Test Equipment Anonymous

New arrival, the - hp - 8640B! It's been on the wish list basically since I was bit with the TEA bug. And now I own one. A colleague, who already owns one, tipped me off on one that was offered at a low -- for Sweden -- starting price of about 150USD. And it was very local, and pickup only, the lat...

Frequency is between 1 and 2.5kHz. Loaded with 50pF 2500V +- 200V (presume this is with an electrostatic meter or similar) output should drop to 1900V +- 400V when loaded with 50pF and 25 megohm. input is nominally 6.75V maximum but has a variable supply to control gain.

Robert G8RPI

No, the Tek PSU has a North American plug (NEMA 5-15P). Technically this makes it illegal to use in the UK.

According to the TekWiki, it's a power supply for a type 131 model 4 current probe amplifier, 230V variant. Part number 015-028. Also trying to identify this little bastard: Has what looks like a NSN but probably isn't, 6130-99-117-8700 f84f6be4-1f7b-4117-a1fc-6ba87fba5635.jpg That is a high voltag...

I visited the big surplus store in Albuquerque NM yesterday It's "Surplus City". Part old style industrial / military surplus part modern foreign made new stuff. Lots of boat anchor TE in a big warehouse including several 6' high 19" racks full of varible power supplies. HP, LAmbda et...

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. The...

I've seen this failure mode before. I was working with high current pulse operation of LEDs and seeing how far we could push them. This was on the day job nearly 20 years go. If you ran them too hard the light output whent down along with the forward voltage. If you backed the current off the bright...

My recntly aquired Wavetek Model 52 not ony had dual display it has two fully isolated input modules and each of those can measure voltage and curreet and thus calculate power at the same time. All for £35. My Keithley 199 is probably favorite though. No dual display but compact with 51/2 big clear ...

On National Hamfest. The "fleamarket" pitches outside were £30 for one table. You are nhave ot allowed a gazebo or awning and if you have an assistant they have to pay another £7. The R&S Polyscope is an early network analyser. It was a single box, large display, two port solution when...

You were too late, we got all the good bits :P The guy with the clean TE neatly laid out with no price tags was who I bought the R&S DMM off. I'm a bit disapponted that he didn't tell me it as faulty. If I'd paid his original aking price I'd be seriously miffed. The 3586B is basically a very hig...

Well I was wrong. The little 1A bridge rectifier that supplies the +5, +15 and -15 regulators was OK. With the capacitors replaced still no measurements. The +15 and -15 Volt outputs were OK but no 5V. That comes from a LM309K (TO3) regulator. Whipped that out and it read totally open circuit on dio...

So I had a lok inside the R&S UDS 5 DMM. It is full of Roederstein EK electrolytics. These have a dark brown thermoset plastic case rather than the usual aluminium can. Sevveral of them are obviously faulty. Tiny cracks and dried out electrolyte residue. And there are no supply voltages on the a...

Edited to clarify no ceefive
https://www.chemring.com/what-we-do/cou ... e-disposal has a link to the Shrike datasheet (I got a Mk5).

Nation aHamfest Visit Report. I went on Friday. No one wanted the instrument mobile :-( Rally was busy but not crowded. I was one of the first in other than traders. The outdoor fleamarket opens 30 minutes before the hall. Table are expensive £30 so not too much junk. First thing I picked up isn't T...

Anyone on here going to National Hamfest on Friday and interested in a HP 1183A Instrument Mobile? Designed for the 54600 series of 'scopes MSOs etc will also taka other instruments. ANY offer considered. Scope not included (I do have a nice 54645D MSO but it would be extra). Agilent-1183A.jpg coeme...

The Hameg 'scopes were a mid-range 'scope in the UK. Certainly a step above the "Scopex" designs that were sold under many names. Similar to the lower end Telequipment of same vintage but below Phillips, Tektronix and HP. Gould did a similar colour / style range but they were plauged by fa...

Went into my storage unit yesterday to get a couple mercury displacment contactors for a mate. Found a couple of HP41C calculators too. Must have a look at them. I really need to clear some of that storage out. Anyone want a fuel quantity test set (electromechanical capacitance bridge and subsitutio...

That's only 10 miles from where I was for work last month. I had spare time but also Covid 19 so wasn't visiting anywhere. Maybe next time...

My last performance car was an estate (wagon). Had 275 HP, 296ft-lb, <6s 0-60, 155 MPH (limited) from a 2.67l (163 in3) V6. And that was a late 90's design. Terribly complex though. Twin turbo, 30 valves, 4 camshafts VVT, etc. (The extra 10 HP over spec was from a Miltec mild exhaust). Audi S4 Avant...

The EU seems to allow the "Knight Rider" indicators (turn signals) which don't meet the requirements (all indicators must come on simultaneously) in the UK at least. This is particuarly true when the "moving light is splt across the rear quarter and rear hatch / boot. Apart from that ...

The EV I jump started was fine and had enough range in the traction battery to get home. It just needed the 12V battery charged so it would turn on. No idea why it discharged with power in the traction battery. On people falling asleep with dry cleaning its more likely to be "trike" Trichl...

Went to the Thorpe Camp Radio Rally today. Mostly to sell. Not much TE sold and I didn't but any. I did have one first related to an earlier discussion on here: I "jump-started" an EV. Not a Tesla, a Hyundai. Owned by the seller next to me. Somehow over 4-5 hours they discharged the 12V le...

In the USA you can buy rust stain remover containing HF at the hardware store Whink Rust Stain remover is 2% HF
Suprisingly I found a UK seller https://www.repairingproducts.co.uk/pro ... over-16oz/

Hmm have you heard of EPP Regulations? https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/licensing-for-home-users-of-explosives-precursors/licensing-for-home-users-of-poisons-and-explosive-precursors. My radioactive sources are all legal in the UK. Activities vary from less than a microcuries to several cu...

I've not much data, couple of TB. Most of thet is PDF manuals, books and periodicals and seperate from personal stuff. There is a lot of physical TE etc which concerns SWMBO. Two garages, a workshop, attic and 1/2 ISO container storage unit :) The storage uint is all binned up in Really Useful Boxes...