Author Topic: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag  (Read 22009 times)

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Offline EEVblogTopic starter

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Offline c4757p

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #1 on: December 02, 2013, 01:41:14 pm »
I'm probably just too much of a Tek fanboy, but damn, I want that cute little scope!
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Offline dr.diesel

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2013, 01:45:22 pm »
Yeah, I have a raging erection, that Tek is awesome.

Offline ludzinc

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #3 on: December 02, 2013, 02:41:03 pm »
A good read on Litchenberg figures can be found here:

http://www.howtospotapsychopath.com/2007/12/03/lichtenbergia/

And some videos of them being made - also explains why the figure is captured in a layer.



 

Offline andtfoot

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2013, 02:53:17 pm »
Oooohh... do want one of those Lichtenberg thingies...  :P

Edit: Which Mike kindly pointed out in this thread that you can get from here.
« Last Edit: December 02, 2013, 02:55:23 pm by andtfoot »
 

Offline Bored@Work

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2013, 07:40:37 pm »
Dave, a quick google on the Tek 213 revealed those can have some battery pack inside that used to leak. Maybe a quick check on yours is in order to limit any potential damage.
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Online N2IXK

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2013, 07:56:15 pm »
According to the TekWiki, the 213 portable scope was first introduced in 1975.

http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/213

Not a lot of people had digital multimeters back then, so this scope must have been a real piece of geek porn in its day...
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Offline Nilres

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2013, 08:28:43 pm »
Isn't it still geek porn? :) I love it!
 

Offline edpalmer42

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2013, 09:01:23 pm »
I used to work for a telco.  We had one of the Tek miniscopes in our testroom.  I think it was Model 214 - dual trace storage, 500 KHz bandwidth.  Very cute!

Here's some info on the family:  http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Main_Page#200_Series

Ed
 

Offline Jon86

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2013, 09:05:52 pm »
That joke about the queen made me laugh more than I should have  :-DD
Death, taxes and diode losses.
 

Offline joaoc

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2013, 09:12:24 pm »
This video shows how to do some pattern (in the end)

 

Offline dewhite2485

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #11 on: December 02, 2013, 10:59:41 pm »
This is Derek the one who sent you the scope, Im glad you liked it so much! When I got it on ebay the seller had it advertised as untested/non working, lucky for me when I got it everything worked like a charm. Some one has modified it slightly, the BNC connector on the back is not original to the design but seems to work. It didnt have the internal battery when I got it, but should be easy enough to replace if you wanted to use it cordless. Ive had the covers off it before so I know what it looks like inside, but it will be interesting to get a more technical look into its construction and operation.
 

Offline EEVblogTopic starter

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #12 on: December 02, 2013, 11:21:59 pm »
This is Derek the one who sent you the scope

Thanks Derek, I think this teardown will be popular!  :-+
 

Offline Chipguy

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Why we like Mailbags ? Because it is like a little Christmas (no text)
« Reply #13 on: December 02, 2013, 11:23:15 pm »
Told ya, no text :)
Where is that smoke coming from?
 

Offline dr.diesel

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #14 on: December 02, 2013, 11:28:40 pm »
Thanks Derek, I think this teardown will be popular!  :-+

Tomorrow is Tuesday     ;D

Offline synapsis

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #15 on: December 03, 2013, 12:10:29 am »
That scope is awesome! It's the numerical readout that made me want one. Nixie tubes are *so* last year. (Decade?)
 

Online N2IXK

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2013, 01:52:24 am »
Would really like Dave to tear into the character generator circuitry. I assume it is some kind of vector system, not raster scanned.  I agree that the CRT readout has it all over Nixies for sheer coolness. You can get CRT clocks as a kit nowadays:

http://oscilloclock.com/
http://www.cathodecorner.com/sc200c.html

For anyone who is curious about the guts of the Tek 213 and can't wait for Dave's teardown, check this out:

"My favorite programming language is...SOLDER!"--Robert A. Pease
 

Offline Len

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2013, 02:37:05 am »
Would really like Dave to tear into the character generator circuitry. I assume it is some kind of vector system, not raster scanned.

The char gen is a single chip with 4-bit binary input and x, y, z vector output.

Schematics for the Tektronix 213 are here: http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/213
DIY Eurorack Synth: https://lenp.net/synth/
 

Offline fpliuzzi

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2013, 03:10:24 am »
Dave,
If you're interested in some info about that unusual CRT contained in the Sinclair portable flat TV, the "AndyDaviesByTheSea" channel on youtube has a video where the gentleman describes the part he played in the development of that CRT.

The video is "I little bit about my work and Sinclair's flat TV".  The Sinclair part starts at the 6:18 point.

Regards
« Last Edit: December 03, 2013, 02:29:02 pm by fpliuzzi »
 

Offline Zad

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #19 on: December 03, 2013, 04:37:29 am »
Rick Dickinson, the fella who did the industrial design, has some photos of his work on the Sinclair TV on his Flickr page:



http://www.flickr.com/photos/9574086@N02/sets/72157601627816164/


I got a faulty one from a ham radio rally in the early 1990s and played around with it. The innards are pretty simple, with almost all the work done on one chip. The real interest is in the CRT design, as I'm sure people will see!


Offline rr100

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #20 on: December 03, 2013, 05:52:58 am »
Yeah, I have a raging erection, that Tek is awesome.

If it was any longer I would've pissed myself. Awesome stuff!
1975 ... and true RMS to boot.
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Offline amyk

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #21 on: December 03, 2013, 12:05:08 pm »
Would really like Dave to tear into the character generator circuitry. I assume it is some kind of vector system, not raster scanned.  I agree that the CRT readout has it all over Nixies for sheer coolness. You can get CRT clocks as a kit nowadays:

http://oscilloclock.com/
http://www.cathodecorner.com/sc200c.html
This reminded me of an article I read quite some time ago about using completely analog means to generate characters for a vector CRT, if I remember correctly it was a PDF scan of something from the 50s-60s era. Anyone know what I'm talking about?
 

Offline tjw

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #22 on: December 03, 2013, 12:17:38 pm »
Hi,
    GK mentioned this in his home brew analog computer thread, specifically :

 https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/home-brew-analog-computer-system/165/

GK links to http://www.nixiebunny.com/crtgen/crtgen.html about half way down page 12 of the thread.

Regards, TJW.
 

Offline 84GKSIG

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #23 on: December 03, 2013, 12:53:47 pm »
that little scope is just beautiful! i need one just like it! now!
 

Offline Balaur

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Re: EEVblog #553 - Mailbag
« Reply #24 on: December 03, 2013, 03:10:56 pm »
I hope Dave got some footage of the Sinclair TV working before the Analogue signal was switched off. Damned close call if he did, or didn't.

IIRC, the TV wasn't working, as the main IC was missing (as described in the message accompanying the TV).
 


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