A query for you: if the cathode ray tube had by no means been invented, what would an oscilloscope seem like? We’re undecided ourselves, nevertheless it looks as if one thing much like this mechanical tachyscope show would possibly labored, at the very least up to some extent.
What’s ironic about this situation is that the tachyscope [Daniel Ross] constructed truly makes use of a CRT from a defunct camcorder viewfinder because the light-up little bit of what quantities to a big POV show. The CRT’s horizontal coil is disconnected whereas the vertical coil is connected to the output of a TEA205B audio amplifier. The CRT, its drive electronics, and the amp are mounted to a motorized plastic platter together with a wi-fi child monitor, to ship audio to the CRT with out the necessity for slip rings — though a Bluetooth module seems for use for that job within the video beneath.
Talking of slip rings, you’d count on one to make an look right here to switch energy to the platter. [Daniel] used a slip ring for his earlier steampunk tachyscope, however this day out he selected a hand-wound air core transformer, with a stationary main coil and secondary coil mounted on the platter. With a MOSFET exciter on the first and a bridge rectifier on the secondary, he’s in a position to get the 12 volts wanted to energy every thing on the platform.
Like most POV shows, this one most likely appears higher in individual than it does in video. But it surely’s nonetheless fairly cool, with the audio waveforms kind of floating in midair because the CRT whizzes round. [Daniel] clearly put lots of work into this, not least with the balancing essential to get this operating easily, so hats off for the trouble.