Test Equipment Anonymous

tggzzz

Small components stay in place due to the viscosity of the solder paste - provided the air gun isn't blowing a gale.

For whole boards I use a thin layer of sand to spread the heat in a saucepan on the gas hob.

tggzzz

As you get older everybody really should come to appreciate Cassandra's plight more acutely.

Doing most things for the first time is more interesting than repeating experiences. But by the 10th time...

tggzzz

Once upon a time, within living memory, "computer" was a job title.

The stuff that is tedious has changed, yet again.

tggzzz

Showing them TNMoC will be a very useful demonstration of the antithesis of hamdom. Or of why a geek is not a dork nor a nerd.

tggzzz

I know I am a novice and a bodger in this area! One example: I haven't seen this (simple clear) exposition of SMD soldering elsewhere... 4. Direct the hot air over the component with the hot air tool tip approximately 2.50 cm (1.00") from the solder joint. This initial heating will pre-dry the ...

tggzzz

From The Other Plaice "PC Board Rework and Repair A Comprehensive Guide"
https://www.intertronics.co.uk/wp-conte ... -Guide.pdf
Clear diagrams rather than photos.

tggzzz

Anyway, they usually come in a fairly light proof enclosure which makes them easier to use, stops them being damaged, and would contain the mess if they were. Unsaturated - as used inside DVMs etc - yes. Saturated standalone references aren't sealed to any reliable degree. With this Cambridge Instr...

tggzzz

IIRC, from 40 years ago, the pelton wheel was a brass casting, with 3 scoops each maybe 10cm across. That would fit with the small bore tube used to channel water down the hill.

tggzzz

The company had what we would now call a good safety culture. Make a genuine mistake and as long as you do the right thing there is no punishment. Try to hide your lazy mistake and it's another matter. True in so many walks of life. I taught that to my daughter. In HP someone was caught using the i...

tggzzz

Life was a lot tougher for 1920s modellers. Their lathe was highly unlikely to be electrically powered. Probably treadle. Not just modellers. There's a decent "museum of Icelandic life" in Vik. I remember talking to the person who set it up, after spending a lifetime wandering around Icel...

tggzzz

You'll end up scratch building locomotives and rolling stock from the original blueprints. I've seen it happen. And that means you need a machine shop. Very useful, but expensive. Not so much these days. I came across someone building a 5½" gauge locomotive in his garage. A lot of the difficul...

tggzzz

EC8010 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 05, 2026 1:54 pm
Zenith wrote: ↑Thu Feb 05, 2026 1:50 pm You'll end up scratch building locomotives and rolling stock from the original blueprints. I've seen it happen.
And that means you need a machine shop. Very useful, but expensive.

Or a local hackspace. Much cheaper, and with a supply of knowledgeable people on tap.

tggzzz

What is it? An ATU - Antenna Tuning Unit. Stay away from model railways. It's a slippery slope. You'll end up scratch building locomotives and rolling stock from the original blueprints. I've seen it happen. I had a 16ft*8ft box room as a kid, 8ft high on one side, 2ft high on the other. That was, ...

tggzzz

Looks like a very nicely made capacitance decade box. Tinsley or Muirhead? But the decade switches would ideally have been built on a lower loss material than I see in the photograph. Clear Perspex would be a good replacement. But it would take considerable time to do the job. It is elegant, isn't ...

tggzzz

Well, I foolishly bought another treasure on fleabay, without realising how big it is.

I've decided to use it as scenery for a futuristic (no steam engines!) OO/HO train layout, representing some form of electrical grid installation. Any comments?

IMG_0047.JPG

Some of the above is true

tggzzz

tggzzz wrote: ↑Wed Feb 04, 2026 5:42 pm The existing BT connections were enamelled wire twisted pairs, wax paper insulation, lead sheathing. BT technicians gave me a section when they were removing some

tggzzz

4 floors including loft conversion. Possibly also has a basement. There will be more room in the upper floors; I expect the upper walls are 9" thick, the ground floor walls 27"-36" thick. Blimus! What are they made of? Leftovers from a local pyramid or henge? You wouldn't want to fit...

tggzzz

4 floors including loft conversion. Possibly also has a basement. There will be more room in the upper floors; I expect the upper walls are 9" thick, the ground floor walls 27"-36" thick. https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4526356,-2.6231806,35a,35y,163.67h,62.45t/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu...

tggzzz

Something I noticed in the North of England was panelled-in staircases plus a door at the bottom to completely conceal the staircase. Odd. Maybe to keep the heat in the living room? That's quite possible. The house was an ex-railway terrace in Derby. But the rooms weren't rectangular. The front of ...

tggzzz

I'm beginning to wonder whether it isn't a complete fiction. Put it like this... Where can I buy these scopes; they have bigger screens than any of mine. Expect to see much more AI slop. The objective is not to get people to believe the slop, but is to get people to not know what to believe. At tha...

tggzzz

When I was around 6 I remember moving into a new house and doing two things... Laying this new-fangled concept of loft insulation to a depth of 1". Spending many happy hours putting papier mache in the gaps between floorboards on the ground floor. Even after we had central heating installed, th...

tggzzz

EC8010 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 03, 2026 3:23 pm What I do remember was RV Jones telling the reader just how clever he was. It must have been true, otherwise he wouldn't have kept saying so.

Others have made a similar point

Nonetheless, he did get some things right where others got them wrong.

tggzzz

If you don't become grumpy as you get older, you haven't been paying attention. Nicely put. I got about a third of the way through "Most Secret War" by R.V. Jones. I got fed up with it because there was far too much about the interplay of personalities and politics, and personal reminisce...

tggzzz

EC8010 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 03, 2026 11:46 am Something I noticed in the North of England was panelled-in staircases plus a door at the bottom to completely conceal the staircase. Odd.

Maybe to keep the heat in the living room?

Similar concept https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box-bed

tggzzz

Welcome to the death of history and the rise of alt-history

Test Equipment Anonymous

Search found 1498 matches

Re: Interesting findings on the internet

Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

Re: Interesting findings on the internet

Re: Interesting findings on the internet

Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

Re: Hamfest inductors

Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

Re: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread

Re: Another display type ticked off the bucket list

Re: Another display type ticked off the bucket list

Re: Another display type ticked off the bucket list

Re: Another display type ticked off the bucket list

Re: Interesting findings on the internet

Re: Another display type ticked off the bucket list

Re: Interesting findings on the internet

Re: Interesting findings on the internet

Re: Another display type ticked off the bucket list

Re: Interesting findings on the internet