Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[bd139]

I got the 2235. And there's a surprise. No pictures yet. Have patience. 

Surprise? Coackroaches? Please be cockroaches! 

[Specmaster]

The Anniversary Project Table is encouraging all sorts of family fun; tonight after dinner we played Exploding Kittens for the first time. I led with Catomic Bomb right out the gate to take out MIL. Son got to wear the Cone of Shame, and wifey had to hit me with 2 Nope/Directed Attack combos in a row to win.

This game is perversely addictive; the basic strategy is be a dick to everybody to win.

mnem

We do exploding kittens here. A strategy tip: save ALL your skip and see the future cards and attack cards to the end, then burn them on the remaining player. Literally haven't lost a game now. I suspect it's flawed.

There is also a very similar game called Exploding Minions, but without the cone of shame.

[Specmaster]

O/T warning.
Due to an accident with my son's cardboard box opening tool, I have to get my offside rear seatbelt replaced. He sat in the rear while having the tool dangling from his belt, and it slashed the webbing (cream to make it even worse) and the MOT is in 3 weeks time  Thought it would be easy to replace it myself, Nah what a faff have to strip out almost half the interior at the rear and in the boot to gain access, need special tools, workshop manual is not clear about what and how to do it. It sends you here, there, and everywhere between pages of a few hundred-page manual in PDF format. Diagrams inconclusive.

I have had a go and given up, the instructions are nothing like what is fitted in the car when it comes to removing the trim panels to access the belt.

Now waiting on the dealers to come back with a quote, not expecting it to be less than about £300 to £400, plus its time for brake fluid change, 80,000 mile service and MOT on top of that, this is going to be painful I'm sure. 

[xrunner]

I got the 2235. And there's a surprise. No pictures yet. Have patience. 

Surprise? Coackroaches? Please be cockroaches! 

Yea feel my pain!!! 

[Zenith]

This is an odd one, it screams "scam", but they've put a lot more effort in than usual:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325309887614

Entirely worthless (and they go for cheap) without modules...

50GHz scopes are so far beyond my needs, or what I'm prepared to pay, that I've taken no interest in them. But a quick look on the WWW shows that even for spares/repairs, or with faults, people want serious money for them.

https://www.machinio.com/tektronix/tds8000/oscilloscopes#results

The modules are another thing. I'd guess they are hideously expensive and very easily damaged.

I've no doubt that the ebay item exists and you could buy it if you wished.

[xrunner]

Thought I'd try this solder sucker - an Engineer SS-02.

[BU508A]

Thought I'd try this solder sucker - an Engineer SS-02.

I'm still having the same opinion about those. 
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg1367102/#msg1367102

[bd139]

I've never had a decent solder pump if I'm honest. Had a few cheapies and a Weller and they were all terrible. Are the Engineer ones worth it? I mostly use the desolder station now but it's a pain waiting for it to heat up sometimes.

[xrunner]

I've never had a decent solder pump if I'm honest. Had a few cheapies and a Weller and they were all terrible. Are the Engineer ones worth it? I mostly use the desolder station now but it's a pain waiting for it to heat up sometimes.

I'll try it today and let you know. However, just operating it with one hand - you just know it's gotta be good. 

[Zenith]

Why is the engineer any better than the generic cheapies?

I've got a Soldapullt, which is bit like a reverse air pistol, and a couple of cheapies and I usually use the cheapies because they are smaller. I also had a desoldering iron with a one shot pump, but I found that was useless.

I've always found solder pumps a bit hit and miss, sometimes they work like magic and sometimes they don't.

[factory]

Weird the D.A.T.A. Digest transistor 1994 book (size of an ancient telephone directory) I have, puts the 2N3347 under the "low power silicon PNP" section, TO-77 package, but it doesn't have the pinout.

Suggested replacements are IT137, NTE82, SK9115 and 2N3726.

David

Yep! They do that!
I remember burning mucho hours chasing replacements, that when you find them, are not the same at all.
Most of the time they are OK for very common transistors, but anything a bit different, & they are prone to errors.

I usually ended up going with my default:- "What does Philips (or Sony) use in a similar application?"
Most times they turned out to quite close equivalents.

The book has many prefix symbols (■ reversed from manfacturer info, ♦ direct replacement, ▼ functional replacement, ▲ improved replacment) but the 2N3347 has none of these and as I said yesterday no pinout, despite being the books size.

And yes we had problems with the equivalents lists in various books and parts not working or failing under certain tests (overload/short circuit tests being one problem area, where the unit should return to normal operation once the overload/short was removed, with no damaged parts).
Also the less said about grey market suppliers & dodgy relabelled parts the better. 

I did post pictures from the TI trannystor book, as it can't be wrong, can it? Well apart from the odd "triode" references for that dual transistor, was the writer dreaming about audiophool devices when it was written?  maybe not as it was the 1977 edition.

David

[bd139]

Why is the engineer any better than the generic cheapies?

I've got a Soldapullt, which is bit like a reverse air pistol, and a couple of cheapies and I usually use the cheapies because they are smaller. I also had a desoldering iron with a one shot pump, but I found that was useless.

I've always found solder pumps a bit hit and miss, sometimes they work like magic and sometimes they don't.

Yeah that's the problem I had. But most of the time they didn't work and you ended up knackering something in the process.

Good video here where one actually works 

https://youtu.be/WyiA4Giw5IM?t=295

Actually worth watching for any Tek fans as well.

[factory]

After watching that Tek video, I must confess to using pliers to rip 741/1558 can packages from scrap boards at work, it was the quickest way to salvage the spacers from under them.  As we couldn't get purchasing to buy new ones.

David

[xrunner]

Another thing is the silicone tip is not hard like other solder suckers. It can form itself to the work area and so the suction is applied with less leakage around it.

Why is the engineer any better than the generic cheapies?

I've got a Soldapullt, which is bit like a reverse air pistol, and a couple of cheapies and I usually use the cheapies because they are smaller. I also had a desoldering iron with a one shot pump, but I found that was useless.

I've always found solder pumps a bit hit and miss, sometimes they work like magic and sometimes they don't.

Yeah that's the problem I had. But most of the time they didn't work and you ended up knackering something in the process.

Good video here where one actually works 

https://youtu.be/WyiA4Giw5IM?t=295

Actually worth watching for any Tek fans as well.

[factory]

Hello, my name is David and I am NOT a test equipaholic.

I love this and it is not bad for me.

I have just started my journey.  Began by scrounging the local university surplus center for enclosures to house a dim bulb tester and isolation transformer.  Got some gigantic electrolytics from inside one of 'em.

I had zero test equipment beyond a no-name handheld multimeter.

Now I also own a (possibly broken) EICO signal generator, a (possibly broken) HeathKit capacitor checker and a (possibly broken) Tektronix 7603 with two amplifiers and timebase plugin.

Tomorrow I will probably own a (possibly broken) Tektronix tm506 mainframe.  And a DMM for it by the end of next week.

I still have to buy wire to build the dim bulb tester.

Then fix the probably-broken mainframe.
Then fix the probably-broken scope.
Then fix the probably-broken signal generator.

Then fix the RCA amp that started all this.

Am I doing it right?

Welcome to this thread, the rathole, and the forum

If you are enjoying it and not harming anybody, then you are doing it right. Except if you set out to rape working equipment for parts like valves

Quick word of caution. Don't use a dim-bulb tester on anything with an SMPS, i.e. much big "modern" equipment. SMPSs act to keep the output power constant; if you lower the input voltage they suck more input current, and the semiconductors don't like that.

Oh yes, learn about RIFA capacitors prefereably before they teach you they exist. We've all had that done to us

Shouldn't that be, don't use a variac with SMPS, as they cannot limit the current at any output voltage.
An appropriate wattage lamp in a dim-bulb tester if chosen correctly, could prevent the current going high enough to fry the switching transistor, when fault finding on something that repeatedly detonates multiple parts. 

David

[Saskia]

Hubby is trying to blackmail me. he said: kick out 3 pins and get the legends of valhalla.

Reichelt haul.
Lab PSU (Korad), Soldering/Desoldering station w/ integrated vacuum pump, Ryzen 5 5600G, Uni-T SMD parts quick tester and assorted stuff not really worth mentioning.

[BU508A]

Another thing is the silicone tip is not hard like other solder suckers. It can form itself to the work area and so the suction is applied with less leakage around it.

Why is the engineer any better than the generic cheapies?

I've got a Soldapullt, which is bit like a reverse air pistol, and a couple of cheapies and I usually use the cheapies because they are smaller. I also had a desoldering iron with a one shot pump, but I found that was useless.

I've always found solder pumps a bit hit and miss, sometimes they work like magic and sometimes they don't.

Yeah that's the problem I had. But most of the time they didn't work and you ended up knackering something in the process.

Good video here where one actually works 

https://youtu.be/WyiA4Giw5IM?t=295

Actually worth watching for any Tek fans as well.

And that is imo the main secret, why the Engineer is better than most of the other desoldering pumps.
The flexible silicon tube makes it more efficient in sucking the solder.

Edit:

YT review of one of those Engineer solder suckers:

[Cerebus]

Hello, my name is David and I am NOT a test equipaholic.

<snip>

Am I doing it right?

Yes, but keep in mind that you need one working scope to fix the broken scope too.

Or several "kind of working" scopes that are broken in different and interesting ways that you use cyclically and incrementally to fix each other.

Weirdly that doesn't sound as different from the day job as I'd like it to. 

[Cerebus]

The Anniversary Project Table is encouraging all sorts of family fun; tonight after dinner we played Exploding Kittens for the first time. I led with Catomic Bomb right out the gate to take out MIL. Son got to wear the Cone of Shame, and wifey had to hit me with 2 Nope/Directed Attack combos in a row to win.

This game is perversely addictive; the basic strategy is be a dick to everybody to win.

mnem

We do exploding kittens here. A strategy tip: save ALL your skip and see the future cards and attack cards to the end, then burn them on the remaining player. Literally haven't lost a game now. I suspect it's flawed.

Or requires a Machiavellian psychopath Ferengi to play a "perfect game". Just saying ...

[Cerebus]

Hello, my name is David and I am NOT a test equipaholic.

I love this and it is not bad for me.

I have just started my journey.  Began by scrounging the local university surplus center for enclosures to house a dim bulb tester and isolation transformer.  Got some gigantic electrolytics from inside one of 'em.

I had zero test equipment beyond a no-name handheld multimeter.

Now I also own a (possibly broken) EICO signal generator, a (possibly broken) HeathKit capacitor checker and a (possibly broken) Tektronix 7603 with two amplifiers and timebase plugin.

Tomorrow I will probably own a (possibly broken) Tektronix tm506 mainframe.  And a DMM for it by the end of next week.

I still have to buy wire to build the dim bulb tester.

Then fix the probably-broken mainframe.
Then fix the probably-broken scope.
Then fix the probably-broken signal generator.

Then fix the RCA amp that started all this.

Am I doing it right?

Welcome to this thread, the rathole, and the forum

If you are enjoying it and not harming anybody, then you are doing it right. Except if you set out to rape working equipment for parts like valves

Quick word of caution. Don't use a dim-bulb tester on anything with an SMPS, i.e. much big "modern" equipment. SMPSs act to keep the output power constant; if you lower the input voltage they suck more input current, and the semiconductors don't like that.

Oh yes, learn about RIFA capacitors prefereably before they teach you they exist. We've all had that done to us

Shouldn't that be, don't use a variac with SMPS, as they cannot limit the current at any output voltage.
An appropriate wattage lamp in a dim-bulb tester if chosen correctly, could prevent the current going high enough to fry the switching transistor, when fault finding on something that repeatedly detonates multiple parts. 

David

Yes, it's worth repeating regularly, and in big letters: SMPS are constant power devices, deliberately limit their input voltage and they will draw as much current as necessary to maintain constant power until they cannot do so any more and emit magic smoke. Almost none are engineered to avoid this failure mode if you push them too far below their specified input voltage range.

[med6753]

I got the 2235. And there's a surprise. No pictures yet. Have patience. 

Surprise? Coackroaches? Please be cockroaches! 

You wish.  Nope. Here it is. Notice something? Yep, it works! Powers up fine, nice sharp trace. Yep, it's filthy as hell and the pots/switches are noisy. But it works! How long is anyone's guess. 

No time today to do a tear down. Will be a follow up. And of course I'll be preparing a BOM for re-cap, etc.



Here's what came with it. A manual for a 2211. Huh? And Ops manual only. I've already downloaded the service manual. And one P6122 probe.

[mnementh]

And soon comes the BOM for oodles and oodles of caps and a capacitor shotgun montage... 

mnem
 

[bd139]

I wouldn’t recap it. There’s RIFAs on the inlet board and a nasty ass mains filter. Leave it at that. If the PSU isn’t whining audibly then I wouldn’t poke it. Super fragile they are.

[mnementh]

Hello, my name is David and I am NOT a test equipaholic.

<snip>

Am I doing it right?

Yes, but keep in mind that you need one working scope to fix the broken scope too.

Only one...? Have you forgotten where you are...?  you need at least triplets to fix one broken scope. 

Oh, and welcome to the nuthouse, David.  

The neverending taco truck in the corner is having a BOGO on the bean, potato & egg breakfast tacos; get 'em while they're fresh; I've been doing straight Columbian Supremo for the boost, so the coffee should be half-decent for a few days, even if beanflying is AWOL. Papa Smurf just added a sand-state Tekto the herd; I expect some capacitor disemboweling in the near future, and bd139 is moving in the real world, but we see him from time to time in between boxes, so we know he's alive. If you see Vince peek in from the new job, give him a wave, willya?  The crusty old Aardvark in the corner is still a great source of Mac info if that's your thing; he's been irreversibly contaminated for decades, but watch out if he reaches for the conversational cutlery... Oh, and the pervy little dragon fancier schtick is mine; get your own personality flaw! 

mnem

[mnementh]

This is an odd one, it screams "scam", but they've put a lot more effort in than usual: 

   https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325309887614

Entirely worthless (and they go for cheap) without modules...

Exactly. without modules, it is not a 50Ghz scope... it is a box with a prehistoric PC, buggy SMPS and crappy TN LCD in it.

mnem
"There's enough misery to go around without grabbing for more." ~gramma Kate