Tearing Down A Digital Scope From ’78

October 6, 2024 by Heidi Ulrich 5 Comments

If you’re a fan of vintage electronics and DIY tinkering, you’ll find this teardown by [Thomas Scherrer] fascinating. In a recent video, he delves into a rare piece of equipment: the Data Lab Transient Recorder DL 901. This device looks like a classic one-channel oscilloscope, complete with all the knobs and settings you’d expect.

The DL 901, made by Data Laboratories Ltd., is a mystery even to [Thomas], who couldn’t find any documentation online. From the DC offset and trigger settings to the sweep time controls, the DL 901 is equipped to handle slow, high-resolution analog-to-digital conversion. The circuitry includes TTL chips and a PMI DAAC 100, a 10-bit digital-to-analog converter. [Thomas] speculates it uses a successive approximation technique for analog-to-digital conversion—a perfect blend of analog finesse and digital processing for its time.

Despite its intriguing features, the DL 901 suffers from a non-responsive analog input system, limiting the teardown to a partial exploration. For those who enjoyed past Hackaday articles on oscilloscope teardowns and analog tech, this one is a treat. Watch the video to see more details and the full process of uncovering this vintage device’s secrets.

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Bust Out That Old Analog Scope For Some Velociraster Fun!

April 17, 2023 by Dave Rowntree 6 Comments

[Oli Wright] is back again with another installation of CRT shenanigans. This time, the target is the humble analog oscilloscope, specifically a Farnell DTV12-14 12 MHz dual-channel unit, which features a handy X-Y mode. The result is the Velociraster, a simple (in hardware terms) Raspberry Pi Pico based display driver.

Using a Pico to drive a pair of AD767 12-bit DACs, the outputs of which drive the two ‘scope input channels directly, this breadboard and pile-of-wires hack can produce some seriously impressive results. On the software side of things, the design is a now a familiar show, with core0 running the application’s high-level processing, and core1 acting in parallel as the rendering engine, determining static DAC codes to be pushed out to the DACs using the DMA and the PIO.

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Drawing Knots On An Oscilloscope Using Analog Means

February 22, 2023 by Maya Posch 13 Comments

Generating interesting imagery on an analog oscilloscope is a fun activity enjoyed by many, with an excellent demonstration by [Henry Segerman] provided in a recent video which covers [Matthias Goerner]’s demonstration. Using the electron beam, shapes can be drawn onto the phosphor of the oscilloscope’s CRT — all without touching any digital circuitry. At the core are analog components like an operational amplifier integrator, multipliers and other elements.

With just a number of these simple components in a circuit, it’s possible to draw a wide variety of shapes, all by applying the appropriate trigonometric parameters. In addition to the drawing of shapes, it is also demonstrated how these analog signals can be used for an analog audio synthesizer, and finally the image displayed on the oscilloscope is captured on Kodak (Polaroid) instant film, making the entire generating, processing and capturing chain fully analog.

While we’d be the last to campaign against digital electronics, it is fascinating to consider just how much can be done with analog electronics and a bit of mathematics. We assume that everyone did pay attention during math classes, making this a perfect chance to use all that knowledge of trigonometry.

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Interactive Musical Art Installation Mixes Vintage, Modern, Lasers, And…Bubbles? Bubbles.

August 21, 2021 by Ryan Flowers 3 Comments

Acorn BBC Master. Apple IIe. Ampex 270 Terminal. Vectrex game console. You’d be hard pressed to find a more diverse hardware collection in the average hacker’s lab. When you add seven Raspberry Pi’s, five CRT monitors, an analog oscilloscope and an LED wall to the mix, one starts to wonder at the menagerie of current and retro hardware. What kind of connoisseur would have such a miscellaneous collection? That’s when you spot smoke and fog machines sitting next to an RGB Laser.

Finally, you learn that all of this disparate paraphernalia is networked together. It is then that you realize that you’re not just dealing with a multi-talented hacker- you’re dealing with a meticulous maestro who’s spent lockdown finishing a project he started nearly twenty years ago!

AUVERN comes alive in a show of light and sound whenever someone enters its view.

The machine is called AUVERN and it’s the product of the creative mind of [Owen]. Taking advantage of advances in technology (and copious amounts of free time), [Owen] laboriously put his collection of older rigs to work.

A Python script uses a Kinect sensor’s input to control a Mac Mini running Digital Audio Workstation software. The operator’s location, poses and movements are used to alter the music, lights, and multimedia experience as a whole. MIDI, Ethernet, and serial communications tie the hardware together through Raspberry Pi’s, vintage MIDI interfaces, and more. Watch the video below the break for the technical explanation, but don’t miss the videos on [Owen]’s website for a mesmerizing demonstration of AUVERN in full swing.

AUVERN makes use of the Vectrex32 upgrade which we have previously covered, and we are unavoidably reminded of another pandemic inspired bubble machine. Don’t forget to send us your hacks, projects, and creations through the Tip Line!

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Digitize An Analogue Oscilloscope

May 31, 2020 by Jenny List 13 Comments

Many of us will possess digital oscilloscopes which offer at an affordable price an array of features once unimaginable on the analogue CRT ‘scopes of yesteryear. But those old analogue beasts were fine pieces of equipment when they were made and remain so today. So how can they find a place in the digital age?

Perhaps [Joseph Eoff] has the answer, because he’s fitted his trusty Telequipment D43 with a camera in a 3D-printed attachment, paired with a piece of cross-platform Python/Qt custom software using OpenCV to identify, digitize, and quantify the traces. The software allows viewing the either the digitized trace or the real trace, and derives measurements of voltage and frequency from them. One limitation is that despite the ‘scope being a dual-trace model, the software only has a single set of cursors to measure one trace at a time. All the code can be had from the GitHub repository, should you wish to experiment with it or extend it.

It’s worth thinking for a minute at what price point a remotely decent digital ‘scope starts, then considering the ease with which surprisingly good older analogue instruments can be found on the second-hand market for not a lot. An approach such as this one makes them an even more attractive proposition.

If you’re looking further into enhancements for an analogue ‘scope, how about a logic analyser?

What Does An Electronics Tinkerer’s Workbench Need?

December 14, 2019 by Erin Pinheiro 40 Comments

Ever been in a situation where you’re not sure where to begin building your own electronics workbench or improve your existing one? [Jeff Glass] writes in with a blog post as detailed as it is beautifully long, chronicling each and every part of his own home lab in order to give us some ideas on how to get one started.

Despite [Jeff] using his own workbench tools accrued over 10 years of working in the field as prime example, his guide takes into account that you don’t need the latest and most expensive in order to get working. Affordable examples of the tools presented are suggested, along with plenty of links to follow and what to look for in each one of them. He even goes on and aside to note the lack of affordable versions of bench-top multimeters, seeing how the portable counterparts are so cheap and plentiful in contrast.

However, contrary to [Jeff]’s claims, we would argue that there are things you could do without, such as the oscilloscope. And you could use a regular soldering iron instead of a soldering station if you are in a pinch. It just depends on the type of work you’re looking to do, and simpler tools can work just fine, that’s what they’re there for after all. That’s not to say his advice is all bad though, just that every job has different requirements, and he notes just that in the final notes as something to keep in mind when building your own lab.

Lastly, we appreciate having a section dedicated to shop safety and the inclusion of soldering fume extractors in the recommendations. We’ve talked about the importance of fire safety when working with these tools at home before, and how soldering is not the only thing that can produce toxic fumes in your shop. With no shortage of great tips on how to build your own fume extractors, we hope everybody’s out there hacking safely.

Digital Oscilloscope Does Its Best Analog Impression

September 10, 2019 by Tom Nardi 48 Comments

Do you ever find yourself yearning for the days before digital storage oscilloscopes (DSOs)? Where even the basic scopes commanded four figures, and came in a bench-dominating form factor? No, of course you don’t. The DSO is a wonder of modern technology: for a couple hundred bucks you can have capabilities that previously would have been outside the reach of hobbyists, all in a package that’s small enough to fit on even the most cramped workbenches.

Which is why the good folks of the EEVblog forums are so confused about the OWON AS101, a modern digital oscilloscope that’s designed to look and operate like the analog CRT monsters of old. Despite the 3.7 inch LCD, users are treated to the classic analog scope look, and the switches and knobs on the front should trigger a wave of nostalgia for hackers of a certain age.

But this isn’t just some “retro” look-alike, OWON is committed to delivering on that analog experience by taking away all those modern digital features we’ve become so dependant on. This single-channel scope can’t save data to USB, doesn’t have any sort of protocol decoding capabilities, and forget about automatic…well, anything. It’s even limited to 20 MHz, just like the old-school CRT scopes that you pick up for a song at any swap meet. All for the low, low, price of $150 USD from the usual importers.

In the EEVblog thread, the best idea anyone can come up with is that the OWON AS101 is designed for educational markets in developing countries, where outdated equipment is so common that there may actually be a need for faux-analog oscilloscopes to match what’s already in use. These new-manufactured “analog” trainers can be used to get students ready for a professional life of using antiquated technology. It’s hard to believe, but sometimes we can forget how fortunate many of us are to have easy access to cheap tools and equipment.

Even still, when you can get a pocket-sized 10 MHz DSO for around $50, it’s difficult to imagine how this analog-digital hybrid could possibly attract any takers at 3x times the price. If any of our readers would care to shed some light on this unusual piece of gear, we’d love to hear it.

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