Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Vince]

I identify as an attack helicopter.

That's perfectly fine with me, I just love helicopters 

But French helicopters go round the wrong way!

I don't know if there is a right or wrong way, however it is true that the main rotor on French helicopters does turn one direction but helis from the US or other countries rotate in the opposite direction ! 
This is less and less true though, since the French helis are now less and less French. The EC135 and 145 IIRC are originally an old German design so their rotor is turning the "right" way. Also, newer designs like the EC175 were co-designed with the Chinese so I suspect it also turns the "right"/"international" way.

As years go by and older French designs get phased out, progressively all French helis will rotate the same direction as the rest of the heli world...

Meh. This is the right way to do a heli... with two rotors in opposite directions.

mnem
flippin' frogs... could muff up a wet dream...

It's a bit overkill and impractical for most purposes you would want an heli for, Dwagon...   

Of course to move a fat adult 1,546 year old Dwagon, it's suitable...

[BU508A]

@Vince:
So, you want something like this?



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

[Saskia]

https://youtu.be/unRKKRZMAVI

this is what you would be looking for ...

[mnementh]

There is this 3478A on eBay if anyone is looking for one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274949249296

What the actual FUCK...? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353637404307

mnem
 

That's a serious job brainfuck rabbit-hole all in itself for a 3D printer

McBryce.

There, FTFY... 

mnem
...with a heaping side order of  , I tellya whutt...

[Saskia]

@BU508A

the idea behind the insulin sensor is that if you do not treat insulin resistance early enuff you will end up with diabetes.
In the early onset stages the beta cells in the pancreas try to compensate by producing huge amounts of insulin to keep the blood sugar (glucose) levels stable, before they burn out and cannot handle insulin production any more.
At which time the blood sugar level will skyrocket and your general practitioner will cry out that you just developed T2D.
Which is preventable (in most cases). If you catch the elevated insulin levels before the beta cells burn out, you can actually reverse T2D. However the glucose level will not tell you if your insulin is elevated. You need to measure insulin and can then deduct if you have an insulin resistance or not. The corresponding markers are the HOMA and the Quicki. To calculate HOMA or Quicki reliably, you need the fasting glucose and the fasting insulin. To give you a hint:
(actual values: glucose 98mg/dl, insulin 17 mIU/l : HOMA index = 4.1 => prediabetes (HOMA = 5 would be a value found in early onset diabetes). glucose 104, insulin 24: HOMA index = 6.2, quicki = 0.29 => manifest T2D
glucose 98, insulin 7 = > HOMA = 1.7, not ideal, but still ok. if (HOMA >= 2.5) then IR.

Measuring blood insulin levels can detect the situation and help reverse it (by getting rid of visceral fat and forcing the body into a low carb diet, preferably ketosis).

[mnementh]

I identify as an attack helicopter.

That's perfectly fine with me, I just love helicopters 

But French helicopters go round the wrong way!

I don't know if there is a right or wrong way, however it is true that the main rotor on French helicopters does turn one direction but helis from the US or other countries rotate in the opposite direction ! 
This is less and less true though, since the French helis are now less and less French. The EC135 and 145 IIRC are originally an old German design so their rotor is turning the "right" way. Also, newer designs like the EC175 were co-designed with the Chinese so I suspect it also turns the "right"/"international" way.

As years go by and older French designs get phased out, progressively all French helis will rotate the same direction as the rest of the heli world...

Meh. This is the right way to do a heli... with two rotors in opposite directions.

mnem
flippin' frogs... could muff up a wet dream...

It's a bit overkill and impractical for most purposes you would want an heli for, Dwagon...   

Of course to move a fat adult 1,546 year old Dwagon, it's suitable...

Good lord... you must be thinking of my grandfather. I'm not a day over 647, thank you.  Dad would know from helis better than I; he was USAF. The biggest heli I've flown was aboot a meter long.

mnem

Got the fat part right, tho. But like everything, that's a work in progress.

[mnementh]

@BU508A

the idea behind the insulin sensor is that if you do not treat insulin resistance early enuff you will end up with diabetes.
In the early onset stages the beta cells in the pancreas try to compensate by producing huge amounts of insulin to keep the blood sugar (glucose) levels stable, before they burn out and cannot handle insulin production any more.
At which time the blood sugar level will skyrocket and your general practitioner will cry out that you just developed T2D.
Which is preventable (in most cases). If you catch the elevated insulin levels before the beta cells burn out, you can actually reverse T2D. However the glucose level will not tell you if your insulin is elevated. You need to measure insulin and can then deduct if you have an insulin resistance or not. The corresponding markers are the HOMA and the Quicki. To calculate HOMA or Quicki reliably, you need the fasting glucose and the fasting insulin. To give you a hint:
(actual values: glucose 98mg/dl, insulin 17 mIU/l : HOMA index = 4.1 => prediabetes (HOMA = 5 would be a value found in early onset diabetes). glucose 104, insulin 24: HOMA index = 6.2, quicki = 0.29 => manifest T2D
glucose 98, insulin 7 = > HOMA = 1.7, not ideal, but still ok. if (HOMA >= 2.5) then IR.

Measuring blood insulin levels can detect the situation and help reverse it (by getting rid of visceral fat and forcing the body into a low carb diet, preferably ketosis).

Hmmm. While it's possible this is my condition, I'd need to talk with a specialist which I simply do not have access to ATM, as I am still in "not part of the system yet" limbo until we get our work visas.

I was diagnosed decades ago (well, warned is more like it) that I was borderline hyperinsulinism/hypoglycemic condition. Low carb (as in ~100grams/day; I was middle-aged then) diet was recommended, which I of course ignored most of my adult life. 

It wasn't until I blew my back out the 2nd time and packed on weight like a grizzly bear that I needed to get rid of that I went hard keto (10-20 grams) for the first time; got down to 100kg in a matter of months. Next time I blew out my back same thing, only took a few more months and I hadn't packed it on as much... 


mnem
fuck, it was a lot easier then...

[xrunner]

Oh cool. There's a precise 1 pps signal on pin 8 of the RS-232 cable from the GPSDO. I gotta use that for something.

 

[mnementh]

https://youtu.be/unRKKRZMAVI

this is what you would be looking for ...

Not as viscerally pleasing as all those high-speed flybys, but nice, close-up and HD...

mnem
"tik-tik-tik-tik-tik-tik..."

[mnementh]

Oh cool. There's a precise 1 pps signal on pin 8 of the RS-232 cable from the GPSDO. I gotta use that for something. 

Egg timer. 

mnem
 

[Saskia]

I had gathered by now that Saskia was a she.

Was? Still is as far as I know ... 

No intention of changing that 

I hope not. We need someone around here to clean the place and cook the meals.   

J/K. 

Med has just established his locale as Ground Zero.   Everyone ... KEEP CLEAR!

Nah, as long as Med is getting me horny on those discord sessions, everything is fine 

[med6753]

Did several power cycles yesterday and today and no issues other than the prior mentioned intermittent sweep. So I felt confident enough to put the scope back on it's internal +100V supply. So here it is. Now the trace is nice and sharp as it should be. And the internal supply is +99.7V.

That's all I'm doing on it today. Got some goodies coming in the mail real soon.

[Saskia]

Oh cool. There's a precise 1 pps signal on pin 8 of the RS-232 cable from the GPSDO. I gotta use that for something.

 

external clock for the pace maker ?

[med6753]

I had gathered by now that Saskia was a she.

Was? Still is as far as I know ... 

No intention of changing that 

I hope not. We need someone around here to clean the place and cook the meals.   

J/K. 

Med has just established his locale as Ground Zero.   Everyone ... KEEP CLEAR!

Nah, as long as Med is getting me horny on those discord sessions, everything is fine 

I seem to have that affect on women. It's a gift. 

[nfmax]

@Vince:
So, you want something like this?



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

Hey! I've flown in one of those, as a supernumerary test engineer, from that very airfield, with that very operator. Though it was in a Soviet-registered demo aircraft. Cramped as f**k in the back, but they are only used as cranes for logging and suchlike.

We also got taken up on a joyride over the mountains in an Alouette III. Great view from the bubble cockpit! Happy days.

[SeanB]

I still remember the instrument and electrical systems of the Alouette III, having trained on them as apprentice, and taking one down to a placard on the bay wall, and a load of shelves of parts.

[Neper]

Are you sure you aren't Irish?

Irish? Not that I knew of. Some ancestry from France and Dutch Limburg, but why Irish?

[AVGresponding]

There is this 3478A on eBay if anyone is looking for one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274949249296

Dammit Specmaster I was hoping to keep that one a secret!

Already on my watch list and finished the day I get paid so... 

Given that I already have one that is in top condition, it would seem mean spirited to engage in a bidding war with a fellow TE addict. Fill yer boots, I shan't bid on it again.

[bd139]

There is this 3478A on eBay if anyone is looking for one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274949249296

Dammit Specmaster I was hoping to keep that one a secret!

Already on my watch list and finished the day I get paid so... 

Given that I already have one that is in top condition, it would seem mean spirited to engage in a bidding war with a fellow TE addict. Fill yer boots, I shan't bid on it again.

Do not fear. I shall probably be stuck on a zoom call and completely forget anyway 

[FransW]

The 6 camera's ( or 5, 4, 3):

Compare with 2 camera's that visualise the same football game in real time.
The result is two different pictures of the same game.

Some might conclude we see 2 different football games.
Or 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 different forces that compete with each other.
The picture suggests a common background.

Frans

[xrunner]

Oh cool. There's a precise 1 pps signal on pin 8 of the RS-232 cable from the GPSDO. I gotta use that for something. 

Egg timer. 

mnem
 

LOL you simply don't realize I don't eat eggs. So that would be completely useless for me. Now - I could market an egg timer that contains a GPS system, and say it's the most accurate egg timer available on the market. See you gotta use your head.

 

[AVGresponding]

What the actual FUCK...? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353637404307

mnem
 

I don't know what you're making a fuss about you're the one that likes nekkid electronics!

mnementh: Take it off! Take it all off!

[AaronLee]

Proposal to develop Insulin sensor submitted to the powers that be.
Now need to forward this to our CEO thru channels just in case some midlevel management critter decides that it's too much work to take a stand ...

This would be an insulin sensor that could be used in a personal device? That would be a game changer for diabetics!

yes, exactly.

Please keep us updated, if possible, about this. I know of several who have been waiting for this for many years since they've been diabetic, and it is possible to radically change the consensus in the medical community about how things progress to insulin resistance and then to diabetes if enough non-diabetics are able to monitor their insulin levels over the years. I'm sure whichever company can make this a real product, and affordable for personal use, will have the opportunity to sell a ton of them.

[Vince]

@Vince:
So, you want something like this?



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

Yeah this one looks cool. Safest design by far, since a tail rotor failure on a"normal" heli and you are doomed, realistically.
Should be the default setup ! Should be enforced by law / regulations ! 

I guess it's not because it has economical drawbacks for the customer... I guess it has to be more expensive, to buy as well as to maintain. Heavier and more drag so more fuel consumption. As always you can't have it all...

The NOTAR design is a good compromise though, I found.




Single main rotor yet no tail rotor either. So I guess this COULD be an economical / viable alternative to a tail rotor... but still, 99% of Helis have a tail rotor, don't know why. It's just asking for trouble really 
I guess NOTAR like any technical solution must have it's show-stopper drawbacks.. just don't know what they are. I notice it tends to be applied to small Heli, so maybe the engineering behind it just can't be scaled up for larger aircraft ?! 

[25 CPS]

Yesterday, I checked the local classifieds site for “Tektronix” and found an ad for a 547, not working, with some plugins about a 40 minute drive from home for free.  It was described as a “treasure trove of vacuum tubes” which almost gave me a heart attack since we all knows what that means would happen to it.  I have that 547 that I got back in the spring that I’d like to get working that I don’t know the state of the EHT transformer in it so having a parts unit on hand gives me a much better chance of getting a working unit together.  Luckily there was a telephone number in the ad so I called and arranged to go over later in the afternoon and I met the nicest elderly gentleman and we had a great conversation and I showed him pictures of my 547 and some of the other vintage stuff I’ve been working on here.

Anyways, he fired up the 547 and the two traces came up on the CRT (EHT transformer good) and he explained that the retrace blanking didn’t work and that the horizontal sweep had gone out at a later date but that the vertical appeared to be fine still.  I said that didn’t think I’d part it out to get mine working but do the reverse since his is all there except for some trouble in the horizontal section while mine’s still unknown.  Ideally, I’d like to get both of them fully working.



The 547.



Scopemobile.



There’s a second 1A1 vertical amplifier in the Scopemobile.



This one’s interesting, it’s a third party plug-in that’s an audio analyzer.



Box of six other plugins.  There is a type O in the top.



Some other test equipment including a current probe that needs repair.  I’ll try to get that going again.  Also an HP RF amplifier and the most beautiful power meter in that wooden case.

I really wish we had more time to talk but we’ve kept each other’s contact information and I promised I’ll let him know how it goes with the 547 once I can start digging into it next week.  Apparently someone else messaged about half an hour after I called and it sounded like they were interested in pulling all the tubes.  I just cringe at the thought of all this beautiful equipment being raided for its tubes and then scrapped so I'm glad I picked up the phone and called right as soon as I saw the ad, and the gentleman was happy to have the equipment go to someone who appreciates it.  While I was showing pictures of some of the vintage gear, I played a video of my HP 523D counting and he was so surprised to see one of these again because he used them when he was in university so many years ago.  We ended up talking and shooting the breeze about Nixie tubes after that.  I really do wish we had the time to sit down and talk longer.