Professors worry that engineering students don't tinker

From: Iggy Drougge <optimus_at_canit.se>
Date: Fri Dec 15 17:27:13 2000

Tony Duell skrev:

>[N1500]

>> >> Is this a "VCR" system?
>>
>> >That depends on what you mean by 'VCR system' (and Philips themselves
>> >changed the meaning a few times).
>>
>> Pre-Video2000 arcane square cassette home video system.

>Yes, that's the N1500 alright :-)

Surely there were other models, too?

>> very much, thank you. OTOH, I've got a Sony Betacam cassette sporting the
>> numbers 500 here (I haven't got a recorder to test it, it's just for pre-
>> emptive pruposes). Could it really hold 500 minutes on such a single-side=
>> d,
>> miniscule cassette?

>I thought the number on Betamax cassettes gave the length in feet or
>something. Certaily I remember using L750 cassettes, and they were not
>750 minutes long.

Indeed there is no correlation. I found a lot of ? tapes today, and the 500 is
only 225 minutes, IIRC. We can't have that, can we?

>> >The electronics, though is rather complicated. Part of this is due to th=
>> e
>> >fact that the machines are old enough that there weren't single-chip
>> >ASICs for many functions -- there are a lot of fairly simple chips and a
>> >couple of microcontrollers inside. The electronics is all plug-in cards,
>> >with functions like IF strip, audio, luminance, chrominance, tape servo,
>> >head servo, timer, tuner control, etc. Yes I do have the service manual.
>>
>> Ooh, I love plug-in architectures in home electronics. Once disassembled =

>I love it for _everything_.

True, but they don't show up as often in home electronics. These aren't built
to be servicable.

>> But wasn't V2000 a tad late in the race? IIRC, it came in '82, when home =

>Yes... (like the 6809 CPU, and various other good designs)

The 6809 wasn't too late for the 8-bit micro race, was it?

>History has shown time and again that you can either develop a poor
>design and get it out into the marketplace, or spend some time doing the
>job properly and be late. And, alas, the early designs always seem to
>'win' :-( :-(.

Mind you, Philips did both, didn't they? The VCR was the firs thome video
system, wasn't it? I wouldn't know if it was a poor design, though.

>> Does anyone manufacture modern V2k systems? =3D)

>Not that I know of :-(. The main (only) manufacturers were Philips and
>Grundig. I've seen service manuals for both (although the only actual
>machines I've opened up are Philips), and it appears that the Philips
>machines were much better built.

Oh, where did I put that electronics mag with reviews of the entire first
batch of Video2000 recorders... Didn't Bang & Olufsen make one, too? Of
course, I suspect they used a mechanism from one of the bigger manufacturers.

--
En ligne avec Thor 2.6.
Ed ecco un altro esempio in cui le sigle italiane e francesi sono uguali ...
non avrei mai creduto di poter un giorno dire una cosa del genere, ma secondo
me Crostina D'Avena canta meglio.
   Tacchan s?gar den franska signaturen till Creamy Mami
Received on Fri Dec 15 2000 - 17:27:13 GMT

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