Retro Technology

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/58898414

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/58898407

I have posted more info in the Pixelfed post

One of our newer writers, [Tyler August], recently wrote a love letter to plasma TV technology. Sitting between the ubiquitous LCD and the vanishing CRT, the plasma TV had its moment in the sun, but never became quite as popular as either of the other display techs, for all sorts of reasons. By all means, go read his article if you’re interested in the details. I’ll freely admit that it had me thinking that I needed a plasma TV.

I don’t, of course. But why do I, and probably a bunch of you out there, like old and/or odd tech? Take [Tyler]’s plasma fetish, for instance, or many people’s love for VFD or nixie tube displays. At Supercon, a number of people had hit up Apex Electronics, a local surplus store, and came away with some sweet old LED character displays. And I’ll admit to having two handfuls of these displays in my to-hack-on drawer that I bought surplus a decade ago because they’re so cute.

Original YT Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVBJg0J1v1s

The Bomem DA3 is a type of Fourier transform spectrometer used for measuring various spectral data and [Usagi Electric] has one. On his quest to understand it he runs down a number of rabbit holes, including learning about various barcode formats, doing a teardown of the Telxon LS-201 barcode scanner, and exploring how lasers work. That’s right: lasers!

His reason for looking at the Telxon LS-201 barcode scanner is that it has the same type of helium-neon laser as his Bomem DA3 uses. Since he’s learning about barcode scanners he thinks it’s prudent to learn about barcode formats too, and he has a discussion with our very own Adam Fabio about such things, including the UPC-A standard barcodes.

A newspaper clipping from The Tacoma News Tribune, dated April 11, 1953, features an article titled "There'll Be No Escape in Future From Telephones".

The article quotes Mark R. Sullivan, president of the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co., who speculated on the future of the telephone.

Sullivan's prophecy included the idea that individuals would carry telephones with them, similar to a watch today. He also suggested that future phones might not require a dial and users could see each other while talking.

A final speculation was that the device might even be able to translate between languages.

On November 21, 1969, the first ARPANET link went live between UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute, demonstrating packet-switched communication and laying the groundwork for what would eventually become the modern Internet.

The pursuit of retro has entered the WEB ...

Anything with a laser has undeniable hacker appeal, even if the laser’s task is as pedestrian as sending data over a fiber optic cable. [Shahriar] from [The Signal Path] must agree, and you can watch as he tears down and investigates a fiber optic link made from old HP equipment in the video below.

He starts with an investigation of the block diagram of the transmitter. In the transmitter, the indium gallium arsenide phosphide laser diode emits light with a 1310-nanometer wavelength. Thermal characteristics in the transmitter are important, so there is thermal control circuitry. He notes that this system only works using amplitude modulation; phase modulation would require more expensive parts. Then it’s time to look at the receiver’s block diagram. Some optics direct the light signal to a PIN diode, which receives the signal and interfaces with biasing and amplifying circuitry.

A bit of Y2K era sound system appreciation on LGR! This Sharp was my first "real" stereo as a teenager, and I recently found a new one still sealed in its box from 25 years ago! So I bought it to relive some of the experience I first had at the turn of the millennium. Unfortunately, I also experienced the expected disappointments of using such a thing a quarter century later.