Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

Nope, you carry on posting your videos as well, they all make for an interesting read and anyone doesnt like them then they can just skip to the next posting, simples 

[bd139]

Totally agree. They're not excessively long as well which is good 

[Specmaster]

Gotcha....my lips are sealed. 

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

Oh hell yeah, I think that many of us have been there before, I know I have and would rather not go there again. Its about time the law was changed as it currently stands it's favours the female way too much.

[McBryce]

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

They take up as much space as any other post and are definitely more informative than many, so continue posting them.
If you are worried that people aren't happy with that, maybe limit it to just purely TEA related videos.

McBryce.

[tggzzz]

BTW are you guys bothered, i now and then post a video here?

Not bothered. I usually ignore videos because typically:

• they are more or less written articles spoken by talking heads, optionally with difficult to read diagrams
• they are too long and badly edited.
• I can't predict whether I will find anything useful in them. I'm prepared to spend 30s speedreading an article to determine whether I want to read it. I can't do that with a 30minute video
• google can't search/index them

There are good counter examples, of course. I frequently refer people to the Pace soldering videos, made when distribution media was expensive and companies didn't want their employees sitting around listening to ums and ahs.

I have no idea whether points 1,2,4 apply to your video, because of point 3

[tggzzz]

Apparently the law is changing in July about how it all works which gives me an escape route.

I must admit to a disinterested and somewhat prurient net-twitching curiosity about what that might be - but this definitely isn't the forum for it

[med6753]

Nope, you carry on posting your videos as well, they all make for an interesting read and anyone doesnt like them then they can just skip to the next posting, simples 

Agreed. 

[xrunner]

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

Yea I got a couple of those to play with, but I haven't actually used one yet. 

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

To paraphrase a line fron Casablanca "I'm shocked, shocked that an electronics topic is being posted in here!" 

No I don't mind. The only thing you might consider is that you might not get the broad forum audience in this thread. But then again, since this is the #1 forum topic by both replies and views, I might be wrong.

I thought I was wrong once a long time ago, but that turned out to be a mistake. 

[tggzzz]

The only thing you might consider is that you might not get the broad forum audience in this thread. But then again, since this is the #1 forum topic by both replies and views, I might be wrong.

That's because half a dozen people camp out here

If Tony suspects more people might be interested in his video, he shouldn't be afraid to put it in a new topic in the relevant subforum. The worst that can happen is that people ignore it!

I thought I was wrong once a long time ago, but that turned out to be a mistake. 

I've occasionally used variants of "I do make mistakes. The last one was in July 1988".

[Cerebus]

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. 

We don't have all that kerfuffle with process servers here in the UK. Stuff just goes in the first class post (normally next day delivery) and is deemed served 2 days later. A tad unfair given most people's experiences with the reliability of the postal service, but that's the law.

[McBryce]

Anyone one looking for an unusual boat anchor with Nixies? I'm pretty sure the schematics won't be available and the documentation non-existant. The perfect TEA project! https://www.ebay.de/itm/124214453632

McBryce.

[mnementh]

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

Welcome to the Zen2 side. Here's your cookie:       

mnem
Fine... here's one for you too.

[Specmaster]

Looks as if Meds early experiments may have come home to roost, or of course maybe his obsession with blue has been spreading to others 

[Neomys Sapiens]

So, the MiniTracer has been given the acid treatment.
I just noticed that it did not remove the green gunk completely. Flushed with copious amount of distillated water afterwards. I'm not sure why Saskia advised not to apply mechanical cleaning at this point, but I will have to use the glass fibre pen to remove the green remaining stuff.
I also see one problem coming up: the reconditioning of the PCB is not going to solve the heavy corrosion of the battery holder. Also, the lack of specifications is not making it easier.

[Brumby]

Looks as if Meds early experiments may have come home to roost, or of course maybe his obsession with blue has been spreading to others 

Indeed.  Some have even made a career from it.....

[Mr. Scram]

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?

You shouldn't use tailor's shears on anything other than cloth. It dulls the edges. Borrowing a tailor's shears to cut paper is generally a good way of getting into a fight. 

[Ice-Tea]

I'm confused. I'm selling a HP 8566B. As I can't verify if it works (don't have a display for it..) I'm selling it as an auction. Completely unverified, as is, no returns.

It currently stands over 300€.

Is there something special about these? I'm not complaining, but I don't get it. I actually sold a couple of these a few months ago, as I couldn't verify them then either, I sold them as "unverified, I'll pay for returns if they are duds". For 250€. So, what, just another silly bid war? Or what? 

[med6753]

Looks as if Meds early experiments may have come home to roost, or of course maybe his obsession with blue has been spreading to others 

Holy crap. No, that's just wrong on so many levels. 

[Mr. Scram]

Oh hell yeah, I think that many of us have been there before, I know I have and would rather not go there again. Its about time the law was changed as it currently stands it's favours the female way too much.

I'm all for laws ensuring both parties can continue reasonable lives after a split but as it stands it can sometimes be very unfair.

[AVGresponding]

Anyone one looking for an unusual boat anchor with Nixies? I'm pretty sure the schematics won't be available and the documentation non-existant. The perfect TEA project! https://www.ebay.de/itm/124214453632

McBryce.

Looking at the shipping costs, it looks like it weighs the proverbial ton. I'm glad I won the 8300A auction, and so have not even residual temptation!   

[tggzzz]

I'm confused. I'm selling a HP 8566B. As I can't verify if it works (don't have a display for it..) I'm selling it as an auction. Completely unverified, as is, no returns.

It currently stands over 300€.

Is there something special about these? I'm not complaining, but I don't get it. I actually sold a couple of these a few months ago, as I couldn't verify them then either, I sold them as "unverified, I'll pay for returns if they are duds". For 250€. So, what, just another silly bid war? Or what? 

My very limited understanding is that they have excellent RF characteristics, and you can go out and buy an LCD to replace the CRT. http://www.simmconnlabs.com/1401/2564.html

[0culus]

I'm confused. I'm selling a HP 8566B. As I can't verify if it works (don't have a display for it..) I'm selling it as an auction. Completely unverified, as is, no returns.

It currently stands over 300€.

Is there something special about these? I'm not complaining, but I don't get it. I actually sold a couple of these a few months ago, as I couldn't verify them then either, I sold them as "unverified, I'll pay for returns if they are duds". For 250€. So, what, just another silly bid war? Or what? 

It's one of the best spectrum analyzers ever made. Still valuable today for narrowband work. I know someone who uses one professionally as part of the lab he build to support his consulting business. I was lucky enough to find a genuine NOS one (see TEA thread POI: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2843181/#msg2843181 and https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg2843224/#msg2843224)

[edit] Another lesser known aspect of the 8566B/68B is they take full advantage of GPIB programmability. The data that is displayed on the CRT is all internally digitized before it is displayed. This means it is basically trivial to extract spectral data and lots of other information from the analyzer for external computation. I have found the MATLAB instrument control toolbox "just works" for this purpose. If you have access to a Rocky Mountain BASIC environment (HTBasic is a modern one...the evaluation version is fully functional for programming (but not saving files) and just needs to be restarted at half hour intervals; just edit text in an external program!) you can experiment with downloadable programs (DLPs) that are tied to a softkey and run entirely locally on the analyzer.

[mansaxel]

We don't have all that kerfuffle with process servers here in the UK. Stuff just goes in the first class post (normally next day delivery) and is deemed served 2 days later. A tad unfair given most people's experiences with the reliability of the postal service, but that's the law.

When it is important around here we either have registered mail or the gov't debt collector pays a visit.

Our divorce law is somewhat more balanced, btw. Yes, unless you prenup'd, everything (with a few exceptions like cars) is split 50/50. If care of children is split 50/50 as well (which is the default) no money changes hands, IIRC. If one parent gets sole custody, the other has to contribute to the upbringing.

[Saskia]

@Neomys Sapiens: clean off the gunk using a toothbrush or equivalent. When done inspect the area. make a photo. remove any solder mask that the stuff got onto with a glass fibre pen but make sure you have proper ventilation and are wearing a mask.

inspect again for broken traces.

As for the battery holder: it can be treated with a glass fibre pen.

Once you have removed the gunk and any residual goo make a photo and send it over.
Get flux ready. Do you have a hot air station ?

[Ice-Tea]

Hmm,, ok, thanks for the insights! Seems I won't have to feel bad if the bidding war continues