We used to make stuff like that. ( I have that same Wavetek and have used it since the 1970's. Bulletproof. ) It's like sausage... you really don't want to know how it's made!
It is odd that in electronics the expectation of low volume production products be the same as high volume. That is to say, it seems to me to be unlike any other subject I'm familiar with. For example, in mechanics a low volume product would be mostly machined, while a high volume product might include stampings and maybe castings which are only viable with large product counts. In electronics it seems the lack of these high volume necessities is seen as a detriment, though I don't really see how.
A fella from Indy told me that the modules were flying all over the place in the repair center. So having all the same rev and matching diagrams was pretty much impossible in a given generator. To boot, some modules don't like others. So, simultaneously, the engineers were working out problems, the purchasing agents were shopping and changing parts, and the repair centers were trying to get something out the door. All, with Uncle Sam screaming for contract deliverables. Well, anyway, it makes a GREAT repair video saga! 73's DE W3IHM
Nice job of troubleshooting. I admire your persistence. (I have a nice Tek 2754 that probably needs 1000 tantalums replaced and it looks like the Space Shuttle inside. 21 GHz lab spectrum analyzer with ungodly dynamic range. I've been postponing doing what you are doing for 15 years. When it works, it's amazing. Was over $75,000 new. A work of art. )
Hi, I saw your video and I fell in love with it. On Sunday I bought a trunk with thousands of components at a flea market, I understood that there was something good in the middle. in fact I managed to find different versions of the 8041, 8085, 8088, 8086, ram, rom, eeprom, plus hundreds of TTLs as well as thousands of transistors, capacitors, .... etc. I wanted to know if you could help me choose the best versions of components and build a computer from scratch. It has always been a passion of mine. I hope you can help me, thanks...
Another very busy can. So many levels and angles. Get a sponsored GHz scope? Vintage Tektronix are great at 1Ghz but are there any non-Windoze Tek scopes at >2G? Maybe the tds794d? You don't have the space😂
The "no-see-um" caps look like tiny early polystyrene caps but I didn't have 4K turned on to see detail. These module were not built for service ability.They have the air of "git-r-done'. Don't beat yourself up about the mixing. TBH who would think that a device of that vintage would be using the low side of a mixer to get to 500mhz? I'd be in that boat with you. See if you can find a 7000 series scope from Tek with a sampling head.
I was thinking about how to do modulation: AM can be done with an unbalanced diode mixer ring. FM over that range you would have to have a fixed LO that you could FM and mix down to the desired frequency. Just my thought.
@@jim9930 The point was a device prior to the late 80s using GHZ generators to get to a lower frequency would have rare and so not worthy of beating yourself up for.
That module looks more like a handmade hobbyist project than the innards of a professional scientific instrument.
Yeah, like he said, whoever was picking the cap's was not thinking about production issues.
We used to make stuff like that. ( I have that same Wavetek and have used it since the 1970's. Bulletproof. ) It's like sausage... you really don't want to know how it's made!
It is odd that in electronics the expectation of low volume production products be the same as high volume. That is to say, it seems to me to be unlike any other subject I'm familiar with. For example, in mechanics a low volume product would be mostly machined, while a high volume product might include stampings and maybe castings which are only viable with large product counts. In electronics it seems the lack of these high volume necessities is seen as a detriment, though I don't really see how.
A fella from Indy told me that the modules were flying all over the place in the repair center. So having all the same rev and matching diagrams was pretty much impossible in a given generator. To boot, some modules don't like others. So, simultaneously, the engineers were working out problems, the purchasing agents were shopping and changing parts, and the repair centers were trying to get something out the door. All, with Uncle Sam screaming for contract deliverables. Well, anyway, it makes a GREAT repair video saga! 73's DE W3IHM
Good times
Nice job of troubleshooting. I admire your persistence. (I have a nice Tek 2754 that probably needs 1000 tantalums replaced and it looks like the Space Shuttle inside. 21 GHz lab spectrum analyzer with ungodly dynamic range. I've been postponing doing what you are doing for 15 years. When it works, it's amazing. Was over $75,000 new. A work of art. )
imagine the time it took to build one of these things,... no doubt very expensive.
When you know it it sounds very reasonable, covering a wide range of frequencies on a higher band and then mixing it down to where you need it.
An epic repair video 🙂👍
Hi, I saw your video and I fell in love with it. On Sunday I bought a trunk with thousands of components at a flea market, I understood that there was something good in the middle. in fact I managed to find different versions of the 8041, 8085, 8088, 8086, ram, rom, eeprom, plus hundreds of TTLs as well as thousands of transistors, capacitors, .... etc. I wanted to know if you could help me choose the best versions of components and build a computer from scratch. It has always been a passion of mine. I hope you can help me, thanks...
the 8085 was my favorite. do a search on my channel for 8085 and you will find many projects
Another very busy can.
So many levels and angles.
Get a sponsored GHz scope? Vintage Tektronix are great at 1Ghz but are there any non-Windoze Tek scopes at >2G? Maybe the tds794d? You don't have the space😂
The "no-see-um" caps look like tiny early polystyrene caps but I didn't have 4K turned on to see detail. These module were not built for service ability.They have the air of "git-r-done'. Don't beat yourself up about the mixing. TBH who would think that a device of that vintage would be using the low side of a mixer to get to 500mhz? I'd be in that boat with you. See if you can find a 7000 series scope from Tek with a sampling head.
I was thinking about how to do modulation: AM can be done with an unbalanced diode mixer ring. FM over that range you would have to have a fixed LO that you could FM and mix down to the desired frequency. Just my thought.
@@jim9930 The point was a device prior to the late 80s using GHZ generators to get to a lower frequency would have rare and so not worthy of beating yourself up for.
But a 1uF tantalum will have a resistance of milliohms. Ceramics might not be a good substitute.
no not a 1uF. I'll do a video on that in a few weeks.
How could they build it like that, it looks worse than my prototypes.
ceramics are microphonic, isn't it?
Lucky for me, by RF generator is not flying and will live a boring vibration free life. Unless we get an earthquake.