Mystery device / unit, need help to identify it!

[TheAmmoniacal]

Found this thing for sale on a local website, simply advertised as "Electrical thingie", the seller had no idea what it was. He was only asking $12 for it -- and I was curious, so I picked it up.

Taking a closer look at it made me none the wiser.. Anyone else have a clue? It has "Video Out" and "Locking In" on the back. The hole in the front looks like a zinc selenide window, the knob moves the window in and out.

[Ian.M]

Some sort of *OLD* tube video camera.  if the front plate is threaded for a lens, then the knob would do focus by moving the whole camera tube.  Since you've bought it, whip the cover off and reveal its guts for us in all their glory.

[Falkra]

Yep, and you can open it to get more information, there are screws to remove the black/dark cover easily.

[PA0PBZ]

Yep, and you can open it to get more information, there are screws to remove the black/dark cover easily.

Exactly, open it up, it's only 4 screws 

[TheAmmoniacal]

Some sort of *OLD* tube video camera.  if the front plate is threaded for a lens, then the knob would do focus by moving the whole camera tube.  Since you've bought it, whip the cover off and reveal its guts for us in all their glory.

Yep, the hole in the front is threaded. It does look like a lens mount! Makes perfect sense. Any idea how old? Any hope in hell I can make sense of the video out?

[Falkra]

Don't turn it on, take it apart !

[TheAmmoniacal]

Don't turn it on, take it apart !

Here you go!

[mikeselectricstuff]

Very old vidicon tube based CCTV camera Front knob probably back focus adjust. Input is for genlock to sync multiple cameras for mixing

[CJay]

Vidicon or similar mono video camera.

The lock in is just a video sync in to 'lock' a series of cameras together so you can use a very simple switcher without picture roll.

[Ian.M]

Its probably monochrome baseband video, unless its from a security system which may use VHF or UHF with AM modulation to allow several cameras to share a single cable.   Edit: its not UHF/VHF as there's no modulator.
The odds are it will free-run with nothing on the sync input.

Check the video out signal on a scope, and if the sync looks right and the whole signal is about 1V Pk-Pk when loaded with 75R, connect it to the composite video in of a TV.  You'll need to find it some sort of lens with the right focal length, and an adjustable iris as the performance will be critically dependent on the lighting level.

Edit: It looks very '70s, from the style of board layout, types of capacitors and transistor cases and large open frame carbon track presets.  It could be '80s but I doubt it.  Take a close look at the larger caps - you my find a date code.

[TheAmmoniacal]

For the two people in the world who was curious, here's the mugshot



Destructive teardown! The best kind! (The device was not working properly, later found out the big cap was dead)