I appreciate this honest and direct presentation of the NTSC television servicing industry. Thanks. I will view it again and share it elsewhere. In particular, your recommendation of many Sencore products shows the efforts design and manufacturing engineers and technicians made to provide effective instruments for consumer electronic products before the digital age. (btw - I wrote the instruction manual for the TF46 Super Cricket)
To follow up on the video. I grew in my Dad's TV shop "Hoffmann's TV' in Mandan, ND, and spent many hours looking at those Sams Photofact schematics with the waveforms of the signals. Unfortunately, he never learned to 'scope' the signal, relying instead on how the relative voltages appeared, according to his training with aircraft radio with tube-type equipment during World War Two. Those highly informative and informational diagrams were very influential when I was preparing Sencore instructional manuals for products in the mid-1970s.
Some corrections are needed. The Sencore PS163 was/is my favorite scope of the time, from the early 1970s. First of all, it was 'dual-trace', meaning that a service technician could observe both the input and the output of an electronic product in a way they could compare the entire system, rather than the typical single-trace scopes from Heathkit, RCA, and even Sencore (PS148), as well as the more expensive engineering products from HP, Tektronics, and others. In its design the PS163 was based on several circuit boards for the dual-channel inputs, the time-base synchronization board, and the high voltage board for the CRT. Unique at the time were the 'clip-on' probes that allowed a technician to connect to a measurement point without having to hold a pointed probe while viewing the screen and twirling the dials. I also appreciated the definite "click" of those dials and buttons of the PS163, compared to other products. I worked at Sencore in the early 1970s and sold many PS163s in the Mid-Atlantic and the MidWest regions at the time. I also produced the screen waveforms for a Sencore booklet that described NTSC television signals from front-to-back in a typical color television set of the day.
I bought my first slide rule as a junior in high school, a Pickett 10” LogLog, 1967. I already knew how to use it, because I had been playing around with my father’s slide rule for a couple of years. I used that slide rule until I bought the HP-35, just a couple of weeks after it hit the market. Now I have a small collection of slide rules, various brands and lengths, and a circular slide rule too.
15:40 "as good as hobbyist can afford" that's the same stuff even highest quality electronics producers can do, offcourse these days it's mostly cheapest lytics in cheapest devices... ie there are no better quality lytics than japanese
Still have my N1725 that I purchased in Fall 1967 as a Freshman Physics major at U of Md. Although generally used it, I was seduced by the department’s 4 station Wang calculator (labs) and then later by the Univac 1108 timeshare at UOM. Recently got back into the N1725. You are right about addressing the mathematical fundamentals. How much I have forgotten!
Ahh, I built that exact radio in college around the time you made this video and I'm brushing up for a job interview tomorrow. Incredibly useful, thanks for your upload!
Very good explanation of basic operation. I have a question about turning it on and off. Is there a correct way to turn it off? I mean, how do I properly turn off the scope? Is it the same way as normal PC?
Thanks for the video. Almost the perfect video for me. If only you had tested a push pull output transformer of known impedance with the AD2 to see if it is able to estimate the input impedance accurately? Could be great to use the AD2 to test transformers of unknown impedance.
My idea of a legacy oscilloscope is my trusty Tek 475. An IBM “surplus” item, new about 1973 and still in spec. I also have a Rigol MSO5354 amongst others. Finally disposed of all my vacuum tube era test equipment. Parts too hard to find!
Thank you so much for this. I just inherited my grandfathers Eico 666 and 667. He was a TV/Radio repairman in the 50's-70's. When I was very young I would sit next to him and watch him work. I now have gotten into electronics repair as a hobby and have so many questions for him. Unfortunately he passed a number of years ago. Watching this I imagined I was sitting next to him again, and your description of tube electron flow is exactly how he would have described it to me :)
You really know how to transfer knowledge. This video is for me the best video explaining tubes (being born in 71). Thanks very much for making this video!
I bought the Art of electronic book and I am grateful to have found someone with same idea/way of explaining and reading as myself. I started 3 years ago reading about electrical engineering basics and now with this Art of Electronics book I embark into the hands on part, and bought my first power supply (even tho i wanted to make my own) but my knowledge isn't up there yet so, also got a 2.300pc starter electronic kit and here I am with you. Thank you so much!❤
