Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Hydron]

RV722 100k KVD units are rated at 700V (about half 1kV dissipation) without oil bath. But they do have a 1ppm per watt linearity performance penalty and relatively large mica card resistors, though I don't intend on pushing the voltage ratings on it (the voltages are surprisingly high on this stuff - I guess it's to get differential VM capability up to high voltages? We don't get high-Z input at those voltages on today's meters!)

Martin.M, thanks for the pics btw - I also checked and don't have any nice 1k6 resistors sorry, hopefully Robert763 can help you out.

[McBryce]

Be careful while online shopping. I just found this listing for a 3458A.
https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/agilent-hp-3458a-multimeter-8-5-digital-self-test-passed/3196076230-168-4564

It looks convincing at first but:
-The serial number doesnt return anything at Keysight. But the number appears in this ebay listing? https://www.ebay.com/itm/326749857589
-The table/room is exactly this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/197527271528

The Kleinanzeigen is without a doubt the scam. It's definitely the same table, but the picture is cropped to remove the obvious non-German light switches from the picture. The device is probably a different one from the same ebay seller and the post-it looks like it was added with some AI tool. They also offer two of scammers favourite payment methods and then (to make it look legit) offer pickup with "you can come by and test it", which I assume suddenly isn't possible if you actually tried to do this.

McBryce.

[W6EL]

I got an 8840A/AF and 8808A in the same weekend! The 8808A set me back $250, and I only saw it after I had purchased the 8840. I had not initially intended to get both, but it was too good a deal to pass up.

Question for the group, this 8840A has two heatsinks on two of the larger ICs. Did someone add this? Or were some made this way?

[Robert763]

As promised PXI pic
[ Specified attachment is not available ]

This stuff is expensive. Most of this is still available and replacement cost would be over £50,000 ($67,000). Obviously I paid a lot less 
The black and yellow modules are high performance JTAG interfaces.
The boss has confirmed that he will pay for a Labview course 

[AVGresponding]

Question for the group, this 8840A has two heatsinks on two of the larger ICs. Did someone add this? Or were some made this way?

I don't remember seeing that when I had mine apart for re-capping

[Martin.M]

opto chopper :-)

[d-el]

A long-awaited device. I've already ordered the DS1245Y
By the way, I'm looking for front foots for it.

[Martin.M]

something around this opto chopper.

The gear is a plugin DP-100 ( DCV only) for the Hickok DMS3200 "Digital Systems" frame what proudly holds 3 pcs. Nixie and some gas bulds used to be a comma :-)
This Hickok Oldie is not only a cute instrument, they have build with time and money.
Some plugins what you find for that are useless bec. there are only 3 digits. By example: the 80mc frequency counter...
best use provided by the capacitors tester plugin. It works nice, from pF up to MF. Trustful, good results. 3 digits are mostly enough.
By an accident one of the nixie tubes got broken, very sad. I hope to find a spare.
Short time later I found in the bay another DMS3200, including some interesting plugins.

There is the capacitor plugin again.
there is a DCV Plugin, and this need a repair.
there is a resistors pluging, and very nice it knows the test of milli ohms including 4 wires.

The picture was from the DCV plugin. I think there is a problem with the chop system.
On the frontplate you can read CAL: adjust to "275". OK. But it displays -605 wha you can adjust down to -644

Electrolytics are fresh and not the problem.
With a critical exactly watching on the chopperbox you see the left side is not so much lightning then the right side. Is this my problem, a rotten NE2 there?
The list of parts call there "selected NE2-U"

[Zephyr]

Finally got my PG506 fully refurbished and calibrated today. I did the usual recap of the unit, which has a rather lot of caps, and found a bad diode in the +120v power supply section so replaced all five diodes of that type in that area (CR135-138 and CR140). My thinking is "if one is bad, others might be weak too", so I just replaced all of them, using MUR160 diodes that I had on hand. I fired the unit up for cal, started to adjust the +/-16.5v section and it went into current limiting... I thought something further down the line failed. After lifting various parts to isolate the problem, I eventually found that diodes CR147 and CR148 were bad, but not "bad" bad. They were good enough to check OK on two different diode testers, but apparently failed when subjected to high voltage (they're part of the -72v power supply section). This took me a while to figure out. While working through the power supply problem, I also found diode CR78 to be bad (it had become a resistor ), so that go replaced too even though it was hiding under Q125 -- one of the power transistors in the inverter section of the power supply. The diodes other than the five in the 120v section are all small glass body diodes that are somewhat unobtanium. After checking the datasheets, regular 1N914 diodes seemed to be close enough to be useable, so that's what I used since I had them in stock. All of these are in the ~25kHz switching power supply so need to be fast recovery types, but current demands aren't all that high for the glass body diodes. Everything worked after the repairs, and I was able to get the unit calibrated against some other calibrated test gear here.

This is getting me closer to having the calibration trilogy of the TG501, PG506, and SG503 all working and ready to go. I fixed up my TG501 a few weeks ago and calibrated it against my GPS locked frequency standard. I found out my TG501 has the high stability timebase option which was nice. The SG503 I recapped, but it's not level across all bands, so I need to figure out what is going on there and see if it's in the unobtanium hybrid, in which case I'll have to try the replacement design that is floating around. That SG503 is now the last piece that needs work to get fixed up. I have a bunch of 'scopes that I'm going to fix up, so want to get all the test gear ready to check those out first.

Bill

[Stray Electron]

I would love to have one of those HP clocks.  Currently have a Kinemetrics 468-DC True Time receiver with a panaplex display, but unfortunately the signal it’s meant to use was discontinued at the beginning of 2005, so for now it’s a paperweight.  At some point I’ll figure out a way to drive it.

-Pat

 Pat,

   Did you ever figure out a way to drive the Kinemetrics 468?  I just picked up two of them and I was wondering how they compare to a modern GPSDO. They certainly have a lot more COOL factor. I know that GOES 1 has been discontinued but I was wondering if the newer GOES satellites would drive them.

   FWIW there is a manual posted at http://www.bitsavers.org/test_equipment/kinemetrics/468-DC-MRS_Satellite_Synchronized_Clock_Oct86.pdf

[factory]

something around this opto chopper.

The gear is a plugin DP-100 ( DCV only) for the Hickok DMS3200 "Digital Systems" frame what proudly holds 3 pcs. Ni ie and some gas bulds used to be a comma :-)
This Hickok Oldie is not only a cute instrument, they have build with time and money.
Some plugins what you find for that are useless bec. there are only 3 digits. By example: the 80mc frequency counter...
best use provided by the capacitors tester plugin. It works nice, from pF up to MF. Trustful, good results. 3 digits are mostly enough.
By an accident one of the ni ie tubes got broken, very sad. I hope to find a spare.
Short time later I found in the bay another DMS3200, including some interesting plugins.

There is the capacitor plugin again.
there is a DCV Plugin, and this need a repair.
there is a resistors pluging, and very nice it knows the test of milli ohms including 4 wires.

The picture was from the DCV plugin. I think there is a problem with the chop system.
On the frontplate you can read CAL: adjust to "275". OK. But it displays -605 wha you can adjust down to -644

Electrolytics are fresh and not the problem.
With a critical exactly watching on the chopperbox you see the left side is not so much lightning then the right side. Is this my problem, a rotten NE2 there?
The list of parts call there "selected NE2-U"

You need to find a 3202, I did recognise the plug-in as I have some of them too. 

NE-2U is the same part used in the HP optical choppers, there is an equivalent type A3C, but I've not seen any reference to the radioactive gas (used in "dark effect" reduced type neons) in the EIKO datasheet, which makes me question what they are, not that I can find them at any of the big name component suppliers.

Niksee seems unique, I can't find a datasheet giving full details of the part listed in the manual, nor anything for the two Hickok part numbers.

David

[factory]

I would love to have one of those HP clocks.  Currently have a Kinemetrics 468-DC True Time receiver with a panaplex display, but unfortunately the signal it’s meant to use was discontinued at the beginning of 2005, so for now it’s a paperweight.  At some point I’ll figure out a way to drive it.

-Pat

 Pat,

   Did you ever figure out a way to drive the Kinemetrics 468?  I just picked up two of them and I was wondering how they compare to a modern GPSDO. They certainly have a lot more COOL factor. I know that GOES 1 has been discontinued but I was wondering if the newer GOES satellites would drive them.

   FWIW there is a manual posted at http://www.bitsavers.org/test_equipment/kinemetrics/468-DC-MRS_Satellite_Synchronized_Clock_Oct86.pdf

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but Cubdriver no longer uses eevblog and might not read this thread anymore, best to try emailing him. Maybe someone at the other place will see this.

David

[W6EL]

Those Keithley units are so pretty. What's the voltage reference inside? LM399 like the K2000?

[Martin.M]

hello David thank you for helping me.
I don`t have any manual from the Hickok, but found the application and some typing how this works in the US patent what was made for the DP100.
This includes a application and a parts list.

Also I have to search for the nixie tube for my other DPM3200 there is one of them broken.

[AVGresponding]

I would love to have one of those HP clocks.  Currently have a Kinemetrics 468-DC True Time receiver with a panaplex display, but unfortunately the signal it’s meant to use was discontinued at the beginning of 2005, so for now it’s a paperweight.  At some point I’ll figure out a way to drive it.

-Pat

 Pat,

   Did you ever figure out a way to drive the Kinemetrics 468?  I just picked up two of them and I was wondering how they compare to a modern GPSDO. They certainly have a lot more COOL factor. I know that GOES 1 has been discontinued but I was wondering if the newer GOES satellites would drive them.

   FWIW there is a manual posted at http://www.bitsavers.org/test_equipment/kinemetrics/468-DC-MRS_Satellite_Synchronized_Clock_Oct86.pdf

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but Cubdriver no longer uses eevblog and might not read this thread anymore, best to try emailing him. Maybe someone at the other place will see this.

David

He remains active on https://teanonymous.com/f1/index.php, if you want to try him there.

[Martin.M]

the Hickok Digital System :-)



means the shorting bridge is a Resistor of 3 milliohms. ( Nixie, 1966)
The DCV plugin is still on the table.

[factory]

hello David thank you for helping me.
I don`t have any manual from the Hickok, but found the application and some typing how this works in the US patent what was made for the DP100.
This includes a application and a parts list.

Also I have to search for the nixie tube for my other DPM3200 there is one of them broken.

Manuals for the DMS3200 & DMS3200P, DP160, DP200 are on the webarchive at least, all scans from the manualplus clearout.
https://archive.org/details/manualsplus?tab=collection&query=hickok

The DP100 one is in the list of manuals I bought from manualsplus just before they EOL'd, it's in storage at the moment.

David

[tggzzz]

I've just had a PM which sums up our collective problem. With my emphasis it is

 "...I've also got an untested X in storage, it came from the sale near packing up time, I wouldn't be selling that in case I need spares for the Y I haven't found yet..."

Does anybody here not recognise that in themself?

[vk6zgo]

I've just had a PM which sums up our collective problem. With my emphasis it is

 "...I've also got an untested X in storage, it came from the sale near packing up time, I wouldn't be selling that in case I need spares for the Y I haven't found yet..."

Does anybody here not recognise that in themself?

Or somebody who buys a really cheap Tek 7603 because "even if it doesn't work it will be great for parts for my 7613".
Of course, it does work, & has a couple of "really interesting plugins", except it seems that the S6 sampler in  the 7S12 is dead, so I'll "have to" look for one of those.

On top of TE, I have a bunch of semi-fixed ham radios,(& seem to be continually adding more, even though my interests have veered towards TE), some of which will "have to go to make room".
That might be a job for someone else after I "shuffle off this mortal coil", though!

[Hydron]

I may or may not have just ended up with two cabinet X-ray systems (and a grumpy Mrs) due to similar logic. Both working once I bypassed the UPS in one and the broken power switch in the other. The fact that it was a 3 hour round trip and £60 in van hire and fuel added to my internal justification for bidding on both...

[tggzzz]

Getting spares for TE you have is understandable. I've done it when overordering PSU decoupling capacitors, and I have a mule Tek485.

So far I've managed to avoid buying spares for TE I don't own and may never own.

[TopLoser]

I may or may not have just ended up with two cabinet X-ray systems (and a grumpy Mrs) due to similar logic. Both working once I bypassed the UPS in one and the broken power switch in the other. The fact that it was a 3 hour round trip and £60 in van hire and fuel added to my internal justification for bidding on both...

Another downside is that she can see right through your excuses now...

[Hydron]

Another downside is that she can see right through your excuses now...

I might have pretended that they were both part of one lot and that it was all or nothing...

Ensuring that I had at least one working one was part of the idea of getting both - while the auction house said that they both were operational, as a commercial auction there's ~zero guarantee of anything (they even put in a disclaimer not to believe the listing pictures or text!). But of course they both work after sorting out the mains issues, so there's a decision to be made.

One of them is in parts already - the Faxitron/Biovision OR unit is integrated into an insane huge heavy weirdly-shaped cart thing that simply had to go, so the bottom half, keyboard/monitor and UPS is with the scrap man already and I have to build a new outer (NOT the critical inner shielding/door) housing for it before it's practical to use; I suspect some plywood and woodworking is in my future. Once that's done I think I might break the TEA rule (and lose my spare parts source :'( ) and put the other one in Buy/Sell/Wanted - it's a nice compact PixArray unit that's not integrated into a cart so will hopefully be of interest to someone (PC to operate it is a bit of a chonker, though the SW is not node-locked and the frame grabber can be moved to a new machine if a PCIe-PCI adapter is used). Unlike DMMs, PSUs etc, having two 50kV X-ray systems with similar sensors is not really any more useful than having one (unless one breaks!)

[TopLoser]

Another downside is that she can see right through your excuses now...

I might have pretended that they were both part of one lot and that it was all or nothing...

Ensuring that I had at least one working one was part of the idea of getting both - while the auction house said that they both were operational, as a commercial auction there's ~zero guarantee of anything (they even put in a disclaimer not to believe the listing pictures or text!). But of course they both work after sorting out the mains issues, so there's a decision to be made.

One of them is in parts already - the Faxitron/Biovision OR unit is integrated into an insane huge heavy weirdly-shaped cart thing that simply had to go, so the bottom half, keyboard/monitor and UPS is with the scrap man already and I have to build a new outer (NOT the critical inner shielding/door) housing for it before it's practical to use; I suspect some plywood and woodworking is in my future. Once that's done I think I might break the TEA rule (and lose my spare parts source :'( ) and put the other one in Buy/Sell/Wanted - it's a nice compact PixArray unit that's not integrated into a cart so will hopefully be of interest to someone (PC to operate it is a bit of a chonker, though the SW is not node-locked and the frame grabber can be moved to a new machine if a PCIe-PCI adapter is used). Unlike DMMs, PSUs etc, having two 50kV X-ray systems with similar sensors is not really any more useful than having one (unless one breaks!)

I have one of the PixArray deformed traffic cone things and the current limit on it is *much* lower than on the OR unit despite having the same max KV limit. But it is a very nice compact thing with a much larger imaging area than you would expect. I don't think it shares any of the same parts as the OR unit either...

[Hydron]

As far as I can tell both run at 1mA (according to the SW at least) - tubes are different, but are from the same Jupiter 5000 Oxford Instruments range, both rated at 1mA/50kV max. Unless it's actually set much lower than what the SW says in the PixArray unit? Should look at power consumption while irradiating.
Deformed traffic cone tube has a Tungsten target, 50um spot size and will go down to 10kV, vs Mo target, 55um spot size and 20kV min in the OR unit - I don't see why the tubes and/or HV PSUs couldn't be exchanged if required (they even have the same connectors). The OR sensor could also probably be put into the film caddy position in the PixArray, albeit with some messing around with serial connection and SW config to drive it (other way around is probably not an option, though I haven't investigated that sensor properly).