Electronic Tool From The 1950's! Will It Work?

Can you guess what this tool is, and what it does? The answers are revealed in this video, and we will try it too! The last video's trivia question also answered. Click the "Show More" tab just below this writing for the links.
To learn more about electronics in a different and very effective way, and get access to my inventions and personal designs, click here: / mrcarlsonslab

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

To learn more about electronics in a different and very effective way, and get access to my inventions and personal designs, click here: www.patreon.com/MrCarlsonsLab

[@swalker157]

Mr Carlson's Lab, do you think you could do a series for beginners? I’m a current EE student and would like to get to your level in vintage electronics. A series outlining skill building projects would be great. Thanks for all the interesting videos

[@OldIronShops]

Was there a follow up video to this if so what was the title

[@ke4est]

Time to drop everything I am doing! Carlson is in the house!

[@robertleifeld225]

Had one of your mystery tubes when I was a kid - 70 years ago -- was mounted on a Bakelite chassis in an octal socket along with a vacuum tube of some kind and a relay. Mystery tube had a :"plastic": dome over it and a light tube. Shine a light on the tube, set the sensitivity control just right and the relay would close. Could use it when a parent was sneaking up on me and would break the light beam and a bell would ring warning me to put my comic book down and pretend to be sleeping. Thanks for the memory.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Great story Robert, thanks for sharing that!

[@kenh9508]

Best trivia quote ever. "If this is too easy,, they can get a lot harder. I have some very strange devices"

[@onefootinthegroove39]

J. Millen Co. mini oscilloscope, was made to fit in the place of an S-meter on a communications receiver. Millen was a legend in radio engineering, and designed some of the best equipment for National Radio Co. including the SW-3, SW-5, HRO, and NC-100 series

[@boringpolitician]

When I worked in radio we had an old old old mixer desk. It had one of those on it, to show the sound (not the typical waves you see today, but stereo, with a center dot, showing sound from the center and out, depending on stereo/loudness/etc).

[@harrystevens3885]

No idea what that device is but I do know what the best electronics channel is! Just love your output and you always leaving us wanting more!!

[@tuomasholo]

Early flux capacitor prototype. I had one in my Delorean.

[@Frankowillo]

No, no, much earlier than that. I had one in my VW Bug (Beetle for non-Americans).

[@rebelba42]

Watching your videos makes everyday life a bit more bearable! To me it's my "Bob Ross" moment, listening to your explanations of awesome stuff i've never seen before. Thanks for all those hours of fantastic video material, showing us the joy of electronics!

[@waltschannel7465]

I love, love, love the way you bring ancient electronics back to life, and into modern context. You sure find some interesting pieces! 😁

[@HighestRank]

It’s a transtator, the basic building block for all federation technology.

[@wildonpriddy1800]

Millen 1 inch oscilloscope used one in my ham shack 50 yrs ago ,love your website, thanks

[@AndrewLohmannKent]

You could buy them in the 70s. I have a similar 6" Russian made tube with unsymmetrical plates. Cheap new old stock.

[@shmehfleh3115]

Cool! Now build the world's tiniest Asteroids game with that little guy!

[@fairwinds610]

I used to see ads for this little device in 1950s QST magazine. I believe it was made by Millen. It's a tiny oscilloscope with a one-inch CRT and circuits for focus and brightness. It needs a power-supply and sweep, deflection circuits.

[@Ghilliedude3]

I recently found this channel and have been blown away by the level of information you provide! Seeing how old electronics work has been a great experience!

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Glad you're enjoying!

[@btouw8558]

Always happy to see a new video from Carlson lab

[@More_Row]

You’re videos has such great audio Mr. Carlson. Very impressed by the quality of the sound and of course great lighting to really see what you’re working on , thumbs up!

[@SeanKerns]

Very cool! I love this channel, because I learn things I didn't even know I didn't know.

[@BretFrohwein]

Raise your hand if you ran around the house with a flashlight shining it at all your flickering power strip lamps! *raises hand*

[@MrWombatty]

Only have the one old power-board to test this, but after trying it with a 9-LED torch (way too bright for my eyes to tell how fast it stopped the flicker), I then tried again once I'd left it disconnected for a while with a single-LED torch (about 2 secs to react), then again later with a laser-pointer (which caused the neon to react & steady instantly)!

[@JohnnyX50]

lol i did :D

[@the_eminent_Joshua_E_Hrouda]

You'd think its own light (neon) would be enough to stabilise it!!!

[@mechanicfrank900]

I paused the video to run around the house with a flashlight.

[@MrJef06]

@@mechanicfrank900 Same here 😊 Unfortunately, I could not find a single flickering neon bulb... All perfectly steady 🙁

[@GrantWyness]

The moment I saw that little tube face sticking out it made me think of my portable Cossor 1039M that I’m currently restoring. And what did you do - pull out a Cossor tube. Made my afternoon that did!

[@alphabeets]

Your videos are so well done. The best on KZbin.

[@doctorjohn-burgtekie]

Gotta love 50's electronic test equipment, thanks for sharing Mr. Carlson.

[@EdWatts]

I like the Lambda Model 71 power supply!

[@justinhiggins2210]

You are the Carl Sagan of electronic repair, captivating absolutely love your videos please keep them coming

[@GadgetUK164]

Wonderful! Looking forward to the project to use that little CRT =D

[@jlucasound]

You are an awesome teacher and you really know your stuff. Thank You, Mr. Carlson!

[@Tocsin-Bang]

Many moons ago I used the same crt in a homebrew modulation meter, wish I still had it. Circuit came from an RSGB Handbook. Love the LIssajous trace.

[@keithlincicum3691]

Wow, I haven't seen a setup like that since I was a kid in the '60s. I had 2 friends who's fathers had shops like yours, but they were never interested in any of it. They became my foster-fathers due to my own dad shunning me from birth. They were both kind and patient with me and got a kick out of my enthusiasm and I learn a lot. One gave me a military emergency 2-way radio that was the size of 2/3 carton of cigarettes with rabbit-ear collapsible antenna that formed 2 "Ts". I managed to hook it up and when I hit the transmit button the TV went berserk. I called a friend 1/4 mile away and he said his was doing the same. I subbed your channel and look forward to more

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Thanks for sharing your story Keith!

[@dbeaumontresident847]

I have a 1936 Stromberg Carlson console radio I inherited from my Great-Grandfather. It needs a full-on restoration. Would love to send it to you and have the pleasure of watching a KZbin video of it's restoration and modernization to make it even more practical and safe to use today!

[@borisromanoff4244]

this "trivia" was all new for me. again, best thanks!!!!

[@TerryMcKean]

Very nice little o'scope. Thanks for sharing, Mr Carlson :-) Years ago I built one from scratch as part of a homebrew tube-type 40 meter AM/CW transmitter/receiver rig and I connected the horizontal plates to the filament supply to get the horizontal sweep and connected a slug-tuned coil and capacitor tuned-circuit that would resonate in the 40 meter band (7-7.3 mHz) across the vertical plates and the thing worked nicely for adjusting the modulation on AM and monitoring the keying on CW. To couple the 7 meg RF into the coil I wrapped a couple turns of insulated hookup wire around the body of the coil-form in phase with the 7 meg coil and connected one side of that link to ground and the other side was placed nearby the transmitter section's output tank coil.

[@iskandertime747]

Oh, that thing is adorable! Thanks for the video, Mr. Carlson!

[@Penfold8]

How does Mr. Carlson's lab not have a million subscribers yet?

[@michalnemecek3575]

ikr

[@erin19030]

I learned all of this material in the 50's and 60's. I spent 40 years in the electronics business. I'm retired now and miss it all so much.

[@cockerspanielhome]

Interesting video, Yes I did learn something from you today. I will look forward to your next video. Thank you.

[@TheAlfieobanz]

Done with work...straight to Mr. C’s lab!

[@TeemarkConvair]

one of THE first takeaways was that you powered up an unknown unit where usually you say that bad caps can cause major issues. and also that as soon as you removed the high voltage you seemed to have your fingers all over it seemingly unconcerned about any possible "charged" caps. still, was cool to watch the process, thanks

[@vicmiller7191]

I do love the mini CRT what a treat. You have come up with some of neatest stuff. Your trivia question device looks like a high power arc lamp. So it will be fun to see what it actually is. Thanks as always. I love the videos...Vic

[@videolabguy]

Woo hoo! Millen 90901 mini oscilloscope unit! Saw it in the radio amateur's handbook when I was 11. Nerd porn at its finest! I've got one of those now too!! Highly collectible. Hooked mine to a scope clock board. Thought I posted a video?? Guess not. The center of the screen is dim because of sine wave scanning. It is causing a form of velocity modulation.

[@mattikaki]

videolabguy I remember this scope too. I read ARRL Handbook really much as young in the 60’s when received my ham callsign OH2BIO. I still have some older ones on my library. Those were real masterpieces. And heavy too.

[@fairwinds610]

Yeah, I used to love looking at the Millen ads in 1950s QST magazines.

[@sammyblackchow9541]

I was born in 1940 and my dad was into electronics. He had a 1946 ARRL Handbook that he encouraged me to study as soon as I could read. I remembered all the cool ads in the back pages. Ham radio was banned during the war but ARRL was still active. I think a lot of hams went to shortwave listening. A few experimented with carrier wave(?) communication over the power lines. I had a one tube, regenerative SW, receiver that he built for me and a decent antenna. I used to listen to the hams on the 75 meter phone band. I was puzzled when ssb came along. He bought me a Hallicrafters S-40b in the early '50s. I got my Novice in the '53, General in '56 and 1st Class Commercial in '57.

[@douro20]

I wonder if Cossor actually made these as well, as they were the ones who marketed the world's first all-electronic oscilloscope back in 1932.

[@janverhave]

Must have been fun designing new tubes back then. I do remember a drawing of a similar looking photocell from a Philips book for automatic doors!

[@markvietti]

damn I expected a hologram of princess Lea to appear.. asking Mr Carlson to save her...

[@jimhough6233]

You had me guessing! Thanks Carlson for an always interesting vid!

[@kaa522]

Another note about loctal based tubes. Many times you'll find them squeezed in fairly tight spaces and you can't get your fingers on them to pull them out. The correct way is look for the little dimple on the side of the metal base and push the tube at the top in the direction of the bump. This releases the lock and when you quit pushing the tube will basically just fall out. Of course with this little scope you can't do that but I noticed the base of the tube does have the little bump. I learned this the hard way on the radio in my 1948 Dodge...

[@renowden2010]

Looks to me like it came out of an aircraft. Just loved the throwaway remark later on "the radioactive material fizzled out".

[@electronicsNmore]

Very nice video! I haven't seen your channel before.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Thanks!

[@bartmeijer1059]

And again a very interesting video. Beautiful old device! Thanks, greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱! 🤗🤗🤗

[@royelectrotechnic8711]

I like that little device. I think that's nice for display in your curve tracer project. Thanks

[@billsheppard9368]

Photocell tube was the first thought on the mystery gizmo. Great to see a young feller so well versed in the old craft.

[@isettech]

Taking a guess at the 1 minute intro. Committed now.. CRT electrostatic vector display. Show phase relationships such as RF Carrier and modulation level for an AM transmitter. RF vertical and audio Horizontal would show if modulation exceeds 100% with carrier cut off. Now back to the video.

[@CripSkillz]

Love your videos man so much knowledge to share thank you!

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

You're very welcome!

[@BruceBoschek]

I built one of those small displays into my 500 watt WRL transmitter as a modulation monitor. It worked very well. I really enjoyed seeing one of them again.

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

Those are nice transmitters Bruce! The Globe 500 is a beast.

[@derofromdown-under2832]

Excellent vid once again Paul... 10/10

[@williamsquires3070]

You can also make a super-simple curve tracer with it. Put a 1k resistor in series with your horizontal deflection signal (the variac, in this case). Temporarily short the resistor, and adjust the scope so the line sweeps from side-to-side, and center the line vertically. Now remove the resistor, and connect the vertical inputs of the scope across the resistor, and put a 2-lead device across the horizontal input. The current through the device will cause a voltage drop across the 1k resistor proportional to the current by Ohm’s Law, since the same current has to pass through the DUT and the 1k resistor. A resistor will cause a slanted line. A dead short will cause a vertical line (and the 1k resistor might get hot!), and an open circuit will give the horizontal trace. A capacitor or inductor will give... (sorry, no spoilers, here!) You can also try testing diodes, zener diodes, and LEDs - just select an appropriate resistor based on your horizontal sweep voltage, and so you get around 20 mA (max). You can also try this with a normal ‘scope - just set it to X-Y mode, and make sure you don’t exceed the input voltage ratings for the ‘scope, and use AC coupling for the vertical axis! 🤠

[@richardgoebel226]

When you got that Lissajous pattern on the CRT I was reminded of an old TV show where they control the vertical and they control the horizontal. Aah, flashbacks!

[@deadfreightwest5956]

_"There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to - The Outer Limits."_ Even reading that raises goosebumps! As a kid, I had to hide behind a pillow watching that show!

[@coilsmoke2286]

My TV did that "Soft Blur" thing real good...Not so much on the "Chrystal Clarity" bit

[@BigDaddy_MRI]

The Outer Limits. Watched it as a kid. Great show.

[@samb3706]

The RCA device is a photodetector.I forget the number, but I do know that it was used in power substation metering and telemetry devices made by GE. A complex power measuring device [like a polyphase watt meter] mechanically moved a mirror or prism which varied the photon energy produced by a lamp falling on the photo detector. This was processed and provided as a 4 to 20 ma signal that was output to remote metering. I remember working on these things as part of substation supervisory equipment in 1963-1965.

[@AC9BXEric]

Although often larger, that little CRT could be used as a goniometer, an audio phase meter scope, essentially just an X-Y mode oscilloscope. They would display a Lissajous pattern showing stereo (or multi-channel) content and could alert one to unwanted phase errors. They generally reduce brightness to zero when input is below a low threshold to save display life and prevent burn in. These are commonplace in the recording and audio production industries and were used well in to the 1990s. Today it's done in software. SAE included a scope about this small on their Mk6 FM tuner.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Very interesting, great video. Thanks for sharing Paul!

[@MrCarlsonsLab]

You're welcome!

[@glennsprigg2378]

Hi again, Mr. Carlson !!... Am slightly off topic here, but can you answer this !! :-) On an 'eevblog' general-chat forum the other day, a member was discussing the re-building of his bench/shelves for work/test-equip etc., and I commented by posting a pic of 'YOUR' workshop :-) (It has probably pointed many new people to your KZbin posts, haha...) Anyway, there were many comments.... Mentioning such things as...... -Shelving & supports for your equipment ! -Power usage / Heat / Equip-Ventilation issues ! -How you wired your 'chained' power-supplies ! -Having more equipment than one may need ? Of course, if they knew you, and the fastidious way that you throw yourself into your work, to the point of being a perfectionist and utter enthusiast with your love of older equipment/projects, then they would love your Posts like so many of us do !!! (Enough FACTUAL crawling!! haha..). It would be nice to gain some insight regarding the above, so I can report back!! Thanks mate... Glenn.

[@Uncle_Buzz]

That's just bad-ass. I love the old tube stuff. NO idea what the device is for the trivia. Cheers! Chris - NI7I

[@johncameron7061]

Terrific video as always. thanks!!

[@BigDaddy_MRI]

It looks very similar to a photo-tube that was once used in X-Ray machines. Very early ‘60’s X- Ray machines for auto exposure. The X-rays would stimulate a plate that looked like the inside of a X-ray cassette, but enclosed in a light-proof box. When the brightness of the phosphor reached a certain value (which could be calibrated) the photo tube output would flip a 741 op amp wired as a comparator and stop the X-ray exposure. In the really early X-ray machines, the comparator was a dual plate tube wired as a comparator. The benefit was consistent X-ray images after film processing no matter how “thick” the patient was. They used to call it auto-dose or auto exposure and it really worked well. The photo tube we used was a photo-multiplier, but I don’t remember the manufacturer or the tube number. I think it was made by GE or one of their companies. They very rarely went bad, and when they did, it was very easy to replace and calibrate. The photo multiplier tubes we used on the X-ray systems never discolored like that. They were handling high voltage , but very low current, maybe 50 microamps maximum. Maybe the trivia device is a high intensity xenon strobe for photo camera work? Thanks for the great videos.

[@robertcalkjr.8325]

Thanks Paul! Cool little CRT! I guessed wrong the last time and would guess wrong on this one.

[@colindowden1430]

Your knowledge is exceptional

[@rhyoliteaquacade]

I had one of these inn the 70's. It was new. I put it into a BUD box with a simple HVPS and added connectors for X Y inputs, to use with AM transmitters. I don't know what ever came of it. It was a neat device.

[@allanrichardson1468]

Oscilloscope tubes like this were sometimes used to tune a receiver for RTTY (radio teletype) reception of FSK (frequency shift keying). Since the RF carrier itself was shifted between two frequencies separated by the same interval as the audio frequencies to be fed to the demodulator (850 Hz difference), the receiver’s BFO (beat frequency oscillator), also used to demodulate CW (code) and SSB (single sideband), had to be adjusted so that one RF carrier frequency, when combined with the BFO, would produce the audio tone for Mark (resting state between characters, or logic 1), and the other RF carrier frequency would produce the tone for Space (start of a character or logic 0). A tube like this would help tune in the signal. The audio from the receiver was fed to the AFSK (audio FSK detector), which had two narrow band tuned audio amplifiers, one for Mark and one for Space, to flip the relay controlling the DC signal to the printer. These signals were also fed to the horizontal and vertical inputs of the scope. When the signal was tuned in properly and the BFO was adjusted correctly, the scope would show a vertical line alternating with a horizontal line at teletype speed, or with persistence of vision, a cross with equal length arms. The appearance of both frequencies at the same time would produce a fast changing Lissajou pattern, which would smear into a rectangle or square.

[@hadireg]

I wouldn't guess without the others' comments :) Interesting trivia question! Thanks a ton! 👍

[@jimgiordano8218]

When I saw it, I knew what it was. Smallest oscilloscope I have ever seen. 1950's pocket version. I'm impressed that it fired up. You find the most interesting electronic equipment, I never find the cool stuff here in AZ.

[@maynardjohnson3313]

Thanx, i was going to say crt and even modulation display. That's one thing that I'm good at is guessing what high tech stuff is. It was a newly posted video but then you went ahead and spilled the beans.

[@russ117044]

Another outstanding video!

[@paulsullivan6392]

First thing I thought was the tuning scope for RTTY demodulator.

[@americanrebel413]

Really cool! Thank you.

[@NatalieTG]

i have an old alarm clock from the 70s that used to have that problem with the neon bulb light for the clock and that photoelectric effect thing is really cool to see

[@paratrooper202]

Outstanding!!!

[@airgliderz]

My college roommate found a pair of similar devices in flee market. A way cool device you set on top of your left and right stereo speakers, connected to each speaker you could "watch" the music... Had setting on in my speakers for several years in the early 1980s...way cool and fun.

[@johnsenchakinternetsecurit8935]

Great video Mr Carlson

[@no_more_free_nicks]

That was very interesting, I had no idea that this kind of displays was made.

[@urbantribalmonkey]

At about 17 minutes, the description of the photoelectric effect being used to initiate conduction in a tube... yeah, it blew my mind. I've seen a neon lamp that would only work when externally illuminated by light of sufficient energy, and have lost most of my hair trying to figure out how to make proper use of the effect. Thanks to your discourse, I still have enough hair to comb over. Thanks for all the great videos.

[@krnlg]

Just tried the neon indicator + flashlight thing and yup, it works! Cool stuff!

[@billmoran3812]

That little Millen scope looked familiar. They used to show that device in their ads in QST in the 50’s. As for the challenge question, I think it’s some type of phototube, possibly infrared. It would conduct if it was receiving light waves. They were used for door alarms etc before photocells.

[@xeroeffect5745]

The mystery device is a flux capacitor used in time travel. Thanks Paul. Thanks for taking us way back when.

[@jukingeo]

22:22 It is a gas photocell tube. Popular number in that configuration is a #5582 tube. It is kind of like a photo resistor, but instead light allows electrons to flow through it, so essentially light is your control grid.

[@Myke1576]

Oh! I have one of those as well I found in a dumpster. Thanks for the info!

[@jdlech]

It reminds me of a device I saw in a "quad" receiver that thought was really neat. It displayed merely a dot, but as you adjusted the volume of each speaker, the dot moved to roughly demonstrate where the audio "center" of the room would be.

[@jimhough6233]

Thumbs up always, and a bow, sir!

[@ojjenkins7110]

Yup what WB3BJU said below, I had one around here in my tube junk boxes. They were used in sound projectors with a focused beam of light on it for the sound track of 16 mm or other film sizes and code tape machines for teaching Morse code and I am sure other things that used modulated light. Happy Spring Paul, KØOJ

[@SuperMeganw]

very good video thank you from Gary in the UK.

[@jimhough6233]

Oh, an afterthought. You can make anything work, design anything, and explain it for dummies like me! Thanks

[@icenesiswayons9962]

That is an old side viewing argon gas photo tube. It's used in a circuit for a relay type application. 2 of the pins are connected to both caps. Great video.

[@zulumax1]

That would be my guess argon gas due to the purple color. Do these glow purple when energized? Photo electric sensor 1940-1950 judging from the font used on the tube.

[@rlmillr]

That 1cp1 brought back memories. It was used in a Technical Materials Corporation 10kw Navy shore transmitter for syncing the oscillator.

[@SuperVstech]

If you have it, it will work. You da man!

[@lucasstiles8012]

Not sure where you're located, but if I ever find myself traveling through your neck of the woods, I would love to get a tour of some of your devices and machines. I'm loving these videos.

[@RobertKohut]

Nice!! Interesting and fun!

[@bigfoottoo2841]

Mr Carlson, you are a true geek. You can't spell geek without a double E.

[@WitchidWitchid]

Nice. I love that little scope. It would make for a small handy little modulation monitor for a ham radio station, particularly if you're running on AM and need to check for\ overmodulation, clipping, asymmetrical peak limiting, etc.

[@keithstudly6071]

A story for you, Mr. Carlson. An Engineer told me once of a project he was working on where he wanted to use a very fast acting tube to switch on a circuit. He found these tubes which had radioactive elements in them which produced a very consistent level of electron emission. When he tried to buy some of these he got a visit from some investigators from Washington DC wanting to know why he needed them. Question to you. Why were they so concerned?

[@santi308]

I think the 1-52 RCA is a phototube/ gas photocell, used in old proyectors to make the soundtrack for proyected films. Works like a IR encoder today.

[@marklange8894]

My guess on the RCA tube is... an RCA 5582 photo detector tube. Used to reproduce sound in very old movie projectors, before photo resistors were invented. It had a pretty specific wavelength that it responded to, 400nm peak sensitivity, to help prevent stray light leaking through the film from affecting the audio playback. How did I do?

[@davidlisney2059]

Photomultiplier tube? Fascinating video as always.

[@sebastianweinert3802]

Must be a a phototube and if it's from RCA it must be a a 9xx series. I've seen tubes like that in movie cinema projectors for audio and projector switch mark circuits. Nice greets from Germany🙂👋

[@hubbsllc]

Sebastian Weinert that’s what I thought too. I recognized the internal configuration as a phototube and due to its small size I assumed it was for a projector

[@sebastianweinert3802]

i already had the time to look for the type. Must be a RCA 921 or 926

[@MarkTillotson]

Would be interesting to test its spectral response using various coloured LEDs?

[@joeylanclos9067]

I have NEVER seen one in person. Only drawings of them on paper.

[@MichiganPeatMoss]

wow - never knew that about ionizing a neon bulb - will try the flashlight experiment - thanks for yet another nugget!

[@AirDave1]

A), izzat a photo tube from a movie projector? B) I have a freezer in my basement that used to drive me wonky bcuz th power lamp (neon) flickered in th dark & was on full when I turned th lights on.... I actually did ur recommended experiment years ago to make sure I wasn't going loopy! GREAT videos! Keep it up!