A modern military-spec connector from France meets an ancient Bakelite connector from Japan. It’s love at first sight! The two are joined together in eternal conductivity. Not by a priest, but by eleven 3kV silicon wires surrounded in a lustrous braided sheath…
… Or so goes the story. There are other accounts, but we like this one best!
Diversity and distinction
Serious readers will have recognized the above harness, as it was used in Exo series Oscilloclocks such as the recently featured Exo 3KP1.
The Exo series. CRT and Control Unit must mate!… and this is how it’s done.
The Gold standard
We’ve crafted all kinds of harnesses for other Oscilloclock models. This one below takes the cake! Check out the chrome connectors, gold-plated pins, IP68 compliant clamps, and fray-resistant sheathing.
The ultimate in extravagant cabling! Why not?As used in the stunning Model 1-S
Simple and functional
Coming back down to earth, we have a less extravagant, highly functional connectivity solution for the Model 1 series:
No gold or chrome. But still military-spec and very solid. A joy to plug and unplug!… As used in this Model 1 130BXB31
Crazy cabling
NO single Oscilloclock used more cabling than the infamous AfterShock Clock! This consisted of two complete Oscilloclock Core sets integrated together to drive a dual-gun CRT.
The AfterShock Clock in its initial form. Have you ever seen so many cables?
The harnesses supplied in this first delivery were… raw, to say the least.
Later, as [Atif] worked on his AfterShock Clock’s case, he ordered a set of production quality cabling: two CRT harnesses, and one custom interconnect cable to join the two control units together. Beautiful!
Fixated on the affixed
At another point on the spectrum of craziness are harnesses that are not fully removable. Below we have the incredible OscilloBlock Summer Dusk Edition, where the cabling enters the Lego-built Control Unit via a grommet:
There are more designs to show. But let’s move on to an important topic!
A safety consideration
Some Oscilloclocks, especially those in the Exo series, are designed to physically expose the CRT as much as possible to the happy owner and his/her entourage of vintage electronic aficionados. They can touch. Feel. And even listen. (Yes! Some CRT electrodes can even emanate sound!)
An Exo 3KP1 needs 2.2kV to draw this!
But many readers may also know that cathode ray tubes operate at high voltages. In fact, in the baseline Exo 3KP1, some pins of the CRT are supplied with roughly 2,200 volts compared to other pins.
Now, clever readers may have noticed in photos of the assembled Exo 3KP1 that there is a slight gap between the socket and the base of the CRT. The metal pins are slightly exposed. If someone or something somehow bridged that gap – with prying fingers, paws, coffee, or dust – the results could be serious.
Never fear! There is an insulating o-ring (gasket) that was not installed at the time the Exo photos were taken. It’s a very basic but effective solution. See these instructions from the Operating Manual:
Installing the ubiquitous o-ring
We don’t have enough hours in the day to talk through all the safety considerations. But they include:
usage of high voltage tolerant silicon-sheathed wires
selection of military-spec connectors rated for high-voltage use\
a clever pin layout that minimizes the voltage difference between any given pin and its neighbors
We’re proud of our harnesses. And you can be too.
And that’s a wrap!
Are YOU haplessly hooked on harnesses? Does capably-crafted cabling captivate you? Stay tuned! Next time we craft up a CRT harness, we’ll snap a few photos along the way. It’s a surprisingly deep topic!
No! We’re not here to talk about a new Star Wars character! The 3KP1 is a type of cathode-ray tube that was used in many low-cost 1960s-1970s Japanese oscilloscopes.
And the Exo is a series in our Oscilloclock range that fully exposes the CRT both visually and physically, much to the delight of the owner and visitors – while of course protecting high voltage areas from dust and prying fingers.
The Exo 3KP1!
First crafted for [Jerry] back in 2019, the Oscilloclock Exo 3KP1 is the default character in the Exo series, alongside the arguably oddball Oscilloblock – Summer Dusk Edition and the slightly more exotic OscilloTerm Exo B7S4.
There’s nothing more soothing than the green glow of flourescent phosphor backed by the amber ambience of the CRT heater. Ahhh, that’s nice.
This Exo shipped with all the “standard” screens, like the analog clock face below. But why stop there? We’ve done custom logos, movie themed features, oddball time systems, and so much more!
From the top, [Jerry] and his dinner guests can readily inspect every square centimeter of the CRT and its exquisite innards. Cooool.
Inside the unit, neatly tied cabling lends an air of gentle sophistication, while the green of the circuit boards harmonizes well with the phosphor.
Even as a baseline model in the series, the Exo 3KP1 is distinctly attractive.
[Jerry] did make some choices along the way, including which CRT to use. Let’s explore his CRT options in more detail!
Round vs. flat
The flat-faced 3KP1(F) version
As shown in the photos, the CRT that [Jerry] selected has a slightly convex face. This was the standard shape of the original 3KP1 type CRT, and is a perfect choice for the Exo case style, as it visually softens the glass edge exposed in front of the acrylic ring supports.
The round-faced 3KP1 was superseded after some years on the market, by a flat-faced version: the 3KP1(F). This version is rather more commonly found and they are delightful to use. We used a 3KP1(F) in the Exo series Oscilloblock, as shown at right.
Which would YOU prefer – round or flat?
Phosphors and flavours
[Jerry] had another choice to make: the phosphor! While the standard phosphor of most CRTs of the day was green, other colours were available such as amber, blue, white, purple. Such CRTs are more rare, but we have some… and so could Jerry!
Phosphor diversity. What would [Jerry] go for?The “trailing effect” on a long-persistence CRT
There were also varieties of CRT with different persistences; i.e., how long the trace would continue to show on the screen! We love this shot of the moving second hand on a blue, long-persistence CRT:
And, we just happened to have a 3KP7 CRT in stock with exactly these characteristics.
But in the end, [Jerry] wanted the nostalgic look of an old green-screen computer monitor, and chose the stock-standard 3KP1.
Nice choice!!
The longevity question
[Jerry]’s clock shipped with a used 3KP1 CRT. Pre-owned, pre-loved, and pre-21st century.
But we don’t sell junk. [Jerry]’s CRT was selected for its unblemished phosphor, and for its still-bright and vibrant performance. And, of course, there is the standard warranty of 1 month for a used CRT:
But the question often comes: “How long will a CRT really last?”
Here at Oscilloclock we don’t mince words, and we don’t use euphemisms (much!). But the fact is this – after 15 years of crafting Oscilloclocks for customers around the globe, no-one has reported having to change their CRT. Maybe it’s happened and we are oblivious. Even better!
Our secrets to CRT longevity are:
We select only the highest quality CRTs, made by reputable manufacturers. [Jerry]’s CRT was manufactured by Toshiba, a key supplier of the day.
We check CRT specifications carefully, and avoid those with any hint of short lifetimes. (Some CRTs had very short expectancies, such as 1000 hours! Perhaps these were used for demanding applications where even a tiny degradation in performance could not be accepted.)
Oscilloclocks employ a soft-start mechanism to minimize stress on the CRT heater.
The Spare
Notwithstanding our facts around longevity, [Jerry] decided to plan ahead for an eventual CRT replacement. He purchased a stunning new-old-stock Hitachi 3KP1, with quality certificate and even in its original box.
They don’t get more original than this!
But is a Hitachi 3KP1 better than a Toshiba 3KP1?
We’ve compared them, and couldn’t tell any difference in performance or characteristics. We did notice one thing, though: the Hitachi is significantly heavier than the Toshiba. Hmmm….
One day, we’ll dissect some (defunct) units, and get to the bottom of that odd observation. Stay tuned for a post!
Like what you see? [Jerry] did. Check out our other creations!
Some time ago, [javadesigner] asked something that no doubt many of you have been wondering: Do Oscilloclocks emit radiation?
Had a question about oscilloscopes – specifically cathode-ray tubes (CRTs). X-rays etc were discovered in similar tubes, and I’ve read that high kV tubes produce both beta and X-ray radiation.
… Have you ever measured x-ray emissivity with CRTs, and if so, are there any mitigation strategies – especially for X-rays? Leaded glass enclosures, etc.?
Great question!
Will your faithful Oscilloclock do this to you? CRT used in this demo: 130BFB31
Fortunately the answer is a clear NO. Our hand-crafted Oscilloclocks do not emit dangerous radiation.
The general rule of thumb with CRTs (in fact, any electrical equipment operated in a vacuum) is that X-ray emission is negligible at anode voltages less than around 10kV. The accelerated electron beam simple does not have enough energy to generate X-rays when striking the phosphor screen.
But above 10kV, X-rays can and are produced as a result of the higher-energy bombardment. The high-voltage CRTs used in television and computer monitors of the day always incorporated lead glass (strontium-barium glass), to block these X-rays. (And… to protect against implosion!)
In any case, all Oscilloclocks operate at voltages well below 10kV, so this does not become an issue.
Just a few of our CRTs in stock – and none of them emit X-rays!
Thats right – whether we craft your custom timepiece from a behemoth 6498 (at left, operating at 6 kilovolts), a delightful D4P (3kV), a sleek 3WP1 (1.5kV), a cute 50SB1 (1kV) or an eentsy-weentsy CV2302 (500V), you’ll be illuminated but never irradiated.
Fascinated by electron beams and phosphor bombardment? Do you have a question that everyone else wants to ask? Query away, we love Q&A!
The long-standing favourite amongst Oscilloclock aficionados is the External GPS (Garmin ‘puck’) option. Features include:
a long cable that allows positioning for best sensitivity
an inbuilt magnet for attaching to metal beams
a gorgeous connection system – satisfying haptics and robust locking
Of course, we also have the internal GPS option, where the GPS receiver is mounted on the Control Board itself. This is super nifty, if there is no concern about satellite signal strength where the clock is placed. (This is very rarely an issue. These receivers are extremely sensitive!)
Can you spot the onboard GPS module in this gorgeous OscilloBlock?
Geolocation
The GPS option allows the Oscilloclock to obtain not just time, but also geolocation information from satellites.
Okay, it’s true that Oscilloclocks are generally placed in a fixed location, so showing the clock’s location on a map might not be very useful…
Think again!
How about an OscilloGlobe, to warm up your long-distance relationship? Plot you and your friend’s Oscilloclocks on a spinning globe, and count down the hours til you meet again…
A delightful Heathkit SB-610 shows another Oscilloclock, live and ticking elsewhere in the world! (Want a closeup of this demo feature? See this video)
Or perhaps you fancy an OscilloWear? A wearable Oscilloclock, sporting a miniature CRT and it’s-only-possible-in-Japan miniaturised circuitry! Complete with GPS.
An OscilloWatch capable of recording your sporting activities? With OscilloMaps that guide you to the nearest Oscilloclock retailer? And of course: the OscilloPhone, or oPhone for short?
Ahh, we could have so much fun making devices that use location data…!
Want even more info on the GPS hardware option? We have a nice support page here: Garmin 18x GPS Puck.
NTP – low-cost & extensible
The Oscilloclock Wave is the glorious device that allows your Oscilloclock to connect to a Wi-Fi router and pull in time from NTP (Network Time Protocol) servers.
It comes in different forms, both external and internal:
WaveWave Onboard
Wave Core
The Oscilloclock Wave requires a WiFi connection (and Internet), and some initial configuration – it doesn’t just work straight out of the box, in a standalone way like the GPS option.
However, the Wave has a distinct advantage: it can access various APIs (think: providers of data over the Internet) to pull in and display all kinds of information!
To date, we’ve used this capability in several themed Oscilloclocks: the Astro Clock (pulling in sidereal time from an API) and the AfterShock Clock (pulling in earthquake data).
Sidereal time, for all the astronomers out there!Earthquakes are disasters – no joke. But a semi-live visualization in Lissajous figures? Too cool..
Not saturated yet? For more on Wifi based synchronisation and various configuration options, see the support page: Oscilloclock Wave.
The No Synchronization option!
Do you want to take your Oscilloclock off-grid? We’ll craft you a unique clock powered by wind, solar, USB-C power bank, or even a hamster wheel. (We can even procure extremely low-power CRTs!) But to go fully off-grid, you won’t want to use GPS or WiFi.
A (more likely!) scenario is simply that signal strength is just too poor. Maybe your clock sits in a basement 3 stories below ground…
For such cases, you can set the time manually in the Time Setting screen. Once set, an on-board quartz oscillator then maintains reasonably good time (in the order of seconds per month). You’ll want to adjust it occasionally!
Must it be one OR the other? Can’t a gadget lover have their Oscilloclock source data of different types from both GPS and public APIs over the Internet?
Sadly, no – not in the current Control Board revision. This supports only a single interface, which is occupied by either the GPS or the Wave module. (We have multiple input capability on the long to-do list!)
Oscilloclocks are beautiful and entertaining. There’s that warmth of the CRT filament and the brilliance of coloured phosphor excitation, combined with all the features of our digital era.
But above all – they are clocks! Hope you enjoyed this treatise on how time is managed.
If you’re up for the craziness of an Atomic Oscilloclock, or if you want a custom theme using specific API data, let me know! Otherwise, stay tuned!
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 Oscilloclockmight 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.
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 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!
