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

[AVGresponding]

Anyone bought wafer switches lately? Had a look at some today for work (I've plenty of stock for personal use) and was shocked at the prices. £30-50 per wafer and £50-60 for the mechanism
That's 5 to 10 times what the were last time I looked.
Seriously considering a board full of DPCO relays instead. It for a bit of TE so on-topic.

Robert

There is no "on" or "off" topic here

Are those the boggo Lorlin ones?

[tggzzz]

There are a couple of PMs stuck in my outbox; is the messaging system working?

[nixiefreqq]

tried to send you a PM.

it also appears to be stuck in my outbox.

[tggzzz]

tried to send you a PM.

it also appears to be stuck in my outbox.

I've received as normal, and replied; that is stuck in mt outbox too.

[nixiefreqq]

just got back from shopping.

my outbox is clear and your reply was in my inbox time stamped 0906.

[tggzzz]

Strange. A second PM to zenith is also stuck in my outbox. No funny characters etc.

[AVGresponding]

Zucca linked this on EEVBlog, I figured it should be seen here as well: https://media.hardwear.io/equipment-the ... ar-stolen/

[Robert]

Having commented on the cost of switch wafers last week guess what I bought at Dunstable Downs...
Yes, a box of switch wafers. All new Modern type, not paxolin. Mostly 32mm but a few 25mm complete switches with odd configuration wafers. Two types of 32mm 6PCO and 1P4W + 1P4 position rotating open. This connects non selected poles together and to common.
The six pole change over is just what I need for the job at work. There are 140 of them. Even at quantity prices theet is a couple of thousand pounds worth. I've not counted the others but there must be at least as many.
I paid £10 for the lot.
Also picked up two Schaffner NSG 430 ESD generator "Pistols". Obviously been in storage a long time but complete in the cases and they both work. A bargain at £20 the pair. I didn't even haggle

Robert.

[Zenith]

A good haul.

Did you have a stall there? There was one gent selling SAs I thought might be you, but he said he wasn't Robert, and another bloke with his wife selling a lot of high end stuff, for a rally, but I didn't ask his name.

I came back with a BC348-H (WWII USAAF receiver) in a nice state for very reasonable £25, a Fluke 8600A, which when it works is spot on, but cuts out after a time, and a load of useful bits and pieces. There were lorts of things I might have bought, if I didn't have several already.

I went down with tggzzz and met up with synx508. They both had stalls and shifted some excess treasures.

All in all it was a pretty good rally.

[Robert]

No I wasn't selling. only a quick visit.
There was a lot VMARS type stuff.

[nixiefreqq]

hey tautech

just watched a news video about nz politics.

apparently you guys settle disagreements with some kind of dance where the participants make startling faces and wave their arms while singing and dancing.

is that real......or was I fooled by some kind of ai generated fake?

not saying your system is better or worse. but it sure was different from the behavior of our elected best and brightest supreme overlords.

[tggzzz]

hey tautech

just watched a news video about nz politics.

apparently you guys settle disagreements with some kind of dance where the participants make startling faces and wave their arms while singing and dancing.

is that real......or was I fooled by some kind of ai generated fake?

not saying your system is better or worse. but it sure was different from the behavior of our elected best and brightest supreme overlords.

This? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haka

US politicians are similar, but the dances normally occur behind closed doors. T'rump doesn't understand that, and does it in public (see tonight's news).

[tautech]

hey tautech

just watched a news video about nz politics.

apparently you guys settle disagreements with some kind of dance where the participants make startling faces and wave their arms while singing and dancing.

is that real......or was I fooled by some kind of ai generated fake?

not saying your system is better or worse. but it sure was different from the behavior of our elected best and brightest supreme overlords.

LOL, yep certain minority factions play the emotional card which they are allowed to with prior approval of the Speaker of the House. No approval was requested or given.
House rules were broken by leaving their seats in a debate, the Haka and also threatening another Member.

Happened last Nov at the reading of what some thought was a controversial Bill and 3 of the 4 Members were referred to the Privileges Committee and they declined to attend, which they also can do.
One apologized to the house and it was accepted whereas the other 3 have displayed contempt for 150yr old House Standing Orders.

Privileges Committee recommendations are then debated to be sanctioned or modified and majority vote decides any sentence the Speaker can apply.
Proposals are 2 be excluded from all House duties for 3 weeks and one for 1 week and all will have their pay docked respectively.

Things are to get lively before all has been settled.......

[nixiefreqq]

well ok....like the man said "different countries, different customs"


https://clip.cafe/the-man-who-would-be- ... take-pick/

[bd139]

hey tautech

just watched a news video about nz politics.

apparently you guys settle disagreements with some kind of dance where the participants make startling faces and wave their arms while singing and dancing.

is that real......or was I fooled by some kind of ai generated fake?

not saying your system is better or worse. but it sure was different from the behavior of our elected best and brightest supreme overlords.

This? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haka

US politicians are similar, but the dances normally occur behind closed doors. T'rump doesn't understand that, and does it in public (see tonight's news).

My youngest's school has a Haka. The teachers hate it. The kids hate it. It doesn't scare the shit out of the opposing sports team. They all look like morons. This is the only negative so far.

[mnementh]

well ok....like the man said "different countries, different customs"


https://clip.cafe/the-man-who-would-be- ... take-pick/

mnem
Hand to god! Baby geese... goslings. They were juggled!

[mnementh]

hey tautech

just watched a news video about nz politics.

apparently you guys settle disagreements with some kind of dance where the participants make startling faces and wave their arms while singing and dancing.

is that real......or was I fooled by some kind of ai generated fake?

not saying your system is better or worse. but it sure was different from the behavior of our elected best and brightest supreme overlords.

This? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haka

US politicians are similar, but the dances normally occur behind closed doors. T'rump doesn't understand that, and does it in public (see tonight's news).

Trump doesn't understand anything beyond the tip of his own penis.

mnem
Again, on behalf of all sane Americans... I'm sorry.

[tautech]

Trump doesn't understand anything beyond the tip of his own penis.

mnem
Again, on behalf of all sane Americans... I'm sorry.

Mrs tautech is neither American or sane and thinks the suns shines outta Donald whereas her better other thinks entirely opposite.
That bull in a china shop has reset world trade and lost many long time friends......

[tggzzz]

Again, on behalf of all sane Americans... I'm sorry.

We in the UK are prone to similar problems. Currently the name of the desperation fantasy is "Farage".

They are neither the cause nor the cure but they are the manifestation of the desperation, cf Hitler in the 30s. To try and understand the causes, I'm reading Piketty; slow going! He looks at the past 200 years and estimates the relative amount of money made by working or simply having money and using that to make more money.

Repeatedly, when too much money is made by "renting", those.who work start to lose out big time, and Bad Things start to happen. Examples include the rich becoming richer, and the workers feeling that whatever they do they will never be able to succeed.

Now I want to understand the consequences and the strategies to avoid the problem.

[tggzzz]

Interestingly, one of my favourite authors, J. Michael Straczynski who created Babylon 5, has spent most of his savings over the past 8 months trying to escape the US. That's unsurprising considering the history lessons he wove into B5.

He's just managed to get UK residency, and is just setting up working relationships with agents and managers. So far he feels positive

Hence I feel some sadness for those who can't manage to escape, tinged with the fear they might be leaving one sinking ship for another.

[mnementh]

Trump doesn't understand anything beyond the tip of his own penis.

mnem
Again, on behalf of all sane Americans... I'm sorry.

Mrs tautech is neither American or sane and thinks the suns shines outta Donald whereas her better other thinks entirely opposite.
That bull in a china shop has reset world trade and lost many long time friends......

He is not the disease, he is just another symptom; a visible lesion over the deep-rooted cancer.

mnem
$$$ ≠ mandate of heaven.

[bd139]

Again, on behalf of all sane Americans... I'm sorry.

We in the UK are prone to similar problems. Currently the name of the desperation fantasy is "Farage".

They are neither the cause nor the cure but they are the manifestation of the desperation, cf Hitler in the 30s. To try and understand the causes, I'm reading Piketty; slow going! He looks at the past 200 years and estimates the relative amount of money made by working or simply having money and using that to make more money.

Repeatedly, when too much money is made by "renting", those.who work start to lose out big time, and Bad Things start to happen. Examples include the rich becoming richer, and the workers feeling that whatever they do they will never be able to succeed.

Now I want to understand the consequences and the strategies to avoid the problem.

Farage doesn't have a chance fortunately. Trump has really turned the media off here what with the attacks against them in the USA and they have been doing a very well done slow hit job on him. Despite the polling, which is mostly run by people vested in the outcome (even Ipsos are duff now), intent is not looking quite as rosy for Farage.

The two problems that remain are the Reform Day Care (Wetherspoons) class really who are embroiled in whatever personality cult of the hour matches their ignorant and crude thoughts. They're willing to overlook all criminal activity from pedophilia to fraud. Our version of owning the libs. The other problem is the Tories seem to be entirely unelectable. That means the "not Labour" vote ends up in Reform because the Lib Dems haven't been forgiven for thelast bunch of treachery and the Greens are quite frankly lunatics.

Unlike Hitler, perhaps fortunately, none of this current generation of politicians surround themselves with enough competent people to do any damage really other than economic with a bit of light beating and deporting on the side. I expect it'll blow over or get blown away shortly.

[bd139]

I came here to post this (as recommended by worsthorse) and got distracted. Anyway, this is on the mark:

https://deadsimpletech.com/blog/keeping_up_appearances

[tggzzz]

Again, on behalf of all sane Americans... I'm sorry.

We in the UK are prone to similar problems. Currently the name of the desperation fantasy is "Farage".

They are neither the cause nor the cure but they are the manifestation of the desperation, cf Hitler in the 30s. To try and understand the causes, I'm reading Piketty; slow going! He looks at the past 200 years and estimates the relative amount of money made by working or simply having money and using that to make more money.

Repeatedly, when too much money is made by "renting", those.who work start to lose out big time, and Bad Things start to happen. Examples include the rich becoming richer, and the workers feeling that whatever they do they will never be able to succeed.

Now I want to understand the consequences and the strategies to avoid the problem.

Farage doesn't have a chance fortunately. Trump has really turned the media off here what with the attacks against them in the USA and they have been doing a very well done slow hit job on him. Despite the polling, which is mostly run by people vested in the outcome (even Ipsos are duff now), intent is not looking quite as rosy for Farage.

The two problems that remain are the Reform Day Care (Wetherspoons) class really who are embroiled in whatever personality cult of the hour matches their ignorant and crude thoughts. They're willing to overlook all criminal activity from pedophilia to fraud. Our version of owning the libs. The other problem is the Tories seem to be entirely unelectable. That means the "not Labour" vote ends up in Reform because the Lib Dems haven't been forgiven for thelast bunch of treachery and the Greens are quite frankly lunatics.

I wish I was that sure. Farage is more slippery and oleaginous than eels or Michael Gove.

There seems to be a bias that disenchanted males -> Reform (school), disenchanted females -> Green (skin), young -> any authoritarian (because that can't be worse than democracy).

The question is the proportion of people that manage to retain some degree of faith in mainstream concepts and values and hence parties party. I'm not hopeful.

BTW, I like the concept of that day care. Daughter flogged ice cream at a "chocolate and chilli" festival in the centre of the universe, Merthr Tydfill, and did quite nicely presumably because she wasn't one of the n! craft stalls selling infinitesimal variants of theobromine and capsaicin. Anyway, she looked in Wetherspoons at 10:30am, and yes, there were quite a few people with beer glasses in front of them. 10effin30am.

And at Cowbridge Food Festival there was a stall holder who genuinely believed that the lower footfall was Labour's fault, and that the wet/blowy weather had nothing to do with it.

Unlike Hitler, perhaps fortunately, none of this current generation of politicians surround themselves with enough competent people to do any damage really other than economic with a bit of light beating and deporting on the side. I expect it'll blow over or get blown away shortly.

Never bet against human stupidity and gullibility.

Never underestimate the ability of a self-proclaimed saviour to lead the masses to the self-proclaimed promised land. Doubly so a charismatic one (i.e. not Farrago).

[bd139]

I wish I was that sure. Farage is more slippery and oleaginous than eels or Michael Gove.

He's not really. He's got a few slogans and nothing to back it up.

Slightly to the side, this is funny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRc0by2vZ7k

There seems to be a bias that disenchanted males -> Reform (school), disenchanted females -> Green (skin), young -> any authoritarian (because that can't be worse than democracy).

The question is the proportion of people that manage to retain some degree of faith in mainstream concepts and values and hence parties party. I'm not hopeful.

The problem is really that not that Reform are suddenly a thing but that the Conservatives are suddenly not. If you look at the age distribution of voters the only people who are voting Reform in any significant mass are disenchanted 40+ year old Conservatives. Basically the contents of Wetherspoons before Reform came to be.

BTW, I like the concept of that day care. Daughter flogged ice cream at a "chocolate and chilli" festival in the centre of the universe, Merthr Tydfill, and did quite nicely presumably because she wasn't one of the n! craft stalls selling infinitesimal variants of theobromine and capsaicin. Anyway, she looked in Wetherspoons at 10:30am, and yes, there were quite a few people with beer glasses in front of them. 10effin30am.

And at Cowbridge Food Festival there was a stall holder who genuinely believed that the lower footfall was Labour's fault, and that the wet/blowy weather had nothing to do with it.

Anyway profile of a spoons alky I know. He is known as "Colin of Spoons". 60 this year. From some village just outside High Wycombe. The guy is a low grade London tour guide. Says he's ex military but I looked him up on LinkedIn and he worked on something very not military that I can't remember. Something like cleaning as in actually cleaning and not a euphemism for something more nefarious. Did nothing at school and then spent his entire life doing nothing, then his parents dropped dead and left him a massive house somewhere in the Chilterns which he rents out to someone and lives in a rented flat somewhere else with some fish. So at the general election last year we're in Wetherspoons and he's dressed up in blue ready for the Conservative win. Of course they didn't. At the US presidential inauguration he went down to the US embassy in London wearing a MAGA hat. He's actually a really nice guy but a completely and utter fuckwit at the same time. Colin of Spoons because he has breakfast and dinner in there EVERY SINGLE DAY. I'll add a kick in the teeth as well - he has no real "personality" which results in the usual problems with "woman" as he says. So he figured he'd try and buy one. This has been going on 3 years unsuccessfully which involved him getting done over big time in both Turkey and Uzbekistan. He's tolerated because everyone keeps him in check and tells him to shut up when he makes a positive Trump comment or starts with "That Kier Starmer ...". There's a bunch more I know. Annoyingly they overlap with the hiking group members because Wetherspoons is the only "affordable" pub left around afterwards now. Not everyone wants to spend £8 on a pint and £28 on a posh looking but horrible burger.

As for the stall holder, that sort of person is why I generally stay inside the M25 and if possible leave it in a plane.

Never bet against human stupidity and gullibility.

Never underestimate the ability of a self-proclaimed saviour to lead the masses to the self-proclaimed promised land. Doubly so a charismatic one (i.e. not Farrago).

Oh I am betting in favour of human stupidity and gullibility. I was in that business for a while. It turns out that the whole right wing experiment failed again rather quickly and lost a lot of very powerful people a lot of money including people who thought they were going to make money out of it. That's who I'm betting on to persuade the stupid people through the usual channels of buying out the press (even the DM is turning) and manipulation.