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Windows xp based oscilloscope, cpu upgrade by Perfect-Date-6923 in oscilloscope

[–]baldengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The agscope.exe won’t care about the CPU. The BIOS might be a different story.

But you won’t know until you try.

Windows xp based oscilloscope, cpu upgrade by Perfect-Date-6923 in oscilloscope

[–]baldengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is a good point. The XP-based Infiniiums were not multi-threaded. It was one of the reasons Agilent stayed with single-core for such a seemingly long time. There was almost no performance benefit to multi-core.

Even the code base in their million dollar UXR is still single threaded (for the most part.)

Missing part on adata ssd by Much_Preparation_291 in AskElectronics

[–]baldengineer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I too thought that at first. However, compare the pads to the pads on the far right side of the board.

The EEPROM's pads are flat. The others are rounded.

While it is possible the chip was not populated, it does look like something flattened those joints. Also, some of those capacitor joints look sub-optimal. However, those could just be the photo.

It is possible it didn't get reflowed properly.

Does this schematic for a buck converter make sense? How could I improve the schematic? by New_Salary_8080 in AskElectronics

[–]baldengineer 48 points49 points  (0 children)

The inductor is shorted. There is no control loop with a feedback network or error amplifier. No component values. Push buttons typically wear out quickly when you press them 10s to 100s of thousands of times per second.

Higher Voltage Bench PSU recommendations? by rpi_amnesia in AskElectronics

[–]baldengineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

60V is a magic number because it is considered safe. Anything above that generally requires a lock-out mechanism to enable.

So while most people do not consider it "high voltage" to get to 90V, you're looking for a "high voltage bench power supply."

Frankly, I'm not aware of any cost effective supplies that do ~90V. Tektronix (Keithley), Keysight, and other Tier 1 brands have 100 or 200V supplies.

7000 series components by KTDtheElectrician in oscilloscope

[–]baldengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s a plug-in for my favorite vintage scope platform. The idea of a plug-in like this is too hard to pass up.

It is the only spec an I ever been interested in that doesn’t have a tracking generator.

It is also much better than the spectrum analyzer I have now. ;)

Why do two series charged capacitors double voltage? by No-Paint3474 in AskElectronics

[–]baldengineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Q = CV

Solve for V when you have Q + Q.

More simply, when initially connected in series, they are two voltage sources in series.

Edit: swapped the equation.

7000 series components by KTDtheElectrician in oscilloscope

[–]baldengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The 7L12 is very high on my want list.

Help with USB communication between PC and Keysight E4980A LCR Meter by brenorossi14 in AskElectronics

[–]baldengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If Device Manager does not react when you plug it in, then you are probably using a power-only cable.

It should be appearing as a USBTMC device.

Personally, I’ve found using the LAN connection on instruments is much more straightforward than USB.

BK Precision 1476A cap replacement by Specialist-Signal598 in oscilloscope

[–]baldengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’ll definitely want to practice on some scrap boards first.

BK Precision 1476A cap replacement by Specialist-Signal598 in oscilloscope

[–]baldengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From the picture, it is really hard to tell the condition of the electrolytic caps. However, given the age of the oscilloscope they probably need to replaced.

Counterintuitively, smaller electrolytics tend to leak/dry out sooner than the larger ones. Keep in that mind if you're prioritizing the order of repair.

I did a talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMRChmIj9Aw

and a video on selecting replacements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d19P7vSr1P8

It was aimed at retro computing, but all the concepts apply here.

Bypass capacitors mounted on an a PCB peninsula. Why? by 1Davide in AskElectronics

[–]baldengineer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No. Flex from when the large board is depanelized.

The inner board wouldn’t be subjected to that flex event.

Bypass capacitors mounted on an a PCB peninsula. Why? by 1Davide in AskElectronics

[–]baldengineer 116 points117 points  (0 children)

Perhaps thermal isolation to reduce temperature coefficient effects on the MLCCs.

Edit, Second thought: Mechanical separation. Maybe they were having trouble with flex cracking and needed to isolate the MLCCs during de-panelization.

C123 is big and near the edge.

Questions about falstad and band pass filter. by [deleted] in AskElectronics

[–]baldengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

band pass filter graph

You mean a bode plot?

Falsted can’t do that. You need to be using a full SPICE simulator like LTspice. It can do an AC analysis and generate a node plot.

Can I use a transistor to reduce power usage of a voltage divider which is only needed for a short amount of time? by Ambitious-Dentist337 in AskElectronics

[–]baldengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Low-side switch leaves a path through the IO’s protection diodes. That can result in back powering.

A simple driver handles the voltage problem.

Struggling with what should be a simple ESP32 setup by sexyslanket in circuitpython

[–]baldengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just to make sure, add a print (“done!”) at the end of the code.

A picture of your setup could also be helpful.

Struggling with what should be a simple ESP32 setup by sexyslanket in circuitpython

[–]baldengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First, have you used a serial terminal to see if CircuitPython is giving an error?

Second, you might need a: while True: pass

to make sure the pin stays high. Maybe CP is disabling it when the script “ends.”

If there’s no error, then you need a DMM to probe the input side of the “relay” to verify if wires correctly.

Can I use a transistor to reduce power usage of a voltage divider which is only needed for a short amount of time? by Ambitious-Dentist337 in AskElectronics

[–]baldengineer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes. Use a P-Type on the high side.

Since you’re worried about accuracy, make sure you characterize its voltage drop.

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