What is this and what is it used for

[altenbach]

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@Ben wrote:
A CDC 9762 see here page 4 about 1974.

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 Yes, we extensively used those. The voice coils to move the heads were about the diameter of an arm. Reading operations made the enthre rack shake. Several head crashes, each costing the equivalent of a new PC to repair, caused us to look for a PC based solution and in 1996 I wrote my first LabVIEW program to control that instrument.  The rest is history. 😄

(Sadly, that PC is slated to be retired because windows 95 is no longer compliant with the security mandates. Right now it is still running the instrument using a NI ISA card under LabVIEW 4.0, basically continuously for 19 years. :D)

[Henrik_Volkers]

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@Ben wrote:

OK that lasted a whole 23 minutes.

Here is one that I do NOT know exactly what it is. Maybe you can tell me. I found it in a dumpster.

The right end has a aluminum disk glue to it with a 3/4 inch hole drilled in it.

If you know plese tell me!

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That isn't a triode ... looks more like a PMT a PhotoMultiplierTube (have some in my collection;) )

EDIT: Ups there was a second page and AK2DM was faster 😄

[Ben]

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@altenbach wrote:

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@Ben wrote:
A CDC 9762 see here page 4 about 1974.

---

 Yes, we extensively used those. The voice coils to move the heads were about the diameter of an arm. Reading operations made the enthre rack shake. Several head crashes, each costing the equivalent of a new PC to repair, caused us to look for a PC based solution and in 1996 I wrote my first LabVIEW program to control that instrument.  The rest is history. 😄

(Sadly, that PC is slated to be retired because windows 95 is no longer compliant with the security mandates. Right now it is still running the instrument using a NI ISA card under LabVIEW 4.0, basically continuously for 19 years. :D)

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That sea story brings up an interesting crosing of the stream Christian.

I was the guy charging you an arm and a leg to repiar the head crash before PCs made their appearence on the market. As the number of customers dropped, the work force was reduced and eventually it was my turn to take a package. Shortly there after I was working in the Physics labs at Pitt where my boss insisted I write a program for him in LabVIEW and handed me a (very boring) video tape introduction to LabVIEW 4.0. Not to be misleading, my first LV code was LV 5.0.

Quoting you a second time " The rest is history. :D"

Ben

[Ben]

Thank you Henrik !

It is nice to know and if you have a collection, you know!

Ben

[JÞB]

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@Henrik_Volkers wrote:

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@Ben wrote:

OK that lasted a whole 23 minutes.

Here is one that I do NOT know exactly what it is. Maybe you can tell me. I found it in a dumpster.

The right end has a aluminum disk glue to it with a 3/4 inch hole drilled in it.

If you know plese tell me!

---

That isn't a triode ... looks more like a PMT a PhotoMultiplierTube (have some in my collection;) )

EDIT: Ups there was a second page and AK2DM was faster 😄

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I'm not so sure thats a PMT.  If so the dynodes are arranged rather oddly!   it appears that the gold coated areas are electrically tied to each other by the silver bands. Also the large number of connections the silver bands is a fairly good clue that the tube is designed for greater screen current than cathode current.

OTOH, having found it wrapped in black tape with a hole in the top shield is very suggestive of a photo-active cathode.

Can yo roll that around to get a good look at the screen connections?  Do any markings survive?

[Ben]

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@JÞB wrote:
...

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I'm not so sure thats a PMT.  If so the dynodes are arranged rather oddly!   it appears that the gold coated areas are electrically tied to each other by the silver bands. Also the large number of connections the silver bands is a fairly good clue that the tube is designed for greater screen current than cathode current.

OTOH, having found it wrapped in black tape with a hole in the top shield is very suggestive of a photo-active cathode.

Can yo roll that around to get a good look at the screen connections?  Do any markings survive?

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When next chance I get and remeber, I will take some more pictures for you Jeff. It does have a hand-written (in gold paint) number on the envelope but I searched on that number some years ago and nothing was found.

May be this round of of the game is not over yet.

Ben

[JÞB]

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@Ben wrote:

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@JÞB wrote:
...

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I'm not so sure thats a PMT.  If so the dynodes are arranged rather oddly!   it appears that the gold coated areas are electrically tied to each other by the silver bands. Also the large number of connections the silver bands is a fairly good clue that the tube is designed for greater screen current than cathode current.

OTOH, having found it wrapped in black tape with a hole in the top shield is very suggestive of a photo-active cathode.

Can yo roll that around to get a good look at the screen connections?  Do any markings survive?

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When next chance I get and remeber, I will take some more pictures for you Jeff. It does have a hand-written (in gold paint) number on the envelope but I searched on that number some years ago and nothing was found.

May be this round of of the game is not over yet.

Ben

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Better yet,

I understand DSA will have a presence on Navy Pier this week.  Theoretically, I could have my eyeballs on the object....

I'll trade one of these:

for the opportunity to inspect the tube

[Henrik_Volkers]

Next one:

That's the back side, If you take a look at the other it's quite easy:

Spoiler

Next hint: The father of my grandmother used it in his (steam engine driven) factory

[Ben]

I can only venture a wild guess Henrik "A guard tour key?"

Ben

[James.M]

The back helps, but I'm not sure exactly what's going on with the twisting motion.

Does it measure how far the rod twists? It looks like the rod is fixed to the handle and can't roate, but that can't be right. Is it just a fancy screwdriver that measures rotations?