A new toy:- Hitachi V1050 100Mhz Oscilloscope
23/02/2015
My new toy, about 30 years old; they are all digital now, and about 1/8 the size!
This is big: - 310 W × 180 H × 410 D mm (12.2 W × 7.1 H × 16.1 D in) 10.2 kg (22.5 lbs) A work colleague has let me have it, no money down, I can pay him if I want to keep it. A couple of hundred dollars. I will keep it. Apparently it's showing its age a bit with a few dicky knobs etc. New ones to this spec are around $1100 up, see here. (Update 2023: They've got cheaper, now $639 for a 100MHz scope.) This one doesn't record, cannot be accessed or controlled by computer, but it is a fairly good techie instrument, and I have always had a hankering for one after using them in my training back in the 70s. I intend playing with it a bit until I can use it properly and have found any dodgy knobs or switches, then pulling it apart and fixing them. |
If your eyes are glazing over and you are going "What is this?", here is a vid on the very basics of what it does.
One thing I'd like to do is compare a passage of sound from an LP, then CD, and a ripped .mp3 file, just to get an indication of how much is lost in the digital formats, and how much noisier the LP is. I could even include a .mp3 encoded directly from the LP.
I can measure the inadequacies of my ageing turntable, which I know has considerable flutter, because I can see it in the waveform of digital recordings I have made from LPs. See here for more than you ever wanted to know (actually some nice clear descriptions) of turntable specs.
I can find (and hopefully cure) some hum I get when I send Video sound to my computer, such as when you might want to record music off old VHS tapes. (Yes, I have quite a few!)
It should also prove very useful if I carry out my intention to try making a 3D printer when I retire, as it will be able to look at timing and drive signals for the printer's X, Y, and Z direction motors, and the print nozzle control signals for output speed, pressure and temperature.
If you have read this far you may have enough interest in the subject to know the difference between the Model V-1050, and the V-1050F, which appears much more commonly on the web. As far as I can tell, this one has slightly better specs, but is functionally the same as the V-1050F. (Just askin' !)
One thing I'd like to do is compare a passage of sound from an LP, then CD, and a ripped .mp3 file, just to get an indication of how much is lost in the digital formats, and how much noisier the LP is. I could even include a .mp3 encoded directly from the LP.
I can measure the inadequacies of my ageing turntable, which I know has considerable flutter, because I can see it in the waveform of digital recordings I have made from LPs. See here for more than you ever wanted to know (actually some nice clear descriptions) of turntable specs.
I can find (and hopefully cure) some hum I get when I send Video sound to my computer, such as when you might want to record music off old VHS tapes. (Yes, I have quite a few!)
It should also prove very useful if I carry out my intention to try making a 3D printer when I retire, as it will be able to look at timing and drive signals for the printer's X, Y, and Z direction motors, and the print nozzle control signals for output speed, pressure and temperature.
If you have read this far you may have enough interest in the subject to know the difference between the Model V-1050, and the V-1050F, which appears much more commonly on the web. As far as I can tell, this one has slightly better specs, but is functionally the same as the V-1050F. (Just askin' !)