From: Brooke Clarke <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [time-nuts] Interesting Patent Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 09:20:11 -0700 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Hi: > > I came across a 1946 patent for a vacuum tube based counter circuit that > will divide 60 Hz down to 1 Hz. It's interesting in that there's a > discussion about the advantage of using binary instead of base 10 and > also about using feedback to change the scale of the counter from 64 to > 60 (or 50). See: Hmm... strange... these applications are no match for the Phantastron divider, which Frederic Calland Williams invented in 1941. It did 1/5, 1/6 or 1/10 with a triode and a diode if memory serves me right. My oldest HP counter is virtually loaded with it, and it has a nice trimmer in the back for trimming the power grid frequency division for 1/6 or 1/5 to get the 10 Hz reference counter. However, mine is the de luxe variant with builtin timebase in the form of a 100 kHz crystal oscillator (whoa!) and then the phantastron is set for 1/10 division and is preceeded with 4 phantastrons to divide down from 100 kHz in nice 1/10 steps. Naturally there is two more for the 1 Hz and 0.1 Hz frequencies being used for gating time, so that one has 0.1 s, 1 s and 10 s gating time. Needless to say, it works splendid still today! Oh, my counter is so old that it doesn't have those novelties usually referred to as "Nixie-tubes". Oh no, we talk good old neon lamps lighting up for 0 to 9 for each digit. You see how it counts as the numbers ripples. ;O) BTW, patent databases are wonderfull ways of learning the history, especially if one recalls that alot of things happend outside of the patent offices too. Cheers, Magnus _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list [email protected] https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
