Search found 187 matches

by vk6zgo
Tue Sep 30, 2025 10:55 pm
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Tek 7L12 & 7S12
Replies: 19
Views: 633

Re: Tek 7L12 & 7S12

bd139 wrote: Tue Sep 30, 2025 9:27 pm I’ve wrestled a 7L12 before.

Hours of fun!
Even when they are fully functional, as this one happily seems to be, they are not "user friendly".
It is bit like having a performing bear! :D
by vk6zgo
Thu Sep 25, 2025 11:20 pm
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Tek 7L12 & 7S12
Replies: 19
Views: 633

Re: Tek 7L12 & 7S12

Distinctly! For the price, the 7603 is a bargain, & the other stuff is just the icing on the cake! As a bonus, the Kenwood radio that had stopped working somehow fell off the bench & now works. In earlier times, that would have triggered an intensive investigation to find the original proble...
by vk6zgo
Wed Sep 24, 2025 1:44 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Tek 7L12 & 7S12
Replies: 19
Views: 633

Re: Tek 7L12 & 7S12

Update on the 7S12 TDR thingy:- It appears that the S52 pulse generator works, as looking at its output with the BWD 845 shows a waveform like the ones shown various places on the Internet. Unfortunately, as the Dual Timebase is faulty on the BWD, I can't look at rise time properly, but using the fa...
by vk6zgo
Wed Sep 24, 2025 12:58 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Tek 7L12 & 7S12
Replies: 19
Views: 633

Re: Tek 7L12 & 7S12

A few more musings & actual doings- The 7L12 seems to be usable pretty much as it is, even if it is a bit out of spec. In one of my old jobs, the one we had was very useful, as after I worked around its "clunkiness" I was able to use it to troubleshoot really strange things, like an in...
by vk6zgo
Thu Sep 18, 2025 6:14 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Tek 7L12 & 7S12
Replies: 19
Views: 633

Tek 7L12 & 7S12

Been having a bit more of a play with the devices I got at the Hamfest. The 7L12 seems to be OK--it is clunky as hell to use, but they were like that 30 years ago. Earlier, I was suspicious as to whether the 50MHz cal signal was on frequency, so dragged out the "Victor" frequency counter, ...
by vk6zgo
Mon Sep 08, 2025 2:04 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread
Replies: 3713
Views: 3709027

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

Oh yea.....lots of unwashed grubby looking hobos sitting at a table with coffee and donuts. Is it a requirement that hams must look like they come out of the cellar once a year? :roll: Amateur radio is an ageing hobby in the UK, so there aren't that many young people at these events. There's a type...
by vk6zgo
Sat Aug 16, 2025 4:30 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Hamfest inductors
Replies: 5
Views: 1616

Re: Hamfest inductors

Zenith wrote: Thu Aug 14, 2025 9:47 am The TF2700 is a bit clunky but they do work. I haven't used mine in 20 years.

I'm sure when they came out the ads claimed they could measure the inductance of a paper clip.
Back in the day, at my old work, they were the "go to" bridge!
by vk6zgo
Mon Aug 04, 2025 12:56 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Interesting findings on the internet
Replies: 940
Views: 1602886

Re: Interesting findings on the internet

TD pulse generators were used for cable fault location, e.g. Tek 1502. Operates in driving rain, has a unique shorting BNC connector to discharge static on cables, used in Patriot missiles batteries. My 1971 Philips 1.7GHz sampling scope has a 2GHz FET in the trigger circuits, BC107s elsewhere. We ...
by vk6zgo
Sun Jun 22, 2025 4:05 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread
Replies: 3713
Views: 3709027

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

it has been 29C here, 33C near London, looks like bits of France hit 38C. Definitely pants[1] and beer weather. RH is 50-60% so relatively tolerable. No aircon, unless you count an electric fan. [1] UK meaning, of course. What is the UK meaning of "pants"? Pants as in a wearable item or p...
by vk6zgo
Thu May 22, 2025 2:24 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Fluke 8000A: makes me doubt my high opinions of Fluke DMMs
Replies: 50
Views: 11080

Re: Fluke 8000A: makes me doubt my high opinions of Fluke DMMs

Based on this thread, shouldn't we declare Fluke products as a crap shoot..... Gimme a mo to grab my hat and coat.... We are talking about bench DMMs about 50 years old, which were probably designed with a design life of maybe 10 years in mind. Then they sold for $$$s painful and now are bought for...
by vk6zgo
Thu May 15, 2025 6:35 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: HP 211A
Replies: 73
Views: 44364

Re: HP 211A

Test set up: 2465 set to 50 ohm input. 75 ohm output on the generator. Why hp chose 75 ohm is a mystery to me. The results. Drum roll..... So the symmetry issue is finally fixed. All that's left to do is calibrate the frequency dial. There are adjustments for each range so it should fall into place...
by vk6zgo
Mon May 05, 2025 11:29 pm
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: HP 211A
Replies: 73
Views: 44364

Re: HP 211A

The delayed delivery is reminiscent of trying to obtain replacement parts from the EU or UK in the 1980s & '90s. We could have sworn that a fast 1800s style "windjammer" service would have got them to Western Australia faster! EU & UK manufacturers complained that "nobody in A...
by vk6zgo
Sun Apr 20, 2025 4:46 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Going free: Fluke 760A Voltage Calibrator
Replies: 45
Views: 17026

Re: Going free: Fluke 760A Voltage Calibrator

There's The Roundhouse in Fremantle. https://emmajaneexplores.com/visiting-fremantle-round-house/ It was built as a prison in the 1830s, but it was used for storage later on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOIpzSQq_Wk The Youtube video is only four minutes long. It gives good views of the courtyar...
by vk6zgo
Sun Apr 20, 2025 3:09 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Going free: Fluke 760A Voltage Calibrator
Replies: 45
Views: 17026

Re: Going free: Fluke 760A Voltage Calibrator

Curious; I don't remember one. Was it in Southampton? That would mildly surprise me since most of Southampton city centre and docks were extensively redeveloped[1] by the Luftwaffe. The nearest I can see is https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1339976 but that is stated to be ...
by vk6zgo
Sat Apr 19, 2025 9:11 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Going free: Fluke 760A Voltage Calibrator
Replies: 45
Views: 17026

Re: Going free: Fluke 760A Voltage Calibrator

When I went to Southampton UK back in the day, one of the interesting sights was a warehouse from the mid 1400s, which was notable for some other reason now lost in the mists of receding memories. What struck me was that it was virtually indistinguishable from some made in Fremantle WA in the 1840s...
by vk6zgo
Sat Apr 19, 2025 1:13 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Going free: Fluke 760A Voltage Calibrator
Replies: 45
Views: 17026

Re: Going free: Fluke 760A Voltage Calibrator

100 miles vs. 100 years. My house in 95 years old. My parents house was 170 years old. Then we get to old houses. I enjoy walking down streets 2000 years old, and sitting on rocks placed in a circle by people completely forgotten to time who spoke in an unknown (and forevermore unkowable) language....
by vk6zgo
Thu Apr 17, 2025 11:33 pm
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Going free: Fluke 760A Voltage Calibrator
Replies: 45
Views: 17026

Re: Going free: Fluke 760A Voltage Calibrator

Seventeen & "a bit" hours flight from Perth WA to Heathrow, an 8 hour drive to Dunoon, then back again. On top of that, the airline might not let me take it as luggage, so perhaps not--I'm getting way too old for this shit! :D
by vk6zgo
Thu Mar 27, 2025 12:51 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread
Replies: 3713
Views: 3709027

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

Back in 1971, I remember the Aussies, Yanks, Kiwis & Canucks getting together to "whinge" about the poor quality of "bought" food in England. Actually, the "Transport Caffs" were usually a bit more edible than the more pretentious "takeaways". There was on...
by vk6zgo
Tue Mar 25, 2025 1:18 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread
Replies: 3713
Views: 3709027

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

--- No, that was me! vk6zgo ! I remember in 1971 driving up from Southampton one Sunday, because I wanted to buy some KFC. That's just weird, nobody in their right mind wants Kentucky Fries Mouse. Interestingly, when they first appeared in Oz, "The Colonel" as we called it back then in Pe...
by vk6zgo
Sat Mar 22, 2025 8:56 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread
Replies: 3713
Views: 3709027

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

https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Piccadilly-by-Night-London-1960-by-Elmar-Ludwig.jpg Piccadilly by Night London 1960 by Elmar Ludwig Piccadilly by Night? According to Guinness Time there, the picture was taken at 5:18 PM! Night? Just how early was bedtime back then? It is already get...
by vk6zgo
Fri Mar 21, 2025 12:49 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread
Replies: 3713
Views: 3709027

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

As for the larger issue surrounding the whole shitty mess... yeah, it's a shitty mess. As has been mentioned; "volunteer" shitty mess. :roll: It sucks, but I think this is a "pick your battles" scenario. You're probably best off treating it as a life lesson about working with du...
by vk6zgo
Fri Mar 14, 2025 12:12 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread
Replies: 3713
Views: 3709027

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

https://teanonymous.com/f1/download/file.php?mode=view&id=2694 Your mention of the Quangsheng brand prompted me to actually do a little Gurrgling on them, something I've been "gonna do" for a while now. Looks like these little Chinesium nipple-warmers have advanced quite a bit since I...
by vk6zgo
Sat Feb 22, 2025 1:54 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Fluke 8125A
Replies: 48
Views: 19928

Re: Fluke 8125A

New Revox B77 are being made but they're listed at just under 16,000 Euro dollars. Edited to add: From what I've seen, they're only making a Revox B77 version of the machine - no Studer PR99 counterpart. I'm not sure how much or if there was a gap between Quantegy bailing out, RMGI starting up and ...
by vk6zgo
Wed Feb 05, 2025 6:53 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread
Replies: 3713
Views: 3709027

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

There's my thread at The Other Plaice, https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fluke-8125a-military-dmm-teardown/ The other place can fuck right off! I've made it impossible for me to recover my account again now. I might have "blotted my copybook" too, by too enthusiastically "thanki...
by vk6zgo
Wed Feb 05, 2025 5:26 am
Forum: Test Equipment
Topic: Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) : Discussion and Group Therapy Thread
Replies: 3713
Views: 3709027

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

Acolytes doesn't feel dirty enough. You ought to be careful... Someone Over There has written "I don't understand why bd139 is some kind of cult character to some,..." :shock: :lol: I do. I've got all his merch including the very collectible bd139 Thug Life tee shirt. All hail the mighty ...