Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Robert763]

Sony Tektronix 308 baby logic analyser with HP compatable signature analysis on ebay UK under 3 h to go and no bids at £49
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SONY-TEKTRONIX-Data-Analyzer-308/164794265249?

I'd have a punt but already have one (and 2 other LAs). I've seen the grabbers go for more.

EDIT. Seller also has odd wavetek bench  with LED display. 4.5 digit and unusually has a proper 20 amp range. Most are limited to 10A and some have time limits for that.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MULTIMETER-WAVETEK-METERMAN-BDM40-bench/164802050654?

[Kosmic]

I should have posted the pictures I took yesterday with slightly better probing techniques





That's into a 100R load with a 10x probe (i forgot to switch it to 10x in the UI). It's 5v without a load. I'm sure you can work out the output impedance from that

Ha crap, I also ordered a batch of 10. 

I have a counter I want to sell that need a new clock.

[xrunner]

The digital AC meter I received for the variac upgrade indicates voltage, but does not indicate current. I tried various loads to no avail (lamp shown plugged-in), moved wiring, etc. no worky. 

I took it out and used another similar (but different size and type) digital add-on meter I bought for my emergency generator project (I'll show that project another day). I temporarily wired it into the variac, and it did work OK.

I took the little meter apart. The coil checks OK. Other components check OK. It has a microcontroller, but all markings have been obliterated. After wasted days of messaging the incompetent seller, who responds exactly one time every 24 hours (maybe) and has no effing idea what the device does, I had to call Ebay and get them to step in. They are issuing my refund.

Project on-hold ... 


Edit: I did replace the power switch with a new one.

[mnementh]

Yup. Used to get regular work from the arcades back in the day; principle is simple: overdrive the heater a little for a short period, apply a HF signal to the cathode while it is boiling from the overdrive, this strips a microscopic layer off and get you good emissivity again. It is as much art as science; getting all 3 guns within 10-20% without smoking one of them takes some practice.

Yes, it is a somewhat destructive process; but the CRT is already toast, so why not.    My experience was that specific units at the arcade would last 1-3 years after a zap; that's a machine that runs 12-14 hour days 6 days a week. I usually was able to zap a CRT at least twice before the gain was insufficient to balance the guns; then you know who they called to do the CRT replacement. Ka-chinnng!

mnem
 

They had one at the TV Studio where I worked, & I often used it to get a bit  of extra life from some of the less critical pix monitor CRTs.

For some reason, "delta gun" tubes didn't do as well with it as Trinitrons  & the various other variants, like "Linytrons", etc.

We usually only got one rejuvenation out of each tube, as towards the end of life, there was usually one gun that just wouldn't come up.

BW tubes were much more forgiving, but, eventually they started showing massive gamma errors.

There was a very good local regunning facility.
It didn't look much, but the proprietor did an excellent job with Trinitrons, with results indisinguishable from a new tube.
Again, the "delta gun"tubes were a lot harder to get right.

It was normally not our practice to use regunned tubes in critical monitors, but during a period of financial stress, we (unofficially) relaxed that rule, with good results.

I developed a lot of expertise on pix monitors which I neither desired or anticipated, being mainly employed as a Transmitter Tech!

That's because the Trinitron tube has a single gun, so getting them "balanced" is not a problem. I'd wager they have more material in the cathode to spare as well, given the design drives that single gun to do the work of three. D'OH!

mnem

Not quite correct. While the Trinitron had one electron gun, that gun still had 3 cathodes (in vertical alignment) so if emission is low you still have to do 3 regenerations and balance them as well as possible.

You're right, now that I think of it; I did always have all 3 meters active at the same time even on the rare Trinitron tube, so there had to be... I guess that byte of knowledge is something else I lost in the intervening decades.    Ah well. That's what I get for thinking I know something.

mnem
*toddles off to muzzle himself*

[mnementh]

Dammitt, you people... Now you've got me "Me three!"-ing again; I was just gonna order a PCB like bd did, or Google and see if someone had already done something more aimed at a standalone unit... but now you've got me determined to knock something together quick on a perfboard just to see it lit up.

And of course the damned thing doesn't conform to 0.100" spacing... so right out the gate, workaround compromises had to be made. 

We'll see how far this progresses with whatever else I can scrounge from the junk drawer after I get back from the Px.

mnem
I hate you all.

[bd139]

Looks good to me 

Nothing can be worse than my test rig with the Bliley ones I ordered a couple of years back 



Edit: the board I did is on an 0.1 grid. The OCXO footprint is apparently metric but with weird measurements. One of the joys of KiCad is the ability to switch back and forth easily!

[tautech]

Looks good to me 

Nothing can be worse than my test rig with the Bliley ones I ordered a couple of years back 



Edit: the board I did is on an 0.1 grid. The OCXO footprint is apparently metric but with weird measurements. One of the joys of KiCad is the ability to switch back and forth easily!

your negative is plugged into a red jack ! 

[Kosmic]

Looks good to me 

Nothing can be worse than my test rig with the Bliley ones I ordered a couple of years back 



Edit: the board I did is on an 0.1 grid. The OCXO footprint is apparently metric but with weird measurements. One of the joys of KiCad is the ability to switch back and forth easily!

your negative is plugged into a red jack ! 

For a while HP had a good price on red binding posts. They were all red 

[bd139]

Yeah HP  . All voltages are red terminals. Earth is black.

[Kosmic]

Yeah HP  . All voltages are red terminals. Earth is black.

The 3458a is still like that.

[tautech]

Looks good to me 

Nothing can be worse than my test rig with the Bliley ones I ordered a couple of years back 



Edit: the board I did is on an 0.1 grid. The OCXO footprint is apparently metric but with weird measurements. One of the joys of KiCad is the ability to switch back and forth easily!

your negative is plugged into a red jack ! 

For a while HP had a good price on red binding posts. They were all red 

Just stirring the pot. 

[Cerebus]

The OCXO footprint is apparently metric but with weird measurements. One of the joys of KiCad is the ability to switch back and forth easily!

I think not. The drawing says the pins are 19.05 centre-to-centre which is exactly 0.75 x 25.4 i.e. 3/4 of an inch - it's an imperial part in metric clothing. It'll fit a 50mil grid and also 1.25mm because of the 0.3mm tolerance - 15 x 1.27mm + 0.3mm = 19.05mm - as long as you make your holes big enough to accept the pin layout tolerance + the drilling tolerance.

Just measured one of mine with the fearsome 0.001mm/0.00005" resolution Mitutoyo and everything adds up to it being imperial under the skin.

[bd139]

Ahha that makes sense now. I just used metric as it was that on the data sheet 

[AVGresponding]

Hmm, now was it Kosmic that was asking how my spool relocation was working? It's just fine, need to mess about with the box yet, and I'm in no hurry as I'm planning to use up this spool of PLA first.

[Cubdriver]

Kluge city and lord only knows how accurate the reference in that counter is, but at a glance it works.  Will have to set up the rubidium standard at some point and compare.  My thinking is to perhaps cobble together some boards and use the new oscillators in some of these lower-end crystal controlled counters.







-Pat

[THDplusN_bad]

Ooof, another "accidental" purchase... I was certain I was going to be outbid.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Philips-PM-5193-Programmable-Synthesizer-Function-Generator-0-1mHz-50mHz/265114303620

Nice. You won't regret it. I have the same model, but the later, grey version and it is a good, reliable generator.

I have replaced the noisy Papst fan with a SUNON MagLev MA2082-HVL type fan. It's still a bit loud, but tolerable...

Service manuals are available for free. If the display reads "Err 3", the battery is dead.

Cheers,

THDplusN_bad

[bd139]

If I remember correctly they have schaffner exploding filters in them.

[Specmaster]

Looks good to me 

Nothing can be worse than my test rig with the Bliley ones I ordered a couple of years back 



Edit: the board I did is on an 0.1 grid. The OCXO footprint is apparently metric but with weird measurements. One of the joys of KiCad is the ability to switch back and forth easily!

your negative is plugged into a red jack ! 

Yep, its a HP power supply and that is a typical thing with HP.

Edit, Doh, I should have read the other posts before posting my reply

[med6753]

Sometimes life throws you lemons. Today was one of those days. My body did not get the memo that without a catheter when the bladder starts to fill up it's time to piss. And trying to force the issue by standing in front of the toilet and whistling Dixie produces no results either. So when I went back to the urologist at 3 PM the catheter went back in. Pretty convincing evidence that the hernia is screwing up my urinary tract.

Have an appointment with specialist Tuesday. I suspect shortly after meeting with him I'm probably going to be scheduled for surgery.   

[tautech]

Sometimes life throws you lemons. Today was one of those days. My body did not get the memo that without a catheter when the bladder starts to fill up it's time to piss. And trying to force the issue by standing in front of the toilet and whistling Dixie produces no results either. So when I went back to the urologist at 3 PM the catheter went back in. Pretty convincing evidence that the hernia is screwing up my urinary tract.

Have an appointment with specialist Tuesday. I suspect shortly after meeting with him I'm probably going to be scheduled for surgery.   

Fingers crossed it all goes without issues and of course our kind thoughts follow you.
GWS Med.

[Saskia]

med,
my best wishes to you. Get well soon.

[med6753]

I refuse to get depressed about this pissy situation. Disheartening, yes. Depressed, no. I'll just take it as it comes. Luckily this cat is no where near as uncomfortable as the previous one.

[Kosmic]

Hmm, now was it Kosmic that was asking how my spool relocation was working? It's just fine, need to mess about with the box yet, and I'm in no hurry as I'm planning to use up this spool of PLA first.

Cool mine is on the side.

Let me know how well your box is working with ABS.

[med6753]

My TEA contribution for today. You think the Type 310A with it's quirky fan base is small? Not by a long shot. 

[Kosmic]

My TEA contribution for today. You think the Type 310A with it's quirky fan base is small? Not by a long shot. 

I really like the floating grid on the 310a