I've never, ever, seen such high level nerdery put up to such good use. Keep it up nerds, I love you.

A sealed box from 1969 and it can hit 500.00042 khz without external locking. I'd say that's pretty good and a testament to the design engineers and the people who put it together.

@CuriousMarc

Жыл бұрын

I’d say the same, we were quite happily surprised!

@keresztesbotond740

Жыл бұрын

Not to mention, this is "just" the backup :D

Apollo never gets old!

@greliusz

Жыл бұрын

true, even when I sleep I dream Apollo :D

@gusbert

Жыл бұрын

@@greliusz I have been an Engineer all my working life, and I would have given anything to have worked on the Apollo program. One of the greatest docu-dramas ever made is the TV series "From the Earth to the Moon", always brings a tear to my eye. When I was 9 I remember my father dragging me out of bed at about 4am in the morning to watch Neil step onto the moon's surface.

@KeritechElectronics

Жыл бұрын

Ha! I hope Artemis won't either.

@aaronbrandenburg2441

Жыл бұрын

Neither gets old nor gets boring I'd say that more than just never gets old I think it covers the gamut better

in each chapter, more amazed at the electronic engineering used in those modules. you are like archaeologists discovering those secrets. THANK YOU

@964cuplove

Жыл бұрын

My thoughts exactly, archeological undertakings of the electronic kind

Marc and friends, thank you for this fascinating look into historical hardware! Your video's are so well made and don't dumb down anything. Thank you for respecting your audience and not giving in to the standard annoying youtube practice of reminding to like and subscribe!

@sn1000k

Жыл бұрын

The doodelydoo speaks for itself

@kurtnowak8895

Жыл бұрын

I’ve always maintained that a real KZread channel will not need any reminder to L&S. Marc is certainly the best example of this.

@rimple1158

Жыл бұрын

Ññnñnñnñññnñnnnnnnnñnñnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnñnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnñnnnnnnnnnñnnnñnnnñnnnnnññnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnñnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnñnnnnnnnnnnñnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnñnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnñnñnnnnnnnññññññnññññnnnnñnñnñnñnnñnñnnñnnnñnnññnñññññnññññnnññnñnññññnķķlñññnnñnnññññnññnnñnnnñññññnñ n.nnmnñ

I send Apollo deniers to this channel! Some old timers had difficulty wrapping their heads around IC's and multi via boards from this period, when discrete consumer electronics were so large / bulky Keep up the good work, been following this channel since your droid!

Eric's magic finger strikes again! This time outputting binary

@TechGorilla1987

Жыл бұрын

I remember that episode.

@CuriousMarc

Жыл бұрын

Magic finger in this episode: kzread.info/dash/bejne/qaeA0sdtnK_OktI.html !

@soulrobotics

Жыл бұрын

ha ha ha

I can remember my family huddling around a small black and white TV to watch everything and anything about the Apollo missions, especially Apollo 13. We we all so glad to see them make it back home. Thank you all for bringing all this stuff back to life. You guys are all amazing. Such brilliant minds all coming together.

@CuriousMarc

Жыл бұрын

I was all of 6 years old, but I still vividly remember overhearing it on the radio news and asking my parents if the astronauts were going to be OK.

The ETU is welded closed to ensure 100 percent reliability. If the magic smoke can't get out, the unit won't stop working.🤣🤣🤣

In 1976, I worked in the factory of a Skokie, Illinois manufacturing company. My boss was a great guy who was once an executive at General Time Company in Elgin, Illinois. He told me the story of how his company sought the contract to build the Apollo central timing unit, and was so proud of their part in the Apollo project. General Time built some prototype clocks using the very best parts and techniques available at the time, building them to exacting NASA standards. My boss traveled from Chicago to Houston with two copies of the prototype in a briefcase sitting next to him in an adjacent seat on his flight. He delivered the items to NASA and General Time won the contract. He told me there was a switch on the Saturn rocket that activated when the rocket lifted off the launch pad to start the clock. If I remember correctly, the whole vehicle had to move up a short distance to trigger the switch.

@CuriousMarc

Жыл бұрын

Yes, there is a lift off signal that goes to the clock. I should really wire it up. It was simply connected to the ground service equipment plug, and when that let go the contact was broken, signaling lift off.

First off, outstanding non-destructive modification of the HP counter/DVM; that is as clean as it ever gets--fantastic Marc & Crew! Next, I was really taken aback by the 'all-eggs-in-one-basket' approach for the central timing unit; but even more impressed that everything has backups in both time generation and power supplies--really impressive defensive human-rated design work! Every time I look at NASA design documents I REALLy get and education---what smart people! Finally thanks for working on these NASA space projects; I hope you are able to find more in the future!

oooh I love the counter modification! It's so clean and simple and totally shows off an almost natural understanding of the inner workings of things. It's beautiful!

@clytle374

Жыл бұрын

I was wonder why a toggle switch wasn't added to revert to normal function. None the less they didn't maim a nice piece of vintage test gear.

How many devices are we away from launching an Apollo rocket? 😁The collection is growing and growing, very nice, love every bit of it. 👍

@jagmarc

Жыл бұрын

that'll be the Saturn 5 rocket, it's assembly hall and launchpad, maybe one day might find one at the back of a container somewhere

I know it wasn't absolutely necessary, but it was certainly appropriate to get the HP Nixie tube counters doing some real work (keeping mission time of course). Kudos once again, and much respect for making that mod to the HP counter reversible. No detail spared, EVAR!

"And the award for coolest clock EVER goes to:"

@KeritechElectronics

Жыл бұрын

Now wait till Techmoan does a video on it :)

@jurjenbos228

Жыл бұрын

You of course can make it even cooler to feed the Apollo unit with the HP cesium time base, of course.

I wish I had the time and ability to work on stuff like this. It's so fascinating to learn about the early days of ICs and how it was used by Apollo. Having a full scale modular replica of the insides of the CM & LM panels that you could actually operate would be a dream, but I would settle for a digitally simulated version.

THIS IS REALLY "hANDS-oN" ENGINEERING,SOMETHING THATS NOT TAUGHT ANYMORE!Well done!

The joy in his face 😍

That's how you engineer for reliability! Lovely tech, as always on your channel. Apollo time in the Artemis age... Loveliness increases, it will never pass into nothingness. IC substitution is a cool hack. So, mission time clock is green and go for launch :). As always, waiting for the next one!

Truly inspiring videos, cant get enough of watching you and the team troubleshoot and come out successful please keep the videos coming can’t wait for the next!

Another fascinating piece of the puzzle. With all the bits of the Apollo program you guys have now I am just waiting for you to announce a launch date 🚀

@ReneSchickbauer

Жыл бұрын

At this rate, CuriosMarc will reach the moon before SLS. Probably landing next to Apollo 15 to restore one of the original moon rovers 😃

Great solution for the aerospace connectors! Those connectors (even the rectangular ones) *are* available, they're just expensive. For an indoor application, your adapter is perfectly adequate. Cheers!

@CuriousMarc

Жыл бұрын

Tyco will be happy to make a new one for us for just $50,000 and 6 month lead time! We said no, Samtec is going to help us out…

Marc, your videos, all of them, inspired me to unearth my vintage (1991) Laser Precision Corp. TD-2000 OTDR. I know you'll know what it is. It took forever even to stop it tripping the earth leakage trips, blowing fuses, and then all the other niggles you get with a vintage 8088 machine that was used as test equipment. It works beautifully now, but throughout the whole process, in the back of my mind, I was doing a commentary in your style. My name is also Marc.

I am fascinated by the technology of the Apollo project. Congratulations on the excellent work you are doing.

It makes sense, considering the number of places timing signals went, that "the clock has started" (or similar wording) was important enough to call out at liftoff.

@CuriousMarc

Жыл бұрын

In Fran’s Blanche superb “Apollo 11 launch in real time” with combined voice loops, you can hear the “roger clock” being called out at lift off by the launch engineers.

My Grandpa worked at general time during this project, though he was in a different department, working as lead engineer on what would be the first LED clocks for westclox. He always claimed that he knew a guy that worked on this. That was a genius mod to the nixie counter!

These spacecraft sure seemed to have a lot of extra mass in the cases of the various boxes. I guess the Saturn had enough poop to lift it all. With every advance in this project, I become more gobsmacked with the brilliant persistence involved in the sleuthing.

@CuriousMarc

Жыл бұрын

Actually the cases are incredibly light, in magnesium. The case feels like it weighs nothing. However the boxes feel incredibly heavy for their size, it’s just the weight of the 1960s electronics inside!

Always like your videos! And to see old HP and keysight hardware at work is also a great enjoyment to me because at my job we work with new keysight equipment, and to see the evolution of this is great.

That was GREAT Modification !!!! I love this channel !!!!

Hi Marc It's my very first own comment on your channel and one of my very few here on youtube. I really love all your content here and as a HAM radio operator from switzerland I love it twice! I hope to hear you maybe one time on one of the HAM bands or in person! Kind regards Simon

@CuriousMarc

Жыл бұрын

Hurray for Switzerland, the country of my grandfather, and thanks so much for dropping a word of encouragement!

Excellent work! And those xray guys are doing some really smart advertising for their lumafield / CT scan service.

You and Eric make such a great team, I'm so glad y'all have been able to collaborate on all this amazing stuff! 10/10

That thing you called a solder mask is a stencil. Solder mask is a layer on the PCB itself.

@CuriousMarc

Жыл бұрын

You are absolutely right. Stencil it is.

10:01 love the high precision, low emissions foot stabilizers. Mint. :))

@ydonl

Жыл бұрын

Vintage, it looks like!

Interesting to see "crystal oscillators" at that time. It took some time for them to be finally added to the small confines of a wrist watch.

That was a really nice hack with that HP instrument

More Apollo love from the guys! It is a good time to be an Apollo geek.

It would be interesting to see the specification documents that were sent to the manufacturers to describe all these boxes.

@kurtnowak8895

Жыл бұрын

I was thinking about this too

Wow, using a hotplate looked way more effective than a hot air gun! So many people accidentally blow the chip around or apply the heat unevenly. Just plopping it on a hotplate seems pretty foolproof!

Really creative solution for the clock display.

Happiness while having Covid is being up for a couple of hours to discover a New CuriousMarc video!

@CuriousMarc

Жыл бұрын

Sorry to hear! Get better soon!

Apropos absolutely nothing, I used my Big Ben alarm clock in the late 50's, along with a mousetrap, non-safety wooden match, sandpaper, custom bracket, and small unsafe but sane bit of 4th of July tomfoolery, to make what might be called a timed noise-making device employed outside my sister's window. I don't recall how successful this all was, but it was great fun to construct. The important aspect of the Big Ben was that the clockspring winder on its rear unwound rapidly when the alarm sounded.

thumb up at the beginning of watching like always - strong follower ❤

I was so much expecting this chapter !!!! You are legend !

Completely in awe.

You guys are getting really good!

amazing tech....tks for post Dinos

Now, for extra credit; Design and construct modern replacements for each of the spacecraft modules using currently available production parts. Special exemption will be allowed for incredibly specialized components which may not be currently available due to lack of demand. Additional points given for creative use of modern components to replicate functions of unavailable parts. The design brief is to create modules which are smaller, lighter and equally capable while meeting equivalent reliability and fault tolerance of the originals. New modules must retain interoperability with original units. Sorry. I couldn't help it. I can just imagine how hard a task like this would be to try and attempt. Your work is amazing, and it is so good to know that this knowlege is still out there.

@stargazer7644

Жыл бұрын

You wouldn't do it that way. All the digital stuff for the entire spacecraft could be done in a single FPGA chip.

@RomstarOrion

Жыл бұрын

@@stargazer7644 I am aware of how you would do it if you were building a NEW space craft. What I would get a huge amount of enjoyment out of is seeing how we could replicate the old stuff with new components. As to the single FPGA, that is a recipe for a complete disaster. If the chip fails in any way, you are sort of screwed. Vibration, temperature, humidity, radiation and just plain unknowns mean you have no choice but to double or even triple up just to be sure it stays working. Additionally I am not talking about a circuit duplication. I am looking for a FUNCTIONAL duplication. So which parts you use and how you use them is irrelevant. So long as it does the same job with equal or better reliability. Overall it is a design exercise with a set of known parameters.

@stargazer7644

Жыл бұрын

@@RomstarOrion There is absolutely no point in replicating each module independently like that. And FFS man, they had TENS OF THOUSANDS of components in those CM modules with a MUCH higher failure probability than a single FPGA. Replacing them with one component makes things MORE reliable, not less. Simply have a redundant pair of them. How many of those MUCH more complex systems had triple redundancy? It seems like you're just arguing to argue.

@RomstarOrion

Жыл бұрын

@@stargazer7644 Actually, I had every intention of suggesting that you were arguing for arguments sake. I think you missed the entire point. It wasn't about creating it to use it for anything. It was to see how we could go about doing it for comparison sake. It was an idea to do for FUN. Yes, fun. What practical use could there possibly be in recreating these other than to see how we would do it. The entire 1960s space program pioneered new technology, the benefits of which we are still seeing. That is part of the reason why these things were built the way they were. Today, it could be possible to build almost all of it out of off the shelf parts and still have it come up more reliable, smaller and cheaper.

@stargazer7644

Жыл бұрын

@@RomstarOrion "Today, it could be possible to build almost all of it out of off the shelf parts and still have it come up more reliable, smaller and cheaper." Yes, in fact you could do almost all of the digital part it in a single chip, as I said. Sigh.

Mike mentions Y2K. I remember living in fear on Jan 1st 2000, until some very minor piece of software failed and needed an update. For some reason having had a problem, I felt massive relief. I had experienced my Y2K bug and all would be well from that moment, which it was. I guess I needed something to go wrong just to release the stress and feel better rather than waiting with ever shortening nails.

В моем 📺 установлена та же российская технология... и она до сих пор отлично работает!

just amazing - as ever.

Hello Marc and the Apollos, First of all, thank you for your inspiring videos. Despite your tremendous knowledge you never let us people feel dumb. Instead you inspire us to keep on to be curious and explore! One question: Since the successor of Saturn V didn't made it today I watched again the Apollo XI movie from Todd Douglas Miller. If you watch or even simulate the landing of Eagle from minute 0:47:37, can you confirm that altitude and fuel levels are realistic or somehow dramatized? Thank you very much! I am keeping fingers crossed for Starship. Hope that you folks get old enough to re-engineer the modules of Starship and I am looking forward to watch it here😄🤞

pretty amazing!

you guys are MAD! In 20yrs you will be ready to launch again!!!

Nice Progress another plus for the team.

Every time I watch one of these videos I feel dumber. These guys are just phenomenal.

Amazing technology, amazing reverse engineering. So inspiring ! :)

Getting closer to launch! 🚀

@fgaviator

Жыл бұрын

Exactly. I was wondering if there was already a rough schedule for the launch date. Seems most Apollo components are already revived and working...

19:50 I'm sure this unit in the making is generic kit. I saw one shown on the opening titles of the 60s film Ice Station Zebra (Rock Hudson) @ 1:30 in

It looked like the logic signals coming out had an amplitude of 6V, yet you were (presumably) using TTL parts to decode it, and later the 74HVC04, which take a maximum of 5V in... Did you do some level shifting somewhere? Also, do you know what kind of logic was in the box? DTL or RTL...? Very interesting stuff, can't wait to see more!

Nice work as always

Amazingly Nutz! In a good way…😀 Love your work….👍

14:30 Using a Mastercard Gold would give you much better results!

That would make a Niiicccce alarm clock! ⏰ wow can you imagine bedside Apollo artifact💗

20:44 - Yes, try it again, this time with feeling... but if you don't get it working, Dr. Klahn will send you TO DETROIT. We are building a fighting force of extraordinary magnitude... we forge our spirit in the tradition of our ancestors.

When are you going to build the capsule itself ? 😁 It is mountblowing how you are able to find that stuff. It is not that they made 1000's .

Marc, has there been any attempt made to database and contact every person still living associated with engineering and design of Apollo's systems?

All AGC chapters and others should be considered historical documents. It would be great to bring together the designers who are still alive to pay tribute to them, for having created this thing that still works today and inspires hundreds of nerds, sorry, ... I wanted to say "interesting" persons, ...

Nixie niceness. 👍

CuriousMarc and Ben Eater on the same day! I’m buying a lottery ticket.

A lot of military/space grade equipment schematics were silkscreened on fabric included inside the units. Was there something similar in this device?

Nice job!

It would add to the readability if you could put decimal points between DAYS, HOURS etc. Not sure if it's got that many decimal points though...

2:27 whoaaa

Nixies never get old either!

@ydonl

Жыл бұрын

Especially old nixies don't get old!

@EdwinSteiner

Жыл бұрын

If you love Nixies, I hope you know Dalibor Farny's channel: www.youtube.com/@daliborfarny

Well done 👍

Ooo... more clocks.

Очень интересно 🎉

Not an Apollo CTE. It’s a Discovery alpha echo-35 unit.

Very cool!! I have an hp nixi volt meter of the same form factor, possibly the same nixie board you have there. You are giving me ideas for future data display needs, THANKS!!! Right now it's an HP high res volt meter with a blown high pressure mercury-reed relay that exploded on me! I don't like those relays. I won't gut the volt meter section, it's a work of art. But I'm not going to replace the relay until I know why the last one exploded with minimal provocation. It shot glass against the wall behind me (and it's small amount of mercury). I just barely bent the wire running into the "containment" housing and BANG!

@wdavem

Жыл бұрын

I'll just use the native input though!

Wohhhoooo 🥳🥳🥳

Is the rectangular connector a en4644 or the slightly thinner shelled version (which has an en number which escapes me)

amazing😃😃😃

Is there a reference to which Deutsch company made the multi coax connectors? Deutsch is German for German, so that may only be a small part of the information to say who made the connectors.

@CuriousMarc

5 ай бұрын

Deutsch connector is very well-known. They are part of TE now. They'll happily remake the exact same connectors if you give them $50,000!

What was the trigger for the MET to start? Was it the end of the countdown? The vehicle clearing the tower? Or something else?

@624Dudley

Жыл бұрын

I wonder that also 🤔

@nicksantos43

Жыл бұрын

Did a little research and it seems the clock starts at liftoff but haven't been able to find how liftoff is determined. I.e upward vehicle motion, umbilical disconnect, etc..

@stargazer7644

Жыл бұрын

Liftoff was an external input to the AGC and was checked every half second. Several functions were triggered at liftoff, including resetting the mission clock, switching the CM and Saturn V IU from a rotating to non-rotating reference mode, starting the earth orbit insertion program, etc. This signal is generated by the IU umbilical disconnect.

@nicksantos43

Жыл бұрын

@@stargazer7644 I expected something along these lines... thanks for the info!

So. A big question. How much in your collection is missing to rebuild all the avionics of the apollo capsule?

@KallePihlajasaari

Жыл бұрын

Check the layout picture at 0:20 and count the uncoloured boxes. Then add any other gear that is deeper in the command module and everything in the service module and what additional controllers were used on the lower stages for guidance during launch.

This is getting interesting!!! This channel know has an Apollo and Soyuz series at the same time. Cold war race to the moon again?😁

(@21:16) Now, modify it to show the correct stardate; this way, the Captain’s log will be correct. 😌

Emulate all on a Raspberry PI 😃

At 20:43 they turn on the clock and it starts counting from 1 instead of 0. I'm not sure if that's important or not. But I wanted to point it out.

@CuriousMarc

Жыл бұрын

It's because I am not powering it up as I should. In the real spacecraft there is a "lift off" signal that I have not wired, which holds the clock at reset until lift off. Then it starts from 0.

@dodaexploda

Жыл бұрын

@@CuriousMarc I wondered about that. They would probably syncronize the clocks before launch at some point at T minus whatever. Any idea how they would synchronize that? Would that be ground equipment? Or just pressing a button over the radio when someone says so?

@stargazer7644

Жыл бұрын

@@dodaexploda The liftoff signal comes from the Saturn V IU umbilical disconnecting. The clock does not count down. It just starts counting up at launch.

@dodaexploda

Жыл бұрын

@@stargazer7644 fascinating. So there is no clock in the command module that's counting down to the launch? Or at least this one isn't?

@stargazer7644

Жыл бұрын

@@dodaexploda The mission timer definitely isn't, it only counts up. The event timer can count down, but any time there's a hold it would keep counting down. The astronauts were busy during much of the count so they knew where they were in the count based on which procedures they were asked to do. For the final 10 seconds, the count was given on the air-to-ground so the astronauts would hear it. The ground based Terminal Countdown Sequencer handled the last 187 seconds of the liftoff automatically.

Liftoff! The clock is ticking!

Is the CTE filled with anything? awfully high density with no air movement for cooling

@stargazer7644

Жыл бұрын

That's what the heat transfer plate is for. You can't rely on air for cooling. Remember, this stuff has to keep working even when the Apollo interior is in vacuum - during EVA or in the event of a cabin depress for example.

00:50. Well HAL, I'm damned if I can find anything wrong with it.

Nice

What makes a PCB cute?

9:10 no magic smoke?

Another interesting video. Too bad my life is so busy I don't have time to watch all your stuff, I have projects of my own to work on. Would be an honor to meet, or even work with, you all. All very sharp and skilled people, looking forward to the next video. So when are you planning to recommission a Saturn V? lol

Slightly more ridiculous, but you could have used a CPLD or FPGA to switch between native HP mode and BCD input mode.

@stargazer7644

Жыл бұрын

Sure, but quite a bit of overkill. All they need is a couple of bus switches.

wow nice video. In some ways it is almost like people never went to the moon as this lost information has to be reinvented to get back to square one. 😎 Thanks.

@16:56 - That solder is out of warranty. I wonder how that affects your circuit. 😆