EEVblog

[@shana_dmr]

About needing to open the multimeter to replace these HRC fuses, in my opinion if someone works in CAT IV environment and blows the fuse on a regular basis he or she should really consider change of profession. Mainly out of his or her safety.

[@elvinhaak]

Are the fuses not only there to protect and maybe, maybe ever need to change them? I remember that if we (installation-work) blew a fuse, we had to give the meter away to some specialist that would check it out and maybe get it returned after a while and mostly use a new meter instead. Safety... (by the way: Dutch (European...) installation company. I think they even used to seal the meters so that we wouldn't open them in the field. Also some kind of insurance-protection probably.

[@absurdengineering]

The fuses are for the current measurements and indeed you shouldn’t be blowing that 11A fuse, like ever.

[@twizz420]

@@absurdengineering Tell that to the students who use the same meters.

[@absurdengineering]

nottacop They give random students access to current sources over 10A? Where???? I haven’t seen that one yet.

[@GadgetAddict]

That Arduino breadboard from StemTera is GENIUS!

[@tubical71]

yea...but sold out....

[@kckoellein]

Got my Defender Arcade from Entex here on the table. Just dug it up the other day and played for an hour. and lo and behold here comes one in Dave's Mailbag! Dave, you need to exercise those 80's gaming thumbs, my friend! Woot!

[@raspam]

Hi Dave, I'm from (not so) Bad Homburg too :) In Germany there are quite a lot "Bad" towns, by the way. But Bad just means "Spa" because of mineral springs and similar convenience for spa guests in that particular town.

[@cbhlde]

Watching from Bad Lübeck here. :p

[@thekaiser4333]

That is bad advertising.

[@VintageTechFan]

@@thekaiser4333 No. It's Bad advertising.

[@JB1RD367]

I like long videos, I really do, but they definitely keep me up way later than I should be up...

[@radarmusen]

The Capacitor in the back in the NLS could be a battery option where the charger has to 'see' the battery installed, that could explain the big terminals.

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

Wow what a bag of goodies ,really loved this video. Nice to see you give the testo gear a bit of a grilling very intresting.

[@ownpj]

It's a lego compatible breadboard, you don't need bresdboard joiners, just more logo blocks.

[@DanielHeppner]

I loved seeing the old multimeter... and Dave's reactions were priceless.

[@muh1h1]

Clear breadboards are a pain in the butt, because you can't really see the holes very well. It gets confusing real quick...

[@tubical71]

bloody shame that they´re out of stock at the moment...at least for the official german supplier NXP (the only i´ve found; non on ebay...) i would have gone for the pink one imediately...but if they re-stock...i would may go for the white one...

[@thetaleteller4692]

German towns prefixed with "Bad" means "Bath" its used for places with special recreational offers.

[@douro20]

The early NLS digital voltmeters used an automated Kelvin bridge whose range was swept using a mechanical chopper. Many of the components were originally designed for telephone switching. They even had auto-ranging.

[@techtalkmike4968]

Hi Dave. Great Mailbag as always. Solana Beach is just North of San Diego, Calif. Beautiful scenic city by the ... yup, you guessed it, beach! Had no idea they manufactured electronic test equipment back in the day. I just always thought it was another Southern Calif. easy going laid back town. Awesome. I'm curious now and will take a drive up there this weekend.

[@EEVblog2]

Don't recall seeing it when I drove north from San Diego once.

[@AstAMoore]

I use a Testo 608-H2 hygrometer at home. Works a treat. No complaints. (It even came with a calibration certificate.)

[@the_real_foamidable]

"Bad" on the beginning of a german town name means that the town earned the status of a health resort.

[@wrnchhead76]

Not only was a video game far beyond my family's budget in 1981, but batteries were a dream for us lol

[@Slow2Life]

The cap on the NLC system is a substitute for the NiCd battery, it's an old trick I have seen before. Essentially, the charging circuit is there, but instead of the battery, you can pop on a decent cap to "fool" the circuit and allow it to still put out the appropriate voltages. If you were so inclined, you could convert it to the portable version.

[@EEVblog2]

Makes sense.

[@tubical71]

Yea, thjat´s what i was thinking as well....also all these repairs on these PCBs...whoever done it, was because a leaking NiCad....if you ever seen the damage made by a leaking NiCad then you know it can cause some serious repair job(s). Also they affect the PCB(s) itself as well causing some more trouble....

[@merashallan]

It may have been Gates gel cells like they used in their miniscopes.

[@crapcbm]

I loved these handheld games back in the time ... ever wanted to have one like this but they were so much expensive ...

[@JLSoftware]

Probably not a good idea to take something apart, unsolder something, see screws fall out all over the place, test it without putting the screws back in, and then complain and whine in frustration that it doesn't seem to work.

[@davidarmenphoto]

thank you. my thoughts as well......

[@tubical71]

That Stemtera UNO...just wow...stopped the video (usually i don´t do this...) and check it out....;)...nananaa...sold out... Sudden ending...heeelo McFly...?? battery check..??!? ;) Nice as always...! thanx, Dave :)

[@hairypaulmm7wab195]

Still use a Magellan 310 GPS occasionally, Been a fair few years since I opened it up to have a nosey inside. The case has several 'clips' and it does pop apart, a bit of fiddling with spudger will get you in :-)

[@GermanToolReviews]

Looks like I might need to invest in some Testo gear.

[@juliannicholls]

I was thinking exactly that, along with a lot of other people, I reckon. They send Dave 8 or 9 meters, costing them less than 500 USD probably, and 55,000+ people see them. I'm willing to bet that most of those 55,000 own and use at least 1 multimeter, and when they come to buy another one, they'll consider Testo, even if they hadn't heard of Testo before this video.

[@314sami]

Never heard of Testo before. They are probably out of my budget for now, but I will keep the name in mind. Silly though how they made 3 different meters for almost same specs.

[@DoRC]

40:55. the note said he cleaned everything and burnished the edge connectors.....

[@hakemon]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates it when autoranging multimeters automatically default to AC, and don't remember my last option. I use a Klein Tools MM700 and it's the same way. Speaking of meters though, I still can't believe I accidentally blew out the SIBA 500mA fuse in my meter. I was measuring an old USB Logitech webcam that wasn't working, and wanted to see what load it was pulling as it had no data on the D+/D- pins, and it blew out the fuse. Turns out it was pulling 700mA due to a shorted cap somewhere on the board. Still haven't replaced it yet, I'll have to do that this weekend before I forget.

[@EEVblog2]

Makes sense for electrical meter I guess, but annoying for electronics use.

[@TechNed]

I still have my Hioki OL-64D which I bought in early '77. The model is similar but mine has a few small differences. The FSD current is 50uA. I think yours is 30uA. The "L.I." scale was for measuring transistor leakage currents, Icbo and Iceo and uses the upper resistance range, which is quite useful if you just want an immediate test current reading. They also added a little insulating collar around the HV input which is +5kV on mine. My movement is also the more common 20kΩ/V unlike that one which appears to be 30kΩ/V. The other interesting ranges are dB, L and C. You needed a circuit with a 10VAC source (and I don't recall what else) to measure inductors. 50VAC for capacitors. I think the dB was ref to 600Ω but I can't find the manual. They didn't put the date of manufacture between the model number and the "Made in Japan". One last thing. the batteries in mine are two 1.5V AA's and a 22.5V Eveready 412 (aka.15F20 or 215) - like a 9V PP3 form factor but with a terminal at either end. That was just used for the top resistance range (more realistically called "RX10K") the other ranges RX1, RX10 and RX1K work without it.

[@caulktel]

That ended rather abruptly, still, it was entertaining. Thanks Dave.

[@mcramp20]

my most favorite handheld game period !

[@ncc74656m]

Nice little load of the Testo gear!!! :D

[@pikadroo]

Take it easy on the red bull before shooting mail bag. 😉

[@w00dyblack]

That Arduino breadboard is cool

[@musicmnw1982]

You're going to need to rent a warehouse eventually. Actually, that's a good thought. One day, you'll have one of the biggest/best collections of retro gear. (...If not already! ) Maybe open a museum. That Defender game is a work of art!

[@AureliusR]

He has a large storage rental actually.

[@tubical71]

called "the bunker" ;)

[@redtails]

sometimes it seems like all electronics people are hoarders. He's already at that level

[@MM-jt6ly]

"You'd get so excited if you had this back in 1981..... as long as you didn't open it!"

[@NoName-bt3oy]

Good stuff Dave, cheers.

[@Boffin55]

You have seen Non-Linear systems before. They went on to make the Kaypro CP/M computer

[@tohopes]

You got so much orange-and-black gear, it looks like Halloween in here.

[@maidpretty]

Non-Linear Systems... founded in 1952 by Andrew Kay, the inventor/designer of the first ever digital voltmeter that NLS developed in 1953. Hey, I think we can say that Non-Linear Systems and Andrew Kay are grandmother and grandfather of all the digital multimeters. That's a piece of history right there.

[@lawrencel3188]

And went on with higher success Kay Pro Computers. But that too failed eventually in the PC clone era.

[@EEVblog2]

Wow, didn't know he was Kay Pro!

[@patburnsent]

Dave, it would be great to have someone from the company who could 'defend' some of the design choices. I understand you have your criticisms but some of this was cutting edge thinking if not cutting edge design. Maybe you could do a followup video... just sayin. It would be a Bobby Dazzler I'm sure.

[@randycarter2001]

I bet the battery version of the Touch Test meter had the battery connected in place of the capacitor board. There is a rather large compartment for the battery in that area as well.

[@richardgoebel226]

Solana Beach is just a bit north of San Diego. Touch Test definitely designed and built by an electronics engineer.

[@Bence507]

High-end product, flux on the board: it's okay Chinese stuff, flux on the board: GAAARBIGE

[@Moved2Rumble]

I had several of these types of toys as a child, they were amazing back in the day. My favorites were Galaga, Pole Position, Dig Dug and Pac-Man.

[@BlackburnBigdragon]

I would KILL to get my hands on that handheld "Defender" game. Haha!! I love things like that.

[@mUbase]

The STEMTera. What a monumentally beautiful and fantastic idea!!!! :)

[@tom7601]

My brother worked for NLS here in Southern California. I have an LED panel meter from them, I believe it's DC only but don't remember.

[@Indiskret1]

I really, really like your recent videos. More or less exactly what I voted for, EEVblog is once again on top of my list! :) Edit: And you're looking to have fun again!

[@electronicsNmore]

I had that Defender game. :-)

[@drrobotnik5376]

i remember very faintly my friend down the road had it when I was 8, i was looking where it was ... cause i was a handheld game thief back then, i needed it bad....

[@robertrijkers4923]

30:20 magicgate is sony's copy protection system used also on their memory sticks which also fit in this clie

[@VoidHalo]

Love the German words on the back of the multimeter box at 12:35. Reminds me of the blinkenlichten (blinken lights) warning sign if anyone's ever seen the full text of that. I think I'm going to have to stat using the word diodentest from now on.

[@MartynDavies]

4:19 HD38820 is 4-bit microprocessor/microcontroller. Those were the days.

[@crocellian2972]

On the AC box meter, the cap board stands in for a large battery option so it worked without mains power. All it did was allow direct AC use. Smoothed things out a bit. This thing was used in ugly environments. They did not build this type of device to survive very well so you hung it around your neck and made measurements as fast as you could. I saw them in use in saw and paper mills in the 1970's. Millwrights used them to check controls before calling in the electricians It was a union thing. Only IBREW union members could touch real multimeters so the millwrights got these sorts of weird box meters. The hackorama is typical. If you thought you knew how something worked back then, out came the hammer and tongs. No RMAs in those days. You may note that some boards were untouched. That is likely because no one around knew what it did. Your unit is a decade "newer" so there were some "improvements" like the through board isolation things. You could blow up one section (because no one knew where the manual was" but still make other parts work. These are from a different time zone and used by on the job trained guys working in a sump pit on a cranky pump control trying to keep the electricians out so the foreman did not hit you with a wrench.

[@mkirkelund]

11:06 These are not new, these are brand new.. Nice one Dave 😃

[@jusaca01]

"Bad" is a term for german cities which have some kind of big thermal bath or a saline or other natural health treatments. There are quite a lot of them like Bad Reichenhall, Bad Arolsen, Bad Karlshafen and many many others ;)

[@wrnchhead76]

I just yesterday read about a town called Bad-something. I knew there had to be more to it lol, good to know!

[@JasperJanssen]

You can get ICL710x based kits for pretty decent single range panel meters that are very cheap.

[@zaprodk]

I wouldn't call the white teflon-wires strung from the penetrators bodge wires - they are high-z nodes.

[@H32-u7d]

i love long mailbags !

[@santopino2546]

46:58 SGS Fab is still existing and operating in Italy, I pass it everyday going to work, it's right near the highway exit of Agrate Brianza near Milano in the north, as you shown in the video, it's now called STMicroelectronics since SGS and Thompson joined together. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STMicroelectronics

[@MrJamesonStyles]

For the Testo DMM, I would strongly suspect that they don't have a door to get at the fuses because it would be very difficult to waterproof it reliably. I'm sure it was deemed necessary to seal that off in order to meet submersion standards. I think the o-rings on the screws and the grease around the encasement grooves speak to some effort made toward waterproofing. That said, given that they're making the end user open the case to replace the fuse, it would've been nice if they could've done metal inserts instead of self-tappers, so that criticism still remains valid.

[@EEVblog2]

Fluke do it in the 28

[@marioursino3966]

Hi! Just wanted to let you know that SGS was the first name of STmicroelectronics.

[@nonsuch]

I see no difference in the STEMTera or having an Uno with the prototyping shield really.

[@leisergeist]

Yeah... Just a more "friendly" package (kid friendly?) And it seems a bit bigger

[@nonsuch]

Agreed. However, you can basically get 4 Uno's and 4 proto shields for $45.

[@AlistairBuxton]

I like it. It's tidy. Would prefer if it was based on leo though.

[@John_Ridley]

I prefer to use nanos and plug them in. As a bonus the screw terminal boards that are available to plug nanos into are fantastic for putting Arduinos into a real environment. Screw terminal board and the nano are about $6 on eBay so it's very cheap too.

[@BulletMagnet83]

It's cute as hell though :D 11-year-old me would've absolutely loved it. Those old Tandy 300-in-one project labs were great, but I wish I'd had access to stuff like this back in my formative years!

[@meowcula]

The STEMterra reminds me of those electronics science sets from the 80s, like from radio shack with the spring terminals... this is much better. wow if i had this when i was a kiddo...

[@gblargg]

4:14 That chip in the Defender game is from 1988, a good deal after 1981.

[@redtails]

28:07 he seems more excited about the old analog meter than about the Testco meter Oh and you wrote Tesco in the video description, just a little thing

[@themaconeau]

Wonder if that Magellan GPS can be used as an NTP time source :)

[@SkyCharger001]

The fact that the torch is somewhat shaped like a cat reminds me of the fact that its counterpart from the 1940s (a so-called 'knijpkat') sounded like a cat yowling.

[@nrdesign1991]

7:58 Dave! That's what the Lego back is for! :-)

[@VoltageLP]

Does Dave have any videos on 3 phase H-bridges or brushless motor controllers in general?

[@o_-_o]

That just brings tears to the pants.

[@cryptnotic]

The Non-Linear Systems, Inc. Touch Test 20 looks like the product of a startup company formed by former Southern California defense company engineers with experience of making modular boards for which they had no idea what kind of weapon system they would be a part of. I appreciate their efforts and hope they didn't destroy their families' economic stability to pursue their dreams.

[@johncundiss9098]

Testo meters... No shielding lining the case? No shielding cover?

[@Kris_M]

0:51 There's a hole in the back of the foam to push out the console... :-)

[@NoName-bt3oy]

Dave, measure that Testo thermocouple module(V/degC), see if it can be used with other meters etc.

[@thedailyaudit2225]

wouldn't the legos on the bottom let you expand the STEMTera?

[@phalcon23]

good point, just build it over... only problem what other bread boards have lego on the bottom? But I see your point

[@userPrehistoricman]

It's marketing. You buy one STEMTera and you have to buy more

[@thedailyaudit2225]

super glue some lego onto whatever

[@meowcula]

I LOVED defender, well on the atari 2600 and the arcade. This version misses out on the fast-paced-ness of the arcade game... oh memories. So glad I was an 80s kid.

[@AureliusR]

Either you, Shahriar or Mike have had a Non-Linear Systems item on your shows before. One of you googled the headquarters (IIRC) and the street address appeared to now be just a laundromat. What a strange fact for me to remember. No idea which video!

[@MrAtaristic]

Did he ever get the Sinclair electric vehicle going?

[@UpcycleElectronics]

22:33 Can someone tell me how Dave knows an Analog Devices logo and Y3_4 marking correlates to "AD8495?" Experience? Off shot Schematic? Magic? Yoda?

[@flagmedownmedia]

Dave I have a question for you. The blue device that is just above your right shoulder, is that a Bryman portable scope?

[@strangersound]

I did one better than play the handheld...I logged many an hour on Defender/Stargate at the local 7-11 and the arcades at the mall. :) I think a video dedicated to the Testo gear would be cool. They deserve it for sending a box loaded with what appears to be an entire product line.

[@nonsuch]

I used to have that Defender. And Tron!

[@wrnchhead76]

Why not keep a 10 pound knife overhead on a shelf, LMAO

[@AstroSam66]

There is no "P" in Thomson :-) It was a French brand. In the 80th they bought the "Telefunken" brand. And they used their TV chassis and all that stuff and sold it under their brand.

[@cooperbaker]

Surfed at Solana Beach this morning :)

[@EEVblog2]

Nice!

[@josipzlk8019]

got to power it up before we turn it on ???

[@VamosJogar]

Muitos itens interessantes como sempre. A lot of interesting stuff as always.

[@Ihavetruth22]

Is Dave keeping those multimeters? I will take one.

[@Arhentir]

This is hand drawn and soldered pcb.

[@da5idnz]

I still have the Pac-Man by Grandstand that I had when we were kids. It had the big, round, yellow case. We thought it was great back then. Same type of LED game.

[@DaveMcAnulty]

Del Mar and Solana beach are in San Diego county.

[@rwbishop]

A buddy & I were in the coin-op video game biz back in the 80's. We had a few Defenders, and as with most Williams stuff, the hardware was pretty dependable[1]! Funny thing though, in some locations Defender hardly covered it's power consumption, and in others the cash box would frequently over flow[2]. All in all, Stargate did better, and was more easily configured through preferences to match it's location... [1] But IMHO, most Williams stuff did require more frequent cleanings and monitor degaussing, lest it became disgusting looking... [2] Earlier Williams products cash boxes were way small... especially if the machine were placed in a high traffic location.

[@siskodata]

Hands up Palm OS Sony CLIÉ PEG-UX50 nice PDA when I saw it the first time at a Computer Fair my jaw dropped. Still have it don't use it (in my collection vintage computers and consoles) but still think it has the looks today after 14 years.

[@backyardbasher]

Testo Invoice shall arrive shortly

[@ManLikeMatts]

41:43 in the note the guy said he replaced all the socket chips loool

[@codebeat4192]

Do a teardown of the Sony PEO thingy - CLIE 29:38 - You said: I leave it open for a separated teardown.... still no teardown in 2019, bummer, no Bobby Dazzler ;-) That Sony tech looks amazing, there must be a teardown.....

[@sonicahedgehog9814]

Yass my favorite type of video from dave.

[@DoRC]

Link Hylian it's everyone's favorite :)

[@imagineaworld]

Its not my favorite segment, but it is the only segment of yours youtube will recomend.

[@NathanLithia]

I'm surprised i didn't find your channel earlier :)

[@wombora]

"Bad" is a prefix for german spa cities basically translated to Bath en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spa_town#Germany

[@EpicLPer]

For these star shaped screw simply use a tiny enough - screwdriver (don't know what they're called in English lol). That's how I always do it.

[@stonent]

On the big chip in the NLS meter it said 8052, but I wasn't sure if that was the date or what it was, (an 8052 MCU)

[@ccdimage]

I wonder if it is some sort of T11 clone. A one off processor that uses PDP11.

[@EEVblog2]

I assumed it was the date.

[@stonent]

Strange sudden ending.

[@kevinjacquot3183]

That big cap really looks out of place. And all that empty space... I think someone put it there in place of a battery that was originaly here for dome reason. It say "charging input" on the back.