Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bitseeker]

While we're on the subject of spray paint and equipment colours (When aren't we?), I've been doing a bit of playing with a RAL colour guide and trying to match HP paint colours to standard RAL colours.

Very cool, Cerebus. In the US, Pantone is an often referred to "standard" for pigment colors, especially in art and publishing.

Added to the Electronics Miscellany section of the POI so we can find it in the future.

[bitseeker]

Parts Alert!

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/fs-various-nos-ics-passive-components-old-radios-(federal-zenith)-(us)/

Only a sample set of pics thus far. Quite the hodgepodge of parts, whole pieces, etc. From radios and TE to retro computing, it looks like quite the trove.

[Cerebus]

While we're on the subject of spray paint and equipment colours (When aren't we?), I've been doing a bit of playing with a RAL colour guide and trying to match HP paint colours to standard RAL colours.

Very cool, Cerebus. In the US, Pantone is an often referred to "standard" for pigment colors, especially in art and publishing.

Added to the Electronics Miscellany section of the POI so we can find it in the future.

RAL's more useful in the "industrial" space because that's what it's geared to. Also Pantone^tm is a money making business, nowadays owned by the "evil Danaher Corporation" so every time you specify a Pantone^tm colour, somewhere along the line Danaher takes its cut whether it's from a paint manufacturer,  ink manufacturer or someone else on the chain. If you want to sell Pantone^tm specified paint you'll have to pay Pantone^tm a license fee. RAL is long established(1927), you can get the colorimetry data just by looking it up (try finding Pantone colorimetry data without shelling out money and signing a confidentiality agreement), and free to use. When I was in the printing and publishing world some years back I specified a lot of Pantone^tm colours and even mixed quite a lot of printing ink from the "Pantone^tm Formula Guide".

[Specmaster]

Well, finally...

I bagged the 8300A, for £28 + £10 p&p, let's hope the seller does a decent job with that tenner, and that I end up with a nice nixie meter and not a ten million piece glass jigsaw puzzle.

Also won the bidding on a Megger AVO M801 DMM for £11.50 + £4 p&p from the same seller. Says in the description no leads or battery so I have high hopes for a schmoo-free battery compartment...

Looking forward to discord tonight!

I was watching that debating if I should snipe it at the last minute... only kidding, I'm pleased for you and like you hope that the seller packs it well, well done, it was wonderful price considering it's a nixie.

[bitseeker]

While we're on the subject of spray paint and equipment colours (When aren't we?), I've been doing a bit of playing with a RAL colour guide and trying to match HP paint colours to standard RAL colours.

Very cool, Cerebus. In the US, Pantone is an often referred to "standard" for pigment colors, especially in art and publishing.

Added to the Electronics Miscellany section of the POI so we can find it in the future.

RAL's more useful in the "industrial" space because that's what it's geared to. Also Pantone^tm is a money making business, nowadays owned by the "evil Danaher Corporation" so every time you specify a Pantone^tm colour, somewhere along the line Danaher takes its cut whether it's from a paint manufacturer,  ink manufacturer or someone else on the chain. If you want to sell Pantone^tm specified paint you'll have to pay Pantone^tm a license fee. RAL is long established(1927), you can get the colorimetry data just by looking it up (try finding Pantone colorimetry data without shelling out money and signing a confidentiality agreement), and free to use. When I was in the printing and publishing world some years back I specified a lot of Pantone^tm colours and even mixed quite a lot of printing ink from the "Pantone^tm Formula Guide".

Yeah, it's quite the money grabber. I was quite annoyed by Pantone the very first time I encountered it many moons ago.

[Mr. Scram]

While we're on the subject of spray paint and equipment colours (When aren't we?), I've been doing a bit of playing with a RAL colour guide and trying to match HP paint colours to standard RAL colours.

(Attachment Link)

For those unfamiliar with it, RAL is a colour system that originated in Germany and is quite commonly used throughout Europe to specify paint and other colours for industrial equipment. RAL K7 is the commonest set of colours, and they're specified with a number like "RAL7035" and have associated names like "Lichtgrau" that are not definitive. I believe that it's in fairly common use worldwide and although in the USA things that would be elsewhere specified with RAL tend to get specified with Federal Standard 595C/AMS Standard 595A, I believe it's not too difficult to order paint domestically by RAL number.

Anyway, the results of my afternoon's labours:

(Attachment Link)

There isn't an exact RAL match for the blue-grey buttons on the 34461A. The older Agilent case may be a slightly yellowed RAL7040 or it may be RAL7038. Given the case of the newer Agilent 34461A is a good match for RAL7040 I tend to believe that the older case is either slightly yellowed or just missed the mark and is probably meant to be RAL7040 and not RAL7038.

Anyway, I hope someone finds this helpful. There are literally dozens of suppliers on eBay who will sell you rattle cans of spray paint specified to RAL colours - just try to avoid RAL5015 "Schmurfarseblau"

Plenty of paint places can take something and match the colour for you nowadays. I'm not sure they produce a RAL colouror just anything. I'm going to need such a service for a project soon.

[mnementh]

I hated physics too. 

This would explain a lot.   

He also obviously didn't pay attention in art classes either. Well, not unless his teacher was a big fan of Yves Klein and Paul Gauguin. 

*hrr hrr*   That was a little bit mean.   

Yebbutt... we can't dismiss the notion categorically, either... 

Repairing Tek 4 series scopes is a clear case of severe masochism. Tons of RIFAs, dried out electrolytics, overheated unobtainium ICs, ... and look at all the tants !!  . These boxes were never made to last nor to repair . Just stay away and waste your time on something funnier (except you are a hardcore masochist).

Don't you have some random dry cells to lick-test...? 

4-series scopes are simply delicious. The nice part is that the common minefields are VERY well-mapped; you get one that hasn't been mauled and it's less a repair job and more like building a kit. If they have been mauled, welll THEN it does become a adventure... but usually STILL a rewarding one. And the insides are a joy to behold... classic space-race era bleeding edge design.

And unlike most of today's shitronics, these machines were designed by human beings 100%, and a single human being can grok in fullness every aspect of their theory of operation and design.

mnem
And so can a tinker-dwagon.

[AVGresponding]

Well, finally...

I bagged the 8300A, for £28 + £10 p&p, let's hope the seller does a decent job with that tenner, and that I end up with a nice nixie meter and not a ten million piece glass jigsaw puzzle.

Also won the bidding on a Megger AVO M801 DMM for £11.50 + £4 p&p from the same seller. Says in the description no leads or battery so I have high hopes for a schmoo-free battery compartment...

Looking forward to discord tonight!

I was watching that debating if I should snipe it at the last minute... only kidding, I'm pleased for you and like you hope that the seller packs it well, well done, it was wonderful price considering it's a nixie.

Yep, a very good price, and the relative rarity of these things on UK ebay pushes it closer to jammie git territory.

I had to pass up a few other nice things in order to focus my energies (and funds) on this, such as a 7150 that went for a very reasonable £58 +8, and a TTi triple output bench psu that went for a little less.

The necessity for a rack cabinet is looming ever closer...   

[med6753]

The Tek Type 106 Square Wave Generator is slowly making it's way cross country from California via FedEx truck. Had stops in Utah, Nebraska, and Illinois. Scheduled delivery is Tuesday but I see no reason for a possible Monday delivery if it continues at the rate it has over the weekend. It might stop again in Ohio/Pennsylvania or go directly to hub in New Jersey. From Jersey it will go to my local hub in Newburgh, NY.

Well I was correct. Made a stop in Ohio. If it continues on it's way next stop should be in New Jersey tomorrow, then Newburgh on Monday, and by Monday PM in my hot little hands. 

[Cerebus]

Plenty of paint places can take something and match the colour for you nowadays. I'm not sure they produce a RAL colouror just anything. I'm going to need such a service for a project soon.

Oh sure, and if they've got good kit and know how to use it properly you'll get a very good result. They'll have a colorimeter and a computer system that converts the colour read into "x ml of colour 1, y ml of colour 2 in 500 ml of base colour 3". It's just a lot more convenient to order colours by using some colour matching specification (like on-line) and you're not at the mercy of the 'prentice if you turn up when the good guy has gone for his lunch. I used to use a couple of outside jobbing printers when I got work that couldn't be done (for whatever reason) on our in-house press. One of them, Tony, would deliver a perfect colour match every time, the other, Nick, couldn't even manage to get black the same from one day to another (but was very, very cheap for the jobs you could afford to let him loose on).

[mnementh]

I hated physics too. 

This would explain a lot.   

He also obviously didn't pay attention in art classes either. Well, not unless his teacher was a big fan of Yves Klein and Paul Gauguin. 

*hrr hrr*
That was a little bit mean.   

Yebbutt... we can't dismiss the notion categorically, either... 

Gee, not sure if I should be patting myself on the back or feel insulted.  First off. I'm not an "engineer". Never was, never will be. My college education is 2 years technical with an Associates Degree. I'm not a "cultured" university type. "Holes" in my overall knowledge base? Gee, has to do with level of interest. Frankly I don't much give a crap about chemistry or physics. I guess that makes me unfit to join in "advanced" conversations. Oh well, in the times I've seen some of that activity it was a bunch of blow hards trying to show off their "superior" knowledge.

We all have different levels of interest on sometimes vastly different subjects. For example. How much do you know about Herpetology and the life cycles and metamorphosis of amphibians? Chances are your level of interest and knowledge is less than mine. It happens to be a field of study that I almost made a career of but to this day still holds my interest.

Med, it's not a criticism of you. It's not a criticism or judgement of anybody, it's just a general observation about a fair number of folks into electronics that I merely find a curious phenomenon. It requires a certain minimum level of intelligence to do any sort of electronics and it's odd to me that more than a few folks who can tell the functional difference between a diode and a transistor, or a resistor and a capacitor, can compensate amplifiers, and do all sorts of other "sciencey" type stuff with electrons can't dredge up basic facts from their memories of more basic school chemistry, physics or biology classes that we were all taught.

All that huffing paint fumes has made you a bit oversensitive. Nobody's having a go. Well, OK, we might be taking the piss out of your soft New York ass about your spray paint fixation, but nobody but you is making any noise about your education.

Best keep off the Tahitian Blue for while.  (The fact that I chanced making a very rarefied joke about art is surely an indication that I think my audience is smart enough to get it, or at least work it out.)

My soft NY ass? Gee, been known in these circles forever as a hard pain in the ass. But you may have a point. The lady cop used to say that my ass was so pale that it glowed in the dark. 

FTFY...

Black woman looking at a white boy in the altogether...? She probably said you have NO ass.    Happened to me more than a few times when I was still young & bean-pole, before I blew out my back. 

mnem

[Saskia]

puleazze, do not enter the world of color, painting, etc.
You remind me of a gafuzillion of projects that are waiting for me.
Lots of pinball playfields that want restoration. Meaning: fixing any abrasions with 2 component filler, covering it with 2 component pu clear coat, then sand it down to get it even, then airbrush the playfield to bring it back to its colorful life, and then do the final finish with up to 6 layers of clearcoat, sanding it down in between to get it evened out.

I currently do not have time for that.

[med6753]

Black woman looking at a white boy in the altogether...? She probably said you have NO ass.    Happened to me more than a few times when I was still young & bean-pole, before I blew out my back. 

mnem

How did you know? Here exact words were "your boney white ass is so pale it glows in the dark" 

[mnementh]

Parts Alert!   https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/fs-various-nos-ics-passive-components-old-radios-(federal-zenith)-(us)/

Only a sample set of pics thus far. Quite the hodgepodge of parts, whole pieces, etc. From radios and TE to retro computing, it looks like quite the trove.

The scary part is that trove is one of the most organized I've seen in my life. Actual labels of some sort or another on nearly EVERY box!!!

mnem
 

[mnementh]

Black woman looking at a white boy in the altogether...? She probably said you have NO ass.    Happened to me more than a few times when I was still young & bean-pole, before I blew out my back. 

mnem

How did you know? Here exact words were "your boney white ass is so pale it glows in the dark" 

My casual and... ahem... intimate experience is that culturally the "bootaay" is a crucial part of "the package"; for both genders. Also true of Puerto Rican and to a lesser extent Chicano women.

Please note this is entirely IME. NO insult is intended on any front; in fact I always found it endearing. 

Ass always, YMMV, DQMOT, IANAL, DILLIGAF...?

mnem

[BU508A]

Parts Alert!   https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/fs-various-nos-ics-passive-components-old-radios-(federal-zenith)-(us)/

Only a sample set of pics thus far. Quite the hodgepodge of parts, whole pieces, etc. From radios and TE to retro computing, it looks like quite the trove.

The scary part is that trove is one of the most organized I've seen in my life. Actual labels of some sort or another on nearly EVERY box!!!

Then you haven't seen this:
https://www.eevblog.com/2015/04/26/eevblog-737-worlds-biggest-collection-of-electronics-components/

All sold for 405 Aussie Dollars.   

[mnementh]

Fuuuuuuuu...

mnem
   *whummmp*

[mnementh]

Here's what happened to that collection with Dave's friend who bought it all; $350 worth of boxes alone to cart it all out. 

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/free-(aus)-world_s-largest-electronics-parts-collection-as-seen-on-eevblog/msg952304/#msg952304

Ultimately, Gavin wound up giving away the majority of the collection.

Here's his photo spread after he got it all home; the tinkerer/e-hoarder in me just wants to cry: https://imgur.com/a/yRkX8

mnem
Fuuuu.... everybody's on Discord, aren't they...?

[jxjbsd]

The poor little light bulb responsible for indicating the 1M/50 impedance finally failed.  Consider replacing a yellow LED as a replacement.

[Ero-Shan]

How'd you do it?

While consolidating my components collections, I come across stuff on tapes frequently.



These need to be cut from the tape before going into the drawers. The problem is: What is the best way to do it? Side cutters are in no way up to the job. So I use my granddads scissors (he was a tailor; they're about 120 years old now), but often they get entangled. And with drying glue (or is it cement in this case?), after cutting off one side several fall out. In short: It's a mess!



The ends need to be cut in order to fit the resistors neatly inside the drawers and because the remains of the glue/cement make them sticky.

Does any of you know of a simple, working method that does not involve expensive machinery?

[bd139]

I keep them on tapes in zip lock bags in boxes. Much easier. Taped parts give the bags rigidity so they stack up nicely in the box. Cut them off when I need them.

Rudely awoken at 8am this Sunday morning by amazon actually ringing the sodding door bell. Whatever next 

Ahh this thing is the nuts. 20 minutes of prime95 whacking on it and it's sitting at 58oC still. fastest fan is hitting 1100rpm max and can barely hear it.



Edit: thanks to all the enablers in this thread. I'd still have a cranky old i5 laptop now if it wasn't for you folks

[med6753]

Hey, that 8 AM wake up could have been the ex banging on the door (assuming you changed the locks) or someone trying to serve you legal papers although I assume that like here it's illegal to serve someone on a Sunday.

Be on guard. 

[bd139]

Hahaha. Probably not illegal here. Actually got some good news via email this morning. Apparently the law is changing in July about how it all works which gives me an escape route. Anyway don't want to make too many loud noises outside Discord on the matter just in case someone is snooping around 

Edit: I will say it scared the shit out of me though and I'm perpetually dreading the post. Never a good way to live 

[med6753]

Gotcha....my lips are sealed. 

Edit here......Yep, there was a time too I dreaded checking the mail.

[tonyalbus]

Nice $2,- addition to the Electronic load.. without having your fan switched on all the time when not needed.



improved sound..

BTW are you guys bothered, i now and then post a video here?
then i stick to TE pics.... TE will still arrive at my door here 
Tony