Test Equipment Anonymous

Some European railways use 16.7Hz.

xbox_xboxbox.jpeg I don't know about Germany, but in the UK a traditional "joke" is that young kids spend longer playing with the box than the present. I had a colleague whose brother wanted a bike for Christmas when they were kids. The parents were hard up but made the effort to buy him ...

This came from a swapmeet. I don't need another Racal frequency counter, but I hadn't bought anything and I haven't had this particular model before. The seller wanted £5 for it and it came with a rubber duck antenna and a BNC tee piece, which I thought were worth £1. They usually ask £15 and upward...

I must say I admire your dedication. It doesn't make me more inclined to be drawn into the world of HP 85XX, but it is admirable.

Arrange some support blocks and stand it on its rear end with the plug in standing upright? If you had a lazy Susan that would let you access both sides easily. The challenge would be preventing Harley from knocking it over... -Pat Have pieces of wood or foam plastic to support the back and prevent...

Wiggly things certainly have their place for adjustments such as you describe. However at rough count I already had nine before I bought this, including TRMS and RF millivoltmeters as well as a VVM. Then there are four portable ones including a couple of AVOs. So I'm not entirely sure what induced m...

Like most jobs, it takes a while to work out the problems of doing it. The next time, the problems have been worked out and it's much faster. There is software for making custom meter scales. I haven't tried any. The other option is to scan a scale and print it. Failed meters on TE can be a real pro...

This came from a swapmeet for £10. I didn't notice the flaking scale, which is something to look out for on all HP meters of this period. There was a mains/battery option, but this one is battery only operation. The battery is a 22.5V EverReady No 763, which is now obsolete, but substitutes are made...

In the UK there's this https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/32/part/3/crossheading/public-nuisance There was a common law offence of public nuisance, which it replaces. There's also a tort of private nuisance under which a civil action could be pursued. Of course it would be best to go to the ...

Are there any local laws about excessive noise? I doubt there are any about excessive strobe lights :twisted: As for put-put devices, not much can beat hydraulic rams - and they are useful. :twisted: In the UK there's this https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/32/part/3/crossheading/public-nuis...

I am usually pleasantly surprised at them. I walk away with what I'd consider bargains almost every time. Well I did when I went to them! (no time or transport now). The overpriced items were usually things that the seller knew/understood/wanted and purchased at a reasonable price back when they we...

I've rarely seen it. Once was at a car boot sale where a woman was selling a piece of electronic kit. She had a sign saying "£15 - no offers", but she didn't know what it was. I explained it was a chromatone, a piece of early disco equipment. It splits music into three frequency bands and ...

I mentioned Johns Radio a few days ago. Purely by coincidence I was looking at an archive disk today and came across the catalog for the "closing down" sale in 2002. John was not happy with the result and claimed that the buyers had conspired to keep prices low. No such thing happened. Th...

It seems like a plausible explanation. Tunnel LEDs, the component of the future. These things are operating at the limits. Here's something I've been curious about. It's the PCB from a 50W work light which failed. It was dead and was thrown out. It produces nothing when 230V is applied so probably n...

The stack of in-use bench meters is Fluke 8853A (6.5 digit), Keithley 199 (5.5 digit), R&S UDS5 (5.5 digit) and Wavetek 52 (4.5 Digit x 2). Swanking it and rubbing it in. I like it. I'm only just starting with the bench multimeter scene, but I must admit there's something very alluring about it...

This lot do the Full Monty, 3½,4½,5½ and 6½, voltage,current and resistance UKAS accredited, but you have to apply for a quote. https://www.rhopointmetrology.co.uk/calibration/electrical/multimeter/ They also do capacitance meters and calibrators "traceable". I'd guess they adjust meters w...

I'd probably do the same. Still if you had a serious use for it, and could reclaim the VAT, £750 with a guarantee and a calibration certificate is worth a thought. What does it cost to get a 6½ digit meter calibrated? I've had a quick look and calibration houses are a bit cagey about publishing thei...

Well, you can get carried away with this stuff and on the principle that you can't take it with you when you go, a nice little Siglent SDM3065X Digital Multimeter (or others) might hit this particular ball out of the ground, for all practical purposes. https://siglent.co.uk/product/siglent-sdm3065x-...

So, new arrival (talked about it in Discord, but that's only half of the introduction to the community.): - hp - 3478A Multimeter, my first real foray into "many digits". It was not very expensive, but not as cheap as I would have wanted. Contrary to the cautions made by the very decent s...

By that token, my HP 427A has already been converted to mains operation by the two banana sockets. My TF2700 has a normal modern low voltage socket fitted. I'm sure I powered it from a bench PSU. PP9s are about £7.50. They appear to have just been discontinued by EverReady. Homebase are flogging the...

I have an HP 427A I mean to do something about. It's supposed to be battery operated. The batteries are available but cost more than I paid for it. Considering its performance, I can't see why I'm inclined to mess with it but it is from HP's golden age. Is yours strictly battery operation only? The...

I have an HP 427A I mean to do something about. It's supposed to be battery operated. The batteries are available but cost more than I paid for it. Considering its performance, I can't see why I'm inclined to mess with it but it is from HP's golden age. As for welders, I have four: An 80 Amp buzz bo...

A previous generation automotive oscilloscope with features particular tor internal combustion engines. Probably not good for general use, but just the thing if you want to diagnose and tune a 30 year old sports car.

That said, I nearly did buy one about 5 Hamfests back, but it was a 75 Ohm one-------a definite "trap for young players"! And not so young players. I bought an HP8601A sweeper a year back. I didn't spot it had the 75 Ohm option. It wouldn't have made much difference because it was only £1...

That said, I nearly did buy one about 5 Hamfests back, but it was a 75 Ohm one-------a definite "trap for young players"! And not so young players. I bought an HP8601A sweeper a year back. I didn't spot it had the 75 Ohm option. It wouldn't have made much difference because it was only £1...