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From: Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design,sci.electronics.repair
Subject: Re: Favourite Test Equipment
Date: Mon, 01 Apr 2024 09:39:59 +0100
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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?