Fascinating youtube vid on vintage technology

[unknownparticle]

Quite incredible for the time

[ebastler]

This has come up a few times before:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/automated-electronics-assembly-1940_s-style/msg162523/#msg162523
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/who-loves-old-tech/msg679145/#msg679145
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/melting-solder-in-a-pot/msg3549894/#msg3549894
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/(article)-solder-less-circuits-(apparently)/msg4564624/#msg4564624

As a general plea: Could we please make it forum etiquette to give a brief summary of what the video is about (beyond "it's amazing!") when posting a Youtube link? In this case I knew what to expect since I had seen the video before. But in general, I dislike having to spend time on a video only to figure out whether it is of interest to me. Thanks!

[tooki]

As a general plea: Could we please make it forum etiquette to give a brief summary of what the video is about (beyond "it's amazing!") when posting a Youtube link? In this case I knew what to expect since I had seen the video before. But in general, I dislike having to spend time on a video only to figure out whether it is of interest to me. Thanks!

+1

[tggzzz]

As a general plea: Could we please make it forum etiquette to give a brief summary of what the video is about (beyond "it's amazing!") when posting a Youtube link? In this case I knew what to expect since I had seen the video before. But in general, I dislike having to spend time on a video only to figure out whether it is of interest to me. Thanks!

+1

+2

Given that 99.9% of yootoob vids are talking heads with lots of ums and ahs and content that could be summed up in 25 words, there's approximately zero chance I'm going to spend my little remaining life looking at a random vid.

Do they still teach "précis" at school? Maybe yoootooob talking heads were asleep?

[mendip_discovery]

I flicked on the haunted fish tank and took a look at the selection of documentaries and I found nothing of interst and the one I did try was another one of those not a lot of content spread of 1hr. I made the mistake of starting a documentary about the McD scandal about the Monopoly winners. That was 5 or 6 hrs of TV that really felt like it was dragged out as much as they could.

For a while YT was nice as there was informative stuff out there. But the algorithm seems to be pushing lots of crap. Some YTers have got into the habit of being as bad as the documentaries on TV.

I miss the documentaries we used to watch as a kid. I wish there was more stuff by people like Adam Heart-Davies as the stuff he did back in the 2000s was interesting a informative.

Oh +1 on supplying a little more than just a link to a vid with the comment cool vid.

[tggzzz]

I miss the documentaries we used to watch as a kid. I wish there was more stuff by people like Adam Heart-Davies as the stuff he did back in the 2000s was interesting a informative.

There was a good old-skool documentary on the BBC last week. Good: short, to the point, well structured, with one or two memorable bits. Unsurprisingly it was by Peter Taylor, a journalist I've long respected. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001kl8p and it is still on iPlayer. I've omitted the title to avoid distracting this thread, but it is visible by following that link.

[unknownparticle]

This has come up a few times before:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/automated-electronics-assembly-1940_s-style/msg162523/#msg162523
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/who-loves-old-tech/msg679145/#msg679145
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/melting-solder-in-a-pot/msg3549894/#msg3549894
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/(article)-solder-less-circuits-(apparently)/msg4564624/#msg4564624

As a general plea: Could we please make it forum etiquette to give a brief summary of what the video is about (beyond "it's amazing!") when posting a Youtube link? In this case I knew what to expect since I had seen the video before. But in general, I dislike having to spend time on a video only to figure out whether it is of interest to me. Thanks!

In that case you're going to miss some very interesting stuff!

[tggzzz]

This has come up a few times before:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/automated-electronics-assembly-1940_s-style/msg162523/#msg162523
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/who-loves-old-tech/msg679145/#msg679145
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/melting-solder-in-a-pot/msg3549894/#msg3549894
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/(article)-solder-less-circuits-(apparently)/msg4564624/#msg4564624

As a general plea: Could we please make it forum etiquette to give a brief summary of what the video is about (beyond "it's amazing!") when posting a Youtube link? In this case I knew what to expect since I had seen the video before. But in general, I dislike having to spend time on a video only to figure out whether it is of interest to me. Thanks!

In that case you're going to miss some very interesting stuff!

True.

But the issue is that there's far far far more boring stuff that might just be interesting - but turns out to have crap content or presentation. It is a matter of how to spend your remaining life: looking at 999 crap vids to find one interesting one, or doing something else.

There are many reasons that the concept of the "30s elevator talk" is a meme. One is relevant here

[ebastler]

In that case you're going to miss some very interesting stuff!

Sure, you can choose to come back with a snappish reply. Or you might put in the tiny bit of effort and write a single descriptive sentence of that interesting video you found, for the benefit of dozens or hundreds of viewers of your post.

[unknownparticle]

Well there is a descriptive title on the video

[tggzzz]

In that case you're going to miss some very interesting stuff!

Sure, you can choose to come back with a snappish reply. Or you might put in the tiny bit of effort and write a single descriptive sentence of that interesting video you found, for the benefit of dozens or hundreds of viewers of your post.

Yes. I regard that as courtesy for the reader.

If someone can't be bothered to take 30s indicating why something might be interesting, why should I be bothered to listen to them.

[MK14]

Well there is a descriptive title on the video

It would be better, to write a nice summary, of what makes it interesting for you and perhaps others.  Then others (perhaps hundreds of others), can quickly glance at the summary, and decide for themselves, if it sounds potentially interesting or not.

Rather than having to try and second guess what exactly it is about, from a very brief title or recommendation from a user on this forum, they may know very little or nothing about.

E.g.
Interesting documentary (for me, even though I've already seen it, at least once, a fairly long while ago) video.  Which seems to be about an amazing production line machine, made/designed and built from very early 1940's technology, at around 1947.

Which seems to basically be a number of analogue (or similar) computer (elements or more).  Which improve/control the process.  Which makes these (what are similar to thin-film or other types of tiles/assemblies etc).

I.e. A sort of PCB (very early), but with films/coatings/chemicals etc, to make things like resistors, capacitors, inductors (I'm not sure of the exact list of component types) and valve/tube sockets, etc.

To effectively make a module, which is most of a full radio (of that time period), which just needs a few valves/tubes to be plugged into it, and the rest of the assembly.  To make what amounts to a mass produced device, such as a radio.

Presumably, that creates lots of cost savings, allows much higher production unit rates (quantities), and with much less labour (costs).

It seems clever, for that time period (1940's).

[MK14]

Using ChatGPT, to summarize the latter part of what I just said:

The documentary is about a production line machine built in 1947 using early 1940s technology, which uses analog computer elements to improve and control the process of making thin-film or tile-like assemblies. These assemblies consist of films, coatings, chemicals, and other components, such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, and valve/tube sockets. The machine effectively produces a module that is mostly a full radio, with just a few valves/tubes needed to be plugged in to complete the assembly. This mass-production process results in cost savings, higher production rates, and reduced labor costs. The technology is considered clever for its time period.

[Ed.Kloonk]

+2

Given that 99.9% of yootoob vids are talking heads with lots of ums and ahs and content that could be summed up in 25 words, there's approximately zero chance I'm going to spend my little remaining life looking at a random vid.

Do they still teach "précis" at school? Maybe yoootooob talking heads were asleep?

I sat and watched 2m20s from some youtuber re-phrasing what was printed in the thumbnail and the title. That, to me, is truly 'amazing'.

And then, to add insult to injury.. "But first, lemme tell you about today's sponsor"

 

[RJSV]

My favorite part, at 12:50 approx. they show a big rotary switch, doing some 50 different point to point continuity checks.   Awesome.
   Yeah, it's black and white video, maybe a bit nerdy...but I appreciated watching the details, (several times).   Thanks, UnknownParticle !

   Never have seen a board sized integration, like that, with a lot of the spirit that happened with the wafer oriented integrated circuits...and even hybrids.

[unknownparticle]

Well there is a descriptive title on the video

It would be better, to write a nice summary, of what makes it interesting for you and perhaps others.  Then others (perhaps hundreds of others), can quickly glance at the summary, and decide for themselves, if it sounds potentially interesting or not.

Rather than having to try and second guess what exactly it is about, from a very brief title or recommendation from a user on this forum, they may know very little or nothing about.

E.g.
Interesting documentary (for me, even though I've already seen it, at least once, a fairly long while ago) video.  Which seems to be about an amazing production line machine, made/designed and built from very early 1940's technology, at around 1947.

Which seems to basically be a number of analogue (or similar) computer (elements or more).  Which improve/control the process.  Which makes these (what are similar to thin-film or other types of tiles/assemblies etc).

I.e. A sort of PCB (very early), but with films/coatings/chemicals etc, to make things like resistors, capacitors, inductors (I'm not sure of the exact list of component types) and valve/tube sockets, etc.

To effectively make a module, which is most of a full radio (of that time period), which just needs a few valves/tubes to be plugged into it, and the rest of the assembly.  To make what amounts to a mass produced device, such as a radio.

Presumably, that creates lots of cost savings, allows much higher production unit rates (quantities), and with much less labour (costs).

It seems clever, for that time period (1940's).

Perhaps I overestimated the level of curiosity that would exist here, but no problem I will refrain from bothering with such posts in future.

[MK14]

Perhaps I overestimated the level of curiosity that would exist here, but no problem I will refrain from bothering with such posts in future.

Not everyone, is going to have the time and inclination, to watch potentially long youtube videos, just because people here, have linked to them.

So, some kind of summary, about the video and why, it seems interesting, is a useful thing, to add, to a post with a link to it.

[RJSV]

   OR, you could try compromise, between the feedback, and just put a cursory couple of sentences briefly, as some of the feedback is intended towards others who post vids without any intro,...so they are maybe just frustrated...

   Been this way, here.  I've gotten a bunch of justified criticism.  Puppies and Humans play a little rough, often.  Thanks for the video posting.

[MK14]

Source (paywalled):
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17623656-200-the-chunkiest-chip/

More information about the production machine (to read the rest, seems to need a paid subscription):

Today they are everywhere. Production lines controlled by computers and operated by robots. There’s no chatter of assembly workers, just the whirr and click of machines. In the mid-1940s, the workerless factory was still the stuff of science fiction. There were no computers to speak of and electronics was primitive. Yet hidden away in the English countryside was a highly automated production line called ECME, which could turn out 1500 radio receivers a day with almost no help from human hands.

The key to this miracle of manufacturing efficiency was this slab of Bakelite moulded with a pattern of grooves and filled with molten zinc – a forerunner of the integrated circuit. It would have taken hundreds of workers to match ECME’s output. All ECME needed was a couple of girls to feed in the Bakelite boards and someone to do the odd bit of maintenance. Did ECME and the plastic circuit board revolutionise the British factory? Not a bit of it. John Sargrove, the visionary engineer who developed the technology, was way ahead of his time. A few of the Bakelite boards survive in London’s Science Museum, but the ingenious machines that made them have been lost without trace.

THE Indian government ordered 20,000 of them. China’s president, Chiang Kai-Shek, bought 25,000 and might have ordered more if the People’s Revolution hadn’t disrupted his plans. By 1948, John Sargrove’s radios were selling like hot cakes in Asia and the Far East. Which was exactly what he had intended when he designed the world’s first automatic assembly line. The line turned out radios so cheaply that people in some of the world’s poorest nations could afford to …

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[MK14]

If anyone would prefer to be able to read about the video in text/article form, or is interested, in an apparently detailed article about it, complete with pictures.  Here is the link:

http://www.r-type.org/articles/art-098.htm