I mentioned previously that the Panasonic WJ 545P special effects generator does not supply the necessary power to run the WV-3250 camera through the 10 pin connector. I had, at the time, shrugged this off as the external power supply works just fine.

What I didn't factor in was the element of sync, which happens to be quite crucial for legible video. As it stands, it would appear as if the WJ 545P cannot lock to a composite video signal at the PL-259 input (my abilities as an operator may be at fault here). At any rate, having the option to power the camera at the SEG is enticing, whether or not this will sort out my sync issues remains to be seen.

I believe I've already taken pictures of drilling metal, so let's just skip to the result. +12 volts at roughly 500 mA is fed at pin 10 (pictured with the blue wire sans heat shrink), referenced at pin 9 (behind the blue wire). Naturally the surrounding pins are to be left alone.

Not a whole lot of room to work here.

Here's the result. Some liquid electrical tape that was used to insulate the ends of the disconnected wires, since I have misplaced my heat shrink. The idea was that the end result would be cleaner than electrical tape which can unfurl over time. I wouldn't call this cleaner, so I'll just comfort myself on the permanence aspect.

A bit of heat & melt due to space constraints, could have been worse.

So there you have it, DC power input for camera channel 1. Since the SEG supports only two channels simultaneously I didn't see the point in modifying more than one input, as I have multiple SEGs that will cascade into one another (forming a loop if I choose) and the power supplies I have earmarked won't support more than a single camera. I'll just allocate channel 1 as a powered input for each.

Let's take a quick peek at another vintage monster in the to-do pile.

About a month ago I ran an eBay search on Panasonic WJ 545P and got a low starting price hit, I then had a peek at the sellers other listings and saw this.

As it would turn out, no one else saw fit to have a go at anything I bid on that day.

So in my recent fit of video allocation, I have essentially ignored the protests of that part of my brain that deals with the logistics of spatial order and have migrated from a critical mass NO BUY frame of mind to a "Holy shit! Cool stuff!!" free for all buying marathon.

I do believe this (as in, the growing video pile, not just this particular device) will force my hand at culling the herd a little bit.

BNC interface, with a hinge..

Guts!

The rear access guts only go so deep. I'd love a shot of the gear reduced wipe controls, but until I actually start digging into this with repair on my mind I'm going to limit the exploration to easy access.

More guts topside. Circa 1977, this is always what I sort of expected to see when cracking open video gear, but to date the majority of circuitry I've seen has been discrete.

Power up carried both good and bad news. It powered up... Also, running the wipe varied indicator light intensity of each input block in relation to position of handle, indicating proper function of that branch.

However, the preview & program output channel selectors (lit at lower left) were unresponsive, and the program bus appears spread out across four channels. Granted, I'm only going on lamp indicators and not observed signal path.

The wide range of video signal types, available simultaneously (I'll get to that device soon enough) coupled with simple tricks such as this truly make video a fascinating format.

I have been remiss in updates, and there is oh so much to talk about, but for the moment I'm going to just fast forward over all the other stuff to yesterday.

When a yard sale just up the street sold me this 70 pound, 300 lumen CRT projector hailing from 1987. I present the Kloss VideoBeam 3000! Yes, that is a standard width doorway in the background.

29 Kv according to this fine brochure which is worth looking at for pictures alone.

Input block is impressive, and I am elated at the RGB plus sync block, as this thing (if it works) will see permanent studio installation for video manipulation (it's probably too underpowered and heavy to serve any other purpose).

Input block is built on a mother/daughter board type configuration. Everything large enough that circuitry work isn't some mind numbing prospect.

I only pulled one card, and this is what I saw..

Fixed it! Hahahaha, I had toyed with the idea of firing this thing up once the cobwebs and mouse shit were removed from the innards, but now I feel compelled to pull all boards and spot check obvious failures before doing anything rash.

Plus, the longer it's opened the less pronounced the lingering smell of cat piss will be.

PS: http://www.remove-cat-urine.com/cat-urine-article-directory.html

Greater than five weeks since I updated last, how time flies. While it would be fun to say I've been busy working stuff up under a shroud of secrecy, that simply is not the case. I won't go into details, but one facet of my last month involved a torrential downpour on a fresh coat of car paint.

etc.

Recently I've revived my interest in the video format. I think looking at the Datatek is partly to blame. That unit powers up fine, but there's a disconnect in switching so that each module is locked into bypass. I haven't dug into it further, so the list of speculated causes is still pretty long (and by no means exhaustive I'm sure).

Anyway, on to stuff that works.

The Vidicraft Detailer II. Composite video tools took a heavy value hit with S-video, and later YP_BP_R formats, and of course, have been rendered essentially obsolete with digital HD video, which is probably why I'm warming up to them now.

Nothing super fancy here, the controls are pretty well labelled, it would seem VNX is a video noise filter.

The three inputs are switch selectable, the fours sets of outputs appear to be distribution amplifier style (to be fair, I haven't tested this, only feeding one screen at a time).

In reading up on the Sandin IP plans, I was hoping to see some cool ICs in here (I hope to see some cool unobtanium ICs in every video device I look at) but honestly I'm also delighted to see discrete circuitry at work.

Audio output is clearly chained, I think the video connectors are loaded with 75 ohms but otherwise fed from the same source.

2N3904 & 2N3906!

There's less than a dollar's worth of actives in this thing, always reassuring. I also favor electronics assemblies that were manufactured within my region, echoes of a smarter time.

My paternal grandmother had an affection for rusty things.

I took a few minutes this afternoon to take a few shots of some tools, I think for the most part the pictures speak for themselves.

Lowellville offset handle. For what?

I don't know. I do know that the inscription is not reversed or otherwise altered in this shot.

Now that I think of it, I could do with some Popeye forearms.

A fixed diff won't do here.

I can see why Jack Johnson invented a better wrench, though this would double as a hammer.

Now we're talking. I have a feeling this will see continued use.

Pincer.

Early go at a locking plier (ala Vice Grips)?

I'm seeing hot metal, but I'm not liking the outcome.

Early example of a self adjusting wrench, I'm imagining chewed up nuts.

These predate stainless steel, so you can't get them wet.

Even after years of neglect, I'd be proud to use these on stuff.

Freshen your drink, gov'ner?

I stuck the 8" wrench there for scale. I think I weigh roughly 175 pounds, and I'm not heavy enough to throw those springs, so...

I'd recommend having this on hand in case you get caught. This has seen recent use, as evidenced by the buffed rust along the blade. I used it to finish out some inside angled cuts roughed in with a circular saw.

Draw knife! When a straight razor isn't "man enough".

You can keep your brass knuckles, I'll be fine, thanks. (This is sharp, the picture doesn't do it justice)

That wood crate is about to be owned.

Given the shape of the tip, I wonder about the obvious use this saw.

A little wear and tear is all.

This is actually one of my regular hammers, it was just nearby and fit the theme. That's a hide handle.

Poker.

Philips head or any of those other new fangled dee-signs can take a hike!

Handy dandy screw starter.

This was obviously a useful tool at some point, now it's just a shank.

Hand forged hoop & hook. I've a more impressive hook in the studio, but that will have to wait until the next round.