Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[TERRA Operative]

Help me TEA members, you're my only hope!


I need a specific memory backup battery for my HP sig gen, but everywhere in Japan (and Digikey/Mouser) are out of stock of this one battery until like March next year...

Can someone in the USA possibly grab one of these and sneak it through the post for me? (Or from other countries if you have one locally) I can reimburse via Paypal.

https://us.rs-online.com/product/panasonic-electronic-components/br-2-3ae2sp/70197007/
https://www.newark.com/panasonic-batteries/br-2-3ae2sp/battery-lithium-3v-2-3a/dp/15C6478


If anyone can help out, I love you long time.

[Black Phoenix]

Help me TEA members, you're my only hope!


I need a specific memory backup battery for my HP sig gen, but everywhere in Japan (and Digikey/Mouser) are out of stock of this one battery until like March next year...

Can someone in the USA possibly grab one of these and sneak it through the post for me? (Or from other countries if you have one locally) I can reimburse via Paypal.

https://us.rs-online.com/product/panasonic-electronic-components/br-2-3ae2sp/70197007/
https://www.newark.com/panasonic-batteries/br-2-3ae2sp/battery-lithium-3v-2-3a/dp/15C6478


If anyone can help out, I love you long time.

Can't help you on this one sorry. I can get the battery easily, but can't ship it. HK Postal Services explicitly state that no battery (whatever if it is lithium, alkaline, Ni-Ca or whatever chemistry) can be shipped in a parcel.

If an equipment is shipped with batteries installed the parcel will be returned to the origin and the money paid for the service will not be returned.

That's why the clamp meter was without the back cover installed, for them to see it when I post it.

If companies have a different policy I don't know, what I know is for common consumers as I.

[Robert763]

While I would like to help, international rules prohibit sending lithium metal batteries in the mail. There are even more restrictions on cells not in or sent with equipment or not in retail packaging. The cell you need is not allowed.
While unlikely, this could cause a fire on a aircraft. I'm not prepared to take that risk or make a false declaration.

As an aside, if looking at alternative cells, double check the polarity, I have seen cells with the single pin as negative or positive. Alternatively you could add a holder for a lithium coin cell.

Robert.

[Black Phoenix]

Alternatively you could add a holder for a lithium coin cell.

Robert.

Probably as a workaround until they are available. Add 2 or 3 vertical holders in parallel soldered in a PCB or protoboard and connected to the points.

[TERRA Operative]

Yeah, slow boat is fine if the service is available to avoid the air restrictions. It just sucks that the battery doesn't exist in Japan where it's made!

[TERRA Operative]

And with a bit of a deep dig, I found a laptop battery store in Kobe (where the beef is from) that is selling the batteries in lots of 5 for 3800yen. Order placed, let's see what arrives late next week......

[factory]

Question, why are the traces seemingly constrained to right-angles? Is this to replicate the original artwork? Did you consider any upgrades as you went along?

Either I could add small curves for the right angles, or I could do something more complicated (see experiment below), but it would take a while longer to do with so many different sized curves required, I've got many other things in the repair queue I'd rather spend my time on.



There is no great urgency to get these boards made, doubt I would get them before the new year if I ordered now anyway and free time will be less in the new year. No interest from others on HP groups, I guess the smaller surface mount version is preferred by most (except me).

Putting a kit of parts together would be very costly for me, plus make it more costly to send out, overseas would end up paying tax twice. It would also prevent people choosing their own parts.
One of the parts has a 46 week lead time too if bought new, myself I could probably find some parts here, old stock or salvaged, or buy none critical parts on ePay.

David

[damien]

And with a bit of a deep dig, I found a laptop battery store in Kobe (where the beef is from) that is selling the batteries in lots of 5 for 3800yen. Order placed, let's see what arrives late next week......

I have the same problem... Could you share the store information? 

[TERRA Operative]

And with a bit of a deep dig, I found a laptop battery store in Kobe (where the beef is from) that is selling the batteries in lots of 5 for 3800yen. Order placed, let's see what arrives late next week......

I have the same problem... Could you share the store information? 

Here you go:

http://www.laptopbattery.jp/battery-express-p.php/25+PANASONIC+BR-2,3A+plc-battery-set

I paid with paypal so if they don't turn up, it'll be easy to get a refund (theoretically...)

[TERRA Operative]

And I went and got myself all carried away again......

Drew up a new front panel for my HP 8648C in Rhinoceros 3D, all ready to go get machined in China from aluminium if I can't find one cheap.... 

I also drew up a rear handle/foot, which is on thingiverse now too.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6343540

[Vince]

Wow, that's quite an undertaking.... how did you manage to get every single measurement 100% right ? I can't beiieve such a large and complex piece can possibly be a perfect fit on a the first go ?! 
I wish you well though, of course ! 

As for price, it's a big and complex part, I can't believe even today even from china, it can get machined  with decent quality for less than a kidney.

Do you have an idea of the price then ??

[TERRA Operative]

I have to double check my measurements before I think of ordering one..
It seems whoever designed it was working metric, as the dimensions were all nice multiples of mm dimensions, which made things much easier.
Also, measuring from multiple directions helps as a sanity check too.
For example, on this part the outer edges are parallel (whereas internal details have the usual draft angles for easier mould release) so I was able to use the sides as a reference to measure from.
Measure in from one side, then in from the other, and if they came close to each other (withing a few tenths of a mm) then I was on the money.

Due to designers having a penchant for nice round numbers and making things line up in a grid etc (I know I do when designing stuff), it's not usually as hard as it looks to reverse engineer the design assuming you have some experience.


PCBWay quoted $400 for the part in painted aluminium.
I'll have to really butter up my contact there to get it sponsored for a youtube video..
Might be a hard sell for something that pricey, I've never got something this expensive made before.

[Ice-Tea]

If you want to go nuts with PCBWay that's fine but I think I actually have a front if you want?

[TERRA Operative]

I am interested
Can you takw a couple pictures?

[Robert763]

looks like Ice-Tea came up with a better solution when I was doing some checking, bu had you thought abut a repair?
I don't have a frame of the right size and mountings but I do have a scrap frame from a different instrument you could cut the damaged part of yours and epoxy in a replacement half side and top corner cut from my frame.

Robert.

[TERRA Operative]

I briefly considered it, but it's quite the chunk taken out, and I don't have a workshop available to do metalwork beyond drilling a few holes for binding posts etc.

[GraXXoR]

Hi there.. this is my first post here... I've read a few threads here and searched on the web.
I currently design simple bits and bobs for IOT but have found my multimedia lacking in the AC department... and I made myself a simple oscilloscope based on an ESP32 and some offboard ADCs that worked up to about 200kHz but now feel I need something a little better up to about 20MHz.

So I scoured Yahoo Auctions here in Tokyo for some secondhand oscilloscopes and found a bunch of CRT based devices I had used back in the day for a few coppers... But then I came across a mint condition, still boxed Tektronix TBS1072C with regular accessories, optional GPIB interface plus a couple of extra leads all still in their original bags (seller said the devices had visible scuffs but I guess he's eats too many carrots) all for about $160 after converting to USD, given the questionably low Yen value of late... I put a bid in on a whim only to win the bid the next day... so then, after paying, decided to actually read about what I purchased. (Yeah, I know... self control is apparently a thing for some people)...

To say I was concerned about what I read would be a fair assessment: I have read nothing but scathing reviews of the TBS 1k series claiming that they are basically (and I quote from these very forums) "crap"...

Just wondering if that applies to the 2017 (? I think) C series.... or were people referring to the earlier models.

Anyway, looking forward to chatting with fellow gearheards who suffer from GAS (my vices are Nikon -NAS- and flashlights -FAS-   lol)....

Best regards!

[Vince]

Well, although I love old Tek scopes and have 40 of them... my love for them stopped right after the TDS220 in the mid/late '90s... so I don't know much about all the descendants like this TBS1072C

So I don't know if these are "crap". If this particular line of scopes suffers from a proven, documented technical flaw that's major, then presumably the people you read on these forums and whatnot, would tell you exactly what it is and you can make your own decision.

However if it's just blind "hate" for the sake of it, then of course you can ignore it and just look at the facts for yourself : although a very modest scope.... for the money it's a good deal. You get a "modern" scope, top brand, with build quality, engineering and features and performance orders of magnitude better than your current DIY scope... So it's a no brainer. If you like it, and are happy spending the money, go for it

Use it for a while. The more you use it, the more you will develop your own sense of what you like and dislike in this scope, and eventually later you can always resell it, get your money back, and buy a "better" scope, now knowing more precisely what it is that you need and that you like. Rinse and repeat, in 10 years you will have 40+ scopes like me and you will need to build a big garage to store them all. 

Don't overthink it... get it and go from there. Nothing to lose. It's not very expensive and you can always resell it should you not like it at all for some reason. Enjoy.

[EggertEnjoyer123]

I know a lot of you have been waiting for a cheap HP power meter cable replacement. I finally got around to making one so I could use the HP 8481A I found almost two years ago in the garbage.

Here's how you can make your own HP cable for power meters. All you need are two of these connectors: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832658333979.html
You want to get the 12 pin male insert version. For some reason the shipping increases by more than 2x when you buy two, so you could save a few dollars by buying them separately in two orders.

You also need a VGA cable, preferably one with coax. I'm using a F3H982-06 VGA cable from Belkin which I found in the ewaste, but you could use any other ones (just get one with coax so you can get lower noise). You should be able to tell whether it is a coaxial one by the thickness of the wire. One of the major sources of error is signals coupling from the 220Hz chopper lines to the signal output of the power meter head. To avoid that, I used the three coaxial wires for the pins labeled "Sampled AC output", "Feedback Return", and "Signal Ground" as they seemed to be the most important analog signals. The outer jackets of the coax were grounded. All other signals were routed through the unshielded wires. The only wires you need to connect are pins K, F, G, H, and L. The guard wires and unused pins like A and B do not need to be connected either (at least for the HP 8481A and the 436A, which is what I have). Soldering the connector is a pain because the pins are relatively close together. I ended up hot gluing everything to make sure nothing shorts out.

The setup works very well (at least for the 8481A and 436A). The noise is very small and the reading is stable (maybe +/- 1 digit). My $10 power meter is beat up and missing part of the front panel, so if there's a 3D printed cover I could make that would be nice.

Also, does anyone know anything about fixing the interconnect cables on the HP 8566? The coaxial interconnect cable seems to be failing on mine, and it now works intermittently.

[TERRA Operative]

Oh nice. The 'real' connectors (at least the panel mount sockets) are not cheap.... Nice to have a cheaper option!

Also, I have a spare 437B (the type without the analogue meter) that I want to get rid of if anyone is interested.

And also, if anyone wants to know how to test their power sensor, I attached a document from Keysight.

[TERRA Operative]

Hi there.. this is my first post here... I've read a few threads here and searched on the web.
I currently design simple bits and bobs for IOT but have found my multimedia lacking in the AC department... and I made myself a simple oscilloscope based on an ESP32 and some offboard ADCs that worked up to about 200kHz but now feel I need something a little better up to about 20MHz.

So I scoured Yahoo Auctions here in Tokyo for some secondhand oscilloscopes and found a bunch of CRT based devices I had used back in the day for a few coppers... But then I came across a mint condition, still boxed Tektronix TBS1072C with regular accessories, optional GPIB interface plus a couple of extra leads all still in their original bags (seller said the devices had visible scuffs but I guess he's eats too many carrots) all for about $160 after converting to USD, given the questionably low Yen value of late... I put a bid in on a whim only to win the bid the next day... so then, after paying, decided to actually read about what I purchased. (Yeah, I know... self control is apparently a thing for some people)...

To say I was concerned about what I read would be a fair assessment: I have read nothing but scathing reviews of the TBS 1k series claiming that they are basically (and I quote from these very forums) "crap"...

Just wondering if that applies to the 2017 (? I think) C series.... or were people referring to the earlier models.

Anyway, looking forward to chatting with fellow gearheards who suffer from GAS (my vices are Nikon -NAS- and flashlights -FAS-   lol)....

Best regards!

Another member from Japan! Welcome.

From a quick look at the specs, your scope seems to be a modern-ish version of the TDS210. More measurement capabilities, colour screen, USB, etc.

If it does the job for the right price, then no problem.

[EggertEnjoyer123]

Would anyone happen to have a spare power supply for the Agilent E4406A? I bought a unit for $10 at an auction, but I found out it seems to be missing the power supply. Not sure what else is missing, as it is at a friend's house and I won't be back for break for another two weeks.

Pretty sure the parts inside are easily worth the $10 I paid, but I'd still like to get it working.

Also I've been having a ton of issues lately with the 8620C sweep oscillator. Last time I powered it on, it had some weird issue where sometimes a hex inverter would oscillate. The issue went away if you left the machine powered on for long enough. Now the issue doesn't go away, and on top of that, something went out of tolerance, and now the tuning voltage goes to 10.47V instead of stopping at 10V. Looks like I'll have to spend a few hours fixing it. My HP8566 also started having YTO unlock issues, but I fixed it by turning a few potentiometers.

[AVGresponding]

Hi there.. this is my first post here... I've read a few threads here and searched on the web.
I currently design simple bits and bobs for IOT but have found my multimedia lacking in the AC department... and I made myself a simple oscilloscope based on an ESP32 and some offboard ADCs that worked up to about 200kHz but now feel I need something a little better up to about 20MHz.

So I scoured Yahoo Auctions here in Tokyo for some secondhand oscilloscopes and found a bunch of CRT based devices I had used back in the day for a few coppers... But then I came across a mint condition, still boxed Tektronix TBS1072C with regular accessories, optional GPIB interface plus a couple of extra leads all still in their original bags (seller said the devices had visible scuffs but I guess he's eats too many carrots) all for about $160 after converting to USD, given the questionably low Yen value of late... I put a bid in on a whim only to win the bid the next day... so then, after paying, decided to actually read about what I purchased. (Yeah, I know... self control is apparently a thing for some people)...

To say I was concerned about what I read would be a fair assessment: I have read nothing but scathing reviews of the TBS 1k series claiming that they are basically (and I quote from these very forums) "crap"...

Just wondering if that applies to the 2017 (? I think) C series.... or were people referring to the earlier models.

Anyway, looking forward to chatting with fellow gearheards who suffer from GAS (my vices are Nikon -NAS- and flashlights -FAS-   lol)....

Best regards!

That's a decent price for a decent low BW scope. Just don't drop it on the BNC connectors and you'll be golden! The only real advantage you'll get from a more modern scope is integrated serial bus decoding (this can do it using Tek SW on your PC) and a bigger sample memory.

Welcome to the forum!

[Robert763]

Would anyone happen to have a spare power supply for the Agilent E4406A? I bought a unit for $10 at an auction, but I found out it seems to be missing the power supply. Not sure what else is missing, as it is at a friend's house and I won't be back for break for another two weeks.

Pretty sure the parts inside are easily worth the $10 I paid, but I'd still like to get it working.

Also I've been having a ton of issues lately with the 8620C sweep oscillator. Last time I powered it on, it had some weird issue where sometimes a hex inverter would oscillate. The issue went away if you left the machine powered on for long enough. Now the issue doesn't go away, and on top of that, something went out of tolerance, and now the tuning voltage goes to 10.47V instead of stopping at 10V. Looks like I'll have to spend a few hours fixing it. My HP8566 also started having YTO unlock issues, but I fixed it by turning a few potentiometers.

Rather than looking for a PSU for the 4406 at this stage you should wait until you have it and check it for other missing parts. If if seem complete otherwise find out what voltages it needs and jury rig external power supplies to provide them and see if it works.
Then you can look for the correct part.

Robert.

[EggertEnjoyer123]

Sounds like a good plan.
I'm not going to buy one now, just exploring options.

Also, has anyone every made a semi-permanent bodge for unobtainaium power supplies? I'm thinking about getting an ATX power supply from the ewaste at school to get the 3.3 and 5V rails and making a boost converter for all the other voltages (potentially with a postregulator to get rid of any noise). Should be fairly trivial to design.

The voltages are:
3.4Vd at 15 A
5.2Vd at 7 A
5.2Va at 5A
-15Va at 3.5A
-5.2Va at 5A
9Va at 4A
15Va at 5A
32Va at 0.7A

(a = analog presumably, and d = digital)