Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

...But non criminal idiots don't accidentally kill themselves or others with a ballpoint pen!

I was also told, in no uncertain terms, "hands off!" unless under supervision.

You mean... aside from the offices of the President, Congress, (or your nation's equivalent) and pretty much every lawyer on the face of the planet (Yes, I realize this point is highly contingent upon one's definition of the word "criminal") ...?

Also a good idea for Congress, et al... as long as it's actual adult supervision...

mnem

[Saskia]

a lot more people are killed by ballpoint pens and the politicians wielding them than by firearms.

[mnementh]

@mnem congrats

Thanks! So how goes your own move...? Or are you still in the battle plan stage due to everything being in a state of flux..? Sorry if you've already posted on this; I've been been even more scattered than usual due to my own move.

Since yer asking ...
Hubby has to see the cardiologist again, apparently the last emergency thingie was not just a false alarm, they found atrium stenosis on Wednesday (I hope that this is the right phrase, over here it is Vorhofstenose) that needs further investigation and most likely treatment 
To make matters worse, I had a suspicion and asked him to have his insulin levels checked. Turns out he is even higher than I was which turns out to be just on the wrong side of the "is it diabetes ?" threshold ... 
Which means that our general practitioner has asked me to be the diet expert for him. *sigh*

To add insult to injury: we have not yet received a building permit for that observatory, and it is the owner's duty to get that building permit so that we can close the deal. Unfortunately the owner has suffered a stroke and is in the hospital 

Now I am wondering when Murphy would kindly decide to let go of me. This is kind of nerve wrecking.

On the positive side, I am now at 50% of my revised weight loss target.

Congrats on the weight loss. I'm still trying to find a balance between enough carbs that I get enough fiber to prevent a bowel obstruction and the low carbs I need to have to stay on the right side of that line.

And yes, as I've found myself time and again... Murphy does seem to love to pile it on. 

Be strong; carry on. It's what we do.

mnem
"They say that whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger... Bullshit!  Sometimes it just makes you cross." ~mom

[mnementh]

...Look like the DAC is now fixed. The calibrator is around 15ppm from my Agilent 34401a (which I think read a bit high).
(SNIP)
I ought to do more tests to figure out which of the chip actually failed.   

Well good for you! So what was the total wallet pain...? Or would you rather not say? Are we talking great deal, Jammy Git, or so cheap I'm still waiting for Law of Irony to catch up with me here...?   

mnem
 

Got it for 355$US. And I just paid 10$ in parts for the repair.

It came with the J5000 interface on the back that I'm going to sell. I seen those going for 100$ on the bay (the J5000 interface not the calibrator  ).

LOL... okay... so somewhere in the US$250-275 range, depending on what you net from parting out unncessary bits. I guess I have to ask again, as I honestly don't know what the real value of this thing is vs its age, etc...

Are we talking great deal, Jammy Git, or so cheap I'm still waiting for Law of Irony to catch up with me territory here...?   

mnem
 

[mnementh]

...While at the scrappy I spotted the back of a blur box with a black bezel and "Time" on the back. They were happy to sell it to me for £3. I'm now the proud owner of a Time Electronics 1010 Voltage calibrator. It's a late model, came from RS. One of the terminals is broken but at £3 for a £1300 bit of TE I'm not complaining. Who the hell throws that in the skip 

A quick check shows all digits and ranges work OK 400uV offset compared to my Fluke 8060 so all looks good. 

Hmmm... maybe a cal seal vs chain of custody vs depreciated value thing?

As opening it to repair the connector would break the seal, and then they'd have to have it reCal'd, etc for a new cert/seal?

Good score. Been a long while since I found anything I liked like that at the tip.

mnem
*toddles off to enjoy that illusion known as lunchtime*

[Kosmic]

...Look like the DAC is now fixed. The calibrator is around 15ppm from my Agilent 34401a (which I think read a bit high).
(SNIP)
I ought to do more tests to figure out which of the chip actually failed.   

Well good for you! So what was the total wallet pain...? Or would you rather not say? Are we talking great deal, Jammy Git, or so cheap I'm still waiting for Law of Irony to catch up with me here...?   

mnem
 

Got it for 355$US. And I just paid 10$ in parts for the repair.

It came with the J5000 interface on the back that I'm going to sell. I seen those going for 100$ on the bay (the J5000 interface not the calibrator  ).

LOL... okay... so somewhere in the US$250-275 range, depending on what you net from parting out unncessary bits. I guess I have to ask again, as I honestly don't know what the real value of this thing is vs its age, etc...

Are we talking great deal, Jammy Git, or so cheap I'm still waiting for Law of Irony to catch up with me territory here...?   

mnem
 

Similar working unit sold for 2.5-3.5k$ recently. I would say it was a really good deal at 355$ and considering it's now seem to be fully operational.



In any case, I'm keeping this one for my personal use 

[mnementh]

   indeed! 

mnem
 

[Robert763]

...While at the scrappy I spotted the back of a blur box with a black bezel and "Time" on the back. They were happy to sell it to me for £3. I'm now the proud owner of a Time Electronics 1010 Voltage calibrator. It's a late model, came from RS. One of the terminals is broken but at £3 for a £1300 bit of TE I'm not complaining. Who the hell throws that in the skip 

A quick check shows all digits and ranges work OK 400uV offset compared to my Fluke 8060 so all looks good. 

Hmmm... maybe a cal seal vs chain of custody vs depreciated value thing?

As opening it to repair the connector would break the seal, and then they'd have to have it reCal'd, etc for a new cert/seal?

Good score. Been a long while since I found anything I liked like that at the tip.

mnem
*toddles off to enjoy that illusion known as lunchtime*

I think the damage was done by the scrappy. Last time I bought from a Scrappy must be at least 15 years ago. Health and Safety and insurance means they don't like you poking around these days.  was very lucky to spot this. The front wasn't visible and I could only see it through the fence.

In other news I just scored a Prema 6030 DMM cheap. Collection on Monday.  Always wanted a Prema.

[Specmaster]

Some of you guys mentioned the Sinclair C5.  Right now this is what’s just down from the top of the Toronto Star’s front page and the C5 came to mind right away when I saw the picture there.  It looks like one of the local auto parts magnates is getting ready to try out the same concept all over again:



I can understand the logic but I still don’t see it taking off now, just as it didn’t then.

Yea, right. Canadian winters and snow. Gonna work just fine. 

But think of the potential entertainment value that'll have!

You might be surprised, it might be a success if it ticks all the boxes. It does look like it answers a couple of failings of the C5, it is high enough to be visible to motorists, it also provides weather protection to the driver / user, so all it really has to do now is be fast enough, have enough range and be affordable. If it does all that it could be the answer to city driving.

[Specmaster]

...While at the scrappy I spotted the back of a blur box with a black bezel and "Time" on the back. They were happy to sell it to me for £3. I'm now the proud owner of a Time Electronics 1010 Voltage calibrator. It's a late model, came from RS. One of the terminals is broken but at £3 for a £1300 bit of TE I'm not complaining. Who the hell throws that in the skip 

A quick check shows all digits and ranges work OK 400uV offset compared to my Fluke 8060 so all looks good. 

Hmmm... maybe a cal seal vs chain of custody vs depreciated value thing?

As opening it to repair the connector would break the seal, and then they'd have to have it reCal'd, etc for a new cert/seal?

Good score. Been a long while since I found anything I liked like that at the tip.

mnem
*toddles off to enjoy that illusion known as lunchtime*

I think the gamage was done by the scrappy. Last time I bought from a Scrappy must be at least 15 years ago. Health and Safety and insurance means they don't like you poking around these days.  was very lucky to spot this. The front wasn't visible and I could only see it through the fence.

In other news I just scored a Prema 6030 DMM cheap. Collection on Monday.  Always wanted a Prema.

Good catch, I've been looking for one of those for a while now.

[Specmaster]

Some of you guys mentioned the Sinclair C5.  Right now this is what’s just down from the top of the Toronto Star’s front page and the C5 came to mind right away when I saw the picture there.  It looks like one of the local auto parts magnates is getting ready to try out the same concept all over again:



I can understand the logic but I still don’t see it taking off now, just as it didn’t then.

Driving that looks as much of an attempt a vehicular suicide as 'driving' a C5 did. I personally do not fancy being in a lightweight plastic/GRP vehicle with no energy absorbing crumple zones or strong rigid central cell - i.e. a vehicle that ignores everything about making vehicle occupancy survivable in a crash. I can't see any seatbelts either, and the outward visibility looks pretty poor. At least the whole vehicle isn't below every other drivers line of sight like the C5 was.

If it could be used in the cycle lanes that are springing up all over the place, then, the risk taken when using one is no different is it not to riding a bike?

[Cerebus]

Some of you guys mentioned the Sinclair C5.  Right now this is what’s just down from the top of the Toronto Star’s front page and the C5 came to mind right away when I saw the picture there.  It looks like one of the local auto parts magnates is getting ready to try out the same concept all over again:



I can understand the logic but I still don’t see it taking off now, just as it didn’t then.

Driving that looks as much of an attempt a vehicular suicide as 'driving' a C5 did. I personally do not fancy being in a lightweight plastic/GRP vehicle with no energy absorbing crumple zones or strong rigid central cell - i.e. a vehicle that ignores everything about making vehicle occupancy survivable in a crash. I can't see any seatbelts either, and the outward visibility looks pretty poor. At least the whole vehicle isn't below every other drivers line of sight like the C5 was.

If it could be used in the cycle lanes that are springing up all over the place, then, the risk taken when using one is no different is it not to riding a bike?

So you want to add enraged cyclists with axes to the list of risks faced by the drivers do you?

[mnementh]

Some of you guys mentioned the Sinclair C5.  Right now this is what’s just down from the top of the Toronto Star’s front page and the C5 came to mind right away when I saw the picture there.  It looks like one of the local auto parts magnates is getting ready to try out the same concept all over again:

   I can understand the logic but I still don’t see it taking off now, just as it didn’t then.

Driving that looks as much of an attempt a vehicular suicide as 'driving' a C5 did. I personally do not fancy being in a lightweight plastic/GRP vehicle with no energy absorbing crumple zones or strong rigid central cell - i.e. a vehicle that ignores everything about making vehicle occupancy survivable in a crash. I can't see any seatbelts either, and the outward visibility looks pretty poor. At least the whole vehicle isn't below every other drivers line of sight like the C5 was.

If it could be used in the cycle lanes that are springing up all over the place, then, the risk taken when using one is no different is it not to riding a bike?

So you want to add enraged cyclists with axes to the list of risks faced by the drivers do you?

I was just aboot to post that a few minutes of Googling revealed that is in fact his primary intent.

That said... I expect it will not likely survive the funding stage, as just before the whole COVID thing, one of the "emergent concerns" of many municipalities, and I would expect will soon be the target of explicit litigation, is the advent of Li-Ion powered electric motorcycles (and bicycles) that can actually attain highway speeds. I was reading aboot this on some of the e-Bike forums when I was building my fatBike.

While this may not sound like a big deal, a huge number of the morons who buy them (because you can mail order them with no licensing or proof of insurance, etc required) insist on riding them on the sidewalks and bicycle lanes, where they are a clear and obvious threat to personal safety of pedestrians/cyclists who actually belong there.

I expect that very soon this will again be a topic in the local and state legislatures, (along with morons riding Jazzy-type scooters into pedestrians) and these vehicles will be caught up in that charlie-foxtrot, and ultimately only be salable as Meter-Maid transports as I joked aboot earlier. 

Which may actually be part of Stronach's plan... get the funding, then have that market as a backup to ensure he can actually sell at least enough of them to stay out of jail.

I mean, if I were going to do this, that would be my strategy.

EDIT:

The problem is that to not be a real and present danger to mainstream motorists, these things will need to be licensed, registered and insured like any other motor vehicle, as their primary intent is as motor vehicles which  share roads with insured motorists. If that comes to pass, then municipalities will have to add a bureaucracy for a whole new class of vehicle, or may simply outlaw them as too much assache.

If they don't, then you're going to have them operating unlicensed, where they immediately become an increased insurance risk to automobiles, cyclists and pedestrians, and the ensuing outcry over something else raising insurance rates for the mainstream.

mnem
 

[Saskia]

@mnem congrats

Thanks! So how goes your own move...? Or are you still in the battle plan stage due to everything being in a state of flux..? Sorry if you've already posted on this; I've been been even more scattered than usual due to my own move.

Since yer asking ...
Hubby has to see the cardiologist again, apparently the last emergency thingie was not just a false alarm, they found atrium stenosis on Wednesday (I hope that this is the right phrase, over here it is Vorhofstenose) that needs further investigation and most likely treatment 
To make matters worse, I had a suspicion and asked him to have his insulin levels checked. Turns out he is even higher than I was which turns out to be just on the wrong side of the "is it diabetes ?" threshold ... 
Which means that our general practitioner has asked me to be the diet expert for him. *sigh*

To add insult to injury: we have not yet received a building permit for that observatory, and it is the owner's duty to get that building permit so that we can close the deal. Unfortunately the owner has suffered a stroke and is in the hospital 

Now I am wondering when Murphy would kindly decide to let go of me. This is kind of nerve wrecking.

On the positive side, I am now at 50% of my revised weight loss target.

Congrats on the weight loss. I'm still trying to find a balance between enough carbs that I get enough fiber to prevent a bowel obstruction and the low carbs I need to have to stay on the right side of that line.

And yes, as I've found myself time and again... Murphy does seem to love to pile it on. 

Be strong; carry on. It's what we do.

mnem
"They say that whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger... Bullshit!  Sometimes it just makes you cross." ~mom

I do suffer from constipation, however this seems to have gotten a lot better. If you want to get some diet hints feel free to drop me a note.

[tggzzz]

Congrats on the weight loss. I'm still trying to find a balance between enough carbs that I get enough fiber to prevent a bowel obstruction and the low carbs I need to have to stay on the right side of that line.

Fibrogel? It helped my mother, and I was given it after operations in case opiods paralysed my gut. Fortunately I needed neither.

[Cerebus]

Just spotted on eBay:



So true; that's just what I call them.

[Kosmic]

Just spotted on eBay:



So true; that's just what I call them.

hehe good one 

I also don't really like those type 874 connector. They are apparently a lot better then BNC though. And they are gender less which is somehow simpler.

[Cubdriver]

Just spotted on eBay:



So true; that's just what I call them.

Are they sockets?  Or are they plugs?  Oh, wait - they're both!!

-Pat

[mnementh]

Congrats on the weight loss. I'm still trying to find a balance between enough carbs that I get enough fiber to prevent a bowel obstruction and the low carbs I need to have to stay on the right side of that line.

Fibrogel? It helped my mother, and I was given it after operations in case opiods paralysed my gut. Fortunately I needed neither.

I use fiber products as needed, but I'm trying to find the balance in my diet that works. Lots of white corn and every kind of lettuce except iceberg are what I'm doing right now.

Fiber supplements are not without their own constellation of problems; including but not limited to gut cramps and fluid shift which can exacerbate edema from my poor poor circulation (genetic) and hyperinsulinism (genetic and a lifetime of abuse) which is often a precursor to AOD.

Biggest problem is that being of dwagonish bent I prefer to eat the cow, not what the cow eats. The calories involved in stuff that makes the greens palatable quickly add up. 

mnem
and bacon... *ghaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh*

[Kosmic]

Just spotted on eBay:



So true; that's just what I call them.

Are they sockets?  Or are they plugs?  Oh, wait - they're both!!

-Pat

You need to say "They/Them" since they have multiple gender 

[Vince]

Biggest problem is that being of dwagonish bent I prefer to eat the cow, not what the cow eats. The calories involved in stuff that makes the greens palatable quickly add up. 

mnem
and bacon... *ghaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh*

I heard there are vegetarian and even vegan human beings ! It's just a rumor though, never seen one in real life so far.
So, why couldn't there be vegan Dwagons as well ?! It ought to be possible, at least in theory. 

[mnementh]

Yesterday's Thrifting score: 2 Canon PowerShot G10 cameras. Not exactly earth-shattering deal, as both have lens errors, but I figured for $20 at least worth taking a punt at being able to fix one or both.

These are a "prosumer" product from like a decade ago (14.7MP, 5X Opt Zoom, OIS); pretty much one of the best you could get short of plonking down the bux on a DSLR. I'm hoping to get something I can use to replace my aging/falling apart Sony H2 for daily use on the bench and quick snappys.

One of them is pretty shopworn with some blems in the optical coating; the other one looks pretty decent but the internal objective assembly is loose inside.

Should either keep me out of trouble for a while, or generate lots of expletives for my wife to cluck disapprovingly aboot. 

mnem
*clikk!*

[mnementh]

Biggest problem is that being of dwagonish bent I prefer to eat the cow, not what the cow eats. The calories involved in stuff that makes the greens palatable quickly add up. 

mnem
and bacon... *ghaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh*

I heard there are vegetarian and even vegan human beings ! It's just a rumor though, never seen one in real life so far.
So, why couldn't there be vegan Dwagons as well ?! It ought to be possible, at least in theory. 

Pffft...! That's cousin Imogene. 

She likes to lick smurfs too... need I say more...?

mnem
*shameless carnivore*

[Cubdriver]

Yesterday's Thrifting score: 2 Canon PowerShot G10 cameras. Not exactly earth-shattering deal, as both have lens errors, but I figured for $20 at least worth taking a punt at being able to fix one or both.

These are a "prosumer" product from like a decade ago (14.7MP, 5X Opt Zoom, OIS); pretty much one of the best you could get short of plonking down the bux on a DSLR. I'm hoping to get something I can use to replace my aging/falling apart Sony H2 for daily use on the bench and quick snappys.

One of them is pretty shopworn with some blems in the optical coating; the other one looks pretty decent but the internal objective assembly is loose inside.

Should either keep me out of trouble for a while, or generate lots of expletives for my wife to cluck disapprovingly aboot. 

mnem
*clikk!*

It's amazing how little effect front element scratches can have on image quality, at least for casual use.

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/10/front-element-scratches/

-Pat

[Kosmic]

Yesterday's Thrifting score: 2 Canon PowerShot G10 cameras. Not exactly earth-shattering deal, as both have lens errors, but I figured for $20 at least worth taking a punt at being able to fix one or both.

These are a "prosumer" product from like a decade ago (14.7MP, 5X Opt Zoom, OIS); pretty much one of the best you could get short of plonking down the bux on a DSLR. I'm hoping to get something I can use to replace my aging/falling apart Sony H2 for daily use on the bench and quick snappys.

One of them is pretty shopworn with some blems in the optical coating; the other one looks pretty decent but the internal objective assembly is loose inside.

Should either keep me out of trouble for a while, or generate lots of expletives for my wife to cluck disapprovingly aboot. 

mnem
*clikk!*

The G10 was pretty cool. Almost bought one back in the days. Hope you will be able to fix one of them.