Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[beanflying]

In an effort to get things back on track before we go TOO far off into the weed(s) (poor pun intended), let's get back to the addiction that is the inspiration for this thread.  Here are some quick pics of the additions to my ever lengthening repair queue that have added their mass to my long suffering floor joists over the past month or two.

A very old HP 350B distortion analyzer.  This one is pre-1960 as it has the old style serial number.  I believe that it's actually old enough that the wooden case is its factory enclosure, but haven't yet opened it up.
......

Fingers crossed this gets us off of intoxicants legal or otherwise, and back to our favorite addiction.

-Pat

I actually glanced that old Hickock on evilbay last week and thought about dropping it here, look forward to seeing the insides.

I include a shot of less crusty Agilent/HP to make up for some of yours  It must be over 25C as I have lost 1 PPM 

[tautech]

..............
And lastly, another one that's been ridden hard and put up wet - an 8654B signal generator.  The innards are mostly tuning cavity:


-Pat

Mine with pics of its guts here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hp-8654b-10-520-mhz-sig-gen-light-teardown/

[bitseeker]

In an effort to get things back on track before we go TOO far off into the weed(s) (poor pun intended), let's get back to the addiction that is the inspiration for this thread.  Here are some quick pics of the additions to my ever lengthening repair queue that have added their mass to my long suffering floor joists over the past month or two.

A very old HP 350B distortion analyzer.  This one is pre-1960 as it has the old style serial number.  I believe that it's actually old enough that the wooden case is its factory enclosure, but haven't yet opened it up.

You forgot the warning.

An old US Navy wigglescope, originally made by Hickock Instruments:

Did Jack Ganssle do a random draw on one of those earlier this year? Maybe not the same model.

An HP 4350A High Capacitance Meter:

Wow, up to 600V bias.

A 3734A Counter.  I hate people/companies that engrave instrument faces.   

Yeah, that's pretty wicked. Right up there with scraping stickers off with a screwdriver. Nice choobs, though.

A rather forlorn looking 6205B dual power supply:

That'll probably look pretty nice after cleaning the face and polishing those screw heads.

A 6051A Electronic Load - been watching these for a while, but kept either missing them or they went for too much $$:

Yeah, a lot of HP gear goes for a lot of $$. The 6051A is a nice size. It bigger brother is quite a monster. I have the middle child, 6060B.

And lastly, another one that's been ridden hard and put up wet - an 8654B signal generator.  The innards are mostly tuning cavity:

How are those for general use? Still in spec and stable after all these years? They're yet another piece of the modular enclosure line.

[kj7e]

Redid my bench annex addition with a better shelf.  Now I have even more room for some classic gear.  Still keeping my eye open for a Keithley 155 or an HP 419 Null meter in good shape but not for an insane price.  A 3410A AC uV meter and 410c VTVM would be nice too.



 

[Cubdriver]

..............
And lastly, another one that's been ridden hard and put up wet - an 8654B signal generator.  The innards are mostly tuning cavity:


-Pat

Mine with pics of its guts here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hp-8654b-10-520-mhz-sig-gen-light-teardown/

Wow - yours is waaaaaay purtier!!  I haven't tried to fire it up yet as the power switch is busticated, and the mechanism for changing the range is VERY stiff.  It will definitely need some going-over.

-Pat

[tautech]

..............
And lastly, another one that's been ridden hard and put up wet - an 8654B signal generator.  The innards are mostly tuning cavity:


-Pat

Mine with pics of its guts here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hp-8654b-10-520-mhz-sig-gen-light-teardown/

Wow - yours is waaaaaay purtier!!  I haven't tried to fire it up yet as the power switch is busticated, and the mechanism for changing the range is VERY stiff.  It will definitely need some going-over.

-Pat

Probably not had much use or just needs a lube.

How are those for general use? Still in spec and stable after all these years? They're yet another piece of the modular enclosure line.

They're OK and very clean if a sine is all you need. The dial is a bit off in mine and the coarse adjust (crank handle) uses an old style cord link for the scale pointer and adjustment of the frequency mechanism and the bloody thing sticks from time to time. Not sure if one of the idler pulleys needs lube or the cord needs a bit of wax to help it grip better.
You can at times crank the handle and get nowhere ! 

I had a poke 'round inside but the cord mechanism is right behind the front display and slotted in fairly tight so not wanting it ALL OVER the bench I've just lived with it.
Got a SSG3021X upped to 3.2 GHz  a while back so mine gets no use now.

[Cubdriver]

In an effort to get things back on track before we go TOO far off into the weed(s) (poor pun intended), let's get back to the addiction that is the inspiration for this thread.  Here are some quick pics of the additions to my ever lengthening repair queue that have added their mass to my long suffering floor joists over the past month or two.

A very old HP 350B distortion analyzer.  This one is pre-1960 as it has the old style serial number.  I believe that it's actually old enough that the wooden case is its factory enclosure, but haven't yet opened it up.

You forgot the warning.

Haha - my first thought was "it's not that much of a boat anchor", but I just grabbed the bathroom scale and put it on and discovered it's around 40 lbs, so I guess it does kind of qualify in that regard...  (Though I'm not yet sure how much of that mass id either mud dauber or mouse nests - some crap that didn't come from the factory trickles out the holes when it's moved around and turned upside down or on its side.  Blechh!  At least what's coming out is dry as dust.)

An old US Navy wigglescope, originally made by Hickock Instruments:

Did Jack Ganssle do a random draw on one of those earlier this year? Maybe not the same model.

That I cannot answer.  I snagged it at the VRCMCT swap meet last week for $10.  Thought it was cool enough to drop a ten spot on it.

An HP 4350A High Capacitance Meter:

Wow, up to 600V bias.

Yeah, I don't recall ever seeing one of those and found it while poking about on our favorite auction site a few weeks ago.  I need to STOP visiting there!   

A 3734A Counter.  I hate people/companies that engrave instrument faces.   

Yeah, that's pretty wicked. Right up there with scraping stickers off with a screwdriver. Nice choobs, though.

Indeed - it has the big round ones.  Seeing that it has an engraved front panel, maybe I'll get really ambitious and try doing a complete strip and refinish of it after sanding the offending scratches out.  In my 'spare' time.   

A rather forlorn looking 6205B dual power supply:

That'll probably look pretty nice after cleaning the face and polishing those screw heads.

That is my hope.  Some Windex, Goo-Gone, IPA, methanol and elbow grease and I think it'll look a lot better.

A 6051A Electronic Load - been watching these for a while, but kept either missing them or they went for too much $$:

Yeah, a lot of HP gear goes for a lot of $$. The 6051A is a nice size. It bigger brother is quite a monster. I have the middle child, 6060B.

I'd like to have gotten its bigger brother, but those REALLY go for stupid $$.  I figure it will come in handy for testing all these power supplies I now find myself with.

And lastly, another one that's been ridden hard and put up wet - an 8654B signal generator.  The innards are mostly tuning cavity:

How are those for general use? Still in spec and stable after all these years? They're yet another piece of the modular enclosure line.

That remains to be seen - have to fix the power button for a start, and it looks like the output connector is missing a leaf on the center contact.  Not a showstopper for initial testing, but it will have to go once it's fixed.

-Pat

[tggzzz]

As for Poutine... it kindof all looks like barf on french fries to me.  I'd really rather avoid the "error" part of trial and error therein...

Many foods look like barf; some taste like it. Widely popular foods are unlikely to fall into that category.

Without "errors" where you find something less good, you will (a) not realise how good the other stuff is and (b) miss out on things that are surprisingly good.

Serendipity is my favourite word and concept; I'm always searching for it, but the older I get the less I find it Even so, to misquote Arnold Palmer, the more I search for it the luckier I get.

[Cubdriver]

I'll be damned - the little bugger fired up and works.  Powered it up on my Sencore Powerite and it looked like it was behaving current-draw wise, and a nice clean looking trace quickly came up.  Drove it from an HP 3310A and it displays waves and synchs up pretty well.  There are a few jitters, but I think some cleaning will fix those.  Lord only knows when it was last powered up, but I'm impressed at how quickly it sprang to life.  It appears that this model was from around 1952; the 'C' version appears to have come out in '53.  Not too bad for something nearly 20 years past the half century mark!













I'll have to open it up and get some good shots with my real camera.

-Pat

[med6753]

Same company (Hickok) did this just a few years later.....

http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Hickok_1805A

http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Hickok

[Specmaster]

Yeah, I've had some problem understanding Maple Syrup up here too.

I've MADE Maple Syrup from scratch with my grand-dad; done everything from drilling to tapping the trees to cooking and then reducing the syrup. What he made... what I consider "Real Maple Syrup"... is dark and thick and VERY aromatic and strongly-flavoured with a little smoky/nutty overtone. What I can buy here... what they're really proud of as "Traditional Maple Syrup" for $10+ a bottle... is almost clear and watery, and barely any flavor or sweetness at all. It's like they brought the sap to a boil, then mixed it with corn syrup and called it good.

I mean, the ingredients say "100% Pure Maple Syrup" but everything else about it feels like watered-down corn-syrup.

 

mnem
*nutty & smoky*

That might be down to the food labelling laws over there, but we Brits (as long as we are in the EU at least) have far stricter laws on labelling of food and if it states 100% pure maple syrup then that is what it is. I suspect that Canada has aligned its food regulations fairly closely to the USA as it is its nearest neighbour?

[Specmaster]

* worsthorse pokes his head into the playroom to see if the kids are finished hurling legos and toy trucks at one another.

 

* worsthorse thinks, probably not and decides to do something else for another fifteen or twenty posts.   

Long ago sorted; just as I said it would be. Stay away too long and you'll miss out on all the sweets. 

mnem
Fuck... now I have a craving for Nutter Butter cookies.

Haha sounds like the cold has got to you so you need to up the calorie intake a bit sharpish.

[Specmaster]

There was one of those wrigglescopes on eBay I think the other day, or it could have been on Shpock, I'm not to sure which TBH but it did catch my eye for a while.

Speaking of scopes, my Velleman K7105 is already on its way to me apparently do hopefully won't have to wait too long to find out if it's a useable tool as bd139 suggested or a steaming turd like mnem implied, all I know is that it looks on paper to be a good bit of kit for low frequency work or not, but for price I paid, its worth a gamble.

With regard to TTi bench power supplies, there does seem to a few on eBay at the moment for not a lot of bucks, makes me wonder why everyone is dumping them now?

[bd139]

The K7105 isn’t going to blow your socks off but it is functional. I rather like them as they are same era as TI graphing calculators and feel about the same. Worst case it’s going to make a few quid on eBay 

I think the TTi supplies are being booted because they’re linear, quite large and most laboratory work is fine with post regulated switch mode supplies now which are smaller and cheaper. I’ll take my large low noise supplies thanks

[Cerebus]

Going for a Nudie run is fairly harmless in the right setting like after midnight leaving the Pub  See Alcohol can be dangerous.....

You might think it's harmless, but it makes the sheep bloody nervous! 

[bd139]

Yeah, I've had some problem understanding Maple Syrup up here too.

I've MADE Maple Syrup from scratch with my grand-dad; done everything from drilling to tapping the trees to cooking and then reducing the syrup. What he made... what I consider "Real Maple Syrup"... is dark and thick and VERY aromatic and strongly-flavoured with a little smoky/nutty overtone. What I can buy here... what they're really proud of as "Traditional Maple Syrup" for $10+ a bottle... is almost clear and watery, and barely any flavor or sweetness at all. It's like they brought the sap to a boil, then mixed it with corn syrup and called it good.

I mean, the ingredients say "100% Pure Maple Syrup" but everything else about it feels like watered-down corn-syrup.

 

mnem
*nutty & smoky*

That might be down to the food labelling laws over there, but we Brits (as long as we are in the EU at least) have far stricter laws on labelling of food and if it states 100% pure maple syrup then that is what it is. I suspect that Canada has aligned its food regulations fairly closely to the USA as it is its nearest neighbour?

Actually we have maple syrup and maple flavoured syrup here. Not a lot of people, particularly SWMNLBO, are switched on enough to tell or care about the difference and end up getting ripped off for some normal golden syrup with some flavouring in it because it’s slightly cheaper than the genuine stuff.

Same stuff as “breadcrumbed fish” versus “breadcrumbed cod”. One tastes like three year old insoles but is cheaper.

[Cerebus]

If that's being a dumbass then I guess me be a blue arsed dumbass.

There, fixed that for ya! 

[Cerebus]

Nothing too exciting TEA-wise for me, lately. Just snagged one of these Pomona 5698 for $30. Some people hate them, but seems handy and the price was good.

I think it's just the purists who hate them. Sure, you shouldn't be going and making high precision measurements with half a dozen adapters in the signal chain, but having a kit like that sure beats waiting for (or making) the exact right lead for the job when you need to get on with something. If I saw a set of those going for $30 I'd snaffle them faster than you can say "dragon licking its own arse"; good deal.

[Brumby]

Going for a Nudie run is fairly harmless in the right setting like after midnight leaving the Pub  See Alcohol can be dangerous.....

You might think it's harmless, but it makes the sheep bloody nervous! 

One wonders how you came upon such a piece of information..... 

[Brumby]

(I would prefer to talk about test gear - especially new acquisitions - but we aren't blessed with a great selection of value priced opportunities down under.      yes, I am just a little jealous)

[mansaxel]

Yesterday was interesting. I had my eyes on a pristine-looking  -- hp --  410b, local auction site, local to me, etc. A win, if won. But, other priorities had me distracted.

I had one of very few occasions nowadays to bring out the audio gear and do some live work.  A singer and his nylon-stringed guitar. Plus a choir as opening act. The venue has a remote-operated mixing console with 6 inputs and no phantom power. And I'm not doing choirs the way gospel people in the "all I've got is this SM58, therefore it is the best mic in the world" part of the world do. Not when I've got a nice stereo pair of Deutsche Präzisionsinstrumente called Neumann KM85i, the microphone series for which phantom powering was invented.

So, out of storage came the swiss mixer, a Studer 169. I has phantom. And a lot of small rocker switches. That all are in serious need of TLC. I ended up running mono, and with those input channels that happened to work, not the order I'd wanted. 

This winter will see me replace a lot of switches, if resurrection with contact cleaner fails to work. The pots are all in good shape; only some are sticking.

And, I missed the 410b. 

[Cerebus]

Going for a Nudie run is fairly harmless in the right setting like after midnight leaving the Pub  See Alcohol can be dangerous.....

You might think it's harmless, but it makes the sheep bloody nervous! 

One wonders how you came upon such a piece of information.....

I know way too many Aussies and Kiwis...

(SWMBO is British by birth and is as British as they come, but is technically also an Aussie by virtue of standing in the City Hall in Perth and swearing allegiance to the Queen. This results in some conversations in this house being conducted in a mixture of Aussie, Cockney and Geordie slang which would leave the average foreigner completely clueless.)

[Specmaster]

I now the K7105 is not going to be as good as either of my other scopes but it will be more suited to my small bench space when I've got a large amplifier on it. It's main use will tracking a signal path through the gear to locate the faulty section, 20khz is enough for that job.

[bd139]

Indeed. Signal integrity in your measurements is not really a problem when it comes to red/green repairs and signal tracing.

I refer people to simpler times when your only debugging and alignment tool for radios was a signal generator and VTVM with a diode probe.

In fact guess what my Elecraft k2 shipped with for alignment and debugging (the signal generator is built in):



The Velleman is fine for everything other than forward engineering at higher frequencies.

[nixiefreqq]

have a chance to pick up a simpson 269.

never owned,  borrowed, or used one.

anyone have an opinion on them?

cub probably has a humongous freakin' stack of them.  (am not jealous.......oh shit.....who are we kidding.....YES I AM).