2020-04-26 Flip Dots of Futures Past
Posted by AnubisTTP

In recent months we have added several new items to the Technology Museum section of the site: * Integrated Circuits: An unusual Crossfiber optical switching IC, a mechanical display crossdressing as an integrated circuit. * Nixie & Gas Discharge Displays: The common but sturdy Phillips ZM1000, a neon filled Nixie tube with a unique base. * Transistors and Diodes: A metal can Western Electric KS 21073 Fetron , which was designed to be a solid state tube replacement for telephone switching systems. * Calculators and Adding Machines: A Texas Instruments Business Analyst, a common handheld calculator from 1976 with a LED display and rechargeable battery.

2020-01-07 Causal Domain Shear
Posted by AnubisTTP

If parallel universes are real, what would their LED displays look like? They might looks something like the LITEF 104267, a completely alien device birthed by the bowels of the Cold War military-industrial machine. Would you expect your parallel universe LED to have a brazed metal lid, but also have multiple convex glass windows? How about a decimal point on a 5x7 LED matrix, only with the decimal point put in the wrong place? The LITEF 104267 has all this and more, and in our latest article we take a deep dive into what makes this LED tick. We have also added some more pedestrian items to our Technology Museum, including a pair of Burroughs BIP-8232 and BIP-8521 BIPCO Nixie tube modules, each equipped with a B5991 Nixie tube. Burroughs BIPCO line of Nixie tube drivers contains a vast and expansive library of parts, most of which are completely undocumented.

2019-12-04 Filament Fusion
Posted by AnubisTTP

Have you ever looked at a Minitron display and wished that it had twice the failure rate at four times the cost? If so, a Wamco Two Digit Minitron could be the display of your dreams. This bizarre display incorporates two filament numerals into a single evacuated envelope, a terrible idea for anyone who looks for reliability or non-ridiculous socket requirements in a display. In a sane world a display like this should have never been made, but it has been made, and we have added one to our Technology Museum page. We have also added several other new items to the site, including a nickel plated Sargent & Greenleaf Type L Time Lock variant, and an unusual Homemade Crookes Tube, a device likely constructed out of a Liebig condenser by a financially-strapped physics department.

2019-08-18 Quack Shot
Posted by AnubisTTP

At the turn of the century, the US saw an explosion in the manufacture and sale of quack medicine electronics. The builders of these devices claimed that everything from cancer to female hysteria could be cured with the proper application of high voltage and magic light bulbs. We have recently added a tube from just such a device to our Geissler Tubes section; a Fischer Diathermy Tesla probe. Used in Fischer diathermy machines, it was claimed that passing a high voltage through this device and waving it theatrically over a sick patient would "cure" them of all manner of quaint-sounding ailments. These claims have largely been disproven in modern times, but that does not change the fact that a Fischer diathermy probe is a very eye-catching device when in operation. Other recent additions include a Westinghouse 1B32 spark gap tube, which has been added to our Spark Gap and Trigger Tubes page,as well as a Fairchild FPA 700 Phototransistor Array , which has been added to our Transistors and Diodes page,

2019-04-26 Spider Pig
Posted by AnubisTTP

The season of electronics salvage is close at hand; Dayton Hamvention 2019 is rapidly approaching, and on May 17th, 18th, and 19th we will be occupying flea market booth numbers 9440, 9441 and 9442 at the Greene County Fairgrounds. We will have an assortment of vintage electronics and components available, as well as a vast pile of heavy electrical and computer scrap begging to be sold. Those unfortunate souls who have never attended Dayton Hamvention can experience equal portions of envy and lust by viewing Hamvention flea market photos of years past. Not all of our updates are related to Hamvention lore. We have also added a new unidentified electronic object to our Mysterious Artifacts page, This unusual device is some sort of mechanical incandescent readout, but it's function and purpose are completely mysterious. Can you identify this strange display?

2019-03-29 Gargantua
Posted by AnubisTTP

We have recently added a number of new items to the Technology Museum section of the site: * LEDs and Solid State Indicators: A large and unusual Monsanto MV4H LED, quite possibly the first attempt at producing a high power LED device. * Clocks and Timers: An ornate Yale Triple L time lock, a complicated mechanical device designed to protect a bank vault from Victorian-era enemies. * Transistors and Diodes: A gold plated Teledyne TR1002 Fetron , a solid state tube replacement sold as a part replacement for a number of Heathkit kits. * Integrated Circuits: An IDT 7M912, a large ceramic SRAM integrated circuit that is thoroughly encrusted with smaller surface mount components.

2019-01-04 I Just do Eyes
Posted by AnubisTTP

The world of electron tube collecting can be a very strange place, but it can be easy to forget just how strange it can get. We have recently added a totally perplexing glass eye Crookes tube to the Geissler & Gas Discharge Tubes section of the site. This tube is a bizarre mystery, and contains a glass eye mounted in a large envelope filled with what appears to be low pressure argon. The tube has several electrodes and when energized, the eyeball illuminates with the help of UV-sensitive glass. Even covens of witches can't resist the allure of high voltage gas discharge. Other recent additions to the Technology Museum section of the site include a MG-19B Nixie tube, a 9 segment neon display sold under several different manufacturer's labels. We have also added an unidentified green straight pin LED to the LED Indicators section of the site.

2018-11-16 Mess with Texas
Posted by AnubisTTP

The humble Texas Instruments TIL302 is one of the most common and mundane of early LED displays. With its red epoxy coating and ceramic interior, even novice LED collectors can instantly recognize it on sight. But, as it turns out, the TIL302 is actually surprisingly interesting, and went through a number of dramatic changes over its life. We have added a new article to the Technology Museum covering the TIL302s many variants, including very early clear epoxy development types as well as a glass-packed version for the military. Other new additions include a metal-clad RCA 8072 power tube, which has been added to the Diodes, Triodes, Tetrodes & Pentodes section of the site, as well as an uncommon Intel 1601 PROM which has been added to the Integrated Circuits section. The 1601 was designed as an electronically programmable alternative to Intel's 1301 metal mask ROM, and was released in 1970.

2018-10-02 Behind Bars
Posted by AnubisTTP

In the quest for sunlight readable displays, many manufacturers resorted to extreme measures. A recently added incandescent bargraph module showcases one of the more desperate attempts we have seen by a manufacturer to solve this problem. Rather than settling for dim 1970s-era LEDs, this device uses a fistful of incandescent bulbs mounted in a complex machined aluminum block to produce a display which is readable even when viewed in full sunlight. We do not envy the workers who had to solder the tiny densely packed bulb arrays needed to make this device possible. We have also added a new nixie tube, a Burroughs 7153, to the Gas Discharge Displays section of the site, as well as a very rare Intel 1301 mask rom to the Integrated Circuits section. The 1301 was Intel's first mask rom, and was released in 1969.

2018-08-27 Incandescent Personality
Posted by AnubisTTP

We have recently made a number of new additions to the Technology Museum section of the site: * Incandescent Displays: An obscure Soviet incandescent mosaic display, with a very unusual construction style. * Communication Equipment: An ERO Model 27A cassette recorder, encrusted in more fake gold than an entire silo of costume jewelry. * Diodes and Triodes: A large Amperex 5867 power triode, capable of handling up to 1200 watts. * Gas Discharge Displays: New photos for the Burroughs 7977, a very small top-view Nixie tube equipped with a silicone shade ring.

2018-07-09 The 4th State
Posted by AnubisTTP

It is often forgotten that a branch of the Nixie tube family tree terminates in a modern day consumer product; the flat panel plasma TV. We have recently acquired a prototype plasma display panel, which has been added to the Gas Discharge Displays section of the site. Plasma display panels are neon filled devices which can display complex graphics and text, and from the 1960s onwards development was pushed by the computer industry, which had desperate need for such a display. The PDP we have added to our collection is small, ugly, and low resolution, but in a world without liquid crystal panels, it was the only game in town. Not all of our new display additions involve plasma. We have also added an AD206B decade counter to the Display & Counting Circuits section of the site. The AD206B makes use of an obscure Pinlite DIP650 incandescent readout for display, and is based around the Texas Instruments 74144 decimal counter IC. Other recent additions include a 'Star Tracker' astronavigation clock from the cockpit of an American B-52 bomber, which has been added to the Clocks and Timers section of the site.

2018-05-07 Pork Rinds
Posted by AnubisTTP

It's that time of year again; Dayton Hamvention 2018 is rapidly approaching, and on May 18th, 19th, and 20th we will be occupying flea market booth numbers 9440, 9441 and 9442. We will have an assortment of vintage electronics and components available, as well as a vast sea of bulky electronics boat anchors best left to the imagination. Those unfortunate souls who have never attended Dayton Hamvention can experience equal portions of envy and lust by viewing Hamvention flea market photos of years past. Not all of our news is related to Hamvention. We have also added several new items to our Technology Museum, including a large EMI 9536 10 stage photomultiplier and a rare Toyo Musen 1D-E14 tuning eye tube, intended for use in Japanese battery powered radios.

2018-04-05 A Sense of Smallness
Posted by AnubisTTP

We have recently made several new additions to the Technology Museum section of the site: * Solid State Displays: The Soviet-made 490IP1 LED, an obscure part from the former Soviet Union which might possibly be the smallest intelligent LED display ever produced. * Calculators and Adding Machines: A Craig 4505 horizontal format calculator with a tubular VFD display. * Transistors and Diodes: A large and early Honeywell H10 power transistor in a metal and gold package. * Sold State Displays: New photos for the Litronix DL44M an early 2 digit LED display with ridiculously oversized magnifier lenses.

2018-02-25 A Wrinkle in Time
Posted by AnubisTTP

We have added a new item to our long-running Mysterious Artifacts page; a singularly unusual brass timepiece. With two dials, two winding mechanisms, and no makers mark, this bizarre device is a total enigma. Two mechanical counters measure time in six minute intervals, and the timebase can be inserted and removed without any tools. With its heavy brass construction and numerous gears, this strange clockwork could easily pass as dimensional leakage from a much more steampunk universe. Not all of our mysteries go without solution indefinitely however. We have managed to make a definitive identification of one of the other items on our Mysterious Artifacts page, a PPT-1 phototransistor. This was possible by finding an example that was still sealed in its packaging, allowing a conclusive identification to be made. Not every mystery remains unsolved.

2018-01-25 Roy G Biv
Posted by AnubisTTP

How complicated can you make a light bulb? If you are building a large outdoor display, the answer is 'pretty insanely complicated'. The ILD3 family is a series of cathode ray tubes that require a hardware stores-worth of small parts just to produce a single dot of colored light. Produced in several different colors, each contains a full CRT electron gun assembly, but no deflection or focusing structures. As it turns out, this is not as preposterous a design decision as one might expect. Not all of our new display additions work in a vacuum. The Beckman SP-450 is a neon filled panaplex display of unusually large dimensions; this late-era gas filled readout can display 32 alphanumeric characters, as well as decimal points and arrows. Other recent additions include an entry covering the CV3615, a small British electrically tunable klystron.

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