Author Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread  (Read 14554874 times)

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Offline mansaxel

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111400 on: January 16, 2022, 11:06:55 pm »
What are ΩF?

Good question.

They did care a bit for quality:



Translation: "This is the kind of damage you'll cause if you handle the foil and other components with dirty hands!"

Offline Specmaster

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111401 on: January 16, 2022, 11:28:23 pm »
Spec a MX 52 just popped up today here !  :D

https://www.leboncoin.fr/bricolage/2102250385.htm

90 Euros, seller might an offer but still a bit pricey.... plus if you zoom on the LCD window, looks like there is a big scratch in the top left corner, and not too sure either about the condition aof the 4 window corners...  so, no, that won't be the one for me....




Thanks Vince, that screen is only just marginally better than mine, so I'll let it go. It actually has many cracks coming from the edge towards the centre already, so its just way too expensive for just to gain a carrying case.
Who let Murphy in?

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Offline Neper

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111402 on: January 16, 2022, 11:31:44 pm »
They did care a bit for quality:

Translation: "This is the kind of damage you'll cause if you handle the foil and other components with dirty hands!"

Reminds me of an image brochure by J.E. Sugden, a small English manufacturer of hifi and measuring equipment, printed in the early 1970s:

Quote
The J.E. Sugden method is to entrust the whole of the construction of one amplifier or one instrument to one girl, with the result that she has a personal pride and interest in what she has made.
If I knew everything I'd be starving because no-one could afford me.
 
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Online Andy Watson

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111404 on: January 17, 2022, 12:03:56 am »
Mine is too but there is no service manual for it anywhere  ! Contacted Metrix directly and they said "yeah we remember that one, but have no info on it as we outsourced its R&D, we didn't design it ourselves ". Bummer  >:(

The service manual for the GX5000 is proving to be very elusive! Metrix were (perhaps still are) partnered with Sefram. Sefram appear to have sold the same unit as Model 4450.

Asking for the unit's ID, via the GPIB, returns "OR-X,GX   5000". I believe Or-X are the original manufacturers. They offer the model 550 (sometimes called FP550) which appears to be the same design.

The Metrix 555 appears to have the same functionality but with an upgraded front-panel. The user manual for the 555 details the GPIB commands - all of which seem to work with the GX5000.
 
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Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111405 on: January 17, 2022, 01:10:53 am »


On the Bench In The Kitchen Tonight: Drying 3-Year-Old Filament

I've been working on hoeing out enough room in the basement that I can start to assemble a 90s-era Borg Cubicle Ship manager's desk and filing cabinet scored off Craigslist so I can have something to lay my workbench countertop across. Problem is, the floor of the dwagon-cave is umm... not even close to level. I can already see I'm going to need to make up some spacer blocks to get things close enough that the leveling screws can actually do their job.

So... time to put the ol' Tevo Tornado back to work. Problem is... every shred of filament I have has been in storage in a trailer for over 2 years/3 winters. Even tho they have all been stored in Ziploc baggies with dessicant packs, that is a wee bit longer than even their new, sealed "best by" date. ;)

Before I go spending money I don't have to spare, I decided to take a try at drying this old filament out and seeing if it can be made serviceable again. Much to my delight, the convection oven I fixed last month actually has a setting for 100°F/40°C, so I've been running them for ~5 hours now stacked with soda caps as spacers while I go over the Tornado and reassemble it.

Let's see what happens...

mnem
 :-/O
« Last Edit: January 17, 2022, 01:19:05 am by mnementh »
alt-codes work here:  alt-0128 = €  alt-156 = £  alt-0216 = Ø  alt-225 = ß  alt-230 = µ  alt-234 = Ω  alt-236 = ∞  alt-248 = °
 
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Offline Zucca

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Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111407 on: January 17, 2022, 02:25:46 am »


https://youtu.be/31kgOCo2WhA   Please be patient... YT takes forever to process the HD version. |O

Hmmm... it sure does like to sing while it works, doesn't it...?  :-DD

mnem
 :-/O
« Last Edit: January 17, 2022, 02:32:49 am by mnementh »
alt-codes work here:  alt-0128 = €  alt-156 = £  alt-0216 = Ø  alt-225 = ß  alt-230 = µ  alt-234 = Ω  alt-236 = ∞  alt-248 = °
 
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Offline TERRA Operative

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111408 on: January 17, 2022, 03:02:17 am »
Well, the PG506 is looking much better now the trimpots are replaced and user-facing pots for front panel adjustment are cleaned up. Got it nicely dialled in now.
I'm getting 800ps rise and 900ps fall, I poked at a selected resistor and got 700ps rise with slightly less overshoot with a replacement value, so I'll try the same on the falling side too.
Hmm, thinking about it, I wonder if swapping to SMD resistors in the point-to-point wired resistors between the final transistor and output BNC would help things a bit?

Then it's time to button this one up and call it good for the adjustments, next step is the front panel markings and the missing knob. I wonder how hard it would be to cast a new knob in J-B weld....... :D
Where does all this test equipment keep coming from?!?

https://www.youtube.com/NearFarMedia/
 
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Offline Neomys Sapiens

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111409 on: January 17, 2022, 03:11:15 am »
Just had a quick glance at the Bram Stoker Dracula pinball.

Mains fuse (the one in the house) blows immediately when plugging in and switching the power on.

Transformer looks and smells ok.
Hmm.

Power distribution and EMI filter box:
There is a MOV and an NTC. Line in going to one input of an EMI filter (Corcom 5VK1), other line input going to a fuse and to the other input of the Corcom EMI filter.
Across those inputs there is a MOV. Between Fuse and input there is an NTC.

Output of the EMI filter goes to the main transformer which is hooked up via a rather large and bulky Molex connector.
I unhooked the transformer and plugged the thing in.  Mains fuse blows immediately.
Detached the MOV. Tried to measure it (no continuity)
Measured resistance across the EMI filter inputs (5 Ohms, is that not a bit low ? TBH I would expect something in the MOhms range ...)

Need to check a different pinball for comparison. But at this stage I would replace MOV, NTC and EMI filter. and retry.
Assumption basically correct!
 

Offline mnementh

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111410 on: January 17, 2022, 04:02:41 am »


Hmmm... results are very promising. Good surface, good layer adhesion, and supports inside of holes removed easily and intact. Some ghosting artifacts, but this family of large-format printers is known for that unless you reinforce the chassis with triangulation braces.

*sigh* I suppose I need to do that someday soon...

Anyways... certainly good enough to print up some custom-thickness hockey pucks to put under desk feet. ;)

mnem
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alt-codes work here:  alt-0128 = €  alt-156 = £  alt-0216 = Ø  alt-225 = ß  alt-230 = µ  alt-234 = Ω  alt-236 = ∞  alt-248 = °
 
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Offline med6753

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111411 on: January 17, 2022, 05:13:39 am »
I have sinned. Remember I stated I was looking at 7B92 plug-in's but not purchasing now? Well, I added one to my watch list that was $99 USD plus shipping. The seller threw me a bone. Stated if I purchase now it's $70 USD plus shipping. But offer good for only 48 hours. How could I resist? And the listing stated it was fully functional. And all knobs present and not beat to crap.


My total WITH shipping comes to $98 USD. I should have it Saturday. Coming from Florida.

An old gray beard with an attitude.
 
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Offline VK5RC

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111412 on: January 17, 2022, 05:44:23 am »
I have sinned. Remember I stated I was looking at 7B92 plug-in's but not purchasing now? Well, I added one to my watch list that was $99 USD plus shipping. The seller threw me a bone. Stated if I purchase now it's $70 USD plus shipping. But offer good for only 48 hours. How could I resist? And the listing stated it was fully functional. And all knobs present and not beat to crap.


My total WITH shipping comes to $98 USD. I should have it Saturday. Coming from Florida.


😂👍
A good dealer knows their TEA addicts and drops a little 'taste' to keep them interested 😂
Seriously  lovely Tek collection
Rob
Whoah! Watch where that landed we might need it later.
 

Offline cyclin_al

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111413 on: January 17, 2022, 06:17:04 am »
I was going to check into Discord yesterday but I've had trouble sleeping lately and I sacked out just before 1600 hours local time and basically slept until now.....0100 hours local time Sunday. So now I'm wide awake and I'll put the coffee on and get some work done. Such as the 2nd coat of poly on the plug-in cabinet.

Temperature outside is frigid -16C. Not as cold as folks in GWN but none the less unpleasant. Sunday night is predicted for our first genuine Winter storm of the season. Right now snowfall predictions are all over the map. From 3 inches to 12+ inches. And later is supposed to warm up and change to freezing rain and then all rain. That should make for a nice mess. Luckily for schools and gov Monday is a holiday. But the average Joe still has to get to work. But not this average Joe. Being retired I'll stand in the window drinking my coffee and watching the cars go slipping and sliding.  :P :-DD

After that cold snap, -16C felt quite balmy.  Took the opportunity to go for a good long ski  ;D , using the excuse with SWMBO that I was planning lessons for the kids.  Unfortunately, Saturdays program for the kids was cancelled due to the cold.  Okay, fine, I actually did plan two sessions while I was out there.  :phew:

During the cold weather, SWMBO decided it was necessary to re-organize the house due to attempting to work from home while the kid was attempting to NOT do online schooling.  :horse: I used the indoor time to run plenty of Cat6 cabling and get the new workspaces all setup.   Plenty of cable is approximately 150 ft...

EDIT:  Now that it is done, they announce that schools are re-opening.  The kid is going to be out of the house on Monday!  Adult time with no kid.  :clap: Oops, that is during working hours  :horse:

EDIT2:  There might be a wee bit of snow by GWN standards coming tomorrow, so someone decided to preemptively close all the schools in the region.  There will not even be online classes, since the school board says they can only do that for COVID reasons.  :wtf: So, now all that cabling is unnecessary  :wtf:
 

Offline david77

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111414 on: January 17, 2022, 07:14:14 am »
 

Offline DH7DN

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111415 on: January 17, 2022, 07:47:45 am »
vy 73 de DH7DN, My Blog
 

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111416 on: January 17, 2022, 08:21:40 am »
An old school buddy asked me about getting his 80's Marantz ST450 AM/FM tuner fixed. Anyone here know about these old tuners ?
Avid Rabid Hobbyist
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Offline Robert763

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111417 on: January 17, 2022, 08:26:42 am »
....snip....

I would have made a close-up picture of the screen to prove I am not lying about frequency and signal amplitude. Sadly just before doing that, I tried fiddling with the adapter to see if I could shove it in a bit more to make sure the trace does not go unstable right as I am trying to photograph it and... as I was grabbing the adapter, I got ZAPPED !!! Yes this generator tried to kill me !!!  :o
So no close-up picture for you sorry... instead I immediately pulled the plug !

Checked with the DMM for resistance between the two line terminals in the power socket, and chassis/enclosure.... no short, got 5Mohms and slowly climbing.

So I am not touching this generator for now !  :(

Think I will retrofit an IEC power socket hidden at the back (to not ruin the looks of the face plate), and get myself a life saving earth connection....

Will look at the schematic of the generator to see if there is maybe some failing cap that could explain the mishap...



Catching up still......

Looking at your previous posts on the Metrix 920, it seems to have two capacitors to ground (aka the case) and looking at the back of the mains inlet there are two dubious looking capacitors on the sides of the inductors, I would be amazed if these weren't wax paper deathtraps/smoke bombs.
And the DMM will be of no use here, you need a proper DC insulation tester at 250V or 500V to check them, but probably best to just change them for some class Y rated capacitors anyway.





David

Thanks for doing my work Dave !  ;D

Just looked C11 and C12 in the parts list... they are indeed paper caps ! They are 10nF 10%. 

Will replace them of course !

Will keep the old caps so I can test them later for fun and educational purposes...

Hell I could cobble a crude tester together easily I guess !

After all these caps are simply subject to mains AC ! So all I need to test them in a relevant manner, is to connect the to mains and measure the leakage current, eh ?

Just need to put a series resistor to limit the current to a safe value, I don't know, less than 500mA, since my Metrix meter has a 500mA current range / fuse.

Will open up the generator in the coming days, if I can sort out this problem right now, why wait... there are enough things to do and fix in this lab for me not to post pone repairs I can do quickly and easily !

I'm suprised no one has said this: YOU NEED TO CHECK THE EARTH CONNECTIONS  :scared:. Even if the capactors are leaky you would not have got a shock if the units mains earth was intact (all the way back to the supply, it could be a faulty extension lead or badly wired socket).
Even if the capacitors are OK if there is no earth the chassis will be at around 120V AC. This is because the two capacitors act as a AC voltage divider. Not much current due to the low values but enough to feel if you touch it or read on a DMM to ground.
Note that replacement capacitors should be Y type rated for mains use.
 
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Offline Ice-Tea

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111418 on: January 17, 2022, 08:39:25 am »
An old school buddy asked me about getting his 80's Marantz ST450 AM/FM tuner fixed. Anyone here know about these old tuners ?

First rule of TEA club; never ever let anyone know you know anything about electronics.
 
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Offline med6753

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111419 on: January 17, 2022, 09:07:28 am »
I got tired of waiting for Chinese hvstuff.com to ship my order from 22 December so I ordered the parts from Mouser at a considerably higher cost. But at least I'll have the parts by Wednesday. I sent an inquiry to hvstuff.com using the provided email address and guess what? It bounced.  :wtf: So now I'm pissed. The payment transaction was via PayPal to a Chinese bank so I'm gonna have to go through PayPal to get refunded. I'm sure it's gonna turn into a cluster but we'll see. It's only $22 USD but regardless. A scam is a scam no matter the amount.

So.....put hvstuff.com on your "no buy" list.  :-- 
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Offline Saskia

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111420 on: January 17, 2022, 09:12:02 am »
had nasty experience with Mouser lately. Still waiting for my refund for the order they cancelled.

 

Offline med6753

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111421 on: January 17, 2022, 09:19:25 am »
had nasty experience with Mouser lately. Still waiting for my refund for the order they cancelled.

That's surprising. Never had any issue with Mouser other than last year when they got hit with the double whammy ice storm and Covid which impacted turnaround.

I just filed a grievance with PayPal. We'll see where it goes.   
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Online McBryce

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111422 on: January 17, 2022, 09:23:44 am »


https://youtu.be/31kgOCo2WhA   Please be patient... YT takes forever to process the HD version. |O

Hmmm... it sure does like to sing while it works, doesn't it...?  :-DD

mnem
 :-/O

I recently updated the controller board on my 3D printer. It now uses a Creality 4.2.7 board which has TMC2225 motor drivers: https://creality3d.shop/products/creality3d-upgrade-silent-4-2-7-1-1-5-mainboard-for-ender-3-ender-3-pro-ender-5-3d-printer
The printer went from being a "singer" to being incredibly quiet.

McBryce.
30 Years making cars more difficult to repair.
 
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Offline TERRA Operative

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111423 on: January 17, 2022, 09:27:54 am »
Had the day off while we waited for my son's corona PCR test (he had a fever and cough etc for the last two days), thankfully he came back negative, but while I was sitting around I got a bit bored so I chopped open the Bourns pots on a spare TDS scope front panel and gave them a good clean out and deoxit treatment.
Because I can't heat-stake the pots closed again, a drop of superglue on each spot had them all sealed up again.

Once it was swapped into my TDS784C, the controls are all buttery smooth again, so I claim success.
The TDS784C was a bit scratchy on the H and V position controls, but I didn't want to risk a known good control panel (have you seen how much people ask for them second hand??!?) so I tried on a spare board first.

Now I know how to rebuild these pots, it's simple to do any that need it in the future.

Basically, after you desolder the pot from the PCB, use some surface-cut side cutters to snip off the 4 heat staked posts on the back.
Open it up, clean it out with isopropyl alcohol and reapply some plastic-safe white grease and a little deoxit to the carbon track (I use a few small drops of the D100 stuff)
Then clip it closed with some pegs or binding clips or similar to hold it closed and put a drop of superglue on each post followed by a quick blast of superglue activator.

Easy. :)
Where does all this test equipment keep coming from?!?

https://www.youtube.com/NearFarMedia/
 
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Offline TERRA Operative

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Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
« Reply #111424 on: January 17, 2022, 09:29:17 am »
had nasty experience with Mouser lately. Still waiting for my refund for the order they cancelled.



I just got my second order in as many weeks, all came fine for me. Usually it takes a day or two longer than Digikey as they use UPS instead of DHL or Fedex, but I've never had an issue beyond the usual stuff out of stock at the last minute, but that's not their fault specifically.
Where does all this test equipment keep coming from?!?

https://www.youtube.com/NearFarMedia/
 


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