Beauty of old electrical and measuring things, etc.

[Charlie Cheap]

Be a day or two to get them all powdered and rouged for the camera.

"Powdered and rouged"...todays youngsters have no idea what you are talking about. At 75 I do! Somewhere I may still have a "belly-button Brownie"...remember those? Back in the early 50's my Dad and I were on a trip where he returned from the bathroom laughing so hard he was choking on his tobacco chew. I asked what was so funny, and he told me someone had taken the Kodak counter ad-sign that said "Film for your Brownie"...and placed over the toilet paper roll. We both laughed for a 100 miles.

 

[dlgoff]

Don, as you can see by my 65 Mustang I am an old car guy. One thing you may not know is, if you have old hard rubber items, say headphone covers, wipe them generously with lacquer thinner to soften them. It works great on old rubber car parts, like window seals that are no longer available. Afterwards, Armorall helps keep them soft. Phosphoric acid works great on old rusty metal...but don't drop an old Rare 40 Ford rearview mirror in it overnight...next morning glass is all that is left.

Don, I forgot...Pot metal is not safe around phosphoric acid...which I learned the hard way.

Thanks Charlie. I'll certainly keep these in mind.

 

[davenn]

Don, I don't know where you live, but if it is anywhere near Detroit, this may interest you ...

https://www.shopgoodwill.com/Item/63022552

a bunch of older Motorola test gear for saleDave

 

[dlgoff]

Don, I don't know where you live, but if it is anywhere near Detroit, this may interest you ...

https://www.shopgoodwill.com/Item/63022552

a bunch of older Motorola test gear for saleDave

Wow Dave. That's some good looking test equipment. Thanks for thinking of me. Unfortunately I live west of Kansas City, so it would be a fairly long drive for this old man.

That and it's really cold this winter.

 

[davenn]

Thanks for thinking of me.

you're welcome

That and it's really cold this winter.

one of the hottest summers on record for parts of Australia It's been dreadful
So many days over 40C (104F) so far. the hottest in my area has been 43C
the record is 52C (125F) in northern South Australia State ... just crazy

 

[dlgoff]

Here's a photo of my vacuum system, made of old stuff, doing a pump-down. Here, the beauty is in "system's" reliability. After hundreds of pump-downs, never a component failure.

 

[dlgoff]

I was given a https://www.radiolaguy.com/Showcase/TestEquipment/B&K_550.htm panel that was covered with dryed mud. After lots of cleaning I built a wooden box frame for mounting the tube tester on. Here are a couple pictures of this old beauty from around 1959.

The thing works very well so I'll be putting it to good use.

 

[Janus]

I remember when tube testers could be found all over the place, even in grocery stores.

 

[dlgoff]

I remember when tube testers could be found all over the place, even in grocery stores.

Yes. The one I have looks like it may have been in a store.
My first use of a tube tester was in my little town's Standard Oil gas station.

image compliments of https://www.dividend.com/how-to-invest/the-complete-visual-history-of-standard-oil/

 

[Borg]

I was given a https://www.radiolaguy.com/Showcase/TestEquipment/B&K_550.htm panel that was covered with dryed mud. After lots of cleaning I built a wooden box frame for mounting the tube tester on. Here are a couple pictures of this old beauty from around 1959.

View attachment 241927

View attachment 241928

The thing works very well so I'll be putting it to good use.

I think that I have the same oscilloscope that's in the background.

 

[jim hardy]

The thing works very well so I'll be putting it to good use.

Don i just have to remark on the craftsmanship you demonstrate in your restorations of these beautiful old pieces.

C'est Beaux , mon ami !

old jim

 

[dlgoff]

I think that I have the same oscilloscope that's in the background.

And I have two of them.

 

[dlgoff]

Don i just have to remark on the craftsmanship you demonstrate in your restorations of these beautiful old pieces.

C'est Beaux , mon ami !

old jim

Thank you Jim.

 

[Charlie Cheap]

Before I went to Elkins Institute to become a TV service tech (TV repairman in my day) I used one of theses at the local 7-11 to keep our TV's working. They worked great...the tester and our TV. How times have changed!

 

[DrClaude]

An engineering marvel:

 

[OmCheeto]

An engineering marvel:

Looking at the 18½ minute run time for that video, I guessed that I wouldn't make it to the end.
I was wrong.

 

[dlgoff]

An engineering marvel:

Wow. What a cool engineering marvel. I want one.

Thanks for sharing @DrClaude.

 

[berkeman]

Wow. What a cool engineering marvel. I want one.

But only if you can restore it, right Don?

 

[dlgoff]

But only if you can restore it, right Don?

I'd make it look brand new.

 

[dlgoff]

Along with the B&K 550 tube tester, I was also give it's tube chart and it's B&K 610 expansion panel.

Here's a couple pictures of the expansion panel. IMO the 610's beauty comes from it's rotary switches.

Here's the tube tester with it's expansion panel & chart:

 

[jim hardy]

The silkscreenng looks pristine,

resistors are all oriented so color code reads L to R
service loops in all the wires

Somebody took pride in his workmanship.

What a find !

old jim

 

[berkeman]

resistors are all oriented so color code reads L to R

And I thought I was the only person who did that in my hand-built boards...

 

[dlgoff]

Somebody took pride in his workmanship.

And I thought I was the only person who did that in my hand-built boards...

That's because you all enjoy beauty too I think.

 

[davenn]

And I thought I was the only person who did that in my hand-built boards...

naaaa, all us good techies do that. It was ingrained into us not long after "Adam was a boy"

 

[dlgoff]

I've got my old vacuum system beauty,

all pumped down.

Now I'm going to try depositing a layer of gold one some round glass microscope slip covers (cleaned and coated with a thin layer of "clear" exposed photo-resist). I find that the photo-resist makes for a stronger metal bond. This same type of photo resist will then be used to etch a pattern on the gold layer. Here's a photograph showing the gold sample before it gets melted.

 

[dlgoff]

Here, the beauty is in "system's" reliability. After hundreds of pump-downs, never a component failure.

No matter how reliable rotary vacuum pumps are, they still need maintenance. One of my Edwards 8 dual stage pumps started to perform below expectations, so it's time for a clean and overhaul.

Here, the beauty is in the interior parts.

Oh BTW. Vacuum pump oil makes it a really messy job.

 

[DrClaude]

A restauration master at work

 

[dlgoff]

A restauration master at work

Just goes to show that restorations are no easy matter. Now you've got me wanting an old micrometer.

 

[davenn]

A restauration master at work

I kinda disagree with filing off of the casting ridges and filling on of hollows ( unless the hollows were caused by damage). Those ridges and hollows are part of the originality of its creation and now its uniqueness has been lost

Just goes to show that restorations are no easy matter.

yeah, it helps to have the right tools to do the job

 

[DrClaude]

I kinda disagree with filing off of the casting ridges and filling on of hollows ( unless the hollows were caused by damage). Those ridges and hollows are part of the originality of its creation and now its uniqueness has been lost

I agree. He does that in all similar restorations, but I think he should only repair damage.

yeah, it helps to have the right tools to do the job

And the talent!

 

[jim hardy]

Takes patience and manual dexterity.

My old friend Harry and a fiddle restoration in progress.
Note home made fiddle clamps - old sewing thread spools work well.

Difference between a fiddle and a violin ?
Violins don't get beer spilt on 'em.
(@dlgoff that's your Grandma's violin)

sorry ths one's off topic, being not electrical..

old jim

 

[dlgoff]

Takes patience and manual dexterity.

My old friend Harry and a fiddle restoration in progress.
Note home made fiddle clamps - old sewing thread spools work well.

View attachment 244989

Difference between a fiddle and a violin ?
Violins don't get beer spilt on 'em.
(@dlgoff that's your Grandma's violin)

sorry ths one's off topic, being not electrical..

old jim

Thanks for posting this photograph @jim hardy. I was going to post it here once I got your permission but just hadn't gotten around to asking you.

 

[davenn]

Difference between a fiddle and a violin ?
Violins don't get beer spilt on 'em.

hahaha

 

[dlgoff]

My old friend Harry and a fiddle restoration in progress.

Harry did a great job putting this violin back together after all the abuse I gave it as a kid.

sorry ths one's off topic, being not electrical.

But the waveforms a violin produces is just as complicated as electrical analog signals. Years ago, after my school's EE department invited Robert Moog to explain the electronics of the music synthesizer he designed and built, I played around making analog circuits that "duplicated" string instruments. IIRC a violin's waveforms are rich in odd harmonics.
Anyway, here's that old violin now.

 

[jim hardy]

IIRC a violin's waveforms are rich in odd harmonics.

They're interesting also from a mechanical perspective.
The front and back vibrate in various modes, not just as a simple sheet
a wood soundpost about the diameter of a pencil is placed right underneath the 'bridge' to mechanically couple couple them,
and a 'bass bar' stiffens the front to help it produce low notes,
as you can imagine the varying thickness of those front and back plates controls the sound of the fiddle.
Yours was well made. The neck mount was unusual, similar to that of a region in the way northeast of Germany. Harry liked its tone and said whoever thinned its front and back knew what he was doing..

Theory of vibrating plates is an interesting niche

History of Chladni's Law
f ~ (m+2n)^2
The story behind the equation:
Ernest Florens Friedrich Chladni of Saxony is often respectfully referred to as "the Father of Acoustics". Indeed, his body of work on the vibration of plates has served as the foundation of many experiments by countless other scientists, including Faraday, Strehlke, Savart, Young, and especially Mary Desiree Waller. Chladni's study consisted of vibrating a fixed, circular plate with a violin bow and then sprinkling fine sand across it to show the various nodal lines and patterns. The experiment is particularly rewarding in that high frequencies often exhibit strikingly complex patterns (see the pictures on the image page). In fact, Chladni's demonstrations in many royal academies and scientific institutions frequently drew large crowds who were duly impressed with the aesthetically sophisticated qualities of vibrating plates. Napoleon himself was so pleased with Chladni's work that he commissioned the further study of the mathematical principles of vibrating plates which then spurred a plethora of research in waves and acoustics. While experimental methods and equipment have been much improved in the last 200 years, Chladni's law and original patterns are still regularly employed to study plate vibrations.
References:
Rossing, Thomas D. "Chladni's Law for Vibrating Plates." American Journal of Physics.Vol 50. no 3. March, 1982.

see also
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/violintro.htmlhttp://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/chladni.html
I hope your grandchildren enjoy it as much as you did..

 

[dlgoff]

They're interesting also from a mechanical perspective.
The front and back vibrate in various modes, not just as a simple sheet
a wood soundpost about the diameter of a pencil is placed right underneath the 'bridge' to mechanically couple couple them,
and a 'bass bar' stiffens the front to help it produce low notes,
as you can imagine the varying thickness of those front and back plates controls the sound of the fiddle.
Yours was well made. The neck mount was unusual, similar to that of a region in the way northeast of Germany. Harry liked its tone and said whoever thinned its front and back knew what he was doing..

Theory of vibrating plates is an interesting nichesee also
http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/violintro.htmlhttp://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/chladni.html
I hope your grandchildren enjoy it as much as you did..

Thanks for these references Jim. And thank Harry for his expert restoration.
I hope this fiddle will be passed down for generations.

 

[davenn]

Hi Don,

Had to show you this old bit of gear I found in a historical society museum in the city of Bathurst, NSW Australia.
Wife and I had a long weekend holiday there a couple of weekend's ago

Dating from the early 1900's, an X-ray "machine"

No shielding or anything, just "spray and pray" hahahaDave

 

[dlgoff]

Hi Don,

Had to show you this old bit of gear I found in a historical society museum in the city of Bathurst, NSW Australia.
Wife and I had a long weekend holiday there a couple of weekend's ago

Dating from the early 1900's, an X-ray "machine"

View attachment 245251

View attachment 245252

No shielding or anything, just "spray and pray" hahahaDave

That is so awesome @davenn. I'd love to be "spraying" some X-rays with it. Would go good with my other "spray" machine.

 

[Mark44]

sorry ths one's off topic, being not electrical..

Just put a pickup in it, making it an electric violin.

 

[dlgoff]

Just put a pickup in it, making it an electric violin.

Just like my old friend Robby Steinhardt did.

 

[davenn]

Just like my old friend Robby Steinhardt did.

don't know him

 

[dlgoff]

don't know him

He played in the band Kansas.

 

[dlgoff]

I was recently given this Radio Shack (Realistic) PRO-77A VHF HI-LO SCANNER. The easiest part of this restoration was giving it a new black "hammer toned" finish. The hardest part was finding and replacing one of the channel lamps. The only one I could come up with that would fit the front panel's lamp hole was rated for 3 Volts DC and the scanner's lamp supply was 14 Volts DC. So after a little trial and error I found a resistor, when in series with the lamp, emitted the right intensity (brightness). Here's the finished receiver:
(Edit: According to https://www.radiomuseum.org/, it was manufactured in 1978 ??)

Also, here's an old Johnson Duo-Scan receiver I've had for a while. Just needed a good cleaning.

 

[jim hardy]

Just put a pickup in it, making it an electric violin.

Sounds incongruous at first.
But - why not ? It'd make for interesting experiments.
A tiny accelerometer right under the bridge perhaps...
I guess it's no more outlandish than my kids' Bluetooth turntable

wow, i thought his was startling enough...

Roll Over, Beethoven !

old jim

 

[Avaro667]

Even as a kid, I saw beauty in old devices. That made me want to understand how they worked. I had lots of old things that I keep and now reviving. Old things need to work to see the beauty. Here's what I've done so far.

Two views of the gadgets shelves and my small work space:

View attachment 134695

View attachment 134696

Here's a close up look at the meters, gauges and other measuring things:

View attachment 134697

This is what I think of as surface-mount electrical components and wiring. The components are very old and shows how electrical wiring was done from ~1915 to ~1930+. The ceramic "stand-offs" were called knobs and ceramic "through-hole" insulators (usually through wood beams) were called tubes. Hence the name, knob and tube wiring. I haven't acquired any tubes however.

View attachment 134698

Everything has been wired to power (with the exception of the knife switch w/fuses with vintage incoming and outgoing cloth insulated wire). The toggle switch is made of black ceramic and brass. The bluish color bulb is very old and still works. The other white bulb is modern, but the pull-chain socket is vintage.

View attachment 134699

View attachment 134700

Here's two reproduction Edison bulbs in vintage ceramic sockets and is switched by the right push-button switches (other push-button is a spare). The switch cover is brass plated copper.

View attachment 134701

These ceramic sockets have pull-chain switches in their bases. The switches still work and the pull chains are original. The clearance between the pull-chain and rotating brass contacts is very small. That's probably why the left pull-chain has an insulator in it.

There's another push-button switch and duplex receptacle in the wall under the surface stuff. It's receptacle and cover are made of Bakelite. That push-button turns on these bulbs:

View attachment 134702

Two of the bulbs are really old; one uses neon to make a flickering flame and one uses phosphorescent purple and green flowers and leaves. They’re running on 115 volt power. The other ones (note the big 1000 watt bulb) filaments are being lighted by 25 volts via a step down transformer so as to just glow and not overwhelm the gas bulbs. The gas bulbs are screwed into vintage ceramic sockets.

There are three high voltage transformers (two are really old). The 6.0 kV transformer powers the green neon tube. Check out how it illuminates my old glassware.

View attachment 134703

The 7.5 kV transformer applies its potential to one end of small vintage fluorescent tubes inserted in the test-tube & distilling flask and causes them to glow from "static" discharge. Note how I tried to make the flask appear to be condensing drops of light from the string of very small neon tubes inside the flask's discharge tube. I was very lucky to find the drip shaped neon tube. I took it out of an old Heath-Kit fish/depth finder.

View attachment 134704

The 9.0 kV transformer power is applied to handmade electrodes. I had two really old bi-metal temperature switches where I removed and reshaped the bi-metal, added the brass "arc tips", and attached them to a vintage glass power line pole insulator. After being power, the bi-metal leads are orientated such that the heat from the current causes the gag to increase; making the arc get longer and longer.

View attachment 134705

This is still a work in progress as I still have to add a brass platted duplex receptacle to supply power to the oscilloscope and sweep generator (just left of the scope) shown in the first photo.

If you have any thing old and would like to share a photo, please do. It's all beautiful in my mind.

Most of these are way older than i am .
Your collection is really nice & quite inspiring,you should be proud of it. It indeed looks very beautiful !

 

[dlgoff]

Your collection is really nice & quite inspiring,you should be proud of it.

Thank you. I'm happy you've taken a look at my goodies.

 

[dlgoff]

I came across this Solarcon Imax 2000 antenna that was really made for the 10 meter Ham Radio Band but can be tuned for 11 meter Citizen Band radio. It's a 5/8 wave vertical antenna; maybe @berkeman can explain how a 5/8 wave antenna works. From what I've been able to find, a 5/8 wave antenna provides a smaller angle (from horizon) of emission than the 1/4 and 1/2 wave antennas; making it good for "DXing". Here's a review of this antenna from CBRadioMagazine.com. It's 24 feet in length; the one on the left.

I'm using it on my Kris 23+ CB:

 

[dlgoff]

Here's a couple OLD beauties I recently acquired:

A GE NE40 neon flicker lamp (manufactured by General Electric)

and a CE 26-C photocell (manufactured by the Continental Electric Co.)

I put the GE NE40 in series with my other flicker lamps that are coupled to the electric field of a plasma globe.

I used a Benjamin tube socket to make a base to display the CE 26-C.

 

[Charlie Cheap]

When I was in radio school in Dallas, tubes were being phased out for transistors (1969) then circuit boards, then IC's. I got out in 1988 when I realized TV repair was going out due to cheap TV's from off-shore and basically being perfected. My son-in-law plays guitar and told me many of them are going back to TUBE amps for their clarity. When he asked why are they so good, I just guessed and said, Maybe amplifying a signal through a solid device is not as CLEAN as amplifying it through a vacuum. Anyway, a lot of musicians are hunting old tube amps.

 

[dlgoff]

My son-in-law plays guitar and told me many of them are going back to TUBE amps for their clarity.

From https://audiophilereview.com/tubes.html

Vacuum tubes are the most sexy, elusive and magical element of all of high end audio. The glowing tube, the single ended tube - it's enough to make an audiophile cry with tears of joy. Maybe tubes aren't as powerful or as accurate as solid state designs but there is just something thrilling about tubes that can't be beat.