What's on your workbench???

Hello,

It seems more and more instruments and bench power supplies do not have a face of their own and are controlled and displayed by a computer.

Go into an engineering or architects office, you will not see a computer on the desktop. Desktop computer is now a misnomer.

The last couple of years I have been doing this kind of stuff to get the computer and peripherals off the bench.

BRAND NEW Humanscale Platform Ergonomic Keyboard System | Model: 6G90011RF22 | eBay
Humanscale M2 Monitor Arm w/ Clamp Mount Aluminum/White Trim | OO516 | eBay

Thank You DT
 
Not my bench, but rather the contents of my tool bag.

I’m in the process of moving from one worksite to another (same employer) so took my bag home for a well-deserved clean and tidy. This is the bag that I grab when I’m going up antennas and towers to diagnose gear.

In there I have, in no particular order:

  • Prescription safety specs
  • Gloves
  • Fluke 179 DMM with extra fine tips
  • Bahco flat, Phillips and pozidrive screwdrivers
  • Wiha nutdrivers, small screwdrivers and ball drivers
  • Bondhus Allen key set
  • Set of Stahlwille ring spanners
  • Spare tips for my multimeter
  • Magnet finder
  • Spudger
  • Steel rules
  • Scalpel with blades
  • SMA spanner
  • Deburring tool
  • Cleaning brushes
  • Drillbits
  • LED lenser torch
  • Ideal wire stripper
  • Stahlwille socket set
  • Extra Stahlwille hex bits for the socket set
  • Syringes with dispense tips
  • Inspection mirror and magnets for retrieving dropped nuts and bolts
  • Xcelite cutters
  • Lindstrom side cutters and needle nose pliers
  • Leatherman multitool
  • Fibre illuminator
  • Roll of Velcro
  • Abrasive rubber
 

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I Also have three sets of cross - type screwdrivers. One for each standard. My JIS tools were made in Japan and I have more than one set to replace the one that is wearing out now. Same for Hex keys and everything else.

While I do work on one-offs, most is very old equipment that replacement parts are no longer available for. No wear near the value of the things you work on Suzi, but quality is still very important. It's stupid how many specialized tools I have that were required to buy over the years.

-Chris
 
My workbench is typically a mess, but once a month I get out a kitchen timer, set it for an hour, and work putting things back where they belong. For the record, Thomas Edison had a very messy work bench.

What is interesting is that a lot of the mechanical components are more valuable than the passive electronic devices.
 
Tek 454a Analog 150 Mhz scope with original probe and carry case. (1967!)
Hi

This is my Tek 454A. I bought it online, condition as is, from a girl. It belonged to her dad (and apparently to IBM before that). Received a working scope with front cover and three P6106 probes inside:)

BTW, from Tek Wiki:
The Tektronix 454 is a 150 MHz portable dual-trace scope introduced in March 1967. It can be seen as an improved 453. The successor 454A was introduced in 1971.
 

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Love the “property of IBM” on the front panel silkscreen. Looks very well cared for.

My Tektronix 525 had "Property of Grumman" on a brass tag riveted to the side. I bought it from a surplus place on Long Island.

(Long Island was a huge source of aerospace electronics firms.)

Years later I bought a pair of HP 6129 "Voltage Sources" from a fellow who retired from Grumman, also on Long Island. I think I paid $1 each as I was willing to pick them up! Not a lot you can do with these without the controller but they would make a good basis for a 300W amplifier.
 
Nice Scope Alexandre.
I am with Suzy. I recall when we got a new scope in the lab and they (clumsy EE's) would misplace the probe accessories within weeks :rolleyes:

Employee's usually got first dib's on company auctioned test equipment.
I swear I cal'd my 8656B, back in the day, which I later got as an ebay item, from an ex Motorola EE. he got it at an auction when they shutdown the Toronto RF lab. last cal'd by JS at Agilent, who worked beside me at Motorola in the test lab. So happened to fail AM cal, it was a dead Motolola MC3410 DAC, which I so happened to have in my possession, where I lifted one when I worked there, we used it in a auto test fixture I built.

great idea Murray, reminds me of the jiffy pole for my IV line in the hospital :D)

I have a clean bench after finishing with that Pioneer SX-1980 slug
Happy new year test equipment people :)
 
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