Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

Nothing a ham has touched is probably working.

Those HP audio analysers tend to fetch a fair bit of cash.

[vk6zgo]

I don't know what the modern ones are like, but the old one I picked up (and flipped) had far too many skeleton pots for my comfort.

Quite. Trimpots are the work of the devil. I go out of my way when designing things to design out the need for them. Electronic, closed case, calibration/alignment is the only way to go to keep your sanity. I've worked on too many things where tweaking pot A alters the thing you have to trim with pot B, and tweaking pot B alters the thing you have to trim with pot A. That kind of iterative insanity is what computers where made for.

I have a 3-tube video projector in need for alignment against a sloped screen. You on?

(just kidding, I've way too many experiences with them to ever consider that particular kind of horrible..)

Actually, the Sony ones are fairly good that way, once you get your heads round them.
One year, someone in Production got the wondrous idea of using a Sony 3 tube projector to project its image on the white sloped top of a grand piano.

The idea was supposed to be that, as the artist played, the camera would pan up to the image on the lid, then slowly morph into the direct video.

To this end, they needed us to hang the projector on an angle from one of the lighting assemblies.
The other bloke volunteered to do it, so I didn't fight him for the honour.

He did a good job, though, but about 3/4 hour of setup for a few minutes on air time was hardly worth it.

Production did things like that---- when John Glenn returned to Space on the Shuttle, they wanted to make a big deal about him seeing Perth's lights like way back when he was in his capsule on the first US orbital flight.

Somebody thought it would be a great idea to put a cameraman & camera part way up the transmitter tower to look down at the city lights.

Everything was primed up for this to happen, till the Grinch, in the person of myself, pointed out that the lights weren't visible from the only landing they could use.

I asked "Why don't you use one of the scenic lookouts, or the chopper?"

I guess that made too much sense, so they forgot the idea!

[McBryce]

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/digital-phosphor-oszilloskop-dpo-tektronix-tds3052/1871457069-168-4712

any good ?
he would trade for a Voltcraft 160 MHz AFG, I have a Peaktech 160 MHz AFG.
Would that be a good trade ?

Seriously dodgy. The title says TDS3052, some of the pictures are of a 3032, but others are a 3034?? And the language on the devices change between German and Russian?? So what is he actually selling? There are no pictures of a 3052.

McBryce.

[Cerebus]

Staying up all night & day to throw soggy boots at it is not an appealing option.  I have better things to do, like TEA.  A mustelid probably has nothing better to do than lie in wait for the critter...

Not true, they have lots of stoatily important stuff to get on with, like trampolining:

[bd139]

I’d have a pet weasel.

Dogs, cats hell no.

[med6753]

I’d have a pet weasel.

Dogs, cats hell no.

Just don't get a ferret. Sorta like a giant weasel. I knew someone who had one. Lots of energy but they shit and piss everywhere.   

[factory]

Overview

Irn-Bru is known for its bright orange colour and unique flavour.[2] As of 1999 it contained 0.002% of ammonium ferric citrate, sugar, 32 flavouring agents including caffeine and quinine (but not in Australia), and two controversial colourings (Sunset Yellow FCF E110 and Ponceau 4R E124). On 27 January 2010, soft-drink manufacturer A.G. Barr agreed to a Food Standards Agency voluntary ban on these two colourings although no date was set for their replacement.[3] After lobbying by First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, a proposed restriction of Sunset Yellow to 10 mg/litre was eased to 20 mg/litre in 2011 – the same amount present in Irn-Bru.[4] As of August 2021, Irn-Bru still contains these colourings.[5]

I find this beverage highly suspect. Might be good mixed with Tito's, tho. 

*makes mental note to add said toxic ichor to his next recreational beverage shopping list*

mnem

That which cannae kill ya makes ye stronger. Anyway, where do you think the Scots get their hair colour from? Such ruddiness is clearly unnatural in a nation whose skin tone is "titanium white".

I actually quite like Irn-Bru (tagline "Made in Scotlan' frae girders") but it's not the same since the mindless* "sugar tax" has seen almost every soft drink manufacturer who didn't already use them switch to artificial sweeteners just around the time that scientific consensus is forming that artificial sweeteners are innately bad for you. Your mileage may vary because the source of sweetness (whether sugars, which sugars, and which artificial sweeteners) varies so much from country to country for ostensibly identical fizzy drinks.

* Used in the sense of "no actual thinking was involved in this decision" typical of political decision making.

Fixed that for you, as I believe Coke still a sugar version, they didn't want to alter it, since the last time they altered the recipe it backfired. Not that it matters to me, as I can't stand the stuff.

I used to like Irn-Bru, but since that prick Jamie Oliver got involved with politics over the sugar content of soft drinks, we now only have horrid chemical tasting versions and no choice of a more expensive reduced sugar version. RIP Irn-Bru, no longer "original or best", the can lies. 

David

[Saskia]

okay, that tektronix 30whatever is off the table. Not gonna buy, too many questions to be answered that I just cannot be arsed with.
Thanks to everyone for the cautions.

[factory]

Well its been a whole week since I purchased that 2nd Fluke 85 on eBay, and it was marked down as being dispatched the same day. Estimated date of delivery was shown as being 16th Sept and nothing has been received. I emailed the seller yesterday asking if they got proof of posting and no reply back from them. So today I have filed a claim with eBay, let's wait and see what happens. 

Something is going wrong, the first item I sold after a long break of selling hasn't arrived yet, I'm hoping it will turn up before the buyer files a claim. They mentioned problems with other items recently too.

David

[factory]

So Today was the second and last radio rally / hamfest of the year for me. A local one, Cambridge repeater groop at Foxton.
Quite well attended. A lot of junk and apparently judging from the piles of kit behind tables and in backs of cars a lot of deals were done before public opening.
Only TE I got was a HP 8903A audio analyser, "working last time I used it"  but at £5 I wasn't going to haggle 
I did find out where a lot of thee HP feet went. one guy, obviously from a calibration house had a bunch of faulty more modern test gear at high prices and a large box of feet at a couple of quid a set. His stuff looked like customer calibration failure abandonments and some had been robbed so I didn't bother.

You didn't grab the feet then??? we can't get them on ePay for anywhere near that low a price.

David

[Neper]

Nothing a ham has touched is probably working.

That's not nice of you to say. Most things I've touched were already broken before I repaired them. ;-)

[Specmaster]

Well its been a whole week since I purchased that 2nd Fluke 85 on eBay, and it was marked down as being dispatched the same day. Estimated date of delivery was shown as being 16th Sept and nothing has been received. I emailed the seller yesterday asking if they got proof of posting and no reply back from them. So today I have filed a claim with eBay, let's wait and see what happens. 

Something is going wrong, the first item I sold after a long break of selling hasn't arrived yet, I'm hoping it will turn up before the buyer files a claim. They mentioned problems with other items recently too.

David

If it should happen to turn up before the 24th, I'll cancel the claim, I don't wish to piss on someone for the hell of it, same I wouldn't like it if they did the same to me. That said, though, I did get a sense that things may not be quite right with the sale. It is a newcomer to eBay, zero feedback, incorrect description, listing it as new condition, which it so clearly is not, had poor photos, and they had clearly been edited poorly. I asked the seller if they had any better photos, they kindly sent some almost immediately, the edited part was the removal of a person's hand holding the meter, which did strike me as odd removing the hand.

But as I say, if it turns up before the 24th and it is OK, I'll gladly cancel the claim, but I'm kind of getting some bad vibes here, but thought I'd take a chance on it as I have the pay for after its delivered scheme with PayPal, that means I pay 2 weeks after the order date, which will be the 25th, so I've not actually paid a penny, yet.

[Specmaster]

I’d have a pet weasel.

Dogs, cats hell no.

Admit it, your only thinking that because a weasel is a killing machine, you only want one to take down your big fat bastard squirrel who eats all your fruit. 

[bd139]

Nothing a ham has touched is probably working.

That's not nice of you to say. Most things I've touched were already broken before I repaired them. ;-)

Oh yes you’re one of the few good ones out there. I’m talking about the sellers 

[bd139]

I’d have a pet weasel.

Dogs, cats hell no.

Admit it, your only thinking that because a weasel is a killing machine, you only want one to take down your big fat bastard squirrel who eats all your fruit. 

That thought did pass my mind

Actually I found the culprit and I owe an apology to the squirrels. It’s was a sodding giant jay. Caught the fucker pecking holes in the apples. Next year I shoot it.

[Cerebus]

Nothing a ham has touched is probably working.

That's not nice of you to say. Most things I've touched were already broken before I repaired them. ;-)

Well, you can find out which kind of ham you are by answering just one easy question:

When people meet you, do they try to position themselves upwind from you?

☐Yes ☑︎No

[mansaxel]

Every time we go to France we make sure to bring something special back. Bornier isn't that special; I buy it in the restaurant supplies store,

Oh OK, phew, ecology is safe ! 

The trip I'm currently planning for 2022 is something like Sedan - Epernay - Bayeux - St Nazaire - Saumur - Bordeaux - Carcassonne - Gigondas - Lyon - Epinal - Metz - Thionville...

Wow that's quite a trip ! My right leg hurts badly after only 30/45 minutes of driving so driving all around the country sounds like science fiction to me ! 

That's what cruise control is for. (Besides, when we cross the border in Sedan, we've already driven 960km on the continent, not counting the trip to the ferry that takes us to Rostock in Germany.) The autoroutes are excellent in France, on par with the Autobahn in Germany, so if one wants, there is a high-speed convenience alternative. We do, however, tend to take Routes Nationales a lot from time to time. Much more interesting.

So you will be stopping by Saint-Nazaire where I live then, interesting ! 

It's that or Lorient. It depends on which submarine pen has the best museum. There's going to be a lot of concrete on this trip, with some Betòn Special and masonry strewn in. Places fortifiés Epinal and Metz are going to get visits.

[Saskia]

Lorient is the base for imoca open60s ...
Certainly worth a visit ...

[Cerebus]

So you will be stopping by Saint-Nazaire where I live then, interesting ! 

I thought that you'd said that you lived a bit outside Paris, not out in carrot-muncher territory (or whatever the local slang for inhabitants of Nantes and environs is).

[AVGresponding]

I’d have a pet weasel.

Dogs, cats hell no.

Admit it, your only thinking that because a weasel is a killing machine, you only want one to take down your big fat bastard squirrel who eats all your fruit. 

That thought did pass my mind

Actually I found the culprit and I owe an apology to the squirrels. It’s was a sodding giant jay. Caught the fucker pecking holes in the apples. Next year I shoot it.

Don't get seen doing that, it is very much illegal, regardless of whether you have a licence for the weapon itself.

[Robert763]

Had a look at the Dell PSU. typical 18.5V "soap on a rope". Has the square 3 pin connector. Green light comes on for about half a second when plugged in. No output. No short on output measured at the plug. Crack it open and it's quite well made. A 470uF 16V electro on the HV side has puked slightly at the seal. Pulled that, cleaned up and stuck a 470uF 35V in. Green light now stays on.
Plug laptop in and it's all working including CD-ROM and floppy drive. Even the battery holds a bit of charge. It's running Win 98 which is ideal for what I want. The thing looks brand new, not a mark on it. It's also the "upgraded" 166MHz version with the full 64MB

I've not got the 8903A out of the car yet. I need to clear a space for it. It looks dusty but unmolested and nothing broken. I'll get it running anyway as it fills one of the remaining holes in my capability, audio distortion measurement.

[Robert763]

Well its been a whole week since I purchased that 2nd Fluke 85 on eBay, and it was marked down as being dispatched the same day. Estimated date of delivery was shown as being 16th Sept and nothing has been received. I emailed the seller yesterday asking if they got proof of posting and no reply back from them. So today I have filed a claim with eBay, let's wait and see what happens. 

Something is going wrong, the first item I sold after a long break of selling hasn't arrived yet, I'm hoping it will turn up before the buyer files a claim. They mentioned problems with other items recently too.

David

If it should happen to turn up before the 24th, I'll cancel the claim, I don't wish to piss on someone for the hell of it, same I wouldn't like it if they did the same to me. That said, though, I did get a sense that things may not be quite right with the sale. It is a newcomer to eBay, zero feedback, incorrect description, listing it as new condition, which it so clearly is not, had poor photos, and they had clearly been edited poorly. I asked the seller if they had any better photos, they kindly sent some almost immediately, the edited part was the removal of a person's hand holding the meter, which did strike me as odd removing the hand.

But as I say, if it turns up before the 24th and it is OK, I'll gladly cancel the claim, but I'm kind of getting some bad vibes here, but thought I'd take a chance on it as I have the pay for after its delivered scheme with PayPal, that means I pay 2 weeks after the order date, which will be the 25th, so I've not actually paid a penny, yet.

As ebay is now holding on to new sellers funds for 30 days they probably got fed up and forgot about it.

[cyclin_al]

Most likely a rat, just stick some bait out for it.

No. One of these. Woodchuck or ground hog. Can be very destructive with their digging. Best way to get rid of is to sit quietly with a rifle. Got them here. In this yard and neighbor's.

There are lots of those around, just not near my place.  The ground hogs are big enough to get the attention of the dog ... the ground hog prefers a more calm place without a dog desperately wanting to go chase it.

The holes are smaller.  A rat is possible, but not likely.  There is a perception in the GWN that rats are very bad.  As a result, people go after them and exterminate them.  It is actually quite rare to have one.  However, everything I hear is that they are very destructive.

To give more scale, the hole is definitely larger than what a mouse, mole or vole would dig.

[cyclin_al]

This suggests there is a serious problem with quality and waste in society.

Wait until you have piles of those e-scooters lying across bike lanes and blocking pavements to the extent that you have to climb over them unless you want to dare walking on the road. You'll grow to hate them very quickly.

McBryce.

Yep, we have a societal problem here.

-- I want it all, and I want it now.  After now is over, carelessly dump it as waste wherever...

[Cerebus]

I’d have a pet weasel.

Dogs, cats hell no.

Admit it, your only thinking that because a weasel is a killing machine, you only want one to take down your big fat bastard squirrel who eats all your fruit. 

That thought did pass my mind

Actually I found the culprit and I owe an apology to the squirrels. It’s was a sodding giant jay. Caught the fucker pecking holes in the apples. Next year I shoot it.

Don't get seen doing that, it is very much illegal, regardless of whether you have a licence for the weapon itself.

More importantly it might be counterproductive. Jays, as with all/most corvids, are territorial. That jay and a small number of its cohort may be all that's between BD and a whole parliament of rooks taking up residence in his trees.

I was at a hotel bar in Tintagel having a drink and looking out at the grounds when the sky went black as the local rooks that nested in the trees at the bottom of the hotel grounds all took off at once. They tend to nest together in impressively big numbers.