Strange object, anyone know what it is?

edited May 2012 in Chit chat
IMG_9597.jpg IMG_9598.jpg IMG_9599.jpg

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Post edited by Macc on
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Comments

  • edited May 2012
    Nope...
    I wanna tell you a story 'bout a woman I know...
  • edited May 2012
    Some sort of RF splitter? Or something??
  • edited May 2012
    Great Scott Marty!!

    It's the flux capacitor.

    (don't know)
  • edited May 2012
    you do find some weird and wonderful items
  • fogfog
    edited May 2012
    it's definitely not stonkers

    it's got BNC connetors which were used a lot in network stuff and video related stuff.. the other connector hhmm maybe out of terminal.. open the box, the pcb will give you clues I bet.
  • edited May 2012
    Hmm - from the size of that box connector I'd imagine some sort of early hard drive, but a better guess based on the size rules that out. How heavy is it? An old box that size I wouldn't expect anything complicated enough to need anywhere near all those pins.

    Hang on - which cable goes where? I was assuming the thick one in the back is a power supply, but is that that cable with the boxy multi-pin connector? And the other BNC lead goes nowhere? In which case there's no obvious power in?

    Maybe it's a modulator to turn some sort of complex monitor input into video out?

    But a cal sticker? And no obvious in/out markings? No idea. As fog says, crack it open.
    Joefish
    - IONIAN-GAMES.com -
  • edited May 2012
    Macc's posted a few of these strange pictures now.

    I reckon he's found a crashed UFO somewhere near his house...
  • edited May 2012
    The fact it was calibrated points to some type of test equipment..the push button and LED on the front would go along with that...not sure about the connector though

    Ground bond tester perhaps? I only say that because have one one here and it looks similar..cept no weird connector.
  • edited May 2012
    I don't see any LEDs. Maybe it's a push-button (rather than a twist knob) but that looks like a TV's RF socket on the front. Although hard to tell if it's in or out.

    Maybe it's a de-modulator - a tuning circuit controlled by whatever that big connector is? Takes RF in and puts the extracted signal(s) out the back? Controlled by some sort of digital interface, hence all the pins?
    Joefish
    - IONIAN-GAMES.com -
  • edited May 2012
    alien artifact.
  • edited May 2012
    I don't have a clue what it is, but it looks like it could have been really expensive when it was bought originally ;-)
  • edited May 2012
    joefish wrote: »
    I don't see any LEDs.

    Green led or bulb on the right front.

    Is the switch on the left and instant off/on switch or does it toggle.

    If its on/off instantly that would kind of go with test equipment too, with the green (good) led/light lighting up for a good test, that's how our ground bond tester works. Possibly a specialized piece of test equipment for whatever the special plug was for?

    Open it up and take a photo of the board.
  • fogfog
    edited May 2012
    joefish wrote: »
    Hmm - from the size of that box connector I'd imagine some sort of early hard drive, but a better guess based on the size rules that out.

    I remember seeing a 120mb quantum drive at a friends work place. it was the size of a breeze block :lol: they used it as a door wedge in their computer graveyeard.
  • edited May 2012
    fog wrote: »
    I remember seeing a 120mb quantum drive at a friends work place. it was the size of a breeze block :lol: they used it as a door wedge in their computer graveyeard.


    Check out this one that has been sitting in my desk since before I worked here...

    2vuyr7t.jpg

    Label says:

    Seagate ST-251-1 H/D 0.28MB :lol: (surely the transfer rate?)

    EDIT: Actually I think it says 28MS labels really faded. Googling suggests is 40-50mb.
  • edited May 2012
    GreenCard wrote: »
    Some sort of RF splitter? Or something??

    +1 for this
  • edited May 2012
    beanz wrote: »
    Green led or bulb on the right front.
    Okay, yes I see it now, in close-up. It's a green LED in a recessed chrome mount. In a screen-sized pic it still looked like an RF connector.
    Joefish
    - IONIAN-GAMES.com -
  • edited May 2012
    as i said in a previous thread stick it in a bin bag and leave it at the local train station, the local paper the next week will tell you what it was. :-P
  • edited May 2012
    I'm sure they used to do phone in quiz questions on kids breakfast TV like this, take a close-up pic of something and people phone in & try to guess what it was.

    Surprising that nobody has done a similar thread already.. ;)
  • edited May 2012
    beanz wrote: »
    Check out this one that has been sitting in my desk since before I worked here...

    cor, that's tiny!

    I have a couple of full height ones downstairs :)

    EDIT: like this
    s_p_23770_1__57782_zoom.jpg
  • fogfog
    edited May 2012
    beanz, to give you an idea of the drive size.. you know them double height scsci drive enclosures or ones for cd drives? that was the size of the drive :lol: you had to have it outside the machine and run it with the cover off.

    I do remember fitting a 40gb scsi drive in a mac 12 years ago, and the drive cost about 1-2k , as it was 10,000 rpm or was for AV. it was a hassle to actually find the space in the g4 to fit it :)

    I guess this was when I had a errm 20mb drive in my 8088 aged 19 or so. there was a drive doubler , forgot the name of it now..
  • edited May 2012
    IMG_9601.jpg

    Case open, doesnt give too much away as everythings encased in a solid block thats affixed to the bottom part of the case
  • edited May 2012
    Macc wrote: »
    IMG_9601.jpg

    Case open, doesnt give too much away as everythings encased in a solid block thats affixed to the bottom part of the case

    Keep digging!
  • edited May 2012
    Its bulletproof!
  • edited May 2012
    Looks like a power supply and multi channel oscilliscope input / impedence matching probe box...

    one of them old 'custom connector' jobbies that locked your test equipment into a specific manufacturer when you could easily knock something up for 1/100th of the price

    tthe big black things' probably just a potted filter circuit with a few capacitors / resistors, etc

    it'll probably be 2 channels and X sync for the 3 BNC inpouts
  • edited May 2012
    Yeah we used potting material (the black stuff) on a few of our products to make copying them a little harder.
  • edited May 2012
    beanz wrote: »
    Yeah we used potting material (the black stuff) on a few of our products to make copying them a little harder.

    And warranty repairs impossible :smile:
  • edited May 2012
    guesser wrote: »
    And warranty repairs impossible :smile:

    It's cheaper to make a new one. The board and components cost about $10...that would be lost on the RA shipping back and forth and labor used to repair it.
  • edited May 2012
    beanz wrote: »
    It's cheaper to make a new one. The board and components cost about $10...that would be lost on the RA shipping back and forth and labor used to repair it.

    Aye, cheaper to send it to China so they can chuck it in a fire to burn off all the toxic plastic and harvest the metals ;)
  • edited May 2012
    guesser wrote: »
    Aye, cheaper to send it to China so they can chuck it in a fire to burn off all the toxic plastic and harvest the metals ;)

    Taiwan actually ;)
  • edited May 2012
    beanz wrote: »
    Taiwan actually ;)

    well Taiwan is China ;)
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