#analogelectronics — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #analogelectronics, aggregated by home.social.
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Vacuum Tubes: The Heart of Electronic Archaeology
By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News
Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines — September 4, 2026 — 12:30 p.m.
This is the lesson I have been looking forward to since Electronic Archaeology began.
Everything we have learned so far has been preparing us for this moment.
We have studied electricity.
We have examined resistors, capacitors, batteries, switches, relays, transformers, and power supplies.
Now we finally arrive at the technology that inspired this entire series.
The vacuum tube.
Today, most people have never handled one.
Many younger readers have never even seen one outside of a museum or an old photograph.
Yet for nearly half a century, vacuum tubes were the foundation of the electronic world.
They amplified voices.
They transmitted radio signals.
They powered radar systems.
They made long-distance telephone communication possible.
They helped build the first electronic computers.
Without vacuum tubes, much of the twentieth century would have sounded very different.
The basic idea behind a vacuum tube is surprisingly elegant.
Inside a sealed glass envelope sits a heated metal filament.
When electricity heats the filament, it releases electrons into the vacuum.
A second element, called the plate or anode, attracts those electrons when a positive voltage is applied.
Current begins to flow.
Place a third element, called the control grid, between the filament and the plate.
Now something remarkable happens.
A very small change in voltage on the grid can control a much larger flow of current between the filament and the plate.
That is amplification.
A tiny electrical signal suddenly becomes a much larger one.
That single idea changed communications forever.
Before transistors existed, nearly every radio receiver depended upon vacuum tubes to amplify weak signals arriving through the antenna.
Broadcast transmitters used larger tubes to generate enormous amounts of radio-frequency power.
Early television relied upon tubes.
Military radar relied upon tubes.
Even the first general-purpose electronic computers used thousands of them.
Electronic Archaeology Note
When I was learning electronics in high school, the industry was already moving from vacuum tubes to solid-state electronics. We learned enough about tubes to understand the basic principles, but the future clearly belonged to transistors.
Even then, I found myself fascinated by vacuum tubes.
There was something almost alive about them.
The warm orange glow of the heater.
The carefully arranged metal structures inside the glass.
The realization that invisible electrons were traveling through empty space, performing useful work.
I always wanted to learn more than I had the opportunity to learn.
In many ways, Electronic Archaeology is my chance to return to that unfinished lesson.
Vacuum tubes have disadvantages.
They consume more power.
They generate heat.
They are physically larger than transistors.
Glass breaks.
Filaments eventually burn out.
Equipment built with tubes is heavier and often requires higher operating voltages.
Those disadvantages eventually led to the transistor replacing the vacuum tube in most applications.
Yet tubes possess strengths as well.
They tolerate high voltages remarkably well.
Many radio transmitters continue to use vacuum tubes for high-power output stages.
Some audio enthusiasts still prefer tube amplifiers for their distinctive sound.
Certain specialized industrial and military applications continued using tubes long after solid-state devices became available.
Old technology does not always disappear.
Sometimes it simply finds a different purpose.
Over the coming weeks we will begin examining the different families of vacuum tubes.
Diodes.
Triodes.
Tetrodes.
Pentodes.
Rectifiers.
Power tubes.
Special-purpose tubes.
Each was developed to solve a particular engineering problem.
Each helped shape the electronic world we inherited.
Electronic Archaeology is not about nostalgia.
It is about understanding the technology that made our modern world possible.
The vacuum tube is one of the greatest engineering achievements of the twentieth century.
It deserves to be remembered.
Next week we will examine the simplest member of the vacuum tube family.
The diode.
Two electrodes.
One direction for current.
A simple device that opened the door to an electronic revolution.
If this work helps you understand what’s happening, help me keep it going: https://www.patreon.com/cw/WPSNews
For more from Cliff Potts, see https://cliffpotts.org
References
Horowitz, P., & Hill, W. (2015). The Art of Electronics (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2025). Vacuum tube. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/vacuum-tube
Tyne, G. F. J. (1977). Saga of the Vacuum Tube. Howard W. Sams & Co.
#analogElectronics #ElectronicArchaeology #electronicsHistory #radioTechnology #thermionicValves #vacuumTubes #WPSNews -
Build Your Own Analog Electronic Kit
My Goodness Cafe, Thursday, August 6 at 06:30 PM GMT+1
Build your own analog electronic instrument! We will be building the Atari punk console/step tone generator kit from Rakits. You will receive tips and instruction in soldering, assembling electronics, and the basics of analog electronic sound.
Kit provided with €60 registration fee. Soldering irons provided.
https://flypost.ie/event/build-your-own-analog-electronic-kit-2
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Build Your Own Analog Electronic Kit
My Goodness Cafe, Thursday, August 6 at 06:30 PM GMT+1
Build your own analog electronic instrument! We will be building the Atari punk console/step tone generator kit from Rakits. You will receive tips and instruction in soldering, assembling electronics, and the basics of analog electronic sound.
Kit provided with €60 registration fee. Soldering irons provided.
https://flypost.ie/event/build-your-own-analog-electronic-kit-2
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Build Your Own Analog Electronic Kit
My Goodness Cafe, Thursday, August 6 at 06:30 PM GMT+1
Build your own analog electronic instrument! We will be building the Atari punk console/step tone generator kit from Rakits. You will receive tips and instruction in soldering, assembling electronics, and the basics of analog electronic sound.
Kit provided with €60 registration fee. Soldering irons provided.
https://flypost.ie/event/build-your-own-analog-electronic-kit-2
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Build Your Own Analog Electronic Kit
My Goodness Cafe, Thursday, August 6 at 06:30 PM GMT+1
Build your own analog electronic instrument! We will be building the Atari punk console/step tone generator kit from Rakits. You will receive tips and instruction in soldering, assembling electronics, and the basics of analog electronic sound.
Kit provided with €60 registration fee. Soldering irons provided.
https://flypost.ie/event/build-your-own-analog-electronic-kit-2
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Today this transitioned from working in principle to working in fact, so now my Tektronix 7704A analogue oscilloscope has a functioning serial input for the readout system.
#OtherSemiconductors #79 #Tektronix #AnalogElectronics #SystemsThatMatter
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Today this transitioned from working in principle to working in fact, so now my Tektronix 7704A analogue oscilloscope has a functioning serial input for the readout system.
#OtherSemiconductors #79 #Tektronix #AnalogElectronics #SystemsThatMatter
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Today this transitioned from working in principle to working in fact, so now my Tektronix 7704A analogue oscilloscope has a functioning serial input for the readout system.
#OtherSemiconductors #79 #Tektronix #AnalogElectronics #SystemsThatMatter
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Today this transitioned from working in principle to working in fact, so now my Tektronix 7704A analogue oscilloscope has a functioning serial input for the readout system.
#OtherSemiconductors #79 #Tektronix #AnalogElectronics #SystemsThatMatter
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Very nice to (literally) dust off, reconfigure and restart patching some of the high-bandwidth analog computing modules I built between 2015 and 2020. Nice as well to be using them for something else entirely.
#79 #OtherSemiconductors #analogcomputing #analogelectronics #SystemsThatMatter
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Very nice to (literally) dust off, reconfigure and restart patching some of the high-bandwidth analog computing modules I built between 2015 and 2020. Nice as well to be using them for something else entirely.
#79 #OtherSemiconductors #analogcomputing #analogelectronics #SystemsThatMatter
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Very nice to (literally) dust off, reconfigure and restart patching some of the high-bandwidth analog computing modules I built between 2015 and 2020. Nice as well to be using them for something else entirely.
#79 #OtherSemiconductors #analogcomputing #analogelectronics #SystemsThatMatter
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Very nice to (literally) dust off, reconfigure and restart patching some of the high-bandwidth analog computing modules I built between 2015 and 2020. Nice as well to be using them for something else entirely.
#79 #OtherSemiconductors #analogcomputing #analogelectronics #SystemsThatMatter
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Very nice to (literally) dust off, reconfigure and restart patching some of the high-bandwidth analog computing modules I built between 2015 and 2020. Nice as well to be using them for something else entirely.
#79 #OtherSemiconductors #analogcomputing #analogelectronics #SystemsThatMatter
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Slowly wrapping my mind around how to work with text on an analogue XY-display.
#analogelectronics #Tektronix #vectorgraphics #SystemsThatMatter
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Slowly wrapping my mind around how to work with text on an analogue XY-display.
#analogelectronics #Tektronix #vectorgraphics #SystemsThatMatter
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Slowly wrapping my mind around how to work with text on an analogue XY-display.
#analogelectronics #Tektronix #vectorgraphics #SystemsThatMatter
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Slowly wrapping my mind around how to work with text on an analogue XY-display.
#analogelectronics #Tektronix #vectorgraphics #SystemsThatMatter
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Slowly wrapping my mind around how to work with text on an analogue XY-display.
#analogelectronics #Tektronix #vectorgraphics #SystemsThatMatter
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Today I figured out that I need this strange kludge to permute three pins of this IC and change the order of events (inside an analogue Tektronix 7704A oscilloscope).
#Tektronix #analogelectronics #vectorgraphics #SystemsThatMatter
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Today I figured out that I need this strange kludge to permute three pins of this IC and change the order of events (inside an analogue Tektronix 7704A oscilloscope).
#Tektronix #analogelectronics #vectorgraphics #SystemsThatMatter
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Today I figured out that I need this strange kludge to permute three pins of this IC and change the order of events (inside an analogue Tektronix 7704A oscilloscope).
#Tektronix #analogelectronics #vectorgraphics #SystemsThatMatter
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Today I figured out that I need this strange kludge to permute three pins of this IC and change the order of events (inside an analogue Tektronix 7704A oscilloscope).
#Tektronix #analogelectronics #vectorgraphics #SystemsThatMatter
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I certainly did not expect that all those 228 buttons from the 1970s would just still work 50 years later.
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I certainly did not expect that all those 228 buttons from the 1970s would just still work 50 years later.
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I certainly did not expect that all those 228 buttons from the 1970s would just still work 50 years later.
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I certainly did not expect that all those 228 buttons from the 1970s would just still work 50 years later.
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Today I repaired this Tektronix 7M13 plugin from 1976.
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Today I repaired this Tektronix 7M13 plugin from 1976.
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Today I repaired this Tektronix 7M13 plugin from 1976.
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Today I repaired this Tektronix 7M13 plugin from 1976.
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Today I repaired this Tektronix 7M13 plugin from 1976.
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In preparation of a small side-project I bought some vintage Tektronix analogue electronic plugins, for the first time in ages. I'm always curious to find out about previous owners; in this case the innocuous label N65236 stands for the 'Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic' in Charleston, South Carolina.
1/2
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In preparation of a small side-project I bought some vintage Tektronix analogue electronic plugins, for the first time in ages. I'm always curious to find out about previous owners; in this case the innocuous label N65236 stands for the 'Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic' in Charleston, South Carolina.
1/2
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In preparation of a small side-project I bought some vintage Tektronix analogue electronic plugins, for the first time in ages. I'm always curious to find out about previous owners; in this case the innocuous label N65236 stands for the 'Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic' in Charleston, South Carolina.
1/2
-
In preparation of a small side-project I bought some vintage Tektronix analogue electronic plugins, for the first time in ages. I'm always curious to find out about previous owners; in this case the innocuous label N65236 stands for the 'Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic' in Charleston, South Carolina.
1/2
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Spent way too much time trying to get this horizontal amplifier not to be biased and failing miserably. All components seem to be fine but the whole is not. Argh.
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Spent way too much time trying to get this horizontal amplifier not to be biased and failing miserably. All components seem to be fine but the whole is not. Argh.
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Spent way too much time trying to get this horizontal amplifier not to be biased and failing miserably. All components seem to be fine but the whole is not. Argh.
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Spent way too much time trying to get this horizontal amplifier not to be biased and failing miserably. All components seem to be fine but the whole is not. Argh.
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Spent way too much time trying to get this horizontal amplifier not to be biased and failing miserably. All components seem to be fine but the whole is not. Argh.
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The Tektronix 7704A oscilloscope is the most modular analogue oscilloscope I know: not only does it have space for four amplifier and trigger plugins, but even the 'display unit' holding the CRT can be swapped for another one.
After several years of owning a spare 'display unit' I finally have a project where this strange feature may turn out to be actually useful. But first these machines need some maintenance and repair. -
The Tektronix 7704A oscilloscope is the most modular analogue oscilloscope I know: not only does it have space for four amplifier and trigger plugins, but even the 'display unit' holding the CRT can be swapped for another one.
After several years of owning a spare 'display unit' I finally have a project where this strange feature may turn out to be actually useful. But first these machines need some maintenance and repair. -
The Tektronix 7704A oscilloscope is the most modular analogue oscilloscope I know: not only does it have space for four amplifier and trigger plugins, but even the 'display unit' holding the CRT can be swapped for another one.
After several years of owning a spare 'display unit' I finally have a project where this strange feature may turn out to be actually useful. But first these machines need some maintenance and repair. -
The Tektronix 7704A oscilloscope is the most modular analogue oscilloscope I know: not only does it have space for four amplifier and trigger plugins, but even the 'display unit' holding the CRT can be swapped for another one.
After several years of owning a spare 'display unit' I finally have a project where this strange feature may turn out to be actually useful. But first these machines need some maintenance and repair. -
Consulting the old manuals researching the technical feasibility of a smallish spin-off project..
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Consulting the old manuals researching the technical feasibility of a smallish spin-off project..
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Consulting the old manuals researching the technical feasibility of a smallish spin-off project..
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Consulting the old manuals researching the technical feasibility of a smallish spin-off project..
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TL;DR? It’s an analog modular logic synthesizer built in a wooden knife box. It is a “logic synth” because everything is based on boolean logic. There are no filters, no envelope generators, and all the oscillators are square waves
More explanation, audio examples, and lots of pictures:
https://bkstrm.net/interstellar-boolean-logic-exploration-device/
#logicSynth #booleanLogic #modularSynthesis #diy #analogElectronics #diyModularSynth #fediMusic #lunetta -
Analog Circuitry Lets You Blow This LED Out
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/04/21/analog-circuitry-lets-you-blow-this-led-out/
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Analog Circuitry Lets You Blow This LED Out
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/04/21/analog-circuitry-lets-you-blow-this-led-out/
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It turns out that coils of 220V heater wire are also quite powerful emitters of electromagnetic waves, and that heavy-duty temperature sensors are also excellent antenna's. So today I kludged this low-pass filter on to the temperature sensor input to get rid of the unwanted signals and now it seems to work fine..
#Thermocouple #AnalogElectronics #OtherSemiconductors #79 #SystemsThatMatter
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It turns out that coils of 220V heater wire are also quite powerful emitters of electromagnetic waves, and that heavy-duty temperature sensors are also excellent antenna's. So today I kludged this low-pass filter on to the temperature sensor input to get rid of the unwanted signals and now it seems to work fine..
#Thermocouple #AnalogElectronics #OtherSemiconductors #79 #SystemsThatMatter
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It turns out that coils of 220V heater wire are also quite powerful emitters of electromagnetic waves, and that heavy-duty temperature sensors are also excellent antenna's. So today I kludged this low-pass filter on to the temperature sensor input to get rid of the unwanted signals and now it seems to work fine..
#Thermocouple #AnalogElectronics #OtherSemiconductors #79 #SystemsThatMatter
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It turns out that coils of 220V heater wire are also quite powerful emitters of electromagnetic waves, and that heavy-duty temperature sensors are also excellent antenna's. So today I kludged this low-pass filter on to the temperature sensor input to get rid of the unwanted signals and now it seems to work fine..
#Thermocouple #AnalogElectronics #OtherSemiconductors #79 #SystemsThatMatter
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I am not buying oscilloscopes anymore but my only portable (luggable) scope recently died, so I got something a lot smaller but still vintage: this cute Sony/Tektronix 335, from 1976 I believe.
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I am not buying oscilloscopes anymore but my only portable (luggable) scope recently died, so I got something a lot smaller but still vintage: this cute Sony/Tektronix 335, from 1976 I believe.
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I am not buying oscilloscopes anymore but my only portable (luggable) scope recently died, so I got something a lot smaller but still vintage: this cute Sony/Tektronix 335, from 1976 I believe.
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"Rat's nest" or "Manhattan Style" prototyping (or however one would like to call this particular hybrid variant) is fun to do and has some sculptural charm. Tomorrow we'll see if this actually does what it should do.
#79 #ManhattanStyle #prototyping #analogElectronics #SystemsThatMatter