The Heathkit IO-12 5" Laboratory Oscilloscope

This video looks at the Heathkit IO-12 oscilloscope including its history, controls, and a demonstration.

[@anonibass]

Compliments for the explanation!! I've seen many manuals on KZbin, but this one stands out! This is 'old school' quality: Informative, accurate, efficient, and it floats like a good story. Very well told, and easy to follow. My Heatkit model is different, but I kept watching the video for it's quality, and the fun of listening to a good technical story. Thank you, Jeff Trenter! Greeting from the Netherlands..

[@cmgray74]

Jeff, Thanks for the great Video! I still consider myself a novice in electronics but yesterday while at a local HAM festival one of these exact same units followed me home. Someone actually left it next to my car door in the parking lot. It was snowing, at the end of the show, and It had a "free" sticker on it. Anyways your video gave me a clear idea of what I am dealing with and I now have the manual and diagram(located online). So should be a fun project!

[@leonarddressler5625]

My Father Instructed and helped me build a similar model also I was taught how to test tubes and disassemble, repair to acceptable Quality to be used again he was a TV repairman when times were lean In the Automotive Industry 🏭

[@video99couk]

I sold my IO-12U around the mid-1990s, it was still working. It was sold complete with the manual which included schematic, the graticule however was missing. The transformer had required rewinding when I first got it, and I suspect that this caused it to have a little more hum on display than it should due to magnetic radiation. I fitted a mu-metal shield around the tube which helped quite a bit. The lack of DC input capability was this unit's biggest weakness. I added a better calibration circuit.

[@wm0davis]

Very complete, informative, clear and orderly presentation.

[@snow5772]

I agree with you Bill.

[@q12x]

Very good explanation of the oscilloscope !

[@BrokebackBob]

I have an IO-12. Great scope! Great company!

[@oliviaphoenix4906]

In 1962 @ the age of 7 years young My Father and I built this model together

[@adnanalbetar5049]

Perfect I wish I can built a new one

[@vhm14u2c]

I bought that neat clock thing too. When I first hooked it up to x/y, mine was sideways too. I just reversed the inputs from the clock board and scope, and it remedied the issue.

[@MrPageplayer]

1/24/19 Just listed a nice one in auction site and referenced this video.. Great work!

[@famossfla]

Thanks for the video on this scope Jeff. I own this same model in good condition. I enjoy saving these old vintage pieces from winding up in the garbage dump.

[@williamc1819]

I just got an io-18. I am a student, being able to pick up old equipment like this for cheap is really nice.

[@88BlueKeys4U]

A very comprehensive and informative presentation of this 60 year old device, thanks! Good explanantion of the overall functionality and construction. It looks amazingly simple and 'empty', but then: multi-capacity cans I have never even seen before.. While desperately trying to debug an old and rare Pong console cartridge (Akur SD-050 with a PC-503 tank battle cassette, around 1978) I discovered my late Dad's Heathkit IO-12 in his former workshop, dated 1962. All in a box, with assembly docs (English, German), both probes. So far I didnot have the guts to fire it up as is, fearing to cause more damage if something has dried up or went out of line over the last 50 years of sitting in the box.. My version is of course the German one with a 220V input. Jeez, this baby is HEAVY.. Also I am not sure if this cope is any helpful to inspect the 4MHz oscillator that the Akur game is (no longer?) providing. I am not an electronic whiz kid, last time I had my hands on a scope was in the university back in 1982 in our physics labs. Next to this Heathkit box I also saw yet another very old oscilloscope that I have not yet unearthed from its grave. Probably from the same time period. My Dad was a TV repair guy back then, but kept all in pristine shape and fully documented. Looks like these old machines need a lot of TLC to re-activate, just like cars and motorcycles. Entropy gnawls on our universe whereever we look..

[@71Fenderv22]

The oldest scope I own is a Tek 465, but there is something about the look of these old scopes that I just like, I don't know why.... Great video btw.

[@jack002tuber]

Nice video! I'm hoping to learn more about mine. I have a Bell and Howell IOD-4540, I think it can be considered a Heathkit. I need to learn more about all it's functions.

[@Fred-nz9dp]

I have those too and it easy to use

[@squarewave2]

Hi Jeff, I have a Hallicrafters IO-12 in perfect cosmetic condition and all the functions are working. But the image is very dim with the intensity control turned way up. Before I go to all the trouble to recap it, I want to be sure I can find a good 5UP1 with a bright display. Any suggestions? Thanks much! John M.

[@jefftranter]

Probably your best bet is eBay but you may have to search for some time.

[@squarewave2]

Thank you!

[@deasename5839]

Has anyone heard of WAL-JO Scope model IR-1? It has a small round crt display about 2 in it is made in Canada and has 3 6211 tubes and 2 others I can't see NOW and don't want to drain cap but believe they are smaller 7 pins . Thanx

[@royalroyal2412]

My dad had one like that in the 70s

[@dryan8377]

I built one of these at Devry circa 1978

[@liezeilstra7736]

Very helpful ! Where did you find the partial manual you mentioned in the video? I can only find the schematics.

[@jefftranter]

I found it at www.mods.dk

[@Torpengpogi]

hi jeff, i just bought this 10-12 scope from a young guy from kijiji, he said this belongs to his grandpa, sitting for a long time, and he was trying to turn this on, but nothing happened, his ads asking was $50 bucks but was able to buy it at $20 bucks. i only got a schematic online but no manual or other documentations, where did you get your partial manual? also do you have a video of your restoration of this 10-12? thanks for any help you may provide, cheers, i'm from toronto.

[@iliaskorifidis8472]

Hey, I think I found the right manual. elektrotanya.com/heathkit_io-12_io12_oscilloscope_sm.pdf/download.html I've just started getting interested in this sort of stuff, I'm still trying to figure out the basics for myself. I hope this helps!

[@qzorn4440]

very nice scope info... i got a heathkit vector-scope io-101from ebay after cleaning, the unit still works... you-go heathkit... good people.. wished they survived...:/ it is interesting that the rbg color 360-degree circle and the 3-phase voltage/current power 360-degree circle PF/harmonics have some similarities... any videos to explain this? thanks a lot...:-)

[@delosdmi]

I have one too.

[@ajl9491]

Whats a decent cheap scope to use for a utomotive use? Those dso type any good?

[@jefftranter]

I've never used an oscilloscope for automotive use, but Heathkit (and others) made Ignition Analyzers like the IO-20, which were oscilloscopes specifically designed to be used for testing automotive ignition systems. This is probably what you want, although I don't know how useful they are with modern automobiles.

[@Very_Dark_Engineer]

nice scope with good tube brightness for aged device. unlike this one old scopes usualy has low catode emission and as result low brightness. no tube - no scope)

[@davsmth41]

Jeff, I enjoy all your video's I am a Heathkit nut myself, but without a deep electronics background. I have a question. I have an IO-12 I wanted to rebuild, but upon inspection, the Horz pot was internally trashed. Heathkit number 10-13 200k center tap. I cant find a new one, or old one for that matter. is there a new pot out there that will work? or is there a workaound? I saw on the AM forum a guy used a voltage divider but I am not that smart yet :). Thanks if you have the time to answer. Dave KC3GMQ

[@jefftranter]

Yes, one of these will be hard to find. My inclination would be to see if you could make one by soldering a wire to the center of a standard 200K pot. That might work. Otherwise, an alternate circuit might be possible but would take some thinking and experimentation.

[@davsmth41]

Thank You

[@cuse445]

Where does the chord go that's plugged into the input thingy? Where does the other end go?

[@jefftranter]

For the purposes of the video I connected it to a signal generator, but in practice you connect an oscilloscope to whatever signal you are interested in analyzing.

[@cuse445]

@@jefftranter Cool, thank you

[@SDsailor7]

Are the scopes use to measure AC signals or DC? are they mainly to measure AC or DC? Anyone know? Thank you

[@jefftranter]

Most scopes can measure AC or DC, although some older ones don't have a bandwidth that goes all the way down to DC. You often use them to observe waveforms that are complex and might contain AC and DC components.

[@SDsailor7]

@@jefftranter Thank you for the repply. Learned something new. Great video. Very informative and interesting.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Looks internally similar to my O-12

[@vladnickul]

by yourself parts from a real shop not a third party with outrageous prices. the only pio caps that last as "NOS" are ermetic/ glass balloon ones.

[@erin19030]

I cut my teeth on a scope like this. Later on i wanted to do more with a better scope. Ot was good enough for troubleshooting TV.