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Selected Topics in Nuclear Electronics

Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2020 3:08 pm
by Cai Arcos
Similarly to my previous post, this is a small book that describes the theory of pre amps, SCAs, MCAs, etc... in great detail (it was supposed to be used in the training of technicians working with nuclear instrumentation) created by the IAEA. While it contains some practical details, in is much more theoretical in nature than the previously posted lab manual.
Enjoy!

https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publicati ... 63_web.pdf

Re: Selected Topics in Nuclear Electronics

Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 1:42 am
by John Futter
Cai
what a blast from the past.
All of the theory in there I was taught in my analog electronics class in the mid 70's had not remember most of it until seeing that, I still understand it all!!!
now of course there are monolithic solutions to most of the circuit blocks.
I cut my teeth repairing nuclear instrumentation in the mid seventies all I had was three tools a tek 465 scope an AVO8 analog multimeter and a keithley 168 multimeter.
first fix the ORTEC 8192 channel MCA, these have a 200MHz internal clock on the MECL logic, luckily the 465 scope will trigger reliably up to about 400 MHz with the amplitude info tapering off.
but all of the input circuitry was as in your found article.

Re: Selected Topics in Nuclear Electronics

Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:54 am
by Cai Arcos
I feel that the concepts I have to physically get working always stucks with me (while the things that I'm supposed to memorize at class don't really!).
It really was a different a time. I think now repairing the various modules like you did back in the 70s would be unthinkable in most cases, due to, as you mention, most of them being now "black boxes" of various kinds.

Re: Selected Topics in Nuclear Electronics

Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2020 12:26 am
by Richard Hull
Yes everything is cpu or microcontroller driven. These are programmed. I repaired a NIM Ortec digital scaler about 10 years back. It had a blown 40 pin 70's 8000 series microcontroller "burned in program". Fortunately they were still available then. I don't know about today.

An Arduino in the hands of an adroit programmer and hands-on electronics guy could make all the NIM bins needed from scratch. Sadly he is the only one on earth who could make it go again if the Arduino was dead. Just like the Ortec 8000 MCU, once out of stock or with the last unburned 8000 to be made and sold, the end it fixed for that NIM module.

The hands on electronic repair imperative, just like the old "shade-tree" do-it-yourself auto mechanic, is going the way of the doe-doe bird. Can't fix it? Buy a new one or roll your own.

I still drive 2 1980's carbureted cars with no computer electronics. I can fix 'em myself, on the cheap.

Richard Hull