Test Equipment Anonymous

Temporary loss of some stations here in AKL NZ also on the AM bands while they replace old masts. One mast will be lost but both are down currently, fuck knows why they took them both down at the same time....probably to only have a single crane establishment cost....cheapskates ! While not far from...

How One British Radio Engineer Intercepted the Secret Launch Frequencies of 60 Nazi V-1 Missiles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFYWpoQWRdI
23 mins

NZ mains is not for sissies
235VAC single phase....unpleasant and life threatening if across the heart.
415VAC between phases......if you're lucky you only get a zap between a phase and ground = 235VAC just to check you're still awake.

What I've noticed is that there are parrot people, who are immensely enthusiastic about them, and owning one seems to be more a way of life than owning a pet. Parrots also have particular views about people. Some don't like boys, some don't like girls, and some take an immense dislike to certain pe...

I may try a trackerball. But the mice I particularly dislike are the ones abandoned in my shoes. Or eviscerated in the dark bit of the hall. Just be sure not to confuse the more ergonomic Trackman with a Trackball. With a Trackman all pointer manipulation is done with the thumb leaving the fingers ...

Never tried a Trackball only the more ergonomic Trackman and 100% agree these style of mouse are hard to beat on a busy bench. On the #1 workstation still using a USB Trackman that is showing its age as the microswitches sometimes miss a click but I now have spares should it get to a truly bothersom...

Primary computer is XP and talks GPIB to sixteen instruments. .............................................. Wireless mice are really useful in a lab, as are dinky keyboards. Do you have a GPIB card or a USB adapter? I hate mice and have always (since 1990) used a track ball . Wireless dinky keyboa...

Mike, try to find a TP-Link TL-WR802N N300 WiFi 4 Nano Router locally and they're quite cheap.
Configure it in Bridge mode to give access to your WiFi LAN for any device with a wired LAN connection.

I will admit that I haven't been in the habit of jumping on the Bantam's brake. Perhaps I should get into the habit, especially as there isn't room to fit a handle to the Bantam. But until I spot a 127 tooth gear at a sensible price, the Bantam is limited to Imperial threads. The Hobbymat has enoug...

That Harrison is very similar to my Bantam except for the screwcutting gearbox. The Bantam has a big three-phase plug on it that goes to a fixed inverter (same with BCA3 mill). Yes, happy with the torque/power argument. The Hobbymat usually runs at its maximum speed of 2000 rpm because it mostly do...

Fact or fiction ?

The Simple British Trick That Made Nazi Radio Towers Electrocute Their Own Crews Until Declassified
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4QvBOO2kFU

More poles on an electric motor = more torque and less RPM. My Harrison 12 lathe came fitted with a 3HP 3 Ph motor wired for 2 or 4 pole operation. Normal operation is 4 pole = 1440 RPM and 2 pole is 2880 RPM or thereabouts on a 50 Hz supply. (6 pole is ~960 and 8 pole ~720 RPM in other 3ph motors I...

WOW thanks lads for the card and tape history lesson. :clap: Never seen such up close but punched some card with a pen at HS which was sent away to be run somewhere Ahrs. We got marked if out code ran properly and how complex it may have been. IIRC we got a dot matrix printout back...well over 50 yr...

Just as an interest, what sorta card feed rate /s was achievable ?
How might that convert to a data baud rate ?

Ah yes, a cave would have a nice stable temperature and humidity too, making it pleasant in both summer and winter and allowing test gear to be stable. All my test gear backs onto a South-facing wall whose temperature oscillates wildly . Never thought of that when house-hunting. Not so in the south...

Ah yes, a cave would have a nice stable temperature and humidity too, making it pleasant in both summer and winter and allowing test gear to be stable. All my test gear backs onto a South-facing wall whose temperature oscillates wildly . Never thought of that when house-hunting. Not so in the south...

Best way to prevent short term overloads triggering breakers is to fit D class (motor rated) breakers.

Power outages in rural areas are a lot more common and often only last a few minutes but sometimes an hour or 3. Big storm winds are our main risk from tree damage to the network....it's a pet hate of mine and anywhere along our road frontage I've ensured no tree can impact the infrastructure....I o...

Yup ~6hrs is all one can expect from the major connectivity suppliers.

But those that give a stuff will go to a bit of trouble to keep their systems alive.....that's if you can get a genset from a hire company before everyone else cleans them out.

"Making" and SBCs such as Raspberry Pi cater to the same sheddy, tinkering instinct the amateur electronics rags covered. It's a constructive interest and no bad thing. .... I know someone who came home to a freezer full of rotting food, because while she was on holiday, poorly thought ou...

I really can't see why anyone would wish to control a washing machine, dishwasher etc from a mobile phone, or pay extra for the feature. Those with grid tied solar installations use remote and/or delayed appliance activation when they are at work and getting good solar output rather than have to pa...

I am slipping. I have not bought any TE since last Summer. Shame on me. :shock: Slacker ! :o $20k's worth purchased yesterday. Not entirely for yourself, I guess..? :lol: Yup, correct. Things are getting pretty crazy when the day your previous $20k order turns up you need to order as much again.......

MED6753 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2026 7:21 pm I am slipping. I have not bought any TE since last Summer. Shame on me.

Slacker !

$20k's worth purchased yesterday.

A DIY PSU is a right of passage and not that hard at all unless current limiting is required......escaping magic smoke always teaches us lessons....

America Had No Radio Crystals in 1941 — So Engineers Cut 30 Million From Brazilian Quartz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1_l8Qdsq5A