Early digital kit? Anyone ID, comment please?

[Al (astral highway)]

I've just acquired about 30 of these boards, along other kit from early digital days, and 70s onwards transistors, ICs and passives...

I'll probably post more pix once I've been through the cache. The owner, I understand, was a farmer who, by the looks of things also designed some of his own control equipment.

Anyone shed any light on what this repetitive assembly of diodes was used for, and a date?

I'm intrigued by the veroboard layout.

Looks like a ROM of sorts.

[60 oldjohn]

Did the farmer have cows ?
John.

[G6Tanuki]

They look like simple diode-matrices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diode_matrix

[Al (astral highway)]

Originally Posted by 60 oldjohn

Did the farmer have cows ?

Hi John, I only have basic details... he was near Leeds. Serious collector of vintage parts. He had a stroke and suffered some serious loss of movement hence can't make stuff any more.

[Al (astral highway)]

Originally Posted by merlinmaxwell

Looks like a ROM ...

Hmmm, interesting. I'm curious though. The work is to a high standard but it doesn't look like industrial production and is on verboard. Early prototype?
Late 'sixties maybe or later?

There is a lot of stray inductance in the long component leads.

[60 oldjohn]

I once had to replace keypad on some ones milking machine circuit board c1970. A new board would have been expensive as it was new technology. I wonder if he was making his own, or was it an automatic feeding system for cows. These were just becoming available around the same time, one set for each cow would be needed. Are there any relays or solenoids among the boards?

John.

[Al (astral highway)]

Originally Posted by 60 oldjohn

I wonder if he was making his own, or was it an automatic feeding system for cows ... Are there any relays or solenoids among the boards?

Hey John, the veroboards certainly look home-made. I think it's great if a farmer was using electronics to manage his own processes, either to save money or because the kit wasn't readily available yet.

Here is some more of the kit, and yes, there is some sort of timing device with a relay. There's also an alphnumeric counter with Nixie tubes, one board for volume and one for price.

And also pictured are some sort of monitors with 4 channels, wiring loom to a very high standard.

[Herald1360]

That old veroboard is probably collectable in its own right!

There is a lot of stray inductance in the long component leads.

Insignificant up to a few MHz, I like the cow feeder/milker idea, the plot thickens.

[short wave]

Post#8 , photo 3 could it be an electric fence unit? Reasoning ...the pot cores one driver/ oscillator and an output. I presume the red, white and green wires go to the O/P transistor. Is the blue cap a high voltage type (1 kv or so) low capacitance. The power supply is on the left O/P 12 volt?? unit designed for car battery now used on 230v

[ricard]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

They look like simple diode-matrices. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diode_matrix

Perhaps used as an encoder, i.e. converting a number of digital control signals into binary code?

[factory]

Originally Posted by astral highway

There's also an alphanumeric counter with Nixie tubes, one board for volume and one for price.

Those display tubes are actually Numitrons, which are incandescent seven segment displays. One of which seems to be smashed on the top board.
They were once commonly used in older electronic controlled petrol pumps along with the flat version known as the Minitron. I do know of a few petrol stations still using them.

David

[Al (astral highway)]

Originally Posted by factory

Those display tubes are actually Numitrons, which are incandescent seven segment displays.

Hi David, that's really interesting, thank you! Can you tell us more? Approximate date of these boards would be amazing.

Just so everyone knows, I am going to collate all these replies and copy them to the now extremely disabled farmer who gave me the kit. It would mean so much to him to see all these reactions.

I love the depth and breadth of knowledge on this forum, and how we can sometimes also be part of a wider community.

[short wave]

Hi Astral highway ,
if you want to date these boards the chips should have date codes on them.
regards S-W

[factory]

I would say the display boards date from the 1970's, although as short wave says check the date codes on the IC's, the Numitrons may have date codes on them too, assuming they are the originals, are they soldered to the board?

Numitrons were developed by RCA, here is an article I found online from Popular Electronics magazine March 1970.

http://www.decodesystems.com/numitron.html

And an advert from June 1974.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._June_1974.jpg

Here are some pictures of a Gilbarco Highline 1 pump Numitron display board that was rescued by my brother, who is interested in vintage petrol stations. The Apollo tube has a date code of 89, the pump logic boards (not shown) use 74 series IC's & date from the late 1970's. The last picture shows a few still in use. Hope this isn't too off topic.

David

[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by factory

Here are some pictures of a Gilbarco Highline 1 pump Numitron display board that was rescued by my brother

Intriguing to see that failed tubes have been replaced by an LED substitute, presumably because the originals were NLA.

[Al (astral highway)]

Originally Posted by factory

I would say the display boards date from the 1970's,

Hi David, that's really interesting. Yes, the numitrons are soldered to the board. Yes, they numitrons are soldered to the board.

I'd love to do something with these!

[AC/HL]

Originally Posted by astral highway

I am going to collate all these replies and copy them to the now extremely disabled farmer who gave me the kit

Did he give you any clues as to the origin/purpose of the equipment?

[Al (astral highway)]

Originally Posted by AC/HL

Did he give you any clues as to the origin/purpose of the equipment?

Ahah, it was an indirect gift. A friend of mine told him I was a collector and he (the farmer) said he would like it to go to a home where it would be appreciated, so gave it to pass on to me.

I don't have direct contact but this friend will be passing on any comments and I hope to get his feedback eventually, even if indirectly.

Of interest to forum members, shown here now are hundreds and hundreds of early silicon and germanium transistors and diodes, also in the farmer's storage boxes. I want to keep much of the collection intact, but will get round to referencing some of these devices and will be happy to see if I can help if someone is looking for something relevant.

I won't be able to catalogue these quite yet, however!

More stuff to come as and when I get a moment...