Author Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread  (Read 14559108 times)

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Offline Saskia

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92700 on: June 23, 2021, 05:23:21 pm »
Oh my undersized speakers are 70 kg apiece, the Threshold T200 plus the 2 EAR 519 tube poweramps are @70 kgs ...

I guess I can relate. However I am out of space and I don't want daughter to have to deal with too much stuff when I enter Valhalla
 

Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92701 on: June 23, 2021, 05:25:46 pm »
Just labeled and uploaded a few of the Simpson pictures.
Range switch drive:


Cool old meter.

-Pat

Oh, fudge. that one uses the 412 battery (26mm x 16mm x 50mm); I was thinking of the 763 battery (77mm x 51mm x 92mm) kj7e posted aboot. Robert is right; best bet for that will probably be stacks of CR2032 (20mm x 3.2mm) or CR2430 (24mm x 3.0mm) coin cells. Spot-welded tabs/links might still be a good idea tho. :-//

mnem
 :-DMM

« Last Edit: June 23, 2021, 05:30:13 pm by mnementh »
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Offline Brumby

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92702 on: June 23, 2021, 05:31:24 pm »
Alternately, could get a cheap MOSFET Tab-welder (aboot $20-30 on eBay or less on banggood) and build a pack out of CR123A lithium primary cells that would have a shelf-life of a decade plus.

Be careful with some of those cheap spot welders.  There is a design flaw.  As the control circuitry is powered from the same source as the discharge, the voltage can sag and, as a result, the drive to the MOSFETs falls, causing their resistance to rise sufficiently at the currents involved to cause overheating and, thus, failure of one or more MOSFETs.

There is a simple fix, though.  Add a 1000uF capacitor across the power to the control circuitry, just after a supply decoupling diode.
 

Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92703 on: June 23, 2021, 05:38:23 pm »
Yeah, I know... I posted aboot that a little later; the vid covers it in picturesque detail. ;)

As I plan to run from 90A-capable server PSU or 4S/6.6AH/40C LiPos with 10ga leads, prolly not a problem.  But I'll still do the mods to cover my scaly dwagon arse. :-DD

mnem
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Offline nixiefreqq

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92704 on: June 23, 2021, 05:39:45 pm »
over the weekend attended my first hamfest in a year and a half.  took a pledge not to purchase anything.

but the damn hobo's were selling meters for 5 bucks a piece.  (and the calculator was just too damn ugly to resist).

was in the truck heading home before it hit me.........fecking 22-1/2 volt batteries.  where am i gonna' find those?

I'd have broken that pledge too with those Simpson meters at that kind of price.

Holy crow, going to hamfests and buying things?  We're still almost completely locked up, up here.  It's insane.  The politicians keep moving the goalposts and better days are always around the corner but they're never here and we aren't allowed to have our lives back no matter how many vaccines get shot into people.  I'm done with it.

it was a 100% outdoor event with plenty of sunshine.  saw no one not old enough to be carrying a medicare card and be fully vaccinated.  felt pretty safe but still tried to keep a table between me and the hobo's.
free range primate
 
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Offline Brumby

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92705 on: June 23, 2021, 05:41:01 pm »
I must have missed that .... but no apologies.

You've got me ready to pull the trigger on one .... as well as some nickel plated strip.



Bloody enablers.   ;D
 
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Offline Cubdriver

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92706 on: June 23, 2021, 05:47:51 pm »
LiPos in an instrument that sits on a shelf unused for months or years at a time is not a great idea. Puffy death LiPos is a whole new failure mode that wasn't even dreamt of when these were designed.

I'd suggest 5 14500 or 16340 cylindrical cells with a 5S BMS/charging board, will produce 18-21V depending on state of charge and be much safer to leave inside an instrument.

Alternately, could get a cheap MOSFET Tab-welder (aboot $20-30 on eBay or less on banggood) and build a pack out of CR123A lithium primary cells that would have a shelf-life of a decade plus.

mnem
 :-/O

Definitely something to consider - will look into that.

-Pat
LOL.... yeah, I considered what I said after I said it... and then went & bought that damned tab welder (plus some anodized aluminum blingy bits for my new RadioMaster RC transmitter) as it was only ~$US14 with upgraded 10-15 day shipping. Can't hardly get the MOSFETS on the board for that, plus this is one of the better rated ones, as long as you feed it with enough current/heavy enough wire that the MOSFETs don't blow up from ringing. There's a wealth of knowledge on them if you read through the comments/reviews on the banggood listing page.



mnem
*more cheap Chinese tools for half a pittance*

I actually bought one of the fancy-schmantzy ones (buy once, cry once) from Amazon a few months back when I got a wild hair up my ass about rebuilding the battery packs in my little Fluke voltage standards and in a few battery-powered HP oscillators that are lurking about here, but as usual by the time the batteries arrived the tidal wave had passed so it's currently (no pun intended) on the shelf waiting for that project to bubble up again.  (If I could make a living procrastinating, I'd be worth more than Bezos and Gates combined!)



And now to my usual refrain...  ...one of these years...   :palm:

-Pat

If it jams, force it.  If it breaks, you needed a new one anyway...
 
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Offline Robert763

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92707 on: June 23, 2021, 06:36:43 pm »
Pat,
What's in HP "Clement" (system I) cabinet with the CRT on the next shelf down?
 

Offline Cubdriver

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92708 on: June 23, 2021, 07:16:21 pm »
Robert - It's something of a unicorn - an ET 0590 Diode Test Set - apparently an internal factory instrument that never was offered for sale in any of the catalogs that I know of.  It's basically an octopus tester in a nice cabinet.  Found it on the 'bay a while back and snagged it as it is cute, unusual and cool.  Can't recall even how I stumbled upon it.  Still need to open it and take some good pictures (and align the tube; the trace is inclined a bit CCW at the moment).

Connected to an old selenium rectifier:




-Pat
If it jams, force it.  If it breaks, you needed a new one anyway...
 

Offline Robert763

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92709 on: June 23, 2021, 07:25:57 pm »
Ooh cute  :)

HP's version of the Huntron Tracker, years early by the look of it.
« Last Edit: June 23, 2021, 07:32:57 pm by Robert763 »
 

Offline dl6lr

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92710 on: June 23, 2021, 07:35:20 pm »
was in the truck heading home before it hit me.........fecking 22-1/2 volt batteries.  where am i gonna' find those?

Type 15F20? You can get those on Ali... But we are in a restoration group, so two A23/LR23 do fit in a reamed 15F20 housing on a perfboard with small contacts. Old can carefully openend on one side and insulated inside with capton tape, then you can slide it in. BTDT
 
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Offline med6753

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92711 on: June 23, 2021, 07:36:10 pm »
I'm still waiting for FedEx to show up at nearly 15:30 hours. I want to go back to the internal 100V supply in the Type 547 but not until I install a 500ma fuse in line as protection. That fuse is in the parts order on the FedEx truck somewhere.

Assuming that going back to the internal 100V supply is trouble free I've assessed where I'm at with the Type 547. It's got good and not so good. Here is what works:

A Sweep timing
A Trigger
B Sweep timing
B Trigger
CRT circuits and HV (That's a relief  :phew:)

Here is what is not working:

Horizontal. If I turn the horizontal control full clockwise I get a short trace far left.
Vertical. Completely dead. Turning the position control on the Type 1A1 plug-in has no effect.



Most of the semiconductors in this instrument are in the horizontal and vertical circuits. I suspect that those transistors have taken a beating from all the PSU issues and I'm going to find a number that are dead. I'm going to go after the horizontal problem first and get a full trace across the screen. Then tackle the vertical issue. I expect it's going to be a long haul.

And adding to that I'm not going to be able to work on this much for the next week or so. This weekend lady cop coming up plus next week I'm finally going in for surgery to the fix the hernia. Pre-op on Monday and surgery on Thursday. And it just so happens that my b day is this Sunday.  ;D   

   
An old gray beard with an attitude.
 
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Offline mansaxel

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92712 on: June 23, 2021, 07:55:19 pm »
Yes I am looking for a battery powered scope, not sure about Flukes though as I hated the UI on the 123 scopemeters at work.
I was given my 123, so am sort of attached to it. I agree it is a bit cumbersome; but it suits me, being as it is built to be a "sparky scope". Best to leave it in full auto and poke them probes in the mains...  :-DD


Offline Cubdriver

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92713 on: June 23, 2021, 07:56:30 pm »
I'm still waiting for FedEx to show up at nearly 15:30 hours. I want to go back to the internal 100V supply in the Type 547 but not until I install a 500ma fuse in line as protection. That fuse is in the parts order on the FedEx truck somewhere.

Just put two 1A fuses in series!   :P :P :P

-Pat






(And before anyone takes my smartarse comment literally, I know that's not how fuses work.)

<edit to add - Mike, you SURE you don't want that curve tracer?   ;) )
If it jams, force it.  If it breaks, you needed a new one anyway...
 
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Offline mansaxel

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92714 on: June 23, 2021, 08:30:09 pm »

Horizontal. If I turn the horizontal control full clockwise I get a short trace far left.

<snip>

 And it just so happens that my b day is this Sunday.  ;D   


I like the sharpness of the trace in the horizontal-far-left pic.

And, congrats! I'll probably forget if I don't write it now, so you'll have to accept it early  :P

Offline Cerebus

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92715 on: June 23, 2021, 08:31:57 pm »
Just put two 1A fuses in series!   :P :P :P

Don't laugh, sometimes this almost makes sense. I've seen meters where an expensive, slowish high breaking current fuse is placed in series with a cheap, faster equally rated fuse with relatively low breaking capacity (typically a 20mm glass fuse with circa 80A breaking capacity). The idea is that "typical" mishaps cause the 10p glass fuse to rupture, you replace it and move on. In the case of serious fault current from a low impedance source that's enough to turn the contents of the glass fuse into a conductive plasma only then does the expensive fuse (like the classic £10+, 11A, 1000V HRC ones with a 20 kA breaking capacity in Fluke DMMs) come into play and use up its breaking capacity in one short bang. It's a good trick for saving money (or at least servicing costs) while maintaining safety.
« Last Edit: June 23, 2021, 08:33:41 pm by Cerebus »
Anybody got a syringe I can use to squeeze the magic smoke back into this?
 
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Offline factory

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92716 on: June 23, 2021, 08:59:17 pm »
Was it @factory that was looking for a handheld/battery powered scope?

This may or may not go for sensible money:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FLUKE-99B-SCOPEMETER-SERIES-II-new-genuine-Fluke-power-supply-probes-case-/184885393767


Yes I am looking for a battery powered scope, not sure about Flukes though as I hated the UI on the 123 scopemeters at work.

David

The 99B S2 has an older UI, pretty much the same as the original Philips branded ones. What's your budget? There's a Tek 720 no-one's yet bid on with an opening price of £199. That's what I just got one for, so it's probably the money, despite a number of others up at silly (some very silly) prices.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164921772568

It has the older v1.14 fw but I believe the v1.16 is posted somewhere on the EEVBlog forum.


Don't be temped by any SHS models just yet as they have a significant HW and UI update coming but it is a while away. Micsig seem to be popular however a new owner is reporting ongoing freezes with newly applied FW.

Do you need portability or isolation ?
If you already have one of the small modern DSO's differential probes for it might be a better investment.

My Budget is below £100, which would rule out new scopes & the common Fluke/Philips & Tek ones mentioned previously. It's mainly to fill a gap in portability, a few months ago I was talking to a work colleague who was having car problems (old 90's Ford) and was asking for advise, I couldn't help as I haven't got the right TEA to properly diagnose the electrical fault.

Anyway, I would probably be best to find something that will take regular alkaline batteries as it probably wouldn't get used often, I think it would be easier to remove the batteries when not needed and not have to worry about them. Vintage scopes would be OK too, as I'm more likely to be able to repair older stuff without SM parts.

I was given my 123, so am sort of attached to it. I agree it is a bit cumbersome; but it suits me, being as it is built to be a "sparky scope". Best to leave it in full auto and poke them probes in the mains...  :-DD

That's one of the thing I hated about the Fluke 123, I prefer using scopes manually, unlike my colleagues who didn't seem interested in using scopes without an auto button. The auto mode often failed to lock on to signals too, then I would get asked to help after they had wasted lots of time changing parts that weren't faulty.  |O

David
 

Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92717 on: June 23, 2021, 09:21:06 pm »
Ahhh, yes... the ol' "Could be a crank sensor, could be a cam sensor... which do you replace first...?" conundrum. Which, in the absence of scope validation, is usually answered with "Cam sensor first; it's quickest and easiest to get to." unless it's hugely more expensive than the crank sensor. :-//

This is of course dependent on what the service documentation says; sometimes even when the error code doesn't tell you which, the behavior of injectors vs coil will tell you which. A cheap set of noid lights is still one of your best low-tech investments for this kind of diag work. ;)

mnem
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Offline med6753

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92718 on: June 23, 2021, 09:34:59 pm »
FedEx finally decided to show up, with a contractor rather than their own vehicles. No wonder it's late.  ::)

Anyway, safety 500ma fuse installed. External supply removed. All connections for the internal 100V supply restored. Hit power, fingers crossed.

-150V reference on the mark and steady. +100V reads +99.1V. In spec. Excellent.



Here's the PSU with everything re-installed. The large 6080 tube directly behind the adjust pot is the regulator for the +100V. The original tube was completely burnt out and dead.



And here it is standing on it's own with a good PSU for the first time. It was a long battle to get it to this point and there's still more to do. I may be able to start on the horizontal issue tomorrow.



 

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Offline Specmaster

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92719 on: June 23, 2021, 09:47:05 pm »
Update on the state of the Avo paint removal, my son has worked his socks off today on the front panel using rubbing alcohol and cocktail sticks with the occasional use of a very fine flat screwdriver and I had a go at the side using a dremmel and small bristle wheels. As these before and in progress photos show, my method seems to be marking the plastic case while sons doesn't. I'm not too bothered by the side and also the top (not shown) as I plan to give the case a lick of matt black paint which will hopefully hide the polishing effect of the bristle brush wheels.

I think the touching up the front will require is the white lettering of the terminal posts will require the embossed letters replacing, my son is good at that as well.

The meter is coming around and looks far better as a result, I'm really chuffed with the meter, this ones a keeper for sure, more paint removal later in the week for sure.


Who let Murphy in?

Brymen-Fluke-HP-Thurlby-Thander-Tek-Extech-Black Star-GW-Avo-Kyoritsu-Amprobe-ITT-Robin-TTi
 
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Offline Neomys Sapiens

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92720 on: June 23, 2021, 10:06:16 pm »
Can anyone round here give me a well-founded recommendation for a model or maker of a portable voice recorder (aka solid-state dictaphone)? Should take standard batteries and have a line-in.
Should also produce standard file format and have a interface of some sort.
 

Offline Runco990

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92721 on: June 23, 2021, 11:24:15 pm »
Robert - It's something of a unicorn - an ET 0590 Diode Test Set - apparently an internal factory instrument that never was offered for sale in any of the catalogs that I know of.  It's basically an octopus tester in a nice cabinet.  Found it on the 'bay a while back and snagged it as it is cute, unusual and cool.  Can't recall even how I stumbled upon it.  Still need to open it and take some good pictures (and align the tube; the trace is inclined a bit CCW at the moment).

Connected to an old selenium rectifier:




-Pat

Call me INSANELY envious!!!   I'm a huge HP gear fan!  NEVER seen one of these.
 

Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92722 on: June 23, 2021, 11:56:02 pm »
Can anyone round here give me a well-founded recommendation for a model or maker of a portable voice recorder (aka solid-state dictaphone)? Should take standard batteries and have a line-in. Should also produce standard file format and have a interface of some sort.



Panasonic and Sony used to be pretty much king where these were concerned; they kindof became a very niche product with the advent of i-devices with an app. I still keep this one around because super-easy to grab and stereo recording. It can record from internal mics or external, mono or stereo condenser mic, or line-in using a attenuator cable, and sound quality in PCM mode is phenomenal.

Manual attached below.

mnem
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Online beanflying

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92723 on: June 24, 2021, 12:06:57 am »
Can anyone round here give me a well-founded recommendation for a model or maker of a portable voice recorder (aka solid-state dictaphone)? Should take standard batteries and have a line-in.
Should also produce standard file format and have a interface of some sort.

Chase up the Zoom range starting at the H1n plenty of reviews on youtube from video cretors https://zoomcorp.com/en/us/handheld-recorders/handheld-recorders/h1n-handy-recorder/
Coffee, Food, R/C and electronics nerd in no particular order. Also CNC wannabe, 3D printer and Laser Cutter Junkie and just don't mention my TEA addiction....
 
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Offline Kosmic

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #92724 on: June 24, 2021, 12:11:30 am »
LiPos in an instrument that sits on a shelf unused for months or years at a time is not a great idea. Puffy death LiPos is a whole new failure mode that wasn't even dreamt of when these were designed.

I'd suggest 5 14500 or 16340 cylindrical cells with a 5S BMS/charging board, will produce 18-21V depending on state of charge and be much safer to leave inside an instrument.

Alternately, could get a cheap MOSFET Tab-welder (aboot $20-30 on eBay or less on banggood) and build a pack out of CR123A lithium primary cells that would have a shelf-life of a decade plus.

mnem
 :-/O

Definitely something to consider - will look into that.

-Pat
LOL.... yeah, I considered what I said after I said it... and then went & bought that damned tab welder (plus some anodized aluminum blingy bits for my new RadioMaster RC transmitter) as it was only ~$US14 with upgraded 10-15 day shipping. Can't hardly get the MOSFETS on the board for that, plus this is one of the better rated ones, as long as you feed it with enough current/heavy enough wire that the MOSFETs don't blow up from ringing. There's a wealth of knowledge on them if you read through the comments/reviews on the banggood listing page.



mnem
*more cheap Chinese tools for half a pittance*

I ordered something awfully similar. I'm planning to use it to make Type K thermocouple. I should also try to find some nickel strips to see how well it's working on batteries.

Edit: I did my homework before ordering and got the "Wise Maple" version that doesn't need to be fixed and should be working out of the box.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2021, 12:22:58 am by Kosmic »
 


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