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Huntron Tracker's days are numbered (was: 7704A -just a quickie)


 

The underlying idea behind the Huntron Tracker is an old one and there are
many circuit variations on the internet if anyone is interesting in building
one or adapting their scope to do the same thing. All that is needed is a
rudimentary scope with XY capability. Any one of us could build one in an
evening with parts on hand.



I think Huntron's days are limited. Their products have many drawbacks that
makes them ripe for overnight obsolescence:

* They are comparatively large

* They are among the last to use CRT technology

* They are tied to a power cord

* They are extremely limited in their capability

* They are hardware based.



With the advent of chips like the Arduino and cheap 256x256 full color LCD
displays I don't think it will be long before someone in China comes up with
a "Tracer". The solid state Tracer would:

* Be hand held

* Sell for ~$25

* Be software based

* Be battery powered

* Use a full-color touch-screen display



Since the software is so easy to change I would not be surprised if over
time additional functionality was added such as the ability to measure ACV,
DCV, ACA, DCA, R, L, and C. With small changes to the hardware it would not
be hard to add a true curve tracer capability to it as well.


 

Some inexpensive oscilloscopes (B&K? Hameg?) have this capability built in.

On Tue, 16 Dec 2014 17:33:53 -0800, you wrote:

The underlying idea behind the Huntron Tracker is an old one and there are
many circuit variations on the internet if anyone is interesting in building
one or adapting their scope to do the same thing. All that is needed is a
rudimentary scope with XY capability. Any one of us could build one in an
evening with parts on hand.


swingdancer
 

As with any piece of equipment it has its nitch the huntron tracker will?evolve I have used and demonstrated the tracker in large?pc board shops they love it. Most of the people who use it are not techs or engineers they are in production. Its a fairly?inexpensive piece of equipment and rather small.Being tied to a AC cord is better than a dead battery. Being extremely limited in their capability is exactly what the production manager wants, find the short.?
? From: "'Dennis Tillman' dennis@... [TekScopes]" <TekScopes@...>
To: TekScopes@...
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2014 7:33 PM
Subject: [TekScopes] Huntron Tracker's days are numbered (was: 7704A -just a quickie)

? The underlying idea behind the Huntron Tracker is an old one and there are
many circuit variations on the internet if anyone is interesting in building
one or adapting their scope to do the same thing. All that is needed is a
rudimentary scope with XY capability. Any one of us could build one in an
evening with parts on hand.

I think Huntron's days are limited. Their products have many drawbacks that
makes them ripe for overnight obsolescence:

* They are comparatively large

* They are among the last to use CRT technology

* They are tied to a power cord

* They are extremely limited in their capability

* They are hardware based.

With the advent of chips like the Arduino and cheap 256x256 full color LCD
displays I don't think it will be long before someone in China comes up with
a "Tracer". The solid state Tracer would:

* Be hand held

* Sell for ~$25

* Be software based

* Be battery powered

* Use a full-color touch-screen display

Since the software is so easy to change I would not be surprised if over
time additional functionality was added such as the ability to measure ACV,
DCV, ACA, DCA, R, L, and C. With small changes to the hardware it would not
be hard to add a true curve tracer capability to it as well.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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Hi,

I use this Hameg feature since 1981. The construction is rather easy, you need an independent winding on the 50(60) Hz power transformer and 2 resistors. One resistor will exhibit voltage and the other will exhibit current. This way, you will obtain a U-I-diagram with 7V RMS and 10 mA RMS. I have measured tunnel diodes this way without destroying them. B&K was a trade name for some scopes in the US.

Regards, Jochen DH6FAZ

Am 17.12.2014 04:49, schrieb David davidwhess@... [TekScopes]:

Some inexpensive oscilloscopes (B&K? Hameg?) have this capability built in.

On Tue, 16 Dec 2014 17:33:53 -0800, you wrote:

>The underlying idea behind the Huntron Tracker is an old one and there are
>many circuit variations on the internet if anyone is interesting in
building
>one or adapting their scope to do the same thing. All that is needed is a
>rudimentary scope with XY capability. Any one of us could build one in an
>evening with parts on hand.


 

Is there a small, modern equivalent to the Huntron Tracker on the market yet ?

---something similar to what Dennis predicted and specified in his 2014 post, { below }.

" ... With the advent of chips like the Arduino and cheap 256x256 full color LCD
displays I don't think it will be long before someone in China comes up with ... "

-- a Tracker that would emulate the Huntron and with

" ... software is so easy to change I would not be surprised if over
time additional functionality was added such as the ability to measure ACV,
DCV, ACA, DCA, R, L, and C. With small changes to the hardware it would not
be hard to add a true curve tracer capability to it as well. "

thank you,
rick

On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 05:33 PM, Dennis Tillman W7pF wrote:


The underlying idea behind the Huntron Tracker is an old one and there are
many circuit variations on the internet if anyone is interesting in building
one or adapting their scope to do the same thing. All that is needed is a
rudimentary scope with XY capability. Any one of us could build one in an
evening with parts on hand.

I think Huntron's days are limited. Their products have many drawbacks that
makes them ripe for overnight obsolescence:

* They are comparatively large

* They are among the last to use CRT technology

* They are tied to a power cord

* They are extremely limited in their capability

* They are hardware based.

With the advent of chips like the Arduino and cheap 256x256 full color LCD
displays I don't think it will be long before someone in China comes up with
a "Tracer". The solid state Tracer would:

* Be hand held

* Sell for ~$25

* Be software based

* Be battery powered

* Use a full-color touch-screen display

Since the software is so easy to change I would not be surprised if over
time additional functionality was added such as the ability to measure ACV,
DCV, ACA, DCA, R, L, and C. With small changes to the hardware it would not
be hard to add a true curve tracer capability to it as well.


 

Why didn't you just start a new thread for this topic? I am curious.

DaveD

On Dec 25, 2023, at 23:21, garp66 <hrgerson@...> wrote:

?
Is there a small, modern equivalent to the Huntron Tracker on the market yet ?

---something similar to what Dennis predicted and specified in his 2014 post, { below }.

" ... With the advent of chips like the Arduino and cheap 256x256 full color LCD
displays I don't think it will be long before someone in China comes up with ... "

-- a Tracker that would emulate the Huntron and with

" ... software is so easy to change I would not be surprised if over
time additional functionality was added such as the ability to measure ACV,
DCV, ACA, DCA, R, L, and C. With small changes to the hardware it would not
be hard to add a true curve tracer capability to it as well. "

thank you,
rick


On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 05:33 PM, Dennis Tillman W7pF wrote:


The underlying idea behind the Huntron Tracker is an old one and there are
many circuit variations on the internet if anyone is interesting in building
one or adapting their scope to do the same thing. All that is needed is a
rudimentary scope with XY capability. Any one of us could build one in an
evening with parts on hand.

I think Huntron's days are limited. Their products have many drawbacks that
makes them ripe for overnight obsolescence:

* They are comparatively large

* They are among the last to use CRT technology

* They are tied to a power cord

* They are extremely limited in their capability

* They are hardware based.

With the advent of chips like the Arduino and cheap 256x256 full color LCD
displays I don't think it will be long before someone in China comes up with
a "Tracer". The solid state Tracer would:

* Be hand held

* Sell for ~$25

* Be software based

* Be battery powered

* Use a full-color touch-screen display

Since the software is so easy to change I would not be surprised if over
time additional functionality was added such as the ability to measure ACV,
DCV, ACA, DCA, R, L, and C. With small changes to the hardware it would not
be hard to add a true curve tracer capability to it as well.