My Brand New Laboratory - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 06:28:53 pm
content: Just thought I'd share with you some photos of my new lab setup. Some of the more notable pieces of equipment I have purchased for it include:* Oscilloscope: Rigol DS1052E (Hacked to DS1102E)* Multimeter: Rigol DM3058* Function Generator: Instek SFG-1003* Arbitrary Signal Generator: Rigol DG2041A* Power Supply: Instek GPS-4303* Logic Analyser: OpenBench Logic Sniffer + Laser cut case* LCR Meter: B&K Precision 879B* Soldering Iron: Hakko FX-888* 4-Wire Kelvin Leads: PMK TKL-065And some additional development tools:* FPGA Development Board: Digilent Atlys (Xilinx Spartan-6)* FPGA Development Board: Terasic DE0 Nano (Alterra Cyclone IV)* Microcontroller: Atmel AtMega32 General Purpose Board (Something I put together quickly)* AVR Programmer: AVR Dragon* PIC Programmer: PICKit 2Plus of course all the bins of passive components I have had for quite a while now. If anyone is considering purchasing one of these devices and wants my opinion of them from my use thus far, just reply to this thread and I'll get in contact with you.image hosting

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 06:30:38 pm
content: png uploadupload gif

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 06:32:14 pm
content: image uploaderadult image hostingfree image hosting

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 07:01:44 pm
content: Very nice! So new and clean, ready for work.

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 07:41:30 pm
content: Looks like the same plastic folding tables I'm using. Not totally sure, because I haven't seen them in two months with my messy bench.Been just stacking things on the bench, rather than working, with relatives sick in the hospital.

author: Kibi
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 19, 2011, 10:29:37 pm
content: That's a nice setup to start with.I am in the process of setting up my new lab again. I had loads of equipment and stock components back home in Zimbabwe, but I lost the whole lot except my multimeters that I managed to hang on to.I'd highly recommend the Ikea Jerker desk. They don't make it anymore for reasons that I just can't fathom, but they can be found on Ebay from time to time for very sensible money. I have got two such desks and on the lookout for another for good measure.

author: elCap
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 01:27:17 am
content: Nice lab! Quite similar to mine; same Power Supply, Arb func gen, solder station, LCR, Pickit 2, and even the small fan is same.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 01:55:38 am
content: That's disgustingly clean, mess it up a bit!Dave.

author: slburris
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 02:45:54 am
content: Any comments on the Rigol DM3058, Instek SFG-1003, and Rigol DG2041A?Maybe a mini-review of them? :-)I don't suppose you feel like opening them up and posting photos of the insides?Where do you get the Rigol equipment? The DS1052E is available everywhere, evenamazon.com, but few places actually seem to stock anything else of Rigol's line.Scott

author: gregariz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 03:18:05 am
content: you can come and clean mine... I dont want to enter(...crap pic... standing on one leg with cell.. hanging onto racks)

author: dimlow
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 06:44:39 am
content: Quote from: gregariz on July 20, 2011, 03:18:05 amWhat ya mean.. Thats pretty tidy. i cant see the desk, have trouble finding the keyboard at times.@olsenn you got some nice kit there, envious

author: pablo
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 07:29:01 am
content: I would like to hear about your Instek function generator.Any comments?

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 09:04:58 am
content: ok, just cos we needed more messy desks.Pic taken

author: hacklordsniper
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 09:26:30 am
content: Oh my... that's really some messy desks. I have some kind of psychical distress and cant be calm if everything is not perfectly clean all the time in house. Every weekend i remove all my electronic equipment from benches and clean them, remove dust, apply caring chemicals to lcd-s, polish my bench with wax and i even clean power cables from dust. Then i align all back with digital caliper because everything needs to be in perfect position and distance. Yeah I'm sick

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 10:55:21 am
content: I only clean my desk when i'm starting a new project.

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 12:46:27 pm
content: Thanks for all the comments. Trust me, the only reason my workroom is clean right now is because I just moved all my junk down into my basement and spent two days cleaning it all out to have a fresh start.@slburris: Most of the more expensive equipment, including all three Rigol machines, I purchased at "tequipment.net". They can be slow to ship at times but I find them to be a fairly reputable company to deal with. When spending $4000 CAD on test equipment, it's nice to know they're not going to steal your money. Besides that, they all are new and come with a certificate of calibration. I believe there is a link on Dave's website here to it... if you use it you'll probably be helping him out too. Use the coupon code "CHATFIVE" for 5% off and if you order Rigol products, sometimes you can get an additional 10% off (educational pricing).I'm not going to take them apart just yet because if I do, I immediately void the warranty, but eventually I'll do a full teardown on them.

author: gregariz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2011, 08:39:50 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on July 20, 2011, 10:55:21 amSomeone once said there are 2 types of labs, messy ones and those where nothing ever happens....

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 12:17:11 am
content: Quote from: gregariz on July 20, 2011, 08:39:50 pmthat is a very strange comparison. i usually heard like... messy ones compared to not messy one, or not so messy, or 80% messy, and.... happening everytime, not ever happen, sometime happen sometime not, 78.5% happening etc.messy one doesnt means something is going on (happening) my 2cnts

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 12:34:04 am
content: Quote from: gregariz on July 20, 2011, 08:39:50 pmI would bet that was you that said that.There are those odd times you really should be working with a clean bench, like when dealing with high voltage/power circuits (are you reading this Psi?) but meh...can't continue swimming against the river forever.

author: gregariz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 12:36:20 am
content: Quote from: Alex on July 21, 2011, 12:34:04 amNo it was a ham operator I knew when I was a kid... it was an exercise in danger going in there

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 12:46:42 am
content: Quote from: gregariz on July 21, 2011, 12:36:20 amRole-model of yours? I can tell!I am glad you dont have your benches like some promotional videos where you have the huge white bench, a tiny development board connected to a tiny laptop, and a happy engineer with a corporal T-shirt. But finding screwdrivers dissolved in the etching tank is probably a good sign you need to tidy up, I would argue.

author: gregariz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 12:49:33 am
content: Quote from: Alex on July 21, 2011, 12:46:42 amI must admit my bench is particularly bad at the moment... too much going on

author: johnboxall
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 01:30:59 am
content: Quote from: Psi on July 20, 2011, 10:55:21 amDitto. Though recently I bought a cheapo trestle table from officeworks ... makes doing two things at once much easier.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2011, 02:36:08 am
content: Quote from: Alex on July 21, 2011, 12:34:04 amhaha, i was wondering if anyone would notice that in the pic

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2011, 08:48:29 pm
content: I agree, finding (what's left) of a screwdriver in ferric chloride is a pretty good indicator that your lab is too messy

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2011, 02:15:05 am
content: One of the best features of the Rigol multimeter is its datalogging capabilities. The LabView based software, UltraView costs around $200, but if you install the 30-day trial that comes on the included cdrom, you can extend the trial indefinitely simply by setting your system time back. I use a program called "Runasdate" to automatically pass it a dummy value for system time at start up and it works great.I will note though that the provided software for the Rigol function generator SUCKS!!! I have to save the arb waveform files to a usb key and transfer them over manually because the software doesn't detect the machine connected to my computer.

author: SgtRock
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 11, 2011, 05:32:14 am
content: Dear Olsenn:--Congratulations! Our editor has selected your laboratory for a full page spread in Laboratory Showroom Weekly. If you could send us your address and a schedule of the times when you will not, I mean will be home, we would like to send our photographers to case, I mean photograph your layout, er lab. By the way do you have a dog. Best RegardsClear Ether

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2011, 07:07:10 am
content: Quote from: olsenn on September 11, 2011, 02:15:05 amCareful, last time I wrote that the Rigol fanboys were all over me. How dare someone wants to load arbitrary waveforms in an arbitrary waveform generator ... You get the idea. Yes, it is a piece of shit, and Rigol "support" of course doesn't care.QuoteIt might help to first install old UltraWave versions one after the other. UltraWave versions 00.01.02, 00.01.03, and 00.01.04 can be found at various places on the web, each one missing different pieces. That way we managed to get it occasionally working on one old computer, but other computers still refuse to work (Vista, Windows 7). And we installed NI-VISA in between. Not that I think UltraWave uses it, but the latest version claims it is needed.

author: ciccio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2011, 01:52:49 pm
content: Quote from: olsenn on July 26, 2011, 08:48:29 pmOnce a company for whom I did on-site maintenance service delivered a power amplifier with a screwdriver left inside (it did not rattle because it was safely sitting on a cable loom).I must admit they were working in a hurry, but 10 minutes after the customer (a sound systems rental company) left their premises the technician searched for his screwdriver, and realized where it was, so I got a call to go as soon as possible to the town (150 km from me) where the had to install the sound system for a show and save the company's reputation...