EEVblog #416 - 35 Years Of Test Equipment

[EEVblog]

Dave takes you on a 35 year journey through the test equipment ads in his collection of Electronics Australia magazines, from 1965 to 2000.

http://www.hioki.com/discon/pdf/multi/3207_08.pdf



Dave.

[nitro2k01]

Do a teardown of that Soar meter! Or are some memories too precious for that?

[koitk]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NIB-NEW-NON-LINEAR-SYSTEMS-LM-4-DIGITAL-MULTIMETER-DMM-LED-DISPLAY-VOM-/370641532358

[johnboxall]

Excellent lunchtime viewing - thanks Dave.

[robrenz]

Those pics brought back lots of memories.  Great video at a perfect pace. Thanks Dave.

[Jay_Diddy_B]

Hi,
I was interesting to watch the price points for the various instruments.

It seems that entry level scope have been around $300.00 for several decades. Meters at $69, $99 and $129 dollars. etc.

If you account for inflation they are considerably cheaper now than they were then.

Jay_Diddy_B

[sdscotto]

Interesting history of NLS, which eventually became Kaypro Computers....

http://www.hp9825.com/html/dvms.html

[SLJ]

Dave,  I just bought a never used NLS LM-4 digital multimeter in the box for my collection.  I'll post some pics when it comes in and let you know how accurate it is.

[EEVblog]

Dave,  I just bought a never used NLS LM-4 digital multimeter in the box for my collection.  I'll post some pics when it comes in and let you know how accurate it is.

Awesome!

Dave.

[EEVblog]

I was interesting to watch the price points for the various instruments.
It seems that entry level scope have been around $300.00 for several decades. Meters at $69, $99 and $129 dollars. etc.
If you account for inflation they are considerably cheaper now than they were then.

Yes, cheaper, and much more bang-per-buck of course.
It's interesting though that digital scopes never got to the "entry level" affordable price point until the last 4-5 years or so.

Dave.

[John_L]

Thanks Dave.

Great Memories.

I had most of the issues of EA since 1973 also  ETI (Electronics today International). Got rid of them few years ago. Oh what anxiety/anticipation waiting for new monthly issues to come out.

I think it would be great if you could do a segment on evolution of microprocessors/microcomputers through EA.
Jim Rowe had a very big input with designs. I still remember building the very first MINI SCAMP based on National SC/MP microprocessor in 1975 with huge 256 bytes of RAM and only toggle switches and LEDs for I/O, still have that somewhere.

John_L

[CodeDog]

... still remember building the very first MINI SCAMP based on National SC/MP microprocessor in 1975 with huge 256 bytes of RAM and only toggle switches and LEDs for I/O, still have that somewhere.

John_L

Awesome!

I bought mine as a kit in 1978 while still in high school. I think it cost me about $90 from Dick Smith, and took me several months of packing bags at the local supermarket to save up for it! Man what a fast way to learn how to convert hex to binary via those toggle switches! Moved house a few times since then and long since lost the Miniscamp, but still have the NS SC/MP software manual etc. Yes, 256 bytes was enough memory back then ... especially when manually loading the data (and setting addresses).

thanks for reminding me about it ...

[Eliminateur]

i feel like an outdated fart!
the main DMM i have at work is a Fluke 8020A and i love it, our main(and only) CRO is that same Goldstar OS7040A from the ad!(and i just reverse engineered and fixed a LCD CCFL to LED adapter for a modern laptop with it!)!
And look at that Fluke Scopemeter II, i lusted after that thing when i was 14 and about to enter tech highschool, i cut the magazine ad and pasted it to my door(such a nerd! ) hoping my father would give it to me.... but nope, he didn't budge and i never got one. highschool would have been so awesome with that...

to this date i've never had nor used an autoranging DMM or DSO and the most expensive one is one of those cheap 10 bucks DMMs....

[D. Head]

@34:43

The YFE model YF-1030C was my very first multimeter.
I saved my money for a long time and I could by it much cheaper at the local hardware store, because the saleswoman broke a piece of plastic out of the right hand side of the case.
I was very happy that I got a big discount.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/show-your-multimeter!/msg66727/#msg66727
The left one in the picture.

It had no AC amps range, only DCA.

It still works and I still have the original box with pricing label.

My brand is "YFE" and the model is "YF-1030C"
I think this is a typo in the advertisement.
Dave are you willing to check this for me please?
Is the modelnumber in the picture "YC-1030C"

Many thanks.

[rollatorwieltje]

I used a Philips PM3232 at my previous job only 2 years ago. I doubt my Rigol DS1052E will last for 35 years  It did require some percussive maintenance once in a while (especially the V/div switch was dodgy), but it kept working.

[Teneyes]

Yes;  Feeling a long life of Electronics

shown at 3:35 in #416 from 1965
A bit bent and busted , 
Still working but not up to preforming well
Not too stable these days,
Both me and my toys
 see Pics

[JackOfVA]

Couple of points...

Telequipment was acquired by Tektronix in the 1970's as I recall. The idea was to first give Tek better access to the UK and European market and to have a line of lower cost oscilloscopes and test gear to sell worldwide. So it's not surprising to see a Tektronix advertisement featuring Telequipment.

If you run across the book Winning with people: The first 40 years of Tektronix, it's well worth adding to your library. Been out of print a long time now, but it tells the Tektronix story quite well.

Second, it would be interesting to know what a typical salary for an engineer was at those times, so as to calibrate test gear price to income.

In the early 1970's, for example, I was working as an electrical engineer for the US government and earned about USD 1500 a month before taxes, etc.

[cloudscapes]

That kind of electronics/hobbyist to consumerism transition is exactly what happened to RadioShack, at least here in Canada!

I remember loving the place in the very early 90s, possibly late 80s! Saving up to buy LEDs, 555 timers and some tools to get me learning!

In the last 10-15 years or so, though, they just transformed into consumerism shit with celphones, laptops, tvs and digital cameras. There still is a little section of store with parts and tools, but it's the absolute worst quality grabage. $14.99 multimeter anyone?

[vk3yedotcom]

Second, it would be interesting to know what a typical salary for an engineer was at those times, so as to calibrate test gear price to income.

EA sometimes had job ads for technical officers etc where wages were sometimes given.   

Our wages were then lower than the US. $3k pa was fairly normal c1970.   And much less for a young beginner.   House prices maybe $10 - 15k.

[EEVblog]

Our wages were then lower than the US. $3k pa was fairly normal c1970.   And much less for a young beginner.   House prices maybe $10 - 15k.

My parents paid $12K for our house in Sydney back around 1970-71. Fixed 2% interest rate for 40 years or something 

Dave.

[SLJ]

That kind of electronics/hobbyist to consumerism transition is exactly what happened to RadioShack, at least here in Canada!

I remember loving the place in the very early 90s, possibly late 80s! Saving up to buy LEDs, 555 timers and some tools to get me learning!

In the last 10-15 years or so, though, they just transformed into consumerism shit with celphones, laptops, tvs and digital cameras. There still is a little section of store with parts and tools, but it's the absolute worst quality grabage. $14.99 multimeter anyone?

During college (many years ago) I worked for a couple years at a radio shack for spending cash. We got paid minimum wage plus 6.5 percent of our sales, (except at Christmas when they reduced the percentage to I think 3 or 4 percent) and a flat rate (usually $20-$50 each) for selling certain large items every month the shack wanted to dump. 

The shack I worked at was a main store in the region with lots of electronics industry around it.  The store had a fairly large parts and supplies section at the time.  It pretty much took up half the store. The other employees would hang by the front door and just about jump on anyone that went toward the larger ticket items like stereos, radios, etc. but if you just wanted a small part they would ignore you or point and say "they're in the back of the store".   Most of them could only talk audio anyway and did not know a resistor from a capacitor.

Someone would walk in asking for a particular switch, lamp, or whatever and I would spend the time to help them find something that would fit their need. On many occasions after what my coworkers said was "wasting my time helping someone who only wanted a $2 switch", the customer would get to the counter and say to me, "I work for GE, this order goes on their account. How long will it take to get 1,500 of these?".  After a few months most of the engineers would not even bother to talk to anyone else and even though I was part time my sales were usually at or near the top of the list every month.

[sonic]

I recognized my first own multimeter, the DM-302, on the Altronics ad in issue 12/1990 at 42:42 I wasn't aware it came from World Famous Labtech Instruments

[SLJ]

Dave,  as promised, here are couple of photos of the NLS LM-4 digital meter.  It arrived today and it is still new and unused in the original box where it's been for the past 38 years. It's serial number 069.  I'm not opening the probes packet but I did plug it in and confirmed it still works on all ranges.  It's tiny. The face is only 2 1/2 inches wide.  I can't believe I found a new one still in the box.

[CarlG]

@20:55

Cool to see that Sanwa was a pretty well-known brand back then. Still got my Sanwa 460-ED around, which I bought when I was about to put together my first electronics kit, a stereo amplifier (along with big speaker of course). Blew the meter up once when I tried to measure volts on the amps inputs Got it repaired and after that I was a bit more careful

[TheWelly888]

Thanks for showing us the old mags - imagine the smell and your missus' relief at them being out of your house!

I felt sad when you shown the last few issues of EA, you didn't need to open them to show the ads at all! 

I really laughed at the Royal Australian Navy recruiting ad with the bodge wires!!!! 

At work we still have a Fluke 8060 multimeter albeit getting a bit dodgy with the range selection switches.

I confess that I long ago stopped subcribing to Electronics and Wireless World magazine after they went in the direction of articles on esoteric applications rather than projects that readers can construct - Thank God ( or whatever ) for the Internet!