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[John Roberts {JR}]

JR- That brings back memories.. One of my first automation programming projects was exactly that  - Universal's Extended Dip Verifier - we tested the components, mostly ICs while the pick and place had it in it's fingers just seconds prior to PCB insertion. We had a few seconds to run the test.

Back in the thru hole days IIRC Peavey used a HPDI (?) machine placing first the socket then the DIP IC, no IC probe test back then. The machine cycle time was far less than seconds per pop.

My part value testing proposal was for an axial component inserter so testing resistors and caps, but I was ahead of the technology and machinery. (story of my life). I think a later radial component insertion machine had that measurement capability.

In the very old days the axial components were pre-sequenced onto tape a reel, so a separate test machine could read and confirm the parts on the tape reel without affecting the insertion machine cycle time.

You could tell a reversed IC (by the input protection diodes ) and we did simple logic tests to verify it being alive, think we even tested memories after charging up the RAS/CAS lines. I cant recall, but I'm sure it had some limited analog testing capabilities. Them were the days....


Mike

Yup, many IC processes look like a diode short across reversed polarity on the power supply pins.
 
I had one idea I wanted to pursue for building/testing power amp assemblies. A great deal could be learned by scanning a power amp PCB or assembly while under power with an infra-red temperature sensing camera, and comparing that temperature signature to a good reference board profile. This could identify a whole basket of manufacturing flaws from devices or components that are either too hot or too cool. While I wasn't that far ahead of the camera technology, but I was too far ahead of easy cheap computer interface solutions, and the good old boy I turned the project over to finish never did pick up the ball and run with it.

Having a good idea is the easy part.

JR

[Mike Christy]

I like that IR camera idea, could add to the FCT process/fixture...

( I once found an underrated resistor that way, accidentally... While troubleshooting these 15x15 inch mainframe boards, you always kind of leaned you hand against it to steady the scope probe - well I kept burning the side of my palm on this one board - come to find out, they designed in a smaller wattage resistor where they should have used a 1/2W - it never burnt up but it got hot.)

Mike

[Bob Leonard]

Prove me that spending $600, 000, 000 for Chinese trains is good for the city of Boston and the US, and I'll dance naked at midnight in Scully Square.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-23/coming-to-a-subway-near-you-made-in-china-trains.html

[Scott Holtzman]

RAS/CAS wow bringing back memory (pardon the pun) of dynamic memory chips.

In my second year of college I designed one of the first static memory boards (all 64k worth) for the S-100 bus small computers and sold them mail order.  We assembled them in my apartment.  I think they were $500/ea.  They were so much faster than the DRAM that required refreshing.

Some guys had athletes as heroes.  Mine was Steve Ciarcia, the circuit cellar was huge source of early inspiration.






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[Mark McFarlane]

RAS/CAS wow bringing back memory (pardon the pun) of dynamic memory chips.

In my second year of college I designed one of the first static memory boards (all 64k worth) for the S-100 bus small computers and sold them mail order.  We assembled them in my apartment.  I think they were $500/ea.  They were so much faster than the DRAM that required refreshing.

Some guys had athletes as heroes.  Mine was Steve Ciarcia, the circuit cellar was huge source of early inspiration.

The S100 backplane was ahead of its times.  Great stuff. I almost bought one, but went for an Apple II instead.  Cost me $600 to add 16K, but that included a Pascal compiler (actually p-code interpreter).

[Mike Christy]

$500? WOW! And that was probably a deal. At Data General a cohort Chet was one of the designers for core memory from DEC. Remember core memory? Those tiny round ferrous donuts intertwined on a mesh of 3 wires: write 1, write 0, and sense (I think, its been a while...)

And BTW, I don't know where  Scully Square is, and I never want to know now,,, just in case, YIKES!

[John Roberts {JR}]

Prove me that spending $600, 000, 000 for Chinese trains is good for the city of Boston and the US, and I'll dance naked at midnight in Scully Square.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-23/coming-to-a-subway-near-you-made-in-china-trains.html

It will be good for Springfield where they will be assembled.

Is that near Scollay Square downtown?

I don't think anyone here wants to see you dance naked, no selfies please.

JR

[David Morison]

... Japanese customers buying Chinese made products. The Japanese are notoriously picky customers and have history with China, but the customers all around the world get swayed by lower prices.

JR

Do we have an award for "understatement of the century"?

If so, I nominate this.

DM.

[John Roberts {JR}]

$500? WOW! And that was probably a deal. At Data General a cohort Chet was one of the designers for core memory from DEC. Remember core memory? Those tiny round ferrous donuts intertwined on a mesh of 3 wires: write 1, write 0, and sense (I think, its been a while...)

And BTW, I don't know where  Scully Square is, and I never want to know now,,, just in case, YIKES!

Another obscure old memory was drum, kind of like a hard disc but recording on a cylinder instead of disc.

The first computer memory board I bought back in the '70s was $1000 for 32k x 16b for my H-11.

JR 

[Scott Holtzman]

$500? WOW! And that was probably a deal. At Data General a cohort Chet was one of the designers for core memory from DEC. Remember core memory? Those tiny round ferrous donuts intertwined on a mesh of 3 wires: write 1, write 0, and sense (I think, its been a while...)

And BTW, I don't know where  Scully Square is, and I never want to know now,,, just in case, YIKES!

Core predates me.  Didn't have much budget in HS so was hacking out the basics of assembler >> machine code on an Exidy Sorcerer, suite a collectors item that I wish I had retained. 

HS had a Cromemco machine donated and I was hacking on the BIOS within a day or two, nobody knew anything about it including the teacher so basically it was mine to experiment with.  I was given wide latitude and quickly had an S-100 extender board and was off and running.  The bus was easy to decode with ls244/245 and before longer had it doing all sorts of automation and control stuff including early voice synthesis.  The culmination of "use" was to control a voted/steered 2M amateur repeater system (we had one of the most active amateur radio clubs in the area).

Anyway, the static memory board was a hobbyist device, sold in Microsystems magazine (something else I can't find a copy of), it was a price point design that was quite effective.  By this time I had an Imsai 8080 and an Ithaca Intersystems S-100 chassis (both with full front panels) and controls I designed to work with Corvus hard drives. 

What is interesting is I was also into audio at this time, starting to train my ears and ignoring hype and learning theory.  Not many audio guys were computer geeks also at the time so it was easy to trade skills for gear and experience. 

Today, the convergence is done.  Dante especially has brought standards based interfaces into Pro Audio.  Someone mentioned adding Dante interfaces to monitors.  It's only a matter of time.  You have to have basic networking knowledge to deploy and operate modern audio gear, period.

To wrap this back to the original topic, there is so much opportunity to innovate at all levels of MI and Pro Audio.   I hope Peavey uses the manufacturing economies to build stronger, multinational R&D teams.



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