Electronics? Anybody here fluent?

[DennisThornton 4,769]

Just now, Handy Don said:

PM me from time to time, Dennis.  Send a pic of your Fluke front panel or the model # so I can check its manual.  We'll "spur" you on! (bad pun/joke)

Thanks!

But it's not my Fluke, it's Gregor's.

[Handy Don 10,552]

2 hours ago, wallfish said:

since 80+% of the members here are old men working on their lawnmowers

I resemble that remark 

And you make a good point on the adoption rate (though I think of it as an adaptation rate since learning demands change).

We old guys still have lots of "horsepower" and Dennis' point is valid--where do we get the info we need, calibrated to what we need and the way we learn?  Heck of a good question. I'll try to pitch in, but I am not a fully-vetted guru. All y'all will stop me if I get to "teachy", ok?

[Handy Don 10,552]

3 minutes ago, DennisThornton said:

Thanks!

But it's not my Fluke, it's Gregor's.

Oops. Sorry Dennis & Gregor.  Offer is still open to you, Gregor!

[troutbum70 857]

Does the walmart analog actually have a diode checker? The ability to generate signal to check current flow through the diode gate? 

[DennisThornton 4,769]

7 minutes ago, troutbum63 said:

Does the walmart analog actually have a diode checker? The ability to generate signal to check current flow through the diode gate? 

Even the cheap sometimes give-away Harbor Freight does:

[troutbum70 857]

Yes I have looked at those, but that is not an analog meter. There are analog meters out there like the simpsons and many others that have a diode checker, usually not found in the cheaper ones. I would have to rely on the fluke, unless it is having issues of its own.

[Gregor 4,838]

My Fluke is not a high $ meter. I bought it mainly for the clamp on amp reading feature. It does not have a diode setting. Fortunately for me, the original diodes used on the Wheel Horse are still available. Also fortunate that Wheel Horse made the installation fool proof, as they will only go in one way. Hard to see in  this photo, but there is a small groove in the top contact point in the diode. The top clip in the board also has a "spike" (I guess) to accept this groove.

[Gregor 4,838]

Dennis. Is there a relatively cheap meter out there can can read very low ohms? I would like something to bench test coils ans stators. This can mean readings of as little as 1 or 2 ohms. Sometimes hard to read even on a 10 ohm scale with an analog meter. My digitals just jump around depending on how I ho;ld my mouth. I think we may need some clarification here. (hope I am right on this) An analog meter has a scale and a needle that swings across the scale. A digital meter gives a readings in numbers.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

8 minutes ago, Gregor said:

Dennis. Is there a relatively cheap meter out there can can read very low ohms? I would like something to bench test coils ans stators. This can mean readings of as little as 1 or 2 ohms. Sometimes hard to read even on a 10 ohm scale with an analog meter. My digitals just jump around depending on how I ho;ld my mouth. I think we may need some clarification here. (hope I am right on this) An analog meter has a scale and a needle that swings across the scale. A digital meter gives a readings in numbers.

I was NOT happy with the Harbor Freight and I didn't want to use my good meter everywhere so I bought a AstroAl AM3300 that I'm quite pleased with for low Ohms.

[Handy Don 10,552]

11 minutes ago, Gregor said:

Dennis. Is there a relatively cheap meter out there can can read very low ohms? I would like something to bench test coils ans stators. This can mean readings of as little as 1 or 2 ohms. Sometimes hard to read even on a 10 ohm scale with an analog meter. My digitals just jump around depending on how I ho;ld my mouth. I think we may need some clarification here. (hope I am right on this) An analog meter has a scale and a needle that swings across the scale. A digital meter gives a readings in numbers.

Chiming in, Gregor.

Your Fluke 323 can read down to 0.1 Ohms, with +/- .1 Ohm accuracy per the manual. It also has a "hold" button that lets you freeze the reading. Taking a few samples while holding your mouth in different positions will, hopefully, give you the info you need. 

Manual: https://dam-assets.fluke.com/s3fs-public/32x_____umeng0100.pdf

[Handy Don 10,552]

7 minutes ago, DennisThornton said:

AstroAl AM3300

This is a nice meter at a good price. The fixed Ω ranges are quite useful and less confusing than an auto-ranging meter.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

1 minute ago, Handy Don said:

This is a nice meter at a good price. The fixed Ω ranges are quite useful and less confusing than an auto-ranging meter.

Was the best bang for the buck I could find.

[Handy Don 10,552]

Hello @DennisThornton and @Gregor or anyone else interested, the results of a bit of research:

1. A pocket oscilloscope -- one channel but good ranges and control, modest price, and it's just plain cool. It works out of the box with no muss or fuss. It can store readings so they can be exported to another device via USB (it acts like a USB flash/thumb drive). There is a video on this page that gives a short overview of how an oscilloscope works. This is going on my personal wish list.
  https://www.adafruit.com/product/468?gclid=Cj0KCQiA5bz-BRD-ARIsABjT4njDvyAqZiBVT2lZbyqhAlyf6swTSVtUyXshkiW-qsJxs01SSUYM-IwaAktQEALw_wcB

 

2. Walk through for wiring a simple input device for a capturing a wave using an Android smartphone with an oscilloscope app (app is next bookmark). This has serious limitations as it was custom-made to measure a very narrow range of voltage and doesn't have any built in protection for the Android device. But it does illustrate the principle nicely.

   https://youtu.be/xFA9CdusDWg

 

3. The Android app the fellow in the above video is using:

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=oscilloscope.android&hl=en_US&gl=US

 

4. A more elaborate DIY interface to use with the above app. You have to be pretty serious to go to this trouble. See #1 above :

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okP4a6NrhlQ

 

[Gregor 4,838]

That made my head hurt. Where's my beer?

[Handy Don 10,552]

Apologies. One on me. 

But you did ask...

[DennisThornton 4,769]

1 hour ago, Handy Don said:

Hello @DennisThornton and @Gregor or anyone else interested, the results of a bit of research:

1. A pocket oscilloscope -- one channel but good ranges and control, modest price, and it's just plain cool. It works out of the box with no muss or fuss. It can store readings so they can be exported to another device via USB (it acts like a USB flash/thumb drive). There is a video on this page that gives a short overview of how an oscilloscope works. This is going on my personal wish list.
  https://www.adafruit.com/product/468?gclid=Cj0KCQiA5bz-BRD-ARIsABjT4njDvyAqZiBVT2lZbyqhAlyf6swTSVtUyXshkiW-qsJxs01SSUYM-IwaAktQEALw_wcB

 

2. Walk through for wiring a simple input device for a capturing a wave using an Android smartphone with an oscilloscope app (app is next bookmark). This has serious limitations as it was custom-made to measure a very narrow range of voltage and doesn't have any built in protection for the Android device. But it does illustrate the principle nicely.

   https://youtu.be/xFA9CdusDWg

 

3. The Android app the fellow in the above video is using:

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=oscilloscope.android&hl=en_US&gl=US

 

4. A more elaborate DIY interface to use with the above app. You have to be pretty serious to go to this trouble. See #1 above :

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okP4a6NrhlQ

 

Cute little pocket scope!  Wondering if I should hold out for a dual trace even though I could easily be overwhelmed with a single trace.  

I loved the proto board!  I saved that Vid!  

 

I'm on  a mission to have some backup power, both DC and AC.  Maybe some solar later on.  All I wanted to do right now is check my new Pure Sine Wave Inverter's wave form and that got me wondering about an Android app and I see there were some.  Then I wanted to know more about battery reconditioning and if desulfation was real or not and then either buy or recondition some batteries and repair and make some UPSs.

 

Thanks for your time!

[Handy Don 10,552]

2 hours ago, DennisThornton said:

I'm on  a mission to have some backup power,

I've begun thinking of this too. Triggered by a visit from a solar company trying to put company-owned panels on my roof for which I'd get to use some of the power they generated for 20 years. When I asked about power storage, the conversation ended pretty fast--they rely on the grid.

 

If I hadn't put on a new roof three years ago, I'd be looking at the Tesla solution very seriously--roof, solar collection, and power storage in an integrated system. Musk was just in the news declaring that next year will be a "huge" year for the roof collection business. I think "big" would be a better adjective but I believe he is generally correct.

 

Hoping we get to meet up sometime. I'm sure we'd have a lot to discuss!

[DennisThornton 4,769]

11 hours ago, Handy Don said:

PM me from time to time, Dennis.  Send a pic of your Fluke front panel or the model # so I can check its manual.  We'll "spur" you on! (bad pun/joke)

No "Fluke" again but I'd like to be able to PM you non-the-less!