Mantis illuminator LED failures

Still don't use crystals AFAIK supply frequency is more reliable long term.

The LM8560 chip can be jumpered for 50Hz or 60Hz operation, the RC for battery backup may need adjusting too I think.

Neither did the clocks. Mine had bare dice inside light wells with Red filter across the top.

Maybe. It was one of those "bare die under a blob of tar" deals and with the massive packing effort and all I didn't feel like trying to dissolve the tar. Also, I'd have to put a step-up transformer under the bed and Murphy's law says that that will be the one that hums the most.

Ours had real 7-segment individual display modules in them. The ones we bought after arriving in the US looked like they did but when repairing one (part of the display was DOA) I saw that all four digits and a few individual dots were a single display block.

I recently junked my old Texas SR-50 calculator. It also had beutiful deep-red color in the display and it was encapsuled parts. But the keypads were corroded out :-(

Still have a frequency counter I built as a kid in the 70's, with LED. After I bought the last function generator which (to my surprise) had a counter in it the thing became unemployed. So now I am wondering what to do with it.

That 'blob of tar' is EPOXY, not tar, you stupid twit.

It has only been at least a couple of decades since tar was banned from use in the industry. And it was NEVER used as a covering over the die bond of a chip onto a substrate. Not ever.

That 'one guy's razor' says that you have been guessing as you go your entire life. I am sure it has made you look quite stupid at other times as well. Just as this is such an example.

I still have a working TI-30 with those little bubble LED display array.

It was my first pocket calculator as I merged away from carrying a slide rule around.

Jamie

I did recently see one of those amazingly fake gold ugly national semicondutor women's LED watches at a junk shop. If it wasn't missing part of the band, I might have grabbed it.

every one needs one of these..

Jamie

At least for the men's version it seems that you can still get replacement bands:

Wearing one of these would definitely show the world a genuine "Old Nerd" status :-)

I'm having my old Accutron 'Spaceview' overhauled. Could get a much better new watch for less money, but it will be 'cool'.

Nice! I'd have done the same because these are real pieces of history. Does yours emit the typical whizzing noise?

Are they ok with 1.5V coin cells? When the old 1.35V mercury cells were outlawed I was so lucky that I had kept a whole load of scavenged Ge-diodes, so I could drop a couple hundred mV.

There are still Bulova Accutrons in production. I wonder if they still use the tuning fork ratchet thing.

All the new expensive watches use mechanical movements. Weird. The latest fashion is to have a huge dial and no second hand. I've never owned a watch myself, except the Soviet Army one I got as a gift but never wore.

The New York Times is funny: lefty rants about economic equality sandwiched between ads for $8000 watches and $30000 earrings and $30 million condos.

That reminds me of those clear telephones with the neon lights.

Yes, it's a 360Hz tuning fork. One of the gears has 300+ (360, I guess) 10um teeth. It has a visually smooth sweep second hand.

Most specimens are apparently okay with silver oxide cells. There are folks who will put an unobtrusive diode in there if necessary, for a reasonable fee.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany