Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[factory]

[img width]https://img.leboncoin.fr/api/v1/lbcpb1/images/5c/21/8b/5c218b0f81a1c44f2f59b37ada63b126f251ba2b.jpg?rule=ad-large[/img]

Just stumbled upon this thing.

https://www.leboncoin.fr/bricolage/2274953382.htm

Caught my eye somehow.

In good nick for 50 Euros.

A Solartron PSU, type AS 870.2 it looks like.

Looks hollow-state era from the outside, but the front panel reads "transistorized" so...

I like the Vintage look with that cool round meter, love this style of meter so much.... which contrasts with the state of the art feature it offers : digital precision selection of the output voltage, using 3 decade rotary switches. Looks like it can go up to 30V in 0.1V increments.

Not much about that one on the web, apart from a grainy picture of the later? AS870-3 on page 21 here: https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Wireless-World/60s/Wireless-World-1962-07.pdf



Page 19 has a 60Mc/s Rochar counter timer, bet not many of those around and other things I've never heard of such as a Blackburn Electronics DMM.





I do have some old Solartron brochures here, will see if the PSU is in any of them, the panel meter looks to be for the output current only.

P.S. Need to forward the Mouser bits to you, currently looking for a smaller box.

David

[Vince]

Yeah not much info on the web.... Google Images found me this pic of the original / vanilla type 870, no ".2" or ".3" suffix.

Got proper looking vintage decade knobs, looks much better, consistent vintage look.
Also the meter looks a bit different, also better looking to me.

Overall I find this vanilla 870 really nice looking, I would not mind having one 

Interesting the Rochar counter sitting atop a prescaler..

[Vince]

Found a litte box on my door step today.... a friend who works in a Telco, maintains the phone / fiber / ADSL network in the area, so every time he obsoletes some old piece of gear, or it's broken and replaced, instead of stuffing it in the trash container at work... he brings it to me. 

Not that any of it could be reused of course, but it's always cool to see how professional Telecom gear was made some decades ago, and salvage some parts.

So today he gave me some rack mount board from the mid '70s, no idea what it does of course. It looks like it's made of two symmetrical parts.

It's got cool  metal can IC's. I have got x2 SFC 2307 and x2 LM301.
Both are op-amps apparently.
Nice and original looking resistor trimmers., 4 of them, cubic shaped..




Then he also gave me some handheld tool, a "terminal".
Again no idea what it does. There is a custom keyboard overlay.



Inside, it says mid 1994.
There is :

Digital part :

- 6805 based MCU (a few bytes of built-in RAM + one 8 bit timer)
- 2.4576 MHz crystal
- A 27C64 EPROM (don't think that's enough for Linux or Doom2... )
- TL7702 supply voltage supervisor.
- Some logic chips : 74HC04, 08, 574 (buffer between CPU and EPROM), and a CD40107 open-drain NAND gates.


Analog part :

- x2 LM358  op-amp
- x2 7660S voltage inverter, meant to produce supplies for an RS232 link, it says.
- Multi-turn trimmer
- x5 lovely mustard dipped tantalums, love those, they look so sexy... until they explode or burn to the ground that is ... then they don't look so sexy anymore 

Display : colour plasma VGA.  OK no, just a 4x16 text LCD...

Of course I could not help but see if I could power it up and play with it for a minute.
Alas, tough luck : no internal battery, and no DC jack... the only thing that  interfaces this terminal to the outside world, is a DB9 connector at the top.
So power surely had to be supplied externally via this DB9.
So looked the components and traces around the connector.
As you can see there is an axial blue electrolytic cap right next to the DB9 hmmm...
I buzzed its negative terminal, was connected to the ground pin of the logic ICs, looking good.
So I fired up my lab supply and gave that cap 5Volts... terminal comes to life, beeps briefly, and the LCD initializes, but all it displays is a blank screen with a solid cursor in the top left corner.
So that meant the CPU must be running and working, since the LCD just does not initializes itself by magic...
 
But still no luck, bummer.

I tried the "Menu" key on the keypad, no luck, no menu comes up.
It's just stuck there....
I guess the CPU must be waiting for some things to happen on the DB9 before it displays the startup menu.

Anyway, I will salvage the MCU and its EPROM, can't wait to read it... once I have got my Vintage chip programmer working... 
Will salvage the LCD too of course, and the analog chips and XTAL and 358 because I have only 8 in stock, so adding these two here will nicely round that up to 10.
... and the multi-turn trimmer as well, and the DB9, and the buzzer and... well I think it's just full of interesting things.... 

This delightful entertainment was provided to you by ElectroFrog, Inc. 

[srb1954]

The processor on the hand-held terminal is from the 6805 family not the 6502 family. It is a simplified version of 6800/6801 architecture and I think it was one of the first all CMOS microprocessor chips that Motorola produced.

[Vince]

Oops yes, was a typo, now corrected 

[Runco990]

Something else.

Looks like an HP427A with the original battery, plastic tray and the hold down point.  BTW, I hollowed out my battery, put in a foam case for 2 9V batteries in series to keep the original look.  Works great.

Yes?

[TERRA Operative]

TDS540 day!

Snapped it up for a few thousand yen, faults and all.
I'll rip out the firmware for archival and have a bit of a poke at it, see if I can fix it for minimal outlay. If not, it'll be scrapped for parts... I don't mind spending time on it, but no too much cash, I already have enough 600 and 700 series scopes to deal with.

First up that I can see, the CRT needs adjustment. No big deal. I also replaced one small knob already.
It doesn't pass SPC (probably relays, I can get them cheap and if the hybrids are the same as 600 and 700 series, I have a bunch spare) and there are some cal errors too, so maybe needs a calibration but I have the gear for that too.

Hopefully there's no capacitors that have puked up their guts inside.......



[EDIT] Nope, looks like the hybrid assembly is different, but alas! I have a spare! Because of course I do.

[TERRA Operative]

Well, replacing the hybrid module assembly was a bust, unless the spare one has bad relays too (I never checked it... ) I will check all the relays tonight as rhat's easy to do and it rules them out as an issue.

Also, I found this... I've never seen an NVRAM module wirh the battery leaking out through the epoxy encapsulation....
Could be the reason for some of the error messages maybe?... 

It's a DS1245Y, and are still available new from Digikey/Mouser, but Mouser won't send them international because reasons...
I might have a go at cutting it open and attaching an external battery before I drop fifty bucks on a new one.

[wkb]

A few thousend Yen, that is a bargain for sure. Around here, even in broken state, it would carry an asking price mucho higher.  It looks in good cosmetical shape too

Wilko

[tggzzz]

... but it's always cool to see how professional Telecom gear was made some decades ago, and salvage some parts.

It is now FTTP, but decade or so ago the telco was replacing the POTS lines under the pavement by my parents' house. I asked, and they chopped off some of this...


I'll leave people to work out what the materials are (not too difficult!)

[tautech]

... but it's always cool to see how professional Telecom gear was made some decades ago, and salvage some parts.

It is now FTTP, but decade or so ago the telco was replacing the POTS lines under the pavement by my parents' house. I asked, and they chopped off some of this...


I'll leave people to work out what the materials are (not too difficult!)

Saw a 50 pair paper insulated cable damaged by lightning.....wasn't pretty ! 

[TERRA Operative]

Back when I was a sparky in Australia I would sometimes come across the single-pair version of that cable in older houses.

Still worked fine, and I guess the outer sheath provided pretty good shielding from interference, and gamma radiation.



Also, new toy day! Got me a Uni-T UTi260K-J thermal camera (J for Japanese model = no Fahrenheit and a Japanese printed user manual, but the UI still has English option) for 11000yen or about US$85. 
It's the model for human temperature reading (30 - 45 degrees C with 0.1 degree resolution) so is in all probability some leftover Corona surplus, but it's brand new and works fine so I ain't complaining about the price! Good enough for PCB diagnostics once I order a macro lens for it.

(Who knows what it's looking at? Easy to figure out..)

[tggzzz]

Back when I was a sparky in Australia I would sometimes come across the single-pair version of that cable in older houses.

Still worked fine, and I guess the outer sheath provided pretty good shielding from interference, and gamma radiation.

Interference shielding and, provided it was pressurised with dry air, reduction of water "interference".

I've also seen lead-sheathed mains cable, where the lead was the earth. Shudder.
And even earlier, single-insulated wires laid in the "grooves" of an E-section piece of wood.
Wish I'd kept some. Ah well.

[TERRA Operative]

Yeah, I've seen that wooden crap, we called it 'cap and case' in Australia.
And with the Australian heat over a hundred-odd years, the india rubber they used for insulation is now like flakey chalk... An absolute pain to join to, requiring a very gentle touch and good amounts of heatshrink to encase the old insulation and hold it all together..

I mostly came across it when we were ripping it all out to replace with modern stuff though, so no care was required there.

[m k]

Still 56k?

[m k]

Something else.

Looks like an HP427A with the original battery, plastic tray and the hold down point.  BTW, I hollowed out my battery, put in a foam case for 2 9V batteries in series to keep the original look.  Works great.

Yes?

Yes.

I think I've seen those pictures, at least something very similar.

First I thought adding 15 AAA cells but case was a problem.
4.5V stuff were next but then size is the issue.
With 7.5V the matter was price.
So 2x9V it will be, also found leftovers from LED strips packed with a test possibility.

Last tip was Impala Z11.
Time frame is also pretty close.

[themadhippy]

single-insulated wires laid in the "grooves" of an E-section piece of wood.

the original mini trunking, ripped loads of the stuff out over the years and am always impressed with the level of workmanship of those ole boys.

I've also seen lead-sheathed mains cable, where the lead was the earth

wouldn't be surprised if it was also paper insulated , or  pilcs wire as its commonly known.

[factory]

Yeah not much info on the web.... Google Images found me this pic of the original / vanilla type 870, no ".2" or ".3" suffix.

Got proper looking vintage decade knobs, looks much better, consistent vintage look.
Also the meter looks a bit different, also better looking to me.

Overall I find this vanilla 870 really nice looking, I would not mind having one 

Interesting the Rochar counter sitting atop a prescaler..

Some pictures from a brochure, which lists the AS870 model, rated at 30V 3A, only a lightweight at 15kg.







David

[tggzzz]

I've also seen lead-sheathed mains cable, where the lead was the earth

wouldn't be surprised if it was also paper insulated , or  pilcs wire as its commonly known.

From memory, L+N had rubber insulation, surrounded by some white "chalky" mineral, surrounded by lead sheath. Difficult to bend, unsurprisingly.

Joints were made in metal boxes with two screw terminals. The earth connection (and I use that word loosely) was the metal box clamped onto the cable sheath. Oxidation? Wozzat?

[themadhippy]

Ah your on about the old  "twin n earth" not underground power cable.

[factory]

There was still one bit of cloth twin mains cable in the workshop about 15 years ago, wired up to a nicely made wood cased fuse board. Now all replaced with that plastic cased fire hazard crap, which is now out of date too, since bean-tin grade steel cased dis-boards are now the standard here.

My Grandparents house had lots of that lead sheathed mains cable, now someone else's problem.

David

[TERRA Operative]

There was still one bit of cloth twin mains cable in the workshop about 15 years ago, wired up to a nicely made wood cased fuse board. Now all replaced with that plastic cased fire hazard crap

I think I'd rather the plastic infused with fire retardants over dry old wood.

[tggzzz]

Ah your on about the old  "twin n earth" not underground power cable.

Mains cable under floorboards.
Telecom cable under pavement.

[Robert763]

I was stood outside a house today (waiting for the dog to stop sniffing) loocing at a length of 2.5 T&E and a couple of runs of 1.5 T&E clipped directly to an outside wall. Well ti was clipped once, but the clips had broken. Probabaly due to UV liht awich was also affecting the cable 

[factory]

There was still one bit of cloth twin mains cable in the workshop about 15 years ago, wired up to a nicely made wood cased fuse board. Now all replaced with that plastic cased fire hazard crap

I think I'd rather the plastic infused with fire retardants over dry old wood.

Well yes they are both a fire hazard, I prefer cast iron cased over plastic/wood cased.
Contents of the wood fuse box were ceramic fuse holders & hazmat arc quenching material, I was referring to the design & construction when I stated nicely made, obviously we weren't going to keep use something that old, hence the replacement.
And the fire hazard comment was relating to the lottery of plastic quality, noting some Wylex Firelex have been subject to recalls, a very burnt one was removed from the newish dis-board at the rented flat where my brother lives.

David