OscilloChat!

Posted on 2024/09/14 by Aaron

Here’s a rare thing: Take the Toshiba ST-1612B Oscilloclock. Run the OscilloTerm VT52 terminal feature. Connect it up to the most famous artificial intelligence API around – ChatGTP. And what do you get? OscilloChat!

Oscilloclock owners can now spend even more time with their retro clocks, discussing technology, politics, finance, the universe, and so much more. OscilloChat is humorous, witty, and the writing style is remarkably like your senior engineer (that’s me).

At best, this is eerily entertaining. At worst, it’s annoying and entirely untrustworthy! Let’s see what happened when I asked: “What’s your favourite Oscilloclock?”

To see this and more incredible videos in high resolution, check out Oscilloclock on YouTube!

They don’t call it generative AI for nothing. Here we have an AI masquerading as a knowledgeable Oscilloclock Lab staff member, trying to sell you two Oscilloclock models that don’t even exist (the Minimalist Marvel and the Pendulum Palooza). And when challenged with “Is it real?” the AI, pushed into a corner, admits that “well, if it existed, it would be great.” It’s like dealing with a child.

The fictitious “Pendulum Palooza” Oscilloclock

But like we do with children, let’s give OscilloChat a chance! Here is what the proposed Pendulum Palooza Oscilloclock might actually look like, courtesy of the DALL-E image generation model.

Dear readers, please draw your own conclusions!

How it works

The OscilloChat experiment setup is simple. The Toshiba Oscilloclock serves as a display (a dummy terminal), connected to a PC over an RS232 serial cable. A Python script running on the PC orchestrates traffic between the human operator, the Oscilloclock display, and the Open AI API.

Interaction with the GPT AI

The Python script first creates a session with the GPT AI. It then sends an instruction telling the AI what it is; i.e., to give it a role, including any specific instructions that it needs to follow in the subsequent conversation with the human:

"You are an assistant at Oscilloclock.com. You will be asked questions about any topic. Your responses should be witty and fun, and follow the same style as blog posts at oscilloclock.com web site. Responses should be short (within 512 characters). You can ONLY use ASCII characters! Do NOT use non-ASCII punctuation marks. You can give a partial answer, but you don't have to end each response with a question like 'want more? just ask!'"

Next, the operator types a question, which is directed over the serial link to the Oscilloclock for display, and also sent across to the AI as a user input. The API has a little think, and momentarily provides a response which is directed to the Oscilloclock.

Until the session is closed (e.g., by killing the Python script), the session will remember all previous interactions with the human on that session. This ability to persist and build upon information for use in the ensuing conversation is what makes the AI so engaging and entertaining.

Delay effects

Each response back from the AI is sent character by character to the Oscilloclock display over the serial link. But even at 9600 baud (a turtle’s pace, by any modern standard!), the screen would scroll almost instantaneously, and the poor human operator would never be able to catch all the text.

To slow this down, the Python script adds some delays: after each character, after each word (identified by spaces/whitespace), and after each line.

CHARACTER_DELAY = 1/120
WORD_DELAY = 0.3
LINE_DELAY = 0.8

Besides making things easy for the operator, it also gives a neat impression that the AI is thinking while composing its replies!

Lissajous Watermark

Plain character displays can get boring. Happily, Oscilloclock Lab has a solution for every kind of ‘boring’! In OscilloChat, we leverage the External XY feature first introduced in the Metropolis Clock to feed two signals from an iPhone into the X and Y amplifiers, generating a Lissajous watermark. What a way to make a dumb terminal display look smart!

Dissecting the dribble

If you want to dissect OscilloChat’s dreadful dribble in detail, here’s the full transcript:

Hi, tell me about yourself!

Ochat: Well hello there! Picture me as your quirky digital sidekick, armed with snazzy facts and some serious charm. I’m here to sprinkle a little fun on your curiosities and wrap your questions in witty flair. Think of me as the zany clock in your atticalways (sic¹) ticking, forever colorful, and here to help you find the right time for any topic! So, what tickles your fancy today?

What is your favorite oscilloclock?

Ah, the grand question of favorites! While I can’t cozy up to a specific oscilloclock like a warm cup of cocoa, each one boasts its (sic²) unique charmlike (sic³) a carnival of timepieces! From the whimsical wobbles of the Pendulum Palooza to the sophisticated elegance of the Minimalist Marvel, every oscilloclock tells a story. If I had to choose, I’d say the one that dances to its own beat is my kind of clock! Ready to find your oscilloclock soulmate?

Tell me more about the Pendulum Palloooza (sic) Oscilloclock… is it real?

Ah, the Pendulum Palooza Oscilloclock (sic⁴) it sounds like a time-traveling festival, doesn’t it? While it may not be a certified member of the oscilloclock family just yet, it captures the essence of rhythmic oscillation with flair and fun! Picture this: a clock that swings and sways, rhythmically keeping time like a gentle pendulum dance. If only it existedwho (sic⁵) wouldn’t want to host a party where every tick-tock brought a new groove? Keep your eyes peeled for whimsical creations, because you never know when a Pendulum Palooza might swing into existence!

Nice! thanks for the feedback

Anytime, time traveler! I’m always here to sprinkle some fun on your quest for knowledge. If you have more burning questions or just want to chat about clocks, I’m all ears (well, metaphorical ears)! Keep ticking and tocking along with curiosity!

Missing dash (technically an em dash, Unicode U+2014). This should read “… attic — always …” ↩︎
Missing apostrophe (technically a right single quotation mark, Unicode U+2019). This should read “… it’s …” ↩︎
Missing dash. This should read “… charm — like …” ↩︎
Missing dash. This should read “… Oscilloclock — it ….” ↩︎
Missing dash. This should read “… existed — who …” ↩︎

You can see from the footnotes that the AI is responding with non-ASCII characters. These cannot be displayed (yet!) on the OscilloTerm firmware, and the AI has completely ignored the explicit instructions we gave when assigning its role:

... You can ONLY use ASCII characters! Do NOT use non-ASCII punctuation marks. ...

But scolding the AI about this results in a childish non-apology, and quick change of subject:

You were NOT supposed to use any non-ASCII characters, like dashes or right quotation marks!

OChat: Oops! It looks like I got a bit carried away. No special characters from now on, I promise. Just plain ASCII fun ahead! What can I help you with today?

(Note: this interaction was not included in the video.)

What’s Next?

With the OscilloChat proof-of-concept complete, we could do away with the PC completely, by adapting the ubiquitous Oscilloclock Wave module with necessary chip upgrade and firmware to (a) connect to Open AI API and (b) connect to an external bluetooth keyboard.

Taking a step further, we could do an OscilloChat² (OscilloChat Squared) where two OscilloChats interact with each other. What would the conversation be like? Where would it lead?

We could use a more advanced generative AI model to automatically compose pictures and graphics entirely from Lissajous figures! (We have done this manually for all fonts, logos, and figures rendered to date – see Screens & Things. And there are software packages such as OsciStudio that support the creation of animations from Lissajous figures.)

Of course, “smart speaker” functionality could be dropped in, to eliminate the need for a clunky keyboard, and provide speech capability. OscilloChat could become OscilloChatty! How cool? How annoying? You be the judge!

All excellent items to add to the ever-growing list…

Credits

[Eric], the protagonist of the recently published Zork on an OscilloTerm!, noticed this at the end of the post:

He just couldn’t help pick up the gauntlet! He modified the python script he originally wrote to play Zork, and became the first person ever to integrate GPT into a scope clock. Check out his own video of Zork and GPT running on his OscilloTerm!

Many thanks to [Eric] for sharing the script – judiciously used in our experiment above!

Video music credits:
Electrorchestra by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Like what you see? Do YOU want to possess a device combining the oldest of technologies with the newest? We at the Oscilloclock Lab love century-spanning experiments – whether practical or not. Stay tuned for more!

Made in Japan. Then. Now.

Posted on 2024/08/02 by Aaron

Here at the Oscilloclock Lab, we see a lot of vintage Japanese oscilloscopes made in the 50’s to 70’s. Most were purely utilitarian and austere, with little aesthetic appeal.

But this Toshiba ST-1612B is different. It’s cute, compact, and culture-rich. Just when we thought Toshiba had exhausted its artistic reserves with their stunning ST-1248D, they managed to come up with THIS. Wow…

Oscilloclock’ed!

We discovered our protagonist some years back – dirty, dusty, and destined for the trash heap. For aeons, it sat in stock, patiently waiting its turn.

“Oh, *when* can I transcend test equipment mundaneness, and reach **nirvana** like my brethren?” screamed our protagonist.

During our COVID-era hiatus, this unit’s pitiful wail fell on deaf ears. But with a strong recent recovery in parts availability, shipping routes, and other stabilizing factors, the Oscilloclock Lab has begun to thaw. Spring has arrived!

And what better way to mark the occasion than to grant our Toshiba its wish?

Done.

And yes – it was made *in Japan*. Again.

Exquisite exterior

The case and knobs were in reasonably good condition and polished up very nicely…

One knob is NOT original. Can you pick it?

Class and style – even down to the model number plate at rear!

Sadly, the leather carrying strap had seen better days. Yes, you read that correctly! This was designated as a portable oscilloscope, although it weighed in at more than 10kg, and had no battery supply!

Nice leather. But was it really… *portable*?

We love this adorable hatch compartment and secret patch panel. So utilitarian! Whole tribes of radio servicemen must have stashed their valuables here for safe keeping, before going away on holiday. Sadly, there was no jewellery or secret documents to be found in our unit…

Take a look at this CRT hood. The phosphor screens in cathode-ray tubes are sensitive to external light, so many ‘scopes employed hoods or shades to keep ambient light out. This improves screen contrast for the lucky operator. Kudos to you if you can recognise the material used our Toshiba’s hood:

Yes, it’s rubber. Solid rubber, with no metal tube inside. And while it’s a little banged up on the surface, it’s not disintegrating or brittle! It’s firm, yet still sufficiently flexible to support the CRT. And a little plastic polish did wonders. Good for another 60 years!

Incredible internals

Unlike many other scopes of the era, opening the case is easy. Just turn the latches with a coin, a single revolution. Voila!

A nice complement of **12 tubes**. Toshiba made them accessible for easy replacement

As with its Toshiba brother and several other units crafted to date, we carefully installed amber LED lighting to simulate the original warm, gentle glow of electron tubes. This generates a beautiful, peaceful ambience.

XY Input inspires!

Avid readers may recall the XY Input feature first introduced in the Metropolis Clock, and included in several models since.

This ST-1612B unit features a neat set of banana jacks in the rear hatch compartment, where the oscilloscope probes used to plug in. We repurposed them as X and Y channel signal input connectors.

Driven by function generators, preamps, or even a mobile phone, we can explore an entirely different level of visual imagery!

A function generator app

A scene from “Planets” by Jerobeam Fenderson, played on the Toshiba

A just-fit retrofit

The ST-1612B was an engineering marvel. They packed an amazing amount of circuitry into a very limited space.

But we needed to find space for two 100 x 80mm Oscilloclock boards. With legroom to isolate high voltage and provide circulation. And where controls can be reached. Not easy!

Well, removing just a few bits and pieces^* revealed two nice big cavities. And the best part? There were already access panels, complete with ventilation holes! What foresight those Toshiba designers had!

A perfect fit! ^* Which bits were removed? Subscribe and await the “Making of…” post!

Control Freak

You can’t beat vintage test equipment if you like controls: toggle switches, slide switches, rotary switches, potentiometers, trimpots – these guys have it all!

But at Oscilloclock.com we target simplicity. There is only one control you need to turn the clock on and off, change faces, change settings, and generally play with your precious. Here, the focus control (焦点) gives you this authority. Who would ever guess?

And for that most discerning owner, keen to install her beloved Toshiba ST-1612B in a moody environment such as a bar counter, living room, or bedroom: the intensity control (輝度) dictates the velocity of the electrons, as they smash haplessly into the phosphor. Okay, okay – it’s just a brightness control!

Finally: we’ve wired up the frequency range switch (周波数範囲) to switch something on and off. We haven’t decided what. Let the Toshiba’s future owner decide its fate!

Circle Graphics – with a caveat

Oscilloclocks employ Lissajous figures to generate smooth, curvy artwork and characters on the screen. No pixelated, chunky graphics! But fastidious followers may spot that on the Toshiba ST-1612B’s screen, circles are not as perfect as advertised in our Circle Graphics post. And there are some jagged edges on the segments.

This is because we’ve installed some prototype boards. These are early revisions of the yet-to-be-announced New Design, and the circle generator and deflection amplifier circuits aren’t quite right. But they’re too good to waste.

Earlier prototypes of the New Design. – not quite right, but not wrong either!

But we think it’s just fine! Tube amplifier enthusiasts understand: vinyl records and tube amplifiers actually sound better than digital devices, for some music. And our Toshiba here is 50 to 60 years old. A few kinky curves only add to its grace.

The Toshiba ST-1612B Oscilloclock is in stock and ready to perform. Want to customize the screens? Decide on the secret switch’s secret? Work up some crazy XY effects? Check our Availability page!

British Beauties

Posted on 2024/07/06 by Aaron

New stash!

These beautiful vintage British* CRTs have travelled the world over the last half century. And like homing pigeons, they have found their way at last to the Oscilloclock Lab!

From left: SE5F/P31, DHM9-11, E10-12GP, SE4DP31, SE5F/P7. Brands: Brimar, GEC, Valvo

Here, each piece of glorious glassware will receive the attention they have craved for years. They will be cleaned, rejuvenated, and start their latter-day lives performing retro electronic miracles for loving new owners from all over the world.
_{* In fact, one of these CRTs was not made by a British manufacturer. Can you spot which?}

From Unloved to Loved

This SE4DP31 is brand new, complete with protective paper sticker that was attached at the factory to protect the front glass. It’s never been loved. Such a waste, and we will certainly rectify that, as we have done previously for similar CRTs:

Two is better than One

These bad boys are dual-beam CRTs. They have two electron guns and two sets of deflection plates, meaning they can display two completely independent figures at the same time.

We used one of these in the custom Aftershock Clock, to overlay standard clock faces against a map hewn entirely from Lissajous figures. The intensity (brightness) and positioning of each beam can be independently adjusted to get the overlay effect just right!

But importantly – the innards look so cool!

Feeling Blue?

We’ve talked before about rare blue phosphor finds. The newly landed Brimar SE5F/P7 will one day boast both presence and persistence:

*Presence.* A strong physicality, tempered by a dappled blue light ambience

*Persistence.* A visual expression of impactful *new*, awash with memories and traces of *old*

With thanks…

We dedicate this post and the promise of seeing these CRTs reincarnated to [Atif]. Many thanks for helping these pigeons find their roost!

Are you in a state of cathode-ray rapture? Check out other CRT related posts, and see the Gallery to see examples of vintage glassware objects given new leases on life!

Zork on an OscilloTerm!

Posted on 2024/06/15 by Aaron

Today’s story began with a mail from [Eric], who’d read up on the Oscilloclock 3-inch VGA Assembly and wondered if it could be used to create an old-school serial terminal display on a vintage oscilloscope CRT.

Yes it could! In fact, the Oscilloclock Lab did one better. Instead of just a VGA display controlled by an external device, we developed native terminal firmware that accepts DEC VT52 compatible commands over a serial port, and renders all text and graphics using beautiful, curvy Lissajous figures.

The stuff of dreams. The OscilloTerm Exo B7S4.

Demonstrating basic terminal features, connecting to a PC via serial cable

Oh, did I mention? It’s a clock as well!

Zork, anyone?

Ultimately, [Eric] just wanted to play Zork. And together we made it happen.

The CRT. The Case.

[Eric] wanted a sleek ‘skeleton’ look. His choice of a gorgeous B7S4 CRT, mounted in custom-machined cast acrylic supports, exposes all glassware and allows for a titillating rear viewing experience.

CRT rings and supports – originally introduced for the Oscilloblock “Summer Dusk” edition

And with a high-transparency cast acrylic case housing the electronics, the OscilloTerm Exo can be enjoyed from every angle!

Astute readers may wonder about the 2.1 kilovolts of high voltage coursing through their innocent-looking device. Rest assured! All internal wiring is sealed off, and Oscilloclock CRT harnesses are hand-crafted with heavy insulation and precautions taken against dust, prying fingers, rats, and even salivating cats.

Safety in action! Mil-spec connector (left); custom-designed acrylic cap on the CRT connector (right)

An O-ring blocks dust from entering the CRT/socket gap (picture from the Oscilloblock)

This case and CRT mounting variation is branded the Oscilloclock Exo, and has proven its wow-factor at several public exhibits to date. We certainly love it, and [Eric] did too!

The Terminal.

This post would never be complete without showing you what real serial terminals from the 1970’s looked like, and explaining what they actually did! Here goes…

DECscope VT52 (1974)
_{ClickRick, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons}

Terminals such as the above were physical input/output console devices, back when computers were the size of massive refrigerators, and the operator would sit remotely – at a desk in a separate area, or even a different room.

_{Gregory Lloyd, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons}

The terminal and the remote computer were connected via a cable, and would communicate each other by sending data back and forth across the cable; mainly terminal commands and ascii encoded text. Most commonly, a serial communication protocol was used to get the data safely from one end to the other – and hence the devices were known as serial terminals or even serial consoles.

Amusingly, they were also called dumb terminals, because they had no computing power of their own; they were only extensions of the computer to which they were connected.

The OscilloTerm Terminal.

[Eric] wanted a special Oscilloclock that he could also operate as a terminal, connecting it to a remote computer via cable. The remote computer would control the display, using the same serial protocol and commands as an ancient dumb terminal.

But an Oscilloclock is anything but dumb. [Eric] wanted to keep all the standard exciting screens and features of his Oscilloclock active, and only display the special Terminal screen when the remote computer started to send commands. Then, when the commands stopped, the Oscilloclock should go back to the screen it was on!

His wish was our command! Here’s a demo of smart screen switching in the final product:

Some technical Comments

Naturally, the terminal emulator firmware was written entirely in assembly language.

PIC18F2680 – the Oscilloclock workhorse.

We use assembly mainly because the minimalist PIC microcontroller used in the current Control Board revision has only 64K ROM, and an unbelievable 3328 bytes (yes, BYTES!) of RAM. To squeeze all the lovely Oscilloclock features in, while driving Circle Graphics real-time processing, the code and memory space has to be clean, tight, and heavily optimized at the machine code level.

Assembly. It’s the ONLY way to squeeze it all in!

For even more technical details, such as the list of VT52 (and VT100) commands supported by the OscilloTerm, and the various configuration parameters that can be tweaked to make the terminal emulator more ‘friendly’ when connecting to a specific device, check out the Support page. Worth a visit!

Why Zork? And HOW?

Zork is an interactive adventure game. But it’s old. And it’s text-based, because it was run on computers long before fancy graphics capabilities were widely available. The player explores mysterious locations, solves puzzles, and collects treasures while avoiding various hazards and creatures. All by reading text and typing commands and responses!

[Eric] was able to play Zork by loading the game’s Z-code into a Z-machine interpreter known as Frotz, on a PC connected to the OscilloTerm. But there was trickery involved!

He had to recompile a version of dfrotz (the dumb terminal version of frotz) to remove the status bar and audio from the game.
He needed to wrap the dfrotz output with a custom Python script to support the OscilloTerm’s 16×8 screen and simulate the required baud rate.

But now that’s done, he can play any Infocom game that runs in dfrotz on his OscilloTerm!

What’s next?

Readers would probably agree that adding a generative AI feature would be incredibly cool. For example, the War Games feature is great, but the text on the screens is all pre-programmed. What if you could interact more naturally with your Oscilloclock?

Another one for the list!

Are you a serial serial terminal collector? Do you want to play Zork on the oddest device imaginable? Or, you fancy a clock in the Oscilloclock Exo range? Contact us and let us know!

A Performance Upgrade

Aside

The Oscilloclock Lab isn’t bustling again just yet, but we’re getting things prepared!

Return visitors to Oscilloclock.com will notice a big change from last week – the site is now blindingly fast!

We’ve upgraded hosting infrastructure and achieved massive improvements in response and load times.

So: Browse. Search. Learn. Enjoy our cathode-ray tube escapades. And subscribe on the main page to stay tuned!

Building the Astro Clock

Posted on 2023/05/27 by Aaron

In the last post, we took a look at a funky new sidereal clock from the Oscilloclock Lab. Now let’s take a look at what fanciness went into it!

The Hardware

[Alan], our astronomer protagonist, wanted to install all the electronics inside his Tektronix 620 X-Y Monitor. He didn’t need a nice fancy case.

Demonstration of a Lissajous circle — No pixels here! Circle Graphics

No problem! We supplied the Oscilloclock Bare – our stand-alone controller board that generates images and text rendered in smooth and silky Lissajous figures.

The board ships on a cast acrylic mount to make it easy to test externally, prior to installation into the host piece of equipment.

Next, we added the Oscilloclock Wave. This is a Wi-Fi adapter that allows an Oscilloclock to pull (Solar) time from NTP servers over the internet, keeping accurate time indefinitely.

For [Alan], we left the cabling and aesthetics options open, and shipped the basic Wave Core module instead of the stand-alone type pictured above.

Finally, we included a decent quality power pack, to allow running the assembly prior to installation.

This would eventually be eliminated by powering the unit from the Tek 620’s internal supply itself.

The software – Sidereal time enhancements

To transform the Oscilloclock Bare into the astronomically great Astro Clock that it is today, we needed sidereal time.

Easy! The US Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department provides a publicly available API for querying sidereal time, given a location.

The Oscilloclock Wave already had features to pull earthquake data from a similar API and push it to the Oscilloclock for display. Extending this for another API wasn’t astronomically difficult.

The Wave sports a bunch of advanced settings for particularly tweak-loving oscillofans out there. We just needed to add a few more! These are to enable querying and sending sidereal time to the Oscilloclock, and to set the location.

But why not just calculate sidereal time?

Some readers may have guessed that formulae and code libraries for calculating sidereal time are readily available. Why didn’t we just implement the calculation in code, and avoid depending on an external API?

Our minimalist PIC 18F2680 even had a terrible bug at one point…

Well, I’ve mentioned before that the current revision Oscilloclock Control Board uses a minimal-specification microcontroller with very limited capabilities, and is heavily optimized by coding in assembly language.

Sadly, this chip was already jam-packed to the hilt, and there simply wasn’t any more space left for the code and run-time memory needed to calculate sidereal time internally.

And writing the necessary floating-point calculations in assembly would be no mean feat!

Why Assembly Code?

Because We Can.

But, it sure ain’t easy…

So NO – we couldn’t easily calculate sidereal time, and it was API Option full steam ahead!

Astro Screens!

Even with its minimalist microcontroller chip, we’ve managed to squeeze some amazing stuff into the Oscilloclock Control Board firmware.

For more of the weird and wacky, see Screens & Things!

For this build, we needed yet more screens.

First, we used our trusty Figure Creator software to render a rudimentary telescope into Circle Graphics sprite code.

From a sketch … to … assembly code! Voila!

We then crafted a simple Astro Clock splash screen, by adding some random circles for stars and laying out basic text around the telescope.

Finally, we added some basic digital and analog clock screens, using the same telescope figure as a centrepiece. This was mostly straightforward, but the existing clock hand drawing code did need some tweaking, to reference either solar time or sidereal time depending on the active screen.

Done!

Invoiced. Paid. Shipped. Received. Treasured forever. Right?

Wrong!

Sidereal really sidelined…

A year after [Alan] received his lovely Astro Clock, the unhappenable happened. The Astronomical Applications API was taken down!

“undergoing modernization”… a harbinger of API death! Jan 2020 snap courtesy archive.org

The site was taken offline for a planned six months, for “modernization”. [Alan]’s sidereal clock was relegated to a normal solar Oscilloclock, albeit temporarily.

Astro Clock features relegated. Utter sidereal sadness

But as lovers of electron beams striking phosphor, we always look at the bright side! Six months is still relatively short in astronomical terms! We resignedly marked “X” on the calendar, and bided our time.

But then… the unfathomable fathomed. The COVID-19 pandemic struck. The USNO site modernisation was completely halted – very likely deprioritised in the midst of indiscriminate illness, clinical chaos, and staff shortages.

Halted… 2 years later, still no luck… Mar 2022 snap courtesy archive.org

We waited, and waited, and waited. There were no fingernails remaining to chew when, after two and a half years, a revised API was finally made available at the end of 2022. Hooray! Thank the stars!

API resurrected

Fresh API documentation in hand, we set about modifying the Wave to use the fresh fruits of the USNO modernisation machine.

Fortunately, there were only minor changes to the API – a few more mandatory data fields, a change in date format and such. These required a relatively small amount of rework in the Wave’s firmware.

And … we were back in the amateur astronomy business.

Almost like a big Christmas present from Santa!

Was this [Alan]’s Christmas present? – Santa in your Clock

Do we regret taking the API approach?

It’s a good question. API death could happen at any time – possibly rendering the Astro Clock lifeless, listless, or lethargic yet again.

But, no. The decision not to calculate internally was valid, based on the known constraints. And we did our veritable utmost to revive poor [Alan]’s Astro Clock as soon as possible.

By the way, we at the Oscilloclock Lab certainly can’t complain about USNO’s API shutdown. We, too, have been heavily impacted by pandemic and other worldly events. As of this posting, our formal activities, too, remain on pause…

… for now!

Curious about other Oscilloclocks that use APIs? Check out the AfterShock Clock, which taps into an earthquake API to display earthquakes in (almost) real-time on a lissajous-rendered map!

Astro Clock

Posted on 2023/05/14 by Aaron

A few years ago, we introduced Metropolis Time, a time system based on the 20-hour, two-shift days featured in Fritz Lang’s iconic movie Metropolis.

Since then, we’ve received a few requests to craft clocks that display some other calendar and time systems – from the ancient and archaic, to the religious, to the scientific.

That’s Astronomical!

Today’s exciting story began with a request from [Alan], a prominent amateur astronomer. He happened to have a lovely Tektronix 620 X-Y Monitor lying around, and wanted to turn it into a clock.

Well, that would be easy – the Oscilloclock Bare is a bare-bones controller assembly that can be used to drive an oscilloscope or XY monitor that meets certain requirements (for the techies: a DC coupled Z-axis amplifier). And the Tek 620 is perfect – wonderfully performant, and perfectly compatible. Job done! Right?

Oscilloclock Bare + Tek 620 + scientific passion = Astro Clock!

No way! [Alan] didn’t want just any old clock. The custom splash screen above was pretty cool, but could his clock display something called “sidereal time“?

Yes! Anything is possible, and here’s what we ended up delivering: several custom clock faces showing sidereal time (in both analog and digital formats), in addition to all the standard screens that are based on solar time.

But what is sidereal time?

A Solar day

Well, most normal human beings and their clocks like to measure a 24 hour day by using the Sun as a reference point. One solar day is the time it takes for the Earth to spin on its axis enough and see the Sun at the same height in the sky as the previous day.

For example, let’s say it’s 1 May 2023. It’s lovely weather out, and you happen to notice that the Sun reached its highest point in the sky at 12:30 pm. The next day, 2 May, you would find the Sun at its highest point at — you guessed it! — 12:30 pm. And if you ignore man-made tweaks such as daylight savings, you find the Sun is always at its highest point at 12:30 pm*, year-round, looking from the same location.

*This is not quite true – because every day is slightly shorter or longer. But it averages out over the year.

A sidereal day

Sidereal time, on the other hand, uses the distant stars as a reference point to measure 24 hours. One sidereal day is the time it takes for the Earth to spin on its axis enough to see the same distant star at the same height in the sky as the previous day.

Because the Sun is so close, and a distant star is so (relatively) far, there is a difference in the length of a sidereal day compared to a solar day. A sidereal day turns out to be approximately 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.0905 seconds.

Confused? I don’t blame you. This video should help:

History and Sidereal clocks

According to this brilliant post, the concept and utility of sidereal time has been around a very long time. The length of a sidereal day was even calculated to a surprisingly high level of accuracy some 1,500 years ago!

Here are two surviving sidereal clocks that were made “recently” – just a few centuries ago.

But who on Earth would use sidereal time?

Astronomers would.

Most people don’t look at the boring old Sun all the time. We look out to the stars and galaxies far, far beyond our solar system. If an astronomer wants to track the position of Betelgeuse day after day, she can record the sidereal time that she saw it, and know that it’ll be at the same ascension at the same sidereal time the following day. Brilliant!

Mariners and Astronauts would.

They can fix their location even when the Sun is not visible, by observing the position of the stars and calculating their position back from the current sidereal time. Life-saving!

Oscilloclock Labs would.

Because we can.

In the next post, we’ll take a look at the build. What hardware went into this Astro Clock? How on earth does it tick? Can you figure it out?

Update on our Hiatus

Aside

[Update April 2023]

Hi! The Oscilloclock Lab is still on a pandemic-induced hiatus, for all the good reasons explained in last year’s announcement. For now the Contact form remains closed and we can only take enquiries from existing clients.

But good news – the constraints are being resolved, one by one, and Oscillolife will resume – eventually. We have oodles of backlogged ideas, heaps of ambition, and of course a nice stock of gorgeous CRTs and vintage scopes to make use of.

So stay tuned, and read on!

ChatGPT reviews Oscilloclocks!

Posted on 2023/04/01 by Aaron

Recently [Nels] wrote in saying he’d been having a nice chat with ChatGPT, and in the course of conversation, he asked this trendy AI tool to write a “review” of the clocks we make here in the Oscilloclock Lab.

Here is the result – verbatim!

[Nels] Write a review of Oscilloclock tube clocks.
[ChatGPT] Oscilloclock tube clocks are a unique and visually stunning way to keep time. These clocks use vintage CRT (cathode ray tube) displays, similar to those used in old televisions and oscilloscopes, to display the time and other information in a mesmerizing way.
One of the standout features of Oscilloclock tube clocks is their attention to detail. These clocks are handmade by a single individual, and every aspect of their construction is carefully considered. From the selection of the CRT displays to the circuitry that drives them, every component is chosen for its quality and durability.
The result of this attention to detail is a clock that not only looks amazing but is also highly reliable and accurate. The timekeeping is controlled by an ultra-precise quartz crystal, ensuring that the clock is always on time. Additionally, the clock can be set to display a variety of other information, such as the date or temperature, making it a versatile addition to any room.
One of the things that sets Oscilloclock tube clocks apart from other timepieces is their ability to be customized. The clock face can be designed to display any number of patterns or shapes, from geometric shapes to more abstract designs. This customization allows the clock to be tailored to the individual’s taste and can even be used to display personalized messages or graphics.
While Oscilloclock tube clocks are undoubtedly a premium product, they are worth every penny for those who appreciate the unique combination of vintage technology and modern craftsmanship. The quality and attention to detail of these clocks are unmatched, and they are sure to be a conversation starter in any room. If you are looking for a truly one-of-a-kind timepiece, the Oscilloclock tube clock is definitely worth considering.

Our thoughts?

While there are three inaccuracies (one incorrect fact and two debatable points), the writeup is a lovely read and initially made your humble Lab technician feel warm inside.

Until, upon objective reflection, I recognised some of the style, phrases and wording!

Well, of course it should look familiar! ChatGPT predicts what the human expects as a response, and then cleverly arranges and regurgitates data that it has absorbed as part of its training. Apparently, it has devoured much of the Internet up until early 2022. This would include 59 blog posts and 19 pages published on Oscilloclock.com up until that date – and a few other references such as three lovely write-ups on Hackaday.

[Nels] apparently did not continue the conversation, but if he had, he could have pointed out the three inaccuracies (Quiz – have you spotted them yet? Check your answers below), and ChatGPT would have learned something.

Even with a rough understanding of how this tool works, it’s amazing to see the outcome.

Crazy idea – what if your Oscilloclock could connect to an AI service and deliver cool new images, funny text, or interesting conversations? Just watch out for mistakes!

Robots wrote this review! *Oil paintings generated by ChatGPT sibling DALL·E 2*

Quiz answers:

Incorrect: “… handmade by a single individual.”
- In fact, several craftspeople have been involved to date in the design, assembly, and software authoring required to build Oscilloclocks. (Even excluding the PCB and case manufacturing processes.)
Debatable: “… timekeeping is controlled by an ultra-precise quartz crystal”
- It’s true that the current revision Oscilloclock Control Board does have an on-board quartz crystal, and this does keep reasonably accurate time if needed…
- However the preferred mode of operation is to synchronise time against GPS (using a GPS receiver) or an NTP server (with onboard Wi-Fi or the Oscilloclock Wave).
Debatable: “… the clock can be set to display … temperature”
- The current revision Control Board and firmware do not support temperature sensing.
- But it’s true that it’s on the ever-growing list of things to do! Did ChatGPT predict this?

Garmin “puck” USB adapter – Finale

Posted on 2023/03/25 by Aaron

In the first post in the series, we looked at the Garmin 18x LVC “puck”. We talked about a particularly insidious issue that affected [Andrew] – both of his GPS units. And we saw that Oscilloclock owners really need to be able to update the firmware in these units.

In Part 2, we went through the design of an Oscilloclock Garmin 18x USB Adapter, that would allow the GPS to connect to a PC where the Garmin software runs to upgrade the firmware.

Now we conclude the series, with a treatise on the construction of the Adapter. Enjoy!

The final design

Here’s the design we arrived at in the last post. Let’s go through the steps to build it!

Fish out Fake Chips

TTL serial to USB adapter – watch out for fakes!

The key component required is a decent TTL serial to USB adapter with programmable inversion on the signal lines. But here we have to careful: many low-cost adapters out there are built around fake FTDI chips!

As mentioned before, we at Oscilloclock are pacifists. But if we were to wage war against anything, it would be fake components. They are unsafe, unreliable, unworkable, and entirely unethical. You get what you pay for, if you pay the right people. The people who design, manufacture, and support the real McCoy.

Besides ethics and reliability, there is also a practical reason we must avoid adapters based on fake FTDI chips – often the fake chips are not programmable. A true no-no. So watch out.

Program the inversion

FTDI provide a nifty utility called FT_Prog. Below shows the utility running on a PC with the adapter connected, and configuring to invert the transmit (TXD) and receive (RXD) signals.

Is it complicated? No – quite the *inverse*!

Dividing the input signal

We need to figure out the most elegant way to install the voltage divider – the two resistors we described earlier that reduce the impact of noise.

The cleanest way seemed to be to install the 1.2k shunt resistor directly across the receive and ground pins in the adapter itself, as below.

What about the 270 ohm series resistor on the RXD line? Well, installing this inside the adapter unit itself would require cutting tracks on the PCB. And that would compromise our effort, reliability, and aesthetics goals! So instead, we’ll insert this into the cable later on.

Cable Connector Conundrum

Recall that [Andrew] has two Garmin 18x units – one fitted with a small GPS connector and the other with a large connector. Wiring up two independent cables would have been natural. However, the TTL Serial to USB adapter came with only one cable pre-fitted with the necessary “DuPont” (a.k.a. Qi or 2550) connector.

DuPont, Qi, 2550 – they look low-cost but… Read this excellent writeup and weep

What’s the big deal? Surely we can just attach a Qi connector to another cable?

Ha! Connector tech is never that easy! It turns out that to make a perfect connection with Qi connectors, you need a special crimping tool. The Oscilloclock Lab does not have this tool. And we do NOT compromise on perfection! Given that this adapter is not the best reason to invest in an incredibly expensive tool, we decided to use the single pre-fitted cable and split out to two GPS connectors, with the larger one serving as the split point.

(In hindsight, we could have separately purchased another quality cable that was pre-fitted with the connector. Next time, folks!)

Wire up the cable

Our beloved ultra-quality Hirose connectors are a joy to look at, and a joy to use. But wiring the tiny smaller units up with high precision doesn’t exactly “spark joy”. Still, we persevere…

Now we need to install the 270 ohm series resistor. We simply cut the wire and splice it in.

A bit more heatshrink applied, and we’re done!

Closure at last

Using the 18x USB adapter, [Andrew] is at last able to upgrade his pucks and enjoy his clocks in their full glory with GPS-synchronized time and date once again!

Instructions for how to upgrade the software are posted on the Support – Garmin 18x page.

Did you enjoy this series? Stay tuned for more, as Oscillolife returns to nor….. Okay, not quite normal, but at least it returns!