Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

I have. "I'll just route this over this PCI express lane" 

Nothing like asking for intermittent timing errors.  Watching one of his videos convinced me that he is an idiot. Another clown is that "D Lab". The one who sips wine and destroys vintage equipment and turns them into guitar amps. Certainly has the right name. "Douche bag"

D-Lab!        

Yep, that's him. Should be strung up by his balls. 

[tonyalbus]

I have. "I'll just route this over this PCI express lane" 

Nothing like asking for intermittent timing errors.  Watching one of his videos convinced me that he is an idiot. Another clown is that "D Lab". The one who sips wine and destroys vintage equipment and turns them into guitar amps. Certainly has the right name. "Douche bag"

D-Lab!        

  is there no law against doing this to TE ...

[bd139]

I have. "I'll just route this over this PCI express lane" 

Nothing like asking for intermittent timing errors.  Watching one of his videos convinced me that he is an idiot. Another clown is that "D Lab". The one who sips wine and destroys vintage equipment and turns them into guitar amps. Certainly has the right name. "Douche bag"

D-Lab!        

D-Lab is a cunt

BD139 #001 YouTube video is going to be called "D-Lab is a cunt" 

Going to go get that £1.71 HP 1707B now. Which I'm going to immediately tear down for parts 

[bd139]

Except he does it on tracks which are carefully length and impedance controlled 

I have never witnessed that in his videos.

Neither have I.

I have. "I'll just route this over this PCI express lane" 

Where was that?

I’ll dig it out later.

At best most of his repairs are enough for data recovery only. After that the thing should be discarded in fire.

[McBryce]

Under any circumstances, I've contrived a bodge that gets the old RIFA back in circuit mostly safely so I could put the scope back to standby duty instead of the repair queue; no, I'm not going to post pics of that crime.    Just know that I've admitted my guilt here and now; if Karma catches up with me, I can greet Murphy with a clear conscience. 

mnem
 

  I share my bodges for the entire group to criticize and laugh at. What makes you special? 

Because it's WORSE than this one, which, thankfully, did NOT fit in place. 

mnem
 

For one terrifying moment, I though that was a surface mount RIFA!!!

McBryce.

[Saskia]

bloody hell.

Hubby in hospital with heart issues. Undergoing angio right now.

Why does my life always kick me in my nonexistent balls ? 

[tonyalbus]

bloody hell.

Hubby in hospital with heart issues. Undergoing angio right now.

Why does my life always kick me in my nonexistent balls ? 

shit.... good luck saskia! ..
lots of strength!

[med6753]

bloody hell.

Hubby in hospital with heart issues. Undergoing angio right now.

Why does my life always kick me in my nonexistent balls ? 

Damn, hope everything works out OK.

[Wolfgang]

bloody hell.

Hubby in hospital with heart issues. Undergoing angio right now.

Why does my life always kick me in my nonexistent balls ? 

First, all the best.

Second, having yourself examined ASAP in case of heart problems is the only intelligent thing to do.
German heart medicine is quite good, I had the same thing, got 3 bypasses and they fixed me good enough that I got a pilot license afterwards
(admittedly after some physical exercise before the exam).

Third, there is no plan B. Life kicks, wether you got balls or not. The good die young, the smart ones can survive a bit longer if they take care.
Choose your side.

[BU508A]

bloody hell.

Hubby in hospital with heart issues. Undergoing angio right now.

Why does my life always kick me in my nonexistent balls ? 

Best wishes from my side, I hope, he'll get well soon.

[bd139]

bloody hell.

Hubby in hospital with heart issues. Undergoing angio right now.

Why does my life always kick me in my nonexistent balls ? 

thoughts with you both here.

[mansaxel]

I have. "I'll just route this over this PCI express lane" 

Nothing like asking for intermittent timing errors.  Watching one of his videos convinced me that he is an idiot. Another clown is that "D Lab". The one who sips wine and destroys vintage equipment and turns them into guitar amps. Certainly has the right name. "Douche bag"

Just left a comment and disliked one of the linked videos.

[mansaxel]

bloody hell.

Hubby in hospital with heart issues. Undergoing angio right now.

Why does my life always kick me in my nonexistent balls ? 

OUCH! Tell him I'd like to be questioned by him for carrying computers into a "Location" when he gets well!

[Saskia]

thanks everybody, it seems they got him there directly from work given the location of the hospital and everything ...
and I hope it's just the heat and humidity that is playing tricks on him.

But as he unfortunately knows the signs too well, I am not that optimistic.

@mansaxel if you have him as a guard granting or denying entrance and you try to bring anything without prior written authorization by someone authorized to do so, his easy to understand rule is "thou shalt not pass".

And he is known for smacking embassy employees against a wall that were trying to dodge the rules.

I am wondering though, why he is not granted early retirement for medical reasons ...

[mnementh]

Under any circumstances, I've contrived a bodge that gets the old RIFA back in circuit mostly safely so I could put the scope back to standby duty instead of the repair queue; no, I'm not going to post pics of that crime.    Just know that I've admitted my guilt here and now; if Karma catches up with me, I can greet Murphy with a clear conscience. 

mnem
 

  I share my bodges for the entire group to criticize and laugh at. What makes you special? 

   Because it's WORSE than this one, which, thankfully, did NOT fit in place. 

mnem
 

That is perfectly acceptable, I have seen many new pieces of gear with parts mounted beneath the board.

In this case it produces potential capacitive coupling (and arcing potential) between:

1) Gate of main 1st DC converter FET switching ~300V
2) Source of same FET (Also connected to heat sink and LO Potential side of rectified AC line voltage)
3) Low Voltage "GND" plane fill under corner of capacitor which is supposed to be completely isolated from Line Voltage side of SMPS
4) Metal chassis at AC LINE GND which this all faces at  ~6mm spacing

I tried to salve my conscience with 3 layers of Kapton tape wrapped around it all but honestly; it really is probably for the best that it wouldn't physically fit that way.

mnem
 

[tggzzz]

Why does my life always kick me in my nonexistent balls ? 

You are not alone: sooner or later everyone is kicked in the balls one way or another. It is a dangerous fallacy that you can plan your life and expect reality to conform to the plan.

Best wishes, and good luck to you both.

[Saskia]

1 additional stent, ICU ...

[mansaxel]

8060A arrived. Within a few % off of my reference, the 974A, if even so much, on all tested ranges. Condition: Grimy, pathetic test leads, OK bag.  Happy. Pictures forthcoming. Gotta pick up wife and children from the beach now.

Saskia: Hang in there!

[mabehem]

I sold a Tek AWG2021 in a parking lot yesterday. I interestingly felt like a dealer.

Imagine the empty parking lot of a shopping mall. I'm outside my car checking my phone. The client arrive and park his BMW nearby. I open the trunk of my car. He inspects the goods then satisfied, pay me cash.

Yeah, I felt the same! The AWG works great BTW. The fun part will be to build a GPIB controller interface now.
Thanks! 

[mnementh]

Running a wire for high current traces is kind of risky I think.

It's not that I would not do it if I had to revive something and did not have any other choice.

However for some applications I would rather cut out an entire new trace and attach it to the board and exchange the rivets connecting top and bottom layer (I have a Bungard press for this).

Which is why I was asking for the self adhesive copper foil.

It seems to me that 3m conductive copper foil would be an option, however a friend of mine will send me some to repair my preamp.

Procedure is:
remove Solder mask, cut to fit, put on, tin it, check continuity, reapply solder mask

obviously the pcb needs to be inspected for cracks and damaged traces, and that is where the microscope comes in.

Another option is copper foil made for Tiffany-technique (Yes THAT Tiffany's) stained glass art. It has a heat-activated epoxy coating (if you get the good stuff, not the cheap shit from GoodLuckBuy) on the back that is meant to bond with glass; it works equally well on FR4, etc. It is available in widths from 3mm to 14mm last time I looked. I have used this to make PCBs from scratch. Available from any reputable stained-glass supply house for pretty reasonable.

mnem
 

[mnementh]

What; doesn't everybody mail felines...? They make this flat-rate box that's the perfect size...

mnem
"...like trying to stuff a cat into a sack..."

... and the magic part is that they will pack themselves!  Just leave the box in a corner somewhere and watch the cat climb in and snuggle down!  A quick flip of the lid and the deft application of some tape and you're all set.   

Exactly.  If I start carrying a shipment inside the cat is the first on the scene just waiting for an open box.
   And if you leave one around she's in like Flynn !

   I know I've posted this in here before; but it really is the PERFECT bookend to this conversation...

mnem
No regrets.

[mnementh]

I have. "I'll just route this over this PCI express lane" 

Nothing like asking for intermittent timing errors.  Watching one of his videos convinced me that he is an idiot. Another clown is that "D Lab". The one who sips wine and destroys vintage equipment and turns them into guitar amps. Certainly has the right name. "Douche bag"

D-Lab!        

Yep, that's him. Should be strung up by his balls. 

I ALMOST clicked on the vid with the adorbs little grrl... figuring "How bad could it be?"

Then I saw this post and decided I have enough misery in my life right now, what with having to move but still not having a new place yet. 

mnem
"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." grand-momma Katherine

[mnementh]

Under any circumstances, I've contrived a bodge that gets the old RIFA back in circuit mostly safely so I could put the scope back to standby duty instead of the repair queue; no, I'm not going to post pics of that crime.    Just know that I've admitted my guilt here and now; if Karma catches up with me, I can greet Murphy with a clear conscience. 

mnem
 

I share my bodges for the entire group to criticize and laugh at. What makes you special? 

   Because it's WORSE than this one, which, thankfully, did NOT fit in place. 

mnem
 

For one terrifying moment, I though that was a surface mount RIFA!!!

McBryce.

It WAS. For about 15 minutes. Thankfully I came to my senses before applying line voltage. 

mnem
 

[BU508A]

Running a wire for high current traces is kind of risky I think.

It's not that I would not do it if I had to revive something and did not have any other choice.

However for some applications I would rather cut out an entire new trace and attach it to the board and exchange the rivets connecting top and bottom layer (I have a Bungard press for this).

Which is why I was asking for the self adhesive copper foil.

It seems to me that 3m conductive copper foil would be an option, however a friend of mine will send me some to repair my preamp.

Procedure is:
remove Solder mask, cut to fit, put on, tin it, check continuity, reapply solder mask

obviously the pcb needs to be inspected for cracks and damaged traces, and that is where the microscope comes in.

Another option is copper foil made for Tiffany-technique (Yes THAT Tiffany's) stained glass art. It has a heat-activated epoxy coating (if you get the good stuff, not the cheap shit from GoodLuckBuy) on the back that is meant to bond with glass; it works equally well on FR4, etc. It is available in widths from 3mm to 14mm last time I looked. I have used this to make PCBs from scratch. Available from any reputable stained-glass supply house for pretty reasonable.

mnem
 

You mean this kind of copper foil?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/373014859528

[nixiefreqq]

Under any circumstances, I've contrived a bodge that gets the old RIFA back in circuit mostly safely so I could put the scope back to standby duty instead of the repair queue; no, I'm not going to post pics of that crime.    Just know that I've admitted my guilt here and now; if Karma catches up with me, I can greet Murphy with a clear conscience. 

mnem
 

  I share my bodges for the entire group to criticize and laugh at. What makes you special? 

   Because it's WORSE than this one, which, thankfully, did NOT fit in place. 

mnem
 

That is perfectly acceptable, I have seen many new pieces of gear with parts mounted beneath the board.

In this case it produces potential capacitive coupling (and arcing potential) between:

1) Gate of main 1st DC converter FET switching ~300V
2) Source of same FET (Also connected to heat sink and LO Potential side of rectified AC line voltage)
3) Low Voltage "GND" plane fill under corner of capacitor which is supposed to be completely isolated from Line Voltage side of SMPS
4) Metal chassis at AC LINE GND which this all faces at  ~6mm spacing

I tried to salve my conscience with 3 layers of Kapton tape wrapped around it all but honestly; it really is probably for the best that it wouldn't physically fit that way.

mnem
 

first the dragon admits to a bodge. 

then he refused to show it.

next he shows an attempted bodge that did not stay in place only because it did not fit.

then he presents multiple reasons that his bodge is a bad idea.

finally he offers kapton tape as a mitigation method.

how often does he hear the voices?  how does he decide which one wins the argument?  are some louder than the others? 


so......is the scope reassembled and working?   as proof you could at minimum post a pic of the hidden tetris game.  (my 54601 has one)