From the Archives – Vintage Transmitting Tube Art

Diverging from CRTs only briefly but holding steadfast to the warm, soft glow of valves, here I introduce a piece of Valve Art crafted long before Oscilloclock came into existence!

I spotted this vintage 1967 ultrasonic cleaner unit at the local Ham Fair, and it was love at first sight. Originally with a steel cabinet with peeling paint, the unit wasn’t much to look at on the outside. But after applying a copper coat to the chassis and fitting a sleek acrylic cabinet, this device simply dazzles!

 

Featuring not one, but two of these stunning Hitachi 3T12 transmitting valves!

Who needs a heater in winter, when you can have one of these power-hungry devices?

I bet this lovely triode, with its zirconium-plated anode and thorium-tungsten filament, really impressed the original owner of this ultrasonic cleaner…

 

These aesthetic innards simply ooze awesomeness. It’s as if they actually designed this for the art museum!

Made in 1967, but boasting an incredible 200W output – absolutely deadly !


Sadly, my workshop no longer had room for this historic showpiece, so with a heavy heart, I recently powered it down for the last time. However it will go to a loving new home…

Long live vintage ultrasonic cleaners!

From the Archives – a 400-LED Oscilloscope

Long, long ago… In a workshop far away…

Recently, I’ve seen quite a few search hits and even an enquiry regarding the 400-LED dual-trace oscilloscope that I briefly mentioned on my History page. With renewed enthusiasm therefore, let’s take a trip down history lane and see what I was doing back in 1990!

A compact dual-trace 1MHz DC scope - what more could a high school kid want?

A compact dual-trace 1MHz DC scope – what more could a high school kid want?

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