Test Equipment Anonymous

I had a couple go up in smoke and destroy a couple of PSU transistors in a CRC Schlumberger sweeper. I replaced them with modern electrolytics. Racal counters are often full of them. They don't fail that often. If there's anything like high frequency, an electrolytic in parallel with a ceramic works...

There's a 50V tant across the 50V line. One of the tants has been replaced with a neat butt soldered in job. I'm inclined to replace all the ones in the PSU, but it's a lot of work When I've seen tants fail spectacularly, they've gone red hot and smoked. I've seen a few which have exploded. I wouldn...

Obvious when you bear in mind that that the grounding lead on the probe is a direct connection to mains earth, but it could easily be done. Another thing which has caught a few out is "live chassis" TVs and radios. No mains transformer, just direct to the rectifier for the valve HT and the...

I looked into this years ago, but there wasn't any authoritative information I could find in one place. I recall an IEEE study which said there was no definite case of electrocution involving less than 30mA across the heart. AC at 50 or 60Hz was particularly dangerous and more so than DC at the same...

Mum and I talked aboot similar behaviors in him, and I decided this was someone who could definitely benefit from having a decent working scope, so we packed it away in the trunk of her car as a surprise once he got home. Hopefully it will help him get a similar start down a productive road in life...

mnementh wrote: ↑Wed Sep 11, 2024 11:52 pm
IMG_20240907_114139_426~2.jpg

What are you going to do with that horrible gargoyle inflatable thing you came away with? I suppose it might come in handy at Halloween, or you might blow it up and leave it around to put off burglars when you are away.

It reminds me of this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx6HojLBsnw

I'd have been pleased with that.

bd139 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 08, 2024 1:45 pm

tggzzz wrote: ↑Sun Sep 08, 2024 12:56 pm

bd139 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 08, 2024 10:32 am

I'd have bought that Tek

Bit big and heavy to carry on a train/tube/etc

Bad enough up stairs

I have a trolley and a lift

A Weightlifter's belt would be a useful addition.

I'd have bought that Tek :lol: Sometimes I'm disappointed when stuff works because I wanted the parts out of it and I don't have the heart to eviscerate it. IIRC there were four, and half a dozen plugins separately. He was there to get rid. You could have made him an offer, say £20 for the lot. The...

mnementh wrote: ↑Sat Sep 07, 2024 4:14 pm Calling Cubdriver... calling Cubdriver...

Been here all morning; everybody's pretty much gone. Did I walk right past and not recognize you?

mnem

What prizes did you come away with?

Yeah, especially if it's tatty. Unlike the vintage radio/TV/audio scene, there's not much sentimentality when it comes to TE - no re-stuffing electrolytics with modern ones to preserve appearance, for instance. Sometimes I've bought things for the case. It's usually been something specialised, obscu...

Cossor 60s/70s/80s scopes turn up regularly on ebay. I've never been tempted. I don't see them at swapmeets, or at least they haven't registered. One or two look as if they were made for the military with CTxxx type names. They were very very well made and quite reliable but not terrific performers...

Cossor had a distinguished history, being important in the development of CROs and radar. They made a fair amount of test equipment of various sorts. They came unstuck around 1960 over disputes concerning the Fylingdales early warning system and were bought by Raytheon, who were presumably intereste...

Here's a rare one. A Dumont 2100GA portable scope. Dumont Labs was bought by Fairchild in 1960 but the writing at the bottom of the scope says "Dumont Oscilloscope Labs". I've never seen or heard of any Dumont scope much past the early 1960's. From what little info I can find this one dat...

SWAPMEET_DAY.jpg mnem abandon hope, all ye who enter here... Depends on the swapmeet. Sometimes the ones where you have found treasures aplenty previously turn up nothing. Occasionally the ones you only go to because they are close, produce a magnificent haul. I think of it as being like fishing. E...

I must say it's not a thing that would have tempted me, but each to his own. I had a quick look at the manual and it said the batteries were necessary as they were used as giant capacitors. Finding replacement NiCds may not be easy these days. They were very tolerant of charging regimes and in parti...

A low end meter brand which has been around for years and is sold by hobbyist and maker suppliers. For ages they've been sold by Maplin (Dick Smith equivalent) who still sell this particular model. https://pro.maplin.co.uk/pages/search-results-page?q=multimeter I bought it because the leads on the D...

I work with South Africans. Their principal concerns are when the power is going out, carjacking and looting. When I was there over 20 years back, Cape Town was incredibly violent with armed burglaries and muggings. I was told by someone who employed people from those parts, that you could buy an A...

I really can't see the point of that PSU circuit. It seems to be referenced to a 1N4148 diode. However, the DMM's been in production for years, so I assume it's been satisfactory. There's a battery low indicator symbol on my UT58C but I can't see it on that schematic, which I believe is for the slig...

LOL And it is, gut raking Roo's and Emu's along with drop bears so a man needs protect himself. Roos and Emus are small beer. Cassowaries, numerous deadly snakes, Funnel Web spiders, gympie-gympie trees and that's just on land. In the water there are Salt Water crocodiles, Great White sharks, Box J...

It appears that his previous jobs for the company were in fairly "wild & wooly" places where such weaponry was a prudent addition to the apparel of a well dressed Engineer, & he had been given to believe by his workmates that Australia was a similarly scary place. LOL And it is, g...

I've had this DMM for about 20 years. They're still sold and cost £40. So a decent enough DMM, although not considered top flight. The other day I tried to use it and it wouldn't power on. I changed the battery and tried it a few times. Sometimes it would power on and sometimes it wouldn't. Increasi...

Reminds me of a gal I worked with years ago who told me she was going to East Africa for a holiday. I asked if she'd arranged insurance. She said that had been done through Endsleigh which used to be the Students Union insurance company. I said I was thinking more in terms of a 600 nitro express and...

"Forever home" is a somewhat schmaltzy term and a logical nonsense. It's probably fairer to say, "It's come to its last home." which is what my dad used to say when he saw me taking something to bits.