Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

If anyone wants a laugh, hit this video:

Not sure what to make of this video, he says the car has been on the road, how, with no lights on it must surely be illegal worldwide? Also, surely if you're looking for investors to join you in this venture, would you ensure that you'd have a far better and polished presentation with a proper video shot, not using a mobile phone and with far better lighting. He claims that it will do 100MPH, with 3 tons just on the power train alone, hmm, doesn't really sound feasible to me, but then, I doubt Elon Musk sounded credible in the first instance 

[Specmaster]

Not with my Fusion-Fu it wouldn't; even if my 3DP were big enough. 

mnem
 

Now that is where and when 3DP would really come of age, especially if the actual finish quality could match that of the original panel.

Oh, it exists... and HP makes it. Turnkey systems starting at only $0.25M... 

mnem
Perhaps not cost-effective...

Oh come on, I meant affordable for home use DOH 

[mnementh]

Well, there's the rub, ehhh...?

What we consider affordable is really hobbyist grade. Full stop. There are "prosumer" scanners and resin printers that definitely could do it... but still many thousands of dollars.

mnem
 

[25 CPS]

On the bench tonight... 100% homebrew. How could I resist for ~US$11.59?

First guess... monoblock amplifier project.

mnem
More to follow...

If that is indeed a mono block amplifier project, it looks like whoever built it took some inspiration from 1990s Bryston almost as if they tried to build a single channel take on the 4B or one of the other similar monster amplifiers they used to make.

[med6753]

On the bench tonight... 100% homebrew. How could I resist for ~US$11.59?

First guess... monoblock amplifier project.

mnem
More to follow...

If that is indeed a mono block amplifier project, it looks like whoever built it took some inspiration from 1990s Bryston almost as if they tried to build a single channel take on the 4B or one of the other similar monster amplifiers they used to make.

Yea, looks like part homebrew and part kit. I wonder where it's twin is at?

Not much good unless you intend on setting up a mono system listening to old 78 records.  But an excellent parts source.

[mnementh]

I did a full teardown; lots more pics now.

Horrible part is, I agree with you. Sure it would make a great raw power subwoofer amp. But like... I have oodles of powered subs already, and those all have a built-in 24dB/octave adjustable crossover, servo drive discrete MOSFET amplifier circuits with OLP and cavitation-detection circuitry to keep you from ripping the cone with over-excursion.

I don't think I would hook any speaker I care about to this prehistoric boat anchor.

mnem
Also, it needs a run through the dishwasher cuz... dayummm.

[mnementh]

If anyone wants a laugh, hit this video:   https://youtu.be/acs2PF5LczE

Not sure what to make of this video, he says the car has been on the road, how, with no lights on it must surely be illegal worldwide? Also, surely if you're looking for investors to join you in this venture, would you ensure that you'd have a far better and polished presentation with a proper video shot, not using a mobile phone and with far better lighting. He claims that it will do 100MPH, with 3 tons just on the power train alone, hmm, doesn't really sound feasible to me, but then, I doubt Elon Musk sounded credible in the first instance 

Oh FFS... he's going to compete with Tesla using Golf Cart batteries...?  Way to drive your power to weight straight down a hole... seriously.

People have been building e-cars with golf-cart batteries since there were such things... easily the 50s. There were even some real hardcore e-junkies even back in the day of the Model T.

Newsflash... GM produced this car... in production quantities... with the EV1 almost 30 years ago. They were modified Saturns with SLA batteries, brushed motors and approx a 60 mile range. They only ever offered them on lease as commuter vehicles, and when the experiment was over they tracked down each and every one (or tried to) and crushed them.

Why? Because this was the beginning of the Escalade age, and the people who got them loved them too much. They were a disruptive technology THEN... 30 years ago. Well, disruptive to Big Oil. 

Nowadays... not so much. And his approach is completely bass-ackwards from any E-car project I've ever worked on. You don't just pick WTF vehicle you have in your hip pocket and pack it full of as many golf-cart batteries as you can fit inside; there are simple calculations you make based on how much you need to be able to carry, how far you need to be able to go on a charge and at what max speed. From that, you choose a battery and motor package, then you need to determine what gross tonnage of vehicle you need. This is pretty well-established, well-known essential stuff in e-car circles.

Guy's a fukkin' wingnut. You don't put 5x as much capacity as you need to make the batteries last longer; that just beats the vehicle and drivetrain to death prematurely with excessive load. You put 1.5-2X as much as you need to have a little buffer... and you treat the batteries as the expendable supply they are.

mnem
*SMH*

[0culus]

Got me a big box of RF and microwave goodies, and the seller threw in a bag of extras. So now I'm running out my ears in VCOs, amplifiers, filters, and more. Several RF subassemblies that once lived in radars or EW systems. Good quality parts to rob if desired. The real score though was a 14 foot Gore armored 18 GHz cable with SMA. You can drive a tank over this cable and it would be fine. Pics this weekend after I go through it all.

[bd139]

On the bench tonight... 100% homebrew. How could I resist for ~US$11.59?

First guess... monoblock amplifier project.

            

Mmmmhmmmm... looks like some 1980s "Back of Nuts & Volts" all-silicon DIY amplifier kittery here... A little u-build-it single-sided preamp board driving a 2SD313, which in turn is driving paralled pairs of genuine Moldy-rollah MJ15003s and MJ15004s (140V/20A/250W) in MCP. A premade speaker protection board imported from Hong Kong provides peace of mind; well-done.  Theoretical max well over 300W... probably legit 150-200W given 40-50V rails as indicated by the caps.

Those Mallory CGS-series are tasty too; one of the few product lines I would actually actually bother to test and not fuck with (if tested good) even at 30-40 years old. In fact, builder went good name brand with everything... Rubycon, Sanken, Mallory, Motorola... but mediocre soldering at best. Think s/he tried to do everything with a 30W Radio Shank firestarter.

Too bad it all smells like moldy old toolshed now. 

Maybe I'm horrible for saying this... but what I really wanna do with this is gut it and use the power section to make a nice big linear CV/CC bench supply.

mnem
*heartless*

That’s a pretty good deal. Chassis, transformer and caps are worth way more than that 

Don’t feel guilty. I bought something similar once just for the transformers 

[bd139]

If anyone wants a laugh, hit this video:   https://youtu.be/acs2PF5LczE

Not sure what to make of this video, he says the car has been on the road, how, with no lights on it must surely be illegal worldwide? Also, surely if you're looking for investors to join you in this venture, would you ensure that you'd have a far better and polished presentation with a proper video shot, not using a mobile phone and with far better lighting. He claims that it will do 100MPH, with 3 tons just on the power train alone, hmm, doesn't really sound feasible to me, but then, I doubt Elon Musk sounded credible in the first instance 

Oh FFS... he's going to compete with Tesla using Golf Cart batteries...?  Way to drive your power to weight straight down a hole... seriously.

People have been building e-cars with golf-cart batteries since there were such things... easily the 50s. There were even some real hardcore e-junkies even back in the day of the Model T.

Newsflash... GM produced this car... in production quantities... with the EV1 almost 30 years ago. They were modified Saturns with SLA batteries, brushed motors and approx a 60 mile range. They only ever offered them on lease as commuter vehicles, and when the experiment was over they tracked down each and every one (or tried to) and crushed them.

Why? Because this was the beginning of the Escalade age, and the people who got them loved them too much. They were a disruptive technology THEN... 30 years ago. Well, disruptive to Big Oil. 

Nowadays... not so much. And his approach is completely bass-ackwards from any E-car project I've ever worked on. You don't just pick WTF vehicle you have in your hip pocket and pack it full of as many golf-cart batteries as you can fit inside; there are simple calculations you make based on how much you need to be able to carry, how far you need to be able to go on a charge and at what max speed. From that, you choose a battery and motor package, then you need to determine what gross tonnage of vehicle you need. This is pretty well-established, well-known essential stuff in e-car circles.

Guy's a fukkin' wingnut. You don't put 5x as much capacity as you need to make the batteries last longer; that just beats the vehicle and drivetrain to death prematurely with excessive load. You put 1.5-2X as much as you need to have a little buffer... and you treat the batteries as the expendable supply they are.

mnem
*SMH*

Yep wingnut. I poked him a bit but got bored and went to bed 

Bit that really made me laugh is he claims 30 year lifespan for an AGM array 

[Specmaster]

Well, just made another purchase and saved another Avo 8 from the steampunk bandits, complete with its leather case and leads. Not sure if it works or not but looks like it should, but well worth a punt for £5, just got to collect as its reasonably local to me.

Photos will be posted later when I have collected and inspected it, even its not working, its a good source for spares as the parts for these are now unavailable as I found out earlier when I repaired one, and the leads alone are worth that as they go for 4 to 5 times that normally.

[Specmaster]

If anyone wants a laugh, hit this video:   https://youtu.be/acs2PF5LczE

Not sure what to make of this video, he says the car has been on the road, how, with no lights on it must surely be illegal worldwide? Also, surely if you're looking for investors to join you in this venture, would you ensure that you'd have a far better and polished presentation with a proper video shot, not using a mobile phone and with far better lighting. He claims that it will do 100MPH, with 3 tons just on the power train alone, hmm, doesn't really sound feasible to me, but then, I doubt Elon Musk sounded credible in the first instance 

Oh FFS... he's going to compete with Tesla using Golf Cart batteries...?  Way to drive your power to weight straight down a hole... seriously.

People have been building e-cars with golf-cart batteries since there were such things... easily the 50s. There were even some real hardcore e-junkies even back in the day of the Model T.

Newsflash... GM produced this car... in production quantities... with the EV1 almost 30 years ago. They were modified Saturns with SLA batteries, brushed motors and approx a 60 mile range. They only ever offered them on lease as commuter vehicles, and when the experiment was over they tracked down each and every one (or tried to) and crushed them.

Why? Because this was the beginning of the Escalade age, and the people who got them loved them too much. They were a disruptive technology THEN... 30 years ago. Well, disruptive to Big Oil. 

Nowadays... not so much. And his approach is completely bass-ackwards from any E-car project I've ever worked on. You don't just pick WTF vehicle you have in your hip pocket and pack it full of as many golf-cart batteries as you can fit inside; there are simple calculations you make based on how much you need to be able to carry, how far you need to be able to go on a charge and at what max speed. From that, you choose a battery and motor package, then you need to determine what gross tonnage of vehicle you need. This is pretty well-established, well-known essential stuff in e-car circles.

Guy's a fukkin' wingnut. You don't put 5x as much capacity as you need to make the batteries last longer; that just beats the vehicle and drivetrain to death prematurely with excessive load. You put 1.5-2X as much as you need to have a little buffer... and you treat the batteries as the expendable supply they are.

mnem
*SMH*

Yep wingnut. I poked him a bit but got bored and went to bed 

Bit that really made me laugh is he claims 30 year lifespan for an AGM array 

Agreed, those batteries will not last more than about 6 years at best, but it will be faster than a milk float as he is using a Telsa motor and drive train. He is probably a cranky old inventor working a backstreet garage somewhere. He made me laugh as well when he claimed the car was in for servicing and that it has been used on the road, how did he do that with no lights, even in daylight they are a legal requirement and also of course it has to be registered and tested by the MOT to see if it meets regulations, and it can't do that without lights 

[tggzzz]

He made me laugh as well when he claimed the car was in for servicing and that it has been used on the road, how did he do that with no lights, even in daylight they are a legal requirement and also of course it has to be registered and tested by the MOT to see if it meets regulations, and it can't do that without lights 

Back in the 80s the MoT required that windscreen wipers worked - if fitted.

My S2 Landie had, of course, two wipers and two independent motors, both ineffective at best! The passenger-side motor was very slow, so I simply removed it for the test. It passed the test.

[mansaxel]

Well, just made another purchase and saved another Avo 8 from the steampunk bandits,

Well done!

Photos will be posted later when I have collected and inspected it, even its not working, its a good source for spares as the parts for these are now unavailable as I found out earlier when I repaired one, and the leads alone are worth that as they go for 4 to 5 times that normally.

Found out that my new one, the Model 7, is dead as can be, on all ranges, AC and DC. The cut-out was popped when I unpacked it, which is not uncommon, but what earlier lead me to believe it was working on all ranges was a bodge test I did when I measured the 1,24V battery for low resistance ranges while in-circuit. This apparently bypassed whatever fault there is inside, and all range switching, so that the 1KV range pegs the meter. (Looking at the schematic, it all makes sense, there is a path through the meter if you mistreat it like that. )

I haven't had the time to open it up, and the 6206b is still occupying the bench here, so will have to wait a bit. But I think it must be something fried or loose.

[bd139]

I’m not sure why all the love for Avo products if I’m honest 

[mansaxel]

I’m not sure why all the love for Avo products if I’m honest 

It is iconic. Back-asswards UK engineering. Like designing new steam engines in the 50s.

And, I've wanted an Avometer since i read it is the origin of the name "Avolites"

[McBryce]

I’m not sure why all the love for Avo products if I’m honest 

It is iconic. Back-asswards UK engineering. Like designing new steam engines in the 50s.

And, I've wanted an Avometer since i read it is the origin of the name "Avolites"

You'll need an AvoMinor too, for when you're on the road

McBryce.

[bd139]

Where do you stick the caged incandescent lamp on one of them?

[McBryce]

Where do you stick the caged incandescent lamp on one of them?

I'll have to use a a 12V car bulb. Now where's that drill? 

Btw: This one is fully working and will stay that way.

McBryce.

[Robert763]

He made me laugh as well when he claimed the car was in for servicing and that it has been used on the road, how did he do that with no lights, even in daylight they are a legal requirement and also of course it has to be registered and tested by the MOT to see if it meets regulations, and it can't do that without lights 

Back in the 80s the MoT required that windscreen wipers worked - if fitted.

My S2 Landie had, of course, two wipers and two independent motors, both ineffective at best! The passenger-side motor was very slow, so I simply removed it for the test. It passed the test.

I had a S3 LWB station wagon and one of the washer jets broke which is an MOT failure. I bought a replacement before I realised it was a complete PITA to fit. My local garage was landy friendly so I left the new jet and a couple of other bits on the font seat with instruction to do the work and MOT. Got it back all passed but still broken washer. I asked why not and they said "it's aPITA, you have a fold-down windscreen so don't need it".  I drilled the old base out and tapped it to take a jet from a different car in the end.

[bd139]

My S3 I squirted water bottle out of the drivers window onto the windscreen when it got dirty.

[Ice-Tea]

Working on a TDS784D. Decently bright display (sucks by modern day standards but for the series and the age not terrible...). All channels work. Off course, SPC doesn't. Not the first time I tangoed with these so I proceed with all haste to excavate the hybrids. Which are, I'm sure, marvels of black magic RF engineering but they also suck donkey balls to work on. Sure enough, one cracks while getting it out. Measuring relays yields at least one dud (4 ohm resistance) and a few doubtfulls.

Now the fun really starts. I have attempted to repair these in the past, with limited success. Long story short: some of the pins are not accesible by soldering iron. Using the hot air gun has, thus far, always resulted in the relay and its neighbours melting before I could make it "stick". The plan was to make an attempt with a hotplate and/or chipquick low temp solder. As I don't have a hotplate (yet): chipquick + hot air it is.



Removing the relay is not the issue (cut the legs). Cleaned the pads of old solder after that. Applied some of the special flux to the pads; applied the solder. Observation: it doens't flow nearly as nice as normal paste. Has a tendency to "tear". Wetted the relay as well for good measure, more flux applied.

First attempt: as the solder offers less visual clues versus normal, I pick up the board and the relay slides off the board. Not yet cured.

Second attempt: better. But the least accesible leg is up in the air.



Pressing the relay down a bit while applying hot air seems to have done the trick:



Pretty it ain't but it'll do...

[tggzzz]

He made me laugh as well when he claimed the car was in for servicing and that it has been used on the road, how did he do that with no lights, even in daylight they are a legal requirement and also of course it has to be registered and tested by the MOT to see if it meets regulations, and it can't do that without lights 

Back in the 80s the MoT required that windscreen wipers worked - if fitted.

My S2 Landie had, of course, two wipers and two independent motors, both ineffective at best! The passenger-side motor was very slow, so I simply removed it for the test. It passed the test.

I had a S3 LWB station wagon and one of the washer jets broke which is an MOT failure. I bought a replacement before I realised it was a complete PITA to fit. My local garage was landy friendly so I left the new jet and a couple of other bits on the font seat with instruction to do the work and MOT. Got it back all passed but still broken washer. I asked why not and they said "it's aPITA, you have a fold-down windscreen so don't need it".  I drilled the old base out and tapped it to take a jet from a different car in the end.

I haven't heard the fold-down windscreen before.

The "bits of different cars" is very true. Many bits on my S2 were from Minis, especially the rear lights and, I believe, the driver's seat. That seat was the most comfortable I've ever had, I suspect because I sat vertically and there wasn't a headrest to deform my spine.

[tonyalbus]

funny... just in today....

i just love it when TE smiles at you. 

[mansaxel]

i just love it when TE smiles at you. 

I've made a picture holding up my Avo8 upside down decorated with a headset, in front of my head, that I'm using for profile pic in some work related things, like Active Directory catalogue and Slack.