Tidying Up An Analoy 1401 Alloy Analyser

[awemawson]

Then there were three - one for each Analoy 1401 and a spare.

[awemawson]

I finished the (very) sticky task of removing the crumbling foam and associated double sided tape from the second analyser. Very much the same as the other one. This has 1990 stickers inside so is slightly later, but contrary to my recollection the firmware is the same according to the labels on the EPROMs.

One difference that I did notice is that the main body of the instrument is directly fixed to the case whereas the other one used anti-vibration stand offs.

Not started fixing the neoprene replacement foam yet, I need to let my head clear of the spirit / solvent fumes getting the double sided tape off. I'll tackle the new foam tomorrow when I get back from my Covid jab (Amusingly scheduled for  09:31 - not 09:30 or 09:25 but 09:31 PROMPT - remember the army are in attendance marshalling and doing some of the jabbing presumably with military precision  )

[vtsteam]

Good luck Andrew. Let us know how accurately timed the vet is!

[kayzed1]

Andrew, i took pat for her jab the other day.. Be prompt arrive ten mins before your appointment 1139am:

***(Amusingly scheduled for  09:31 - not 09:30 or 09:25 but 09:31 PROMPT - remember the army are in attendance marshalling***

I arrived at the gate house at 1127am signed in parked and walked 200mts to the end of a cue, masked and distanced we
wobbled along this cue for 20mins. We then got to a person who took details and part filled in a form, gave us the form> we entered
another cue: we spent 19 mins in that cue: then we got to the entrance to the hall, cleansed and proffered the form to an attendant 
who looked at it and pointed us to yet another cue:  we wandered around this cue for around 20 mins, my head had gone by now.
Pat had her jab from a very nice School nurse, who then pointed us to the small cue for admin. The admin lady tx'ed every thing from the
form to a PC, handed us back the form and Pat's confirmation of JAB. then pointed us yet again to a cue. this cue was to the exit, but we
had to go through another toll gate the person looked at the form and said OW! your exit time ( 1227 ) has long gone you may go straight 
to the exit other people were having to sit for some time, i think to make sure they did not fall in a heap.. Good luck: Pat says she
just had an ache  in her arm...next morning all gone.  I go Sunday:

[awemawson]

So the new foam got glued in and I put it all together but it doesn't work now 

Almost certainly broken cores in the umbilical cord - I found three and re-soldered them but I find fine work like 25 way D plugs hard going these days. I've put it to one side for the moment.


So I moved on to gas plumbing the Ceramic Chip Forge to cheer myself up 

(Vaccine jab went smoothly - I was first through the process this morning but why they were setting times to the minuter goodness only knows. I went in at 09:30 and queued for ages while staff milled about and eventually after 25 mins I actually had the job (Astra-Zenica) - they tell me that they are doing 400 a day at that centre - I'm sure that throughput could be doubled or trebled if an Engineer was in charge!)

[russ57]

I must remember that holding method...
I found crimping was easier but still fiddly.

I find myself dreaming of a stereo microscope more and more...

-russ

[Muzzerboy]

I find those stereo magnifying glasses essential now. Although my myopia allows almost microscope-like close inspection, I don't like the idea of poking myself in the eye with a soldering iron.

I have something like this although I forget where I bought mine https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/measuring-and-test-equipment/eye-loupes-and-pocket-comparators/led-head-loupe-lhl435/p/ZT1017436X?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=pla%2B%7C%2BMeasuring%20%26%20Test%20Equipment&utm_term=ZT1017436X&utm_medium=pla_css_2&targetid=pla-394272181161&loc_physical_ms=9046570&dev=c&gclid=Cj0KCQiAvP6ABhCjARIsAH37rbR45yrLHNqMrHcOV43_Vm3nLjHUWqmi5wkkP5k6XwjEiSGiyIikKGIaAn0YEALw_wcB

For workholding, I have one of those generic tilting vises you get with Chinese machine tools. The tilt mechanism allows orientation of the connector to a convenient angle.

[awemawson]

I  haven't returned to looking at the Analoy yet but I did scan all the documentation that I have, comprising a  21 page 'Operating Instructions' and 7 pages of rather fuzzy faxes that I received back in 2004 from a service agent in Michigan of all places !

If they are not too large data wise then I will attach them as searchable .PDF's


No it seems that at  1.4 mB and 2.4 mB they are too large

[vtsteam]

Andrew can you zip them smaller? Sometimes you can, sometimes it makes very little difference, depending on the compression level already.

[awemawson]

Sadly not, I've tried 'raring' them and 'zipping' them but the amount of compression is negligible

[vtsteam]

What about splitting them into smaller parts? I can split and join pdfs in Puppy Linux if wanted -- though probably you can do that also, I'm guessing.

[awemawson]

I've put them on Dropbox - not done this in years so I hope that it works !

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/heimzy8kohwzjda/AAAfKloCUFZG_Zixewy7z43Ha?dl=0https://www.dropbox.com/sh/heimzy8kohwzjda/AAAfKloCUFZG_Zixewy7z43Ha?dl=0

See if you can do anything with that Steve

(I'm not sure how long the link and files stay valid - presumably they must expire some time or Dropbox would over fill  )

[vtsteam]

Okay, will give it a try. Part 1 of Circuits attached......

[vtsteam]

Hmmm worked. Don't know if I can attach more than one per post. Will try here......

[vtsteam]

Well....that worked. Okay.... in the two posts above, that's Circuits, parts 1 & 2 and the Manual parts 1,2, & 3. 

[awemawson]

Well done Steve, so at least that’s there on the web if any other mad fool is searching for data 

It’s a great shame that my ‘originals’ of the circuits are out of focus (faxed) and incomplete. I’ve no idea how I found that chap in Michigan all those years ago, it’s a heck of a long way from here !

[russ57]

Muzzer, I do have something very similar to that head visor which is great but sometimes I'd like a bit more magnification.

-russ

[PekkaNF]

This is really interesting...Specially that sensor arrangement. Did I got it right?
1: There is a arc that heats sample metal hot enough to emit it's characteristic spectral output. Different materials emit different wavelenths.
2: There is a prism type contraption that fans out different light wavelenghts. Here wavlengths/spectral lines are physically spread out at different locations. ie. clolor wavelenth detection is not that important, but location/intensity.
3: There is a line scan camera, that is used to detect the wavelength as a postition of this fanned out light spectral lines and probably uses somewhat also intensity of these spectral lines.

[Muzzerboy]

Russ - mine came with a selection of lenses (5?) and I find there's one (not sure which) that works nicely for me. I'm no longer caught between the work being too close (with glasses off) and too far away (with glasses on) where I can focus but can't make out detail. The alternative were those damned loupe things which drove me crazy. I must say it's been one of my better purchases!

[awemawson]

This is really interesting...Specially that sensor arrangement. Did I got it right?
1: There is a arc that heats sample metal hot enough to emit it's characteristic spectral output. Different materials emit different wavelenths.
2: There is a prism type contraption that fans out different light wavelenghts. Here wavlengths/spectral lines are physically spread out at different locations. ie. clolor wavelenth detection is not that important, but location/intensity.
3: There is a line scan camera, that is used to detect the wavelength as a postition of this fanned out light spectral lines and probably uses somewhat also intensity of these spectral lines.

Basically yes - the 'line scan camera' is a Charge Coupled Device in a single chip with 1728 individual elements spaced at 15 microns, conveniently making for a device almost exactly one inch long.

 

[PekkaNF]

Nice. Few hundred nm spread over one inch does not sound overly demanding on optics. Wonder if something like that would be possible to make modern off the self componenets. In 80:s that would have been very hard. I remember when fast line scan cameras started appearing on factory floor.

[vtsteam]

I made one of these spectroscopes almost 20 years ago, though with a piece of 2" ABS tubing, a couple razor blades for a slit, and a CD. The DVD in the article should be a much finer grating.

[vtsteam]

This one (at the bottom) is more like the one I made:

http://www.inpharmix.com/jps/CD_spectro.html

[PekkaNF]

Thank you Steve. That was really interesting and informative...I did not realize that CD can ge used as a difraction grating, alhough I have been looking at it and seen the difracted light when light hits that at angle. I have to show that to my daugher.

[Sea.dog]

A very interesting article. In the 60s a science/radio club that I was in undertook a project for a science fair. It was to be a scanning spectrometer. I had the task of making the slit, which I did, and it was fabricated from thin brass sheet cut into strip and rivetted together. The slit was to be adjustable. I wish I'd had more imagination back then. I could have saved myself an awful lot of time and trouble by using razor blades 
Sadly we never completed the project.