Nuts and Volts - June 2008

Rich Syphrit

Rich sent in a picture and it was high-resolution enough that I could zoom in and make out just about every item he had there. I felt compelled to respond to him with a list of what I thought I could identify from the picture and see how close my guesses were. This is what I sent:

Thanks Rich! I really appreciate you sending in a photo. Love the custom instrumentation panels across the front! VERY cool! Okay, zooming in a bit, let’s see how I do at recognizing all this stuff. I think I recognize:

• Stack o’ Altoids tins! The electronics enclosure of champions!

• Nice HP scope.

• Nakamichi signal generator?

• An Audio Controls spectrum analyzer/EQ back there peeking out?

• A Game cube NTSC video monitor showing the weather channel (presumably fed from the VHS VCR to the left/below it?).

• A Mini helicopter in a box on top of the VCR

• Video monitor for Windows XP (keyboard and mouse stored on the far left of the bench.

• A video capture interface for the PC attached to the leg of the bench.

• Temperature controlled pencil iron.

• A pair of 6x4 oval speakers with RadioShack tweeters flush mounted?

Now on to the uber-cool custom panels and stuff

suspended from the shelf ... from left to right:

• Large black knob ... a variable transformer?

• Three red pilot lights for status of fuse to AC power plugs?

• Dual vertical meters would be in/out voltages of a transformer?

• Meters and banana jacks would be for testing speakers and audio?

• Next, looks like a function generator or signal generator.

• Last panel looks like an audio/video patch bay for testing AV gear ... maybe an embedded power supply in there?

So, how’d I do?? In addition to the picture, I’d love to know if you have any comments on things you would do differently. Also, are there things a beginner should always have? Any “if I knew then what I know now I would ...” type bits of advice to offer? This was his response:

Very good identification of stuff! Most of my friends just think it is a pile of blinky lights.

• The Nakamichi is a tuner/pre amp with a tape deck analyzer under it.

• The AC supply meters are voltage and current for the first AC outlet.

• The meters and banana jacks are my current project: a dual DC power supply. An H-bridge ± supply to run DC motors forward and reverse, and a large regulated supply.