Home lab suggestions?
Bookmark this page:
 Yahoo!
 Google
 Windows Live
 del.icio.us
 digg
 Netscape
|
|
Posted by Phil Hobbs on August 2, 2006, 1:37 pm
Please log in for more thread options Well, after raising two very fine daughters who both turned out to be gifted in fuzzy subjects such as languages and history and bunk like that, my son is showing signs of technical aptitude and interest. Therefore, I'm putting together a lowish-budget home lab off ebay, with an eye to doing some Jacob's ladders or Tesla coils or stuff like that there, with maybe an electro-optical thing now and again, such as a machine to detect deer and hit them with paintballs. ;) So far, I have: Tek 475A 250 MHz scope with DMM; 2x HP 6286 20V, 10A power supplies; 1x HP 8013B 50 MHz pulser; HP 400A AC Voltmeter; Various Simpson meters and Fluke DVMs and such like. Enough probes and test leads for now. I already owned the DVM, but so far the rest have cost me about $400 all told. Some of this stuff I had to get my second line manager's approval on, when I bought it for work long ago! Nice old test equipment is monstrous cheap. I'm bidding on various HP universal counters and Exact function generators, which I like. Haven't got enough dough for a spectrum analyzer, unfortunately. Remaining budget is ~$400. So which of your favourite old instruments have I forgotten? Cheers, Phil | ||||
|
Posted by martin griffith on August 2, 2006, 1:59 pm
Please log in for more thread options On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 13:37:00 -0400, in sci.electronics.design Phil What sort of mechanical tools do you have? A descent bench vice, pillar drill and assorted blunt drills and a variac martin | ||||
|
Posted by Phil Hobbs on August 2, 2006, 2:10 pm
Please log in for more thread options
martin griffith wrote: > On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 13:37:00 -0400, in sci.electronics.design Phil
> > >>Well, after raising two very fine daughters who both turned out to be
>>gifted in fuzzy subjects such as languages and history and bunk like >>that, my son is showing signs of technical aptitude and interest. >> >>Therefore, I'm putting together a lowish-budget home lab off ebay, with >>an eye to doing some Jacob's ladders or Tesla coils or stuff like that >>there, with maybe an electro-optical thing now and again, such as a >>machine to detect deer and hit them with paintballs. ;) >> >>So far, I have: >> >>Tek 475A 250 MHz scope with DMM; >> >>2x HP 6286 20V, 10A power supplies; >> >>1x HP 8013B 50 MHz pulser; >> >>HP 400A AC Voltmeter; >> >>Various Simpson meters and Fluke DVMs and such like. >> >>Enough probes and test leads for now. >> >>I already owned the DVM, but so far the rest have cost me about $400 all >>told. Some of this stuff I had to get my second line manager's approval >>on, when I bought it for work long ago! Nice old test equipment is >>monstrous cheap. >> >>I'm bidding on various HP universal counters and Exact function >>generators, which I like. Haven't got enough dough for a spectrum >>analyzer, unfortunately. Remaining budget is ~$400. >> >>So which of your favourite old instruments have I forgotten? >> >>Cheers, >
> > What sort of mechanical tools do you have? > A descent bench vice, pillar drill and assorted blunt drills > > and a variac > > > martin Good point. Don't have enough of those things, especially no drill press. I have a Panavise and hand drills, but that isn't the same. Variacs I've been looking at, but I'm mostly going to be starting from good-quality DC power, at least initially, so I can do the "gradual smoke test" with the panel knobs. Cheers, Phil Hobbs | ||||
|
Posted by Chris Jones on August 3, 2006, 6:53 pm
Please log in for more thread options
Phil Hobbs wrote: > martin griffith wrote:
>> On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 13:37:00 -0400, in sci.electronics.design Phil
>> >> >>>Well, after raising two very fine daughters who both turned out to be
>>>gifted in fuzzy subjects such as languages and history and bunk like >>>that, my son is showing signs of technical aptitude and interest. >>> >>>Therefore, I'm putting together a lowish-budget home lab off ebay, with >>>an eye to doing some Jacob's ladders or Tesla coils or stuff like that >>>there, with maybe an electro-optical thing now and again, such as a >>>machine to detect deer and hit them with paintballs. ;) >>> >>>So far, I have: >>> >>>Tek 475A 250 MHz scope with DMM; >>> >>>2x HP 6286 20V, 10A power supplies; >>> >>>1x HP 8013B 50 MHz pulser; >>> >>>HP 400A AC Voltmeter; >>> >>>Various Simpson meters and Fluke DVMs and such like. >>> >>>Enough probes and test leads for now. >>> >>>I already owned the DVM, but so far the rest have cost me about $400 all >>>told. Some of this stuff I had to get my second line manager's approval >>>on, when I bought it for work long ago! Nice old test equipment is >>>monstrous cheap. >>> >>>I'm bidding on various HP universal counters and Exact function >>>generators, which I like. Haven't got enough dough for a spectrum >>>analyzer, unfortunately. Remaining budget is ~$400. >>> >>>So which of your favourite old instruments have I forgotten? >>> >>>Cheers, >>
>> >> What sort of mechanical tools do you have? >> A descent bench vice, pillar drill and assorted blunt drills >> >> and a variac >> >> >> martin >
> Good point. Don't have enough of those things, especially no drill > press. I have a Panavise and hand drills, but that isn't the same. > Variacs I've been looking at, but I'm mostly going to be starting from > good-quality DC power, at least initially, so I can do the "gradual > smoke test" with the panel knobs. > > Cheers, > > Phil Hobbs Variacs are fun for experimenting with motors, electromagnets, small coil guns, Jacob's ladder etc., make sure it has a circuit breaker or fuse that will protect the variac and make sure you have an earth leakage (or whatever you call them) breaker for the bench to cut it off if anyone gets a shock of the kind that one of those can detect (but it won't help for the Jacob's ladder). Chris | ||||
|
Posted by Phil Hobbs on August 3, 2006, 6:15 pm
Please log in for more thread options
Chris Jones wrote: > Phil Hobbs wrote:
> > >>martin griffith wrote:
>> >>>On Wed, 02 Aug 2006 13:37:00 -0400, in sci.electronics.design Phil
>>> >>> >>> >>>>Well, after raising two very fine daughters who both turned out to be >>>>gifted in fuzzy subjects such as languages and history and bunk like >>>>that, my son is showing signs of technical aptitude and interest. >>>> >>>>Therefore, I'm putting together a lowish-budget home lab off ebay, with >>>>an eye to doing some Jacob's ladders or Tesla coils or stuff like that >>>>there, with maybe an electro-optical thing now and again, such as a >>>>machine to detect deer and hit them with paintballs. ;) >>>> >>>>So far, I have: >>>> >>>>Tek 475A 250 MHz scope with DMM; >>>> >>>>2x HP 6286 20V, 10A power supplies; >>>> >>>>1x HP 8013B 50 MHz pulser; >>>> >>>>HP 400A AC Voltmeter; >>>> >>>>Various Simpson meters and Fluke DVMs and such like. >>>> >>>>Enough probes and test leads for now. >>>> >>>>I already owned the DVM, but so far the rest have cost me about $400 all >>>>told. Some of this stuff I had to get my second line manager's approval >>>>on, when I bought it for work long ago! Nice old test equipment is >>>>monstrous cheap. >>>> >>>>I'm bidding on various HP universal counters and Exact function >>>>generators, which I like. Haven't got enough dough for a spectrum >>>>analyzer, unfortunately. Remaining budget is ~$400. >>>> >>>>So which of your favourite old instruments have I forgotten? >>>> >>>>Cheers, >>> >>> >>>What sort of mechanical tools do you have? >>>A descent bench vice, pillar drill and assorted blunt drills >>> >>> and a variac >>> >>> >>>martin >>
>>Good point. Don't have enough of those things, especially no drill >>press. I have a Panavise and hand drills, but that isn't the same. >>Variacs I've been looking at, but I'm mostly going to be starting from >>good-quality DC power, at least initially, so I can do the "gradual >>smoke test" with the panel knobs. >> >>Cheers, >> >>Phil Hobbs >
> > Variacs are fun for experimenting with motors, electromagnets, small coil > guns, Jacob's ladder etc., make sure it has a circuit breaker or fuse that > will protect the variac and make sure you have an earth leakage (or > whatever you call them) breaker for the bench to cut it off if anyone gets > a shock of the kind that one of those can detect (but it won't help for the > Jacob's ladder). > > Chris Right, HV safety is important, but on the other hand a boy has to do some real stuff to grow up. Pyrotechnics, firearms, rotating machinery, and high voltage are good candidates--much safer than talking to strange women, say. It's no use growing up into a perfectly safe wimp. I learned about high voltage the hard way when I was about 14--I was building a 1.5 kV power supply for a transmitter. I couldn't afford the transmitter parts, but the power supply I could build from cast-off TVs, so I did. It had a monster 750V CT transformer from an old Admiral 26-inch colour set, that must have weighed 50 pounds. It was a choke input bridge rectifier setup, because I only had one HV cap. I was working on it in front of a window in the attic, which was the 3rd floor, above a verandah, holding the chassis in my left hand, when I accidentally touched the B+ output with my right index finger. I woke up across the room on the floor, but the supply went through the window pane, knocked two shingles out of the porch roof, and embedded itself in the lawn. I still have the scar on my finger--it's a good reminder of my mortality. Cheers, Phil Hobbs BTW: Just picked up an irresistible bargain on a Tek 464 storage scope. I'm swearing off Ebay for a month. PH | ||||
| Similar Threads | Posted |
| Home lab suggestions? | August 2, 2006, 1:37 pm |
| Home Speech recognition for Home Automation | September 9, 2007, 8:13 am |
| Get dollars at home by work at home | September 27, 2007, 12:46 am |
| Providing online jobs, work at home employment and work at home business opportunities. | March 13, 2008, 8:06 am |
| THANKS FOR ALL THE SUGGESTIONS | March 7, 2006, 12:04 pm |
| OT: Quiz - more suggestions? | December 19, 2004, 3:43 pm |
| Bluetooth Suggestions? | January 21, 2006, 3:31 pm |
| Microcontroller; any suggestions? | June 5, 2006, 1:09 pm |
| Buffer Amp IC suggestions plse | September 22, 2005, 9:14 am |
| Suggestions for color LCD controller? | October 7, 2005, 9:25 am |
| need suggestions on MOLEX connectors | November 10, 2005, 1:40 am |
| Thesis proposal... (Looking for suggestions) | September 23, 2006, 12:50 am |
| Suggestions for 1kW, unregulated SMPS | December 4, 2006, 9:19 am |
| GSM /GPRS Module suggestions | January 31, 2007, 1:46 am |
| Suggestions for 24V white led light | March 1, 2007, 12:47 pm |
>gifted in fuzzy subjects such as languages and history and bunk like
>that, my son is showing signs of technical aptitude and interest.
>
>Therefore, I'm putting together a lowish-budget home lab off ebay, with
>an eye to doing some Jacob's ladders or Tesla coils or stuff like that
>there, with maybe an electro-optical thing now and again, such as a
>machine to detect deer and hit them with paintballs. ;)
>
>So far, I have:
>
>Tek 475A 250 MHz scope with DMM;
>
>2x HP 6286 20V, 10A power supplies;
>
>1x HP 8013B 50 MHz pulser;
>
>HP 400A AC Voltmeter;
>
>Various Simpson meters and Fluke DVMs and such like.
>
>Enough probes and test leads for now.
>
>I already owned the DVM, but so far the rest have cost me about $400 all
>told. Some of this stuff I had to get my second line manager's approval
>on, when I bought it for work long ago! Nice old test equipment is
>monstrous cheap.
>
>I'm bidding on various HP universal counters and Exact function
>generators, which I like. Haven't got enough dough for a spectrum
>analyzer, unfortunately. Remaining budget is ~$400.
>
>So which of your favourite old instruments have I forgotten?
>
>Cheers,