Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

Oh and the Fluke 25 is far superior to the Fluke 75 for mV range measurements 

The Fluke 25 multitool is superior to most of its successors

Yep, as is its stable-mate the 27.

Given that the only difference between the 25 and 27 is the plastic case, ... yes!   (For those that don't obsess over these things, the only difference is that the 27's case has two extra buttons)

Shhhh! Don't be giving out our precious trade secrets... that little tidbit is only for the faithful to know! 

mnem

[Zucca]

I lost one of my tools, it's a cheap endoscope camera.
The concept I bought it with my hard work money and then I can't put my hands on it simply drive me 100% nuts.

Surely hidden in one of those boxes on the floor.

Don't know about you, but I can't do anything else until I find the lost one...

Matthew 18:10-14

  afasdfhlasjhflasjdfhlasjfhlasjdhflasjhfljashdlfkjahsldfkjhasldfjh 

[bd139]

I lost one of my tools, it's a cheap endoscope camera.
The concept I bought it with my hard work money and then I can't put my hands on it simply drive me 100% nuts.

Surely hidden in one of those boxes on the floor.

Don't know about you, but I can't do anything else until I find the lost one...

Matthew 18:10-14

  afasdfhlasjhflasjdfhlasjfhlasjdhflasjhfljashdlfkjahsldfkjhasldfjh 

If it's any consolation I disposed of nearly my entire stock of test leads and components by accident a few weeks back. You are in good miserable company at the moment

[xrunner]

If it's any consolation I disposed of nearly my entire stock of test leads and components by accident a few weeks back. You are in good miserable company at the moment

You need an "A.I. camera" watching you then you'd know where they went!

Amazon puts 'creepy' AI cameras in UK delivery vans

The Register
Tue 24 May 2022

Amazon is reportedly installing AI-powered cameras in delivery vans to keep tabs on its drivers in the UK.

The technology was first deployed, with numerous errors that reportedly denied drivers' bonuses after malfunctions, in the US. Last year, the internet giant produced a corporate video detailing how the cameras monitor drivers' driving behavior for safety reasons. The same system is now apparently being rolled out to vehicles in the UK.

Multiple camera lenses are placed under the front mirror. One is directed at the person behind the wheel, one is facing the road, and two are located on either side to provide a wider view. The cameras are monitored by software built by Netradyne, a computer-vision startup focused on driver safety. This code uses machine-learning algorithms to figure out what's going on in and around the vehicle.

Audio alerts are triggered by some behaviors, such as if a driver fails to brake at a stop sign or is driving too fast. Other actions are silently logged, such as if the driver doesn't wear a seat-belt or if a camera's view is blocked. Amazon reportedly records workers and calculates from their activities a score that affects their pay; drivers have previously complained of having bonuses unfairly deducted for behavior the computer system wrongly classified as reckless.

...

https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/24/ai_cameras_amazon/

[mnementh]

Probulators arrived courtesy Farnell. Expensive but worth it...

Got 2 sets of Pomona minigrabber leads and a full Keysight 34138A pack:   

The keysight probes aren't cheap but they have all the nice attachments with them:   

From left to right: 2x fine tipped pokers with insulation all the way down, 2x SMD grabbers, 1x normal grabber (for usual ground clip), 2x normal sheathed non retractable probes.

Fun fun fun. 34401A out for delivery too 

   

Have you any opinions on how those sheathed fine tips compare to the 34133A and its micro pogo pins? 

Many times I've had them in my basket to pad out an order... but put them back because I found something else I needed more at the time, and honestly ~$45 for one set of probes... owwchies.

I mean, when I made all of these loverly 12 & 13ga sillycone jumpers for ~$40 delivered...

   

...that was much more viscerally satisfying.

mn3m
 

[bd139]

If it's any consolation I disposed of nearly my entire stock of test leads and components by accident a few weeks back. You are in good miserable company at the moment

You need an "A.I. camera" watching you then you'd know where they went!

Amazon puts 'creepy' AI cameras in UK delivery vans

The Register
Tue 24 May 2022

Amazon is reportedly installing AI-powered cameras in delivery vans to keep tabs on its drivers in the UK.

The technology was first deployed, with numerous errors that reportedly denied drivers' bonuses after malfunctions, in the US. Last year, the internet giant produced a corporate video detailing how the cameras monitor drivers' driving behavior for safety reasons. The same system is now apparently being rolled out to vehicles in the UK.

Multiple camera lenses are placed under the front mirror. One is directed at the person behind the wheel, one is facing the road, and two are located on either side to provide a wider view. The cameras are monitored by software built by Netradyne, a computer-vision startup focused on driver safety. This code uses machine-learning algorithms to figure out what's going on in and around the vehicle.

Audio alerts are triggered by some behaviors, such as if a driver fails to brake at a stop sign or is driving too fast. Other actions are silently logged, such as if the driver doesn't wear a seat-belt or if a camera's view is blocked. Amazon reportedly records workers and calculates from their activities a score that affects their pay; drivers have previously complained of having bonuses unfairly deducted for behavior the computer system wrongly classified as reckless.

...

https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/24/ai_cameras_amazon/

Not as creepy as the Amazon supermarket that opened near me recently. You walk into it, scan your phone app, put stuff in a basket and walk out and it charges you later. It does this using cameras and ML to see what you put in your basket. I suspect when uncertainty occurs that it subcontracts the decision as to what you took to some poor dude in an Indian sweatshop behind Amazon Mechanical Turk.

And no I won't use it. The engineer and IT guy in me knows where this leads.

[tggzzz]

Oh and the Fluke 25 is far superior to the Fluke 75 for mV range measurements 

The Fluke 25 multitool is superior to most of its successors

Yep, as is its stable-mate the 27.

Given that the only difference between the 25 and 27 is the plastic case, ... yes!

(For those that don't obsess over these things, the only difference is that the 27's case has two extra buttons)

And I don't think the 25 was available with the bright yellow case, whereas it was standard for all generations of the 27s. That's how I tell mine apart; well that and the fact that I can read the display on the 27 anywhere but the 25's display is showing it's age and is merely 'OK' rather than excellent (the other night I was reading my 27 in the dark from the street lighting that managed to filter around a raised car bonnet with no difficulty whatsoever). I don't think I have actually used either of the two extra buttons in anger.

My display is still fine. I presume you've tried IPA on the zebrazone connector. I've seen people resurrect their 25 that way.

If I thought I had a use for the two extra buttons, I'd be looking around for a replacement case!

[bd139]

Probulators arrived courtesy Farnell. Expensive but worth it...

Got 2 sets of Pomona minigrabber leads and a full Keysight 34138A pack:   

The keysight probes aren't cheap but they have all the nice attachments with them:   

From left to right: 2x fine tipped pokers with insulation all the way down, 2x SMD grabbers, 1x normal grabber (for usual ground clip), 2x normal sheathed non retractable probes.

Fun fun fun. 34401A out for delivery too 

   

Have you any opinions on how those sheathed fine tips compare to the 34133A and its micro pogo pins? 

Many times I've had them in my basket to pad out an order... but put them back because I found something else I needed more at the time, and honestly ~$45 for one set of probes... owwchies.

I mean, when I made all of these loverly 12 & 13ga sillycone jumpers for ~$40 delivered...

   

...that was much more viscerally satisfying.

mn3m
 

I don't like pogo pins on hand held test leads, they slip off things easily and short stuff out. Guess how I found that out

As for the banana leads, I might actually make some of them. I need them. Thanks for the poke   

[tggzzz]

Not as creepy as the Amazon supermarket that opened near me recently. You walk into it, scan your phone app, put stuff in a basket and walk out and it charges you later. It does this using cameras and ML to see what you put in your basket. I suspect when uncertainty occurs that it subcontracts the decision as to what you took to some poor dude in an Indian sweatshop behind Amazon Mechanical Turk.

And no I won't use it. The engineer and IT guy in me knows where this leads.

It should be difficult to spend money. Even debit and credit debt cards are a step in the wrong direction.

[bd139]

Not as creepy as the Amazon supermarket that opened near me recently. You walk into it, scan your phone app, put stuff in a basket and walk out and it charges you later. It does this using cameras and ML to see what you put in your basket. I suspect when uncertainty occurs that it subcontracts the decision as to what you took to some poor dude in an Indian sweatshop behind Amazon Mechanical Turk.

And no I won't use it. The engineer and IT guy in me knows where this leads.

It should be difficult to spend money. Even debit and credit debt cards are a step in the wrong direction.

I semi-disagree with that. It should be easy to spend money safely and you should be educated to spend it wisely. Neither of those are inherently true at the moment.

[mnementh]

I lost one of my tools, it's a cheap endoscope camera.
The concept I bought it with my hard work money and then I can't put my hands on it simply drive me 100% nuts.

Surely hidden in one of those boxes on the floor.

Don't know about you, but I can't do anything else until I find the lost one...

Matthew 18:10-14

  afasdfhlasjhflasjdfhlasjfhlasjdhflasjhfljashdlfkjahsldfkjhasldfjh 

Not all who wander are lost.

mnem
Errant does not necessarily mean lost; sometimes one is headed somewhere not even they know yet...

[mnementh]

Even the venerable TDS210 and its successors with their far bulkier frames suffer from a tendency to scoot all over the bench top when pressing a button, I'd hate to think how this one reacts under the same conditions.

According to the boss that's the first thing he tested and it remains firm on the bench. We'll have to see his review to confirm.

Hmmmm... probably means it has sillycone rubber on the feetses. Which, in my experience, comes off of everything it's applied to sooner or later, as nothing really sticks to the stuff, not even the adhesive they use to hold it on.

Unless it's molded sillycone with pegs to lock it into whatever it happens to be attached to; that usually stays put. Until some gorilla rips it off to get to the screws inevitably hiding under it. 

mnem
This is gonna be good...

[ch_scr]

Probulators arrived courtesy Farnell. Expensive but worth it...

Got 2 sets of Pomona minigrabber leads and a full Keysight 34138A pack:   

The keysight probes aren't cheap but they have all the nice attachments with them:   

From left to right: 2x fine tipped pokers with insulation all the way down, 2x SMD grabbers, 1x normal grabber (for usual ground clip), 2x normal sheathed non retractable probes.

Fun fun fun. 34401A out for delivery too 

   

Have you any opinions on how those sheathed fine tips compare to the 34133A and its micro pogo pins? 

Many times I've had them in my basket to pad out an order... but put them back because I found something else I needed more at the time, and honestly ~$45 for one set of probes... owwchies.

I mean, when I made all of these loverly 12 & 13ga sillycone jumpers for ~$40 delivered...

   

...that was much more viscerally satisfying.

mn3m
 

My father has these 34133A. The points are sharp as hell (which is why I got them as a gift in the first place) but the lead handles are freaking tiny. Like almost half the size you'd expect from a "normal" test lead... So I'd imagine not a good fit for dwagon-paws 

[mnementh]

Oh and the Fluke 25 is far superior to the Fluke 75 for mV range measurements 

The Fluke 25 multitool is superior to most of its successors

Yep, as is its stable-mate the 27.

Given that the only difference between the 25 and 27 is the plastic case, ... yes!

(For those that don't obsess over these things, the only difference is that the 27's case has two extra buttons)

And I don't think the 25 was available with the bright yellow case, whereas it was standard for all generations of the 27s. That's how I tell mine apart; well that and the fact that I can read the display on the 27 anywhere but the 25's display is showing it's age and is merely 'OK' rather than excellent (the other night I was reading my 27 in the dark from the street lighting that managed to filter around a raised car bonnet with no difficulty whatsoever). I don't think I have actually used either of the two extra buttons in anger.

My display is still fine. I presume you've tried IPA on the zebrazone connector. I've seen people resurrect their 25 that way.

If I thought I had a use for the two extra buttons, I'd be looking around for a replacement case!

I'd probably ghetto-fab 2 buttons from a old remote control and *gulp* drill holes for them. 

If I hadn't already bought a 27A/N just to get the His & Hers probulators that came with...

mnem
All y'alls may now tie me to a stake and light the fire...

[tggzzz]

Not as creepy as the Amazon supermarket that opened near me recently. You walk into it, scan your phone app, put stuff in a basket and walk out and it charges you later. It does this using cameras and ML to see what you put in your basket. I suspect when uncertainty occurs that it subcontracts the decision as to what you took to some poor dude in an Indian sweatshop behind Amazon Mechanical Turk.

And no I won't use it. The engineer and IT guy in me knows where this leads.

It should be difficult to spend money. Even debit and credit debt cards are a step in the wrong direction.

I semi-disagree with that. It should be easy to spend money safely and you should be educated to spend it wisely. Neither of those are inherently true at the moment.

Ah. Wisdom. Some people have that, some have to have it forced into them.

But as you are only too well aware, if Amazon has you pegged as being a "walk in walk out shopper", sooner or later some bot will debit your account incorrectly.

I can do without hassles like that; I've just had to point out to a law firm that I'm not VAT registered, so the VAT invoice should have gone to my insurers.

[tggzzz]

Oh and the Fluke 25 is far superior to the Fluke 75 for mV range measurements 

The Fluke 25 multitool is superior to most of its successors

Yep, as is its stable-mate the 27.

Given that the only difference between the 25 and 27 is the plastic case, ... yes!

(For those that don't obsess over these things, the only difference is that the 27's case has two extra buttons)

And I don't think the 25 was available with the bright yellow case, whereas it was standard for all generations of the 27s. That's how I tell mine apart; well that and the fact that I can read the display on the 27 anywhere but the 25's display is showing it's age and is merely 'OK' rather than excellent (the other night I was reading my 27 in the dark from the street lighting that managed to filter around a raised car bonnet with no difficulty whatsoever). I don't think I have actually used either of the two extra buttons in anger.

My display is still fine. I presume you've tried IPA on the zebrazone connector. I've seen people resurrect their 25 that way.

If I thought I had a use for the two extra buttons, I'd be looking around for a replacement case!

I'd probably ghetto-fab 2 buttons from a old remote control and *gulp* drill holes for them. 

I considered that for maybe 30s, but it was outweighed by the advantages of being able to operate it in a methane-rich atmosphere. Or a dihydrogen monoxide rich atmosphere.

[mnementh]

Yebbutt... I actually use the Δ and Min/Max buttons. All the time.

Δ for following a power rail looking for a shorted cap... and Min/Max... I often confirm the peak voltage during measurement. 

If it were my only hazardous atmosphere rated meter, yeah, probably would be reluctant like you, tho. High humidity...? Come now... I'd def make sure the hole/button matched closely enough to make that a non-issue.

mnem
 

[Specmaster]

I lost one of my tools, it's a cheap endoscope camera.
The concept I bought it with my hard work money and then I can't put my hands on it simply drive me 100% nuts.

Surely hidden in one of those boxes on the floor.

Don't know about you, but I can't do anything else until I find the lost one...

Matthew 18:10-14

  afasdfhlasjhflasjdfhlasjfhlasjdhflasjhfljashdlfkjahsldfkjhasldfjh 

If it's any consolation I disposed of nearly my entire stock of test leads and components by accident a few weeks back. You are in good miserable company at the moment

I saw that you made reference to that earlier, how the feck did you manage that expensive slip?

[Specmaster]

Oh and the Fluke 25 is far superior to the Fluke 75 for mV range measurements 

The Fluke 25 multitool is superior to most of its successors

Yep, as is its stable-mate the 27.

Given that the only difference between the 25 and 27 is the plastic case, ... yes!

(For those that don't obsess over these things, the only difference is that the 27's case has two extra buttons)

And I don't think the 25 was available with the bright yellow case, whereas it was standard for all generations of the 27s. That's how I tell mine apart; well that and the fact that I can read the display on the 27 anywhere but the 25's display is showing it's age and is merely 'OK' rather than excellent (the other night I was reading my 27 in the dark from the street lighting that managed to filter around a raised car bonnet with no difficulty whatsoever). I don't think I have actually used either of the two extra buttons in anger.

My display is still fine. I presume you've tried IPA on the zebrazone connector. I've seen people resurrect their 25 that way.

If I thought I had a use for the two extra buttons, I'd be looking around for a replacement case!

Yeah, good luck with finding a 27 case and buttons, I had the same thought about doing with my 25's so they could join my 27's, that was a couple of years ago, still looking... 

[bd139]

I lost one of my tools, it's a cheap endoscope camera.
The concept I bought it with my hard work money and then I can't put my hands on it simply drive me 100% nuts.

Surely hidden in one of those boxes on the floor.

Don't know about you, but I can't do anything else until I find the lost one...

Matthew 18:10-14

  afasdfhlasjhflasjdfhlasjfhlasjdhflasjhfljashdlfkjahsldfkjhasldfjh 

If it's any consolation I disposed of nearly my entire stock of test leads and components by accident a few weeks back. You are in good miserable company at the moment

I saw that you made reference to that earlier, how the feck did you manage that expensive slip?

Utter incompetence. There is no other explanation.

[Specmaster]

I lost one of my tools, it's a cheap endoscope camera.
The concept I bought it with my hard work money and then I can't put my hands on it simply drive me 100% nuts.

Surely hidden in one of those boxes on the floor.

Don't know about you, but I can't do anything else until I find the lost one...

Matthew 18:10-14

  afasdfhlasjhflasjdfhlasjfhlasjdhflasjhfljashdlfkjahsldfkjhasldfjh 

If it's any consolation I disposed of nearly my entire stock of test leads and components by accident a few weeks back. You are in good miserable company at the moment

I saw that you made reference to that earlier, how the feck did you manage that expensive slip?

Utter incompetence. There is no other explanation.

You were there in body, but the mind was elsewhere anticipating some forth coming fun perhaps

[mnementh]

You were there in body, but the mind was elsewhere anticipating some forth coming fun perhaps

He was probably under the influence... of grrl fumes. 

mnem

[bd139]

No comment.

Incidentally I didn’t renew the Tinder sub 

[Neper]

I lost one of my tools, it's a cheap endoscope camera.
The concept I bought it with my hard work money and then I can't put my hands on it simply drive me 100% nuts.

Surely hidden in one of those boxes on the floor.

Don't know about you, but I can't do anything else until I find the lost one...

Search for something else and you'll find it.

[mnementh]

I lost one of my tools, it's a cheap endoscope camera. The concept I bought it with my hard work money and then I can't put my hands on it simply drive me 100% nuts. Surely hidden in one of those boxes on the floor.

Don't know about you, but I can't do anything else until I find the lost one...

Search for something else and you'll find it.

That is actually in my personal mental list of what to do when I can't find something I need... somewhere around item #7 or #8... 

mnem
Right after "Ask my wife if she's seen it"...