Technabob » oscilloscope

Oscium Turns iOS Devices into iOScilloscopes

Shane McGlaun — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 12:00:02 +0000

Back when I was in college I used to walk by one of the engineering labs all the time on my way to class and see the geeks in there working with oscilloscopes. I always wondered what exactly they were for. I still don’t know the why or how you use one of the things, but any gadget that has lots of wavy lines and looks impressive is cool with me.

If you are qualified to use an oscilloscope or just want to look smarter working on your computer Oscium has a new app and hardware accessory that will make your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch into a mixed signal oscilloscope. The app is on the App Store right now and will work with any iOS device on 3.1.3 or up.

The app puts the wavy lines on the screen, the hardware adapter has five leads, and a one pen-style thingy attached to it. You can pre-order the hardware now for shipment on April 29 for about $300 (USD) directly from the Oscium website.

Game Boy + Oscilloscope = NintendOscope

Lambert Varias — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 13:01:25 +0000

Even though it was obviously not it’s primary function, the oscilloscope is considered to be one of the first video game systems. Flashing LEDs pays tribute to that appropriately geeky root of gaming with this clever hack. By using a microcontroller to… you know what, honestly I don’t know what the hell he did, but here’s the end result:

I wanted to say that this is like the circle of video games clicking close, one end meeting the other, but then I realized the Game Boy isn’t exactly the latest video game system. Still, to go from a bouncing dot to this is sufficient enough to serve as both a functional metaphor of how far our beloved pastime has come and as a tribute to its humble beginnings. Although I’m sure one of the billion modders out there has already figured out a way to control an oscilloscope using Kinect.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I’m not even a Zelda fan – happy 25th anniversary btw! – but that soundtrack is such a familiar sound of my childhood that I get goosebumps whenever I hear that. I hope you can hear me clapping from my side of the globe, Flashing LEDs. Check out his website for details on how he pulled off this wizardry.

[via Hack a Day]

DSO Nano v2.0 Puts An Oscilloscope in Your Pocket

Technabob — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 02:21:20 +0000

Boy, I can remember when an oscilloscope was an unwieldy box with a vector screen, which required significant desktop space – and cost at least a few hundred bucks. Now, thanks to modern technology, you can get an oscilloscope that’s so compact, you can throw it in your pocket or backpack.

Measuring in at only 3.74″ (W) x 2.44″ (H) x 0.51″ (D), and weighing just 76 grams, the DSO Nano v2.0 is a portable oscilloscope, designed for use in simple electronic engineering work. The compact gadget runs on an ARM Cortex-M3 processor, and displays signals on a color 320×240 display. Here’s a grab of the screen interface:

The DSO Nano v2.0 comes with portable probes, as well as a signal generator. It runs on a rechargeable battery pack, and can capture and play back waveforms on a microSD card. If you’ve got the patience to sit through a 24 minute video, here’s an instructional demo of the scope I found over on YouTube.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

You can get your hands on the DSO Nano v2.0 over at seeed studio for just $89 (USD). If you need a 4-channel scope, keep an eye out for their new DSO Quad – currently running Beta software – which sells for $159.

The Father of Modern Video Games: Restored

Technabob — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 04:32:04 +0000

A simple little game featuring a bouncing green ball on a laboratory oscilloscope is commonly thought of as one of the first ever video games, if not the first.

Brookhaven Lab engineer Willy Higinbotham’s Tennis for Two was less a game and more a demo of manipulating a bouncing ball on a scope, but it is seen as the forefather of all modern games which started with PONG and Space War. Now, thanks the to loving restoration work of Peter Takacs and a team at today’s Brookhaven Lab, the original game is being brought back from the dead.

The original 1958 demo unit was dismantled shortly after it was completed, and back in 1997, the Brookhaven engineers attempted to recreate the original, but used solid-state electronics to do it. The video below shows the first restoration attempt in action….

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

But in the interest of 100% accuracy, the team is working on a much more authentic version, replicating the electronics of the original. Thanks to the restoration of an old Donner analog computer, the fully restored version is nearly complete, and should be revealed very soon.

[Brookhaven bits & bytes via Wired]

Colin O’Dowd’S Ekg Coat Rack Definitely No Flatliner

Technabob — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:48:53 +0000

Looking for a cool way to keep your coats up off the floor? Then look no further than the Beat coat rack by designer Colin O’Dowd.

Whether you think of it as the pulse of a beating heart, the waveform of your favorite tune, or the trend line for your stock portfolio, it’s definitely a conversation piece on any wall. The Beat retails for £40 (appx. $60 USD) over at O’Dowd’s online shop.

Tetris Blocks Fall on Oscilloscope Screen

Technabob — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:40:03 +0000

Here’s a cool hack which uses an old oscilloscope to play an accurate game of the arcade classic, Tetris.

Engineer Lars Pontoppidan created Scopetris using an AtMega32 micro-controller to drive the beam of an oscilloscope to mimic the game play of the classic Soviet puzzle game.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Lars had to create custom circuitry and programmed the beam to produce a similar visual result to that of those old vector graphic games. The game is controlled using a traditional Atari 9-pin digital joystick.

Unlike some lesser oscilloscope beam hacks which use simple video games like Pong, Lars really went all out to create a game with the relative complexity of Tetris. Using his significant programming prowess, Pontoppidan programmed the circuit to manage each individual as an independent object, allowing it to behave very similarly to the original arcade classic.

Kudos to Lars for an outstanding scope hack.

[via Hacked Gadgets via MAKE]