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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » In Soviet Russia, oscilloscope scans YOU!

April 15, 2011 11:04 a.m. Jay SuperDork

...Wait, that doesn't work.

Fortunately, this beastly Soviet oscilloscope I just scored off Kijiji does work. Internet scuttlebutt says this model was in production from 1979~1993; communist technology being what it was, of course it looks 20 years older than that. The automatic triggering seems to be busted so you have to adjust the frequency manually, but other than that it's fine. BTW I was playing the sawtooth wave in the photos on my Microkorg.

This mighty cold-war relic cost me all of 10 Eurobucks. How could I refuse? I was only mildly disappointed that the writing on it is not actually in Russian. On the upside, that means I can read it. You win some, you lose some.

Anyone know how to fix the trigger on old analogue scopes like this?
April 15, 2011 11:29 a.m. jrg77 Reader

No idea how to help you, but tools like this are the coolest! Wonder if it help figuring out ECU tuning?
April 15, 2011 11:41 a.m. Luke SuperDork

Neat!

It looks like a '50s Sci-fi movie prop.
April 15, 2011 12:27 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

To really look like a '50s Sci-fi movie prop it would need to have a round screen, like this:

When I first got out of school, this is the sort of scope we had in the lab at work. On cold mornings we'd fire them up first thing to help warm the room - there were a lot of big hot vacuum tubes in those things.
April 15, 2011 1:08 p.m. Jay SuperDork

My Dad has had an old vacuum-tube scope like that around forever. Still works as far as I know. He was going to throw it away when they moved but Mum made him keep it because she thought I'd be annoyed if they pitched it. (She was right.) I found IIRC the same model as his in the garbage once and sold it for twenty bucks.

Why are vintage electronics so cool? When I'm old and crotchety I'm definitely going to be one of those guys who cruises around hauling stuff out of the bin and fixing it. Hell I'm practically that now.
April 15, 2011 1:57 p.m. pinchvalve SuperDork

Made in USSR, but German markings? That sucker saw duty in East Germany, probably spying on West Germany. Cool.

If you need help with any Russian words found inside, let me know.
April 15, 2011 2:20 p.m. Jay SuperDork

Yeah, the yellow sticker on the bottom pic is from the East Berlin-based importer who sold them. What's funny is that it actually has a switch to run on 220V or 110V power. I don't think any of the "east block" countries ever operated on 110V (certainly not East Germany), so it's possible that a few of these things must have jumped the iron curtain. Or maybe they just put that there to prove to the west that they could...
April 15, 2011 2:25 p.m. Salanis SuperDork

That's awesome. You need a whole wall of those in an underground volcano lair so that you can be a James Bond super villain.
April 15, 2011 2:33 p.m. thatsnowinnebago Dork

I'm not gonna lie, I have no idea what these are used for. Sure looks cool though
April 15, 2011 2:43 p.m. Jay SuperDork

An oscilloscope really just displays a graph of voltage over time. It's incredibly useful to have one if you do a lot of diagnosing or building circuits. Some of the more modern ones can do other things like display XY-plots or Fourier transforms of signals but the meat-and-potatos use is to plot standing waves like I did in the top pic.

I'm just a hobbyist but I'm building an analog synthesizer (Roland TB-303 clone) from a kit. I actually needed a scope (well, "needed" - I could have used the line-in on one of my laptops but that's no fun is it?) to help tune the output waveforms from the oscillator and test the circuits as I go. My choice was either modern and expensive, or cheap, vintage, clunky, dubiously-functional, and hella cool. Guess what my decision was?
April 15, 2011 2:56 p.m. GameboyRMH SuperDork

Old Soviet tech looks so cool. It's 99% function and 1% weird, misguided fashion.
April 15, 2011 2:58 p.m. Duke SuperDork

stuart in mn wrote:

To really look like a '50s Sci-fi movie prop it would need to have a round screen, like this:

When I first got out of school, this is the sort of scope we had in the lab at work. On cold mornings we'd fire them up first thing to help warm the room - there were a lot of big hot vacuum tubes in those things.

Is that a Techtronix? My dad had a big 'ol Techtronix scope on a cool angled cart that let you look down on it while you were working at the bench. I used to love playing with that thing.
April 15, 2011 3:30 p.m. Jay SuperDork

For some deranged reason I think this thing needs a translucent stencil of Lenin over the display screen.

Well, maybe not.
April 15, 2011 4:00 p.m. AngryCorvair SuperDork

In reply to Jay:

that's definitely an improvement. certainly better than an overlay of Lennon.
April 28, 2011 10:25 p.m. RossD SuperDork

A canoe could carry a silly scope.
April 28, 2011 10:26 p.m. pigeon Dork

Perfect for sunny days in my canoe!
July 26, 2011 8:16 p.m. fasted58 Dork

berkeleying canoe

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