Austrians just need bigger knives than the rest of us, since everything constantly tries to kill you there - or have you ever seen a single scorpion or snake in one of daves videos?
We had one of those Commodore calculators in the mid 70s. When my stepfather brought it home, we were all absolutely fascinated and played with it every evening for a few weeks.
AS for your compucorp 322 calc, not only a teardown, at least i want you to make this thing working again. Showing us your mighty repair-ing skills and make this beauty working again....PLEASE Dave....hear me....this unit just deserves that...!! It´s just crying out loud....REPAIR Me....You´re the Guy....so don´t miss this upportunity....:) :) :)
I'm not an electrical engineer but I like watching some of your videos (fun to learn random information about other industries/hobbies) but these mailbag ones are the best lol.
slango20 yeah I agree with you, mini-teardowns (5-10 minutes) are fine for mailbags, more complicated devices need their own separate video. And I reckon Dave does plenty of research before he tears down more complicated devices, so the videos are more informative, and hopefully he gets to repair something
iver sobakk Yeah I thought of that too! :D It propably is light sensitive - possibly to store the bits of display characters, that's why there is a cap.
I have one Monroe version and another Compucorp version of that series calculator. I have a fully functional Monroe 344 Statistician model with dual program banks. The other one's broken. Also in storage, so I forgot the model. I've read they were very susceptible to static discharge. You are going to LOVE that tear down. If I recall, there are 4 layers of PC boards. It has a Power PCB, a Memory PCB, a Processor PCB, and an IO PCB. It was very modular, and they used a crazy interconnect to bus the boards together. The display is a 16 digit Panaplex neon gas display. It glows orange, like a nixie tube, but uses segmented digits. I do believe it displays 10+2 digits, with inline (-) symbols. The 2ND FUNC key is very unusual on these models. You press it AFTER performing the desired function. The calculator actually calculates for BOTH function's result, and the key toggles which result is displayed, and is used for the next operation. This leads to an unfortunate bug, however, where if you perform a calculation that is valid on one function, but would generate an error on the other, it will error out the calculator. Oddly enough, you could press the RESET key and clear the error, but you could STILL press 2ND FUNC to swap the other (valid) result in! And yes... This thing is an absolute BEAST! I love it! Still not as heavy as my SCM Cogito 240-SR or my Friden EC-132... Of course, this one IS portable, what with it's QUAD "D" type batteries! XD
It's not removable without some force. There were different reasons they put caps like that on them, One was to act as a sort of heat sink, another was to add headroom clearance for the chip die, If it has UVE/P capabilities then there would be a window covered by a sticker ot maybe its under the black paint but normally those are one shot PROMs kinda like the PROMs in a Motorola Syntor mobile radio.
EEVblog Just a suggestion, Dave, more mail opening and less teardowns for the Mailbag, leave the teardowns for Tuesday. :D Also longer videos, I don't mind an hour long video. :D
EEVblog I'd say there's absolutely nothing wrong with a quick little preview, especially on things that you can pop open quick, or things that individually, wouldn't warrant more than a few minutes for a teardown. I suspect people are only bring it up due to the combination of there being a backlog of mail, and the fact that the video was quite short. I'm just guessing you've just been rather busy lately. There was that Maker Fair event, and I'm sure you have plenty other things going on. Perfectly understandable. People just want to see more is all. I personally thing the quick little "mini" teardowns are nice! 658 of these man! You're doing something right!
EEVblog Yeah, a quick peek is fine, don't spend more than a couple of minutes. But the video was quite short, there is a ton of stuff to do, and more than half the video was spent on tearing down the two calculators and poking at the insides.
EEVblog it's ok, some items really don't warrant a full teardown vid as it takes 5~10 mins and that's it, or are not very interesting at a system-level
As someone who used to sell Calulators back in the Day, the Commodore was one of the LAST of the CBM calculators, after the GL series they just started to sell little LCD credit card sized ones. I used one of the GL series for a couple of years. Before that there was the US 3 US 4 up to US14 desk top, most with Plasma displays,and several pocket ones with individual VFD, One tube (valve) per digit. they sold a few LED units also. One interesting experiment is to try using a VFD as a triode. Commodore also MADE filling cabinents at one time, put mostly here in Canada only. I have yet to find a commodore Typewriter., I did see a commodore Adding Machine once, but did not get to touch it.
Terrence Stewart if you drink enough beers, you'll have received so many free glasses that you start using them for other things than drinking from. A while back I even threw away like 50 glasses because it was really getting out of hand LOL
I have a theory that Sharpies are actually a valuable currency in another dimension. They've managed to create short term openings between us and them in order to collect them. This would explain how an entire box of them can be cleaned out in a matter of a day or two even in a small office or shop. You rarely if ever find old worn out ones.
Loved the video, but I agree with some of the other comments, You really need to do Mail Bag more and longer then 19:47 you need at a minimum 45 to 60 minutes. Thanks.
It prolly took him 2+ hours to make this 19 minute video. That's a quarter of one's productive working day. Keep the panties on, he'll get to all the packages soon enough. I look at it as getting a Mail Bag every week until the pile is down to that's a win in my book.
In regards cutters--and indeed all electrical handy craft tools--my first and only stop shop is the Engineer brand. Absolutely fantastic. I have never once had a problem with any of them. Their tiny solder sucker, model 'SS-02' I think is the very best that is available.
I have several Commodore calculators, including my favorites, the S-61 Statistician and the N-60 Navigator, along with a PR100 programmable. I actually have well over 100 vintage calculators from the 1960s and on, as well as a couple REALLY ancient pre-electronic era ones, including a Burroughs Manual. It always displays 5318008 when not being played with. :P
I had an Adler 81s calculator from the mid70s to mid 80's, also with a green VFD, and dropped it one day at school, i have spent the last few weeks combing ebay for one, not found one yet!, battery life was terrible from 4xaaa! I didnt have much pocket money those days.
Looking forward to some teardown videos! Also, I wouldn't mind if these were a bit longer. In the past you usually made these videos at least 30 minutes, and I think it'd make a good video in the 45-60 minute range, especially when you have so many packages to go through!
You asked why the chip in the Commodore Calculator has a cap on it. "It's to protrct the EPROM and from light, which would errace the programming." BTW I love your cannel.
I am not a fan of calculators but those two you have shown today are just awesome. I like Commodore one just because it is a Commodore. And Compucorp one... That is a huge beast. At first I thought it has a printer built in :)
You talked in another video about repurposing screens and how to drive the, have you made that video already or is it still a future possibility? Love the eevblog!
the compucorp computer/calculator might only work with good batteries installed, even if a power supply is connected - I had a mini scope once with that odd requirement.
could you show us the display glowing when it is dark? without the case? This could make a nice clock. I love those old displays.... so nice and glowing in soft neon colors. :D
Had HQ sent down an engineer to help us with some quirks in one of the testers. Hi-Pot tester putting 1500VDC across the assembled unit to test for shorts. He borrowed our O'scope to check the waveforms, 1000VDC input. We had given up offering advice. Interesting little show, he was gone the next day.
To be completely honest, I've never seen a man so excited about a calculator. But I guess after the days of the slide rule, a calculator was a gift from God.
Portugal rule´s..!! Algarve is an very nice tourist site to visit Dave,and good food too..;) i love see repair videos as well..,Dave you also put longer videos in mailbag Monday´s....:D..
Not watching all of it to find the mask you refer to Sean. But, yes, early days you cleared the eproms by sticking them in a UV eraser for 10 mins :) Showing my age now. So, if exposure to light possible it was safer to put a cover over the glass top of the eprom.
Hi Dave, long time watching your EEVBlog. I almost jumped out of my socks when you got that calculator from Commdore. I have a few but not that model. Wonder what you do with the stuff after you presented it on the blog ? Maybe you could pass it on to a semi serious Commodore collector, just a though. =) Thanks for a nice show and I hope you continue forever.
My 2013 $500 worth smartphone has 5" 1920*1080 LCD display, has 2 gigs of RAM and 64 gigs of memory, insane amount of calculating power and capable of multitasking, voice calls, text messages and Internet connection. Small 10Wh battery is sufficient to run it for couple of days (or few hours with 100% load) and it weights just about 120 gramms in total. Looking for those calculators and "microcomputers" (which are just advanced calculators) and comparing to devices we have now just blows my mind. It's really hard to believe how fast the progress goes.
Dave, could you please do a video on how you would reverse engineer that "bobby dazzler" vacuum fluorescent display to figure out how one would repurpose it in a new design? Like was that probing the lines indicating that each digit is driven by a particular part of the pulse width or frequency? Would the voltage be different if you weren't pressing 8's, etc. I'd love you hear your thinking process as you reverse engineer this and get it hooked up to a micro controller like a PIC or Arduino. Thanks. I've learned so much from your VLOG.
It's actually quite simple. I repurposed a display just like that one to make a desk clock back in my misspent youth. Just think of it as a whole bunch of vacuum tube triodes. There's a thin filament in the front that supplies electrons (the cathode), each digit has a grid in front of it, and the individual glowing segments are the anodes, with corresponding segments from different digits wired together. So, you strobe the grids positive one at a time, and drive the anodes high/low to create the digit for that particular position.
Dave was just probing the power line, Each part of the pulse was one of the digits. . the tube itself is driven like any other vacuum fluorescent display with common anode/cathode that select the digit and individual connections for the segments. Like there'll be 8 connectors for the segments (and the dot), and 8 common anodes/cathodes for "selecting" the digit. Plenty of work on this has been done before, fortunately! Look up "ice tube clock" or something like that
***** ece3 Guys, I think you missed my point. I said "I'd love you hear your thinking process as you reverse engineer this and get it hooked up to a micro controller like a PIC or Arduino." Obviosuly I don't have one of those displays but the process of reverse engineering and figuring out how something works by an expert in electronics is like being virtually mentored. How does he approach debugging, reverse engineering, first steps, backing out of dead ends, what precautions are to be taken to avoid toasting the device, what do the oscilloscope readings mean, what should we look for, etc. These are the kinds of insights I'd love to see Dave muse about and teach. This is how apprecticeships and guilds work. The master teaches the student. I'm just a student and hobbyist here with no formal training in EE. I don't give a rats arse about *that* particular display. The saying goes "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man how to fish and you feed him for life." Dig it?
I have to say i'm a big fan of your videos. The cap on the LSI chip in the Commodore, could it be the die that you can flash to erase? I've seen mem. chips that have an exposed die so that you can "flash" it and erase it. Maybe a secret option to erase it?
That shirt. Everytime I can't help but think about that surgery joke. I postponed my minor surgery for another month, but I can't wait to write "Warranty Void if Opened." I will have to get someone else to write it because its on my back but hopefully I can get them to film it.
Hey Dave, what´s up...? Less than 20 minutes...? You´re alright...?....;) Why you´re "complaining" about people sending in so much stuff.... Just because we all *love* your show! So conclusion---> Go opening these boxes, and think of doin´ more of these shows, as we all do love them!! Go Dave, Go!!!
As for 10:00 and up, it´s just the other way round, as commodore started with calculators and later stept into the computer marked....But i like these C= calcs as well....ok i just see after 12:00 you already know that ;)
The knife cracks me up every time. Also loved the Commodore calculator.
Austrians just need bigger knives than the rest of us, since everything constantly tries to kill you there - or have you ever seen a single scorpion or snake in one of daves videos?
We had one of those Commodore calculators in the mid 70s. When my stepfather brought it home, we were all absolutely fascinated and played with it every evening for a few weeks.
Aussies' knife:) On every mailbag video I feel like Christmas, when I was a small child. Greets from Romania!
AS for your compucorp 322 calc, not only a teardown, at least i want you to make this thing working again. Showing us your mighty repair-ing skills and make this beauty working again....PLEASE Dave....hear me....this unit just deserves that...!! It´s just crying out loud....REPAIR Me....You´re the Guy....so don´t miss this upportunity....:) :) :)
Thanks for all the videos chap! I have almost no idea what your talking about most times but I love taking things apart :)
I'm not an electrical engineer but I like watching some of your videos (fun to learn random information about other industries/hobbies) but these mailbag ones are the best lol.
Oooooo! That Compucorp has the Burroughs Panaplex gas plasma display in it - Can't wait to see you fire that one up Dave! Geeeear!
Hey Fran, front door of your website with Bil. Look at the email address. Last time I looked your name is Fran not Fan
Dave gets all the cool toys! Envy....
I used to have a Commodore calculator just like that. It was my very first calculator. I was thankful for the fact that it had a rechargeable battery.
Speaking of spoons. I remember when you somehow cut your finger on a spoon and wore a bandage a few years back. This is much safer, haha!
Randy Lott Oh wow, yeah, I remember that!
A sharp knife is a safe knife, which means a spoon is far too dangerous a tool to use for opening mail. Be safe.
***** It was the spoon video
Yeah a quick open and peek is OK for mailbag Monday but a complete teardown should be left for Tuesday plus I would like to see a longer mailbag video
unless it's something like a business card calculator, or something really simple
slango20 yeah I agree with you, mini-teardowns (5-10 minutes) are fine for mailbags, more complicated devices need their own separate video. And I reckon Dave does plenty of research before he tears down more complicated devices, so the videos are more informative, and hopefully he gets to repair something
@EEVblog 14:22 maybe the chip is some sort of eeprom, with UV light erasing, and the black cap is to stop it from getting erased?
iver sobakk Yeah I thought of that too! :D It propably is light sensitive - possibly to store the bits of display characters, that's why there is a cap.
I have one Monroe version and another Compucorp version of that series calculator. I have a fully functional Monroe 344 Statistician model with dual program banks. The other one's broken. Also in storage, so I forgot the model. I've read they were very susceptible to static discharge.
You are going to LOVE that tear down. If I recall, there are 4 layers of PC boards. It has a Power PCB, a Memory PCB, a Processor PCB, and an IO PCB. It was very modular, and they used a crazy interconnect to bus the boards together.
The display is a 16 digit Panaplex neon gas display. It glows orange, like a nixie tube, but uses segmented digits. I do believe it displays 10+2 digits, with inline (-) symbols.
The 2ND FUNC key is very unusual on these models. You press it AFTER performing the desired function. The calculator actually calculates for BOTH function's result, and the key toggles which result is displayed, and is used for the next operation. This leads to an unfortunate bug, however, where if you perform a calculation that is valid on one function, but would generate an error on the other, it will error out the calculator. Oddly enough, you could press the RESET key and clear the error, but you could STILL press 2ND FUNC to swap the other (valid) result in!
And yes... This thing is an absolute BEAST! I love it!
Still not as heavy as my SCM Cogito 240-SR or my Friden EC-132... Of course, this one IS portable, what with it's QUAD "D" type batteries! XD
Wow, just getting into that and it ended..... Some great stuff to look forward to, keeping my eyes open for the videos.
Can' wait
The thing at 15:00 is a magnetron core of a mini flux capacitor. no Jigawatts needed.
I look forward to that tare-down Tuesday for that little computer at the end there. Looks awesome!
Good stuff Dave but you really need to make Mailbag Monday longer. :)
Take Care
Sue
hmm, i think we just need some mooore mondays per month, are we...?..;)
***** That would work also.
Is that cap on the microchip removable so you can erase it like in the old days with ultraviolet light?
I don't think that's an EPROM but who knows maybe you could change the software on the thing?
It's not removable without some force. There were different reasons they put caps like that on them, One was to act as a sort of heat sink, another was to add headroom clearance for the chip die, If it has UVE/P capabilities then there would be a window covered by a sticker ot maybe its under the black paint but normally those are one shot PROMs kinda like the PROMs in a Motorola Syntor mobile radio.
I recon, it was to wire the die to the pins or to mask write the chip.
No PICtree link? Suggestion to catch up with your mail - longer mailbags (this one was only 19:47) and/or more mailbags.
Can't wait to see inside that compucorp!
EEVblog Just a suggestion, Dave, more mail opening and less teardowns for the Mailbag, leave the teardowns for Tuesday. :D Also longer videos, I don't mind an hour long video. :D
Needs to flip the tables on Wednesday, turn that W into an M!
Make it a Massive Mailbag Medneday! :P
I can't help but feel it's a bit rude if I leave all the items for teardown Tuesday. what do others think?
EEVblog I'd say there's absolutely nothing wrong with a quick little preview, especially on things that you can pop open quick, or things that individually, wouldn't warrant more than a few minutes for a teardown.
I suspect people are only bring it up due to the combination of there being a backlog of mail, and the fact that the video was quite short. I'm just guessing you've just been rather busy lately. There was that Maker Fair event, and I'm sure you have plenty other things going on. Perfectly understandable.
People just want to see more is all. I personally thing the quick little "mini" teardowns are nice! 658 of these man! You're doing something right!
EEVblog Yeah, a quick peek is fine, don't spend more than a couple of minutes. But the video was quite short, there is a ton of stuff to do, and more than half the video was spent on tearing down the two calculators and poking at the insides.
EEVblog
it's ok, some items really don't warrant a full teardown vid as it takes 5~10 mins and that's it, or are not very interesting at a system-level
Loved the warranty void sticker at 18:23
As someone who used to sell Calulators back in the Day, the Commodore was one of the LAST of the CBM calculators, after the GL series they just started to sell little LCD credit card sized ones. I used one of the GL series for a couple of years. Before that there was the US 3 US 4 up to US14 desk top, most with Plasma displays,and several pocket ones with individual VFD, One tube (valve) per digit. they sold a few LED units also.
One interesting experiment is to try using a VFD as a triode.
Commodore also MADE filling cabinents at one time, put mostly here in Canada only. I have yet to find a commodore Typewriter., I did see a commodore Adding Machine once, but did not get to touch it.
I recognised that Commodore calculator right away. Those Commodore calculators are built like tanks. Simple, yet effective.
Those sharpie holders are a excellent idea ! I always misplace my sharpies in the workshop
I keep mine in a big glass beer mug.
Robert Calk Jr. Doesn't that make the beer taste bad?
Terrence Stewart
Not if you wash it first. I drink more Christian Brothers brandy & 7-up than beer anyway.
Terrence Stewart if you drink enough beers, you'll have received so many free glasses that you start using them for other things than drinking from. A while back I even threw away like 50 glasses because it was really getting out of hand LOL
I have a theory that Sharpies are actually a valuable currency in another dimension. They've managed to create short term openings between us and them in order to collect them. This would explain how an entire box of them can be cleaned out in a matter of a day or two even in a small office or shop. You rarely if ever find old worn out ones.
only 19 min with so many packages left?, i expected a 45+ min plus one hehe
Please Dave, make more reparation videos! I love them! They're yours best videos IMHO =)
Me too, I love it when Dave tries to repair something :)
Agreed, I love watching his process.
Loved the video, but I agree with some of the other comments, You really need to do Mail Bag more and longer then 19:47 you need at a minimum 45 to 60 minutes. Thanks.
I agree with you; but I think it's a LOT OF WORK to make such a long video :)
Terrence Stewart dave normally does longer Mail Bags, I was also surprised he stopped prematurely this time. must have been a busy day or something ^^
It prolly took him 2+ hours to make this 19 minute video. That's a quarter of one's productive working day. Keep the panties on, he'll get to all the packages soon enough. I look at it as getting a Mail Bag every week until the pile is down to that's a win in my book.
Sorry, not for me. If a video is longer than about 20 minutes it just goes in my skip list and I won't get round to watching it.
ib9rt Well Skip on then, It appears more people agreed with me and Dave's next Mailbag was over Fifty (50) minutes long.
The cap on the Commodore calc is for clearing the EPROM
(I know all of you knows it, but i've been studying and i had to say it)
Need longer mailbags! There is sooo much more to see. :)
Regarding the 177 Microvolt DMM's innards: So that's what a few of the dusty mystery items in the parts bins/boneyard in the Solon ex-factory were.
Just a guess, but is the cap on the LSI chip used to cover the EPROM to keep it from being erased?
Thanks Dave, I love that old stuff.
That bowie knife might be the new best thing about the Mailbag :)
Boy, have we came a long way really quickly!
The cap on the chip is to avoid light getting in. The chip is an EPROM
In regards cutters--and indeed all electrical handy craft tools--my first and only stop shop is the Engineer brand. Absolutely fantastic. I have never once had a problem with any of them. Their tiny solder sucker, model 'SS-02' I think is the very best that is available.
I have several Commodore calculators, including my favorites, the S-61 Statistician and the N-60 Navigator, along with a PR100 programmable. I actually have well over 100 vintage calculators from the 1960s and on, as well as a couple REALLY ancient pre-electronic era ones, including a Burroughs Manual. It always displays 5318008 when not being played with. :P
you should do something with that vacuum display
Wow some high quality parts in that old multimeter.
I had an Adler 81s calculator from the mid70s to mid 80's, also with a green VFD, and dropped it one day at school, i have spent the last few weeks combing ebay for one, not found one yet!, battery life was terrible from 4xaaa! I didnt have much pocket money those days.
Is the cap on the chip glued on because its UV eraseable?
The usps ready post bags have a rip cord, use them and you won't get dusted!
Perhaps the handle of the CC calculator doubles as a mousetrap?
Was the IC on the Commodore calculator UV erasable?
Looking forward to some teardown videos! Also, I wouldn't mind if these were a bit longer. In the past you usually made these videos at least 30 minutes, and I think it'd make a good video in the 45-60 minute range, especially when you have so many packages to go through!
Isn't the cap to stop UV wiping the chip?
With the cap on the IC, that's to wipe it using a flash of UV, yeah?
You asked why the chip in the Commodore Calculator has a cap on it. "It's to protrct the EPROM and from light, which would errace the programming." BTW I love your cannel.
I am not a fan of calculators but those two you have shown today are just awesome. I like Commodore one just because it is a Commodore. And Compucorp one... That is a huge beast. At first I thought it has a printer built in :)
That commodore calc rocks, I soooo want one now!
You talked in another video about repurposing screens and how to drive the, have you made that video already or is it still a future possibility? Love the eevblog!
Hi Dave, did you film the part where you are in front of the camera with the Sony? The color seems warmer and the dept of focus is shallower.
the compucorp computer/calculator might only work with good batteries installed, even if a power supply is connected - I had a mini scope once with that odd requirement.
Great Video. We all should be so inundated with those packages. :-)
Could you please tell me what camera you used to record this video? It's excellent at close ups
very clear. Thanks in advanced.
Another vote for longer MM videos. :)
could you show us the display glowing when it is dark? without the case?
This could make a nice clock. I love those old displays....
so nice and glowing in soft neon colors. :D
That resistor was going to the input not the out put follow the lead
Had HQ sent down an engineer to help us with some quirks in one of the testers. Hi-Pot tester putting 1500VDC across the assembled unit to test for shorts. He borrowed our O'scope to check the waveforms, 1000VDC input. We had given up offering advice. Interesting little show, he was gone the next day.
To be completely honest, I've never seen a man so excited about a calculator. But I guess after the days of the slide rule, a calculator was a gift from God.
that vacuum florescent display would make an awesome clock or watch.
Portugal rule´s..!! Algarve is an very nice tourist site to visit Dave,and good food too..;)
i love see repair videos as well..,Dave you also put longer videos in mailbag Monday´s....:D..
Mask on the Commodore - is it an EPROM of some sort - so covered to prevent accidental erasure / decay?
Not watching all of it to find the mask you refer to Sean. But, yes, early days you cleared the eproms by sticking them in a UV eraser for 10 mins :) Showing my age now. So, if exposure to light possible it was safer to put a cover over the glass top of the eprom.
Peter Locke About 11 minutes in - tear-down of a Commodore Calculator :)
The cap? Possibly to cover the EPROM window, so you don't accidentally erase it.
Hi Dave, long time watching your EEVBlog. I almost jumped out of my socks when you got that calculator from Commdore. I have a few but not that model. Wonder what you do with the stuff after you presented it on the blog ? Maybe you could pass it on to a semi serious Commodore collector, just a though. =) Thanks for a nice show and I hope you continue forever.
My 2013 $500 worth smartphone has 5" 1920*1080 LCD display, has 2 gigs of RAM and 64 gigs of memory, insane amount of calculating power and capable of multitasking, voice calls, text messages and Internet connection. Small 10Wh battery is sufficient to run it for couple of days (or few hours with 100% load) and it weights just about 120 gramms in total. Looking for those calculators and "microcomputers" (which are just advanced calculators) and comparing to devices we have now just blows my mind. It's really hard to believe how fast the progress goes.
Imagine the things we'll have in just a few decades or even years...
I saw that you got postcard from Woodstock! Greetings from Poland ;)
perhaps u need to do another episode f mailbag - to catch up.
like mailbag Friday.
I feel slightly sorry for anyone who breaks into his house. They won't stand a chance against that giant, ridiculously sharp knife.
no teardown of the compucorp? ) :
I've never got the hype about old calculators. Anyway. Great stuff, Dave, love your videos.
at 16:25 i thought, you never going to lean it how to open correclty :D
That's a nice knife, where did you get it?
What's wrong with opening the mail?
Dave, could you please do a video on how you would reverse engineer that "bobby dazzler" vacuum fluorescent display to figure out how one would repurpose it in a new design? Like was that probing the lines indicating that each digit is driven by a particular part of the pulse width or frequency? Would the voltage be different if you weren't pressing 8's, etc. I'd love you hear your thinking process as you reverse engineer this and get it hooked up to a micro controller like a PIC or Arduino. Thanks. I've learned so much from your VLOG.
It's actually quite simple. I repurposed a display just like that one to make a desk clock back in my misspent youth. Just think of it as a whole bunch of vacuum tube triodes. There's a thin filament in the front that supplies electrons (the cathode), each digit has a grid in front of it, and the individual glowing segments are the anodes, with corresponding segments from different digits wired together. So, you strobe the grids positive one at a time, and drive the anodes high/low to create the digit for that particular position.
Dave was just probing the power line, Each part of the pulse was one of the digits. . the tube itself is driven like any other vacuum fluorescent display with common anode/cathode that select the digit and individual connections for the segments. Like there'll be 8 connectors for the segments (and the dot), and 8 common anodes/cathodes for "selecting" the digit. Plenty of work on this has been done before, fortunately! Look up "ice tube clock" or something like that
***** ece3 Guys, I think you missed my point. I said "I'd love you hear your thinking process as you reverse engineer this and get it hooked up to a micro controller like a PIC or Arduino." Obviosuly I don't have one of those displays but the process of reverse engineering and figuring out how something works by an expert in electronics is like being virtually mentored. How does he approach debugging, reverse engineering, first steps, backing out of dead ends, what precautions are to be taken to avoid toasting the device, what do the oscilloscope readings mean, what should we look for, etc. These are the kinds of insights I'd love to see Dave muse about and teach. This is how apprecticeships and guilds work. The master teaches the student. I'm just a student and hobbyist here with no formal training in EE. I don't give a rats arse about *that* particular display. The saying goes "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man how to fish and you feed him for life." Dig it?
ELFA box, the first one from Sweden :D Swedish company ELFA, which distributes electronics components, instruments, tools, and books :D
I wish it was mailbag everyday!!
That cap on the chip makes it look like it has some EPROM functionality.
how about Spork ?
cap on the chip could be a heatsink
I have to say i'm a big fan of your videos. The cap on the LSI chip in the Commodore, could it be the die that you can flash to erase? I've seen mem. chips that have an exposed die so that you can "flash" it and erase it. Maybe a secret option to erase it?
That shirt. Everytime I can't help but think about that surgery joke. I postponed my minor surgery for another month, but I can't wait to write "Warranty Void if Opened." I will have to get someone else to write it because its on my back but hopefully I can get them to film it.
wait are you saying you've never played knifie spoonie before?
0:39 I see a ctt package, it means that is from portugal!!!!
A mailbag of 20 minutes? Can't be much more than a couple of packages then. :D
cap on chip, uv chip mechanically secured?
waldsteiger I know it is a late answer but I think it is an UV deletable chip, and the cap just protects the chip from light.
You should bring that calculator with you to the next Maker Fair! :P
Dave, if you keep with that pace you won't be able to open the door of your lab some day. :D
Yay my Postcard arrived :)
I like the lighted display its so retro
OMG, only 20 minutes ? :)
Infinite mailbags!!!
"Hmm, looks like Australia Post repaired this package, I'll just use my knife here..." Doh....."
Great video Dave, Lots of cool stuff.
Hey Dave, what´s up...? Less than 20 minutes...? You´re alright...?....;)
Why you´re "complaining" about people sending in so much stuff.... Just because we all *love* your show! So conclusion--->
Go opening these boxes, and think of doin´ more of these shows, as we all do love them!!
Go Dave, Go!!!
What the heck is a "Bobby dezler"?
I wonder how many people send you their mailbag stuff in those fluff loaded envelopes, just to see your reaction.
As for 10:00 and up, it´s just the other way round, as commodore started with calculators and later stept into the computer marked....But i like these C= calcs as well....ok i just see after 12:00 you already know that ;)
4:45 Why does this remind me of Ikea? Follow the numbers. :)
It's "Houston, we've had a problem,"
Maybe I should send you a desktop hoover for that awful particular packaging xD