Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
On Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
The Rigol scopes are excellent. And you can run a fan or charge your
phone from the front-panel USB connector.
The Siglent power stuff seems good too.
Extech DVMs seem good too.
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom ><cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
On Mon, 01 Apr 2024 07:01:34 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >><cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with it, fixed it locating the problem with the other
channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >>But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
I don't think any of us here truly understand what electrons do, Jan!
Boat anchors don't impress anyone nowadays; they're more likely to
make one look like some sort of oddball mad scientist who couldn't get
laid. ;-)
I'm guessing you don't have a TV. Would I be right?
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
On a sunny day (Mon, 01 Apr 2024 09:39:59 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom ><cd@notformail.com> wrote in <j6sk0j5cpqb46pt9tg6uvji35a2bstb9o8@4ax.com>:
On Mon, 01 Apr 2024 07:01:34 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> >>wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>><cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with it, fixed it locating the problem with the other
channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >>>But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
I don't think any of us here truly understand what electrons do, Jan!
Boat anchors don't impress anyone nowadays; they're more likely to
make one look like some sort of oddball mad scientist who couldn't get >>laid. ;-)
I'm guessing you don't have a TV. Would I be right?
I learned the basics of how electrons behave and move as a small kid from this book:
https://www.boekenwebsite.nl/techniek/zowerkt-de-radio
'That is how radio works'
He also wrote
that is how TV works
and
That is how the transistor works.
I remember walking the streets of Amsterdam looking for usable parts for my own TV in primary school
Tried to make an OLED TV too.
In high-school were I build an tube amplifier for the school band
I got an old tube CRT from a TV shop.
Made an HV generator using a car ignition coil on the output of an old EL84 audio amp,
made that amp oscillate by feeding back some output to the input.
The output of the ignition coil rectified by an old TV HV diode
Horizontal deflection coils on same amp
Vertical defection coils on an other audio amp.
That was my first scope.
Not very high frequency..
Had a transistor FM transmitter of my own design working too,
we had a radio program!
As to understand electrons START THERE
That is what it is all about.
That is how I started as a kid, books from Van Aisberg
Later when studying electronics I got some old tube TV, and gradually replaced each part with transistors
rewound horizontal output transformer, build a new tuner.
By that time Elector magazine published the 'teletor'
https://archive.org/details/elektuur-36-1965-11_20200524
used some ideas from that and had my first transistor TV, mine was MUCH bigger had a real CRT.
In 1968 designed my own TV vidicon camara, left my current design job and started in broadcasting, hired on the spot,
6 month payed training in the school banks all about broadcasting all about television
Many years nothing but film, TV and audio, video recording, satellite, slow motion, video editing, running a TV studio, what not
So, you could f*cking learn a bit
Yes I have a nice Samsung TV and a portable one too.
I can build one from scrap in no time, but the digital decoders these days need a chip
but I can code that too.
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
I like to open source things, worked in all sort of science fields electronics is used for,
from medical to space to army to navy to broadcasting, been there done it >Electrons try to understand, math is just about quantities and breaks down anyways as mamaticians will do a divide by zero
and claim a new reality.
EInsteinianism is brain dead.
hehe
PS I had a TV repair shop in Amsterdam for many years (see it is also going to ..repair)
.
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >> But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Many wise words there.
Boat anchors can still be great as they require you to understand better
what is being measured and dont hide things away with abstraction and >unhelpful software.
I learned the basics of how electrons behave and move as a small kid from
this book: [...] > I remember walking the streets of Amsterdam looking
for usable parts for my own TV in primary school
On Mon, 1 Apr 2024 12:09:00 -0000 (UTC), piglet
<erichpwagner@hotmail.com> wrote:
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >>> But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Many wise words there.
Boat anchors can still be great as they require you to understand better >>what is being measured and dont hide things away with abstraction and >>unhelpful software.
A color digital scope is fabulous. It can measure volts and time and >frequency, save and analyze waveforms, display pre-trigger, and you
can lift one with one hand. And the traces are in color!
On Mon, 01 Apr 2024 09:15:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Mon, 1 Apr 2024 12:09:00 -0000 (UTC), piglet
<erichpwagner@hotmail.com> wrote:
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>>> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Many wise words there.
Boat anchors can still be great as they require you to understand better >>>what is being measured and dont hide things away with abstraction and >>>unhelpful software.
A color digital scope is fabulous. It can measure volts and time and >>frequency, save and analyze waveforms, display pre-trigger, and you
can lift one with one hand. And the traces are in color!
I know they have their advantages, but they can also tell lies by
showing glitches in waveforms that are internally generated by the
scope rather than the DUT.
For such occasions, it can be very useful
to keep an old analogue scope. I've got 13 of 'em!
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
I learned the basics of how electrons behave and move as a small kid from >>this book: [...] > I remember walking the streets of Amsterdam looking
for usable parts for my own TV in primary school
Jan, you forget that we had the *advantage* of starting from the
beginning and having to make or scrounge everything.
When I started, there was nobody with much knowledge of electronics to
help me and very little material of any kind. My city had been bombed
during WWII (not as bad as Amsterdam, but bad, nevertheless) and both my >grandfathers showed us how to make furniture from odd scraps of wood.
The family motto seemed to be "If you can't make it, you can't have it".
I eventually learned to solder with a gigantic 65-watt iron that could
undo two tags of an octal valveholder while you tried to solder the
third. I saved my pocket money for a year to buy a government surplus >multimeter - and when it arrived, the pointer was lopsided and the
safety cutout had been glued solid. There was no "Sale of Goods Act", I
just had to take it apart and mend it myself.
I begged scrap radio and television sets off a local repair shop to use
as a source of components - you made what you could with whatever you
had to hand. Government surplus valves were available but expensive;
you just had to hope they were not too low on emission, because nobody
had any way of testing them. Amplifiers were 'designed' by rote: the
anode load resistor of a 6J7 was 47k - or 100k - nobody knew why. A 6V6 >needed a transformer to match it to the loudspeaker - any transformer, - >nobody knew how to calculate ratios and it wouldn't have mattered if
they had, because the chances of finding the correct transformer were
nil. Data sheets were a closely-guarded secret, I never even saw one
until I went to college.
My first oscilloscope was an EMI WM2 (partly designed by Alan Blumlein,
I believe). It was absolutely lethal to work on and most of the
components were out of specification or intermittent, so It only worked
for brief periods between long intervals of failure and repair.
When I took the job of setting up an electronics workshop for an
educational establishment, we could afford a 12v soldering iron but no >transformer, so I begged a scrap pre-war one off my cousin's business.
I set about building a stabilised power supply around it, but it had to
be switched off each time I wanted to make a soldered joint, so I had to
be quick and finish each connection before the iron cooled down. We had
no large resistors, so I loaded the power supply on test with a plastic
bowl full of salty water and a couple of pieces of aluminium plate.
Many of the huge 'boat anchors' of test gear, so despised by the modern >generation are still working and still perfectly adequate ...as long
as you know what you are doing.
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >> But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Many wise words there.
Boat anchors can still be great as they require you to understand better
what is being measured and don’t hide things away with abstraction and >unhelpful software.
On Mon, 01 Apr 2024 17:37:49 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Mon, 01 Apr 2024 09:15:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Mon, 1 Apr 2024 12:09:00 -0000 (UTC), piglet
<erichpwagner@hotmail.com> wrote:
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>> blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, >>>>> still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Many wise words there.
Boat anchors can still be great as they require you to understand better >>>> what is being measured and dont hide things away with abstraction and >>>> unhelpful software.
A color digital scope is fabulous. It can measure volts and time and
frequency, save and analyze waveforms, display pre-trigger, and you
can lift one with one hand. And the traces are in color!
I know they have their advantages, but they can also tell lies by
showing glitches in waveforms that are internally generated by the
scope rather than the DUT.
I've never seen that. Aliasing is obvious.
For such occasions, it can be very useful
to keep an old analogue scope. I've got 13 of 'em!
I have several oldn Taks on carts, as antiques, but I never expect to
power them up again.
We do have a bunch of 11801 samplers that still work. They are all solid-state except for the raster-scan CRT.
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
I learned the basics of how electrons behave and move as a small kid from >>this book: [...] > I remember walking the streets of Amsterdam looking
for usable parts for my own TV in primary school
Jan, you forget that we had the *advantage* of starting from the
beginning and having to make or scrounge everything.
When I started, there was nobody with much knowledge of electronics to
help me and very little material of any kind. My city had been bombed
during WWII (not as bad as Amsterdam, but bad, nevertheless) and both my >grandfathers showed us how to make furniture from odd scraps of wood.
The family motto seemed to be "If you can't make it, you can't have it".
I eventually learned to solder with a gigantic 65-watt iron that could
undo two tags of an octal valveholder while you tried to solder the
third. I saved my pocket money for a year to buy a government surplus >multimeter - and when it arrived, the pointer was lopsided and the
safety cutout had been glued solid. There was no "Sale of Goods Act", I
just had to take it apart and mend it myself.
I begged scrap radio and television sets off a local repair shop to use
as a source of components - you made what you could with whatever you
had to hand. Government surplus valves were available but expensive;
you just had to hope they were not too low on emission, because nobody
had any way of testing them. Amplifiers were 'designed' by rote: the
anode load resistor of a 6J7 was 47k - or 100k - nobody knew why. A 6V6 >needed a transformer to match it to the loudspeaker - any transformer, - >nobody knew how to calculate ratios and it wouldn't have mattered if
they had, because the chances of finding the correct transformer were
nil. Data sheets were a closely-guarded secret, I never even saw one
until I went to college.
My first oscilloscope was an EMI WM2 (partly designed by Alan Blumlein,
I believe). It was absolutely lethal to work on and most of the
components were out of specification or intermittent, so It only worked
for brief periods between long intervals of failure and repair.
When I took the job of setting up an electronics workshop for an
educational establishment, we could afford a 12v soldering iron but no >transformer, so I begged a scrap pre-war one off my cousin's business.
I set about building a stabilized power supply around it, but it had to
be switched off each time I wanted to make a soldered joint, so I had to
be quick and finish each connection before the iron cooled down. We had
no large resistors, so I loaded the power supply on test with a plastic
bowl full of salty water and a couple of pieces of aluminium plate.
Many of the huge 'boat anchors' of test gear, so despised by the modern >generation are still working and still perfectly adequate ...as long
as you know what you are doing.
Jan, do you have a 'toy' budget?
Most new stuff (that might actually save time or work
better than home brew) seems to fall into that category.
john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
On Mon, 01 Apr 2024 17:37:49 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Mon, 01 Apr 2024 09:15:42 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Mon, 1 Apr 2024 12:09:00 -0000 (UTC), piglet
<erichpwagner@hotmail.com> wrote:
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>>> blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum >>>>>> analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it >>>>>> When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, >>>>>> still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Many wise words there.
Boat anchors can still be great as they require you to understand better >>>>> what is being measured and don?t hide things away with abstraction and >>>>> unhelpful software.
A color digital scope is fabulous. It can measure volts and time and
frequency, save and analyze waveforms, display pre-trigger, and you
can lift one with one hand. And the traces are in color!
I know they have their advantages, but they can also tell lies by
showing glitches in waveforms that are internally generated by the
scope rather than the DUT.
I've never seen that. Aliasing is obvious.
Some instruments do kick crap out of their inputs. I have an otherwise very >nice Krohn-Hite tunable filter box that is hard to use because of its >terrible kickout.
Scopes generally dont do that, because there are vertical amps and >attenuators in the way.
However, you do need to understand a little bit about how sampling works.
For instance, say youre looking at a noisy signal. You want to see some
more detail, so you start cranking the horizontal scale knob to the right. >Everything looks fine until you get past the maximum sampling rate.
The scale keeps getting finer, but the display breaks up completely,
turning into a lot of nearly vertical lines. Of course thats because its >gone from real-time to equivalent-time sampling, but its puzzling the
first time you see it. (To the analog-only folks: ET is useful, but
requires careful attention to triggering and averaging. )
In general, 1980-2005ish vintage boat anchors really rock, but you have to >get the best. Just yesterday I bought a Tek TDS 684C1 GHz BW, 4 GS/s >simultaneously on all four channels, with fabulous knob response. It was >$300, about 1.5 cents on the dollar versus new.
When I was at IBM, bought one brand new in the late 90s (probably $20k) and >used it for nearly everything.
Im a big fan of those too, and use them often. I have a very nearly
For such occasions, it can be very useful
to keep an old analogue scope. I've got 13 of 'em!
I have several oldn Taks on carts, as antiques, but I never expect to
power them up again.
We do have a bunch of 11801 samplers that still work. They are all
solid-state except for the raster-scan CRT.
complete collection of sampling and O/E heads, toojust missing the SD-32
50 GHz sampler.
Right now Im working on a lab amplifier, based on three paralleled
SAV-331+ pHEMTs. Characterizing its noise performance is turning out to be
a bit of a puzzle, despite a pile of top-of-the-line boat anchors, but Ill >keep that for its own thread.
On a sunny day (Mon, 1 Apr 2024 12:09:00 -0000 (UTC)) it happened piglet ><erichpwagner@hotmail.com> wrote in <uue84s$2fnab$1@dont-email.me>:
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >>> But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Many wise words there.
Boat anchors can still be great as they require you to understand better >>what is being measured and don’t hide things away with abstraction and >>unhelpful software.
That is why I still use an analog scope
it is old, it is big, but it does not lie.
I build a 300 MHz analog one long time ago,
but then moved to far away and donated all stuff,
including my guitar and trumpet .. amplifiers, audio and video tape recorders, records, TV, radio, what not.
And then many years later when back in the Netherlands started accumulating stuff again, now have boxes full of electronics
and a nice musical keyboard to play with.
For me it all is a learning experiment / experience.
Maybe some code I wrote or some circuit I designed helped somebody, cool.
I never use much math, a tennis player does not use math to see where the ball will go (wind speed, mass of ball, force of backhand, angles,
would take ages.
It is all in my neural net, electronics
And somehow everything works.
Maybe some small building blocks, circuits that I then combine, ever newer ones being accumulated trying out things.
I did some neural net programming years ago, good chance Ai can beat us in a while.
It can already do that in the medical field
But it does not stop at electronics for me, I am very interested in the things it is used for,
been working in many fields fixing and designing electronics.
What you learn in one you can sometimes use in the other.
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >> But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with it, fixed it locating the problem with the other
channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >> But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier >employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >>> But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
Its true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in
electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all youre doing
is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Its also true that you can often make do with what you havethe most >important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they
are now.
But Id sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound >over the best stethoscope guy.
And its a lot easier finding gigahertz oscillations if you arent limited
to a 10-MHz
scope with scale marks in cuneiform.
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >>> But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they
are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound over the best stethoscope guy.
And it’s a lot easier finding gigahertz oscillations if you aren’t limited
to a 10-MHz
scope with scale marks in cuneiform.
Good boat anchors make capability like that very affordable. My lab is full of top-of-the-line gear (over $2M at list price), for which I’ve paid about 2-3 cents on the dollar. (Not counting a few very helpful donations early on.) Of course I have some good newer stuff, such as a two-channel arb, a NanoVNA2, and a logic analyzer with protocol decoding.
It’s a bit old-school-looking, so it doesn’t impress visitors unless they actually know something, and that suits me perfectly well.
But by all means don’t buy any, so it’ll keep being cheap for me. ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
On 4/4/2024 7:56 AM, Phil Hobbs wrote:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>>> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter,
still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then
when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in
electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing >> is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most
important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they
are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound >> over the best stethoscope guy.
And it’s a lot easier finding gigahertz oscillations if you aren’t limited
to a 10-MHz
scope with scale marks in cuneiform.
Good boat anchors make capability like that very affordable. My lab is full >> of top-of-the-line gear (over $2M at list price), for which I’ve paid about
2-3 cents on the dollar. (Not counting a few very helpful donations early
on.) Of course I have some good newer stuff, such as a two-channel arb, a >> NanoVNA2, and a logic analyzer with protocol decoding.
It’s a bit old-school-looking, so it doesn’t impress visitors unless they
actually know something, and that suits me perfectly well.
But by all means don’t buy any, so it’ll keep being cheap for me. ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator!
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls.
On Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC), Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>>> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in
electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing >> is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most
important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they
are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound >> over the best stethoscope guy.
And it’s a lot easier finding gigahertz oscillations if you aren’t limited
to a 10-MHz
scope with scale marks in cuneiform.
We have a product in development, a new digital delay generator, that
had too many picoseconds of excess, erratic jitter. Turns out that the
50 MHz LC oscillator squeggs at about 6 GHz, which I guess is my
fault. We found that with a spectrum analyzer, not a scope.
My new oscillator, using a BUF602 as the gain element, looks good.
Jitter is under 10 ps RMS at 5 usec out, which is great for a
triggered LC.
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator!
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls.
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >>> But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing >is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most >important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they
are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound >over the best stethoscope guy.
And it’s a lot easier finding gigahertz oscillations if you aren’t limited >to a 10-MHz
scope with scale marks in cuneiform.
Good boat anchors make capability like that very affordable. My lab is full >of top-of-the-line gear (over $2M at list price), for which I’ve paid about >2-3 cents on the dollar. (Not counting a few very helpful donations early >on.) Of course I have some good newer stuff, such as a two-channel arb, a >NanoVNA2, and a logic analyzer with protocol decoding.
It’s a bit old-school-looking, so it doesn’t impress visitors unless they >actually know something, and that suits me perfectly well.
But by all means don’t buy any, so it’ll keep being cheap for me. ;)
Cheers
Giggle Hertz oscillations are not happening in LC circuits of specific
kind where those can happen you can figure from the parts used, no giggle
Hz in a BC109.
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
Giggle Hertz oscillations are not happening in LC circuits of specific
kind where those can happen you can figure from the parts used, no giggle
Hz in a BC109.
Back in the 1970s I found that a BC109 could be used as a self-
oscillating transmitter output stage at 100 Mc/s on a 1.5v supply (it
was for small animal cardiography). Most "R.F." transistors wouldn't
work under those circumstances.
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs ><pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in ><uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>>> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing >>is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too
see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
Giggle Hertz oscillations are not happening in LC circuits of specific
kind where those can happen you can figure from the parts used, no giggle
Hz in a BC109.
Back in the 1970s I found that a BC109 could be used as a self-
oscillating transmitter output stage at 100 Mc/s on a 1.5v supply (it
was for small animal cardiography). Most "R.F." transistors wouldn't
work under those circumstances.
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 09:24:53 +0100, liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid
(Liz Tuddenham) wrote:
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
Giggle Hertz oscillations are not happening in LC circuits of specific
kind where those can happen you can figure from the parts used, no giggle >>> Hz in a BC109.
Back in the 1970s I found that a BC109 could be used as a self-
oscillating transmitter output stage at 100 Mc/s on a 1.5v supply (it
was for small animal cardiography). Most "R.F." transistors wouldn't
work under those circumstances.
I learned at an early age that emitter followers tend to oscillate. I
did a powerup reset circuit with an RC feeeding a 2N2219 emitter
follower feeding a TTL schmitt gate. The NPN oscillated at 100 MHz or
so and never pulled up the gate. A series gate resistor fixed it.
My recent 50 MHz SAV541-based Colpitts oscillator couldn't be tamed
with a gate resistor or with a bead, so I gave up on the phemt. I
think the wire bonds are a basic hazard.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bak4p5bty2os2wtrs0091/9.jpg?rlkey=91e37ctc70189hvka9g1ufar3&raw=1
On 2024-04-05 11:31, John Larkin wrote:
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 09:24:53 +0100, liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid
(Liz Tuddenham) wrote:
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
Giggle Hertz oscillations are not happening in LC circuits of specific >>>> kind where those can happen you can figure from the parts used, no giggle >>>> Hz in a BC109.
Back in the 1970s I found that a BC109 could be used as a self-
oscillating transmitter output stage at 100 Mc/s on a 1.5v supply (it
was for small animal cardiography). Most "R.F." transistors wouldn't
work under those circumstances.
I learned at an early age that emitter followers tend to oscillate. I
did a powerup reset circuit with an RC feeeding a 2N2219 emitter
follower feeding a TTL schmitt gate. The NPN oscillated at 100 MHz or
so and never pulled up the gate. A series gate resistor fixed it.
My recent 50 MHz SAV541-based Colpitts oscillator couldn't be tamed
with a gate resistor or with a bead, so I gave up on the phemt. I
think the wire bonds are a basic hazard.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bak4p5bty2os2wtrs0091/9.jpg?rlkey=91e37ctc70189hvka9g1ufar3&raw=1
Try putting BLF03VK600 beads in source and drain. Besides being rated at
3 GHz instead of 100 MHz, it has really nice low Q everywhere.
My cascoded lab amp proto is using three SAV-331+'s in parallel like
that, running about 2.5 mA each, and shows no sign of trouble.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> wrote:
Giggle Hertz oscillations are not happening in LC circuits of specific
kind where those can happen you can figure from the parts used, no giggle
Hz in a BC109.
Back in the 1970s I found that a BC109 could be used as a self-
oscillating transmitter output stage at 100 Mc/s on a 1.5v supply (it
was for small animal cardiography). Most "R.F." transistors wouldn't
work under those circumstances.
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs >><pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in >><uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>> blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When >>>> asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>>electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing >>>is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too
see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
Does anyone still repair TVs? TV repair shops used to be common but
seem to be gone now.
TVs are insanely cheap and reliable now. I suspect that a failure
under an over-priced "extended warranty" gets you a replacement.
Nobody makes schematics available now, and a TV is full of exotic
custom chips.
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs ><pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in ><uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>>> <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing >>is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too
see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
In an environment a million times more complex than your back-room with boat anchors.
And always delivered.. unlike some that dropped out or broke down.
It is indeed about what is between the ears as you mentioned.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most >>important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they >>are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound >>over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs >><pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in >><uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>> blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When >>>> asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>>electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing >>>is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too
see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
In an environment a million times more complex than your back-room with boat anchors.
And always delivered.. unlike some that dropped out or broke down.
It is indeed about what is between the ears as you mentioned.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most >>>important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they >>>are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound >>>over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
Jim had pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously tricky to diagnose due
to the misleading symptoms it gives rise to.
I learned at an early age that emitter followers tend to oscillate.
John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com> wrote:
[...]
I learned at an early age that emitter followers tend to oscillate.
The Bath Radio Club had a saying" "Amplifiers oscillate - oscillators
don't".
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 12:20:19 -0400) it happened bitrex <user@example.net> wrote in <660ed343$0$1258343$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com>:
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator!
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
Nice, real components...
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls.
mm 50 dollars,
even today with people using dollars for wallpaper,
buys you a nice pulse generator on ebay..
555 timer works fine too
Or use sox in Linux for all sort of audio, including sweeps:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/howto-sox-audio-tool-as-a-signal-generator.4242/
or just use a Raspberry Pi as signal generator:
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html#freq_pi
bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:
On 4/4/2024 7:56 AM, Phil Hobbs wrote:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>> blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, >>>>> still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then
when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When >>>> asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in
electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing >>> is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most >>> important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they >>> are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound
over the best stethoscope guy.
And it’s a lot easier finding gigahertz oscillations if you aren’t limited
to a 10-MHz
scope with scale marks in cuneiform.
Good boat anchors make capability like that very affordable. My lab is full >>> of top-of-the-line gear (over $2M at list price), for which I’ve paid about
2-3 cents on the dollar. (Not counting a few very helpful donations early >>> on.) Of course I have some good newer stuff, such as a two-channel arb, a >>> NanoVNA2, and a logic analyzer with protocol decoding.
It’s a bit old-school-looking, so it doesn’t impress visitors unless they
actually know something, and that suits me perfectly well.
But by all means don’t buy any, so it’ll keep being cheap for me. ;) >>>
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator!
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls. >>
I used to have an 8013B, which is the dual channel version.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com> wrote:
[...]
I learned at an early age that emitter followers tend to oscillate.
The Bath Radio Club had a saying" "Amplifiers oscillate - oscillators
don't".
On 4/5/2024 3:49 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 12:20:19 -0400) it happened bitrex
<user@example.net> wrote in <660ed343$0$1258343$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com>:
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator! >>>
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
Nice, real components...
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls. >>mm 50 dollars,
even today with people using dollars for wallpaper,
buys you a nice pulse generator on ebay..
It cost $1700 USD in the 1987 catalog, about $4500 equivalent today!
555 timer works fine too
Or use sox in Linux for all sort of audio, including sweeps:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/howto-sox-audio-tool-as-a-signal-generator.4242/
or just use a Raspberry Pi as signal generator:
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html#freq_pi
Am 02.04.24 um 17:09 schrieb John Larkin:
We still have one Tek 7104 (1 GHz microchannel analog scope) that
works. One of my guys likes it.
Wasn't that the scope that always switched off the beam current
when things got interesting?
Gerhard
We still have one Tek 7104 (1 GHz microchannel analog scope) that
works. One of my guys likes it.
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 16:26:49 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:
On 4/5/2024 3:49 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 12:20:19 -0400) it happened bitrex
<user@example.net> wrote in <660ed343$0$1258343$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com>:
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator! >>>>
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
Nice, real components...
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls. >>>mm 50 dollars,
even today with people using dollars for wallpaper,
buys you a nice pulse generator on ebay..
It cost $1700 USD in the 1987 catalog, about $4500 equivalent today!
555 timer works fine too
Or use sox in Linux for all sort of audio, including sweeps:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/howto-sox-audio-tool-as-a-signal-generator.4242/
or just use a Raspberry Pi as signal generator:
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html#freq_pi
Our DDG is about $4K, addmittedly over the top for a home lab.
http://highlandtechnology.com/DSS/P500DS.shtml
I love my beat-up old unit on my bench. Timing and levels are
brutally quantitative.
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 11:38:43 -0400, Phil Hobbs
Try putting BLF03VK600 beads in source and drain. Besides being rated at
3 GHz instead of 100 MHz, it has really nice low Q everywhere.
My cascoded lab amp proto is using three SAV-331+'s in parallel like
that, running about 2.5 mA each, and shows no sign of trouble.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
We tried various fixes, no joy. The circuit is complex, lots of diodes
and comparators and varicaps and stuff, so there are too many resonant
stubs.
We prototyped the new sorta-Colpitts circuit, using the BUF602 as the
gain element, and it's great. Having a closed-loop near-perfect
follower is nice.
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 23:31:28 +0200, Gerhard Hoffmann <dk4xp@arcor.de>
wrote:
Am 02.04.24 um 17:09 schrieb John Larkin:
We still have one Tek 7104 (1 GHz microchannel analog scope) that
works. One of my guys likes it.
Wasn't that the scope that always switched off the beam current
when things got interesting?
Gerhard
Yes, it shuts off the display often, to not wear out the microchannel
plate.
One develops a sophisticated thumb-flic motion to hit the enable
button in milliseconds. You can see a single-shot sweep at 1 ns/cm.
The 719 was a fast CRT scope too, but the screen was about the size of
a postage stamp, and there was no vertical amplifier. I don't want one
of those huge ugly beasts, but I do have a CRT. I dug it out of a 719
in a parking lot in Los Alamos, in the cold rain.
On 05-04-2024 23:22, john larkin wrote:
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 16:26:49 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:I bought a Siglent DDS SDG6022X for 1300USD, 200MHz thingie. I knew
On 4/5/2024 3:49 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 12:20:19 -0400) it happened bitrex
<user@example.net> wrote in <660ed343$0$1258343$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com>:
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator! >>>>>
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
Nice, real components...
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls.
mm 50 dollars,
even today with people using dollars for wallpaper,
buys you a nice pulse generator on ebay..
It cost $1700 USD in the 1987 catalog, about $4500 equivalent today!
555 timer works fine too
Or use sox in Linux for all sort of audio, including sweeps:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/howto-sox-audio-tool-as-a-signal-generator.4242/
or just use a Raspberry Pi as signal generator:
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html#freq_pi
Our DDG is about $4K, addmittedly over the top for a home lab.
http://highlandtechnology.com/DSS/P500DS.shtml
I love my beat-up old unit on my bench. Timing and levels are
brutally quantitative.
forehand that it could be hacked to 500MHz, so "saved" 3000 USD for 1
hours work :-)
https://www.batronix.com/shop/waveform-generator/Siglent-SDG6022X.html
EEVBLOG has hacking details if anyone is interested...
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs >> <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in
<uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>> blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When >>>> asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in
electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing
is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too
see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
Does anyone still repair TVs? TV repair shops used to be common but
seem to be gone now.
TVs are insanely cheap and reliable now. I suspect that a failure
under an over-priced "extended warranty" gets you a replacement.
Nobody makes schematics available now, and a TV is full of exotic
custom chips.
Am 05.04.24 um 17:55 schrieb John Larkin:
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 11:38:43 -0400, Phil Hobbs
Try putting BLF03VK600 beads in source and drain. Besides being rated at >>> 3 GHz instead of 100 MHz, it has really nice low Q everywhere.
My cascoded lab amp proto is using three SAV-331+'s in parallel like
that, running about 2.5 mA each, and shows no sign of trouble.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
We tried various fixes, no joy. The circuit is complex, lots of diodes
and comparators and varicaps and stuff, so there are too many resonant
stubs.
We prototyped the new sorta-Colpitts circuit, using the BUF602 as the
gain element, and it's great. Having a closed-loop near-perfect
follower is nice.
Do you have slowish feedback into the source? From the FETs POV
that makes it look like a capacitively loaded follower. It translates >directly into a negative real part of the input impedance.
< >https://www.flickr.com/photos/137684711@N07/34701106245/in/datetaken/lightbox/
It is the input impedance of 2*IF3602 and the negative real part
can get REALLY large, out of bead-land.
In the Smith diagram, S11 is decoded at the marker positions.
Where the trajectory gets out of the circle through 0 and inf,
there comes more energy back from the DUT than the VNA sends to it.
Cannot happen with passive DUTs.
It is a really hard problem and even in AOE3 is a bad example.
I got an array of 16* CPH-3910 stable with feedback via a
3 GHz CFB amplifier. But CFB's 1/f noise easily dwarfed the
noise of the 16 FETs even after 40 dB of gain.
I tried driving the feedback with 2 * BFQ19S BJTs as a follower.
It seems it kinda works in simulation. Generates a lot of heat.
Not yet built.
< >https://www.flickr.com/photos/137684711@N07/53634537164/in/dateposted-public/
>
opinions or proposals?
Is it possible to get .ac and .noise analysis in LTspice in the
same run without constantly editing the commands & the display???
Cheers, Gerhard
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 08:13:07 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in <uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Nobody makes schematics available now, and a TV is full of exotic
custom chips.
All which make repair extremely difficult! There are moves afoot in
Europe, I believe, to introduce some sort of 'compulsory
repairability' law, to enable freelance repairers to fix up stuff
that's gone kaput. That would be an excellent idea, given the massive
amount of electronics that goes into landfill. Our 'throw away
culture' is not doing the environment any favours at all. This is what
needs to be focused on, not some garbage about greenhouse gases.
Am 05.04.24 um 17:55 schrieb John Larkin:
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 11:38:43 -0400, Phil Hobbs
Try putting BLF03VK600 beads in source and drain. Besides being rated at >>> 3 GHz instead of 100 MHz, it has really nice low Q everywhere.
My cascoded lab amp proto is using three SAV-331+'s in parallel like
that, running about 2.5 mA each, and shows no sign of trouble.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
We tried various fixes, no joy. The circuit is complex, lots of diodes
and comparators and varicaps and stuff, so there are too many resonant
stubs.
We prototyped the new sorta-Colpitts circuit, using the BUF602 as the
gain element, and it's great. Having a closed-loop near-perfect
follower is nice.
Do you have slowish feedback into the source? From the FETs POV
that makes it look like a capacitively loaded follower. It translates directly into a negative real part of the input impedance.
< https://www.flickr.com/photos/137684711@N07/34701106245/in/datetaken/lightbox/
It is the input impedance of 2*IF3602 and the negative real part
can get REALLY large, out of bead-land.
In the Smith diagram, S11 is decoded at the marker positions.
Where the trajectory gets out of the circle through 0 and inf,
there comes more energy back from the DUT than the VNA sends to it.
Cannot happen with passive DUTs.
It is a really hard problem and even in AOE3 is a bad example.
I got an array of 16* CPH-3910 stable with feedback via a
3 GHz CFB amplifier. But CFB's 1/f noise easily dwarfed the
noise of the 16 FETs even after 40 dB of gain.
I tried driving the feedback with 2 * BFQ19S BJTs as a follower.
It seems it kinda works in simulation. Generates a lot of heat.
Not yet built.
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobb <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in <uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
It's also true that you can often make do with what you have. The most
important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they >>> are now.
But I'd sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound >>> over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
Jim had pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously tricky to diagnose due
to the misleading symptoms it gives rise to.
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:33:12 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in
<uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>>> blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum >>>>>> analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it >>>>>> When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier >>>>> employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When >>>>> asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>>> electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing
is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too
see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
In an environment a million times more complex than your back-room with boat anchors.
And always delivered.. unlike some that dropped out or broke down.
It is indeed about what is between the ears as you mentioned.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most
important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they >>>> are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound
over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
Jim had pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously tricky to diagnose due
to the misleading symptoms it gives rise to.
He talked constantly about wine. That can kill your pancreas.
There are people who drink bottles per day.
On Sat, 6 Apr 2024 00:35:46 +0200, Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund ><klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 05-04-2024 23:22, john larkin wrote:
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 16:26:49 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:I bought a Siglent DDS SDG6022X for 1300USD, 200MHz thingie. I knew >>forehand that it could be hacked to 500MHz, so "saved" 3000 USD for 1
On 4/5/2024 3:49 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 12:20:19 -0400) it happened bitrex
<user@example.net> wrote in <660ed343$0$1258343$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com>:
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator!
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
Nice, real components...
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls.
mm 50 dollars,
even today with people using dollars for wallpaper,
buys you a nice pulse generator on ebay..
It cost $1700 USD in the 1987 catalog, about $4500 equivalent today!
555 timer works fine too
Or use sox in Linux for all sort of audio, including sweeps:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/howto-sox-audio-tool-as-a-signal-generator.4242/
or just use a Raspberry Pi as signal generator:
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html#freq_pi
Our DDG is about $4K, addmittedly over the top for a home lab.
http://highlandtechnology.com/DSS/P500DS.shtml
I love my beat-up old unit on my bench. Timing and levels are
brutally quantitative.
hours work :-)
https://www.batronix.com/shop/waveform-generator/Siglent-SDG6022X.html
EEVBLOG has hacking details if anyone is interested...
We bought a few Rigol 300 MHz 4-chan scopes and insisted that they
throw in the 500 MHz upgrade.
I remember when FFT was an extra-cost feature. Now it's free.
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 19:37:27 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 6 Apr 2024 00:35:46 +0200, Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund >><klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 05-04-2024 23:22, john larkin wrote:
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 16:26:49 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:I bought a Siglent DDS SDG6022X for 1300USD, 200MHz thingie. I knew >>>forehand that it could be hacked to 500MHz, so "saved" 3000 USD for 1 >>>hours work :-)
On 4/5/2024 3:49 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 12:20:19 -0400) it happened bitrex >>>>>> <user@example.net> wrote in <660ed343$0$1258343$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com>:
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator!
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
Nice, real components...
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls.
mm 50 dollars,
even today with people using dollars for wallpaper,
buys you a nice pulse generator on ebay..
It cost $1700 USD in the 1987 catalog, about $4500 equivalent today! >>>>>
555 timer works fine too
Or use sox in Linux for all sort of audio, including sweeps:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/howto-sox-audio-tool-as-a-signal-generator.4242/
or just use a Raspberry Pi as signal generator:
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html#freq_pi
Our DDG is about $4K, addmittedly over the top for a home lab.
http://highlandtechnology.com/DSS/P500DS.shtml
I love my beat-up old unit on my bench. Timing and levels are
brutally quantitative.
https://www.batronix.com/shop/waveform-generator/Siglent-SDG6022X.html
EEVBLOG has hacking details if anyone is interested...
We bought a few Rigol 300 MHz 4-chan scopes and insisted that they
throw in the 500 MHz upgrade.
I remember when FFT was an extra-cost feature. Now it's free.
Excuse me for being a bit slow on the uptake here, but it seems to me
that there are a *lot* of products which are fundamentally all
manufactured to the same spec - but then deliberately crippled unless
you pay some sort of ransom to have them 'unlocked' as it were. Would
that be correct or am I being too cynical?
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:33:12 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> >>wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs >>><pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in >>><uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>>> blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum >>>>>> analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it >>>>>> When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier >>>>> employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When >>>>> asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>>>electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing >>>>is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too
see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
In an environment a million times more complex than your back-room with boat anchors.
And always delivered.. unlike some that dropped out or broke down.
It is indeed about what is between the ears as you mentioned.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most >>>>important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they >>>>are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound
over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
Jim had pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously tricky to diagnose due
to the misleading symptoms it gives rise to.
He talked constantly about wine. That can kill your pancreas.
There are people who drink bottles per day.
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 19:37:27 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 6 Apr 2024 00:35:46 +0200, Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund
<klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 05-04-2024 23:22, john larkin wrote:
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 16:26:49 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:I bought a Siglent DDS SDG6022X for 1300USD, 200MHz thingie. I knew
On 4/5/2024 3:49 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 12:20:19 -0400) it happened bitrex >>>>>> <user@example.net> wrote in <660ed343$0$1258343$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com>:
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator!
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
Nice, real components...
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls.
mm 50 dollars,
even today with people using dollars for wallpaper,
buys you a nice pulse generator on ebay..
It cost $1700 USD in the 1987 catalog, about $4500 equivalent today! >>>>>
555 timer works fine too
Or use sox in Linux for all sort of audio, including sweeps:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/howto-sox-audio-tool-as-a-signal-generator.4242/
or just use a Raspberry Pi as signal generator:
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html#freq_pi
Our DDG is about $4K, addmittedly over the top for a home lab.
http://highlandtechnology.com/DSS/P500DS.shtml
I love my beat-up old unit on my bench. Timing and levels are
brutally quantitative.
forehand that it could be hacked to 500MHz, so "saved" 3000 USD for 1
hours work :-)
https://www.batronix.com/shop/waveform-generator/Siglent-SDG6022X.html
EEVBLOG has hacking details if anyone is interested...
We bought a few Rigol 300 MHz 4-chan scopes and insisted that they
throw in the 500 MHz upgrade.
I remember when FFT was an extra-cost feature. Now it's free.
Excuse me for being a bit slow on the uptake here, but it seems to me
that there are a *lot* of products which are fundamentally all
manufactured to the same spec - but then deliberately crippled unless
you pay some sort of ransom to have them 'unlocked' as it were. Would
that be correct or am I being too cynical?
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 10:15:43 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:33:12 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> >>>wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in >>>><uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can >>>>>>>> perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>>>> blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>>>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>>>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>>>>> For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot >>>>>>> interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>>>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>>>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not, >>>>>>> a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum >>>>>>> analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it >>>>>>> When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>>>>> Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier >>>>>> employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When >>>>>> asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>>>>electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing
is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too
see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
In an environment a million times more complex than your back-room with boat anchors.
And always delivered.. unlike some that dropped out or broke down.
It is indeed about what is between the ears as you mentioned.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most >>>>>important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they >>>>>are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound
over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
Jim had pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously tricky to diagnose due
to the misleading symptoms it gives rise to.
He talked constantly about wine. That can kill your pancreas.
There are people who drink bottles per day.
Oh yes, he loved his wine alright. As I recall, you sent him several
cases of the stuff over the years. But no amount of peace offerings
could placate Jim if he felt you'd disrespected him. Anyway, all
credit to you for at least trying to heal the rift, even if it came to >naught.
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 19:37:27 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 6 Apr 2024 00:35:46 +0200, Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund
<klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 05-04-2024 23:22, john larkin wrote:
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 16:26:49 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:I bought a Siglent DDS SDG6022X for 1300USD, 200MHz thingie. I knew
On 4/5/2024 3:49 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 12:20:19 -0400) it happened bitrex >>>>>> <user@example.net> wrote in <660ed343$0$1258343$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com>:
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator!
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
Nice, real components...
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls.
mm 50 dollars,
even today with people using dollars for wallpaper,
buys you a nice pulse generator on ebay..
It cost $1700 USD in the 1987 catalog, about $4500 equivalent today! >>>>>
555 timer works fine too
Or use sox in Linux for all sort of audio, including sweeps:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/howto-sox-audio-tool-as-a-signal-generator.4242/
or just use a Raspberry Pi as signal generator:
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html#freq_pi
Our DDG is about $4K, addmittedly over the top for a home lab.
http://highlandtechnology.com/DSS/P500DS.shtml
I love my beat-up old unit on my bench. Timing and levels are
brutally quantitative.
forehand that it could be hacked to 500MHz, so "saved" 3000 USD for 1
hours work :-)
https://www.batronix.com/shop/waveform-generator/Siglent-SDG6022X.html
EEVBLOG has hacking details if anyone is interested...
We bought a few Rigol 300 MHz 4-chan scopes and insisted that they
throw in the 500 MHz upgrade.
I remember when FFT was an extra-cost feature. Now it's free.
Excuse me for being a bit slow on the uptake here, but it seems to me
that there are a *lot* of products which are fundamentally all
manufactured to the same spec - but then deliberately crippled unless
you pay some sort of ransom to have them 'unlocked' as it were. Would
that be correct or am I being too cynical?
On 6 Apr 2024 at 21:39:25 BST, "Cursitor Doom" <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 19:37:27 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 6 Apr 2024 00:35:46 +0200, Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund
<klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 05-04-2024 23:22, john larkin wrote:
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 16:26:49 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:I bought a Siglent DDS SDG6022X for 1300USD, 200MHz thingie. I knew
On 4/5/2024 3:49 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 12:20:19 -0400) it happened bitrex >>>>>>> <user@example.net> wrote in <660ed343$0$1258343$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com>:
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator!
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
Nice, real components...
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls.
mm 50 dollars,
even today with people using dollars for wallpaper,
buys you a nice pulse generator on ebay..
It cost $1700 USD in the 1987 catalog, about $4500 equivalent today! >>>>>>
555 timer works fine too
Or use sox in Linux for all sort of audio, including sweeps:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/howto-sox-audio-tool-as-a-signal-generator.4242/
or just use a Raspberry Pi as signal generator:
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html#freq_pi
Our DDG is about $4K, addmittedly over the top for a home lab.
http://highlandtechnology.com/DSS/P500DS.shtml
I love my beat-up old unit on my bench. Timing and levels are
brutally quantitative.
forehand that it could be hacked to 500MHz, so "saved" 3000 USD for 1
hours work :-)
https://www.batronix.com/shop/waveform-generator/Siglent-SDG6022X.html >>>>
EEVBLOG has hacking details if anyone is interested...
We bought a few Rigol 300 MHz 4-chan scopes and insisted that they
throw in the 500 MHz upgrade.
I remember when FFT was an extra-cost feature. Now it's free.
Excuse me for being a bit slow on the uptake here, but it seems to me
that there are a *lot* of products which are fundamentally all
manufactured to the same spec - but then deliberately crippled unless
you pay some sort of ransom to have them 'unlocked' as it were. Would
that be correct or am I being too cynical?
No, but is differentiating products on softwar supplies any different from >differentiating them on hardware? Cheap ones simply wouldn't be available to >hobbyists if they had to sell them all as top of the range, where they make >the money for the effort to make a high bandwidth scope. There is also the >advantage that they can perhaps be hacked by well-informed hobbyists, but most >commercial buyers wouldn't be happy doing that for one or another reason.
On Sat, 06 Apr 2024 22:21:45 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 10:15:43 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:33:12 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> >>>>wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in >>>>><uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can >>>>>>>>> perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>>>>> blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with >>>>>>>> it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from >>>>>>>> the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance >>>>>>>> scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and >>>>>>>> RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum >>>>>>>> analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it >>>>>>>> When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier >>>>>>> employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When >>>>>>> asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did.
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>>>>>electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing
is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too
see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
In an environment a million times more complex than your back-room with boat anchors.
And always delivered.. unlike some that dropped out or broke down.
It is indeed about what is between the ears as you mentioned.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most >>>>>>important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they >>>>>>are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound
over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
Jim had pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously tricky to diagnose due >>>>to the misleading symptoms it gives rise to.
He talked constantly about wine. That can kill your pancreas.
There are people who drink bottles per day.
Oh yes, he loved his wine alright. As I recall, you sent him several
cases of the stuff over the years. But no amount of peace offerings
could placate Jim if he felt you'd disrespected him. Anyway, all
credit to you for at least trying to heal the rift, even if it came to >>naught.
I think I sent him two bottles of Frog's Tooth, not cases.
I get the Frog's Tooth free. The vintner is also our sales rep for
pick+place gear, and he throws in a bottle or a case with every big
order.
JT was a little touchy at times (never me!) but we didn't actually
have a rift. I think that serious electronics designers always get
along pretty well. Circuit design is a sport that we play.
I miss JT. He was fun. I often drive on Thompkins Street and it
reminds me of him.
On Sat, 06 Apr 2024 14:48:38 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 06 Apr 2024 22:21:45 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 10:15:43 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:33:12 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> >>>>> wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in
<uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can >>>>>>>>>> perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>>>>>> blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital >>>>>>>>> meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum >>>>>>>>> analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it >>>>>>>>> When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a >>>>>>>>> meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>>>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier >>>>>>>> employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When >>>>>>>> asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did. >>>>>>>>
Itâs true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>>>>>> electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all youâre doing
is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too
see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND >>>>>> every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
In an environment a million times more complex than your back-room with boat anchors.
And always delivered.. unlike some that dropped out or broke down. >>>>>> It is indeed about what is between the ears as you mentioned.
Itâs also true that you can often make do with what you haveâthe most
important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they
are now.
But Iâd sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound
over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to >>>>>> find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a
warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
Jim had pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously tricky to diagnose due >>>>> to the misleading symptoms it gives rise to.
He talked constantly about wine. That can kill your pancreas.
There are people who drink bottles per day.
Oh yes, he loved his wine alright. As I recall, you sent him several
cases of the stuff over the years. But no amount of peace offerings
could placate Jim if he felt you'd disrespected him. Anyway, all
credit to you for at least trying to heal the rift, even if it came to
naught.
I think I sent him two bottles of Frog's Tooth, not cases.
I get the Frog's Tooth free. The vintner is also our sales rep for
pick+place gear, and he throws in a bottle or a case with every big
order.
JT was a little touchy at times (never me!) but we didn't actually
have a rift. I think that serious electronics designers always get
along pretty well. Circuit design is a sport that we play.
I miss JT. He was fun. I often drive on Thompkins Street and it
reminds me of him.
I think the passage of time has mellowed your recollections, John.
Shortly after he died, you called him a crabby old man! There was
something about you he clearly didn't much like. No idea why, since
you've never come across as anything but well-mannered and helpful as
far as I can tell.
Jim gave me a hell of a rough time when I first arrived here back in
'96. He didn't suffer fools gladly and boy did he let me know when he believed I was one. But that did me a huge favour. He did have a point inasmuch as my fundamental electronics knowledge needed a lot of
remedial attention. So he forced me to sit down and go back through
all the stuff I should have known before I came here and I became much
better for it. And when I finally did, he praised me for it. Praise
from Jim was praise indeed! He was a GIANT of this group and I miss
him terribly, too.
On 6 Apr 2024 22:05:35 GMT, Roger Hayter <roger@hayter.org> wrote:
On 6 Apr 2024 at 21:39:25 BST, "Cursitor Doom" <cd@notformail.com> wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 19:37:27 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 6 Apr 2024 00:35:46 +0200, Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund
<klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 05-04-2024 23:22, john larkin wrote:
On Fri, 5 Apr 2024 16:26:49 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote: >>>>>>I bought a Siglent DDS SDG6022X for 1300USD, 200MHz thingie. I knew
On 4/5/2024 3:49 AM, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 12:20:19 -0400) it happened bitrex >>>>>>>> <user@example.net> wrote in <660ed343$0$1258343$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com>:
My most useful old machine dollar for dollar is my 8012B pulse generator!
<https://imgur.com/a/2GaSZVq>
Nice, real components...
$50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls.
mm 50 dollars,
even today with people using dollars for wallpaper,
buys you a nice pulse generator on ebay..
It cost $1700 USD in the 1987 catalog, about $4500 equivalent today! >>>>>>>
555 timer works fine too
Or use sox in Linux for all sort of audio, including sweeps:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/howto-sox-audio-tool-as-a-signal-generator.4242/
or just use a Raspberry Pi as signal generator:
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html#freq_pi
Our DDG is about $4K, addmittedly over the top for a home lab.
http://highlandtechnology.com/DSS/P500DS.shtml
I love my beat-up old unit on my bench. Timing and levels are
brutally quantitative.
forehand that it could be hacked to 500MHz, so "saved" 3000 USD for 1 >>>>> hours work :-)
https://www.batronix.com/shop/waveform-generator/Siglent-SDG6022X.html >>>>>
EEVBLOG has hacking details if anyone is interested...
We bought a few Rigol 300 MHz 4-chan scopes and insisted that they
throw in the 500 MHz upgrade.
I remember when FFT was an extra-cost feature. Now it's free.
Excuse me for being a bit slow on the uptake here, but it seems to me
that there are a *lot* of products which are fundamentally all
manufactured to the same spec - but then deliberately crippled unless
you pay some sort of ransom to have them 'unlocked' as it were. Would
that be correct or am I being too cynical?
No, but is differentiating products on softwar supplies any different from >> differentiating them on hardware? Cheap ones simply wouldn't be available to
hobbyists if they had to sell them all as top of the range, where they make >> the money for the effort to make a high bandwidth scope. There is also the >> advantage that they can perhaps be hacked by well-informed hobbyists, but most
commercial buyers wouldn't be happy doing that for one or another reason.
AFAIC, it *does* matter if the limitations are in hardware or
software. In the case of scopes for example, good bandwidth don't
come cheap! So if you're going to go to the expense of developing high bandwidth capability it just seems like self-mutilation to cripple all
that hard work to produce an inferior product.
No, but is differentiating products on softwar supplies any different from >differentiating them on hardware? Cheap ones simply wouldn't be available to
hobbyists if they had to sell them all as top of the range, where they make >the money for the effort to make a high bandwidth scope. There is also the >advantage that they can perhaps be hacked by well-informed hobbyists, but most
commercial buyers wouldn't be happy doing that for one or another reason.
AFAIC, it *does* matter if the limitations are in hardware or
software. In the case of scopes for example, good bandwidth don't
come cheap! So if you're going to go to the expense of developing high bandwidth capability it just seems like self-mutilation to cripple all
that hard work to produce an inferior product.
On Sat, 06 Apr 2024 14:48:38 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 06 Apr 2024 22:21:45 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 10:15:43 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:33:12 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>>wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> >>>>>wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in >>>>>><uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can >>>>>>>>>> perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I >>>>>>>>> blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum >>>>>>>>> analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it >>>>>>>>> When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just >>>>>>>>> like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier >>>>>>>> employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When >>>>>>>> asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did. >>>>>>>>
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>>>>>>electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing
is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too >>>>>>see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
In an environment a million times more complex than your back-room with boat anchors.
And always delivered.. unlike some that dropped out or broke down. >>>>>>It is indeed about what is between the ears as you mentioned.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most
important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they
are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound
over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
Jim had pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously tricky to diagnose due >>>>>to the misleading symptoms it gives rise to.
He talked constantly about wine. That can kill your pancreas.
There are people who drink bottles per day.
Oh yes, he loved his wine alright. As I recall, you sent him several >>>cases of the stuff over the years. But no amount of peace offerings >>>could placate Jim if he felt you'd disrespected him. Anyway, all
credit to you for at least trying to heal the rift, even if it came to >>>naught.
I think I sent him two bottles of Frog's Tooth, not cases.
I get the Frog's Tooth free. The vintner is also our sales rep for >>pick+place gear, and he throws in a bottle or a case with every big
order.
JT was a little touchy at times (never me!) but we didn't actually
have a rift. I think that serious electronics designers always get
along pretty well. Circuit design is a sport that we play.
I miss JT. He was fun. I often drive on Thompkins Street and it
reminds me of him.
I think the passage of time has mellowed your recollections, John.
Shortly after he died, you called him a crabby old man!
something about you he clearly didn't much like.
you've never come across as anything but well-mannered and helpful as
far as I can tell.
Jim gave me a hell of a rough time when I first arrived here back in
'96. He didn't suffer fools gladly and boy did he let me know when he >believed I was one. But that did me a huge favour. He did have a point >inasmuch as my fundamental electronics knowledge needed a lot of
remedial attention. So he forced me to sit down and go back through
all the stuff I should have known before I came here and I became much
better for it. And when I finally did, he praised me for it. Praise
from Jim was praise indeed! He was a GIANT of this group and I miss
him terribly, too.
On Sun, 07 Apr 2024 09:40:03 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Sun, 07 Apr 2024 09:50:50 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>wrote:
On Sat, 06 Apr 2024 14:48:38 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com> >>>wrote:
On Sat, 06 Apr 2024 22:21:45 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>>wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 10:15:43 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote: >>>>>
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:33:12 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>>>>wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> >>>>>>>wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in >>>>>>>><uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can >>>>>>>>>>>> perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel. >>>>>>>>>>> Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum >>>>>>>>>>> analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it >>>>>>>>>>> When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did. >>>>>>>>>>
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>>>>>>>>electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing
is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too >>>>>>>>see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/ >>>>>>>>GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
In an environment a million times more complex than your back-room with boat anchors.
And always delivered.. unlike some that dropped out or broke down. >>>>>>>>It is indeed about what is between the ears as you mentioned.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most
important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they
are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound
over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
Jim had pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously tricky to diagnose due >>>>>>>to the misleading symptoms it gives rise to.
He talked constantly about wine. That can kill your pancreas.
There are people who drink bottles per day.
Oh yes, he loved his wine alright. As I recall, you sent him several >>>>>cases of the stuff over the years. But no amount of peace offerings >>>>>could placate Jim if he felt you'd disrespected him. Anyway, all >>>>>credit to you for at least trying to heal the rift, even if it came to >>>>>naught.
I think I sent him two bottles of Frog's Tooth, not cases.
I get the Frog's Tooth free. The vintner is also our sales rep for >>>>pick+place gear, and he throws in a bottle or a case with every big >>>>order.
JT was a little touchy at times (never me!) but we didn't actually
have a rift. I think that serious electronics designers always get >>>>along pretty well. Circuit design is a sport that we play.
I miss JT. He was fun. I often drive on Thompkins Street and it
reminds me of him.
I think the passage of time has mellowed your recollections, John. >>>Shortly after he died, you called him a crabby old man!
But he *was* a crabby old man. That's no big deal. He probably would
have enjoyed the description. He died bravely.
There was
something about you he clearly didn't much like.
There was some teasing involved. We got along fine in emails.
No idea why, since
you've never come across as anything but well-mannered and helpful as
far as I can tell.
I can be crabby too, but that's a common hazard on an unmoderated
public forum.
Jim gave me a hell of a rough time when I first arrived here back in
'96. He didn't suffer fools gladly and boy did he let me know when he >>>believed I was one. But that did me a huge favour. He did have a point >>>inasmuch as my fundamental electronics knowledge needed a lot of
remedial attention. So he forced me to sit down and go back through
all the stuff I should have known before I came here and I became much >>>better for it. And when I finally did, he praised me for it. Praise
from Jim was praise indeed! He was a GIANT of this group and I miss
him terribly, too.
He wasn't a bad sort, but I wouldn't call someone a fool because they
don't understand electronics. "Fool" is reserved for people who
presume to expertise that they clearly don't have.
Well, you're a great deal more equable than Jim was, despite the BMD,
John.
I found getting excoriated by Jim gave me the impetus I needed to get
off my arse and engage in some serious study on the subject. He did me
a huge favour as it was exactly the motivation I needed. I discovered
I wasn't as accomplished at electronics as I thought I was. He put me
in my place. My strengths lie in other areas and none of us can excel
at everything. I'll never be a designer. I'm just a hobbyist and will
ever remain one. But that's fine, because all the time I find it a
challenge, I'll be hooked. I quickly lose interest in subjects that I
find easy to master.
On Sun, 07 Apr 2024 09:50:50 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 06 Apr 2024 14:48:38 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 06 Apr 2024 22:21:45 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 10:15:43 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:33:12 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>>>wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> >>>>>>wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in >>>>>>><uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can >>>>>>>>>>> perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum >>>>>>>>>> analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it >>>>>>>>>> When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier >>>>>>>>> employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did. >>>>>>>>>
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>>>>>>>electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing
is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too >>>>>>>see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/ >>>>>>>GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
In an environment a million times more complex than your back-room with boat anchors.
And always delivered.. unlike some that dropped out or broke down. >>>>>>>It is indeed about what is between the ears as you mentioned.
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most
important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they
are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound
over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
Jim had pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously tricky to diagnose due >>>>>>to the misleading symptoms it gives rise to.
He talked constantly about wine. That can kill your pancreas.
There are people who drink bottles per day.
Oh yes, he loved his wine alright. As I recall, you sent him several >>>>cases of the stuff over the years. But no amount of peace offerings >>>>could placate Jim if he felt you'd disrespected him. Anyway, all
credit to you for at least trying to heal the rift, even if it came to >>>>naught.
I think I sent him two bottles of Frog's Tooth, not cases.
I get the Frog's Tooth free. The vintner is also our sales rep for >>>pick+place gear, and he throws in a bottle or a case with every big >>>order.
JT was a little touchy at times (never me!) but we didn't actually
have a rift. I think that serious electronics designers always get
along pretty well. Circuit design is a sport that we play.
I miss JT. He was fun. I often drive on Thompkins Street and it
reminds me of him.
I think the passage of time has mellowed your recollections, John.
Shortly after he died, you called him a crabby old man!
But he *was* a crabby old man. That's no big deal. He probably would
have enjoyed the description. He died bravely.
There was
something about you he clearly didn't much like.
There was some teasing involved. We got along fine in emails.
No idea why, since
you've never come across as anything but well-mannered and helpful as
far as I can tell.
I can be crabby too, but that's a common hazard on an unmoderated
public forum.
Jim gave me a hell of a rough time when I first arrived here back in
'96. He didn't suffer fools gladly and boy did he let me know when he >>believed I was one. But that did me a huge favour. He did have a point >>inasmuch as my fundamental electronics knowledge needed a lot of
remedial attention. So he forced me to sit down and go back through
all the stuff I should have known before I came here and I became much >>better for it. And when I finally did, he praised me for it. Praise
from Jim was praise indeed! He was a GIANT of this group and I miss
him terribly, too.
He wasn't a bad sort, but I wouldn't call someone a fool because they
don't understand electronics. "Fool" is reserved for people who
presume to expertise that they clearly don't have.
We all remember all sorts of stuff about Jim, much of it very good. He certainly raised the technical level here, which I for one miss very much.++
For the remainder, it’s best to follow the good old rule of not speaking ill of the dead (or of the living, mostly).+100
We stand or fall by what we
make of what we’re given, which is well worth keeping in mind.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
On Sun, 07 Apr 2024 18:23:38 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Sun, 07 Apr 2024 09:40:03 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com>
wrote:
On Sun, 07 Apr 2024 09:50:50 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>wrote:
On Sat, 06 Apr 2024 14:48:38 -0700, John Larkin <jl@997PotHill.com> >>>>wrote:
On Sat, 06 Apr 2024 22:21:45 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>>>wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 10:15:43 -0700, john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote: >>>>>>
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:33:12 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>>>>>wrote:
On Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:49:30 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> >>>>>>>>wrote:
On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:56:23 -0000 (UTC)) it happened Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote in >>>>>>>>><uum4h6$kmdl$1@dont-email.me>:
Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote: >>>>>>>>>>> On 01-04-2024 09:01, Jan Panteltje wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom
<cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things. >>>>>>>>>>>>> I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can >>>>>>>>>>>>> perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I
blew up a channel once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with
it, fixed it locating the problem with the other channel. >>>>>>>>>>>> Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from
the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros.
For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot
interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance
scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and
RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum
analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts
Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless...
But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just
like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes. >>>>>>>>>>>>
Very true about specifically the 1% statement. Sidebar, at an earlier
employment, we needed to equip a new lab. Guys wanted GHz scopes. When
asked if the ever looked at edges faster than 1ns, no one did. >>>>>>>>>>>
It’s true that there are a lot of relatively undemanding jobs in >>>>>>>>>>electronics. You can get on fine with a 200-MHz scope if all you’re doing
is PIC and Pi and ham radio and analog TV.
Bull,
I have been using my Trio 10 MHz dual channel for digital TV too >>>>>>>>>see
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/ >>>>>>>>>GHz output..
Its is about UNDERSTANDING the systems
You cannot repair a TV set in a short time if you do not UNDERSTAND every part of the circuit and its function, the whole system
neither with a 10 MHz or with a 10 GHz scope.
Fault finding had been my job most of the time, sometimes with 'the show must go on'
or rocket must launch or whatever.
In an environment a million times more complex than your back-room with boat anchors.
And always delivered.. unlike some that dropped out or broke down. >>>>>>>>>It is indeed about what is between the ears as you mentioned. >>>>>>>>>
It’s also true that you can often make do with what you have—the most
important test instrument is the one between your ears.
In the before times, doctors were much better with stethoscopes than they
are now.
But I’d sure prefer a cardiologist who could use tomography and ultrasound
over the best stethoscope guy.
Only useful if you can read the screens, these days they train AI to find cancer in the scans.....
Yes I worked in an Uni hospital too.
How many people die each year because of medical errors?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html
Remember Jim Thompson stating 'they are giving me ... but I had a warning I was not supposed to get that'
Few days later he was dead.
Jim had pancreatic cancer, which is notoriously tricky to diagnose due >>>>>>>>to the misleading symptoms it gives rise to.
He talked constantly about wine. That can kill your pancreas.
There are people who drink bottles per day.
Oh yes, he loved his wine alright. As I recall, you sent him several >>>>>>cases of the stuff over the years. But no amount of peace offerings >>>>>>could placate Jim if he felt you'd disrespected him. Anyway, all >>>>>>credit to you for at least trying to heal the rift, even if it came to >>>>>>naught.
I think I sent him two bottles of Frog's Tooth, not cases.
I get the Frog's Tooth free. The vintner is also our sales rep for >>>>>pick+place gear, and he throws in a bottle or a case with every big >>>>>order.
JT was a little touchy at times (never me!) but we didn't actually >>>>>have a rift. I think that serious electronics designers always get >>>>>along pretty well. Circuit design is a sport that we play.
I miss JT. He was fun. I often drive on Thompkins Street and it >>>>>reminds me of him.
I think the passage of time has mellowed your recollections, John. >>>>Shortly after he died, you called him a crabby old man!
But he *was* a crabby old man. That's no big deal. He probably would
have enjoyed the description. He died bravely.
There was
something about you he clearly didn't much like.
There was some teasing involved. We got along fine in emails.
No idea why, since
you've never come across as anything but well-mannered and helpful as >>>>far as I can tell.
I can be crabby too, but that's a common hazard on an unmoderated
public forum.
Jim gave me a hell of a rough time when I first arrived here back in >>>>'96. He didn't suffer fools gladly and boy did he let me know when he >>>>believed I was one. But that did me a huge favour. He did have a point >>>>inasmuch as my fundamental electronics knowledge needed a lot of >>>>remedial attention. So he forced me to sit down and go back through
all the stuff I should have known before I came here and I became much >>>>better for it. And when I finally did, he praised me for it. Praise >>>>from Jim was praise indeed! He was a GIANT of this group and I miss
him terribly, too.
He wasn't a bad sort, but I wouldn't call someone a fool because they >>>don't understand electronics. "Fool" is reserved for people who
presume to expertise that they clearly don't have.
Well, you're a great deal more equable than Jim was, despite the BMD,
John.
I found getting excoriated by Jim gave me the impetus I needed to get
off my arse and engage in some serious study on the subject. He did me
a huge favour as it was exactly the motivation I needed. I discovered
I wasn't as accomplished at electronics as I thought I was. He put me
in my place. My strengths lie in other areas and none of us can excel
at everything. I'll never be a designer. I'm just a hobbyist and will
ever remain one. But that's fine, because all the time I find it a >>challenge, I'll be hooked. I quickly lose interest in subjects that I
find easy to master.
I think that electronics design is instinctive, and only some people
have those instincts, and they usually acquire them at a very early
age. It's not fair, for those people who have the instincts, to
denegerate people who don't. I suck at tennis and music and French.
I'm now mightly confused with switching four tapped inductors around
with relays. What idiot decided that inductance should increase with
turns squared?
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A Micronta
DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I should not have done
it. Clear operator failure. Everything else works just fine. Even my
first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday.
Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works just
fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine. I've had
to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto my other
15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated properly >lasts a long time.
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A Micronta
DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I should not have done
it. Clear operator failure. Everything else works just fine. Even my
first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday.
Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works just
fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine. I've had
to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto my other
15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated properly
lasts a long time.
To be fair, these "explosions" are typically capacitors: old, dried
-out electrolytics in test gear that hasn't been used in a long time
go bang when the power's switched on - as do old X2 safety caps. Those
are the chief culprits IME.
On 11/04/2024 3:42 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A Micronta
DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I should not have done
it. Clear operator failure. Everything else works just fine. Even my
first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday.
Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works just
fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine. I've had >>> to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto my other
15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated properly >>> lasts a long time.
To be fair, these "explosions" are typically capacitors: old, dried
-out electrolytics in test gear that hasn't been used in a long time
go bang when the power's switched on - as do old X2 safety caps. Those
are the chief culprits IME.
**Oh, I see. You ignore regular maintenance. That makes sense. I hope no
one buys a car from you.
On 2024-04-10 16:30, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 11/04/2024 3:42 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A Micronta >>>> DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I should not have done >>>> it. Clear operator failure. Everything else works just fine. Even my
first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday.
Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works just
fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine. I've had >>>> to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto my other >>>> 15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated properly >>>> lasts a long time.
To be fair, these "explosions" are typically capacitors: old, dried
-out electrolytics in test gear that hasn't been used in a long time
go bang when the power's switched on - as do old X2 safety caps. Those
are the chief culprits IME.
**Oh, I see. You ignore regular maintenance. That makes sense. I hope no
one buys a car from you.
Whereas all you Ozites are 100% rational reasonable polite beings who
are always on top of everything, including predicting the exact date
when an old cap will give up the ghost.
Silly me for forgetting. ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
On 2024-04-10 16:30, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 11/04/2024 3:42 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A Micronta >>>> DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I should not have done >>>> it. Clear operator failure. Everything else works just fine. Even my
first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday.
Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works just
fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine. I've
had
to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto my other >>>> 15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated
properly
lasts a long time.
To be fair, these "explosions" are typically capacitors: old, dried
-out electrolytics in test gear that hasn't been used in a long time
go bang when the power's switched on - as do old X2 safety caps. Those
are the chief culprits IME.
**Oh, I see. You ignore regular maintenance. That makes sense. I hope
no one buys a car from you.
Whereas all you Ozites are 100% rational reasonable polite beings who
are always on top of everything, including predicting the exact date
when an old cap will give up the ghost.
Silly me for forgetting. ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
On Thu, 11 Apr 2024 09:55:18 -0400, Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:
On 2024-04-10 16:30, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 11/04/2024 3:42 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A Micronta >>>>> DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I should not have done >>>>> it. Clear operator failure. Everything else works just fine. Even my >>>>> first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday.
Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works just >>>>> fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine. I've had >>>>> to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto my other >>>>> 15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated properly >>>>> lasts a long time.
To be fair, these "explosions" are typically capacitors: old, dried
-out electrolytics in test gear that hasn't been used in a long time
go bang when the power's switched on - as do old X2 safety caps. Those >>>> are the chief culprits IME.
**Oh, I see. You ignore regular maintenance. That makes sense. I hope no >>> one buys a car from you.
Whereas all you Ozites are 100% rational reasonable polite beings who
are always on top of everything, including predicting the exact date
when an old cap will give up the ghost.
Silly me for forgetting. ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
You don't routinely replace caps in all your test gear? I'm shocked,
shocked.
(My nice little HP6212A power supply must be 50 years old. It's never
been opened and works great.)
On 11/04/2024 11:55 pm, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 2024-04-10 16:30, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 11/04/2024 3:42 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A Micronta >>>>> DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I should not have done >>>>> it. Clear operator failure. Everything else works just fine. Even my >>>>> first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday.
Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works just >>>>> fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine. I've >>>>> had
to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto my other >>>>> 15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated
properly
lasts a long time.
To be fair, these "explosions" are typically capacitors: old, dried
-out electrolytics in test gear that hasn't been used in a long time
go bang when the power's switched on - as do old X2 safety caps. Those >>>> are the chief culprits IME.
**Oh, I see. You ignore regular maintenance. That makes sense. I hope
no one buys a car from you.
Whereas all you Ozites are 100% rational reasonable polite beings who
are always on top of everything, including predicting the exact date
when an old cap will give up the ghost.
Silly me for forgetting. ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
**The FIRST thing I do, when I acquire a new (second hand) piece of
equipment is to replace all the RIFA caps that are connected across the
mains I find. Then I carefully look for any signs of distress from
electros. After which, I experience no or few problems. Two items I
recently acquired (a Sound Technology 1000A and HP339A) were COMPLETELY >re-built with all new electros, as they are very old products. Most of
the electros measured acceptably well, but some were well below spec
(ESR). They now perform as new (better than new in the case of the
339A). OTOH, my recently acquired Panasonic VP-7721A required nothing
else but a new NiCad back-up battery. Performance was well beyond >specification. No RIFA caps either.
Here is the distortion profile of 1kHz output from the Pana:
https://ibb.co/2yqM1S4
I have no idea why the OP has so many problems with decent test
equipment, as test equipment tends to use superior quality components
when compared to domestic equipment. With the exception of RIFA caps.
And the only product that ever failed when I switched on was a second
hand Tektronix 2267B, I acquired from the Japan a few years back. It
seems that the RIFA caps in the power supply had become accustomed to
the Japanese 100VAC mains and 'chucked a wobbly' when connected to our
Aussie mains supply. Much smoke and more than a little panic from me.
Hence, I now replace ALL RIFA caps on sight.
On 2024-04-11 13:11, john larkin wrote:
On Thu, 11 Apr 2024 09:55:18 -0400, Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:
On 2024-04-10 16:30, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 11/04/2024 3:42 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment
blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if >>>>>>> it's
not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you
switch it
on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a
lot of
time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of
explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A
Micronta
DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I should not have
done
it. Clear operator failure. Everything else works just fine. Even my >>>>>> first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday. >>>>>> Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works just >>>>>> fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine.
I've had
to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto my
other
15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated
properly
lasts a long time.
To be fair, these "explosions" are typically capacitors: old, dried
-out electrolytics in test gear that hasn't been used in a long time >>>>> go bang when the power's switched on - as do old X2 safety caps. Those >>>>> are the chief culprits IME.
**Oh, I see. You ignore regular maintenance. That makes sense. I
hope no
one buys a car from you.
Whereas all you Ozites are 100% rational reasonable polite beings who
are always on top of everything, including predicting the exact date
when an old cap will give up the ghost.
Silly me for forgetting. ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
You don't routinely replace caps in all your test gear? I'm shocked,
shocked.
Sad but true. ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
On 2024-04-11 13:11, john larkin wrote:
On Thu, 11 Apr 2024 09:55:18 -0400, Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:
On 2024-04-10 16:30, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 11/04/2024 3:42 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>>>> not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>>>> on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>>>> time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions >>>>>>> I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A Micronta >>>>>> DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I should not have done >>>>>> it. Clear operator failure. Everything else works just fine. Even my >>>>>> first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday. >>>>>> Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works just >>>>>> fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine. I've had >>>>>> to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto my other >>>>>> 15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated properly >>>>>> lasts a long time.
To be fair, these "explosions" are typically capacitors: old, dried
-out electrolytics in test gear that hasn't been used in a long time >>>>> go bang when the power's switched on - as do old X2 safety caps. Those >>>>> are the chief culprits IME.
**Oh, I see. You ignore regular maintenance. That makes sense. I hope no >>>> one buys a car from you.
Whereas all you Ozites are 100% rational reasonable polite beings who
are always on top of everything, including predicting the exact date
when an old cap will give up the ghost.
Silly me for forgetting. ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
You don't routinely replace caps in all your test gear? I'm shocked,
shocked.
Sad but true. ;)
(My nice little HP6212A power supply must be 50 years old. It's never
been opened and works great.)
I have a number of the 611x supplies, including the 3 kV one. Only one
has ever actually failed--it was my previous 3 kV, whose transformer
started arcing internally, so I tossed it.
In good equipment (HP & Tek, 1985 or so on), age-related failures are
much more common on the outside of the front panel than on the inside.
(A problem not unrelated to PEBCAK.) ;)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
On 2024-04-11 13:11, john larkin wrote:
On Thu, 11 Apr 2024 09:55:18 -0400, Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:
On 2024-04-10 16:30, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 11/04/2024 3:42 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson <trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>>>> just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if >>>>>>> it's not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you >>>>>>> switch it on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a
lot of time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>>>> anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>>>> piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of
explosion I experience.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A
Micronta DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I should not have
done it. Clear operator failure. Everything else works just fine. Even my
first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday. >>>>>> Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works just >>>>>> fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine. I've had
to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto my
other 15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated
properly lasts a long time.
To be fair, these "explosions" are typically capacitors: old, dried
-out electrolytics in test gear that hasn't been used in a long time >>>>> go bang when the power's switched on - as do old X2 safety caps. Those >>>>> are the chief culprits IME.
**Oh, I see. You ignore regular maintenance. That makes sense. I
hope no-one buys a car from you.
Whereas all you Ozites are 100% rational reasonable polite beings who
are always on top of everything, including predicting the exact date
when an old cap will give up the ghost.
Silly me for forgetting. ;)
You don't routinely replace caps in all your test gear? I'm shocked,
shocked.
Sad but true. ;)
(My nice little HP6212A power supply must be 50 years old. It's never
been opened and works great.)
I have a number of the 611x supplies, including the 3 kV one. Only one
has ever actually failed--it was my previous 3 kV, whose transformer
started arcing internally, so I tossed it.
In good equipment (HP & Tek, 1985 or so on), age-related failures are
much more common on the outside of the front panel than on the inside.
(A problem not unrelated to PEBCAK.) ;)
On Fri, 12 Apr 2024 06:04:45 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 11/04/2024 11:55 pm, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 2024-04-10 16:30, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 11/04/2024 3:42 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
I have no idea why the OP has so many problems with decent test
equipment, as test equipment tends to use superior quality components
when compared to domestic equipment. With the exception of RIFA caps.
And the only product that ever failed when I switched on was a second
hand Tektronix 2267B, I acquired from the Japan a few years back. It
seems that the RIFA caps in the power supply had become accustomed to
the Japanese 100VAC mains and 'chucked a wobbly' when connected to our
Aussie mains supply. Much smoke and more than a little panic from me.
Hence, I now replace ALL RIFA caps on sight.
Ah - you're Australian. That explains a lot.
On 12/04/2024 5:42 am, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 2024-04-11 13:11, john larkin wrote:
On Thu, 11 Apr 2024 09:55:18 -0400, Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:
On 2024-04-10 16:30, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 11/04/2024 3:42 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment >>>>>>>> blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; >>>>>>>> if it's not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time >>>>>>>> you switch it on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, >>>>>>>> but wastes a lot of time which could be better spent doing other >>>>>>>> things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just
wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a
particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>>>>> particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can >>>>>>>> perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of
explosion I experience.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A
Micronta DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I should >>>>>>> not have done it. Clear operator failure. Everything else works
just fine. Even my
first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday. >>>>>>> Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works just >>>>>>> fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine.
I've had
to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto my >>>>>>> other 15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated
properly lasts a long time.
To be fair, these "explosions" are typically capacitors: old, dried >>>>>> -out electrolytics in test gear that hasn't been used in a long time >>>>>> go bang when the power's switched on - as do old X2 safety caps.
Those
are the chief culprits IME.
**Oh, I see. You ignore regular maintenance. That makes sense. I
hope no-one buys a car from you.
Whereas all you Ozites are 100% rational reasonable polite beings who
are always on top of everything, including predicting the exact date
when an old cap will give up the ghost.
Old electrolytic capacitors tend to give up the ghost when they have
been left unpolarised for years, and are then subject to their rated
voltage without having been re-formed first.
Predicting that kind of failure isn't difficult.
Silly me for forgetting. ;)
You don't have much to do with clueless newbies.
You don't routinely replace caps in all your test gear? I'm shocked,
shocked.
You don't replace them, you re-form them - day or so subject to rated voltage applied through a nice big resistor (100k comes to mind).
Sad but true. ;)
(My nice little HP6212A power supply must be 50 years old. It's never
been opened and works great.)
I have a number of the 611x supplies, including the 3 kV one. Only
one has ever actually failed--it was my previous 3 kV, whose
transformer started arcing internally, so I tossed it.
In good equipment (HP & Tek, 1985 or so on), age-related failures are
much more common on the outside of the front panel than on the inside.
(A problem not unrelated to PEBCAK.) ;)
Problem Exists Between Chair and Keyboard.
On 12/04/2024 3:32 pm, Bill Sloman wrote:
On 12/04/2024 5:42 am, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 2024-04-11 13:11, john larkin wrote:
On Thu, 11 Apr 2024 09:55:18 -0400, Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:
On 2024-04-10 16:30, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 11/04/2024 3:42 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:40:02 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<trevor@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
On 1/04/2024 4:41 am, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment >>>>>>>>> blow up
just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; >>>>>>>>> if it's not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time >>>>>>>>> you switch it on. It makes for good practice in repairing
stuff, but wastes a lot of time which could be better spent
doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just
wondering if
anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a
particular
piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something >>>>>>>>> you're
particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can >>>>>>>>> perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of
explosion I experience.
**In my 55 years of servicing, I've only blown up one thing: A >>>>>>>> Micronta DMM, which I connected to a laser power supply. I
should not have done it. Clear operator failure. Everything else >>>>>>>> works just fine. Even my
first multimeter. A Sanwa U-50D my dad gave me on my 14th birthday. >>>>>>>> Still works fine. My first DMM. A cheap 'n cheerful SOAR. Works >>>>>>>> just
fine. My first Fluke meter. A 40 year old Fluke 85. Works fine. >>>>>>>> I've had
to clean the switch a few times. Otherwise, no problems. Ditto >>>>>>>> my other 15 or so meters. Same deal with my 'scopes.
I don't know what your problem is. Test equipment, when treated >>>>>>>> properly lasts a long time.
To be fair, these "explosions" are typically capacitors: old, dried >>>>>>> -out electrolytics in test gear that hasn't been used in a long time >>>>>>> go bang when the power's switched on - as do old X2 safety caps. >>>>>>> Those
are the chief culprits IME.
**Oh, I see. You ignore regular maintenance. That makes sense. I
hope no-one buys a car from you.
Whereas all you Ozites are 100% rational reasonable polite beings who >>>>> are always on top of everything, including predicting the exact date >>>>> when an old cap will give up the ghost.
Old electrolytic capacitors tend to give up the ghost when they have
been left unpolarised for years, and are then subject to their rated
voltage without having been re-formed first.
Predicting that kind of failure isn't difficult.
Silly me for forgetting. ;)
You don't have much to do with clueless newbies.
You don't routinely replace caps in all your test gear? I'm shocked,
shocked.
You don't replace them, you re-form them - day or so subject to rated
voltage applied through a nice big resistor (100k comes to mind).
**It would only be required if the unit has been out of service for
quite some time, unless it is very old of course. In any case, if I
remove a cap from equipment, it will almost always be simply replaced,
unless it is a very large and expensive component.
On a sunny day (Mon, 01 Apr 2024 09:39:59 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom ><cd@notformail.com> wrote in <j6sk0j5cpqb46pt9tg6uvji35a2bstb9o8@4ax.com>:
On Mon, 01 Apr 2024 07:01:34 GMT, Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid> >>wrote:
On a sunny day (Sun, 31 Mar 2024 18:41:18 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom >>><cd@notformail.com> wrote in <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com>: >>>
Hi all,
I'm starting to get a bit fed up with having my test equipment blow up >>>>just when it's needed. This is the drawback with vintage gear; if it's >>>>not used frequently then it can go *bang* the next time you switch it >>>>on. It makes for good practice in repairing stuff, but wastes a lot of >>>>time which could be better spent doing other things.
I think it's time I modernised my test gear. I was just wondering if >>>>anyone has any recommendations they can share. Is there a particular >>>>piece of test equipment you couldn't live without? Something you're >>>>particularly impressed with? I'd be interested to know so I can
perhaps acquire said item and thereby reduce the number of explosions
I experience.
Thanks,
CD.
My 10 MHz Trio dual trace analog scope is from 1979 or there about, I blew up a channal once myself in the first week
when I accidently touched a booster diode in a TV I was repairing with it, fixed it locating the problem with the other
channel.
Later I cracked the graticule when a soldering station fell on it from the table (scope stands on the ground)
Made a new graticule.
So, and still working perfectly, OK for all things I build with micros. >>>For RF to about 1.6 GHz I use RTL_SDR USB sticks and the spectrum analyzer I wrote.
and for AC DC measurements I have some made in China digital meters and an analog one.
also a Voltcraft clamp-on meter for current when you do not - or cannot interrupt things with the meter impedance.
Also have a Voltcraft soldering station.
Blew up one of my digital meters a while back (volts on the resistance scale) but fixed it again (replaced resistor).
Many other test equipment I designed and build, like amplifiers LF and RF, SWR meter, radiation meters, gamma spectrometer,
GHz stuff for satelite, transmitters low and very high power, what not,
a frequency converter to use the RTL-SDR sticks and so the spectrum analyzer on higher and lower frequencies.
Have a SARK100 SWR analyzer too.
Things last forever here...
Scope used on a regular basis..
RTL-SDR stick 24/7.
Digital meters used every day.
Use my self designed lab power supply every day..
What more do you need?
Learn to use the stuff, understand what's important, and that is it
When I started in electronics as a kid I did not even _have_ a meter, still stuff worked.
Build my own scope at some point back then when I somehow got the parts >>>Not much pocket mony as a kid.
UNDERSTAND your systems, what electrons do.
Showing of with boat anchors may impress people, especially the clueless... >>>But it does not help you one bit.
Anything with an accuracy better than 1 percent in most cases is just like apes screaming load trying to impress other apes.
I don't think any of us here truly understand what electrons do, Jan!
Boat anchors don't impress anyone nowadays; they're more likely to
make one look like some sort of oddball mad scientist who couldn't get >>laid. ;-)
I'm guessing you don't have a TV. Would I be right?
I learned the basics of how electrons behave and move as a small kid from this book:
https://www.boekenwebsite.nl/techniek/zowerkt-de-radio
'That is how radio works'
He also wrote
that is how TV works
and
That is how the transistor works.
I remember walking the streets of Amsterdam looking for usable parts for my own TV in primary school
Tried to make an OLED TV too.
In high-school were I build an tube amplifier for the school band
I got an old tube CRT from a TV shop.
Made an HV generator using a car ignition coil on the output of an old EL84 audio amp,
made that amp oscillate by feeding back some output to the input.
The output of the ignition coil rectified by an old TV HV diode
Horizontal deflection coils on same amp
Vertical defection coils on an other audio amp.
That was my first scope.
Not very high frequency..
Had a transistor FM transmitter of my own design working too,
we had a radio program!
As to understand electrons START THERE
That is what it is all about.
That is how I started as a kid, books from Van Aisberg
Later when studying electronics I got some old tube TV, and gradually replaced each part with transistors
rewound horizontal output transformer, build a new tuner.
By that time Elector magazine published the 'teletor'
https://archive.org/details/elektuur-36-1965-11_20200524
used some ideas from that and had my first transistor TV, mine was MUCH bigger had a real CRT.
In 1968 designed my own TV vidicon camara, left my current design job and started in broadcasting, hired on the spot,
6 month payed training in the school banks all about broadcasting all about television
Many years nothing but film, TV and audio, video recording, satellite, slow motion, video editing, running a TV studio, what not
So, you could f*cking learn a bit
Yes I have a nice Samsung TV and a portable one too.
I can build one from scrap in no time, but the digital decoders these days need a chip
but I can code that too.
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html
https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/raspberry_pi_dvb-s_transmitter/
I like to open source things, worked in all sort of science fields electronics is used for,
from medical to space to army to navy to broadcasting, been there done it >Electrons try to understand, math is just about quantities and breaks down anyways as mamaticians will do a divide by zero
and claim a new reality.
EInsteinianism is brain dead.
hehe
PS I had a TV repair shop in Amsterdam for many years (see it is also going to ..repair)
.
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