'The Timer' Teardown + I ♥ VFD's!

Here in the old school FranLab long format I do a teardown of a thrift store find - a late 70's era home automation unit - plus I talk about my love of vacu-fluorescent displays and show a few that I have around the shop. Enjoy!

- Music by Fran Blanche -

[TattiePeeler]

Fran, YouTube broadcaster LGR covers this in several of his videos, he goes into the early PC integration software also..

[voltvids]

The security system used to have a module available called the reX10.
It was a speaker and made a barking dog sound to make potential burglars thing there was a big ass dog inside. A friend of mine had that one. It could be triggered by a motion detector or from the panic button. Was funny as hell because it sounded real.

[dwegmull]

X10 uses data over line power, so that's why there are no I/O. The signals usually don't make it past the meter... X10 is a standard that was (still is?) supported by multiple vendors.

[normanbott]

Thanks, Fran. And I did enjoy it, as with all your videos. Still discovering them...

[vwestlife]

It's funny to see that it's a BSR (Birmingham Sound Reproducers) -- the British company that made gazillions of inexpensive record players in the 1970s. However I believe by the time this thing was made, the BSR name had been sold off and was being used on all sorts of equipment (everything from computers to bread makers) from various manufacturers.

[drphu]

Quick Tip, with buttons like that, before disassembly put tape on the outside over the buttons to hold them in place for easy reassembly.

[mikesradiorepair]

X10 is still in business today and still making home automation products. One of the few companies that is still around making the same products they made when they started in 1978. www.x10.com

[that_teegor]

X10 was useful in our house back in the day, where we had some rather inconveniently placed switches... also, there's nothing like being able to turn off an overhead light from bed with a remote. :) We've upgraded systems a few times- had some Insteon ones, then Z-wave & Zigbee ones. Necessary? No, but it's convenient. Especially for my partner who has some mobility issues, and very much likes the option of voice control.

[UniKyrn]

Yep, X-10, still using it in my home today, though it's getting hard to find hardware replacements now. The old BSR logo, still got a sub-woofer with that logo from the same era, had to replace the speaker in it finally after the rubber/paper decayed with age.

And as best I recall, the "Security" aspect was to randomize the time lights came off an on over a 10 minute range, so a burglar watching your house, wouldn't see the lights turn off and on at the exact same time every day. Now X-10 did eventually add an alarm system, but that was later in the product life.

[rbmwiv]

You got it they send a modulated siginal over the mains. There’s different modules that do different things. One of my friends picked up one of those systems for almost nothing at a yard sale. Got the controller and a pile of modules and switches. It doesn’t control any security. The security mode alters daily light routines differ when your away and set it on security. Strictly home automation. Have a great day!!!!

[piperfox]

I remember X-10! I used to have the Radio Shack "Plug 'n Power" base unit that would interface with their Tandy Color Computer along with several modules, including a dimmer. I got away with several pranks against family members with this setup. Good times!

[jacobhunsinger]

I have had X-10 for years. It runs my Christmas lights and works as my alarm clock. Works great!

[GeoffreyFeldmanMA]

I once owned one. Yes, you could set up the time a light in a unit would be turned on or off. X-10 sends signals through power lines. Different Units can be dimmers, or relays for lights or whatever. Units can be plugged in or established in a wiring box. Three were also sensors which could turn lights on or off. X-10 was a big deal in the 80's. Basically it was IOT before wifi or ethernet :-) Our use case was that we lived in a remote wooded area and wanted the house to look like we were there when we were out on business.

[Fireship]

I remember seeing these systems in Radio Shack years ago. They sold the timer and modules you plugged lamps and appliances into so you had basic home automation. A very cool find. Looks like it’s new old stock!

[richfiles]

That small 0 on the Casio is a holdover from the even earlier days of electronic calculators, when they did not have the circuitry for leading zero suppression.
It made the display a bit more readable. It carried on for a short time after leading zero suppression was developed, but was quickly changed to a better looking full 0.

[mvaron]

I still have mine that I bought when they were sold by Radio Shack. I originally purchased mine to control my stereo accurately so I could record NPR radio plays. I also used it to turn the coffee pot on in the morning and to turn the patio light on when it got dark so my girlfriend's dog wouldn't be in the dark at night before we got home from work. I think the coding was so you could specify which appliance or light would get controlled. I never thought of using it for security. There were several different kinds of control modules including wall light switches.

[nickdiamond]

I still have my first digital clock from mid 70s. I always loved the display. I also have one of the original digital watches with that red "florescent bulbs" look. (when it worked)

[Cristian.Cortez]

All I read was VFD and I got all excited and clicked right on this video

[SarahRWilson]

Fran, what you were trying to describe e.g. intercoms, is known as "carrier current". Also known as "Campus Casting", this technique made possible radio stations that were heard in the dorms and sororities surrounding smaller colleges. At least until Uncle Charlie reminded them about radiating RF. And we just thought that wrapping wire around a line cord was an FM only trick.

Mark Schoenberger's link to the X-10 standard points to the forward thinking of the Pico engineers in transmitting the data packets during the relatively quiet zero crossings. I don't think they could have imagined though the technologically perfect storm of smart electrical meters and switching power supplies.

[SilverGreen]

Fran, thanks for the tip on screwing in plastic. I never thought of it.