Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[duckduck]

Working up to it!... I gotta sell a bunch of stuff to make space before I get a proper-sized unit....

Today's impulse buy, a TME brand directional coupler for 1100yen from the local junk store in Akihabara.
Good for 717 - 2200 Mhz, 150W, etc.

Couldn't pass it up at that price, so now all I have to do it think of a use for it. 

Monitoring of your cell-phone booster? Not sure what lives up at those high frequencies, especially in Japan. For the bargain price that you paid, you could use the connectors and box for something else and still feel good about yourself.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Awwww yisss.

And more bits are still on the way.

That was clearly delivered to the wrong adress! Please send back here ASAP!

[Neomys Sapiens]

Working up to it!... I gotta sell a bunch of stuff to make space before I get a proper-sized unit....

Today's impulse buy, a TME brand directional coupler for 1100yen from the local junk store in Akihabara.
Good for 717 - 2200 Mhz, 150W, etc.

Couldn't pass it up at that price, so now all I have to do it think of a use for it. 

Monitoring of your cell-phone booster? Not sure what lives up at those high frequencies, especially in Japan. For the bargain price that you paid, you could use the connectors and box for something else and still feel good about yourself.

Not soo different from other places in general, only details may vary..
Lower end sees trunked radio replacing TV channels which are pushed away into cable and satellite, then UMTS cellular, aeronautical radionavigation (VOR, DME, SSR/ADS-B), the 23cm and 13cm HAM bands, all the GNSS, several satellite up/downliks, WLANs, cellular again, some legacy fixed multichannel, more cellular, radiosondes, and ISM from 2.4...2.5GHz.
And I think he should not dismantle it until he gets a better one..

[factory]

New acquisition:

HP 403B with Option 01 (dB scale). AC Voltmeter.

Everyone's (OK, some people are) talking about getting TE at hamfests. Now that I'm a ham, I figured I'd give it a shot. I dragged junior out with me and he was happy to eat one of the donuts that are inevitably found where hams gather. We made a day-trip out of it and stopped for lunch and walked on the boardwalk and hit the playground.

The seller said that it came from the local phone company. He had two for sale at USD10 / each. I picked the one with the better looking case. It had a hang-tag on it that read "Poor Batteries". The seller also threw in a PH163 splitter cable, which is probably more valuable to me than the 403B. Whatever feet were included with the unit are long gone. The NiCDs leaked and there is some corrosion on the main PCB. Upon casual observation, I don't see any gross damage to the traces. Without any ICs, I actually have to work to date this unit, I found a couple of the Sprague caps with what might be date codes of 6643L and 6634J. So, 1966. Does that seem right? The USA was bombing Vietnam and the Rolling Stones were coming out with new music. This thing is a tiny slice of history.

EDIT:

Also bought a small cast aluminum project box for USD2 and a small set of Micro-mesh sandpaper + accessories for USD5.

The 403B (without feet) & power cable, are ¼ of a 3550A Portable Test Set, I acquired one a few months ago, after a few on here bought slighty more modern telephone test sets.

My 3550A contains a 204B Oscillator, 353A Patch Panel, 403B AC Voltmeter in a heavy metal case, no feet are used in this setup, only the 204B & 403B require power, hence the splitter cable assembly, included in the lid are the patch cables and mains lead.
Still need to evict the batteries from the 204B & 403B, I can't remember, but I suspect they will both need some modification to use without batteries fitted. 





David

[Neomys Sapiens]

DHL is to logistics what Mordac is to IT. They should adopt the slogan 'We prevent deliveries!'
While I was away at work, DHL obviously tried to deliver TWO parcels to me, which have been brought now to TWO DHL parcel shops.
 
Otherwise a crap day too. Except that was able to perform a 'miracle healing' of the spectrum analyser of our production test system. The instrument was recently calibrated and when returned, the test system software did work no more. Now I had seen that before - the E44xx spectrum analysers from HPAK have a menu point to toggle the limit line processing mode between absolute and relative, which is remanent. When the mode is set to absolute and you try to load a relative set of limit lines, it does not accept them without informing the user of it in a comprehensible way.

What irked me is that I had definitely instructed my last Python contractor (constrictor?) to include the command to set the right mode before downloading the limit lines instead of relying on it to never change. I hope he's bitten by a snake for that.
Still looking for a Data Hold probe, still bothering what sort of major aquisition comes next, still nothing new except an 'Executive Pocket Chum' (tiny caliper) and another Typ K thermocouple.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Working up to it!... I gotta sell a bunch of stuff to make space before I get a proper-sized unit....

Today's impulse buy, a TME brand directional coupler for 1100yen from the local junk store in Akihabara.
Good for 717 - 2200 Mhz, 150W, etc.

Couldn't pass it up at that price, so now all I have to do it think of a use for it. 

One could think that the labeling of that device, which is similar to the one we use, does not leave much room to error..
One troupe of badly trained monkeys installation company installed all of them backwards, with the forward power frying the small termination into which the reflected power is meant to dispel. This was clearly wrong, but at least consistent with the thing being in line with the main transmission line.
They have been beaten recently. Another TOBTM in a Scandinavian country with a border to Russia and many swamps (where else?!?) managed to connect the transmitter output (60dbm) to the -20dB coupled connector at the side and the monitor line as well as the antenna to the in-line connectors.
The results from this station were all 'sometimes/maybe/whatever'. I'm looking forward to perform an autopsy on the victim.

[Robert763]

DHL is to logistics what Mordac is to IT. They should adopt the slogan 'We prevent deliveries!'
While I was away at work, DHL obviously tried to deliver TWO parcels to me, which have been brought now to TWO DHL parcel shops.
 
Otherwise a crap day too. Except that was able to perform a 'miracle healing' of the spectrum analyser of our production test system. The instrument was recently calibrated and when returned, the test system software did work no more. Now I had seen that before - the E44xx spectrum analysers from HPAK have a menu point to toggle the limit line processing mode between absolute and relative, which is remanent. When the mode is set to absolute and you try to load a relative set of limit lines, it does not accept them without informing the user of it in a comprehensible way.

What irked me is that I had definitely instructed my last Python contractor (constrictor?) to include the command to set the right mode before downloading the limit lines instead of relying on it to never change. I hope he's bitten by a snake for that.
Still looking for a Data Hold probe, still bothering what sort of major aquisition comes next, still nothing new except an 'Executive Pocket Chum' (tiny caliper) and another Typ K thermocouple.

What Data Hold probe are you looking for?
I have a NOs Fluke 80T-H I don't have a meter for.

[Neomys Sapiens]

DHL is to logistics what Mordac is to IT. They should adopt the slogan 'We prevent deliveries!'
While I was away at work, DHL obviously tried to deliver TWO parcels to me, which have been brought now to TWO DHL parcel shops.
 
Otherwise a crap day too. Except that was able to perform a 'miracle healing' of the spectrum analyser of our production test system. The instrument was recently calibrated and when returned, the test system software did work no more. Now I had seen that before - the E44xx spectrum analysers from HPAK have a menu point to toggle the limit line processing mode between absolute and relative, which is remanent. When the mode is set to absolute and you try to load a relative set of limit lines, it does not accept them without informing the user of it in a comprehensible way.

What irked me is that I had definitely instructed my last Python contractor (constrictor?) to include the command to set the right mode before downloading the limit lines instead of relying on it to never change. I hope he's bitten by a snake for that.
Still looking for a Data Hold probe, still bothering what sort of major aquisition comes next, still nothing new except an 'Executive Pocket Chum' (tiny caliper) and another Typ K thermocouple.

What Data Hold probe are you looking for?
I have a NOs Fluke 80T-H I don't have a meter for.

I can see now that my assumption was wrong that the DH probe for the Fluke 8050A would also use a 3.5mm tip/ring connector for the switch contact. How does it even work? when I look into the circuit of the Fluke 8050A, it seems that the mA jack is involved with one side of this switch contact - as long as anyhing BUT mA is selected? Is the thin protrusion only a guide pin or an active contact?
Certainly it would involve heavy modification to wake the 80T-H work with the UDL44.

To see what I need - see here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/seeking-data-hold-probe-for-dmm/msg4445047/#msg4445047
as well as my post about the UDL44 here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg4424560/#msg4424560

I think it is a disadvantage that the design of the fluke 80T-H forces the user to utilize the ground lead on the probe, when in many situations a separate connection of the ground jack to the star poind or a good accessible ground contact might work better.

[Robert763]

The small pin on the 80T-H is just keying. All you do to hold a reading is connect the current terminal to the common terminal.
The 80T-H does work with HP DMMs with data hold. I tried it on a 3435A but the 3466A and 3438A also work from a quick check.

[Vgkid]

Needed another handheld dmm , since my Fluke 87-1 selector switch is getting flakey (turns on when pressed), so I was searching for a handheld meter, that was one I always wanted. It was an Amprobe AM-140A (Brymen 857), and for a good price. Unfortunately, it was used, with some physical damage.
The bail was broken, it seemed rather flimsy . These tend to go for around 200 , picked up for 97.

[TERRA Operative]

Well, I just has some fantastic customer service from Keysight.

Just asked them this morning about my 85032B Type N cal kit. Some of the labels on the connectors were rubbed clean along with serial numbers, so I sent them a message asking if they can check the calibration history (it was last cal'd in 2010) to see if the serial numbers were written down in their records.

They got back to me within the hour and gave me all the serial numbers they had on record, which gave me the missing ones I needed.
They weren't forthcoming with the old calibration paperwork though, but I wasn't expecting so due to privacy issues re. the previous owners details etc.

So, special thanks to Sugiyama-san in KeysightCare for the awesome help!
Now I can get the replacement label stickers I'm drawing up in Adobe Illustrator all finished up. 



On that note, if anyone has a 85032B Type N Calibration kit that needs new labels for the connectors, I have the templates pretty much ready to go so I can whip up replacement stickers at any time. 

[TERRA Operative]

Needed another handheld dmm , since my Fluke 87-1 selector switch is getting flakey (turns on when pressed), so I was searching for a handheld meter, that was one I always wanted. It was an Amprobe AM-140A (Brymen 857), and for a good price. Unfortunately, it was used, with some physical damage.
The bail was broken, it seemed rather flimsy . These tend to go for around 200 , picked up for 97.

That part looks somewhat 3D printable, if it isn't available as spare parts from the manufacturer.

[Ice-Tea]

Wanna see something funny?



Yeah, I don't think it's funny either.

[Robert763]

Ouch   

[dxl]

Wanna see something funny?

Is that an HPAK E441x power meter?

[TERRA Operative]

Shhhiiiiiiiiii~~~t

[Ice-Tea]

Wanna see something funny?

Is that an HPAK E441x power meter?

Yes.

[Robert763]

The Stonex Total Station arrived tonight. Outer packing was terrible but as it's in a fitted transit case not too much of an issue. The thing appears to be new and unused. There are the tools, two batteries and a bag of reflective stickers. There is even a data lead with RS232 and USB. The only things missing are the charger and manual. I guess they are (were) in someones desk drawer. Charger connector is standard and after a quick charge it all seems to work. Certainly both encoders are OK and the laser (visible) works.
Need to get it set up and have a proper play.
It's "only" 5 arc-second accuracy but its reflectorless, and has dual control/display. Complete bargain at £85.

[AVGresponding]

@Robert763 do you have any knowledge of or about these? A service manual would be super useful, but I'd settle for a user manual summary...

[Vince]

Given Schlumberger's line of business, I bet it's some kind of custom DSA specialized for their oil and gas drilling operations.

I am not sure what you are planning on doing with this thing ?! Wanna drill in your backyard hoping to find some crude oil ?! 

Maybe it's got some general purpose enough features in it that you could use. Just leave it on the ground to analyze the earth movements and make it trigger and alarm in your house when it senses an imminent earth quake ?

I don't know.... but I am very intrigued by you purchasing this thing, I must admit...


Google found on ebay an identical looking unit under the name Solartron-Schlumberger rather than plain Schlumberger. Model number is RVC 500 rather than SI1210, so maybe you will have better luck using this model name.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/192887623276

[dxl]

Wanna see something funny?

Is that an HPAK E441x power meter?

Yes.

Sorry. I meant *was* this an HPAK E441x. 

[Robert763]

Given Schlumberger's line of business, I bet it's some kind of custom DSA specialized for their oil and gas drilling operations.

I am not sure what you are planning on doing with this thing ?! Wanna drill in your backyard hoping to find some crude oil ?! 

Maybe it's got some general purpose enough features in it that you could use. Just leave it on the ground to analyze the earth movements and make it trigger and alarm in your house when it sense an imminent earth quake ?

I don't know.... but I am very intrigued by you purchasing this thing, I must admit...


Google found on ebay an identical looking unit under the name Solartron-Schlumberger rather than plain Schlumberger. Model number is RVC 500 rather than SI1210, so maybe you will have better luck using this model name.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/192887623276

Good guess Vince, but wrong. Closer to aviation.
These are used for environmental testing. Specfically vibration. I've come across them when testing aircraft parts. They generate a noise like spectrum of frequencies with cotrolled total amplitude / energy that simulates long duration exposure to vibration. The output is amplified and drives a "shaker" which is like a giant loudspeaker driver. These units take feedback from an accelerometer on the shaker to close the looop and ensure the right levels of vibration.
Very specialised bit of kit. I don't have a manual I'm afraid. Have you tried a websearch?
What are you going to do with it?

[Ice-Tea]

Used in automotive too ;-)

Edit: did a few jobs for these guys:

https://www.qsources.be/

Comparable industry.

[factory]

I have a brochure for the Solartron SI1210 Series RVC, the 1210 (3kHz bandwidth) is for mechanical (electrodynamic) shakers, 1209 (500Hz bandwidth) for hydraulic shakers.
There are some pictures of a car & car parts being tested by the FMC and a camera & other electronics being tested by Ling Dynamic Systems. Applications are for transport of all kinds, road ,rail, aero, marine. Also, production & packaging, structures and material fatigue testing. 

I note one branded Solartron/LDS (model 1211 on back) currently on ePay was used by the Army Weapons Division of British Aerospace.

David

[factory]

Wanna see something funny?



Yeah, I don't think it's funny either.

What the hell happened, did they really supply PSUs with the polarity reversed at some point, or is that an after-market replacement?

Though seeing those connectors, has reminded I accidentality swapped two identical sized connectors, in an old portable computer at work, after recapping the PSU. Most of the PSU still worked after it was corrected, but the supply for the built in Triniturd monitor never worked again.  Ended up having to swap PSUs with the second (faulty) computer.

David