AVO meter repairs.

[Sideways]

I have noticed a few Fluke/Philips analogue scopes from the 90's on ebay of late. The PM3082, 3984, and the combiscope versions with a little digital memory are quite high tech as analogue goes, capable, and can be bought for maybe 5% of what they cost when new.
A jaunt down memory lane.

I love that the mini coax cables are tied together with lacing cord.

 

[Spectric]

are tied together with lacing cord

Not such a good memory, at Marconi's the instructor would get you lacing up large looms in cabinets and then when you were finished measure the spacing of the little knots and look for any untidy branches or wires crossing and then make you do it again if not perfect.

 

[MikeK]

Not such a good memory, at Marconi's the instructor would get you lacing up large looms in cabinets and then when you were finished measure the spacing of the little knots and look for any untidy branches or wires crossing and then make you do it again if not perfect.

Oh...the painful memories are starting to resurface. As a young Soldier, I had to lace up hundreds of RG-214 coax runs in the cable trays in blocks of 25 (5x5) between patch panels. The bundles had to be laced in one-foot increments, so it took a few weeks to bundle all of the cables.

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

I remember learning how to lace looms as an apprentice under the tutelage of an ex-Marconi (Chelmsford) wireman but I've forgotten the knot these days. I do recall however that you could break the lacing anywhere and it would not unravel.

 

[Sideways]

I feel a brotherhood building here
Lacing was one of the first things that you were taught at Marconi, often applied to large bundles of high temperature pink PTFE insulated wire. Slippery stuff and all of it the same so the ends needed to be marked and soldered joints often protected with rubber sleeving ...

 

[HOJ]

I was using a roll of lacing cord today to fix a dog lead, had this since the late 80's:


From when I worked for IBM/BT in the old Strowger exchanges, along with box stitching hundreds of miles of cables we pulled in on ladder racks, all over the UK, to integrate the new system X exchanges, then along came the cable tie! I was then contracting to Unisys again to work with BT but also the MOD & USAF, they kept the Strowger systems running in case of a big bang, we were then checked to make sure they were flush cut with no sharp edges!!

 

[Spectric]

Were these the days before tyraps, I do recall using some of the early heatshrink sleeving made by Raychem, at this time it was all rubber sleeves and the nice smelling sleeve lube with those three pronged tools one should not put in there pockets !

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

I'm glad someone else calls them tyraps! Everyone looks at me peculiarly when I say that so I have to change to cable ties.
I recall soaking PVC? sleeving in tric (trichoroethalene?) until it increased in size, putting it on the cable and letting it shrink back to normal. Happy days.
Oh and BTW we called the three pronged sleeving pliers honeymoon pliers. I wonder why? I still have a pair.
Martin

 

[Sideways]

Yes
Exactly that, short lengths of rubber tube, silicon lube and the 3 prong pliers.
The very first tie wraps I came across were quality nylon things with a very fine ratchet action and a small piece of stainless steel for the "tooth". Not the all plastic, one piece design of today.

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

The very first tie wraps I came across were quality nylon things with a very fine ratchet action and a small piece of stainless steel for the "tooth".

You can still get them. Thomas and Betts from distributors like Farnell. Still the best IMHO.

 

[Johnwa]

Our old gaffer wouldnt let us use tiewraps or cable tray he always said " whats wrong with drilling and fixing a clip with a pin". Thank god he retired lol. I agree Thomas and Betts were excellent tiewraps I think they were the first on the market with them.

 

[pe2dave]

To watch a trained wireman run and solder a run of 40 or 50 wires was a real treat. Such a skill.

 

[deema]

Storage scope…..now as a young electronics engineer working on the bench I’d have given my right arm to get a play on one if those…..the only one we had in the company was the preserve of the most senior engineers! It was only brought out for very special occasions before being placed back into its hollowed place of rest, usually after a ritual sacrifice of any lowly engineer who’s eyes and sometimes hands strayed towards it.

 

[Mick p]

Were these the days before tyraps, I do recall using some of the early heatshrink sleeving made by Raychem, at this time it was all rubber sleeves and the nice smelling sleeve lube with those three pronged tools one should not put in there pockets !

What one of these was my father-in-laws

 

[HOJ]

Thomas and Betts

That's a name from my past, used to get a lot of freebies from them, wife worked for them (Ex that is)

I was thinking today I can't remember when we started using tyraps, zip ties, cable ties etc, when I was wiring out print presses and production machinery we always used bits of SWA armour to tie the cables on to the cable tray until they were all in but can't for the life of me remember what we did to finish off, has been a while though, again back to early 80's.

 

[pe2dave]

What one of these was my father-in-laws

Very fond memories. We used to build 6' racks of radio equipment. These were an essential tool (darned if I can remember their name) to finish all the joints. Beautiful design, worked perfectly (never used a lubricant though?)

 

[HOJ]

darned if I can remember their name

I knew them as Hellerman pliers

 

[pe2dave]

I knew them as Hellerman pliers

Thank you. (Going back a bit I know)

 

[Spectric]

Just remembered the name hellerman, that was the sleeve lube .

 

[pe2dave]

Just remembered the name hellerman, that was the sleeve lube .

IIRC they made both, the tools and the sleeves (latter not much use without the former?).
Hellerman oil? Call myself a liar? Slide on the sleeve, solder the wire to the connector, dab of oil,
slide down the sleeve onto the connector?