EEVblog #1209 - Mailbag

Mailbag time!

SPOILERS:
Aliens vs Pirates!
Northside service company:
Nutone intercom system teardown
10:08 Royal Digital Diary Teardown
12:52 Motic / Swift soldering stereo microscope, also rebadged by AmScope
25:03 Texas Hold'em handheld game Teardown
TI 30-XS Calculator teardown
31:43 Elecrow Crowtail STEAM Edu Kit for Micro:bit

#Mailbag #Microscope #Aliens

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[northsideservicecompany]

Thanks Dave - Great mail bag. Just to clarify, the answering machine was digital for the outgoing message (limited to 10-12 seconds) and there was built-in voice synthesis which recorded the date and time for incoming messages. The board I sent was actually from one of the pre-production units that was designed by Phillips. The redesigned NuTone Model was the IM5006 - which became a very popular model and it was in production for 9 years. - Chris

[The.Doctor.Venkman]

"For all those playing along at home: Never put a bag over your it's a trap for Young Players"

[Henchman]

To flip the screen image, just plug the USB C cable in the other way, that's why they're reversible. 😁

[kbrod]

39:50 Of course it's upside down, you're in Australia. Everything is upside down there.

[acousticpsychosis]

The multiple screws on the PCB for the Texas hold'em game were probably to make sure the two zebra strips stayed in contact between the LCD and PCB.

[faeranne]

The monitor likely uses HDMI or DP alternate mode. These modes physically connect to the GPU via USB-PD, instead of tunneling the data over the USB digital interface. Since most desktop GPUs are external, there isn't any connection between them and the USB-PD chip on the motherboard. (USB-PD handles both power delivery and alternate mode configuration).

These monitors are intended more for laptops that have USB-C ports.

[electronash]

"Thanks for the Pez despenser - I hate Pez."

"Thanks for the Altoids - I hate mints."

"Why is everything in bags?"

"We don't really do the banners thing in Aussie land."

At least you're honest, Dave. Never change. lol

[agvulpine]

15:00 The arm pivot is simply used for out-of-the-way storage -- free up space on your workbench.

[danostoutou]

Hi Dave, last month I got the job of my dreams and I know I wouldn’t have made it without the knowledge I’ve got from your blog these years... A very big THANK YOU from me! I owe you a lot mate!

[ElmerFuddGun]

_Stereoscopic _*_microphone?_* Oops! - 13:59

[xenonram]

"Quite a substantial _package."_ We had that Nutone intercom system in our last house. Each room had its own terminal mounted in the wall. You could also talk to someone ringing the integrated doorbell. You could play music through it too. It's handy for large multi-story homes.

[heathwellsNZ]

13:59 funny slip of the tongue calling the microscope a microphone :P :P :P

[tomadkins]

NuTone was the leader in Home Intercom(munication) systems in the 70-80's. It fizzled out in the late 90s with the advent of the Internet.

[mycosys]

"Motic also do some optics for Motic even do some optics for Zeiss." Kinda cool little insight into how you edit text there Dave ;) not very keystroke efficient lol

[ecsciguy]

At 5:06 notice that he writes, "The problems were especially bad with the DIGITAL answering machine and the VOICE SYNTHESIS software." That thing had some advanced features.

[JWH]

That monitor is a sign of things to come I'd think, keep people out, like folks that want to repair.

[pasixty]

27:35 We cracked open some of our pocket calculators (not only TI) and found LEDs in calculators with solar panels quite often. You are probably right with your idea, that it is a simple and cheap voltage regulator. The characteristic of an LED seems to meet the wanted point of voltage-regulation best, no need for more parts. As soon as voltage excceeds about 1, 5...1.6 V, the LED lights up an 'burns away' excess power. ...clever and cheap...

[smcic]

I still have one of those intercom/radio systems in my house. They were really popular in the late 70s.

[russellhltn]

About the LED in the calculator - I think I've seen that before with a solar calculator. Maybe something about loading down the solar cells to keep them from going over voltage in bright light. At least, that's my guess.

[aaronbrandenburg]

Yes Kingsport is in Tennessee.

I should know.

I have relatives near there.