Below is the output of a new test-fire of the PCB radiography system, this time using FujiFilm “Super HR-T Medium Speed” (25×20 cm) film in place of the earlier self-developing dental Eco-30. However, the time has not yet come to molest the MacIvory — first, we must characterize the film and the pertinent chemistry. This […]
I currently have three Symbolics MacIvory CPUs. (Do you, reader, have one to sell? Please leave a comment!) One is currently installed in a working machine and was not yet molested; the two remaining chips, I obtained in 2017 by bartering away a Symbolics 3620. At some point I will cut one or more of […]
This article is a continuation of “X-Ray Microscopy Kindergarten.”. Preliminary experiment with multi-energy x-ray (colour channel combination), distinguishing materials by absorption at different wavelengths. The tube appears to exhibit some “heel effect” at the longer wavelengths. Exposure: 75 sec. @ 35kV, 21kV, 20kV (R, G, B) film: “Eco-30”.
This article is a continuation of “X-Ray Microscopy Kindergarten.”. Here, we see a stereo pair (approx. +/- 25 deg. one-axis rotation of the object from the horizontal plane, while film is stationary) of the device from before. The vias are clearly distinguishable. Exposure: 70 sec. @ 34kV; 0.3mA + 2x beam spread; film: “Eco-30”.
This article is a continuation of “PCB Radiography Kindergarten, Continued.”. The radiography system is equipped with a “microfocus” tube, and its beam has a 30 degree spread cone. So we can get a look at that very same FG TRNG XC9572 CPLD seen earlier, but with 2x magnification: Click for full resolution (Warning: 7MB) This […]
This article is a continuation of “PCB Radiography Kindergarten”. This was a second test-fire of that radiography system, using yet-another board where I already know where everything is (on account of having designed it.) This time, the victim is a FG TRNG Mainboard: Click for full resolution (Warning: 16MB) For comparison, a visible-light photograph of […]
Below is the result of test-firing a newly-installed miniature PCB radiography system. The victim is a standard FG TRNG Analogue Unit: Click for full resolution (Warning: 14MB) Detail of left op amp, with bonding whiskers visible: The substrate, aluminum RF shield frame, SMT contacts, vias, and the two layers of the PCB are clearly distinguishable. […]
This article is part of a series of hands-on tutorials introducing FFA, or the Finite Field Arithmetic library. FFA differs from the typical “Open Sores” abomination, in that — rather than trusting the author blindly with their lives — prospective users are expected to read and fully understand every single line. In exactly the same […]
This article is part of a series of hands-on tutorials introducing FFA, or the Finite Field Arithmetic library. FFA differs from the typical “Open Sores” abomination, in that — rather than trusting the author blindly with their lives — prospective users are expected to read and fully understand every single line. In exactly the same […]
This post concerns the “MacIvory” Model 3 Lisp Machine. It is of interest strictly to bolixologists. This is a recipe for a working replacement of an ancient SCSI HDD, such as found in the MacIvory, with an inexpensive solid-state disk. You will need: A “SCSI2SD” device. Mine is a model 6, but older units may […]
