Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[med6753]

The NiCd's out of the 212. Don't think zapping them is gonna help. They are FUBAR. Done for. Tits up dead.  Luckily the leakage is contained. No damage.

I'm gonna go with the NiMH option. Amazon has plenty of them to chose from.

[mnementh]

Found the pictures. Pix 1 is the shredded timing belt wrapped around the tensioner. Pix 2 is one of the 16 bent valves.

   

I doubt the first mechanic actually replaced the timing belt, if he did, then did he also replace the tensioner ?

The wear pattern along one edge of the belt is a giveaway that it wasn't riding centered for some time before it failed. Either faulty/worn tensioner flopping around, failed to replace water pump at same time and it failed, or assembled the sprockets wrong such that the belt didn't ride on-center on the sprockets.

Nope, it was replaced. I provided the new parts and asked for and got the old parts. I thought was that they set the new tensioner too tight.

Tensioner is automatic; can't be overtightened. Can be assembled wrong tho, and not auto-tension correctly.

mnem
 

[med6753]

For those laughing at my Peugeot 107, it has a timing chain & a completely new motor is ~500€ (bare motor but still...)

Pffft. Timing chain is no better intrinsically than a belt. Just ask any Saturn 4Cyl or Ecotec owner. Main problem with timing belt is time... it has to be replaced at certain intervals, where chains usually don't degrade.

Well, that and the fact they now design engines and the vehicle around them such that there are so many flag-hours in changing belt or chain that what should be periodic maintenance feels like being anally raped with a hot poker.

mnem

Timing chains in American OHV V-8's and V-6's are robust, time tested, and simple. Rarely do they fail but in high mileage can stretch and get sloppy. Adheres to KISS principle.

[Specmaster]

Found the pictures. Pix 1 is the shredded timing belt wrapped around the tensioner. Pix 2 is one of the 16 bent valves.

   

I doubt the first mechanic actually replaced the timing belt, if he did, then did he also replace the tensioner ?

The wear pattern along one edge of the belt is a giveaway that it wasn't riding centered for some time before it failed. Either faulty/worn tensioner flopping around, failed to replace water pump at same time and it failed, or assembled the sprockets wrong such that the belt didn't ride on-center on the sprockets.

mnem
 

Yep, when I had my timing belt changed last year, they also did the tensioner and water pump.

[med6753]

Found the pictures. Pix 1 is the shredded timing belt wrapped around the tensioner. Pix 2 is one of the 16 bent valves.

   

I doubt the first mechanic actually replaced the timing belt, if he did, then did he also replace the tensioner ?

The wear pattern along one edge of the belt is a giveaway that it wasn't riding centered for some time before it failed. Either faulty/worn tensioner flopping around, failed to replace water pump at same time and it failed, or assembled the sprockets wrong such that the belt didn't ride on-center on the sprockets.

Nope, it was replaced. I provided the new parts and asked for and got the old parts. I thought was that they set the new tensioner too tight.

Tensioner is automatic; can't be overtightened. Can be assembled wrong tho, and not auto-tension correctly.

mnem
 

All parts were replaced with OEM including tensioner and water pump. It is a real mystery as to why it failed a year later.

[mnementh]

It might not be totalled, it largely depends on the type of engine, in some engines, the pistons do not hit the valves in these circumstances, does the cylinder head have a totally flat finish or are the valves in a recessed combustion bowl? If its the latter, it may just require a new belt and timing alignment again.

The Volvo engines of that generation, B6304 in the S90/V90, are interference engines. A broken belt equals a broken engine.

An "interference engine" sounds like something that might be constructed by some madman steampunk villain: "Put her in ..[long pause].. the interference engine. Set the fiddlers to 10 and the gropers on 11! Bwahhahaha.".

It was; someone who hates all mechanics of all kinds. And he has a horrifying collection of infernal machines, insane devices (which are all actually quite mad) and baby buggies. Every last one equipped with perfection tattlers containing a 1894 silver dollar.

mnem
 

[Robert763]

Oh no....... ohhhhh...... noooooooooo.... I did it AGAIN ! 

Remember just a few days ago I talked about this horrible Gould 1604 scope that drove me nuts when I fixed it a year ago ? How I said it was a horrible experience that brought many grey hair, and how I promised myself I would never, ever buy a Gould scope again ?.....

Some time ago, I had a Gould scope in my stash:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/show-your-strangest-crappiest-piece-of-te/msg1807304/#msg1807304



I don't have it anymore, but there might exist one more where it came from, might have been scrapped in the meantime, don't know. In case you're interested, I'll have a look tomorrow if it's still there and silently take it away for you (no one will ever miss it).

Oh that's nice of you !   

Will have to decline the offer though ! As you and others rightfully said.. .they are horrible scopes !
I should never have bough this one, I know it, but did it anyway for all the reasons I mentioned earlier. I have no desire to add more GOULD scopes to this one... and if I were reasonable I would just fix it and flog it for a small profit....
I don't know, let's fix it first, then in a few weeks I will see how I feel about it. If I still feel attached to it for some reason, might keep it for now. Else I wil sell it.... well, TRY to ! Need to find someone foolish enough to buy it ! 

I guess I will apply my usual tactic : I WILL put it up for sale, but with a price tag so high I am sure nobody would buy it. This way I can say to myself "Oh that's too bad, nobody wants it, so let's keep it !    " ... and IFFF it DOES somehow sell at a silly price, well I will just say " hey I was right to sell it, look how much money I made from it !!!!    ".

Just realized as you said, that the real problem with this printer is not finding paper... real problem are the dried out pens that are most likely 100% unobtainium which means this printer will never print anything anymore, so it's useless ! 
Maybe someones out there designed an interface that can take the plotter data as an input, and in return produce data to drive a thermal printer instead ? That would be cool...

An employer of mine from many years ago had a couple of those Goulds. I still build test rigs for them. About 5 years ago one of the Goulds died and he asked me to find a replacement.  I suggested a HP 54645A MegaZoom.  Apparently they thought all digital 'scopes were as hard to operte as the Gould 

[mnementh]

For those laughing at my Peugeot 107, it has a timing chain & a completely new motor is ~500€ (bare motor but still...)

Pffft. Timing chain is no better intrinsically than a belt. Just ask any Saturn 4Cyl or Ecotec owner. Main problem with timing belt is time... it has to be replaced at certain intervals, where chains usually don't degrade.

Well, that and the fact they now design engines and the vehicle around them such that there are so many flag-hours in changing belt or chain that what should be periodic maintenance feels like being anally raped with a hot poker.

mnem

Timing chains in American OHV V-8's and V-6's are robust, time tested, and simple. Rarely do they fail but in high mileage can stretch and get sloppy. Adheres to KISS principle.

Pffffft. Maybe in the 50s, yeah. The advent of polymer timing gears to quiet timing chain noise blew that out of the water in the 70s, and they almost all degrade just like a timing belt.

Those were made to a 80,000 mile design life, operating at approximately 1/2 the efficiency of a modern engine at machining precision to thousandths of an inch. Modern engines have a 200K design life and machining precision measured in thousandths of a mm. Difference is those old ones were designed to be repaired/rebuilt at 80K; today's engines are designed to be recycled at EOL.

Which is better...? 

mnem
 

[McBryce]

Just realized as you said, that the real problem with this printer is not finding paper... real problem are the dried out pens that are most likely 100% unobtainium which means this printer will never print anything anymore, so it's useless ! 
Maybe someones out there designed an interface that can take the plotter data as an input, and in return produce data to drive a thermal printer instead ? That would be cool...

That's what hit me as I went to bed last night ... wait ...  are you going to do about the plotter pens? 

You may be able to hack in a temp pen made from a small marker or some such thing, but it won't last long. We'll challenge you with that task later ... 

Can you post a picture of the pens they used. If they are the ones that I think, there are actually sources available from a completely different rabbit hole hobby.

McBryce.

[mnementh]

An "interference engine" sounds like something that might be constructed by some madman steampunk villain: "Put her in ..[long pause].. the interference engine. Set the fiddlers to 10 and the gropers on 11! Bwahhahaha.".

Still better than an inference engine. They are said to be far more complicated.

                                  No, quite simple actually.

mnem
maddeningly so, even...

[shakalnokturn]

What they did is design the engine so that the belt snaps and the pistons kiss the valves, the rocker arms driving the valves will act as the weak link, as a fuse : they will snap right off, before the valve starts bending.

Peugeot made the 1.9 HDI that way too which makes it one of the engines to own.

[AVGresponding]

What they did is design the engine so that the belt snaps and the pistons kiss the valves, the rocker arms driving the valves will act as the weak link, as a fuse : they will snap right off, before the valve starts bending.

Peugeot made the 1.9 HDI that way too which makes it one of the engines to own.

Even better is a non-interference design like the FIAT JTD 1.9 120hp which was also used in the Vectra I used to have. Despite FIAT it's a very reliable engine.

[AVGresponding]

Oh hell... someone hide all my bank cards and hit me in the head before I do something foolish...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373727179675

[Robert763]

Another small item out of yeterday's haul. A Lowe HF-225 general coverage receiver. Not quite TEA but they have their uses for some diagnostics. This was described as faulty. When I asked they thought it was deaf. An obviously one owner from new item in good clean condition with all the paperwork. It also has the optional FM and syncronous AM detector. The manual indicated a sensitivity of around 1uV  /  -107dBm. Fired up the R&S CRTU/CMU-200 and connected it up.
Hmm -35dBm, 60dB dwn at 1MHz, yep thats deaf . It was bit better at higher frequencies but not much.
It was on frequency and all filters and the attenuator work as expected. So to basics. It has to antenna inputs a 50R SO-239 and 200R  balanced (via 4:1 BALUN). There is also an option (not fitted) for a internal pre-amp for a whip antenna on the SO-239. The antenna in use is selected by a 3 position slide switch on the rer panel. So going to check on the 200R input, as soon as I touched the switch the signal came up. It's a PCB mount 90 degree switch. Not easy to change or find a quality one to fit. So I appled a little switch cleaner and all is good .Sensitivity as actually a it better than spec.
The HF-225 is a late 80's design that was produced until 1997. It was mostly Plessy SL series IC's designed for military radios. It wasn't cheap at around £500 (US$850) but had good performance, holding it's own against receivers costing twice as much. They are still sought after. It's small and neat enough to sit on a bedside table or similar.

[factory]

Oh hell... someone hide all my bank cards and hit me in the head before I do something foolish...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373727179675

Been watching that too, it'll probably go for silly money.

David

[factory]

Just realized as you said, that the real problem with this printer is not finding paper... real problem are the dried out pens that are most likely 100% unobtainium which means this printer will never print anything anymore, so it's useless ! 
Maybe someones out there designed an interface that can take the plotter data as an input, and in return produce data to drive a thermal printer instead ? That would be cool...

That's what hit me as I went to bed last night ... wait ...  are you going to do about the plotter pens? 

You may be able to hack in a temp pen made from a small marker or some such thing, but it won't last long. We'll challenge you with that task later ... 

Can you post a picture of the pens they used. If they are the ones that I think, there are actually sources available from a completely different rabbit hole hobby.

McBryce.

A source in Germany for them.
http://www.lass-shop.de/epages/63686166.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/63686166/Products/%22US%20017.01%22

From this thread on the UKVRR forum. https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=142034

David

[bd139]

Oooh mine. Only up the road and buyer collects.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194381196324

[25 CPS]

I don’t think I posted a picture of this one but I picked it up locally a while ago.



I need to spend some quality time downstairs going through Tektronix gear especially once it gets a bit colder.  First order of business, is there a recommended silver solder for working on the ceramic strip mounted parts that’s in current manufacture or do I need to be on the lookout for old Tektronix stock?

[tggzzz]

The NiCd's out of the 212. Don't think zapping them is gonna help. They are FUBAR. Done for. Tits up dead.  Luckily the leakage is contained. No damage.
I'm gonna go with the NiMH option. Amazon has plenty of them to chose from.

I'd suggest reducing a trickle charging current from C/10 to C/20 or C/40. Don't forget to derate the stated NiMH capacity.

[med6753]

Oooh mine. Only up the road and buyer collects.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194381196324

Looks real clean. How high are you willing to go?

Edit.....mine was $40 USD and it worked other than needing a cleaning/calibration and of course I did a recap.

[factory]

The NiCd's out of the 212. Don't think zapping them is gonna help. They are FUBAR. Done for. Tits up dead.  Luckily the leakage is contained. No damage.

I'm gonna go with the NiMH option. Amazon has plenty of them to chose from.

Thanks for posting a picture of them, the packs in the 214 at work looked exactly the same once opened, as it's not mine & photography isn't allowed, I couldn't add any pics myself.

The power cord was missing from the 214, along with the rods for the storage buttons, I ended up soldering a lead to the battery cables and using a 12V PSU to try it. If I'm ever allowed to rescue it I would do a proper repair.

David

[med6753]

I don’t think I posted a picture of this one but I picked it up locally a while ago.



I need to spend some quality time downstairs going through Tektronix gear especially once it gets a bit colder.  First order of business, is there a recommended silver solder for working on the ceramic strip mounted parts that’s in current manufacture or do I need to be on the lookout for old Tektronix stock?

Trust me. You don't need it. Standard 60/40 will work just fine as long as you don't go crazy. It will mix easily with the silver solder already present. I have NEVER had a ceramic strip delaminate and I've done hundreds of connections this way. 

Edit....also, I have a complete parts unit so if you need something just ask.

[tggzzz]

Oh hell... someone hide all my bank cards and hit me in the head before I do something foolish...

Current price is about the same as the cost of the Fischer connector (with a minumum order of £250, IIRC).

[med6753]

Oh hell... someone hide all my bank cards and hit me in the head before I do something foolish...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373727179675

It has your name on it. 

[tggzzz]

First order of business, is there a recommended silver solder for working on the ceramic strip mounted parts that’s in current manufacture or do I need to be on the lookout for old Tektronix stock?

First thing to check is inside the chassis. Tek often left a small coil of it so repairs were done with the right stuff.