(updated)somehow O.T. but chances are some of you might like it...

[Luiz C. Vieira (Brazil)]

... or be inspired to try it out.

Rescuing a 7-segment display in a vintage DIY assembly. (one of my photobucket collections)

I will add the SMD resistor this weekend and add the pictures to the existing ones. BTW, I used a magnifier to check the final SMD soldering and its positioning, but I neither use it to the soldering nor to the positioning itself, just the bare eyes and a hand tweezer. I am telling this because I do not know if you think it can be done. Either I did it because I didn't know it could not be done or because I thought I could. Anyway, it can be done!

As for another note, believe me I only throw away what I conclude that has no use at all, and if I know it can be used elsewhere - or by someone else - I try to make it work somehow or try to make it get there.

The little CA3161/3162 multimeter was built in the 80's and was inside of a cardboard box. It worked at the very moment I connected it to a suitable 5Vcc power source, except for the already mentioned b-segment. Now I'll find it a suitable case and rebuilt it. I'll keep it in the same hand-made PCB's I produced at that time. Chances are I'll enhance the scales and their precision with new, 1% resistors.

Hope you like the pictures and the whole development of the idea.

(four pictures were added, after fixing the 680ohms SMD resistor)

Cheers!

Luiz (Brazil)

Edited: 15 July 2012, 1:13 a.m.

[Frank Boehm (Germany)]

I *might* have checked if this part has been avalable on ebay <g>

But nevertheless an interesting task

[Luiz C. Vieira (Brazil)]

Danke Schöen!

Matter of fact, I actually tried to find a replacement for the fried unit, but I found nothing closed to it, I guess it is because the displays are from the 80's... I found a combined 3-display pack in one single unit, commonly used in some satellite receivers, but if I used it as a replacement I'd have three displays lost instead of only one. Also, the CA3161 + CA3162 use common anode displays and the pacs I found are common cathode. I would have to add some extra transistors to make it work, though...

I must admit I took it mostly as a challenge than a task itself. And in the end, it worked alright!

Cheers!

Luiz (Brazil)