Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[xrunner]

Teams app is free on iphone. 

Hey bd looky what Amazon delivered just now -

Not on a 10 year old iPhone though 

Oooooh a box of grunt! Enjoy!

Vince it's a test - if you can install the app you get the job. C'mon man we want you to have plenty of money for TEA! Upgrade your fucking phone! 

[bd139]

Turds of the day...

Damp shed victim. Layer of ultra-crunk on it... only starting at £42 inc delivery 



And now for the unholy union between one of the robots in Silent Running and a Fluke 8060A we have the following for the bargain price of £650 

[Vince]

Teams app is free on iphone. 

Hey bd looky what Amazon delivered just now -

Not on a 10 year old iPhone though 

Oooooh a box of grunt! Enjoy!

Vince it's a test - if you can install the app you get the job. C'mon man we want you to have plenty of money for TEA! Upgrade your fucking phone! 

I don't have money to buy anything, and if I had, I don't have time to get it shipped and get it working.

I just called the HR girl, she says instead I can use TEAMS on my desktop computer, and use it in combination with my phone. The phone would provide the video and sound, and the computer would do I don't know what.

Interview postponed to Friday morning. This gives me a bit of time to try to understand how to get that to work... I am not too hopeful...

And how would she get the video from my smartphone, when people phone me I only get the sound not the video.... so that means I would need some other app to broadcast the video and get that sent to TEAMS, somehow.... it becomes even more complicated and mysterious... even less likely to work.

Looks like I won't get that job, oh well 

[Specmaster]

FUCK ME !!! 


Last Friday a friend / ex-colleague asked me to pass me my CV so he could hass him to some company that's recruiting, one of many subcontractor that do the same stuff I was doing at my ex company. Quality contorl for Airbus, airframe. Well at least I am in my confort zone / operational.

A minute ago that company phoned me, yeah...we arranged for an appointment tomorrow with her, who is the HR girl I guess, and another girl, probably the team manager on the Airbus plant, to assess the technical part of it. I guess.
Anyway she told me the interview will be held over the phone with " TEAMS ". Well, whatever. So I just googled for this thing, it's an app you download on your phone, made  by freaking Microsoft. Takes 258MB on your phone, I barely have enough space to install that thing, after having deleted a few apps.
so I go to install it.... it asks to create an account, hmmm.... OK, I will swallow that pill for now. So I give it a username and password, then it asks me for my... CREDIT CARD DETAILS ?!! 
Says you can use the free version, we won't take any money on your account... but we require that you gives us you credit card details anyway ! 

FUCK THAT !!!!

So I found another link to download the app. It didn't ask for my credit card... or maybe it would have a few clicks later, once it had managed to install on my phone but.... it REFUSES to install, says " This version of TEAMS is not compatible with your phone "! 

OK the phone might be a bit old, it's a LG Nexus 4 with Android 5.1.1
Wikipedia says the phone was released i November 2012...

Maybe upgrading Android might do it but I don't think so... think I already upgraded it a while back, and it took so much space that I could not install any app, and TEAMS wnats no less than 250Mo so it's a no no.

So.... I am fucked. Well, THEY are fucked, they won't have the honour, pleasure, delice of having me in their company ! 

Company is " Expleo ", IIRC it's the low cost branch of I can't remember what sub-contractor that was competing with my ex company, which means they would pay even less than my ex job.... well, still better than nothing, short term, I guess.

OK, will call that HR girl back to tell her it won't work, sorry mam, I tried... if they can do a normal phone call, or just a freaking real interview in an office like people used to do in the old time...


That's what you get when you rely on stupid modern technology, you just can't rely on it for anything important. If it works, it works, but when it refuses to work, you're fucked. 

There is your problem right there, the phone is 10 years old and is only really any good for a pure phone alone, almost all apps will refuse to run on such an old platform.

That said however, I do still agree with you about the interviews, it is my firm belief that these should be conducted in person, and I also believe that the interviewer should reimburse the cost of attending such interviews. Today it is common place for some people to have been out of work for a period and therefore may not have the wherewith all to afford to attend the interview, having other greater priorities for their cash, like eating, rent etc.

In the past, I have been asked to attend interviews over 100 miles away   . When I used to interview people for positions, I used to go to a hotel close to them and do the interview there, and likewise, the better companies who have interviewed me for a job, have all come to see me, either at home or in a very local hotel. But these days, such etiquette  seems to be alien to most companies.

But back to your phone, it is a thorny point in my side as well about phone companies and app developers not being willing to at least ensure that their products are capable of being used to their full design capability for at least a 10-year period. Not everyone can afford to splash many hundreds of pounds on new phones every 2 to 3 years, when inflation is creeping up and up all the time and wages failing miserably to keep pace, so in essence most people today are far worse off than they were 10 years ago

EDIT
I'm in a similar position now with my phone, it is 3 years old, and some apps are already incompatible with it and the phone makers are no longer supporting it with software updates. The phone is taking longer and longer to respond to anything these days, and I don't even have a single game installed on it, has 64GB internal storage with only 28.5Gb used and also has a 64GB memory card fitted with only 288MB used, so space is not an issue. I'm already looking for another phone but don't want to spend hundreds on a phone when my income is limited to pension only.

[AVGresponding]

I prefer upper LEFT if you don't mind, for it's got Nixie tubes in it ! 

A " Signature Analyzer " wow that sounds fancy high tech and mysterious all at the same time.... do you hook up a camera to it and it reads a hand written signature and tells you if it's been forged or is legit ?
Pretty high-tech for the day indeed ! 


OK OK... I will go download the user manual to see what it does ... 

The HP noise generator at the bottom looks pretty nice, it deserves some cleaning for sure, please ! 

Yes but the upper right unit matches the page number, rather the point...

Oh ! So we are back into this game again ? I thought it was history ? 
When I joined TEA 15 months ago it was the 3000's and people were posted HP stuff every day, then came 4000 and a consensus was made that it was time to give upo on that game since very few people wanted to be flooded with CMOS chip pictures every single day.... so we it's now back again... hmmmm...... OK, I take note, I can play too.... 

Yes, well CMOS chips are not TE, so should never have been used.

[bd139]

FUCK ME !!! 


Last Friday a friend / ex-colleague asked me to pass me my CV so he could hass him to some company that's recruiting, one of many subcontractor that do the same stuff I was doing at my ex company. Quality contorl for Airbus, airframe. Well at least I am in my confort zone / operational.

A minute ago that company phoned me, yeah...we arranged for an appointment tomorrow with her, who is the HR girl I guess, and another girl, probably the team manager on the Airbus plant, to assess the technical part of it. I guess.
Anyway she told me the interview will be held over the phone with " TEAMS ". Well, whatever. So I just googled for this thing, it's an app you download on your phone, made  by freaking Microsoft. Takes 258MB on your phone, I barely have enough space to install that thing, after having deleted a few apps.
so I go to install it.... it asks to create an account, hmmm.... OK, I will swallow that pill for now. So I give it a username and password, then it asks me for my... CREDIT CARD DETAILS ?!! 
Says you can use the free version, we won't take any money on your account... but we require that you gives us you credit card details anyway ! 

FUCK THAT !!!!

So I found another link to download the app. It didn't ask for my credit card... or maybe it would have a few clicks later, once it had managed to install on my phone but.... it REFUSES to install, says " This version of TEAMS is not compatible with your phone "! 

OK the phone might be a bit old, it's a LG Nexus 4 with Android 5.1.1
Wikipedia says the phone was released i November 2012...

Maybe upgrading Android might do it but I don't think so... think I already upgraded it a while back, and it took so much space that I could not install any app, and TEAMS wnats no less than 250Mo so it's a no no.

So.... I am fucked. Well, THEY are fucked, they won't have the honour, pleasure, delice of having me in their company ! 

Company is " Expleo ", IIRC it's the low cost branch of I can't remember what sub-contractor that was competing with my ex company, which means they would pay even less than my ex job.... well, still better than nothing, short term, I guess.

OK, will call that HR girl back to tell her it won't work, sorry mam, I tried... if they can do a normal phone call, or just a freaking real interview in an office like people used to do in the old time...


That's what you get when you rely on stupid modern technology, you just can't rely on it for anything important. If it works, it works, but when it refuses to work, you're fucked. 

There is your problem right there, the phone is 10 years old and is only really any good for a pure phone alone, almost all apps will refuse to run on such an old platform.

That said however, I do still agree with you about the interviews, it is my firm belief that these should be conducted in person, and I also believe that the interviewer should reimburse the cost of attending such interviews. Today it is common place for some people to have been out of work for a period and therefore may not have the wherewith all to afford to attend the interview, having other greater priorities for their cash, like eating, rent etc.

In the past, I have been asked to attend interviews over 100 miles away   . When I used to interview people for positions, I used to go to a hotel close to them and do the interview there, and likewise, the better companies who have interviewed me for a job, have all come to see me, either at home or in a very local hotel. But these days, such etiquette  seems to be alien to most companies.

But back to your phone, it is a thorny point in my side as well about phone companies and app developers not being willing to at least ensure that their products are capable of being used to their full design capability for at least a 10-year period. Not everyone can afford to splash many hundreds of pounds on new phones every 2 to 3 years, when inflation is creeping up and up all the time and wages failing miserably to keep pace, so in essence most people today are far worse off than they were 10 years ago

You don't need to meet people face to face. They need 3 months on the job before you know they're a moron or not.

As for the technology, it's really important to keep on top of it if you want to remain at least partially relevant in society. As much as it sucks it's a social contract now. You have to adhere to it because there are 10 other people out there who can use it who will get your job otherwise.

I know my shit works and will work - I have to rely on it. I have zero problems in this space. Ready to roll on anything.

[AVGresponding]

Turds of the day...

Damp shed victim. Layer of ultra-crunk on it... only starting at £42 inc delivery 

I like it. Not enough to pay that much for it, mind you.

And now for the unholy union between one of the robots in Silent Running and a Fluke 8060A we have the following for the bargain price of £650 

We need to come up with a name for the condition that makes people put the decimal in the wrong place. Dysdecima maybe?

[nixiefreqq]

y'all got me playing with my 54622d ..... and damn it.   those squishy switches under the crt were back to being a pain in ass.
...
finally tried larger rectangles of AL tape and it so far is 100% good.

Does anybody have any experience of using conductive repair pads like these?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254871615598
450pcs Conductive Pads Keypad Repair Kits 2mm-8mm Box For IR Remote Controller
Thickness of pads: various, between approx. 0.5mm

Actually, now that I think of it... I've never had this problem on over a dozen 546xxx scopes where I've serviced the panel; every one has come back 100%, even this most recent 54600A, which literally had spots eaten out of the PCBs...

Are you guys scrubbing both the PCB and the pads on the membrane with IPA? You have to, both front and back in order to get a reliable read.

I don't use Q-tips; I scrub both the membrane and the PCB with a cotton kitchen towel (fine short nap; terry loops will snag on solder joints and edges of PCB) soaked in IPA.

Trick with the membrane keypad is to hold the body of the button in one hand and scrub each one individually; this allows you to scrub the conductive pad pretty aggressively with the IPA/towel in the other hand.

I also scrub around the solder joints on that intermediary cable with IPA and a toothbrush; that area collects cruft due to the tape stuck over it and will make the scope misread as it scans the buttons. On assembly, just leave those solder joints bare, or if you're anal aboot such things, a fresh strip of Kapton tape over the solder joints. Also, it is important to loop that ribbon cable exactly the same as HP made it; if you fold it over itself you'll have poor read problems.

mnem
 

have never had trouble with any buttons on the 54601a. (and they feel clickier to me)

and the buttons on the face of the 54622d have always been 100% responsive.

the problem has always been those 6 menu buttons directly under the crt.  my theory is that someone sprayed cleaner under there and it dissolved something out of the really rubbery switch strip which contaminated the carbon buttons.  why would they spray under there?.....maybe an attempt to fix the floppy drive?    (but that is right out of my ass and could be total nonsense).

[TERRA Operative]

Step two on the tube amp.

Tube sockets are mounted, so a mock-up on how things will look (minus the output transformers).
I'll have to find another voltage regulator tube so they match.

Do you have those anode caps as well?

I have these ones at the moment.
I might still use different HV rectifier tubes without the top-cap though, not 100% sure yet... Depends on how dangerous I feel.

Why have you got recessed valve bases, are you planning to put coloured LEDS in them to give a low glow to the amp?

Yeah, I'll install a bunch of RGB LED's to give a nice modern look to it. (Insert puke emoji here)


Nah, it's just for airflow, best way to do it with the stuff I've got. (And gives a certain industrial look).

[Specmaster]

FUCK ME !!! 


Last Friday a friend / ex-colleague asked me to pass me my CV so he could hass him to some company that's recruiting, one of many subcontractor that do the same stuff I was doing at my ex company. Quality contorl for Airbus, airframe. Well at least I am in my confort zone / operational.

A minute ago that company phoned me, yeah...we arranged for an appointment tomorrow with her, who is the HR girl I guess, and another girl, probably the team manager on the Airbus plant, to assess the technical part of it. I guess.
Anyway she told me the interview will be held over the phone with " TEAMS ". Well, whatever. So I just googled for this thing, it's an app you download on your phone, made  by freaking Microsoft. Takes 258MB on your phone, I barely have enough space to install that thing, after having deleted a few apps.
so I go to install it.... it asks to create an account, hmmm.... OK, I will swallow that pill for now. So I give it a username and password, then it asks me for my... CREDIT CARD DETAILS ?!! 
Says you can use the free version, we won't take any money on your account... but we require that you gives us you credit card details anyway ! 

FUCK THAT !!!!

So I found another link to download the app. It didn't ask for my credit card... or maybe it would have a few clicks later, once it had managed to install on my phone but.... it REFUSES to install, says " This version of TEAMS is not compatible with your phone "! 

OK the phone might be a bit old, it's a LG Nexus 4 with Android 5.1.1
Wikipedia says the phone was released i November 2012...

Maybe upgrading Android might do it but I don't think so... think I already upgraded it a while back, and it took so much space that I could not install any app, and TEAMS wnats no less than 250Mo so it's a no no.

So.... I am fucked. Well, THEY are fucked, they won't have the honour, pleasure, delice of having me in their company ! 

Company is " Expleo ", IIRC it's the low cost branch of I can't remember what sub-contractor that was competing with my ex company, which means they would pay even less than my ex job.... well, still better than nothing, short term, I guess.

OK, will call that HR girl back to tell her it won't work, sorry mam, I tried... if they can do a normal phone call, or just a freaking real interview in an office like people used to do in the old time...


That's what you get when you rely on stupid modern technology, you just can't rely on it for anything important. If it works, it works, but when it refuses to work, you're fucked. 

There is your problem right there, the phone is 10 years old and is only really any good for a pure phone alone, almost all apps will refuse to run on such an old platform.

That said however, I do still agree with you about the interviews, it is my firm belief that these should be conducted in person, and I also believe that the interviewer should reimburse the cost of attending such interviews. Today it is common place for some people to have been out of work for a period and therefore may not have the wherewith all to afford to attend the interview, having other greater priorities for their cash, like eating, rent etc.

In the past, I have been asked to attend interviews over 100 miles away   . When I used to interview people for positions, I used to go to a hotel close to them and do the interview there, and likewise, the better companies who have interviewed me for a job, have all come to see me, either at home or in a very local hotel. But these days, such etiquette  seems to be alien to most companies.

But back to your phone, it is a thorny point in my side as well about phone companies and app developers not being willing to at least ensure that their products are capable of being used to their full design capability for at least a 10-year period. Not everyone can afford to splash many hundreds of pounds on new phones every 2 to 3 years, when inflation is creeping up and up all the time and wages failing miserably to keep pace, so in essence most people today are far worse off than they were 10 years ago

You don't need to meet people face to face. They need 3 months on the job before you know they're a moron or not.

As for the technology, it's really important to keep on top of it if you want to remain at least partially relevant in society. As much as it sucks it's a social contract now. You have to adhere to it because there are 10 other people out there who can use it who will get your job otherwise.

I know my shit works and will work - I have to rely on it. I have zero problems in this space. Ready to roll on anything.

Well, when I was working, my phone kit was upto date so I was able to take advantage of whatever came along, but when the money stops rolling in like it did for me and has done for Vince, that luxury is denied you.

[bd139]

FUCK ME !!! 


Last Friday a friend / ex-colleague asked me to pass me my CV so he could hass him to some company that's recruiting, one of many subcontractor that do the same stuff I was doing at my ex company. Quality contorl for Airbus, airframe. Well at least I am in my confort zone / operational.

A minute ago that company phoned me, yeah...we arranged for an appointment tomorrow with her, who is the HR girl I guess, and another girl, probably the team manager on the Airbus plant, to assess the technical part of it. I guess.
Anyway she told me the interview will be held over the phone with " TEAMS ". Well, whatever. So I just googled for this thing, it's an app you download on your phone, made  by freaking Microsoft. Takes 258MB on your phone, I barely have enough space to install that thing, after having deleted a few apps.
so I go to install it.... it asks to create an account, hmmm.... OK, I will swallow that pill for now. So I give it a username and password, then it asks me for my... CREDIT CARD DETAILS ?!! 
Says you can use the free version, we won't take any money on your account... but we require that you gives us you credit card details anyway ! 

FUCK THAT !!!!

So I found another link to download the app. It didn't ask for my credit card... or maybe it would have a few clicks later, once it had managed to install on my phone but.... it REFUSES to install, says " This version of TEAMS is not compatible with your phone "! 

OK the phone might be a bit old, it's a LG Nexus 4 with Android 5.1.1
Wikipedia says the phone was released i November 2012...

Maybe upgrading Android might do it but I don't think so... think I already upgraded it a while back, and it took so much space that I could not install any app, and TEAMS wnats no less than 250Mo so it's a no no.

So.... I am fucked. Well, THEY are fucked, they won't have the honour, pleasure, delice of having me in their company ! 

Company is " Expleo ", IIRC it's the low cost branch of I can't remember what sub-contractor that was competing with my ex company, which means they would pay even less than my ex job.... well, still better than nothing, short term, I guess.

OK, will call that HR girl back to tell her it won't work, sorry mam, I tried... if they can do a normal phone call, or just a freaking real interview in an office like people used to do in the old time...


That's what you get when you rely on stupid modern technology, you just can't rely on it for anything important. If it works, it works, but when it refuses to work, you're fucked. 

There is your problem right there, the phone is 10 years old and is only really any good for a pure phone alone, almost all apps will refuse to run on such an old platform.

That said however, I do still agree with you about the interviews, it is my firm belief that these should be conducted in person, and I also believe that the interviewer should reimburse the cost of attending such interviews. Today it is common place for some people to have been out of work for a period and therefore may not have the wherewith all to afford to attend the interview, having other greater priorities for their cash, like eating, rent etc.

In the past, I have been asked to attend interviews over 100 miles away   . When I used to interview people for positions, I used to go to a hotel close to them and do the interview there, and likewise, the better companies who have interviewed me for a job, have all come to see me, either at home or in a very local hotel. But these days, such etiquette  seems to be alien to most companies.

But back to your phone, it is a thorny point in my side as well about phone companies and app developers not being willing to at least ensure that their products are capable of being used to their full design capability for at least a 10-year period. Not everyone can afford to splash many hundreds of pounds on new phones every 2 to 3 years, when inflation is creeping up and up all the time and wages failing miserably to keep pace, so in essence most people today are far worse off than they were 10 years ago

You don't need to meet people face to face. They need 3 months on the job before you know they're a moron or not.

As for the technology, it's really important to keep on top of it if you want to remain at least partially relevant in society. As much as it sucks it's a social contract now. You have to adhere to it because there are 10 other people out there who can use it who will get your job otherwise.

I know my shit works and will work - I have to rely on it. I have zero problems in this space. Ready to roll on anything.

Well, when I was working, my phone kit was upto date so I was able to take advantage of whatever came along, but when the money stops rolling in like it did for me and has done for Vince, that luxury is denied you.

It's not a luxury in 2022. It's one of the main interaction points of society and an expectation.

I'd rather have a newer phone (under 4 years old iPhone) than a better car if I had the choice.

[bd139]

y'all got me playing with my 54622d ..... and damn it.   those squishy switches under the crt were back to being a pain in ass.
...
finally tried larger rectangles of AL tape and it so far is 100% good.

Does anybody have any experience of using conductive repair pads like these?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254871615598
450pcs Conductive Pads Keypad Repair Kits 2mm-8mm Box For IR Remote Controller
Thickness of pads: various, between approx. 0.5mm

Actually, now that I think of it... I've never had this problem on over a dozen 546xxx scopes where I've serviced the panel; every one has come back 100%, even this most recent 54600A, which literally had spots eaten out of the PCBs...

Are you guys scrubbing both the PCB and the pads on the membrane with IPA? You have to, both front and back in order to get a reliable read.

I don't use Q-tips; I scrub both the membrane and the PCB with a cotton kitchen towel (fine short nap; terry loops will snag on solder joints and edges of PCB) soaked in IPA.

Trick with the membrane keypad is to hold the body of the button in one hand and scrub each one individually; this allows you to scrub the conductive pad pretty aggressively with the IPA/towel in the other hand.

I also scrub around the solder joints on that intermediary cable with IPA and a toothbrush; that area collects cruft due to the tape stuck over it and will make the scope misread as it scans the buttons. On assembly, just leave those solder joints bare, or if you're anal aboot such things, a fresh strip of Kapton tape over the solder joints. Also, it is important to loop that ribbon cable exactly the same as HP made it; if you fold it over itself you'll have poor read problems.

mnem
 

have never had trouble with any buttons on the 54601a. (and they feel clickier to me)

and the buttons on the face of the 54622d have always been 100% responsive.

the problem has always been those 6 menu buttons directly under the crt.  my theory is that someone sprayed cleaner under there and it dissolved something out of the really rubbery switch strip which contaminated the carbon buttons.  why would they spray under there?.....maybe an attempt to fix the floppy drive?    (but that is right out of my ass and could be total nonsense).

No they are fairly dicky. The two recent ones I’ve had both had dicky buttons. The first one I had at work years ago went dicky after a few months too. It’s just a poor design.

I think you might have just got some unicorn dung there 

[Vince]

There is your problem right there, the phone is 10 years old and is only really any good for a pure phone alone, almost all apps will refuse to run on such an old platform.

That said however, I do still agree with you about the interviews, it is my firm belief that these should be conducted in person, and I also believe that the interviewer should reimburse the cost of attending such interviews. Today it is common place for some people to have been out of work for a period and therefore may not have the wherewith all to afford to attend the interview, having other greater priorities for their cash, like eating, rent etc.

In the past, I have been asked to attend interviews over 100 miles away   . When I used to interview people for positions, I used to go to a hotel close to them and do the interview there, and likewise, the better companies who have interviewed me for a job, have all come to see me, either at home or in a very local hotel. But these days, such etiquette  seems to be alien to most companies.

But back to your phone, it is a thorny point in my side as well about phone companies and app developers not being willing to at least ensure that their products are capable of being used to their full design capability for at least a 10-year period. Not everyone can afford to splash many hundreds of pounds on new phones every 2 to 3 years, when inflation is creeping up and up all the time and wages failing miserably to keep pace, so in essence most people today are far worse off than they were 10 years ago

EDIT
I'm in a similar position now with my phone, it is 3 years old, and some apps are already incompatible with it and the phone makers are no longer supporting it with software updates. The phone is taking longer and longer to respond to anything these days, and I don't even have a single game installed on it, has 64GB internal storage with only 28.5Gb used and also has a 64GB memory card fitted with only 288MB used, so space is not an issue. I'm already looking for another phone but don't want to spend hundreds on a phone when my income is limited to pension only.

Well the point is that even if I had the money, I would not want to renew my phone unless it's broken, because that would be encouraging hyper-consumerism and e-waste, which I hate.

I am not anti-tech, having a new phone would not make me any better at tech than using my 10 year old phone... newer one will not do more than the old one did, all it will do is have the latest OS so that apps actually accept to install on it....  Phones allow you to phone, go to the web and run XY app. Any smartphone does that. Using the latest Smartphone will not make me any worse or better at tech. Just like replacing your car every year will not make you a more skilled and knowledgeable drier than me in my 23 year old Safrane. The guy and brain holding the wheel never change.

Anyway, think I got an idea.... I don't need to use MY phone to connect to their TEAM interview, it's just a link. I can open it using any phone so... I will ask a friend or two see if they can pass me their phone Friday morning for an hour...

I did plan on upgrading my phone fairly soon I admit, because it's uselessly slow at switching between open applications (say switching from the phone app to Firefox), and Firefox / browsing is extremely slow at loading pages / running websites, it is very painful.

But, I checked and you can now get a brand new smartphone for only 50 Euros ! Might push it to 75 Euros but not more. All I want is more strage space and a faster processor, which even a 50 Euros brand new phone should I guess be able to provide, compared to my 10 year old one. So I will cough 50 Euros sometime in the next year or two, and will keep that hopefully for another 10 years. The cheaper it is, the longer you keep it, the less damaged it does to your wallet and the environment.
That why I fully intend to run my 1999 Safrane and it's 345.000kms, to the ground. Chassis has not rust, engine is strong and bullet proof, 5 cylinder N/A Mansaxel engine, it can do much more than that.
Previous car 4 years ago almost,  was my Renault 21 Turbo diesel. Sold it at 450.000kms. Engine and gearbox were still working like new, was even still on its original clutch... I would still have that car today if it were not for the rust cancer which, although was not in any safety related / dangerous  area, failed to pass the recently strengthened MOT. Now they are overly critical about rust. A blown head gasket and worn out shocks, they don't give a fuck, but rust that's not even putting the safety at risk... they somehow care.


OK so now let's find somebody who can pass me his more modern phone....

[Cerebus]

As for interviews, they are all Teams or Zoom these days. You have to suck it up if you want the money.

Ah teams, the application that makes you wish you were using Skype for Business. 

(For those who've never had that pleasure, that's like a sentence that ends "... makes you wish you were having a tooth extracted, without anaesthetic.".)

[bd139]

There is your problem right there, the phone is 10 years old and is only really any good for a pure phone alone, almost all apps will refuse to run on such an old platform.

That said however, I do still agree with you about the interviews, it is my firm belief that these should be conducted in person, and I also believe that the interviewer should reimburse the cost of attending such interviews. Today it is common place for some people to have been out of work for a period and therefore may not have the wherewith all to afford to attend the interview, having other greater priorities for their cash, like eating, rent etc.

In the past, I have been asked to attend interviews over 100 miles away   . When I used to interview people for positions, I used to go to a hotel close to them and do the interview there, and likewise, the better companies who have interviewed me for a job, have all come to see me, either at home or in a very local hotel. But these days, such etiquette  seems to be alien to most companies.

But back to your phone, it is a thorny point in my side as well about phone companies and app developers not being willing to at least ensure that their products are capable of being used to their full design capability for at least a 10-year period. Not everyone can afford to splash many hundreds of pounds on new phones every 2 to 3 years, when inflation is creeping up and up all the time and wages failing miserably to keep pace, so in essence most people today are far worse off than they were 10 years ago

EDIT
I'm in a similar position now with my phone, it is 3 years old, and some apps are already incompatible with it and the phone makers are no longer supporting it with software updates. The phone is taking longer and longer to respond to anything these days, and I don't even have a single game installed on it, has 64GB internal storage with only 28.5Gb used and also has a 64GB memory card fitted with only 288MB used, so space is not an issue. I'm already looking for another phone but don't want to spend hundreds on a phone when my income is limited to pension only.

Well the point is that even if I had the money, I would not want to renew my phone unless it's broken, because that would be encouraging hyper-consumerism and e-waste, which I hate.

I am not anti-tech, having a new phone would not make me any better at tech than using my 10 year old phone... newer one will not do more than the old one did, all it will do is have the latest OS so that apps actually accept to install on it....  Phones allow you to phone, go to the web and run XY app. Any smartphone does that. Using the latest Smartphone will not make me any worse or better at tech. Just like replacing your car every year will not make you a more skilled and knowledgeable drier than me in my 23 year old Safrane. The guy and brain holding the wheel never change.

Anyway, think I got an idea.... I don't need to use MY phone to connect to their TEAM interview, it's just a link. I can open it using any phone so... I will ask a friend or two see if they can pass me their phone Friday morning for an hour...

I did plan on upgrading my phone fairly soon I admit, because it's uselessly slow at switching between open applications (say switching from the phone app to Firefox), and Firefox / browsing is extremely slow at loading pages / running websites, it is very painful.

But, I checked and you can now get a brand new smartphone for only 50 Euros ! Might push it to 75 Euros but not more. All I want is more strage space and a faster processor, which even a 50 Euros brand new phone should I guess be able to provide, compared to my 10 year old one. So I will cough 50 Euros sometime in the next year or two, and will keep that hopefully for another 10 years. The cheaper it is, the longer you keep it, the less damaged it does to your wallet and the environment.
That why I fully intend to run my 1999 Safrane and it's 345.000kms, to the ground. Chassis has not rust, engine is strong and bullet proof, 5 cylinder N/A Mansaxel engine, it can do much more than that.
Previous car 4 years ago almost,  was my Renault 21 Turbo diesel. Sold it at 450.000kms. Engine and gearbox were still working like new, was even still on its original clutch... I would still have that car today if it were not for the rust cancer which, although was not in any safety related / dangerous  area, failed to pass the recently strengthened MOT. Now they are overly critical about rust. A blown head gasket and worn out shocks, they don't give a fuck, but rust that's not even putting the safety at risk... they somehow care.


OK so now let's find somebody who can pass me his more modern phone....

I doubt you’ll get 12 months out of a 75€ android.  What you need to pay for is OS support not performance. Buyer beware. I’d rather have a €75 iPhone 7 refurb than a new android at the same price point. Plus the iPhone can actually be recycled properly.

What it does is give you is effective communication abilities which part of the job of any engineer or technical staff these days. That’s leverage and advantage at the end of the day. That means more cash and ultimately more TE 

On cars there are diminishing returns on fuel cost and repairs. You end up paying more keeping something which is why I got rid of that fucking awful Fiat and will be getting rid of my Citroen soon.

Edit: rise in fuel prices = inefficiency liability.

[bd139]

As for interviews, they are all Teams or Zoom these days. You have to suck it up if you want the money.

Ah teams, the application that makes you wish you were using Skype for Business. 

(For those who've never had that pleasure, that's like a sentence that ends "... makes you wish you were having a tooth extracted, without anaesthetic.".)

Oh god no not that turd. The only reason we use Zoom and Slack was an internal shadow ops revolt against Skype for Business 

[Cerebus]

Turds of the day...

Damp shed victim. Layer of ultra-crunk on it... only starting at £42 inc delivery 

OK, the display and multimeter parts have different model numbers, but it doesn't look like they are modular???

[bd139]

Turds of the day...

Damp shed victim. Layer of ultra-crunk on it... only starting at £42 inc delivery 

OK, the display and multimeter parts have different model numbers, but it doesn't look like they are modular???

They are actually modular. You pull two plastic strips out from the bum end and it splits into two. I think there’s a centronics connector in there.

[tggzzz]

Yep BD it's old, as I said the phone is from 2012 so 10 year old now  !

Yes they sent me an e-mail with a link / "invite "to join the meeting. I clicked on that, it then asked me to install the app. I click to do that, it opens up the " Android Store " , which then immediately says, in red letters : " Sorry your phone is not compatible with this version of the app ".

Well too bad !!! 

Yeah you are a "0.5% user". No one cares about you any more. Literally. Have to keep the plates spinning. 3 years old or newer oldest these days. I cycle mine out every 2 years.

It gets worse... as far as I can see the Barclays banking app only works on iPones, not on Androit.

And my phone is a phone, not a minaturised Merlin Tonto / ComputerPhone / One-per-desk nor an HP OmniGo 700LX

[Robert763]

WELCOME TO 5000!           
...
I think this is probably a good point to call it a night.    mnem       

Hi Dwagon,   Did you see my posts
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg4275517/#msg4275517
and
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg4275556/#msg4275556

Looks like same video scheme as the 892x series a Gondbes 8220 video converter would be my next stop.

Yup, sure did; and followed that rabbit-hole down to that LCD mod. Very tidy!

Problem is that the models we have tech ref on... the ones we've been talking about... are all proper non-greyscale monochrome monitors. Also, this family of monitors are all "1000 line" resolution (IIRC, I read that they "use" ~960 lines), so not too sanguine aboot dropping down to 800x600 resolution. 

There's a CDM-7SX191 monitor on eBay right now for $80... I've been meaning to get into one of these Chinesium video scan converters as a diag tool for a while, so that might still happen... but I think that if I were going to fix this scope, I'd prolly bite the bullet and buy that monitor.

This of course is all dependent on how my dispute resolves out.  I wanted to spend a little time tinkering just to see if there were signs of life; I was hoping it might be easy to mod the CDM-7SF191 I have in that 54600A so it thinks it's a CDM-7SX191.

I may instead try remoting into it over the RS-232 instead... in which case I'll soon be hunting down that software you posted and firing up the old WinXP Toughbook. 

mnem
 

More CRT types needed.

54600A Pixel_data and Marker_dots are already 32 levels internally, but only 2nd and 4th of Pixel_data are used externally.
So taking out all five is pretty simple but the situation should also be very clearly visible in the monitor.
Old Intensity reference pot can grant its pins.

54600A Pixel_data goes through U37 74LS194 and then HB goes to U30 74ALS08, FB does the same but first ORing Marker_dots in U31 74F32, so either will do a final FB.
All gates are used so extra chip must be added, no idea when the device is designed but 5 TTL monitor pins feels a bit too much.

nixiefreqq's neck board has 1 FET and 3 BJTs, I'd say that 5 TTL pins are not there.

Since 74S03 is the earlier model my guess is that later monitors became better and external data level reference was not needed anymore.
So comparing two datalines will tell how the situation is.

Testing with an extra *old* computer monitor should also be pretty easy, if one is available.
One gate chip is needed, old display modes were selected by swapping sync polarities.
Using only green as data is also fine.

Functional monitor is not needed if vertical line movement is possible, since its color value is different it should be very visible.
Maybe duplicating buttons of two side by side machines can do settings.

Resolution
255 V x 500 H 54600B
256 V x 500 H 54615B

54620-series
255 vertical by 1000 horizontal points (waveform area)
32 levels of gray scale

Is it really 1000 pixels?
Vertical is the same as before so monitor is probably also pretty same as before.
I tried to find some tube info but everything was too old.
So no real idea of physical resolution of those 7" mono tubes.
But it can be checked, just compare those old and new 546xx horizontal lines, 1000 res has half the pixel length.
If shorter pixel length is there then different CRT must be also present, if that is the key.

It is entirely possible I misremembered the line count on this monitor and conflated the numbers with those above. We know that the 54645A is using a PAL combi chip, so up to 625 lines (I can't remember if that's interlaced or not) to play with; so yeah, I can see those numbers being legit.

54645A and 54600A both use the same DataRay CDM-7SF191 part number. I've attached some pics. The main and CRT PCBs appear identical, even though the older CDM-7SF191 in my 54600A uses a Panasonic M18JCB34GH CRT vs the Toshiba E9054B31-CDHT CRT in my 54645A. That Toshiba CRT, however, is the same as the in the 54621D, so the CRTs in all 3 models must be interchangeable?

I'm thinking now that my original surmise is correct... provided nothing wrong with the mainboard, we should be able to get something useful on the screen with the 54621D and the CDM-7SF191 from my 54600A. Just need to see how they're modulating the brightness to get those greyscales. I guess my next step will be a breakout PCB. 

For now, tho, I've had to put it away; wifey has requested I look at the AC in our old Saturn.

mnem
 

Yes, CRTs are definitely interchangeable.

So monitor hack, shouldn't be overly difficult.

Old Hitachi/Matsushita schematics is too old and something seems to be missing but those two neck boards are very same.
Older neck board uses 74S03 as parallel inverters powering contrast trimmer directly and newer one seems to be different only from there.
Oldest has no neck board but contrast pot connection is pretty exactly same as 74S03 version of neck board.

Are all those 54620-series machines already closed.
More revealing solder side picture of neck board would be nice.

Completely forgot 54645A/D, its resolution was clear.
313 V x 512 H (pixels)

That's clearly PAL, but proportional and lowres.
Is there visible space between H-lines?
Back in the day CGA was clearly using only every other line of available physical pixels.
From pictures online there could be something missing but it is not much, dimming can reveal something but it doesn't change anything.
Full hires for PAL is 31250Hz H-sync, 31500Hz for NTSC.
Old Hitachi/Matsushita schematics has 24270Hz as H-sync and 60Hz as V-sync so 404 lines possible.

PAL and NTSC were also defined as 720 pixels wide, but no idea how much was physically available, not much more I guess.
One thing I remember though, very small pictures were exceptionally sharp.
So more than 500 was a norm already back then but no idea what was the major barrier, screen material or cathode ray energy.
FET in newer neck board indicates that rising time had a role.

From online pictures I'd say that 54600B grid is 100x60 pixels, vertical center line is around 128.
Vertical 256 must be a grid area, horizontal 500 seems to be all.
54622D pictures were pretty bad but horizontal pixel count seems to be more than those 54600Bs.

How this all then should be converted to VGA or SVGA.
Anti-aliasing is difficult when contrast is high and lines narrow.

One other thing, PAL pixel is not round, for that it needs a 5:4 screen, but that is for 576 visible scanlines.
Very nice, and clear.
What is the shape of the screen here?
Online pictures are pretty hopeless.

PAL and NTSC don't have pixels, only lines. Horizontal resolution is only limited by bandwidth.

[bd139]

Yep BD it's old, as I said the phone is from 2012 so 10 year old now  !

Yes they sent me an e-mail with a link / "invite "to join the meeting. I clicked on that, it then asked me to install the app. I click to do that, it opens up the " Android Store " , which then immediately says, in red letters : " Sorry your phone is not compatible with this version of the app ".

Well too bad !!! 

Yeah you are a "0.5% user". No one cares about you any more. Literally. Have to keep the plates spinning. 3 years old or newer oldest these days. I cycle mine out every 2 years.

As far as I can see the Barclays banking app only works on iPones, not on Androit. And my phone is a phone, not a minaturised Merlin Tonto / ComputerPhone / One-per-desk nor an HP OmniGo 700LX

My phone is basically an Acorn Archimedes running NeXTstep. Why would you want anything else

As for stuff working on iPhones only, that’s a fairly new thing. Android has some architectural flaws which make it utterly unsuitable for carrying out business with any privacy requirements. Organisations are starting to see it as a risk. The one I work for has a complete ban on Android globally.

[tggzzz]

Yep BD it's old, as I said the phone is from 2012 so 10 year old now  !

Yes they sent me an e-mail with a link / "invite "to join the meeting. I clicked on that, it then asked me to install the app. I click to do that, it opens up the " Android Store " , which then immediately says, in red letters : " Sorry your phone is not compatible with this version of the app ".

Well too bad !!! 

Yeah you are a "0.5% user". No one cares about you any more. Literally. Have to keep the plates spinning. 3 years old or newer oldest these days. I cycle mine out every 2 years.

As far as I can see the Barclays banking app only works on iPones, not on Androit. And my phone is a phone, not a minaturised Merlin Tonto / ComputerPhone / One-per-desk nor an HP OmniGo 700LX

My phone is basically an Acorn Archimedes running NeXTstep. Why would you want anything else

As for stuff working on iPhones only, that’s a fairly new thing. Android has some architectural flaws which make it utterly unsuitable for carrying out business with any privacy requirements. Organisations are starting to see it as a risk. The one I work for has a complete ban on Android globally.

Presumably that rules out Windows too.

[bd139]

Yep BD it's old, as I said the phone is from 2012 so 10 year old now  !

Yes they sent me an e-mail with a link / "invite "to join the meeting. I clicked on that, it then asked me to install the app. I click to do that, it opens up the " Android Store " , which then immediately says, in red letters : " Sorry your phone is not compatible with this version of the app ".

Well too bad !!! 

Yeah you are a "0.5% user". No one cares about you any more. Literally. Have to keep the plates spinning. 3 years old or newer oldest these days. I cycle mine out every 2 years.

As far as I can see the Barclays banking app only works on iPones, not on Androit. And my phone is a phone, not a minaturised Merlin Tonto / ComputerPhone / One-per-desk nor an HP OmniGo 700LX

My phone is basically an Acorn Archimedes running NeXTstep. Why would you want anything else

As for stuff working on iPhones only, that’s a fairly new thing. Android has some architectural flaws which make it utterly unsuitable for carrying out business with any privacy requirements. Organisations are starting to see it as a risk. The one I work for has a complete ban on Android globally.

Presumably that rules out Windows too.

They’re eviscerating that currently.

It’s funny watching someone staring at a 3270 emulator on a pink iMac 

[TERRA Operative]

IMO, the best time to upgrade your phone is when your current phone is causing you financial loss.
Even a second-hand late model phone is better than nothing.

Also, you can pry my Note 20 Ultra out of my cold dead hands, at least until the newer model takes my fancy.... But I haven't paid for my phones for a while, perk of the job....

[Robert763]

Turds of the day...

Damp shed victim. Layer of ultra-crunk on it... only starting at £42 inc delivery 

I like it. Not enough to pay that much for it, mind you.

And now for the unholy union between one of the robots in Silent Running and a Fluke 8060A we have the following for the bargain price of £650 

We need to come up with a name for the condition that makes people put the decimal in the wrong place. Dysdecima maybe?

While not TEA pricing, £650 is not that extreme for a working Fluke 8920x. It is a thermal TRMS meter and they are very few and far between if you want a new one. The Flukes are generally newer than the obvious alternative the HP 3403C