Test Equipment Anonymous

We even used a DXC3000P camera (early CCD) for stills in our graphics area thirty years ago.

Isn't it pleasing when you fix something electronic and it works? As a youf, I was amazed when anything I'd worked on worked. Then I got better and expected things to work after I had laid hands on them. Then I learned some more theory, got more adventurous, and started designing things that were mo...

I was a moderator for three years at diyAudio; it required a good deal of delicacy and we found that a gentle warning was most effective. So I doubt if there's really a "slash and burn". But I haven't looked closely; I don't waste my time watching playground arguments. I do notice that the...

Twenty years ago, I borrowed a Hall effect current probe, a differential voltage probe, and a 13A plug to 4mm socket adapter. I plugged them into oscilloscope and let it calculate a maths waveform of V x I and produce an automated average of the maths waveform, which was power. I went round the hous...

I asked, "Why do data centres need water?" The response from various sources was that they use water for cooling. Not one of the responses used the phrases "specific heat capacity" or "latent heat of evaporation". It seems surface factoids beat genuine understanding. En...

No way! Neither the chap wielding the clipper nor his assistant are wearing rhinoceros hide gauntlets. No cat would stand for that treatment unless it was drugged.

That R&S unit takes it to another level and is awesome. I believe you have to be under thirty to use the word "awesome". But I will readily concede that the R&S shown is a beautiful piece of mechanical engineering. It's not a piece of test gear; it's a clock. And did you notice th...

Yes, just because there's an aerial there, doesn't mean it's connected to anything. I took our aerials down last year when we had scaffolding up for a new chimney liner. We rely on a loft aerial for UHF Freeview television. I used to be a regular BBC R3 listener, but it's been destroyed. The whole t...

Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, the rally scene is slowly declining. The same is true for mechanical engineering events, and for the same reason; the attendees are dying off. I would guess that the average age at such events is > 70. I don't see many people younger than me at either event a...

I managed to get to the Wiltshire radio rally and back again on one tank of fuel, but I think that one is out of range. A shame. I have just had my Claude Lyons TS2 mains stabiliser out on the bench for investigation. A couple of days ago it was oscillating. It's essentially a 10A buck/boost transfo...

I have to say that I think the Siglent approach is very sensible and practical. Only the better engineers are likely to hack their home 'scopes (indeed, only the better engineers are likely to have a 'scope at home), so if you can get them used to using Siglent at home, they're likely to buy them fo...

Agreed on all points, but you've stirred curiosity.

Zenith wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2026 7:37 pm It's always been clear to me that specsmanship and status was a large part of scope sales.

Sadly, I fear you are correct there. When I was working, a colleague had a 'scope the next range up from mine, but I don't think he ever exercised its true capabilities.

Was it only me, or was it impossible to get into the forum over the last couple of days?

I assume that professionals buy a piece of gear, use it and it goes off for calibration as a matter of routine. Then after a few years, it's sold off. They are not going to mess about with unauthorised modifications... I don't agree with your argument about pricing, but I accept that it's a valid a...

Tektronix and HPAK have been doing it for decades. I bought my Tektronix TDS3032 oscilloscope in about 2000 and on one of the firmware updates I discovered it was sampling at 5GS/s rather than maximum of 2.5GS/s that I'd paid for. The next firmware update "corrected" that. If you buy a bot...

There's only one thing that can be said when you see kittens playing... Awwww!

Glad to hear Motley has turned up. One of our previous cats got locked in a neighbour's garage for several days. He was very keen to be back and be reunited with his food bowl. Twenty years ago, I broke my back by stepping on a cat I don't have going down the stairs. It wriggled and I went flying. I...

That doesn't sound good. Although we have a road going past our back garden, it's pretty quiet, so our previous cats died of old age. I worry a bit about Heidi because there's not a lot between her ears, but she's 7 now, so she probably knows what she's about. I hope.

Zenith wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2026 10:29 pm In the same vein, David Suchet is Poirot, but before and after there have been a string of pathetic imposters.

Agreed. And there was a ridiculous mini-series on a few Christmases ago purporting to be a Poirot prequel. Complete nonsense and virtually incomprehensible.

Dually says, "Stop wriggling and look straight at the camera."

I've just been alerted by a shriek that one of our treasures had brought a rat in. Quite sizeable; about 6" long body and quite weighty. Thankfully, very dead.

Sorry to hear about Dually. Our two cats go outside, but Binx doesn't venture out of the back garden. Her mother, Heidi, ranges far and wide, particularly into the stables across the (quiet) road. You haven't lived until you've woken in the middle of the night to a strong smell of horse shit and dis...

Interesting and well argued points (which I accept). What I was intending to draw attention to was the way DAB was promoted in the UK. Terms such as "crystal clear" and "perfect sound" were touted for a system relying on lossy compression, and politicians in particular wittered a...

Thank you for that. A knowledgeable government would have worked out that broadcasting is cheaper overall. And might even have argued for a quality criterion. As for lobbying, everybody has been persuaded that digital is superior, so that they just parrot that, yet all data starts analogue, whether ...

They look so innocent when they're little; no hint of clawed carpets, disembowelled rodents, distributed feathers, or casual puddles of cat sick.