DSE Q1803 $128 CRO

Phil Allison · 2006-05-28T04:51:10+00:00

Hi to all,Picked up one of these 10MHz, single beam CROs from my local DSE store last Tuesday - there were none on display and the staff seemed unaware of its existence. The unit comes in a carry box, well packed with IEC mains lead, 10:1 probe and small handbook written by DSE staff.Using a bench sine/ square generator and frequency counter when back at home, I found my unit met published accuracy specs - time base speeds being particularly accurate.The *green* trace on the 75m dia tube face is particularly sharp and geometry is very good all over the (external) graticule.The vertical and horizontal positioning pots allow the pattern to be moved right off the screen without visible limiting - so the deflection amplifiers have adequate headroom.The internal (Y) synch appears to function well as does the external and LINE synch inputs. There is an X-Y mode that works fine too. There is no "trace rotate " control, but two screws on the rear can be loosened to allow the tube and hence trace to be lined up with the graticule OK.Now for the insides:-----------------------With the vinyl coated steel sleeve slid off, there is a nice surprise. This little CRO is *very* well made - reminiscent of the way Aussie firm BWD built their famous CROs.There are no SMD, all parts are "garden variety" - ie TO92 pack transistors, TO220 regulators, a couple of fets and 3 bog standard ICs. There is one large PCB for the PSU, deflection and synch circuits while a smaller one at the front covers the vertical attenuator, input pre-amp and time base circuitry.Both sides of these (single sided, through hole) PCBs are fully accessible for servicing !A very neat, 20 VA, R-core transformer powers the CRO with a ferrite HF inverter supplying 1200 volt DC to the tube. All internal voltages remain regulated down to 200 volts AC input.The 75mm tube is covered in a black, very snug fitting, full length MAGNETIC SHIELD !! This is practically unheard of in a low cost CRO and means the...

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Mike 20 years ago

sob sob, I'm still using a pair of HP1631D cros' have them linked via ext trigger in/out so makes multiple time base setting easy, these things are about 20 years old and although only 6 bits screen resolution are great for digital analysis and come with logic analyser if needed, have a dual floppy unit somewhere on hp-ib but cant read the format on a pc :(

Anyone have s/w that works on a pc to read the LIF format of HP floppies ?

Though the dse analog cro does sound tempting, if I dont blow the budget on too much food and whine this w/end I might get one for the kids ;-)

Its somewhat ironic that a good meal at a restaurant for a couple is more than a piece of essential equipment for an electronics lab

Regards Mike * GMC/VL Commodore, Calais VL Turbo FuseRail that wont warp or melt ! * High grade milspec ignition driver electronics now in development * Twin Tyres to suit most sedans, trikes and motorcycle sidecars Web Site under construction http://niche.iinet.net.au

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Pete 20 years ago

Way way back when IBM PC's were new, there was a company in Canberra called FBN software, and they had a product called PC Alien, that could read many "foreign" disk formats on the IBM PC.

I just tried a quick google, but I couldn't find anything relevant in the first few pages, but if you're serious about reading the disks, this could be an avenue to explore.

Peter

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Clifford Heath 20 years ago

It's possible that I have something on an old DAT tape at work. I've been meaning to list its contents for some time - maybe this is the week... I'll post again if I find something.

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GB 20 years ago

snipped-for-privacy@iinet.net.au (Mike) wrote in news:447acbd6$0$7888$ snipped-for-privacy@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au:

No, I don't, but my very first thought is to start digging in the Unix/Linux arena.

You'll be able to make copies of the contents of the disk with a 'dd' command (happy to help with details if you need). After that, google, google, google. I've just had a quuck google for "linux LIF HP format" and turned up quite a number of potentially promising options.

(The point of using 'dd' is that you make a copy of the disk into a file, put the disk safely away, and then do all your work on a 'mounted' copy of the floppy without risking damage to the original.)

It's interesting to note that the PC world has pretty much abandoned it's ancestry, whereas the unix and unix-like world has picked up a lot of the more obscure stuff, and allows it to carry on.

HTH,

GB

"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." (Diderot, paraphrasing Meslier)

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Bob Parker 20 years ago

Well you could have a look at

formatting link

but it's not very interesting and is mainly about inductors.

Bob

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Mark Harriss 20 years ago

Linux used to have drivers that could exert all sorts of non-standard direct control over a floppy drive with regard to track spacing etc.

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quietguy 20 years ago

I agree with Phil on this. I bought one of these and found it to be a great little item for its cost.

But I found I needed a dual trace CRO, so after a about 3 hrs of using this CRO I bought one of DSEs 20 meg dual trace CROs - very nice.

So, I have one of these nice little 10 meg CROs for sale - only used for 3 hrs, as new, with probe and instruction book. Best offer gets it.

David

Phil Allis> Hi to all,

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Peter Parker 20 years ago

"quietguy" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@REMOVE-TO-REPLYconfidential-counselling.com...

If you've still go the receipt, couldn't you just return it under their

14-day satisfaction warranty for a full refund?

Peter

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Phil Allison 20 years ago

"Peter Parker"

** The geriatric fool calling itself "quietguy" is allegedly a social worker.

What he needs a CRO for at all is mysterious.

What he imagines he needs a dual beam one for must be bizarre.

....... Phil

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Mr.T 20 years ago

So you can't imagine a social worker having any hobbies or other interests then? (unless he said he required it for work)

MrT.

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The Real Andy 20 years ago

If you can give me some examples, and some kind of doco on the format I will have a crack at implementing it on PC. I make no promises on time though. What does google say about this?

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rob 20 years ago

Might be Phil's social worker, who knows!

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Bob Parker 20 years ago

G'day again David How's things in WA? ;-) I thought about it and realized (as you probably did) that most of the time I need a dual channel CRO because I'm watching the input and output of something. As someone else commented, DSE is quite happy to give a refund for purchases less than a week old. Couldn't you get a refund to help pay for the dual channel CRO?

Bob (professional coffee mug sabateur)

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Poxy 20 years ago

What a silly thing to say - you don't understand the need for dual or more trace CROs?

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Phil Allison 20 years ago

"Poxy" ...

** Try following the context.

If your brain does not explode in the attempt.

....... Phil

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swanny 20 years ago

Another very nice piece of equipment that I believe is a bargain is the

34 channel 500MHz logic analyzer from these guys:

formatting link

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quietguy 20 years ago

I could have if I hadn't procrasinated and left it sitting on the shelf for past six months or so.

...and that settles it - I am going to give up procrastination tomorrow

David

Peter Parker wrote:

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quietguy 20 years ago

G'day silly Philly - I really apreciate that you take the time to read my posts - thanks muchly

David - who was thinking of using the CRO to see if he could find any signs of brain activity in foolish posters named Phil

PS: I had no luck - no signs of bra> "Peter Parker"

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quietguy 20 years ago

Now I am retired I have more time for hobbies - PICAXES are fun to play with and one can do some interesting things with little effort

David - who was also a TV tech > > ** The geriatric fool calling itself "quietguy" is allegedly a social

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quietguy 20 years ago

Hi There Bob (says Dave quickly hiding his coffee mug under the desk)

Originally I was thinking of just buying another one of those single trace CROs - one to watch the input and the other the output - (am playing with controlling motors with PWM using my RC xmitters pulses etc - a robot perhaps) ) then I got a little suprise $$$ for my birthday and decided to do it the easy way with a dual trace - by then it was well past the 14 day period. - So just popped it on the shelf and got on with.....

WA is fun - being a slum landlord and keeping the stable of girls in line takes up a lot of my time tho - thinking I might have to hire an assistant to fly my model planes and play with the CRO etc :-)

Cheers - and trust all is well with you and yours

David

Bob Parker wrote:

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DSE Q1803 $128 CRO

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