Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[WastelandTek]

Pulled the trigger on a brand new 344654A, should be here around new years hopefully, pretty excited.

Got it for the $16xx price, within hours of the purchase Newark revised the price up to $25xx.  I guess that is the inflation observed in real time, still, it made me feel better about a big ticket purchase I was having some anxiety about.

You are a bastard (if you don't post a pic of the new puppy when it arrives)!
IMHO Newark prices are always so high for no reasons.

the price was the same at Mouser and on Keysight's website, down to the penny, pretty sure it was the MSRP at the time.

[Specmaster]

Just a quick reminder about cheap Christmas LED lights from both eBay and Amazon (apparently) they are not worth the money and could be positively dangerous as Big Clive will explain in his video, if you have not already seen it.

[Zucca]

Pulled the trigger on a brand new 344654A, should be here around new years hopefully, pretty excited.

Got it for the $16xx price, within hours of the purchase Newark revised the price up to $25xx.  I guess that is the inflation observed in real time, still, it made me feel better about a big ticket purchase I was having some anxiety about.

You are a bastard (if you don't post a pic of the new puppy when it arrives)!
IMHO Newark prices are always so high for no reasons.

the price was the same at Mouser and on Keysight's website, down to the penny, pretty sure it was the MSRP at the time.

Sorry I forgot a  in my previous post.
Yeah, you got a nice horse to ride! Enjoy it!

[mansaxel]

It was a 12AT7 tube, V474 on the upper beam sub-assembly. Looked it up in the schematics, it's the tube that drive the lower deflection plate. Tek scopes seldom use the 12AT7, have very few of them... ended up pulling one from my other 502A (which I know works). Need to buy a new tube now then, of course. Hopefulyl they are cheap and I can buy two or 3 of them to have spares.

In our part of the world it's ECC81, and it is common in guitar amps. Still being made. Expect to pay about 15€ for it. Or 45€ if you are a man⁰ with small genitals, a very unscientific stereo system, and want NOS. 


Footnote 0: I could be modern and say "person", but since the people who "want to believe" are overwhelmingly self-identifying as cis men I will not. Any female audiophool who feels left out: Sorry, not sorry. You should know better; because this shit is where cis men lose themselves. Don't get dragged down to their level.

[med6753]

It was a 12AT7 tube, V474 on the upper beam sub-assembly. Looked it up in the schematics, it's the tube that drive the lower deflection plate. Tek scopes seldom use the 12AT7, have very few of them... ended up pulling one from my other 502A (which I know works). Need to buy a new tube now then, of course. Hopefulyl they are cheap and I can buy two or 3 of them to have spares.

In our part of the world it's ECC81, and it is common in guitar amps. Still being made. Expect to pay about 15€ for it. Or 45€ if you are a man⁰ with small genitals, a very unscientific stereo system, and want NOS. 


Footnote 0: I could be modern and say "person", but since the people who "want to believe" are overwhelmingly self-identifying as cis men I will not. Any female audiophool who feels left out: Sorry, not sorry. You should know better; because this shit is where cis men lose themselves. Don't get dragged down to their level.

12AT7, 12AU7, 12AX7, etc are as common as dirt over here. And cheap as dirt too as long as you stick with RCA or GE. But if you want the "ECC" version of these tubes which are far superior and sound better (Yea, right) then audiophool pricing takes effect. 

[RolandK]

Found som article-blabla about watches. But the photos are end of the 1960's and the 5th one is from the labor with the 2 men who made the work and the one who earns the money. Beside of that there are some nice instruments:
i see at least 2 scopes which i think i recognise and som other gear. Who knows what it is? The one under the small scope in the background: Powersupply?

https://de-watchpro-com.translate.goog/vor-50-jahren-gewann-junghans-das-rennen-um-die-erste-deutsche-quarzuhr/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de

only the picture:

[McBryce]

The one under the small scope in the background: Powersupply?

More likely some sort of very accurate frequency generator?

McBryce.

[Neper]

More likely some sort of very accurate frequency generator?

Most probably something by Schomandl (the eternal Frequenzdekade comes to mind) or Wandel & Goltermann.

[Vince]

It was a 12AT7 tube, V474 on the upper beam sub-assembly. Looked it up in the schematics, it's the tube that drive the lower deflection plate. Tek scopes seldom use the 12AT7, have very few of them... ended up pulling one from my other 502A (which I know works). Need to buy a new tube now then, of course. Hopefulyl they are cheap and I can buy two or 3 of them to have spares.

In our part of the world it's ECC81, and it is common in guitar amps. Still being made. Expect to pay about 15€ for it. Or 45€ if you are a man⁰ with small genitals, a very unscientific stereo system, and want NOS. 

Ah yes, just Googled a bit and it found me an audiophool website that said just that... 12A-[something] tubes extensively used in guitar pre-amps....

I do have small genitals but also have a small wallet so I will take the cheaper 15 Euros option regardless !

[Vince]

It was a 12AT7 tube, V474 on the upper beam sub-assembly. Looked it up in the schematics, it's the tube that drive the lower deflection plate. Tek scopes seldom use the 12AT7, have very few of them... ended up pulling one from my other 502A (which I know works). Need to buy a new tube now then, of course. Hopefulyl they are cheap and I can buy two or 3 of them to have spares.

In our part of the world it's ECC81, and it is common in guitar amps. Still being made. Expect to pay about 15€ for it. Or 45€ if you are a man⁰ with small genitals, a very unscientific stereo system, and want NOS. 


Footnote 0: I could be modern and say "person", but since the people who "want to believe" are overwhelmingly self-identifying as cis men I will not. Any female audiophool who feels left out: Sorry, not sorry. You should know better; because this shit is where cis men lose themselves. Don't get dragged down to their level.

12AT7, 12AU7, 12AX7, etc are as common as dirt over here. And cheap as dirt too as long as you stick with RCA or GE. But if you want the "ECC" version of these tubes which are far superior and sound better (Yea, right) then audiophool pricing takes effect. 

If they are so cheap send me a dozen of them so I have some stock here !

ECC is just the European designation for the 12A-X/Y/Z , it's the same tube as Mansaxel said. Hell even that audiophool website I mentioned, is honest enough to admit it upfront ! They do say though, indeed, that the audio guys often are hesitant to buy the tube under its ECC / European designation, thinking it would sound different (worse) somehow !

https://humbuckersoup.com/ecc83-vs-12ax7-tubes-difference/

[med6753]

It was a 12AT7 tube, V474 on the upper beam sub-assembly. Looked it up in the schematics, it's the tube that drive the lower deflection plate. Tek scopes seldom use the 12AT7, have very few of them... ended up pulling one from my other 502A (which I know works). Need to buy a new tube now then, of course. Hopefulyl they are cheap and I can buy two or 3 of them to have spares.

In our part of the world it's ECC81, and it is common in guitar amps. Still being made. Expect to pay about 15€ for it. Or 45€ if you are a man⁰ with small genitals, a very unscientific stereo system, and want NOS. 


Footnote 0: I could be modern and say "person", but since the people who "want to believe" are overwhelmingly self-identifying as cis men I will not. Any female audiophool who feels left out: Sorry, not sorry. You should know better; because this shit is where cis men lose themselves. Don't get dragged down to their level.

12AT7, 12AU7, 12AX7, etc are as common as dirt over here. And cheap as dirt too as long as you stick with RCA or GE. But if you want the "ECC" version of these tubes which are far superior and sound better (Yea, right) then audiophool pricing takes effect. 

If they are so cheap send me a dozen of them so I have some stock here !

ECC is just the European designation for the 12A-X/Y/Z , it's the same tube as Mansaxel said. Hell even that audiophool website I mentioned, is honest enough to admit it upfront ! They do say though, indeed, that the audio guys often are hesitant to buy the tube under its ECC / European designation, thinking it would sound different (worse) somehow !

https://humbuckersoup.com/ecc83-vs-12ax7-tubes-difference/

Of course it's the same tube. And they all sound the same regardless of who makes them. But don't tell the Bugle Boy crowd that. 

[david77]

Found som article-blabla about watches. But the photos are end of the 1960's and the 5th one is from the labor with the 2 men who made the work and the one who earns the money. Beside of that there are some nice instruments:
i see at least 2 scopes which i think i recognise and som other gear. Who knows what it is? The one under the small scope in the background: Powersupply?

https://de-watchpro-com.translate.goog/vor-50-jahren-gewann-junghans-das-rennen-um-die-erste-deutsche-quarzuhr/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de

only the picture:

That guy in the suit was in the movie Goodfellas. I swear! https://www.thekitchn.com/the-celluloid-p-5-6591

[med6753]

OK so here is the 502A ! 

....snip

Vince, good score!  And while it does look like it spent some time in a damp environment it should clean up rather well. And don't worry about the HV transformer. Yours is potted in wax and not prone to absorb moisture like the Type 547's where it's potted in epoxy with the result I'm fighting now.

The handles. Yep, those old leather handles rot and fall apart. Luckily Tek later went to much more durable plastic handles. I had the same issue with my Type 535A. Nothing left but the rusty inner frame. I bought some leather strips and a leather tool kit and made new ones utilizing that inner frame. It came out decent and secure enough to be able to easily lift the scope.



And there's an alternative. The single handle on a Type 561B was too far gone. So I took it off and used this handle instead. This does involve drilling the top plate and also notching the covers so they fit. But it works perfecttly. If you were to do this on the Type 502A you would need 2 of them.

[med6753]

Found som article-blabla about watches. But the photos are end of the 1960's and the 5th one is from the labor with the 2 men who made the work and the one who earns the money. Beside of that there are some nice instruments:
i see at least 2 scopes which i think i recognise and som other gear. Who knows what it is? The one under the small scope in the background: Powersupply?

https://de-watchpro-com.translate.goog/vor-50-jahren-gewann-junghans-das-rennen-um-die-erste-deutsche-quarzuhr/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de

only the picture:

That guy in the suit was in the movie Goodfellas. I swear! https://www.thekitchn.com/the-celluloid-p-5-6591

My question is why do they look so freaking happy? 

[david77]

What do you mean? They're Germans. That's how we look when we're really happy & excited.

[med6753]

Mother Nature left a reminder note last night. 

[RolandK]

My question is why do they look so freaking happy? 

As i said: 2 made the work, 1 takes the money,
non is happy, because the 2 work for the honour, the 1 does not know how it works

[med6753]

What do you mean? They're Germans. That's how we look when we're really happy & excited.

I kinda figured that but I thought I'd ask anyway. 

Nevermind. 

[Andrew_Debbie]

UT-622A unboxing . . . 

The 622A is the budget entry in the 622 line up.  I paid $138 + VAT  or about $165 including UK taxes and shipping. The USB lead is nicer than what I'm used to seeing in the box.   I'm not going to touch the charger that came with it.  Might use the test leads occasionally.  I may eventually buy the kelvin leads for it. (not that I need them) 

The 622C adds 100kHz test signal and kelvin leads for an extra ~$60 before taxes. I slightly regret not spending the $72.

This is a Chinese domestic version.  Documentation and the meter UI came in Chinese.  I downloaded the English documentation and quickly switched the meter to English.


It came with an extensive 11-month old calibration report.   



Checking a 68nF cap at 10kHz 


470µF at 100Hz

[mnementh]

OK so here is the 502A ! 

....snip

Vince, good score!  And while it does look like it spent some time in a damp environment it should clean up rather well. And don't worry about the HV transformer. Yours is potted in wax and not prone to absorb moisture like the Type 547's where it's potted in epoxy with the result I'm fighting now.

The handles. Yep, those old leather handles rot and fall apart. Luckily Tek later went to much more durable plastic handles. I had the same issue with my Type 535A. Nothing left but the rusty inner frame. I bought some leather strips and a leather tool kit and made new ones utilizing that inner frame. It came out decent and secure enough to be able to easily lift the scope.
   

And there's an alternative. The single handle on a Type 561B was too far gone. So I took it off and used this handle instead. This does involve drilling the top plate and also notching the covers so they fit. But it works perfectly. If you were to do this on the Type 502A you would need 2 of them.

Also need the proverbial "2 men and a boy to carry that heavy-ass bitch", lest one wind up peeing in a bag for several months while the surgery heals... but you wouldn't know anything about that, wouldja buddy...?   

mnem

[RolandK]

In the german area i come from they say: "They go in the cellar to laught" about people who are always angry.

[RolandK]

More likely some sort of very accurate frequency generator?

Most probably something by Schomandl (the eternal Frequenzdekade comes to mind) or Wandel & Goltermann.

It would make sense for examining quarz oscillators, as the schomandl goes to 10^-9, but i did not find any results. And their cases are different from design.
Other aspect: the 6 parts are more separated than in a decade and have individual srews or plugs.

[mnementh]

Mother Nature left a reminder note last night. 

Yeah, same here. 24 degrees Funkenkopft and 1.5 inches on the roof of the car when I got up at 6 am... crawled into my wellies and did the usual morning snow-belt dance ritual so it would be ready for my wife's first day at the new job.

As I was bringing the thawing pot and snow shovel back inside, of course then the most pertinent question popped into my head...

"Why the fuck didn't I park in the garage last night...?"

mnem
You may all now point and laugh at the silly ol' dwagon...

[Vince]

OK so here is the 502A ! 

....snip

The handles. Yep, those old leather handles rot and fall apart. Luckily Tek later went to much more durable plastic handles. I had the same issue with my Type 535A. Nothing left but the rusty inner frame. I bought some leather strips and a leather tool kit and made new ones utilizing that inner frame. It came out decent and secure enough to be able to easily lift the scope.

I could salvage plastic handles from another scope for sure, but I don't find plastic very qualitative or sexy... my idea, long term, for my collection of glowing Tek scopes, is to try to reproduce the original leather handles, to make it look as good and sexy as possible. I could take a rotten handle and remove the stitching to unfold the leather piece so I can use it as a template to cut a new piece of fresh leather. Sawing it would be difficult I guess, without the appropriate equipment, unless they are just hand stitched like a steering wheel, I don't know. So I would spend some time  learning a bit about the basics of leather craftsmanship on the web, see how it's done. Would then try to find some local "leather club ", probably full of grand  ma's making hand bags and whatnot... so they can help me out do a good job of it.  I would get the metal / bright work sand blasted and sent out to get refinished / re-plated so it looks like new.
Once I have figured all this out and am happy with the result, I would then be able to make a small batch of handles to cater for my many scopes.

Then with a repainted cabinet and new screws.... overall should make for a nice sexy looking cabinet ! 


Your leather handle sure looks beefy ! That's one chunky strap and heavy duty rivets, should hold up ! 
Seeing these rivets reminds me of work... inspecting millions of rivets on the aircraft.  So I can't help but notice that the third rivet from the left is not acceptable !    Way too close to the edge. I don't know for leather, but for aluminium rule of thumb is the axis of a fastener should be at least 1.5 times the diameter of the fastener, away from the edge of the part. If you have a whole bunch of rivets holding the parts together, as is often the case, you can afford to have a few of them closer to the edge than normal, like x1 instead of x1.5, but you need to do the paper work / "concession"  and send it to the R&D bureau, for acceptance (or not...).

[Cerebus]

What do you mean? They're Germans. That's how we look when we're really happy & excited.

Are you sure? The bloke at the back looks suspiciously Swiss. If so, then he's ecstatic and the Germans merely happy. 

They would be ecstatic too, but they have to listen to Schweizerdeutsch day in, day out, and it's taken the edge off.