Daniel Ross' Tachyscope CRT Upcycles an Old Mini CRT and a Dinner Plate Into a "3D-ish" Oscilloscope
Turning a camcorder's viewfinder into a clever POV display for audio visualization, this upcycled creation really spins the tunes.
Maker and vintage technology enthusiast Daniel Ross has taken the cathode-ray tube (CRT) display from an old camcorder and turned it into a persistence-of-vision (POV) "3D-ish" display for an audio oscilloscope: the Tachyscope CRT.
"Ever wondered what happens when you 'spin' a CRT to try and create a 360° image? Well it works… kind of," Ross writes of his creation. "In real life the 360° view works great, the camera pics or video chops up the result whenever I try and video or take photos. What you end up with is an audio wave form all around the circumference of the dinner plate."
The Tachyscope CRT is an amalgamation of upcycled parts salvaged from other devices — mounted on a literal dinner plate. The display is a compact CRT from a damaged camcorder, originally used as the viewfinder. This tiny tube, measuring just 1", is then stripped down to just its vertical coil and linked to a baby monitor for wireless audio reception — the output of which is also routed to a speaker, to provide both audible and visible feedback.
As audio is played, the entire assembly spins in a circle — the CRT drawing a live oscilloscope-like graph of the audio as it whizzes around. The result is live audio visualization with what Ross calls a "3D-ish" "holographic" effect.
"Version 1.0, I had used 4× AAA batteries for powering the rig," Ross notes of the Tachyscope's evolution. "Version 2.0, I used an air core transformer (wireless power) [and] added a small DC motor with speed control for rotation of the rig."
More information on the project is available on Ross' Hackaday.io page, while a guide for constructing your own can be found on Instructables.