Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Cerebus]

No Geordie here around? 

Not that I've noticed. My father was a Geordie, so although I speak with a "Gorblimey" London accent nowadays I do speak with quite a lot of Geordie influences - things are on "t'other side of the road", everybody is 'lad', 'lass' or 'man', I'll greet people with a "Why aye?" and so on.

I'll stand in until we can get a proper Geordie - "Away the lads"^*.

^* The first line of the chorus of the first song I ever learned. For most southern English kids it's probably "Twinkle twinkle little star".

[Zucca]

Can you imagine a TEA podcast? That’s be pretty good.

Sort of like soldersmoke. But less radio and just as much cranky old stuff (including the participants  )

It strikes me that the sheer mixture of accents would give it a unique flavour. There's thee and me, two Londoners who sound remarkably like each other (TEA passim), an Essex lad, a bunch of Germans, I suspect Mnem has a  New Yexican accent, more New Yorkers, a Jersey Boy, at least one British Northerner, a couple of Italians, and then there's all the antipodeans. The only word that we would all pronounce in the same way would be beer/bier.

It'd be like the UN without the simultaneous translation and the mutual seething loathing...

And of course not only for the TEA horses, but I would love to get a nice chat with Kleinstein, TiN, Dr. Frank, SeanB, Fraser, Wuerstchenhund and all the others remarkable people in this forum.
See... it looks like theamphour guests are not related to the EEVBlog/TEA, this could cover the hole.

[Specmaster]

This is the 'downsizing' that you keep speaking about so often, yes? 

He just gets bored with the same stuff all the time and has to change it every so often  I used to work with a bloke who also had a OCD, but his was directed towards tidiness and minimalism, and he was constantly having to either pay someone to fix his computer or throwing stuff away and buying new, each time he needed to reinstall software or whatever. This is because he would pop the manuals, CD's, or tools whatever into drawers etc and then one day he would open the drawers, see the gear in them and have brain fart and throw everything away, hence the constant trips to the repair shop, or to Currys etc to buy a new one again. 

[Specmaster]

Tempting:

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Electronics-x-Chapters/dp/1108499945

A bit more than tempting.

I sucessfully ended the temptation.
Preorder done.

I haven't pre-ordered yet, although I've been tempted to. Two reasons: (1) I'm loath to give Amazon any money if I can avoid it, not until the bastards start acting more like a decent corporate citizen in terms of treating their staff fairly, paying some taxes and little things like that, (2) I'd much rather the money went to propping up the single remaining local bookshop while they are still there to prop up. We used to have 6 bookshops within a short drive, two of them large, now we have one small single storefront bookshop.

Yep, when it comes to bookshops, we currently have zero left now, despite it being a city with large university. A few years back we had about 4 to choose from. It seems that they are suffering like the magazines are as well. 

[mnementh]

FYI,

we TEA just got mentioned in the last amphour episode:

https://theamphour.com/470-just-add-salt/

we need to do our own podcast!

We're famous, it's at about 15 m into the podcast. 

Fuck. I'm out.

mnem
Been nice knowin' yazz.

It was only a couple seconds long before they moved onto other topics, so, we clearly not that famous yet...

Yep hardly a mention and none of us by name. 

Curious what will happened if Dave blab about TEA in his EEVBlab video ? 

mnem
*glances about the room surreptitiously*

[mansaxel]

I'm wondering as well if Brexit is now affecting the sales of TEA on eBay?

I'm trying to empty the UK of interesting things before that permanent bad hair day buffoon in No. 10 drags you down in the abyss. So, it makes things a bit more hectic, because I don't want to pay the silly customs fees just because a bunch of robber barons and racists had their way probably with a bit of help from Russia.

[mansaxel]

Tempting:

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Electronics-x-Chapters/dp/1108499945

It is on my christmas wish list. My wife is my first and foremost enabler. Just sayin'.

[bd139]

I'm wondering as well if Brexit is now affecting the sales of TEA on eBay?

I'm trying to empty the UK of interesting things before that permanent bad hair day buffoon in No. 10 drags you down in the abyss. So, it makes things a bit more hectic, because I don't want to pay the silly customs fees just because a bunch of robber barons and racists had their way probably with a bit of help from Russia.

Nailed it.

Apparently I’m emptying ebay too 

[Martin.M]

at next we have to feed brüssel with the idea to move english from place one to place 3,
so Tek have to deliver all scopes for us with a french or spain printed front plate 

[worsthorse]

In the realm of very very optimistic:

eBay auction: #133269452617

let's see, roughly 30 dollars/mhz... 

[bd139]

Yeah we’ve got our own crazy folk here. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F293348355711

That’s also not 200MHz. Or 200mHz. It’s 20MHz. Also Gould 

[xrunner]

In the realm of very very optimistic:

eBay auction: #133269452617

let's see, roughly 30 dollars/mhz... 

Man, I need that SC 502 scope for my collection, but not that bad. 

[Cubdriver]

In the realm of very very optimistic:

eBay auction: #133269452617

let's see, roughly 30 dollars/mhz... 

Man, I need that SC 502 scope for my collection, but not that bad. 

Right?  N-V-T-S nuts!!

-Pat

[xrunner]

Right?  N-V-T-S nuts!!

-Pat

[SilverSolder]

[...]

No Geordie here around? 

[...]

Black Country dialect, anyone?  Took me many years to understand a word of it, LOL...

https://youtu.be/TdotLN6e4rQ

[bd139]

SOSIDGE CORB! 

[SilverSolder]

Absolutely bostin, that is!  After gerrin proper kaylied! 

[worsthorse]

In the realm of very very optimistic:

eBay auction: #133269452617

let's see, roughly 30 dollars/mhz... 

Man, I need that SC 502 scope for my collection, but not that bad. 

It took me almost two years to find one at a non-fantastical price. That's generally been the case for the TM plug-ins I have acquired over the last couple of years.   You could always offer him $125 for the setup and see what happens but I suspect it will take a couple of rounds of ebay listing fees before the seller is open to offers.

[worsthorse]

Yeah we’ve got our own crazy folk here. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F293348355711

That’s also not 200MHz. Or 200mHz. It’s 20MHz. Also Gould 

Five. Hundred. Pounds¹.   

By the dollar/megahertz metric, a dead heat with the SC-502 offer, but if you assign some value to the other TM plugins, this offering is clearly the winner.  I assume (because I always give people the benefit of the doubt ) that alcohol or drugs were being consumed while the seller was preparing the listing.


¹For the exchange rate challenged, 667USD.

[mnementh]

*Peeks in, having confirmed that ICE agents did NOT break down the doors to drag me & mine back to Dumbuckistan*

Meanwhile, back on the Prime Material Plane... eBay auction: #163984957300 :      US$399 WITH 5-year-old Cal. 

   Today's thrift store acquisition: 7.5m of plenum-rated 10base2 and a couple tees with 50Ω terminators. Not exactly exciting, but the cable is INMAC Clear Signal™ 20ga RG58/U, which means the assembly  has been sweep-tested to 350MHz at some point in its life. At the princely sum of 4 Canadian rupees, still worth glomming for the bench. 

mnem
I prepared Explosive Runes today.

[valley001]

I could have those three 3456A meters at my doorstep for $80, trying to figure out why not to buy them.   What I really want is an HP 3450A to fill out my HP nixie multimeter collection but I have not seen one come up in the year or so I have been paying attention. 

[mnementh]

[...]   No Geordie here around?     [...]

   Black Country dialect, anyone?  Took me many years to understand a word of it, LOL...

Fook... Ahh understewd better'n 'alf uvitt... Is there ANYTHING that can save me now...?    



I was too slow getting ready for "Walkies" with the family... so I got last choice of hats. At least my daughter liked it. 

mnem
You may all now point and laugh.

[SilverSolder]

[...]   No Geordie here around?     [...]

   Black Country dialect, anyone?  Took me many years to understand a word of it, LOL...

Fook... Ahh understewd better'n 'alf uvitt... Is there ANYTHING that can save me now...?    



I was too slow getting ready for "Walkies" with the family... so I got last choice of hats. At least my daughter liked it. 

mnem
You may all now point and laugh.

LOL you look like you would be right at home in the Black Country!

[Neomys Sapiens]

@worsthorse, @xrunner;
Just when I thought I've seen them all:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tektronix-TM506-Oscilloscope-with-SC504-80Mhz-TD-9901-Time-Domain-Reflectometer/174041790690

Also, it is not listed on TekWiki. I might have seen that logo somewhere, but can't put a name on it.
Found it on the rear: Laser Precision Corp.

I already thought from the panels that it is an OTDR

[ArthurDent]

Today's thrift store acquisition: 7.5m of plenum-rated 10base2 and a couple tees with 50Ω terminators. Not exactly exciting, but the cable is INMAC Clear Signal™ 20ga RG58/U, which means the assembly  has been sweep-tested to 350MHz at some point in its life. At the princely sum of 4 Canadian rupees, still worth glomming for the bench. 

I recognize those tags as most likely from Savers. My wife and I will be at the nearby one tomorrow for our discount!

I did find a 500VA 115/230VAC autotransformer there for cheap on one visit.