Beauty of old electrical and measuring things, etc.

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
Sign up Log in
706 replies · 138K views
hutchphd said:
(Type 201-A tubes)
It's similar to this Raytheon B-H vacuum tube, which I tested and still works (it's a little dirty until I get a chance to clean it up). What I think is cool is the 4-pin vibration proof socket:

BH tube.jpg
 
Last edited:
Reply
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: DennisN and jedishrfu
Engineering news on Phys.org
hutchphd said:
glass sphere which makes very nice coronal discharges.
Yep.
small IMG_3575.jpg

It's also cool how it induces these flicker bulbs to light.
flicker.jpg

The one on the left is very old.
 
Last edited:
Reply
  • Like
  • Love
Likes   Reactions: DennisN, davenn, berkeman and 3 others
Not electrical nor measuring, but still a beauty IMO.
small IMG_3592.jpg

small IMG_3593.jpg

It needs a little work; a new nose cone and a few holes.
 
Reply
  • Like
  • Love
Likes   Reactions: davenn, DennisN, anorlunda and 1 other person
Here's what the engine looks like. I'm not sure what the fuel is; will have to do some research.
small IMG_3595.jpg
 
I saw some items on Amazon and there are some videos on YouTube to help. Here's the first one that popped up after a quick search.



You might be able to contact the channel owner about your specific plane too.

Fuel on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=model+airplane+fuel&ref=nb_sb_noss

I remember the fuel having a kind of sweet smell like a mix of kerosene and oil maybe? I figured to oil is needed for this type of engine.
 
Here's a couple photos of one of my beauties, wood and onyx with no wires:
small IMG_3599.jpg

small IMG_3600.jpg
 
Reply
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: DennisN, davenn, Borg and 1 other person
Here's an old beauty I've had put back for a while and it actually measures something fairly fundamental.
IMG_3610.JPG


IMG_3611.JPG
 
Last edited:
Reply
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: collinsmark and DennisN
anorlunda said:
Beautiful. My dad was a clock collector, and he had a couple that looked much like that. Who was the clockmaker?
Only thing I can find is "Seth Thomas".
 
anorlunda said:
I'm not an expert on antiques or collectibles. But I think Seth Thomas is quality but not rare.
Thank you. I did some google searching but couldn't find one like it.
 
Here's another big beauty that's needing a lot of work (it does involve a little electricity):
plane-1.jpg

plane-2.jpg

plane-3.jpg
 
Last edited:
Reply
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: collinsmark and berkeman
I got the old clock mounted with my other meters and gauges (which needs some glass cleaning).
clock mount.jpg
 
Reply
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: collinsmark, anorlunda and berkeman
anorlunda said:
Is it running? .does it keep good time?
The hands are in a different position compared to the previous pictures, so I'm assuming it is running. I want to know if it chimes every 15 minutes... :smile:
 
berkeman said:
Looks nice on that wall. Looks like you're running out of wall space, though! :smile:
I am. Had to use one of my book shelf stands in my storm shelter for the radios in there. Now I've got stacks of books in the spare bedroom. :oldcry:
 
anorlunda said:
Is it running? .does it keep good time?
It runs for a while then stops. I'm going to open the clock mechanisms and do a little cleaning, etc. It chimes okay if you manually set the hands.
 
berkeman said:
I want to know if it chimes every 15 minutes...
No. Only on the hour. Thank goodness.
 
dlgoff said:
It runs for a while then stops. I'm going to open the clock mechanisms and do a little cleaning, etc. It chimes okay if you manually set the hands.
The effective way to clean a clock works is in an ultrasonic bath. That would mean removing the works and finding someplace to send it off for cleaning. That may be more effort than you care to invest.

It is easy to overlook the time, trouble and expense that prior generations had to spend to keep their mechanical timepieces functional.

Edit: That reminds me of another thing I miss from my years on the boat. The ships clock, sounding up to 8 bells every watch became an important part of our lives.
 
anorlunda said:
Is it running? .does it keep good time?
I've gotten it running great. It looses just about 30 seconds/hour; I'll shorten the pendulum length a little. There's a very fine thread screw built into the hanging mass:
pendulum.jpg


Once I got the hands in the right position for the chiming, it has chimed the correct number of time every hour.
 
Last edited:
anorlunda said:
The effective way to clean a clock works is in an ultrasonic bath.
I have an heated ultrasonic cleaner that I use on my optical project; which had been neglected for a year or so, but I've already got it going without much cleaning. (See above post)
 
Last edited:
dlgoff said:
I have an heated ultrasonic cleaner that I use on my optical project; which had been neglected for a year or so, but I've already got it going without much cleaning. (See above post)
Very cool. A while back, I was doing some research into mechanical wind up mantel clocks, and I finally learned from a youtube video the reasoning behind "don't apply too much oil to a clock". I just always thought it was to keep things neat and clean (pride in workmanship), and to avoid accumulating dust that might work its way into the bearing.

But it was explained that just the right amount of oil was enough so that the surface tension held the oil drop in place, clinging to the bearing. This kept it oiled for a reasonably long time. If you applied "too much", it would run out, break the surface tension, and you ended up with less oil in the bearing. So a little counterintuitive, but I think Mies van der Rohe would agree "Less is More".

Maybe this is common knowledge, but it was new to me.
 
Reply
  • Informative
Likes   Reactions: DaveE, dlgoff and Tom.G