We’re guessing that quite a few of our readers have a surprising amount of redundant test gear, and we ourselves have to admit that more than one instrument adorns our benches. But we are mere dilettantes, amateurs if you will, compared to [Volke Kloke]. He’s got 350 of them in his average American home, and we have to say, among them are some beauties.
The linked newspaper article is sometimes frustratingly light on the details, but fortunately he has a website all of his own where we can all get immersed in the details. Of particular interest is an instrument which doesn’t even have a CRT, the General Radio 338 string oscillograph used a mirror drum to catch a standing wave in a tungsten wire, but there are plenty more. Is your first ‘scope among them?
As we now live in the age of cheap digital ‘scopes, at any surplus sale you’ll see plenty of CRT-based instruments going for relative pennies. Of those, the more recent and high-end ones are still extremely useful instruments, and it’s not just misty-eyed reminiscing to say that they remain a worthy addition to any bench.
Want to know about early ‘scope tech? We’ve taken a look before.
Anyone knows a link to a video showing the string thing in action?
Not a video, but there’s a nice PDF on how it works and a page with some photos of what it would look like when running:
https://commons.princeton.edu/motorcycledesign/joseph-henry-project/string-oscillograph/
https://commons.princeton.edu/motorcycledesign/wp-content/uploads/sites/70/2018/07/String-Oscillograph.pdf
My IG account https://www.instagram.com/volker788/
has a video of the string oscillograph. It is a couple years old.
This is exactly the reason for the collection, preserve the knowledge, avoid reinventing wheels.
It’s funny to think, it won’t be long before a few of those scopes will be a hundred years old.
If I’m still in that good a shape and functional upon passing a century, I’ll consider myself lucky.
It will be a bit more expensive to replace parts inside you, if needed to reach 100 y.o.
Just fire up your 3D printer to make new parts…
Try replacing the caps first. Those old electrolytics are the first to go.
If it’s the tubes, they’re hard to find substitutes.
(Some metaphor here, but haven’t really worked it out…)
The sheer scope of his collection … pun intended
The article says he has a wife too!
(Shocked! Shocked I say!)
anyone with a link to a video of the string oscillograph in action?
we heard you the first time :-)
oops! sorry, I thought my first one was not posted or removed ;)
I once got an oscillograph in a box of stuff at an auction, but for reasons unclear, I threw it away.
“It’s junk, honey!” factor, probably.
I remember my first ‘scope, an old Heathkit rescued from the junkbin detritus of a donation to my high school’s electronics department. I might still have it buried somewhere…
Sadly, almost all of this stuff will end up in a landfill someday. I’m a ham radio operator and gear that people spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars as “collectibles” can’t even be given away now. I’ve seen several recent ads from older hams who are trying to give some of their stuff away now so their heirs won’t have to deal with it after they’re gone. Somebody could probably make a business out of offering to drive up and get paid a modest fee to haul the old stuff away.
An acquaintance told me last year that a ham was “silent key”, and if I would be interested in having his gear. But, it turned out there was another heir and they were looking for an appraiser.
(Sigh!)
This guy in Croatia has a collection of scopes (over 150), but also communication and measuring equipment: https://web.hamradio.hr/9a9dr/museum.html
It’s interesting as it clashes old Yugoslavia equipment, eastern bloc & USSR equipment, against old and modern western scopes and measuring devices.