• Presenting the Oscilloblock!

    Presenting the Oscilloblock!

    Ahh, summer – it’s well and truly over. But one person in the world is able to enjoy the warm, cheery feeling of summer every single day: the proud new owner of this beautiful OscilloblockSummer Dusk edition!

    Truly the best thing to come out of the lab this summer – the Oscilloblock!

    The Exterior

    This playful timepiece features a Lego art case, painstakingly designed and constructed by Oscilloclock lab’s junior technician from a whopping 548 brand-new Lego parts sourced from around the globe. No expenses spared! Even the control knob is actually a Lego Technics gear. And just in case the owner wanted to take it apart and build it all over again, we included a 140-step Lego building guide in the package. Good luck!

    Oscilloblock - Lego building instructions collage

    The Oscilloblock features a good-looking 1970’s 3-inch (75mm) flat-faced CRT from Toshiba, with the iconic scripted logo in great condition on the base. At the rear is a scarce brown bakelite CRT socket, which are very hard to find complete with the rear insulating cap! The harness consists of tough 3kV tolerant silicone-sheathed cabling, shielded over most of its length to reduce electromagnetic interference.

    Oscilloblock Summer Dusk edition - rear view
    Wow, these vintage bakelite CRT sockets are hard to find!
    Oscilloblock - a beautiful vintage Toshiba CRT
    No doubts about authenticity!

    One design goal was to have more than 90% of the CRT’s surface area completely exposed for viewing and touching, as opposed to encasing it in acrylic. Borne from this was a tremendous achievement for 2015: a new CRT ring support structure!

    Oscilloblock - Beautiful CRT Rings
    Acrylic rings with super-tiny pocket holes… cast and machined in Japan!

    Internals

    The internals of the clock are equally exquisite. A set of latest-revision Oscilloclock control, deflection and power boards drive the CRT at 2.1kV, providing a crystal-clear, ultra-bright trace. And of couse, every figure and character is generated using silky-smooth Circle Graphics.

    Oscilloblock - side by side
    The CRT assembly simply lifts away for showing off the internals! But DON’T TOUCH
    Latest-revision boards.
    Latest-revision boards. 250+ components. All hand-mounted!
    On-board GPS for accurate timing - anywhere in the world!
    On-board GPS for accurate timing – anywhere in the world!

    Operation

    There is only one control. It’s intuitive. It’s fun. It’s simple! Visit my YouTube channel to see various Oscilloclocks in operation.

    But not everything is obvious, and Oscilloclocks all ship with an Operation Guide, with content specific to each and every unique unit. Here’s a snippet from the Oscilloblock’s guide:

    No Oscilloclock model ships without a decent Operation Guide!
    No Oscilloclock model ships without a decent Operation Guide!

    Like what you see?

    There’s really no limit to what can be done with a CRT and an idea! It was my son’s idea to use Lego, and he is proud to know there is nothing in the world quite like this Oscilloblock. See the Gallery for other equally unique creations.

    Everything begins with an idea…

  • New Models at Maker Faire Tokyo!

    New Models at Maker Faire Tokyo!

    The rainy season is officially over, and the long heat of summer has taken command. But here at Oscilloclock.com, we plan to sweat it out in air-conditioned comfort at…

    Maker Faire Tokyo 2015!

    Visit our booth and check out several new models! First up is the fabulous 2015 edition Oscilloblock. One unit will go on sale at the event!

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  • Just a second!

    Here we see the original Oscilloclock Prototype leaping for joy with the glorious Leap Second! The Hourly XY Bump screen-saver even bumps the screen twice, just for added effect.

    Note: Flicker is due to camera effects and is not visible to the human eye.

  • When Time Stops…

    It’s singular.
    It’s exciting.
    And it’s coming very soon.

    On 30 June 2015, for exactly one second, time will stop!

    Really?

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  • 3.3V to 5V Level Adjustment

    Only just after I’d written last month’s post about an X-Y-Z display for an HUD, the customer asked for a spot of extra help with his new playtoy.

    Uh oh - image not centred and way too big...
    Uh oh – image not centred and way too big…

    The Oscilloclock Deflection Board currently assumes X and Y input ranges of 0-5V, centred on 2.5V. However, the customer was programming an Arduino-based controller board with analogue output from 0-3.3V. Applying this directly of course didn’t break anything, but sure did make it hard to centre on screen! Would there be a quick way to adjust voltage levels?

    Another issue was that the gain in the current-revision Deflection Board is hard-wired, and the image was not the right scale to just fit the screen. The gain could be changed via a single resistor per channel, but would there be an easier, more flexible way?

    YES on both accounts!

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