "just works" list

These Hameg scopes are not that bad. Used my 203-7 many years and I liked it. Imho the Hamegs are often underestimated scopes.

[bd139]

So true. Talking of which, random turn up for the night. After arguing with a problem this evening I discovered the trigger on my 20MHz Hameg is less shit than the trigger on the Rigol at low speeds 

Literally the bastard thing will not trigger on sub-1Hz signals properly. The trigger point glitches all over the fucking place.

Yep, you found loads of problems with your last Rigol too, which is why so many couldn't believe you that got another one and sold your TDS210 which I think does that well. [emoji849]

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

TDS210 has the same issue unfortunately. I suspect it’s an artifact of how the trigger is implemented. On the Rigol you can single shot it and pause then zoom. On the TDS it doesn’t have enough memory depth for that. I suspect the older megazoom scopes are better on this front - the triggers on them are pretty excellent. But again they are only 20MS/s.

This is one reason I was looking at the newer keysight scopes. But what’s the point in fishing out a grand for a scope when a £30 Hameg does the job

Talking of which my aliexpress Saleae got me further than the Rigol decodes did last week trying to debug a bit banging problem on SPI. Turns out I didnt read the MCP3208 datasheet properly 

So true. Talking of which, random turn up for the night. After arguing with a problem this evening I discovered the trigger on my 20MHz Hameg is less shit than the trigger on the Rigol at low speeds 

Literally the bastard thing will not trigger on sub-1Hz signals properly. The trigger point glitches all over the fucking place.

Yep, you found loads of problems with your last Rigol too, which is why so many couldn't believe you that got another one and sold your TDS210 which I think does that well. [emoji849]

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

Maybe bd139 likes to hunting down issues he would not have with better equipement?

I’ve learned that when you have “better” equipment you end up with more expensive problems to solve

[BU508A]

I’ve learned that when you have “better” equipment you end up with more expensive problems to solve

This is called "gaining experience" 

[bd139]

Hahaha. I've got the 475 still here. That's just as much of a bastard unfortunately as the trigger drifts as it's warming up. The 465B trigger was much much better than the 465 and 475 were.

Philips and Hameg both trigger reliably without any fannying around or warm up

Edit: it's really embarrassing that an ass end 20MHz scope with bare minimum features is actually ranking high on the "just works" list

These Hameg scopes are not that bad. Used my 203-7 many years and I liked it. Imho the Hamegs are often underestimated scopes.

I would say they are rather good actually. Cheap, well built, well implemented and no “cool tricks” that are difficult to fix. I am seriously considering getting an HM605 if one turns up. That has 60Mhz and delayed timebase. That, the Rigol and a cheap saleae analyser will cover all my use cases without spending a lot more money.

There’s also hundreds of the things here so spares isn’t a problem.

[BU508A]

There is a nice looking one for EUR 79.- in .de, ships worldwide (including UK  )

https://www.ebay.com/itm/223635588087

[Specmaster]

Dave likes the Hamegs as well and thinks everyone should get themselves a 20Mhz one.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

[bd139]

There is a nice looking one for EUR 79.- in .de, ships worldwide (including UK  )

https://www.ebay.com/itm/223635588087

I’m too cheap. They turn up here regularly for pocket money. 

Patience is the game.

Someone is selling some later 100Mhz ones here but at the £300 mark 

[McBryce]

There is a nice looking one for EUR 79.- in .de, ships worldwide (including UK  )

https://www.ebay.com/itm/223635588087

The nice thing about the older Hamegs is that they used off the shelf parts, so they are easy to repair. Most of the ICs are even socketed. I just restored a load of HM203-7 scopes for a local school. Got them all on ebay and none of them cost more than around €50 each.

McBryce.