Beauty of old electrical and measuring things, etc.

[dlgoff]

Full disclosure: I'm actually not that good at the "throwing out the junk" part of this.

I hear that.

 

[DennisN]

Another vintage camera for the thread...

Here's the Chinon CE Memotron, a 35mm Single Lens Reflex Camera with electronically controlled exposure system produced in the 1970s.

Chinon was a somewhat less famous camera manufacturer (Japanese), but some of their lenses are quite good. In fact, I bought this one just because I wanted the lens, and the camera was a bonus. I'll keep it around as decoration .

 

[gmax137]

"Memotron" I love that...

 

[dlgoff]

I haven't been working on any new "beauties" lately but hope this thread will be read by all new members. And maybe help get me on this year's PF awards list. Thanks @Greg Bernhardt for letting me share some of my stuff.

... Don

 

[dlgoff]

Another vintage camera for the thread...

Here's the Chinon CE Memotron, a 35mm Single Lens Reflex Camera with electronically controlled exposure system produced in the 1970s.

View attachment 317077

Chinon was a somewhat less famous camera manufacturer (Japanese), but some of their lenses are quite good. In fact, I bought this one just because I wanted the lens, and the camera was a bonus. I'll keep it around as decoration .

My home got broken into a year or so ago and my parents camera (the one on the left) and the middle one got stolen. I'm so sad. https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/97pmyfg-jpg.170323/

 

[DennisN]

My home got broken into a year or so ago and my parents camera (the one on the left) and the middle one got stolen.

That's sad.

I've seen a couple of various cameras of that type for sale (I don't know anything about brands or models, though) since I've been looking for vintage optics. I thought I could at least mention that if you would like to search for a replacement on e.g. Ebay.

I've been close to buying one of that type just because they are cool, old equipment. But I haven't bought any since I've told myself to not become a camera collector .

 

[dlgoff]

I thought I could at least mention that if you would like to search for a replacement on e.g. Ebay.

I've thought about it, but I've already got lot's of old stuff.

 

[dlgoff]

My home got broken into a year or so ago and my parents camera (the one on the left) and the middle one got stolen. I'm so sad. https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/97pmyfg-jpg.170323/

Now, I haven't been able to find the one on the right. I guess it was stolen as well. Dang.

 

[CALNNC]

In regards to the original post about old stuff still working, there are probably a couple ham operators on this list, but there are quite a few hams that eschew the latest whiz bang knobless black box options and keep vintage stuff going. 1930 radio gear, through the heyday of the ham years with many manufacturers producing parts and equipment, it is still out there on the air. I have all the radio gear that was in a B17 up and running and make contacts with, plus other vintage tube gear. Even my 'newest' and only solid state rig is over 40 years old. Plus I have several 'All American Five' BC sets I saved and restored, plus various brands of shortwave receivers. It is a great part of the hobby, key word - hobby, as long as you can endure those knobless black box idiots telling you your 70 year old transmitter is 50 cycles low.

 

[DennisN]

I visited a Ukrainian site where they sell VERY cool clocks, so-called "Nixie clocks" made of Nixie tubes.

And of course I thought that I just had to post about it in this thread.

I think they are so cool that I'm considering ordering one, though I am a bit uncertain about the longevity of the tubes (I have no experience at all with this type of component).

Here's a photo of a couple of Nixie clocks:

(there are other versions on the site)

Link: https://nixieshop.com/store.html

 

[Vanadium 50]

You can get a Nixie watch too.

 

[berkeman]

You can get a Nixie watch too.

Link? It must use a large battery...?

 

[berkeman]

(there are other versions on the site)

Link: https://nixieshop.com/store.html

Gotta love the message to the "russian warship" on their home page.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Link? It must use a large battery...?

Battery life stinks. I think they have a Big Ole Cap to get the voltages they need.

 

[DennisN]

though I am a bit uncertain about the longevity of the tubes (I have no experience at all with this type of component).

Update:

According to the FAQ page:

What is the average lifetime of a Nixie tube?​

According to the datasheet of one of the most popular IN-14 Soviet made Nixie tube the minimum lifetime is 5000 hours which is even less than one year. But in fact the major number of Nixie tubes will serve for many years (or even decades as some Nixie clock owners say). However, since all the Nixie tubes that we use in our clocks were discontinued 30 years ago (the last batch's date code was dated to the late 80s) there is a chance that some of the tubes may die earlier.

and

All of our Nixie clocks are powered by 12v and at least 0.5A. The average current consumption is 0.2-0.3A though.

...so according to this the power consumption is about (or less than) 12*0.5 = 6 W (which actually is lower than I expected).

 

[Vanadium 50]

No fewer than four makers of Nixie tube watches. About $500 each

I'd buy one, but I am afraid it would make me even more popular with the ladies. Seems unfair.

 

[gmax137]

maybe that's @morrobay 's secret ?

 

[dlgoff]

... made of Nixie tubes.

I have a Heathkit Frequency Counter that has 9 Nixie tubes. When I got it, the person that put it together couldn't solder as most of the solder joints were intermittent. It looks like one of those joints that I fixed is now open again, so I can't show you it powered up. But here is what it looks like:

IIRC, I had to purchase a couple Nixie tubes that weren't working. I'll have to look in my tube supply sometime to see if I still have any new ones. Maybe some day I'll pull the thing out of the wall and do a little work on it.

 

[anorlunda]

I visited a Ukrainian site where they sell VERY cool clocks, so-called "Nixie clocks" made of Nixie tubes.

Try to see a working nixie tube in-person. One thing you won't see on video is the significant depth component. Look carefully at the picture you posted in #640. You can barely see wispy images of the other digits hiding behind the lit one.

When you look at multidigit Nixie display in-person, you can plainly see that the lit digits are not all at the same depth plane.

Whoops, I'm dating myself by knowing about that. My first physics lab in college had only needle analog meters, plus a few with Nixie digits.

We also had a Geiger counter in the lab that used a neon tube technology the cousin of a nixie. Sorry but I can't find a picture. Instead of a Nixie display of a decimal digit, it showed a single orange dot. With each count, the dot in the rightmost tube moved by one of 10 positions (like the hours on a clock face but base 10 instead of base 12). When it passed 10, it caused the next tube to it's left to increase its count by 10.

 

[hutchphd]

Was it the Wang calculator/computer that had a Nixie tube readout? I have a very hazy memory of the neon glow....probably early 1970's undergrad lab work.

 

[dlgoff]

Etsy has a lot of Nixie tube counter stuff:
https://www.etsy.com/market/nixie_tube_counter

 

[Vanadium 50]

Was it the Wang calculator/computer that had a Nixie tube readout?

Lots did, back in the day. VFDs too.

 

[dlgoff]

VFDs too

Yes. I remember seeing Nixies on the ones at a Lab I worked in that were controlling large air handlers.

 

[DennisN]

I read the Nixie tube page on Wikipedia and found a link to a device I've never heard about: Nimo tube.

Haha, got to love the outrageousness of that invention!

"Let's build a digit display out of ten electron guns powered by 1750 volts."
"Yeah, why not?"

 

[dlgoff]

Here's an old non-electrical beauty of mine that I had as a kid. It's either 71 or 72 years old. It's missing the trigger/hammer spring and the pistol grips though:

 

[berkeman]

Was it a cap gun? That's amazing that you still have it.

 

[dlgoff]

Was it a cap gun? That's amazing that you still have it.

from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap_gun

A cap gun, cap pistol, or cap rifle is a toy gun that creates a loud sound simulating a gunshot and smoke when a small percussion cap is ignited. Cap guns were originally made of cast iron, but after World War II were made of zinc alloy, and most newer models are made of plastic. Cap guns get their name from the small discs of shock-sensitive explosive compounds (roughly 1.4 to 1.6 millimetres (0.055 to 0.063 in) in diameter) that provide the noise and smoke, ...

edit: mine is made of cast iron.

 

[Bystander]

either 71 or 72 years old.

I doubt that; "pot metal" doesn't rust, and there were no toys from my youth that were NOT manufactured from "same." That has to be turn of (last) century.

 

[dlgoff]

I doubt that; "pot metal" doesn't rust,

It's made of iron which does rust.

edit: you can see the magnets on it here:

From the same site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap_gun

Here are the type of caps that I used back then:

 

[berkeman]

I doubt that; "pot metal" doesn't rust, and there were no toys from my youth that were NOT manufactured from "same."

Most of my cap guns were made of plastic or pot metal, and didn't last more than a year or two. I did have a Davey Crockett flintlock rifle cap gun that lasted for many years though. I don't know if the action was made out of cast iron, but it was definitely of better quality than most of my pot metal toys. The "ram rod" was definitely made out of low-grade iron/steel, though. It fired these light cork balls that you rammed down the barrel, just like Davey did!

 

[Averagesupernova]

Most of my cap guns were made of plastic or pot metal, and didn't last more than a year or two.

None of mine lasted more than a few weeks and I always tried to take care of my stuff because I didn't get that much stuff. Must be because toys were so much better built back in the dark ages. Lol

 

[Borg]

I was pretty hard on my toys sometimes. My toy soldiers died in napalm attacks.

 

[DaveE]

I stumbled on this an image of this BAFCO frequency response analyzer, circa 1980 or so and had a flashback to my first real EE job. This was state of the art then for a feedback controls lab, a sweeping narrow band vector analyzer up to 100KHz. I have fond memories of spending a few years with this guy designing switching power supplies.

Nary a uP in it, or the entire lab, in 1982 when I met this guy. The outputs were analog voltages we sent to an HP x-y plotter sitting on top of it. I would watch the plot proceed over a minute or two wondering 'when will the phase start dropping', adjusting signal levels and filters, etc. I kept my own set of plotter pens in my desk since other EEs would wear them out. I remember coming in late on a Sunday night to test a loudspeaker I had from home, with ear plugs. First I searched the floor to make sure I was alone since it was really, really, obnoxious. I still love the excellent user interface with buttons and knobs, right on par with an old Tek 465, HP 3585, and such. Now you don't push buttons so much as type on a laptop to gather your data. I was really surprised to see you can still buy it (I think), although I can't imagine who would.

I guess old is relative though, there was no neon or vacuums involved. It's odd how emotionally attached we can become to an old box of wires and transistors.

 

[berkeman]

I kept my own set of plotter pens in my desk since other EEs would wear them out.

Yep!

I still love the excellent user interface with buttons and knobs, right on par with an old Tek 465, HP 3585, and such.

Yeah, I usually didn't mind the changes to the user interface as we went through the generations of instruments; usually it was just a little different with new capabilities. But the latest generation of mixed signal oscilloscopes that we bought have a super-non-intuitive user interface with a main overloaded concentric ring control that still baffle me when I use them (Tek 4034 MSOs, the control is in the upper right of the image below). I can usually get close to what I want, but there are usually other things/garbage still on the display that I can't figure out how to get rid of. Sort of like the GUI interface changes in the latest Windows versions (that I turn off whenever I can)...

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https://www.testunlimited.com/productDetail.aspx?product_id=252&psig=AOvVaw1vhBKqtSzNS080l2hRf6es&ust=1675899368624000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA8QjRxqFwoTCOjhpubJhP0CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAL

 

[DaveE]

I usually didn't mind the changes to the user interface as we went through the generations of instruments; usually it was just a little different with new capabilities.

Yes. It was inevitable, and cost and feature wise essential. From the instrument designers perspective there is really no other way. Can you imagine a modern spectrum analyzer without menus, where every knob has a dedicated function? They'd look like an old 747 cockpit. It just doesn't work now that instruments are so much more flexible. Those knobs and buttons are a big labor cost and come with reliability problems too. There were lots of things that FRA just wouldn't do. It's a fair tradeoff IMO.