How cool is that?  +/- trend display - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2018, 10:29:22 pm
content: I have never seen this kind of display before. But then I am not a TEA, so perhaps not surprising.The subject of this rave looks like a R&S URV5 MillivoltmeterIt looks like an indicator to show whether the measured value is going up or down (or steady).One of the disadvantages to digital meters is that it is more difficult to "tune" things for min or max, etc.Or to visualize trends up or down. Things that we took for granted back in the bad old days of waving meter pointer.But this seems like a brilliant solution, and probably pretty simple to implement.Just a ring counter which you can drive in either direction depending on the delta value.It seems to provide great sensitivity without suffering from hitting the "end stop" high or low.This just seems brilliant. Why isn't it used more?https://youtu.be/BcIrhNCCQhs?t=1643Also notable in this video is the attention to detail in the DUT (a Bosch KF-166 radio)Just before the video timestamp cited is a view of the blue plastic overlay ("foil") covering the bottom of the PCB.It is transparent and features notation pointing to key test points, and little holes so you can probe then.And I love the industrial design of the Bosch KF-166 radio. It makes use of mostly SMD and is quite compact.Which seems ahead of its time in the early 1980s.

author: rhb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2018, 11:07:08 pm
content: Bar graph displays are pretty common, but not common enough. But to be generally useful you have to be able adjust a low pass filter. Physics takes care of the problem on an analog meter.

author: schmitt trigger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 02:16:51 am
content: Indeed very clever readout.I remember when Fluke started implementing bar graphs in their DMMs, they would advertise that feature as the “last nail” of an analog meter’s coffin.Meaning that the AMMs last outstanding feature, the ease of nulling or peaking, had been successfully emulated.But I found (and it may be only me) that nulling with an LCD bargraph did not feel quite right.But the readout that this meter has, will provide the necessary visual clues to be quite effective.

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 02:20:46 am
content: been building them into most of my character display projects, as its easy enough to use custom symbols, and update rates way faster than your eyes are possible.

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 02:23:21 am
content: For "tuning" functions, this has it all over a bar graph.This is orders of magnitude more sensitive than even the biggest bar graph. and better, even than an analog meter.And completely without the limitations of running off the end especially if you use auto-range.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 02:33:23 am
content: It reminds me a lot of the variometers you find in aircraft which indicate the rate of ascent and descent.

author: schmitt trigger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 02:42:48 am
content: And the best thing is, it’s hardware or software implementation may be quite straightforward

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2018, 05:46:47 pm
content: Clever but I would rather have a linear display.