Path: ...!news.misty.com!weretis.net!feeder6.news.weretis.net!usenet.blueworldhosting.com!diablo1.usenet.blueworldhosting.com!feeder.usenetexpress.com!tr1.iad1.usenetexpress.com!198.186.190.30.MISMATCH!news-out.netnews.com|netnews.com!postmaster.netnews.com!us1.netnews.com!not-for-mail X-Trace: DXC=?aBH\0]<7f X-Complaints-To: support@frugalusenet.com Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2024 12:20:19 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Subject: Re: Favourite Test Equipment Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design,sci.electronics.repair References: <9k7j0jlnbhs8qfg5m17pium0835meean83@4ax.com> Content-Language: en-US From: bitrex In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Lines: 106 Message-ID: <660ed343$0$1258343$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: 127.0.0.1 X-Trace: 1712247619 reader.netnews.com 1258343 127.0.0.1:55397 Bytes: 6226 On 4/4/2024 7:56 AM, Phil Hobbs wrote: > Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund 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 >>> 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! $50 "not working." It was just a burned-out pilot lamp and dirty controls.