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

[25 CPS]

It's amazing how a case of the flu can wipe you out and put you in bed for days at a time. Whatever I caught completely obliterated my days off between shift rotations and I'm still not fully recovered. Anyways, I did get some bench time before heading to work tonight. I did a quick check on the CE multisection capacitors that came in and they tested out fine.





I tested out all four sections in both cans but don't need to show that in painstaking detail.

I also pulled the cover off the HP 211AR and did a visual inspection of that but didn't get as far as attempting a test power-up.

[AVGresponding]

I hate it when I'm sick during vacation time. I did recently discover that under UK law, you can claim back the holiday days, and book them as sick days instead. Obviously this is only viable if you get full sick pay (I do), with no waiting period

[25 CPS]

I hate it when I'm sick during vacation time. I did recently discover that under UK law, you can claim back the holiday days, and book them as sick days instead. Obviously this is only viable if you get full sick pay (I do), with no waiting period

I'm not sure if it's Canadian law or company policy but I found out years ago that apparently this can be done at work because my manager was complaining about it bitterly because someone had.

Unfortunately, it was my regularly scheduled days off in between shift rotations that got obliterated so that isn't available as recourse. So everything waits until I finish working 7 midnights in a row for my very, very generous two days off before starting 7 afternoons in a row.

[bd139]

Why would you waste a perfectly good sick day actually being sick? Be sick on work time!

[MED6753]

I hate it when I'm sick during vacation time. I did recently discover that under UK law, you can claim back the holiday days, and book them as sick days instead. Obviously this is only viable if you get full sick pay (I do), with no waiting period

I'm not sure if it's Canadian law or company policy but I found out years ago that apparently this can be done at work because my manager was complaining about it bitterly because someone had.

Unfortunately, it was my regularly scheduled days off in between shift rotations that got obliterated so that isn't available as recourse. So everything waits until I finish working 7 midnights in a row for my very, very generous two days off before starting 7 afternoons in a row.

Working rotating shifts sucks big time. Any chance of ever getting off that rat race?

[Robert]

Any of you HP nick-see counter fanboys want a 3734A before it gets turned into a clock by some numpty on ebay?
It the 5 digit version. Worked last time I plugged it in. Located in Cambridge UK. Make an offer in a personal message...

Robert.

[URI]

Hi guys, I'm still lurking around here.
And for sure, my TEA is still not cured..

Short status:
Added some gear in the last seven months..
- Agilent Modulation Domain Analyzer 53310A with opt. 031 (RF channel C, 2,5Ghz)
refitted opt. 001 - "extended memory" myself with NOS RAM
power supply completely reworked, all electrolytic caps replaced (measurements less noisy, more to be done and checked)
- Hewlett-Packard HP4145A (grabbed offered as non working for parts for 4145B) ..but: working ok..! CRT: like new )
- Hewlett-Packard HP4145B (for serious amount of $$), working, CRT dim and display noisy

HP4145.jpg

all Bill West switches reworked (buckling springs were all bad AND rusty -polished by hand, very meditative)
before - after:

keys_before-after.jpg

1345A display unit (green monochrome) replaced with newscope refit LCD Display module (colour)
calibration box with precision resistors up to 1Giga-Ohm for checking and calibrating is work in progress..
- Hewlett-Packard 16058A test fixture for 4145A/B including accessories and triax cables
- Hewlett Packard 5335A counter opt. 040 "programmable input" -from a glad dumpster dive
- Hewlett-Packard 16047B 4-terminal test fixture
- Hewlett Packard 5087A distribution amplifier fully equipped with 10MHz channel cards
- Fluke PM5193S function generator, working
- Philips PM9355 probe, to be checked
- OLTRONIX B60-1T power supply (6/30/60V, 4/2/1A switchable), working, caps to be checked

B60-1T.jpg

- Fluke PM6304 RCL meter -offered as non working. Hasn't been delivered yet. Fault searching/repair fun to come (hopefully)

PM6304.jpg

last but not least:
I acquired a spectrum analyzer -finally!
- Advantest R3361A spectrum analyzer 100Hz-2,6GHz (yes, special version starting from 100Hz)
30Hz minimal RBW, tracking generator -working.
Seems to be a lab unit, not a system unit; the CRT is like new, no burn in as seen in a lot of other units of this age

R3361A.jpg

Sorry for the poor pictures. I'm still very busy at work - but felt the urge to have fun with TE and repair, taking pictures fell short.

I'm clearly running out of space. The 4145A/B-tower resides in our living room and my wife still tolerates this since february, I love her for that! My future lab in the basement isn't finished yet. The floor has to be made and we want to part the room into a smaller storage cellar/pantry and my lab room so there's a wall missing..

I'm a bit sad after receiving my spectrum analyzer: This kind of instrument was the pinnacle of my TE-dreams, the kind of sophisticated instrument I thought it would still last a long time to finally find and acquire a decent one. And now it's here. The dream is gone.
On the other hand: I can check and characterize the frequency response now of cables, filters and so on. There are so many opportunities.

[tggzzz]

Added some gear in the last seven months..
- Agilent Modulation Domain Analyzer 53310A with opt. 031 (RF channel C, 2,5Ghz)
refitted opt. 001 - "extended memory" myself with NOS RAM
power supply completely reworked, all electrolytic caps replaced (measurements less noisy, more to be done and checked)

Excellent: they are fun. Don't forget you can use them to measure sub-ns risetimes

I'm a bit sad after receiving my spectrum analyzer: This kind of instrument was the pinnacle of my TE-dreams, the kind of sophisticated instrument I thought it would still last a long time to finally find and acquire a decent one. And now it's here. The dream is gone.
On the other hand: I can check and characterize the frequency response now of cables, filters and so on. There are so many opportunities.

No no no. Just as you need more than one scope for different purposes, so you will find you need more than one SA for different purposes.

And welcome back

[URI]

Added some gear in the last seven months..
- Agilent Modulation Domain Analyzer 53310A with opt. 031 (RF channel C, 2,5Ghz)
refitted opt. 001 - "extended memory" myself with NOS RAM
power supply completely reworked, all electrolytic caps replaced (measurements less noisy, more to be done and checked)

Excellent: they are fun. Don't forget you can use them to measure sub-ns risetimes

Yes, I know.
I have collected all information I could get over some time, including this very interesting part of the gone geller labs website:

Geller_Labs-5310A.zip

[Zenith]

I'm a bit sad after receiving my spectrum analyzer: This kind of instrument was the pinnacle of my TE-dreams, the kind of sophisticated instrument I thought it would still last a long time to finally find and acquire a decent one. And now it's here. The dream is gone.
On the other hand: I can check and characterize the frequency response now of cables, filters and so on. There are so many opportunities.

Not at all. You'll need another one as a parts mule, and that will have just the odd thing wrong with it, so it would be a shame to take things from it, then there'll be another you come across when you least expect it and the price is too good to resist, and it goes on.

[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.......

After much wasted time in NZ Parliament jawing about the pros and cons, the majority spoke and handed down the recommended harshest ever penalty to the 3 offenders, 2 gone for 3 weeks and 1 for 1 week without pay.

[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.

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.......

After much wasted time in NZ Parliament jawing about the pros and cons, the majority spoke and handed down the recommended harshest ever penalty to the 3 offenders, 2 gone for 3 weeks and 1 for 1 week without pay.

yep....protest is sometimes necessary and good. but if you do the crime you have to be willing to do the time.

3 weeks without pay is hardly cruel and unusual punishment. but it's enough to make a point about proper behavior. and in fact the offenders are probably happy because it keeps them on the front pages. does that make it a "win-win" outcome?

as the secretary of a local municipal commission, it makes me wonder how we would deal with a similar event. we do keep a copy of roberts rules on the table. to my knowledge no one has ever opened it......figured it was only there to be used as a projectile to be tossed at the head of any bad actors.

[tautech]

yep....protest is sometimes necessary and good. but if you do the crime you have to be willing to do the time.

3 weeks without pay is hardly cruel and unusual punishment. but it's enough to make a point about proper behavior. and in fact the offenders are probably happy because it keeps them on the front pages. does that make it a "win-win" outcome?

as the secretary of a local municipal commission, it makes me wonder how we would deal with a similar event. we do keep a copy of roberts rules on the table. to my knowledge no one has ever opened it......figured it was only there to be used as a projectile to be tossed at the head of any bad actors.

Although one expects elected representatives of the people to present their views in the form of intelligent debate especially in the highest court in the land, Parliament !
This Maori member of our current coalition Gubbermint sums things nicely in the debate on the Privileges committee recommendations:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sbvoyc66X0

[Zenith]

Although one expects elected representatives of the people to present their views in the form of intelligent debate especially in the highest court in the land, Parliament !

The reason that the UK government and opposition party's benches are spaced apart as they are, is that was considered to be too far a distance, for someone to leap up and strike a member of the other side with a sword, in the heat of the moment.

They have the elaborate rigarmarole of calling each other "the Honourable Member" for where ever, and there's an absolute ban on directly calling other Honourable Members liars, because before these forced manners were introduced, they were spending much of their time slagging each other off in shouting matches.

[MED6753]

The last time there was any sort of fight in our Congress/Senate was 1902 when one senator punched another. Given the ranker and bad blood with our current elected officials I think they are well overdue for a full on donnybrook.

[tggzzz]

Although one expects elected representatives of the people to present their views in the form of intelligent debate especially in the highest court in the land, Parliament !

The reason that the UK government and opposition party's benches are spaced apart as they are, is that was considered to be too far a distance, for someone to leap up and strike a member of the other side with a sword, in the heat of the moment.

The House of Commons' colour is green (House of Lords is red). The green carpets have two red lines...

"Members [of the House of Commons] may speak only from where they were called, which must be within the House: that is, in front of the Chair and not beyond the Bar (the white line across the width of the Chamber). They may not speak from the floor of the House between the red lines (traditionally supposed to be two sword-lengths apart)."
https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/ ... ce/g07.pdf

They have the elaborate rigarmarole of calling each other "the Honourable Member" for where ever, and there's an absolute ban on directly calling other Honourable Members liars, because before these forced manners were introduced, they were spending much of their time slagging each other off in shouting matches.

"Unparliamentary language
Language and expressions used in the Chamber must conform to a number of rules. Erskine May states "good temper and moderation are the characteristics of parliamentary language". Objection has been taken both to individual words and to sentences and constructions - in the
case of the former, to insulting, coarse, or abusive language (particularly as applied to other Members); and of the latter, to charges of lying or being drunk and misrepresentation of the words of another. Among the words to which Speakers have objected over the years have been
blackguard, coward, git, guttersnipe, hooligan, rat, swine, stoolpigeon and traitor. The context in which a word is used is, of course, very important.

The Speaker will direct a Member who has used an unparliamentary word or phrase to withdraw it. Members sometimes use considerable ingenuity to circumvent these rules (as when, for instance, Winston Churchill substituted the phrase "terminological inexactitude" for "lie") but they
must be careful to obey the Speaker's directions, as a Member who refuses to retract an offending expression may be named (see below) or required to withdraw from the Chamber."
[q.v.]

[tggzzz]

The last time there was any sort of fight in our Congress/Senate was 1902 when one senator punched another. Given the ranker and bad blood with our current elected officials I think they are well overdue for a full on donnybrook.

Hasn't it already started, in the same way WW3 has started?

[MED6753]

The last time there was any sort of fight in our Congress/Senate was 1902 when one senator punched another. Given the ranker and bad blood with our current elected officials I think they are well overdue for a full on donnybrook.

Hasn't it already started, in the same way WW3 has started?

Yes, it appears that Elon and Donald have had a falling out.

[tautech]

The last time there was any sort of fight in our Congress/Senate was 1902 when one senator punched another. Given the ranker and bad blood with our current elected officials I think they are well overdue for a full on donnybrook.

Hasn't it already started, in the same way WW3 has started?

Yes, it appears that Elon and Donald have had a falling out.

Like who ever thought that wasn't gunna happen ?

[tggzzz]

Hasn't it already started, in the same way WW3 has started?

Yes, it appears that Elon and Donald have had a falling out.

Like who ever thought that wasn't gunna happen ?

Will T'rump and his BFF Putin fall out?
Will T'rump notice that Putin is stringing him along?
What happens then?

Does that mean Putin has a deadline for reconnecting Kaliningrad to mainland Russia at the Suwałki gap, or as some have suggested, restoring Russian pride at Narva?

[tautech]

Yes, it appears that Elon and Donald have had a falling out.

Like who ever thought that wasn't gunna happen ?

Will T'rump and his BFF Putin fall out?
Will T'rump notice that Putin is stringing him along?
What happens then?

Does that mean Putin has a deadline for reconnecting Kaliningrad to mainland Russia at the Suwałki gap, or as some have suggested, restoring Russian pride at Narva?

Donald has to grow some balls first.

[tggzzz]

Like who ever thought that wasn't gunna happen ?

Will T'rump and his BFF Putin fall out?
Will T'rump notice that Putin is stringing him along?
What happens then?

Does that mean Putin has a deadline for reconnecting Kaliningrad to mainland Russia at the Suwałki gap, or as some have suggested, restoring Russian pride at Narva?

Donald has to grow some balls first.

Stormy Daniels might have something to say about that!

I suspect he ought to enlarge his left anterior insula and/or dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and/or anterior cingulate cortex. Probably all three.

[mnementh]

Like who ever thought that wasn't gunna happen ?

Will T'rump and his BFF Putin fall out?
Will T'rump notice that Putin is stringing him along?
What happens then?

Does that mean Putin has a deadline for reconnecting Kaliningrad to mainland Russia at the Suwałki gap, or as some have suggested, restoring Russian pride at Narva?

Donald has to grow some balls first.

Meh, it's all part of the Donny & Vlad Dog & Pony Show, just like last time with Bannon & then Spence. Ain't gonna end until he's in a gorr'am box; that fat sack of fetid dingoes' kidneys has been terrorizing us in one way or another for 40 years now.

mnem
fuck, it's not even good street theater...

[25 CPS]

I hate it when I'm sick during vacation time. I did recently discover that under UK law, you can claim back the holiday days, and book them as sick days instead. Obviously this is only viable if you get full sick pay (I do), with no waiting period

I'm not sure if it's Canadian law or company policy but I found out years ago that apparently this can be done at work because my manager was complaining about it bitterly because someone had.

Unfortunately, it was my regularly scheduled days off in between shift rotations that got obliterated so that isn't available as recourse. So everything waits until I finish working 7 midnights in a row for my very, very generous two days off before starting 7 afternoons in a row.

Working rotating shifts sucks big time. Any chance of ever getting off that rat race?

It doesn't look good.

There's seven people in total on the shift rotation that staffs the place three shifts a day 24/7/365 and that includes covering off vacations. Management's been clear that they have everyone where they want them and they're just fine with how things are. They're deeply committed to the status quo too. I lost out on three opportunities for field assignments in the last year to preserve that schedule so no, I'm not happy, and I'm looking for another job. One that looked promising fell through when the company had a hiring freeze because they got bought out and In the meantime, honestly, two days off between marathons of seven different shifts just isn't enough, especially if you're under the weather. I'm still fighting off whatever it was that I caught before starting midnights. It's going to be three weeks tomorrow since I got sick.

I was running errands on my days off Thursday and Friday last week which took me into the next town over on one of those days. Something kept nagging at me that I was forgetting something and I couldn't figure out what it was. I was on my way home when I remembered: Sayal Electronics. Replacement fuse holder and fuses for the HP 211AR. I was down the street from them at another business and completely forgot and by the time I remembered, they'd closed for the day. So it's still sitting on the bench taken apart waiting.

[mnementh]

https://hparchive.com/Catalogs/HP-Catal ... -Short.pdf

mnem
I contributed!