Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

That was bd139...not me. 

Hahaha

Thanks for the tips - will print a temp tower tomorrow morning first thing then some cubes. Need to go out shortly and not leaving it unattended

I don't want to start a benchmark fight, but while the temp tower can be handy, I find the 3dbenchy boat model to be a lot more useful for dialing in settings ( http://www.3dbenchy.com/ ) than cubes.  Gives you dimensions of several parts to check, but also tests overhangs, bridging, small features, infill to solid transitions, etc. - so you end up checking a lot of potential risky maneuvers for a printer in a single hour or two long print.

Thanks - added to print queue as well. I was reading about that the other day.

[beanflying]

Well that went well for a first ever print!   

No complaints. Tiny bit of stringing but that's not terrible. Will take 5oC off the print temperature next time. This stuff is as near to plug and play as it goes really. Amazing.

Did you slice that yourself, or was it a sample gcode already on your card? They typically include one or two gcodes already optimized for the specific printer so you can have a nice success (and confirm that the mechanics of the printer are fundamentally correct) right OOB.

The gcode will take over control of bed and hotend temp; no matter what you set them to in setup. Typical for PLA & PLA+ will be 185-210 degrees, so small adjustments can make a big difference.

You’ll want to print a temp tower, then some calibration cubes. Then you can get into some of the tuning objects, to help you learn how to tweak for overhangs & choosing supports. 

mnem
*back out into the suck*

Thanks for the tips - will print a temp tower tomorrow morning first thing then some cubes. Need to go out shortly and not leaving it unattended

I've got a simplified fucktopus without overhangs so I can avoid them for print two. Taking it easy to start with 

Off to a good start  Sometimes the site search can be used - Try this lot of Ender tidy ups I did a while back https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2292147/?topicseen#msg2292147

[mnementh]

There’s a reason I suggested in the order I did...  and it was at the direction of folks who know a lot more than I do about 3DP.

Benchy is a good test once you THINK you have things dialed-in. You need to get the thing calibrated first so that when you print to a dimension you actually get it, and so that you don’t print cubes that are oblong.

Before you do that, you need to figure out optimal temp for the particular filament you’re using; a temp tower will give you that no matter if you’re out of cal or not.

Baby-schlepps, buddy. 

mnem
back out into the suck*

[bd139]

Yeah temp tower will show least stringy well supported temperature for that particular PLA. Then you do a 3d benchy to make sure it worked.

temp tower printing now. Thanks for the advice mnem. 1h40 print so can squeeze in before bed

[factory]

Hmm very clean HP 606B turned up in Southampton for not a lot of money. I am rammed busy though so can’t get it for nearly two weeks. 

I'm sure they would be OK if you arranged to collect it in a few weeks, never had a problem doing that before (unless they state otherwise), also I thought ePay didn't like private sellers adding contact numbers to the description. 
The same seller has quite a few interesting boat anchors including a 741B DC standard which seems cheap to me, just had some offers sent on the ones I was watching too, can't see myself going to Southampton any time soon though.

David

[tautech]

That’s interesting mnem   
Dunno what was going on there ? 

In the nearly forty years of using mains powered units the one thing I’ve never scrimped on is the fence earth so to get down deep to the water table.
Even though it might be an earth connection it should still be insulated all the way to the earth peg/s as when there’s a big short somewhere the peg can obtain an elevated voltage that if nothing else can be a bloody nuisance for all. Especially so if the installation is nearby a milking shed or some animal yard or barn.

Normally elevated earth peg voltages are dealt with by adding more pegs but in the last few decades I’ve used a single full 20ft length of galv pipe to get down deep and be sure to be in the water table.
IIRC I got ~3.5kV on that fence wire when I checked it, piss ant earth and you get nutthing like that 2km from the unit.   

When I was in elementary school we converted from 110V to 220V.  The electrician showed me how to install a ground rod.

1: Get a bucket of water and wet the immediate area.

2: Attach Vice-Grips to the top of the rod.

3: Pump the rod like churning butter.

4: Add water

5: Keep pumping.  The rod will soon be sucked down to the Vice-Grips.

Takes me about 10 minutes in good clay soil.  The hydraulic action will displace small rocks, larger ones may require moving 6" to several feet and restarting.  NO HAMMER needed.

Yeah that'll work for short lengths but doing 20 footers ya need a constant water flow.

A ol' timer* told me how to put a full length of 20mm/3/4" water pipe directly into the ground with nutthing more than a flowing garden hose and a couple of right-angle fittings to form a 180 bend on the top end.
Hardest bit is getting started with 20' of pipe standing in the air with a garden hose attached.
A helper on a roof/ladder or a tall bit of machinery to lean it against or climb on is necessary for the first few feet then you're away and able to get the full 20' length in normally in ~10 minutes.
Again, not a hammer in sight.
Once you've done this once you're hooked and always use the water hammer method to put ground pegs in.

_______________________________________________________________________________

*(miss you ol' Eric and named our last born in your honor)

[bd139]

Hmm very clean HP 606B turned up in Southampton for not a lot of money. I am rammed busy though so can’t get it for nearly two weeks. 

I'm sure they would be OK if you arranged to collect it in a few weeks, never had a problem doing that before (unless they state otherwise), also I thought ePay didn't like private sellers adding contact numbers to the description. 
The same seller has quite a few interesting boat anchors including a 741B DC standard which seems cheap to me, just had some offers sent on the ones I was watching too, can't see myself going to Southampton any time soon though.

David

Yeah he's put out an offer to me for £70 as well which is even more tempting. I'm mostly worried about taking on too many projects at the moment and to be 100% fair the Rigol DG1022Z performs perfectly well for what I'd use the HP for functionally speaking.

Edit: got a banging migraine now. I am too old for this kind of excitement 

[factory]

It's the first 5240A I've ever seen, inside it's mostly the contents of the 5260A frequency divider with an 8 digit 12.5MHz counter stuck to the top (probably based on the circuitry from similar counters such as the 5321 & 5216A).

It was packed in a large enough box, but unfortunately it was filled with the thousands of tiniest polystyrene balls I've ever seen, most of which had escaped out of the box (not enough tape used to close it), the useless balls allowed the heavy meter to move about during transit & were a PITA to contain after opening the box, there were holes created by both the front handles and the BNC adaptor/termination on the back.

Now that's bad! I was really lucky, in more than just one regard. As I said: Packaged goods must not be allowed to move in their packages!
(The tiny balls messing your lab are the icing on the cake, adding insult to injury.)

What a crying shame!

A quick test to see if it still worked (after changing switch to 240V), picture is a bit crap, one more tube lit than in the sellers pictures, the half zeros were showing in the sellers pictures too.


More to follow with some inside pictures.

David

And these half digits are exactly what I had seen on my 5245L on first try.Just re-seating all cards and connectors helped here.

Hope you get a refund.

I'm trying to catch up again, been too busy recently. 

The seller of the 5240A was OK actually, a partial refund covered the cost of some replacement side frames from BD's favourite test gear mass murderer (aka Freddy Krueger). 
The sides aren't exactly the same due to a wiring loom running where the side handles are normally fitted, this part is cut out on this meter, but that's nothing that can't be fixed with a milling machine.
Just need to find a paint match for the scratch on the front panel.



I will try reseating the connectors for the counter, one of them doesn't look fully seated, also got to check the supplies, looking at the manual the HV supply for the tubes doesn't seem to have a smoothing capacitor. 

No idea what to do with those annoying tiny balls from the box, can't use them for packing as they are crap, they must be bad for the environment too, as well as a potential choking hazard for children or animals, why do they exist? 

David

[bd139]

mjtronix!   

If they are polystyrene balls, get an ice cream tub or something you don't want and put some acetone in the bottom and just shovel them in it until it's a paste. Then chuck it in the bin. You don't need a lot of acetone!

[factory]

Sorry BD, Freddy was cheap though.

Excellent idea, there is a small bottle of acetone here somewhere.   

Yeah he's put out an offer to me for £70 as well which is even more tempting. I'm mostly worried about taking on too many projects at the moment and to be 100% fair the Rigol DG1022Z performs perfectly well for what I'd use the HP for functionally speaking.

Edit: got a banging migraine now. I am too old for this kind of excitement 

You would also need to find some space for a HP 606B, it's about the size a microwave and similar in weight to an older one (modern microwaves are lightweight disposable crap in comparison).

David

[mnementh]

TETRIS: GETTING THE HELL OUTTA DODGE EDITION

This procedure requires elevation. Power tools recommended. 

mnem
 

[tautech]

Godspeed on your travels mnem, must be gettin close now ?

[Specmaster]

@bd139, that looks like a half useful printer, not sure that I would find one all that useful TBH, but it is something that is on my radar for the future at some point but for now, if I had the space to put one, it would be gathering dust most of it's time.

[mnementh]

Godspeed on your travels mnem, must be gettin close now ?

A few more days we hope. It’s a daily cycle of “Get up early, work until the suck overwhelms you, rest for the afternoon, do it again in the evening, pass out... Then get up early, etc.”

Still not sure I’m gonna have enough room for everything... may have to tie the boi across the hood like a trophy buck. 

mnem
Awww, come on son... it’s just for the next 1800 miles...”

[mnementh]

Who, pray tell, is Princess Tektronix? 

It was a metaphor for your statement that you were sick of all things Tektronix and wanted to get rid of them. Or did I mix your hyperbole up with somebody else’s again...? (Entirely possible right now, as is conflation error)

mnem
WhuuhhWeTalkin’Aboutt...?

That was bd139...not me. 

Then my apologies to The Princess... and Lady Cop.

mnem
Sweetheart... just whose tiara is this under your bed...?”

[bd139]

Temperature fixed at 200 for this PLA. Least stringy on temp tower. Thanks for that 

And Holy shitballs. Decided to wing it on something. Put together a part in FreeCAD, just a simple 25mm long bar with 3mm holes in each end, 3mm thick with rounded ends. After one fuck up where I scaled it 150% due to reusing a cura workspace, one fuck up where I left a bulldog clip in the home position and one fuck up where I didn’t set the right option generating the mesh in FreeCAD, the damn thing puked the part out perfectly in 10 mins. Screwed two M3 screws into it and went at it with the callipers. Dimensional accuracy is absolutely excellent. Once I’ve nailed the silly workflow issues I can see a 30 min turnaround on small parts.

(Was 0.2mm / 100% fill for that part)

Test gear parts at the weekend

[Specmaster]

TETRIS: GETTING THE HELL OUTTA DODGE EDITION

This procedure requires elevation. Power tools recommended. 

mnem
 

I hope you have put some ductape round those plastic bins and their lids as I can see that after 1800 miles or whatever and the vibration and potholes etc have taken their toll, the lids coming off and the contents being spilled all over the place by the time you get there.

Good luck for the trip. 

[Neomys Sapiens]

Wait...wut? You're not supposed to eat it?    Geez, I was wondering why it tasted so bad. 

No med - "Do Not Eat" - it's there for a reason! Pay attention to notices! 

That applies to the envelope!

[xrunner]

Wait...wut? You're not supposed to eat it?    Geez, I was wondering why it tasted so bad. 

No med - "Do Not Eat" - it's there for a reason! Pay attention to notices! 

That applies to the envelope!

Yes! You're right, it doesn't say "Do not eat the contents of this packet" it does simply state on the packet "Do not eat" .

Hey Med now we can finally find out what the silica gel tastes like! 

[Neomys Sapiens]

Anyone interested in my former HP4261A (fully working, no accessories, with IEEE488)?

You bet!

And I bet I'm already much too late ...

No, you are the first and only one. PM me with offer.

[mnementh]

Temperature fixed at 200 for this PLA. Least stringy on temp tower. Thanks for that 

And Holy shitballs. Decided to wing it on something. Put together a part in FreeCAD, just a simple 25mm long bar with 3mm holes in each end, 3mm thick with rounded ends. After one fuck up where I scaled it 150% due to reusing a cura workspace, one fuck up where I left a bulldog clip in the home position and one fuck up where I didn’t set the right option generating the mesh in FreeCAD, the damn thing puked the part out perfectly in 10 mins. Screwed two M3 screws into it and went at it with the callipers. Dimensional accuracy is absolutely excellent. Once I’ve nailed the silly workflow issues I can see a 30 min turnaround on small parts. (Was 0.2mm / 100% fill for that part)

Test gear parts at the weekend

Glad my advice helped. 

I’ll admit, what little I know HAS BEEN hard-earned; though 95% of my misery predates the Tornado/CR-10. Since then, every time I have a problem it takes no more than a quick Gurrgle and I find a dozen videos with the answer; and unlike my quirky old Tarantula, the answers actually work! 

mnem
*moar duck tape, please!*

[mnementh]

Wait...wut? You're not supposed to eat it?    Geez, I was wondering why it tasted so bad. 

No med - "Do Not Eat" - it's there for a reason! Pay attention to notices! 

That applies to the envelope!

Yes! You're right, it doesn't say "Do not eat the contents of this packet" it does simply state on the packet "Do not eat" .

Hey Med now we can finally find out what the silica gel tastes like! 

Med is the reason rice has that warning too.  No, not that one... the one about exploding birds.

mnem
 

[beanflying]

For maybe no good reason I run 205 on the first layer then 200 for PLA. The theory is is helps the stick but also likely increases the squish or Elephants footing  Haven't found a reason to change these figures so I have left them at that for a well over a year. Extra mm or two of retraction to control stringing if needed.

[worsthorse]

The first of the 191s is done and ready to find its new forever home. This is one of the early units, so isn't in one of the fancy cases like the 106:



Generates a very clean, very stable sine wave from .35 to 100 MHz. They all look like this: 



Calibrating it is not hard but it is tedious. The inductor calibration screw is on one side (T18 is one), the capacitor on the other (attached to the side of the inductor), so you have to flip it over again and again:

 

Here's the peak detector board, which is the only PCB in the unit. Note the capacitors, like C64:

[worsthorse]

mjtronix!   

If they are polystyrene balls, get an ice cream tub or something you don't want and put some acetone in the bottom and just shovel them in it until it's a paste. Then chuck it in the bin. You don't need a lot of acetone!

actually those little balls are great for making q dope...