Re: Favourite Test Equipment

On a sunny day (Thu, 4 Apr 2024 11:55:40 +0200) it happened Klaus Vestergaard
Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote in <uultes$iq0n$1@dont-email.me>:

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.

When a kid you could test if the 4.5 V battery was empty with your tongue
(nowadays likely forbidden to do that ;-)

It is all relative
In the frequency domain the rtl-sdr sticks I have are 1 ppm.
I do have a 10 MHz Rubidium frequency reference, was cheap, from ebay
that I can use for frequency stuff so as to lock the xtal oscillator in my satellite LNB
that has around 10 GHz in and 1 GHz out, into that RTL-SDR stick, was good enough
for SSB reception (so a few hundred Hz accuracy) on QO100
 https://panteltje.nl/pub/octagon_twin_LNB_OTLSO_inside_RT320M_PLL_IMG_6538.JPG
  replaced that crystal in the LNB on the right by 24 Mhz external reference locked to the 10 MHz Rubidium reference
   https://panteltje.nl/pub/ethernet_controlled_LNB_reference_cicuit_diagram_IMG_6848.JPG
    about 1 GHz LNB output to the rtl-sdr stick, so now have a 10 GHz spectrum analyzer.. few Hz precision...
Even without the Rubidium lock:
 https://panteltje.nl/pub/even_cheap_LNBs_can_receive_ESHAIL2_IMG_6775.JPG

Cost, a few Euro, cheap LNBs are 5 dollar on ebay, but have no xtal oscillator but some ceramic resonator so drift a lot, too much for SSB,
but still useful for watching spectra...

signal generator:
 https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/newsflex/download.html#freq_pi

frequency counter;
 https://panteltje.nl/panteltje/pic/freq_pic/index.html
  cost < 10 Euro

Its easy,..