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I found a stash of 5 'new old stock' 5CP1 5 inch oscilloscope CRTs at my parent's home. The new owners called my sister and told her they found a box of "electrical junk" under the eves.
I went over, collected the boxes, thanked them and wondered what the heck I was going to do with 5CP1s?
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Then I remembered my ham radio RTTY (radio teletype) enthusiast who uses a CRT to tune for best reception. This guy is old school, mechanical RTTY terminals, etc.
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He bought an Owon AS-201 "retro" scope.
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This is a accurate review, roses and warts.
https://chinese-electronics-products-tested.blogspot.com/p/as201-benchtop-oscilloscope-tested.html
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My friend wasn't happy with the AS-201, I thought it was nice when I checked it out, sort of primitive, but the X/Y offers excellent Lissajous Pattern display.
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I've had a fondness for Lissajous display since I made my first 'scope from a BW TV when I was 12. I pulled the deflection yoke, replaced it with one that fit, I had no idea about impedances, fed the output of my stereo to the H/V and the weird pattern mesmerized me.
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So I called him and explained "I have 5 WWII surplus CRTs... wanna trade?"
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I'm pretty sure he broke the speed limit getting here, so I'm not the proud, if doubtful, owner of an Owon AS-201.
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It really is a nice, basic, emphasis on basic, 'scope.
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FWIW, I strongly suggest anyone considering the Owon AS-201 think it over, for a few dollars more you can get a modern DSO with many more, better, options.
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Since my Owon AS-201 is basically "found on the side of the road" I got a heck of a deal.
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He who dies with the most test equipment.... wasted a lot of money.
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On Saturday 25 January 2025 02:48:21 pm wn4isx via groups.io wrote: Then I remembered my ham radio RTTY (radio teletype) enthusiast who uses a CRT to tune for best reception. This guy is old school, mechanical RTTY terminals, etc.
Heh. I remember seeing a setup like that. This was so long ago that I can't even remember when it was. Somebody I knew thought that I might perhaps be interested in ham radio, and introduced me to this guy. So I went over to his house and saw his setup, which wss really quite impressive. One of the items there was a mechanical teletype machine, and another one was a scope showing the comparative ampiitudes of the two tones, so he could tune it in. We didn't hit it off for some reason, but I can still remember that bit of equipment... -- Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" - Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James M Dakin
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I have several software programs that emulate the old CRT mark/space vertical/horizontal? display with a simulation on the PC screen. It isn't as accurate as the CRT display, I'd say it's about 60% as good, plenty good enough for casual operators like me, but woefully inadequate for a series RTTY operator who operates right at, or below, the ambient noise floor.
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I still have my ancient, circa 1978, TU (terminal unit) that used 88mH telephone loading coils. I test it ever field day.
Field day for non hams is a day when hams all over the US play "it is the end of the world" and try to rack up as many verified 2 way contacts as possible with multipliers for emergency power, solar and other green power (I'm not aware of anyone who uses a wind mill or hydro power but I'm sure there are).
I can operate QRP (low power) from solar on HF and VHF (2M 144MHz).
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Low power RTTY is real challenge and one needs every trick in the book. I have a program written by a friend who used to write signal analysis software for the government. The software takes multiple readings within a single RTTY data bit to insure it's accurate. [And no I can't give it out, she's still tweaking it for commercial applications.]
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She wrote her own GPS decode program, didn't like the delay of commercial ones....
I have some very smart friends.
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On Sunday 26 January 2025 02:29:36 pm wn4isx via groups.io wrote: I still have my ancient, circa 1978, TU (terminal unit) that used 88mH telephone loading coils. I've heard of those things for a really long time. Seen them referenced in magazines, etc. But I don't think that I've ever actually run across them... I do have some toroid coils, no idea what they're supposed to be. I should probably hook 'em up to my L/C meter and see what it says. -- Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" - Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James M Dakin
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At one time 88mH (and other value) inductors were as common as roaches and just about as valuable. Today they are scarce, a quick net search didn't find any 'real' 88mH loading coils for sale.
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RTTY is a dying data format clinging to life with an amazing tenacity by true fanatics. Almost all are older men, I'd say 70 and up.
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There are many better, as in faster, more reliable, radio data formats.
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If I were starting today I wouldn't bother with RTTY. Since I have a decoder that works extremely well and it might be useful in an emergency.
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Plus it took me a year to design, debug and build and is the size of 2 paper back books.
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Modern systems are PC/Sound card with an interface to activate the push to talk.
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This is a good one stop shop for data modes with fairly objective reviews.
http://wb8nut.com/digital/
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I use the free version of Macrium Reflect and have a disk image that converts my general purpose laptop into a dedicated emergency communication PC with all the data software I'm likely to need.
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Typically I'll make an image of this PC as it is 'now' when a tornado watch is declared, load the radio emergency image and start playing ham radio operator.
I auto-record all the traffic on our primary 2 meter repeater for Skywarn network, I have SDR software for the RSPplay SDR to tune to the other ham repeaters in the area and the US standard Simplex frequency.
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I go from net nut to fully prepared ham in less then 5 minutes.
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Of course I'm not totally dependent upon the PC. If it dies I still have voice coms, a solid state office MP3 micro recorder and pen and paper.
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The local ham community joins the 4 wheel drive community in the event of a 'bad snow event' like the winter of 1978 when we had 4 feet of snow, drifts 30 feet high and almost nothing could move. The hams and 4 wheelers shuttled nurses and doctors from/to home to work, took food to people who couldn't get out.
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Ham radio has one advantage over cell service. In the event of a wide area power failure, cell sites will go down when their emergency power dies, hams can operate from a variety of power sources. They provided the communication backbone in New Orleans after Katrina.
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9228945
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https://mst.rice.edu/PHYS501/SPR2007Papers/Nkung_kat.pdf
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I seldom fire up a ham radio except during bad events. My life is too busy with other projects and most ham comms bore me to tears.
YMMV
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On Monday 27 January 2025 04:43:26 pm wn4isx via groups.io wrote: At one time 88mH (and other value) inductors were as common as roaches and just about as valuable. Today they are scarce, a quick net search didn't find any 'real' 88mH loading coils for sale. I remember seeing them mentioned a fair amount back when, not so much lately. RTTY is a dying data format clinging to life with an amazing tenacity by true fanatics. Almost all are older men, I'd say 70 and up. I can believe that. There are many better, as in faster, more reliable, radio data formats.
If I were starting today I wouldn't bother with RTTY. Since I have a decoder that works extremely well and it might be useful in an emergency.
Plus it took me a year to design, debug and build and is the size of 2 paper back books.
Modern systems are PC/Sound card with an interface to activate the push to talk.
This is a good one stop shop for data modes with fairly objective reviews.
An interesting site. Though he needs to proofread it a bit, and maybe update some stuff. I see where he mentions MFJ, who I hear has pretty much pulled the plug at this point. I also have no use for ARRL lately. I use the free version of Macrium Reflect and have a disk image that converts my general purpose laptop into a dedicated emergency communication PC with all the data software I'm likely to need. I have a number of laptops here that I'm not doing much with, and it should be fairly trivial to dedicate one to that kind of use. Typically I'll make an image of this PC as it is 'now' when a tornado watch is declared, load the radio emergency image and start playing ham radio operator. I haven't been active at all in ages. Been moved over here about 4-1/2 years and I have yet to get any antennas up. At 73 and with ostoporosis I won't be climbing any ladders, and haven't found anybody willing to help out with that even with an offer of compensation. So I have several antennas sitting downstairs, along with some mounts and such, waiting for me to deal with 'em. I did get to meet up with one guy who's down the road a bit, we had a good chat, and he offered me a 2M rig, but I haven't heard back from him since then. I did try out a rollup antenna that's dual-band, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that I could accsss one repeater in particular and check in on a net, which was a bit of a surprise since I'm under a metal roof. I auto-record all the traffic on our primary 2 meter repeater for Skywarn network, I have SDR software for the RSPplay SDR to tune to the other ham repeaters in the area and the US standard Simplex frequency. There's one repeater in the Harrisburg area that carries a skywarn net, and I did get certified for that a while back, but I can't pull that one in directly and that particular repeater doesn't have echolink available. SDR is of some interest to me. But again, that'll depend on antennas... I go from net nut to fully prepared ham in less then 5 minutes.
Of course I'm not totally dependent upon the PC. If it dies I still have voice coms, a solid state office MP3 micro recorder and pen and paper.
The local ham community joins the 4 wheel drive community in the event of a 'bad snow event' like the winter of 1978 when we had 4 feet of snow, drifts 30 feet high and almost nothing could move. The hams and 4 wheelers shuttled nurses and doctors from/to home to work, took food to people who couldn't get out. Stockpiling food is a good thing. I've looked at emcomm stuff, but way too much of it is way too formal and too focused on supporting various officals, not my thing. Ham radio has one advantage over cell service. In the event of a wide area power failure, cell sites will go down when their emergency power dies, hams can operate from a variety of power sources. My setup here included a group 24 AGM that I picked up at a hamfest, but it seems to have reached the end of its life now, won't take or hold a charge, and I am not looking forward to getting that thing back down the stairs to get it to recycling. Or to the cost of replacing it. They provided the communication backbone in New Orleans after Katrina.
I seldom fire up a ham radio except during bad events. My life is too busy with other projects and most ham comms bore me to tears.
YMMV I can understand that. I have run across two clubs, one of them more local but there's not much going on there. The other one much more active, but it's a 100 mile round trip to get to a meeting, and I don't participate much in their stuff any more, aside from reading the mailing list... -- Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" - Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James M Dakin
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I'm really a shortwave listener who happened to pick up his ham license.
That nightmare convinced me ham radio had a use. I rode a Honda CB350 with a modified electrical system. Honda stock electrics sucked almost as bad as Lucas.
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Anyway, a ham friend loaned me a converted Motorola police HT to ham band, a CBer loaned me a Rat Shack CB, we ignored the FCC rules and I was the mobile messenger, I could get through places no car could. We had thousands of trees down on major roads minor roads were a nightmare.
I handled over a thousand health and welfare messages.
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Someone squealed to the FCC and was told PICON (public need, convenience or necessity) covered our actions, I received a nice letter from the FCC suggesting "Get your ham license."? There wasn't any threat but I knew Morse code, was an EE student, had been messing with electronics for years, so the theory was easy. I received my license 3 weeks later.
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I'm 73 and get your issues about erecting antennas. Fortunately our landlords are healthy 20ish year old girls and are quite willing to help me erect antennas.
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One reason I did the great toss out was my age, there isn't anyway I'd ever use ha;f the stuff, hell I'd bust a gut lifting some of it, life is so much simpler since I got rid of 99% of the dross.?
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On Tuesday 28 January 2025 05:21:55 pm wn4isx via groups.io wrote: I'm really a shortwave listener who happened to pick up his ham license.
An interesting read, that. I've been pretty lucky, the closest I've come to that kind of an encounter is the other end of the town where I lived before I moved over here. That, and one other occasion where one hit a few miles south of town and did a bunch of damage. Here in this valley there's not been very much of that sort of activity, and it's not been close by, until this past year. There was a "hog barn" in the back of the property, mostly used for storing a lot of stuff (not much of it mine). That got pretty well trashed in some high winds, and had to come down. There's been a new foundation poured and there are plans for a steel building going up there. That nightmare convinced me ham radio had a use. I rode a Honda CB350 with a modified electrical system. Honda stock electrics sucked almost as bad as Lucas. I'd never heard that, though I can't claim any real familiiarity with that sort of thing. Though of course I've heard about Lucas... Anyway, a ham friend loaned me a converted Motorola police HT to ham band, a CBer loaned me a Rat Shack CB, Got one of those, and I've never used it. Nothing on the air around here, not until you get over the mountain at least. I was into messing with CB for a while, and then I got online and that was the end of that. we ignored the FCC rules and I was the mobile messenger, I could get through places no car could. I can see how that would work. We had thousands of trees down on major roads minor roads were a nightmare.
I handled over a thousand health and welfare messages. At one point some years back we went up into the Hudson Valley in NY state, and I saw a lot of that kind of damage. Talking to one guy who lived there he said an ice storm was responsible for that. Someone squealed to the FCC and was told PICON (public need, convenience or necessity) covered our actions, I received a nice letter from the FCC suggesting "Get your ham license."? There wasn't any threat but I knew Morse code, was an EE student, had been messing with electronics for years, so the theory was easy. I received my license 3 weeks later. I would have gotten mine years earlier if it weren't for the code requirement, I never did learn Morse. It's even on my list, and I actually went and bought a key at some hamfest a while back. A CPO is on my list of stuff to get to one of these days. I'm 73 and get your issues about erecting antennas. Fortunately our landlords are healthy 20ish year old girls and are quite willing to help me erect antennas. Not here. I suppose I could find some help with that once I get motivated to actually do something about it. Perhaps when the weather gets warmer... One reason I did the great toss out was my age, there isn't anyway I'd ever use ha;f the stuff, hell I'd bust a gut lifting some of it, life is so much simpler since I got rid of 99% of the dross. I've had some thoughts along those lines lately too. Scrapping stuff out, looking at what piles of it there already are, and thiinking how I'm never gonna use all of that stuff... -- Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" - Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James M Dakin
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Re: "Honda stock electrics sucked almost as bad as Lucas."
I've never been able to understand the original stock Honda 350/360 charge system.
It appeared to be a SCR that shorted out the V+ after a selenium rectifier.
I replaced it with stud mount Si diodes and conventional linear regulator built with a germanium pass element to reduce Vf losses.
I'd loved to have had LED headlight, tail/brake lights and turn signals.
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You know the reason Brits drink warm beer?
Lucas made their refrigerators.
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I helped a friend restore a Triumph car, the electrics were Lucas. I learned "Rip out the entire electrical system and rebuild from the wiring up. I was 16 and it was the first time I realized "Oh damn! I don't have a clue....."
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The best thing I can say about Lucus is nothing I will ever own will have Lucus e;ectrics
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