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Ratdude's first scope

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    #1

    Ratdude's first scope

    I was gifted one of these today:



    It is a 1966 Heathkit 10-12 AC 1 channel scope.

    It used to belong to one of the EET professors at my college... he built it from a kit when he was my age and no longer had a use for it. He thought I might have a use for it and offered it

    He even had the original manual in a large 3 ring binder of manuals... he built a lot of heathkit kits...

    It works:



    (a 12V wall wart without load, synced to line AC frequency)

    Since you can use bannana plugs with it, my PSU tester from another thread pairs well with it:



    I have one question:

    It uses a 2 prong non polarized plug, being from 1966. it also has a metal case. the cord is still good (no cracks, frays, etc). Should I:

    1. keep the power cord that is in it... it is vintage and it isn't worth it to mess that up

    2. swap it for a modern 3 prong grounded cord, with the hot going to the fuse, neutral to the other line connector, and ground being connected tot he case with a ring terminal and rivet

    Otherwise, I am happy with it...

    Any other comments/suggestions?
    Attached Files
    sigpic

    (Insert witty quote here)
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: Ratdude's first scope

    I probably used one of those in high school. IIRC, a lot of old tube consumer electronics connected AC Neutral to the chassis. So step one, IMO, should be to find out whether one of the AC cord prongs has continuity to the chassis and/or case.
    PeteS in CA

    Power Supplies should be boring: No loud noises, no bright flashes, and no bad smells.
    ****************************
    To kill personal responsibility, initiative or success, punish it by taxing it. To encourage irresponsibility, improvidence, dependence and failure, reward it by subsidizing it.
    ****************************

    Comment

      #3
      Re: Ratdude's first scope

      Ratdude...

      Congratulations!

      That's an ideal first scope. you can learn a great deal with and from it.

      It's all tubes, right? Learn about them. Practically no one else under 30 has and vacuum tubes have some unique characteristics as compared to semiconductors... characteristics that might be extremely useful in a 'scope.

      I wouldn't change the cord just yet if it's functional.
      You might want to look at it to see if it's connected to chassis.
      It might well be pointed out in the manual which is an invaluable study guide.

      Tying the case to ground wasn't necessary in 1966 and could possibly affect operation as it might affect shielding. Of course all of the insulation is pushing 50 so... it's an even better idea to study that manual!

      I prefer "live" scopes like yours over the digital ones... lag drives me nuts.

      Congratulations again
      Last edited by KeriJane; 03-08-2012, 09:39 PM.
      The More You Learn The Less You Know!

      Comment

        #4
        Re: Ratdude's first scope

        I have that same Heathkit model. Will eventually get around to a restoration in the future.

        Comment

          #5
          Re: Ratdude's first scope

          Looks nice! Yours actually has division labels on the knobs. Better than mine...
          "Tantalum for the brave, Solid Aluminium for the wise, Wet Electrolytic for the adventurous"
          -David VanHorn

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Ratdude's first scope

            the prof also has a vac-tube based volt meter... it has super high impedance... he says he isn't sure if he will keep it or give it away...

            his office has half of his collection in it... the other half is for home use. he has a bunch of devices stacked, all made from kits and most of them quite aged.

            the thing is that heathkit manuals do not exist in a .pdf... the prof says that anybody who posts a pdf gets a cease and desist letter from them (aka lawsuit).

            I doubt the neutral is tied to ground... it doesn't have a polarized plug, which makes finding neutral vs hot ambiguous...

            I will leave the cord anyway... the unit may be worth something as since it is in such good condition and it still has the manual... having 100% stock parts makes it that much better.

            this is not my first time using a scope btw... the labs at my college have both analog and digital scopes... we learned how to work analog scopes at the start of this semester; the first lab was solely on the use of an analog scope.
            sigpic

            (Insert witty quote here)

            Comment

              #7
              Re: Ratdude's first scope

              Originally posted by ratdude747 View Post
              the thing is that heathkit manuals do not exist in a .pdf... the prof says that anybody who posts a pdf gets a cease and desist letter from them (aka lawsuit).
              That's a bit stupid for something that old...
              "Tantalum for the brave, Solid Aluminium for the wise, Wet Electrolytic for the adventurous"
              -David VanHorn

              Comment

                #8
                Re: Ratdude's first scope

                Here:

                Houston - We have a problem. Site keeps changing .gifs to .jpg's and shrinking them. STOOOOOOPID.




                Be back shortly with a jpeg that works...

                Okay. Let's try this again:
                Attached Files
                Last edited by Toasty; 03-08-2012, 11:25 PM.
                veritas odium parit

                Comment

                  #9
                  Re: Ratdude's first scope

                  I think there's a mistake on the schematic. On the right, at the HV output after the 1V2 tube, the first cap is labeled as 1000v while the voltage at that point reads 1400v. That cap should be 1600v like the one to its left.
                  Originally posted by PeteS in CA
                  Remember that by the time consequences of a short-sighted decision are experienced, the idiot who made the bad decision may have already been promoted or moved on to a better job at another company.
                  A working TV? How boring!

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Re: Ratdude's first scope

                    i know he swapped a 200v cap for a 400v cap as per a penciled in mark in the manual.
                    sigpic

                    (Insert witty quote here)

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Re: Ratdude's first scope

                      Originally posted by Agent24 View Post
                      That's a bit stupid for something that old...
                      Cease and Desist Letter from who? I thought the Heathkit company closed down years ago.

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Re: Ratdude's first scope

                        Nope:

                        http://electronicdesign.com/article/...heathkit-20689

                        http://www.heathkit.com/

                        .
                        veritas odium parit

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Re: Ratdude's first scope

                          I remember Heathkit VTVMs from high school, too. Try talking to a modern young tech or engineer about their voltmeter having to warm up before it can operate ...

                          I work with vacuum tubes pretty much every day ... aka TWTs.
                          PeteS in CA

                          Power Supplies should be boring: No loud noises, no bright flashes, and no bad smells.
                          ****************************
                          To kill personal responsibility, initiative or success, punish it by taxing it. To encourage irresponsibility, improvidence, dependence and failure, reward it by subsidizing it.
                          ****************************

                          Comment

                            #14
                            Re: Ratdude's first scope

                            You work with TWATs? How lucky can you get!

                            veritas odium parit

                            Comment

                              #15
                              Re: Ratdude's first scope

                              R,
                              Looks like a good start.
                              With a minimum of care it should last another ten years or more.

                              You can do a lot of good stuff with that.

                              I presume you can set it for X/Y display?
                              If so, I will re send a sketch for a cheap semiconductor curve tracer.
                              Made a lot of money with that tool over the years.

                              A simple and cheap gizmo that will let you look at diodes and transistors and see real fast (as in 60 times a second) if the junction is any good.

                              Keep it safe
                              Jack Crow
                              "You are, what you do, when it counts"
                              The Masso

                              "Gravity, the quickest way down"
                              Mayor John Almafi

                              "You ever drop an egg, and on the floor you see it break?
                              You go and get a mop so you can clean up your mistake.
                              But did you ever stop to ponder why we know it's true?
                              If you drop a broken egg you will not get an egg that's new?"

                              MC Hawking

                              Comment

                                #16
                                Re: Ratdude's first scope

                                Yep, Toasty. I connect some to 3.8KV and some to 4.2KV ... after warm-up, of course.
                                PeteS in CA

                                Power Supplies should be boring: No loud noises, no bright flashes, and no bad smells.
                                ****************************
                                To kill personal responsibility, initiative or success, punish it by taxing it. To encourage irresponsibility, improvidence, dependence and failure, reward it by subsidizing it.
                                ****************************

                                Comment

                                  #17
                                  Re: Ratdude's first scope

                                  Originally posted by Jack Crow View Post
                                  I presume you can set it for X/Y display?
                                  If so, I will re send a sketch for a cheap semiconductor curve tracer.
                                  Made a lot of money with that tool over the years.

                                  A simple and cheap gizmo that will let you look at diodes and transistors and see real fast (as in 60 times a second) if the junction is any good.
                                  That sounds like a useful tool - but I think my scope is too basic for that.

                                  Would a curve tracer by any chance do a similar job to this: http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_112767/article.html ?
                                  "Tantalum for the brave, Solid Aluminium for the wise, Wet Electrolytic for the adventurous"
                                  -David VanHorn

                                  Comment

                                    #18
                                    Re: Ratdude's first scope

                                    Originally posted by Jack Crow View Post
                                    R,
                                    Looks like a good start.
                                    With a minimum of care it should last another ten years or more.

                                    You can do a lot of good stuff with that.

                                    I presume you can set it for X/Y display?
                                    If so, I will re send a sketch for a cheap semiconductor curve tracer.
                                    Made a lot of money with that tool over the years.

                                    A simple and cheap gizmo that will let you look at diodes and transistors and see real fast (as in 60 times a second) if the junction is any good.

                                    Keep it safe
                                    Jack Crow
                                    it has both a horizontal input and a vertical input. is that the same?
                                    sigpic

                                    (Insert witty quote here)

                                    Comment

                                      #19
                                      Re: Ratdude's first scope

                                      You usually set the scope to XY mode and use Channel 1 for X and Channel 2 for Y.
                                      Last edited by Krankshaft; 03-11-2012, 03:40 AM.
                                      Elements of the past and the future combining to make something not quite as good as either.

                                      Comment

                                        #20
                                        Re: Ratdude's first scope

                                        R and K,
                                        The gadget in the article is over complex.
                                        Mine is 'stone ax simple' and works 99% of the time.

                                        http://www.flickr.com/photos/9010884...57626109758650

                                        Been trying to find the 'photos' of it in use, but they are refusing to show up at the moment.

                                        J
                                        "You are, what you do, when it counts"
                                        The Masso

                                        "Gravity, the quickest way down"
                                        Mayor John Almafi

                                        "You ever drop an egg, and on the floor you see it break?
                                        You go and get a mop so you can clean up your mistake.
                                        But did you ever stop to ponder why we know it's true?
                                        If you drop a broken egg you will not get an egg that's new?"

                                        MC Hawking

                                        Comment

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