Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[tggzzz]

Yes, I drove all the way from the Netherlands.

Once upon a time I was in Copenhagen with three days to spare - so I went to have an ice cream in a particularly good shop. In Stresa, on Lago Maggiore.

But it seems they invented a kind of "TEA contraceptive": crazy high prices for almost all of the T&M gear.

"Dutch auction" or "you don't want to take that home do you" time

Mind you, I try to charge "too much" at hamfests, because I base my prices on fleabay and subtract something for "hassle avoidance". Unfortunately too many people base their max "will pay price" on prices they remember from 10 years ago, or "decent margin for me to flip it on fleabay".

[Robert763]

I have the house (two attics) a shed, a garage, next doors garage and a storage unit...
In other news the a ADVANTEST AD7461A arrived today. They tried to pack it well but there were broken bits of plastic in the box from the bezel and it's showing ERROR 225 
So that one is going back....

[wkb]

Its not as if 40 year old HP analysers, as an example, gain value over time...

 

[Robert763]

Big old 19" VNAs and SA are very hard to sell these days. A low cost, pocket sized device from china can do all that 90% of prospective users think they need and don't care about accuracy. Even for those wanting something a bit more professional a Sigilent or Rigol is very tempting at a fraction of the size and costing new what a ropy looking HP was selling for 5-10 years ago. I don't think I'd take a HP 8566A on indefinite free loan now. The last few EMC labs that I know were using them have stopped too.
Robert.

[wkb]

Yes, very true. HP8566 would take too much space in my ham shack. Being bloody heavy is another thingy.

But even more portable equipment is not "moving" here. My bet: too pricy.

[factory]

I've got one of those 856x SA in the storage unit, I really need to get round to selling it, as my TE interests are the older stuff, i.e. the HP 141x based SA, paying for another storage unit isn't something I want to do, nor can I afford to do that.
The 181x series SA I don't like, the mechanical parts of those SA plug-ins are way too fragile IMO, the scope plug-ins seem much better.

There were some of those modern tiny SA things at first sale of the year, I was surprized how small they actually are, completely unusable without a magnifier, now I know why people on the video website use a phone camera to make the screen readable. 

David

[TERRA Operative]

Yeah, if someone made them with a 6" or so screen, they'd actually be useable...

[wkb]

All about $£€ that postage stamp-sized screen.
I think I hate the switches/buttons even more that the screen.

Unique Selling Point: price.

Good thing is of course people now at least have something to measure with...

[factory]

I've no idea if the low-priced SAs from brand 'S' or brand 'R' do the higher frequency range that the 8566 or 8555A do, that might be the only reason non-collectors of TE might want/own them.

The 8568 here ended up in the worst place in the storage unit, one of the corners at the back after I moved units, really annoying as the 524B is in the same stack, can't imagine how little value it will have if I ever get round to sorting this mess out, once moving house, there is another market full of overpriced-ness.....

Unrelated to the SAs, I've not seen any page number TE for a while, here is #5512....
The spec is 300KC, the DMM above can measure higher, though this counter isn't doing to bad at more than double.



David

[tggzzz]

Unrelated to the SAs, I've not seen any page number TE for a while, here is #5512....

[factory]

Took me a while to notice that, the old 25 versus 50 post count per page thing  , can't remember which was the default, but thought it was 25.

Edit: I'd be amazed if someone on here has that one (for page 2756) & the measurement computer system that might have be used with it.  https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2024/06/102776789-05-0001-acc.pdf

David

[Robert763]

Development on the broken in transit ebay Advantest AD7461A. Full refund and don't have to return the item...
Looks like that's another one in the repair queue.....

Robert.

[tggzzz]

Development on the broken in transit ebay Advantest AD7461A. Full refund and don't have to return the item...
Looks like that's another one in the repair queue.....

Or sell it on a stall at a hamfest

[wkb]

Development on the broken in transit ebay Advantest AD7461A. Full refund and don't have to return the item...
Looks like that's another one in the repair queue.....

Or sell it on a stall at a hamfest

For twice of what you did not pay for it (in the end) 

[vk6zgo]

Yes, I drove all the way from the Netherlands.

Once upon a time I was in Copenhagen with three days to spare - so I went to have an ice cream in a particularly good shop. In Stresa, on Lago Maggiore.

Crikey! That is of Western Australian proportions when it come to a road trip!

I must admit that I have never travelled such a distance for an ice cream or any particular treat for that matter.
My longest similar food craving trip was a puny 127.5km from Southampton to London for KFC back in 1972.
It was disappointing, cold & greasy (in fact, like most KFC is, these days).

[vk6zgo]

I've got one of those 856x SA in the storage unit, I really need to get round to selling it, as my TE interests are the older stuff, i.e. the HP 141x based SA, paying for another storage unit isn't something I want to do, nor can I afford to do that.
The 181x series SA I don't like, the mechanical parts of those SA plug-ins are way too fragile IMO, the scope plug-ins seem much better.

There were some of those modern tiny SA things at first sale of the year, I was surprized how small they actually are, completely unusable without a magnifier, now I know why people on the video website use a phone camera to make the screen readable. 

David

They have similar screens to the nano VNAs from the look of them. The screens on the "nanos" are unreadable outside in the sun, where the antennas are!
People say, "Get the software to use them with your laptop"--------- which sort of works, but now you have a clunky big device again, & long leads between device & antenna, which need to be characterised to avoid errors.

A SA is much less likely to be used "out in the paddock" but such displays get dicey even with sunlight coming through a window.

[tonyalbus]

Tetris at 32c  (why not today ...   ) the right-side of the main desk

Before:


after:


sadly the Anritsu (3Hhz 12 digits) coutner needed to leave the main desk, i need to find a nice spot.
left offscreen i already have the PM6685 (7GHz) and PM6690 (3GHz) ..but i love counters.. i need to find a spot or bigger desk.
... bigger lab would be great

even the DMM7510 was complaining.

[madao]

This afternoon I arrived in a hi-risk area: at the Bodensee in Germany. Tomorrow Europe largest ham radio event, aptly called HAMRADIO, starts in Friedrichshafen.

 

i can't resist it !

[tggzzz]

Yes, I drove all the way from the Netherlands.

Once upon a time I was in Copenhagen with three days to spare - so I went to have an ice cream in a particularly good shop. In Stresa, on Lago Maggiore.

Crikey! That is of Western Australian proportions when it come to a road trip!

I omitted some pertinent information, of course

I was using InterRail for a holiday round Europe by train[1], and I was coming south from the Artic circle. Hence it was a much more relaxing rail journey which didn't cost me anything.

[1]with the exception of Fauske to Narvik which had to be bus.

I must admit that I have never travelled such a distance for an ice cream or any particular treat for that matter.
My longest similar food craving trip was a puny 127.5km from Southampton to London for KFC back in 1972.
It was disappointing, cold & greasy (in fact, like most KFC is, these days).

Yeah, it is surprising what we did when we were young. I remember my mother looking forward to going to MacDonald's in Croydon, since they made the "proper" milk shake she had liked back in the 50s in the US. I also remember having to go to London with its specialist restaurant to have a Indian meal. I can still remember my father struggling with his vindaloo

But overall the food back then was pretty .... uninspiring; definitely not a golden age. Pub food, where it existed, consisted of a Cheese Bureau invention: the "ploughman's lunch", i.e. a slab of cheddar, some more or less good bread, one lettuce leaf, and either a pickled onion or Branstons pickle.

Food improved significantly in the early 80s, and now it is easy to get good food and easy to avoid crap food.

[tggzzz]

This afternoon I arrived in a hi-risk area: at the Bodensee in Germany. Tomorrow Europe largest ham radio event, aptly called HAMRADIO, starts in Friedrichshafen.
 

i can't resist it !

That's the spirit

[Robert763]

I've got one of those 856x SA in the storage unit, I really need to get round to selling it, as my TE interests are the older stuff, i.e. the HP 141x based SA, paying for another storage unit isn't something I want to do, nor can I afford to do that.
The 181x series SA I don't like, the mechanical parts of those SA plug-ins are way too fragile IMO, the scope plug-ins seem much better.

There were some of those modern tiny SA things at first sale of the year, I was surprized how small they actually are, completely unusable without a magnifier, now I know why people on the video website use a phone camera to make the screen readable. 

David

They have similar screens to the nano VNAs from the look of them. The screens on the "nanos" are unreadable outside in the sun, where the antennas are!
People say, "Get the software to use them with your laptop"--------- which sort of works, but now you have a clunky big device again, & long leads between device & antenna, which need to be characterised to avoid errors.

A SA is much less likely to be used "out in the paddock" but such displays get dicey even with sunlight coming through a window.

That's the nice thing about my latest Vector Network / Spectrum / Antenna / Cable Analyser the JD745A, its designed for outdoor use portable and a daylight readable 8.5" screen 

Robert.

[factory]

This afternoon I arrived in a hi-risk area: at the Bodensee in Germany. Tomorrow Europe largest ham radio event, aptly called HAMRADIO, starts in Friedrichshafen.

 

i can't resist it !
(Attachment Link)

Nice find  and a bargain too, looking forward to seeing it working, took me years to find one & get the seller to agree to ship it. Apart from that they don't exist over here, well apart from the rusted (aka scrap) board I saw once, listed as 'untested' to deceive buyers on feeBay.

David

[madao]

4270A lives


It is amazing,  1m coax cable is added and  0.8pf capacitor show nearly same result

[Robert763]

The delights of guarded measurements 
just sorting out a test set-up for a customer who managed to build a switch box that connected the guard to ground on and has been subtracting the cable capacitance 

Robert.

[Robert763]

Update on the AD7461A DMM.
Iasked ADCMT for a manual using theironline form. Inital response was fast and seemed hopeful. I carried on investigating in the meantime.
Close visual inspection revealed no internal damage other tha the broken plastic around the bezel. The plastic is very brittle. The tabs holding the display / keyboard PCB in place snapped off as soon as I tried to move them. I stuck them back on with "plastic-weld" aka methylene chloride.. When I tried to put the PCB back in the tabs broke again but not at the weld.. I welded the tabs in a different position while holding the PCB in place.

Having ruled out physical damage my prime suspect was the relays. Some power off measurements and circuit tracing indicated the relays were powered from a 5V "digital" supply with open collector low-side drivers. Thus I felt happy to operate them with power on by connecting the low side of the coil to ground via a 10 ohm resistor. This soon revealed that one of the relays (281) was not reliably switching to one position. I "excercised" it a few times and that was enough to get the unit through self test about 50% of the time. This allowed me to confirm that the meter was otherwise OK.
I've ordered a full set of replacement relays. They are only a couple of pounds each from Digikey. Only trouble is getting down between them to solder the L shaped leads on these SMD versions.
Calibration is about 600uV off at 10V.
ADCMT got back to me today saying the meter was over 10 years old so they won't repair it and suggest I buy a new one 
EDIT: The operating manual says rhe relays are a standard "wear-out" service item.
Robert.