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

[Robert]

Yep, that's the noise I'm worried about.

[tggzzz]

I hope all you left pondians enjoyed your celebrations, and that they concentrated on what brings Americans together to create a special country.

[nixiefreqq]

I spent 17 months in Pittsburgh. From 8 weeks to 18 months old.

Don't remember it!

spent one night there in the summer of 1977 (for a job interview).

wish I could forget it.

Wish you could forget the job interview or Pittsburgh, or both?

both. was right out of college. it was the first time I flew. first time I rented a car. first time I stayed alone at a hotel. scared the crap outa' me.
(they flew me from Philly to Pittsburgh! why?????).

the job was as a logistics review engineer with a major government contractor who specialized in nuke propulsion. it consisted of checking paperwork to make sure the real engineers had not put a space on a form where there was supposed to be a dash. (a drone who checked the work of other drones). the boss took all 4 of us college kid candidates to lunch together. the other 3 kids all had a couple of brews with their big t-bones....but I saw what was up and went with iced tea and a chef salad. am still convinced that got me the offer. turned them down and my family almost disowned me. waited 4 months and went to work in the design division at a naval shipyard instead...... and got to wear a hard hat half the day and sit at my own drafting board the other half.

maybe this experience tainted my view of pittsburgh? and maybe someday they will get a professional ice hockey team to come to Pittsburgh?

[nixiefreqq]

I hope all you left pondians enjoyed your celebrations, and that they concentrated on what brings Americans together to create a special country.

mid-afternoon it was 101F yesterday and both the blue and gray wool wearing re-enactors over at the "daniel lady farm" were reported to have been dropping for real. we did hear some cannon volleys here at the house. but not to worry.....my a/c was working fine and there were no interruptions to my jeremy brett binge watching.

[MED6753]

I hope all you left pondians enjoyed your celebrations, and that they concentrated on what brings Americans together to create a special country.

mid-afternoon it was 101F yesterday and both the blue and gray wool wearing re-enactors over at the "daniel lady farm" were reported to have been dropping for real. we did hear some cannon volleys here at the house. but not to worry.....my a/c was working fine and there were no interruptions to my jeremy brett binge watching.

Picnic at her Daughter's house. Same here with the temp. About 100 degrees F so most of the time inside with the A/C. Later in the evening thunderstorms rolled through but then it cleared up and fireworks enjoyed by all.

[Robert]

Quiet on here.
Some months ago I bought a somewhat tatty HP 8591E 1.8 GHz spectrum analyser. Looked like a bad display but it was just dirty. So easy fix. No options. Last month I put out a request to buy a HPIB interface for it. I had an offer of one from a 8594E free of charge. BIt far away but near a rally the following weekend. So I made a detour and picked it up. Turned out it wasn't a HPIB interface, it was a complete 8954E (2.9GHz) with tracking generator and manuals. One owner/driver from new. Only problem is it has the well known "economy" YIG (eYTO) tuned oscillator failure.
It is so nice otherwise I decided to look at options to repair it. Replacement eYTOs are available but there is no guarantee the issue won't return. And they aren’t cheap. Despite the eYTO being significantly different to standard types I thought as it is still linear tuning changes to the driver might make a standard wide range (2 octave) YTO work. I've since found information that this has been done before. So I've ordered a used Avantek 2-8 GHz from a ebay seller in the USA. It was a bit dearer than a 4-8GHz one in the UK but there is a chance that won't work down to the 3.9GHz required and the seller is a well known for breaking TE for gold content. USA seller is using DHL eCommerce so it should arrive tx and duty paid.
Update when it arrives.

[Zenith]

Quiet on here.

It goes through phases, this is a quiet phase.

I have a lot of things I'm trying to get done while the weather is good. The problem is it's a bit too hot to gather much enthusiasm. As for TE, lots of things I'm working on at the same time, but no particular problems to ask for help with, and no story to write up. I have a large order for parts I'm putting together.

A few of us have been to the radio rallies and there are write ups and discussions in the Events section.

[tggzzz]

Just so.

I was just about to write up some timenuts-style notes, based on 198kHz, OCXOs, "frequency microscope", and a GPSDO Zenith loaned me.

Then Events/Eventualities happened, to use the Harold Macmillan / gliding terminology.

Ought to get out of my bed chair and write them up.

[Zenith]

Your preliminary results were fascinating and encouraging.

I bought the cheap GPSDO on ebay and assumed it was essentially perfect for my purposes, but I wasn't quite sure. I wondered how it would compare against an off-air standard and there were still a few weeks before Droitwich 198kHz went off the air. As I recall Droitwich claimed 1 in 10^11 over 24 hours, being based on rubidium standards. The off-air standard had a fair amount of frequency noise, probably caused by interference and multipath propagation. The GPSDO and off-air standard agreed to within 2 in 10^10. I have confidence that the GPSDO is easily capable of anything I want from a frequency reference - better than 1 in 10^9.

[Robert]

AI goes rogue and launches cyber attack
It had to happen and OpenAI is the first
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ek3gvdnj3o

At least it didn't find Cyberdyne Systems

[AVGresponding]

AI goes rogue and launches cyber attack
It had to happen and OpenAI is the first
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ek3gvdnj3o

At least it didn't find Cyberdyne Systems

Just because it didn't admit it/get caught...

[mnementh]

mnem
oh dear... just a couple weeks away...

[EC8010]

I managed to get to the Wiltshire radio rally and back again on one tank of fuel, but I think that one is out of range. A shame.

I have just had my Claude Lyons TS2 mains stabiliser out on the bench for investigation. A couple of days ago it was oscillating. It's essentially a 10A buck/boost transformer driven by a Variac, itself adjusted by a motor and three-transistor servo amplifier. My manual shows germanium transistors (OC28), but the stabiliser is much newer than that and has silicon (2N3053, 2N3055) and can't be more than fifty years old. Naturally, having hefted something weighing at least fifty pounds out of an awkward position, there proved to be nothing wrong. I've backed off the sensitivity a little in case that was the problem and reinstated it. My back is now telling me about it.

[MED6753]

Question for my fellow Brits. I noticed that most British homes have a Yagi type antenna on the roof. Is this for local HD broadcasts? And if so, why not over the net instead?

Roof antennas on this side of the pond are a unicorn today. In the days of analog TV and before cable TV they were on every roof.

[Zenith]

I'm not completely sure the way it works because I haven't watched TV in many years.

There was a 405 line analogue VHF service with it's own antennas which was switched off in 1985. There was a 625 line analogue service which was switched off in 2012. There's an HD TV terrestrial service, which is still current. Most people have access to cable, especially in towns. Not everyone has taken advantage of it. Some use terrestrial TV. There's also satellite TV which people in marginal reception areas and no access to cable, e.g. in rural valleys, often prefer.

When a service becomes obsolete, few are going to go out of their way to pay to have the obsolete antenna on the roof removed. So you may even see a few VHF antennas. Either the old antennas are removed when someone does work on the roof, or they fall down.

[tggzzz]

Question for my fellow Brits. I noticed that most British homes have a Yagi type antenna on the roof. Is this for local HD broadcasts? And if so, why not over the net instead?

Roof antennas on this side of the pond are a unicorn today. In the days of analog TV and before cable TV they were on every roof.

They are for the digital terrestrial TV (plus radio) services
https://www.freeview.co.uk/

There is currently debate about whether they will continue after 2034.

[Robert]

As Zenith says they are for terrestrial digital Free to Air services. I would not call them HD. Some are distinctly low quality.
Last time I checked there were 6 RF channels multiplexed to 85 TV channels, 26 radio channels and 10 HD channels. This is in the same frequency band as the old analogue system but occupying far less bandwidth. This allowed licences for the rest of the band to be sold for other uses.
Basically to go digital the government decided there had to be a option to receive a basic, but enhanced service without having to pay for an internet or satellite contract.
Most people are now on a digital "cable" network. Direct broadcast satellite started in the UK in 1989 and was very popular. Cable TV was almost non-existent in the UK before the rise of the internet. Free to air digital started in 2002 sat between the existing analogue channels.
Sky, the survivor of the satellite broadcasting still broadcast but are rapidly switching customers over to digital internet based services in areas where there is cable or fiberoptic internet. People leave the dishes up though. I think sky will stop satelite services when they have enough terrestrial connections or the transponders on the satelite fail.

Robert.

[EC8010]

Yes, just because there's an aerial there, doesn't mean it's connected to anything. I took our aerials down last year when we had scaffolding up for a new chimney liner. We rely on a loft aerial for UHF Freeview television. I used to be a regular BBC R3 listener, but it's been destroyed. The whole thing about broadcasting has been tilted to offload the cost onto the viewer from the content provider. It is now assumed that everyone has access to broadband. Indeed, it has become essential. I am not at all happy about that. And yes, the "HD" pictures are slightly better than good quality analogue PAL used to be. Standard Definition is slightly better than VHS.

[nixiefreqq]

Question for my fellow Brits. I noticed that most British homes have a Yagi type antenna on the roof. Is this for local HD broadcasts? And if so, why not over the net instead?

Roof antennas on this side of the pond are a unicorn today. In the days of analog TV and before cable TV they were on every roof.

we now have fiber to the house and get about a bazillion streaming channels on Roku/hulu. but my homebrew indoor antenna is still connected to this one tv. (actually 2 antennas and a combiner.....one pointed to harrisburg and one to baltimore). they pick up 7 rf channels with 41 subchannels.

why bother with over the air tv? two reasons:

1. there is actually some programming over the air that is hard to find on roku. an example are the daily "grand sumo highlights" on the maryland public tv nhk subchannel. (sumo is NOT just two fat guys slapping the shit outa' one another....it is a very complicated sport rooted in 1500 years of history and tradition)

2. every couple of years when the streaming service renegotiates with the ota providers we lose local news on the fiber for weeks or months until they settle. since swimbo is addicted to local news it is good to have access to the ota signal.

the bad news is that the over the air atsc 1.0 digital signal that we all switched to in 2009 is scheduled to be replaced by atsc 3.0 in 2030.

"Yes, some ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) broadcasts are already encrypted using Digital Rights Management (DRM), managed by the ATSC 3.0 Security Authority (A3SA). While broadcasters state this encryption protects signals from piracy and unauthorized redistribution, it has sparked heavy debate and regulatory review by the FCC because it can block third-party tuners and require internet connectivity to decode free over-the-air channels."

goodbye rabbit ears!

[MED6753]

In the days of analog TV picking up NYC TV stations here was no issue with a decent antenna. But since the conversion to digital those signals don't reach as far so we are in a complete dead zone for over the air signals. So our only choice is subscription services over the internet. I have 500Mb copper so streaming full HD without lag is no issue. We just have to pick and choose what services to subscribe to because it can get real expensive. My ISP does offer a full line of NYC channels plus the usual History, TLC, etc but they are ridiculous in cost and after their one year trial I told them to stuff it.

[tggzzz]

We just have to pick and choose what services to subscribe to because it can get real expensive.

That's the problem, even with the range of programmes available OTA with Freeview.

I see reviews for quite a few programmes I might like to watch, but I'm not paying a subscription without being sure.

A good point about subscription free services (e.g. local lending libraries) is that people are able to semi-randomly expand their experiences/perception, and avoid being trapped in a rut.

[MED6753]

We just have to pick and choose what services to subscribe to because it can get real expensive.

That's the problem, even with the range of programmes available OTA with Freeview.

I see reviews for quite a few programmes I might like to watch, but I'm not paying a subscription without being sure.

A good point about subscription free services (e.g. local lending libraries) is that people are able to semi-randomly expand their experiences/perception, and avoid being trapped in a rut.

What we have done if there's something we want to watch....

Sign up and sometimes get a free trial, if not, pay once. Watch the program then cancel.

[tggzzz]

I've considered that, but never wanted to find out how easy it isn't to cancel. VirginMedia is appalling in that respect, to the point of being fined £28m!
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-bro ... -contracts

Besides I take the attitude that there are so many things competing for my eyeballs, that missing another one or two is probably beneficial.

[MED6753]

I've considered that, but never wanted to find out how easy it isn't to cancel. VirginMedia is appalling in that respect, to the point of being fined £28m!
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-bro ... -contracts

Besides I take the attitude that there are so many things competing for my eyeballs, that missing another one or two is probably beneficial.

I have never encountered an issue trying to cancel. Never involved a phone call. Done on line with no hassles. I suspect our FTC (Federal Trade Commission) makes sure companies comply with cancellation policies.

[tggzzz]

I've considered that, but never wanted to find out how easy it isn't to cancel. VirginMedia is appalling in that respect, to the point of being fined £28m!
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-bro ... -contracts

Besides I take the attitude that there are so many things competing for my eyeballs, that missing another one or two is probably beneficial.

I have never encountered an issue trying to cancel. Never involved a phone call. Done on line with no hassles. I suspect our FTC (Federal Trade Commission) makes sure companies comply with cancellation policies.

That's what OFCOM is supposed to do, but companies think they can get away with it. In this case there were aggressive incentives for preventing leaving.

VogonMedia is now owned by Liberty Global.

A stunning fleabay example, which ended with jail time and a feature film...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj039p238r5o
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay_stalking_scandal