[SwellJoe]

I never cease to be amazed at the sheer complexity and precision required to make analog electronics work. There are so many parts to a CRT, and about half of them seem like magic (directing electron beams with electromagnets!), and the first was built in 1911. LCDs seem downright simplistic in contrast.

It's kinda the same as the move from internal combustion engines to electric. The discrete parts count drops to a tiny fraction of the former. (Though, I guess if we were to count transistors in an IC as individual parts, LCD trumps CRT.)

Then again, one could build a CRT without a billion dollar fabrication facility. The same can't be said of LCDs (AFAIK).

Regardless, I really enjoy these posts. I don't understand half of it (though I understood more of this one than usual, as my dad owned a TV shop when I was a kid and I got some hands-on experience with CRTs early in life), but they're very satisfying. I wish I could play with cranky old computers more often.

[cjsuk]

It's all pretty simple when you know how. It's getting there that's the hard bit. It's arguably more challenging than software but once you've learned the abstractions and techniques then the knowledge is useful forever so you don't have to wipe the slate clean again when the emperor's new clothes are delivered.

The pinnacle of analogue electronics and precision is the line of Tektronix analogue oscilloscopes. They are marvelous from just about every angle. Each box is a blend of physics, mathematics, mechanical and electrical engineering that is simply unsurpassed. The engineering is reminiscent of the space race. No expense spared. Everything covered in gold and full of precision machined parts.

My current favorite Tektronix unit (I have a few!), a 475, is 42 years old, works perfectly and is still classified as relatively high performance compared to modern equipment. And the knowledge gained from looking after it and understanding it is STILL valid and STILL 100% usable in 2017.

You don't get that value from a Javascript framework!

[SwellJoe]

I'm hoping my dad kept his old scope. I haven't gone through his tools (he passed away a few years ago, and I didn't have the heart at the time, since fixing stuff was how I'd always bonded with my dad and every tool has associated memories), but plan to visit my mom in a few weeks. I'll see if it's still around. He owned a TV shop through the 70s and early 80s. His equipment was usually top notch stuff from the peak of the analog electronics era, but he got rid of some of it over the years, especially during moves.

Someday, I'll have more time to play with electronics. It's something I enjoy, and I have most of the tools for it (except a scope), but I always seem to have too many other things requiring my time and attention.

I worked with high-end 90s-era Tektronix scopes when I worked in television. They definitely weren't pure analog by that time, as they had memory and a variety of modes providing both digital and analog data, but they were still pretty cool.

[cjsuk]

Yeah they’ve come a long way since the analogue units. I’ve got a new Chinese digital unit as well (Rigol) and it’s got Ethernet and USB and stuff and you can drag data off it with python trivially for example. Colour wide screen and measures just about every parameter for you automatically.

But it feels like it’s lacking a soul.

Playing around with Electronics is my disconnect from reality for a bit. Works pretty well :)

If You find any of your father’s stuff, spend some time with it. It helps things believe it or not.

[icantdrive55]

Those older Tektronics are works of art. The boards were meant to be repaired. I still remember the feeling I got when I took the case off mine. Yes, complicated, but so much thought was put into the layout.

I guess those days are over?

[jacquesm]

You can buy used ones from army surplus stores at incredibly low prices. I got mine that way and the only thing that it needed to be in spec again was a minor recalibration. Super nice gear.

[cjsuk]

Indeed. Not if you buy old oscilloscopes they’re not!

They’re still perfectly useful instruments to be honest.