Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[25 CPS]

Those Hewlett-Packard mugs on eBay from a while ago.  Has anybody else received theirs?  How were they packed?  Did they arrive intact?

Mine arrived intact, though I can't say it was because of the packing.  In spite of it, perhaps...  It was just loose in a small mug-sized box.







-Pat

I'm glad yours made it in one piece.



Mine were utterly destroyed.

[bd139]

That’s terrible 

Glad I didn’t pounce now

[Cubdriver]

Ok back to more normal programming, here is today's odd eBay item, I mean  , what kind of weed are these guys smoking, I mean this guy clearly knows his stuff.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224118744807?

Description says:

As a seller I only leave feedback after I have received it, thank you.

This is an instant red flag for me on any eBay listing and makes it extremely unlikely I would buy an item from this seller, or any seller that says this.  It tells me that the seller knows they are doing things that might result in negative feedback so they are going to hold their feedback so they can retaliate with negative feedback if they are given a negative.  As a buyer, when I've selected a seller's item and paid the fee promptly I've done my part of the transaction and should receive positive feedback at that point.
And I've sold more items on eBay than I've ever bought and I've always left feedback for the buyer immediately on their payment.

After a few times leaving positive feedback for sellers and not getting any in return early on when I had very little as a newb, I decided, like you, that once I've bought and paid for the item, MY part of the transaction is done and the seller should leave it for me.  Not that it matters much to most, at this point if I get no feedback then unless it is neutral or negative, then THEY get no feedback from me.

-Pat

[Cubdriver]

Those Hewlett-Packard mugs on eBay from a while ago.  Has anybody else received theirs?  How were they packed?  Did they arrive intact?

Mine arrived intact, though I can't say it was because of the packing.  In spite of it, perhaps...  It was just loose in a small mug-sized box.

-Pat

I'm glad yours made it in one piece.

(Attachment Link)

Mine were utterly destroyed.

Ahh, crap - that sucks!!  I was afraid that might have been the issue given your question and knowing how mine was packed.  I'm sorry to see that.  Packing is so simple, yet so many are incapable of doing it correctly, or, as in this instance, even TRYING to.  Hmm, this is glass.  I'll ship it internationally in a tiny cardboard box with NO cushioning!  Stupid seller.

-Pat

[bd139]

Ok back to more normal programming, here is today's odd eBay item, I mean  , what kind of weed are these guys smoking, I mean this guy clearly knows his stuff.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224118744807?

Description says:

As a seller I only leave feedback after I have received it, thank you.

This is an instant red flag for me on any eBay listing and makes it extremely unlikely I would buy an item from this seller, or any seller that says this.  It tells me that the seller knows they are doing things that might result in negative feedback so they are going to hold their feedback so they can retaliate with negative feedback if they are given a negative.  As a buyer, when I've selected a seller's item and paid the fee promptly I've done my part of the transaction and should receive positive feedback at that point.
And I've sold more items on eBay than I've ever bought and I've always left feedback for the buyer immediately on their payment.

After a few times leaving positive feedback for sellers and not getting any in return early on when I had very little as a newb, I decided, like you, that once I've bought and paid for the item, MY part of the transaction is done and the seller should leave it for me.  Not that it matters much to most, at this point if I get no feedback then unless it is neutral or negative, then THEY get no feedback from me.

-Pat

Yep. It’s all bollocks anyway. eBay doesn’t want people leaving negative feedback either as this affects market confidence. Which means basically that all feedback is dishonestly and improperly proportioned thus is lies and nothing more. It means that honest sellers have the same rank as marginally dishonest ones.

What I want to see is an honest defective transaction rate. Amazon do this with third party sellers.

Actually some times I wake up in the morning and want to destroy eBay.

[tggzzz]

Ok back to more normal programming, here is today's odd eBay item, I mean  , what kind of weed are these guys smoking, I mean this guy clearly knows his stuff.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224118744807?

Description says:

As a seller I only leave feedback after I have received it, thank you.

This is an instant red flag for me on any eBay listing and makes it extremely unlikely I would buy an item from this seller, or any seller that says this.  It tells me that the seller knows they are doing things that might result in negative feedback so they are going to hold their feedback so they can retaliate with negative feedback if they are given a negative.  As a buyer, when I've selected a seller's item and paid the fee promptly I've done my part of the transaction and should receive positive feedback at that point.
And I've sold more items on eBay than I've ever bought and I've always left feedback for the buyer immediately on their payment.

After a few times leaving positive feedback for sellers and not getting any in return early on when I had very little as a newb, I decided, like you, that once I've bought and paid for the item, MY part of the transaction is done and the seller should leave it for me.  Not that it matters much to most, at this point if I get no feedback then unless it is neutral or negative, then THEY get no feedback from me.

-Pat

I take the opposite view.

As a buyer I only give feedback after I receive something on time and as described.

As a seller, I only give feedback after the buyer hasn't stiffed me.

Money transfer s only a trivial and reversible intermediate event.

[tonyalbus]

To be honest the only meter I’ve had to use in my car in ten years is a continuity tester and a clamp meter.

Just spent an hour turning that 1707b into its component parts. It hurts slightly but it was way way way beyond repair. Thus it will serve a new life as a parts library. Must have pulled about 25m of wire out of it as well which is good. Oh and a whole load of pots and knobs and RF transistors.

Edit: got my 6205 power supply 

Edit 2: all that remains of the 1707b.

do you have one of those knobs left over?

[tonyalbus]

That was exciting.. using my SMD rework station for the first time ..ever, never worked on SMD before....  and i did not blow all components from the PCB...

lets start simple 
So i thought why not mod the feeltech FY6900 for external 10Mhz to make it align better..
it does do FM modulation, so the 60Mhz model can be a nice test transmitter for up-to 60 Mhz.. specialy with this mod.
and it has a 100Mhz freq. counter..that now gives a proper value ;-)

[bd139]

To be honest the only meter I’ve had to use in my car in ten years is a continuity tester and a clamp meter.

Just spent an hour turning that 1707b into its component parts. It hurts slightly but it was way way way beyond repair. Thus it will serve a new life as a parts library. Must have pulled about 25m of wire out of it as well which is good. Oh and a whole load of pots and knobs and RF transistors.

Edit: got my 6205 power supply 

Edit 2: all that remains of the 1707b.

do you have one of those knobs left over?

Looking likely. I haven’t checked them over yet and a couple were badly damaged and corroded. I’ll let you know in a couple of days once I’ve filtered the bits out. They’re currently in a large cardboard box in the middle of my living room annoying everyone 

[tonyalbus]

To be honest the only meter I’ve had to use in my car in ten years is a continuity tester and a clamp meter.

Just spent an hour turning that 1707b into its component parts. It hurts slightly but it was way way way beyond repair. Thus it will serve a new life as a parts library. Must have pulled about 25m of wire out of it as well which is good. Oh and a whole load of pots and knobs and RF transistors.

Edit: got my 6205 power supply 

Edit 2: all that remains of the 1707b.

do you have one of those knobs left over?

Looking likely. I haven’t checked them over yet and a couple were badly damaged and corroded. I’ll let you know in a couple of days once I’ve filtered the bits out. They’re currently in a large cardboard box in the middle of my living room annoying everyone 

That would be great...     any would be better then my cracked one...   good luck with your box 

[med6753]

Yesterday I drove  3h to pick up my new acquisition : Fluke 335D
(Attachment Link)

The unit is a mint condition with a last calibration in 97.
For my surprise the service/user manual is also present (it was not specified  in the auction)


After a warmup I did a quit test :
(Attachment Link)

I saw on the forum that this unit a has a lot of electrolytic caps, do you think I should change all off them even if everything looks good?

First, congrats on your acquisition!

I'm in the camp that does NOT shotgun electrolytics in high end test gear unless they are known to be generally bad in that particular unit (either a particular cap type that more often than not fails with age, or a cap in a known 'harsh' operating environment that operationally has had a rough life).  Otherwise, I run the equipment and replace them if they are defective. 

While there is certainly a fair argument to be made for the shotgun replacement approach, I'd prefer not to spend money unnecessarily and there is at least some small risk of damage in removing and replacing parts, especially from older printed circuit boards that are not as tough as their more modern descendants.

FWIW,  and JMO.

-Pat

While our resident cap-shotgunning creature (also known as med  ) would disagree, I will also support not shotgunning caps unless necessary. There are exceptions, of course. Paper, wax, bumblebee/black beauty type caps can be assumed to be bad and should be replaced.

 

[mnementh]

Those Hewlett-Packard mugs on eBay from a while ago.  Has anybody else received theirs?  How were they packed?  Did they arrive intact?

Mine arrived intact, though I can't say it was because of the packing.  In spite of it, perhaps...  It was just loose in a small mug-sized box.

-Pat

I'm glad yours made it in one piece.   Mine were utterly destroyed.

Ahh, crap - that sucks!!  I was afraid that might have been the issue given your question and knowing how mine was packed.  I'm sorry to see that.  Packing is so simple, yet so many are incapable of doing it correctly, or, as in this instance, even TRYING to.  Hmm, this is glass.  I'll ship it internationally in a tiny cardboard box with NO cushioning!  Stupid seller.

-Pat

EEEEEEEEEEEEP!!! Mine haven't arrived yet.

mnem
 

[mnementh]

...Just spent an hour turning that 1707b into its component parts. It hurts slightly but it was way way way beyond repair. Thus it will serve a new life as a parts library. Must have pulled about 25m of wire out of it as well which is good. Oh and a whole load of pots and knobs and RF transistors.
Edit: got my 6205 power supply  Edit 2: all that remains of the 1707b.

do you have one of those knobs left over?

Looking likely. I haven’t checked them over yet and a couple were badly damaged and corroded. I’ll let you know in a couple of days once I’ve filtered the bits out.
They’re currently in a large cardboard box in the middle of my living room annoying everyone 

Well done!  

mnem
 

[0culus]

Some of you folks might like to take some potshots at this dodgy technology I found: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/dodgy-technology/emrod/

[McBryce]

Some of you folks might like to take some potshots at this dodgy technology I found: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/dodgy-technology/emrod/

Well they get my vote, just for coming up with the word Rectenna! Sounds like a tool a proctologist would use.

McBryce.

[Saskia]

oh, there is a technology for long range wireless energy transmission.
It's called Gamma Ray Burst ...

[AVGresponding]

Oh dear! 

Hope, there isn't too much damage and all inhabitants are well and safe.

Good luck and best wishes from here.

.oO(really, 2020 is a shitload of a year....)

And, it ain't finished yet ! 

At least we're all in the same boat regardless of where we are. 

And it'll probably get worse before it gets better...   

[bd139]

Yeah. Always does.

3DP annoying me today. On attempt 5 at printing a knob. Got angle of the grub screw hole wrong and one filament jam  . At least the turnaround isn't 4 weeks to China on each attempt.

Edit: anyone know a legit drop shipper for NanoVNA v2 in Europe? If not I'll order one off Tindie and get mugged 

[bd139]

oh, there is a technology for long range wireless energy transmission.
It's called Gamma Ray Burst ...

I'd like to keep my DNA as it is please

[McBryce]

oh, there is a technology for long range wireless energy transmission.
It's called Gamma Ray Burst ...

I'd like to keep my DNA as it is please

After listening to some of your music choices... some DNA juggling may not be such a bad thing.

McBryce.

[bd139]

Might make it worse 

Currently reorganising desk/bench so there is some more space for projects that I am working on. Oh and vacuuming. Fun. 

[mnementh]

Currently enjoying pretty much everything I'm not allowed to have off Tim Horton's breakfast menu, as it is my day off. Got 1/2 a SEC muffin,  1/2 a BEC muffin, a everything bagel toasted dark with too much butter/cream cheese, and assorted TimBits. Oh, and a tall mug of their Dark Roast.

Fuck the usual picture, I'm too busy. Y'all can use yer imagination.

Yumm.

mnem
TimBits... Timbutts....? Don't care.... ghaaaaaahhhh... *nom-nom-nom-nom-nom...*

[mnementh]

Yeah. Always does.

3DP annoying me today. On attempt 5 at printing a knob. Got angle of the grub screw hole wrong and one filament jam  . At least the turnaround isn't 4 weeks to China on each attempt.

Edit: anyone know a legit drop shipper for NanoVNA v2 in Europe? If not I'll order one off Tindie and get mugged 

How do you get the angle wrong...?  Fusion is set up to literally try and keep you from making such mistakes.

They haven't released the 4" version yet, so I'm waiting til after I actually have a new address. 

mnem
*toddles off to watch some Linus vids; this place is Deadsville*

[Robert763]

I actually have been in the room where they torture him in that scene. Brunel University lecture centre on an open day. Glad I didn’t go there in the end as the halls of residence were used for his hospital stay and hadn’t changed a bit since they filmed the damn thing.

There's a shitload of things that have been filmed at Brunel. Being convenient for Pinewood Studios (and to a lesser extent Shepperton Studios) and being essentially empty for the summer lends it to location shoots for all sorts of productions.

The Sweeney held a bank robbery and shoot-out there.
Purdey of the New Avengers kicked in the door of "Alice's Restaurant" (The New Avengers used it several times I believe).
The Comic Strip Presents burned down a fake primitive village in front of the Lecture Centre and also used the main entrance, Sports Barn, Science Building and Union Bar as locations (where one evening I got steaming drunk with the whole crew including Rik Mayall, Ade Edmunson, Robbie Coltrane, Sandy the director and all the other usual suspects).
Morse and Lewis were always going to a pathology lab that was really the microbiology lab, and other locations at Brunel.
Peter Cook filmed scenes from The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer there.

And that's just those I can remember off the top of my head.

Brunel Tech in Bristol while not connected to the university, was used outdoor scenes of the early seasons of BBC's "Casualty". They even used the aiviation departments Trident for an aircrash scene. Pre reality TV and Go-Pros they did some pretty good accident scenes. For major ones they actually involved the emergency services and made it training excercise. They get realistic scenes and the emergency services got realistic training for free.

[Robert763]

Ok back to more normal programming, here is today's odd eBay item, I mean  , what kind of weed are these guys smoking, I mean this guy clearly knows his stuff.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224118744807?

Description says:

As a seller I only leave feedback after I have received it, thank you.

This is an instant red flag for me on any eBay listing and makes it extremely unlikely I would buy an item from this seller, or any seller that says this.  It tells me that the seller knows they are doing things that might result in negative feedback so they are going to hold their feedback so they can retaliate with negative feedback if they are given a negative.  As a buyer, when I've selected a seller's item and paid the fee promptly I've done my part of the transaction and should receive positive feedback at that point.
And I've sold more items on eBay than I've ever bought and I've always left feedback for the buyer immediately on their payment.

Sellers can no longer leave negative feedback for sellers, at least on ebay UK