Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

From the "Crude... But effective." Dept...



Currently trying to find the correct CC setting for my T-12 cartridge to serve as a booty-fab soldering iron instead of a cherry-red firestarter; such that I can use it to fix my soldering station.

What could possibly go wrong...?

mnem

Did your handle fail you then?

[med6753]

From the "Crude... But effective." Dept...



Currently trying to find the correct CC setting for my T-12 cartridge to serve as a booty-fab soldering iron instead of a cherry-red firestarter; such that I can use it to fix my soldering station.

What could possibly go wrong...?

mnem

And you jump in my shit over MY booty fabs? 

[Cerebus]

Erm, don't a recall a spirited defence of all things T-12 when BD139 was decrying them a couple-a-weeks back? 

[mansaxel]

My english teacher called them "false friends" and he illustrated this with this little joke.

In the UK, a German tourist went to a restaurant.
The waiter appeared and the tourist said: "I would like to become a steak."
The waiter replied very politely: "I hope not so, sir."

The second-language teaching profession has a term pair called "positive transfer" and "negative transfer", to describe successful association across language barriers ("window" equals Danish "vindue", literally "Winds Eye") and not so successful association. ("hygge" is "spending good time with friends" in danish, but "formerly forested area now cleared of all trees" in Swedish.)

[Cerebus]

Most of the time you can get away with it when doing English <=> German. Most 'old' words, things that describe something you'd have encountered in everyday life have direct cognates: Swine, Hen, Cow - you almost just have to change your accent. But sometimes common things catch you out: Way <=> Bahn.

[THDplusN_bad]

eBay auction: #293793866432

Ahhh, a vitage Keithley pA-meter with NIXIES - I am trying not to place a bid... 

Cheers,

THDplusN_bad

[AVGresponding]

My dutch seller just comfirmed he still has some, realy one or two.. displays for PM2534/2535 ..
he is looking in his stuff for PM6662

Hopefully he finds a PM6667 display, at which point I will interrupt and say, "I'll buy it!"   

[tggzzz]

Most of the time you can get away with it when doing English <=> German. Most 'old' words, things that describe something you'd have encountered in everyday life have direct cognates: Swine, Hen, Cow - you almost just have to change your accent. But sometimes common things catch you out: Way <=> Bahn.

Blame the Normans for coming over 950 years ago, and overlaying perfectly good Teutonic words with Latinate words.

[Cerebus]

Most of the time you can get away with it when doing English <=> German. Most 'old' words, things that describe something you'd have encountered in everyday life have direct cognates: Swine, Hen, Cow - you almost just have to change your accent. But sometimes common things catch you out: Way <=> Bahn.

Blame the Normans for coming over 950 years ago, and overlaying perfectly good Teutonic words with Latinate words.

I do, I do. Bloody Frenchies... 

[Specmaster]

Erm, don't a recall a spirited defence of all things T-12 when BD139 was decrying them a couple-a-weeks back? 

Erm, correct you did, but I can't say for sure but if you go back to post #74643 he did post a photo of his T12 and it looks like he managed to pull the cable and broke a couple of solder connections in his handle. I'm still very happy with my T12 units however 

[Neomys Sapiens]

I also have a (rare) LogicDart and the "Logic Troubleshooting" kit with comparator and probes pluse the current probe and pulser.
 

Another LogicDart user here! My logic probe and pulser are from OK, so no current probe.

[Saskia]

Most of the time you can get away with it when doing English <=> German. Most 'old' words, things that describe something you'd have encountered in everyday life have direct cognates: Swine, Hen, Cow - you almost just have to change your accent. But sometimes common things catch you out: Way <=> Bahn.

Blame the Normans for coming over 950 years ago, and overlaying perfectly good Teutonic words with Latinate words.

I do, I do. Bloody Frenchies... 

https://youtu.be/5f8MinrUTpw

[sb42]

Most of the time you can get away with it when doing English <=> German. Most 'old' words, things that describe something you'd have encountered in everyday life have direct cognates: Swine, Hen, Cow - you almost just have to change your accent. But sometimes common things catch you out: Way <=> Bahn.

Blame the Normans for coming over 950 years ago, and overlaying perfectly good Teutonic words with Latinate words.

I do, I do. Bloody Frenchies... 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncleftish_Beholding

[AVGresponding]

Many apologies, but this is a TE related post...   

Slightly tempted by this at £100 shipped, but only very slightly:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/keithley-195-digital-meter/293783116010

If it was a 196 or 199...

[Saskia]

Boat Anchor.
https://fahrzeuge.dorotheum.com/de/l/6964378/

[mnementh]

Erm, don't a recall a spirited defence of all things T-12 when BD139 was decrying them a couple-a-weeks back? 

Erm, correct you did, but I can't say for sure but if you go back to post #74643 he did post a photo of his T12 and it looks like he managed to pull the cable and broke a couple of solder connections in his handle. I'm still very happy with my T12 units however 

Bizzackly. I even linked that post and this pic in the post you refer to above. 

What does normal wear and tear on a handle have to do with the quality of a T-12 controller? Even though it obviously shorted to ground several times, my controller survived thanks to CV/CC power supply as these all should have.

Remember, I've always proselytized the STM32 T-12 Controller KITS... that way you can build it yourself, and you know it is built RIGHT. bd is absolutely right aboot the PSU boards these people package in the ready-made stations and all-the-parts-in-a-box DIY kits; they're fucking cancer, just a fire looking for a place to happen.

I built this station, I built the power supply the way I wanted it (after letting the magic smoke out of a cheaper T-12 controller, I learned my lesson aboot CV/CC), and I built that handle too, even after panning it here heavily being not at all as advertised.

I chose to build it using only heat-shrink as the strain-relief; this was part expediency and partly because any effective mechanical strain relief would be difficult to implement without compromising proper bleeder-resistor-to-GND ESD safety. 



Revisiting that choice and considering years of fault-free daily service, I rebuilt the handle EXACTLY the same way today.

mnem
 

[cyclin_al]

Okay, can you open a business tony? I mean if we need schematics we just email you.

Haha....

usualy it is just asking the company with afriendly email if i can not find on google.
only sometimes like anritsu... it is the politcy not to help the clients with the schematics.. but still they reply friendly and sent a manual..
Just ask... that suprizingly works very well

Totally agree with you Tony, it does however seem to me that it is the smaller less internationally well known companies that seem to respond the best. The bigger well known ones don't seem to want to assist with the repair of equipment, instead they would prefer to sell you a new device.

Yes that could be, some how the 'big' ones are like that, but they forget or think its unimportant...... but in buying there is this 'like' factor..
after after they gave me this amazing service i would indeed consider my next buy with them... it does work.
also it is nice to know, even the product is old, out of support, they don't leave you in the cold..
and don't forget the mouth to mouth on forums like this...
so if you look for a PSU with long support, you can get one here... the seem to sell well in US too if i check ebay.

http://www.delta-elektronika.nl/
https://www.deltapowersupplies.com/

I know it's just language barrier, my friend... but please, in the future: "Word of mouth."

"mouth to mouth on forums like this..." is just ewwwww.    Makes it sound like we're one of those pervert sex clubs or summat.

mnem

Depends on context.  Up here in the GWN until recently, mouth to mouth was taught in first aid courses.  In the last 10 years it has become known as artificial respiration.  Why artificial, when there is actual respiration happening?  it is respiration but by external means.

Further surprising, at my last Standard First Aid retraining, which was 3 years ago, they taught us to skip the artificial respiration and go straight to CPR.  When questioned, the protocol assumes any situation is bad enough or is going to get bad enough to need CPR.  Also, the protocol assumes that ambulance or paramedics will arrive within 8 minutes per the standard (yeah, right.......) and the experts can then use more appropriate treatment.  It is also simpler to teach only one protocol to those that do not really have a clue.

I do want to re-take a Wilderness First Aid course now and see how those protocols have changed.  The assumptions there are far far different.

All that so say that it is not really ewwwwww if the life of someone is saved 

[cyclin_al]

I know it's just language barrier, my friend... but please, in the future: "Word of mouth."

"mouth to mouth on forums like this..." is just ewwwww.    Makes it sound like we're one of those pervert sex clubs or summat.

mnem

Damn..eeww... now i see it .... and i knew that one too.
dutch expressions )  its full of it in our language ... and very funny when you do a direct translation.. 
And when you do 'we have the dolls dancing' ... (sh*t hits the fan) 

The first settlers to this area were mostly Dutch. Which is why we have many towns with "kill" in their suffix. That's a rough translation for "creek" or "stream". So we have locations called Fishkill, Catskill, Peekskill, etc.

Were these settlers not to be confused with the Pennsylvania Dutch, who were actually .... Deutsch ?

[Specmaster]

@mnem, you didn't do yourself any favours though when you just posted that pic without and mention of the actual problem, or was it an attempt to lure people into it? I surmised what the problem because of my own T12 experience and of course I also remember the discussions we had when I was contemplating obtaining my own T12 and you outlined the issues you had with that particular style of handle.

[cyclin_al]

And now back to a post on TEA!

Does anyone have opinions on the Philips PM3232 Oscilloscope?

One of these units turned up for sale locally.  My thought is maybe to let it sit there for a while, and then put in a lowball offer, if there is value in collecting something like this.  I have no actual need, but a simple CRO would look nice on the bench.

I found little information about these, just that some Philips models are nice and some not so.  I do not know which.

Are there any things to look out for that make the difference between a nice old working unit versus a PITA that is not worth it?

Thanks!

[mnementh]

It's been a loooooooong time since I last faced this particular bootstrapping conundrum... 

mnem
*toddles off to ded*

@mnem, you didn't do yourself any favours though when you just posted that pic without and mention of the actual problem, or was it an attempt to lure people into it?

I surmised what the problem because of my own T12 experience and of course I also remember the discussions we had when I was contemplating obtaining my own T12 and you outlined the issues you had with that particular style of handle.

No, in all honesty I thought that in present company the fault would be obvious (all those shredded wires in my soldering iron) and that the nature of the "bootstrapping conundrum" in question would be a near-universal meme: That of needing a soldering iron to fix my soldering iron.

mnem
 

[Robert763]

Never used one but a 10MHz 2ch unit with no special features would have to be very cheap. Lot's of more interesting / capable 'scopes to decorate the bench with.

[mnementh]

Yeah... I'd use it the same way I did my V-212: on the back bench as a display for a semiconductor junction tester. Or in the back of the closet until my son was ready to learn what it was for.

mnem
 

[med6753]

I know it's just language barrier, my friend... but please, in the future: "Word of mouth."

"mouth to mouth on forums like this..." is just ewwwww.    Makes it sound like we're one of those pervert sex clubs or summat.

mnem

Damn..eeww... now i see it .... and i knew that one too.
dutch expressions )  its full of it in our language ... and very funny when you do a direct translation.. 
And when you do 'we have the dolls dancing' ... (sh*t hits the fan) 

The first settlers to this area were mostly Dutch. Which is why we have many towns with "kill" in their suffix. That's a rough translation for "creek" or "stream". So we have locations called Fishkill, Catskill, Peekskill, etc.

Were these settlers not to be confused with the Pennsylvania Dutch, who were actually .... Deutsch ?

Nope, not the same folks.

Edit....same Dutch that settled NYC first when it was called "New Amsterdam"

[factory]

eBay auction: #293793866432

Ahhh, a vitage Keithley pA-meter with NIXIES - I am trying not to place a bid... 

Cheers,

THDplusN_bad

If it was half that price or less I would be tempted too.

David