Practical Electronics November 1988 - Oscilloscope - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

pedrwilliams · 5th Jul 2016, 10:16 am

I would like to obtain a copy of the oscilloscope construction articles which were published in
Practical Electronics November 1988
Practical Electronics December 1988
Practical Electronics January 1989
Plus any other articles/corrections re this project.
Many thanks for any help
Pedr

KeithsTV · 5th Jul 2016, 7:11 pm

Here are the three articles. There was a "points arising" which I've included in the January 89 article.

Keith

MrBungle · 6th Jul 2016, 6:50 am

Interesting articles. Building my own 'scope is on my bucket list.

pedrwilliams · 6th Jul 2016, 9:17 am

Many thanks. This will be very useful!

Radio Wrangler · 6th Jul 2016, 9:23 am

I remember that one. It is very, very, low performance the Y amplifier uses an opamp, but I can't remember which one, the timebase a 555, and there's only a couple of hundred volts on the CRT.

If you want a scope to use, to do anything useful, I'd suggest you don't bother with this one. If you want to build a scope for the educational aspects of it, then it goes part way but it doesn't show you the sorts of circuits and techniques in mainstream scopes.

Sorry to pour cold water, but I wouldn't want to see anyone put in the effort of finding the awkward bits (like the CRT) and then be disappointed.

David

MrBungle · 6th Jul 2016, 10:44 am

It's definitely a toy scope, you're right there.

However there are some very high slew rate and bandwidth opamps available these days that are viable candidates for such a device. I reckon you could get a few tens of MHz bandwidth with a simpler design at the moment. Just looking at RS, you can see op amps that will hit 300MHZ Gain-bandwidth product for ~ £3

Ed_Dinning · 6th Jul 2016, 10:59 am

Hi Gents, there was a solid state design in WW in the 80's that I used for apprentice training.
It used a VCR 97 or similar and about 2Kv EHT as well as op amps and had reasonable performance. If you want a valve unit there were some good Philips/Mullard educational designs.
I can support you with various parts such as transformers, high value pots and tubes if you decide to build one.

Ed

5th Jul 2016, 10:16 am	#1
pedrwilliams Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK. Posts: 5	Practical Electronics November 1988 - Oscilloscope I would like to obtain a copy of the oscilloscope construction articles which were published in Practical Electronics November 1988 Practical Electronics December 1988 Practical Electronics January 1989 Plus any other articles/corrections re this project. Many thanks for any help Pedr

6th Jul 2016, 6:50 am	#3
MrBungle Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: London, UK. Posts: 3,687	Re: Practical Electronics November 1988 - Oscilloscope Interesting articles. Building my own 'scope is on my bucket list.

6th Jul 2016, 9:17 am	#4
pedrwilliams Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK. Posts: 5	Re: Practical Electronics November 1988 - Oscilloscope Many thanks. This will be very useful!

6th Jul 2016, 9:23 am	#5
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,902	Re: Practical Electronics November 1988 - Oscilloscope I remember that one. It is very, very, low performance the Y amplifier uses an opamp, but I can't remember which one, the timebase a 555, and there's only a couple of hundred volts on the CRT. If you want a scope to use, to do anything useful, I'd suggest you don't bother with this one. If you want to build a scope for the educational aspects of it, then it goes part way but it doesn't show you the sorts of circuits and techniques in mainstream scopes. Sorry to pour cold water, but I wouldn't want to see anyone put in the effort of finding the awkward bits (like the CRT) and then be disappointed. David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

6th Jul 2016, 10:44 am	#6
MrBungle Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: London, UK. Posts: 3,687	Re: Practical Electronics November 1988 - Oscilloscope It's definitely a toy scope, you're right there. However there are some very high slew rate and bandwidth opamps available these days that are viable candidates for such a device. I reckon you could get a few tens of MHz bandwidth with a simpler design at the moment. Just looking at RS, you can see op amps that will hit 300MHZ Gain-bandwidth product for ~ £3

6th Jul 2016, 10:59 am	#7
Ed_Dinning Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, UK. Posts: 8,195	Re: Practical Electronics November 1988 - Oscilloscope Hi Gents, there was a solid state design in WW in the 80's that I used for apprentice training. It used a VCR 97 or similar and about 2Kv EHT as well as op amps and had reasonable performance. If you want a valve unit there were some good Philips/Mullard educational designs. I can support you with various parts such as transformers, high value pots and tubes if you decide to build one. Ed