Test Equipment Anonymous

I have a search out för Lindström pliers all the time. I buy selectively, but yes, they're the best in both needle nose and side cutters for small work. Coarser jobs get shifted to Bahco, Knipex or similar. I've a couple Knipex Superknips flush cutters that do stellar service, for instance. They riv...

vk6zgo wrote: ↑Thu May 15, 2025 6:35 am
We used Fernseh PGM 75s to sweep any video equipment which used keyed clampers, etc, as it had provision to insert syncs & blanking.

Caught at the German Technology Museum this summer:

So it appears that the only real solution is the purchase a proper hp branded spectrum analyzer. I'll put it on my "wish" list. You need at least two -- one for LF and one for RF. I've got a 8592L for the RF part, which sadly is a bit deaf. It's on one of the kitchen tables in somewhat di...

The 5245L is a wonderful machine, and it is certainly a rite of passage for TEA people. Of course I have one, here in very good company: https://vvv.besserwisser.org/Public/Bilder/tea/8592-5245L.jpeg I did however get bitten earlier, by this little one: https://vvv.besserwisser.org/Public/Bilder/tea...

MED6753 wrote: ↑Tue May 13, 2025 5:46 pm You guys kill me. Suggesting I go down all sorts of rabbit holes.

My Siglent SDS1052DL does have some basic FFT functions but I trust my crusty old eyeballs.

Just sayin'.

While bumbling around looking for a picture of a hand card punch, I came across https://hoc.lgfl.org.uk/resource.html Short videos of what there is at TNMoC, plus other stuff. Looks like it is a KS2/3 teacher's resource. There's a hand punch available at the CHM in Mountain View. I've operated it. ...

That meter looks like it cleaned up really nicely. Do you know of a source of pin plug test leads? I have two meters that use them but no leads. I was going to try test fitting a mini-banana plug connector into a pin socket and see if it fits and is workable but haven't had a chance yet. IIRC Probe...

Last I needed a 15V one for a VOM I found them ridiculously expensive so made my own from a stack of LR44 button cells held together with heatshrink and a short length of brass tube to make up the length shortfall. Or are the 22.5V a different arrangement ? 2x 12V remote batteries and a diode or 2 ...

I've seen very high value (100A plus) fuses filled with sand (or something). I assumed it was there for quenching. When it blows you want it to stop conducting, not to continue as an arc. Diazed fuses (Siemens invention from the early 1900s) as used in Sweden and Germany (Among many other places!) ...

For example, Mr. Weigl offers 2 470µF / 200V / 105°C electrolytic capacitors from Samxon. Checked Mouser and found some capacitors from Nichicon / Rubycon / Chemicon which I'll order a replacement for the Samxon. I have 4 unused 470µF 200V caps ( Nichicon LGR2D471MELA35 ) with 10mm pin spacing, bou...

And a test run. Dinner should be ready soon. Important Safety Note: I'm going to put this here in case this post turns up in an internet search for anyone who might not realize that North American stoves can have a nasty safety hazard. Shut the power off at the breaker panel or fuse box before doin...

Air force museums, yes. Only been to the Swedish one, which is good. This good: https://vvv.besserwisser.org/Public/Bilder/Tp85/caravelle-8660A.jpeg (from the inside of the Sud Aviation Caravelle SIGINT aircraft that's been repopulated with gear by old operating crews restoring it and is open for to...

8592L update: Power supply servicing has, for the time being, concluded. The main filter caps all had under 0,1Ω ESR and were spot on in value. No use swapping them. The RIFAs have been exchanged for new ones. Still marked RIFA but of course made by Kemet. The coming week I'll try to get to the plum...

These are excellent sources and resources.

Still, tape is only interesting as a historical medium, and all possible effort should be directed towards transferring their content to ones and zeros and storing those on hard drives.

Cubdriver wrote: ↑Wed Mar 05, 2025 8:16 am Some time back I also snagged their later, much simpler sand filled cousins - the 220A and 221A.

Those are SO cute! Thanks for posting.

mansaxel wrote: ↑Fri Feb 28, 2025 7:52 pm I got lucky the other day.

Follow-up: Yes, it arrived, it is pristine, just as advertised, and it sounds impeccable. Happy.

Very nice.



My slightly newer sibling says hello.

The only mod I had to do to it was to remove the substandard mains input, and replace it with a modern one:

I believe the connectors if not the supply voltages and the pinning (most certainly not!) are the same as for the TM500 series modular instruments. For those, a so-called JAMMA extender cable reportedly can be used, once a bridge in the PCB joining a couple of adjacent pins has been removed. I've go...

I got lucky the other day. I've had a search for "Audix" in the "Microphones" section of the local auction site for ages. Few, if any hits, compared to the Sennheiser and Shure searches I also have. Then, an OM5 showed up at a sensible starting bid. But, did not sell; no bids at ...

Did some digging in the garage this morning. More or less literally. Apparently I've now got two complete Duossal equipped Type 25 Trangias, and Al pots for them too, and another duossal big pot for Type 25. Must have wished for one extra :shock: . Anyway, they're repacked and checked out as complet...

Apparently reel to reel has had a comeback in recent years, especially with some prominent artistes and a section of audiophiles. Are they still made? No, but tape is being made again, I believe. There was a crisis when BASF and Ampex both had quit, IIRC, but there was a resurgence and manufacturin...

I remember that scene from Pup Fiction being used as a standalone music video for the Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon song and I did some digging and it's a Teac X2000. Why the dislike for magnetic tape though? For me, it's Pro Tools and 16mm film because I'm fed up with taking on more and more work so...

Any idea what tape machine that is? An obsolete one! My guess would be upper consumer level deck from Technics or perhaps Akai. If I never have to work with tape again, I am a happy person. OTOH, my record player: https://vvv.besserwisser.org/Public/Bilder/tea/very-satisfying.mov The Mono/Stereo bu...

8592L update: ... I think I've found all four manuals required, user, calibration, assembly service manual, and CLIP package. None of these contain the power supply. Of course. That's an unpleasant surprise. If it wasn't a spectrum analyser and did have a Boeschert (sp?) PSU, it wouldn't surprise m...

8592L update: The power supply, an OEM SMPS thing, has been extracted from the chassis, and taken apart. Well built; nice to get to pieces and will not be a problem going together again. They really boobytrapped this one though, three RIFA PME40 0,1microFarad thingies and a Schaffner inlet filter. O...