Simon Manley

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More on the Sun (SST) 1500 Scope

Sun SST 1500 Digital Oscilloscope(Snap-on EEOS104A) Page from the manual.

A lot of this information is still relevant today. We just use different tools but the waveforms and rules remain unchanged. This manual is full of great illustrations.

There’s more pages to this post. See below.

Tools found in an old toolbox

I bought an old Simmonds machinist tool chest in a reclamation yard recently and it had a couple of tools in it I’m trying to identify.

Google and Chat GPT haven’t been successful in identifying them precisely.

The first tool: A pliers

This was stamped: AUTOCRAFT TOOL CO. STAMFORD CONN.

Chat GPT’s best guess was a wire crimping tool for wire fencing repair. It also suggests it has a wire cutting part near the pivot point but I don’t see that.

My guess is it’s a former or a tool for holding round stick without damaging it. Another tool that was in the box looks like a seam former for sheet metal, so that would tie into that.

Seam former?

This looks like a tool for shaping a seam into the edge of sheet metal. The handle end is chisel like, so it looks like it’s used with a hammer to form a shape on the edge of metal sheeting to match it to a seam or another panel.

I’m open to ideas and I’ll continue to check what these tools are.

Never give them an opening

I was having trouble with my mobile service, so I called my provider.

I foolishly, because I was trying not to be a jerk, started the conversation with “I’m not sure if it’s my phone but ….”

For the whole conversation he just kept going back to that, when I would explain my issue to him he’d refer to my phone. Didn’t matter now what I said he would refer to my phone.

I came away actually thinking there might be something wrong with my phone.

Later that morning service returned as normal. And then today I get an email saying there were service issues yesterday and please accept their apologies. Thanks.

I still have the same phone!

From Filing Cabinets to Scan Tools: How technology changed my job.

Daily writing prompt
How has technology changed your job?

Technology has changed my job quite a bit and in my opinion for the better.

That’s not to say everything is perfect. DEF systems spring to mind straight away. But if you zoom out and look at the bigger picture, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Now I can plug into a car and read live data from a system to get clues in the form of codes on a screen that gives me direction to fix the fault.

Technology can’t tell me exactly what to fix or how to fix it, you still need to have skills and think about issues.

Also getting information and data necessary to repair cars is much easier now, it’s on the Internet. Yes you have to pay subscriptions for it, but it’s still a huge improvement over how it used to be. I remember having filing cabinets full of data books, constantly going out of date.

Even going to get parts has been made better by technology. Now you go into the parts store with a registration or VIN number and they can look up any part you need. I remember having to get multiples of the same part because it was impossible to figure out which was the correct one.

It was inefficient, frustrating, and completely normal at the time.

So while there are downsides to modern vehicle technology, overall it’s made the job faster, more accurate, and in many ways more interesting.

You just have to keep up.

I caved and bought an ICON ratchet too

To go with the 10 mm sockets I bought at Harbor Freight I bought an ICON 3/8 drive ratchet that was on special.

First impressions are good. It looks the part and feels good on the hand.

I’ve a few jobs to do over the next while and I plan on putting them to use and see if they live up to the hype.

This is not the G2 ratchet that’s all over social media this is the low profile head 90 tooth ratchet with a 4° arc swing. It also comes with soft handle but I prefer the full metal chrome design.

Will report back soon on the performance of all items.

Diagnostic View