#NameThatWare

2025-11-29

Found this piece of equipment at @hacksaar and have no clue what it is. That means it gonna be a #NameThatWare challenge.

As always, hide your answer/guess behind a CW.

Circuit board with old transistors.
It sits in a metal frame.Back side of the same circuit board.
2025-11-20

I was asked to investigate an intermittent fault with this device. It makes a nice #NameThatWare challenge. Can you guess/deduct what it is?

Please use a CW for your answers. Googling is fair game. Please don't just write a single word as answer, instead describe your observations and deductions.

Backside of a circuit board.
A big MCU in the center
blue coils and yellow tantalum caps on the bottom left
A 4x DIP switch center topA green circuit board with a DE-9 connector.
It has lots of other components
2025-11-04
2025-10-30

Yet another #NameThatWare challenge. Those bodges seem to be factory, It is highly unlikely that somebody changed/repaired this thing.

Can you do a educated guess what this thing is and does? The perfect solution will have the exact product name.

Please use a CW for your answers. Googling is fair game. Please don't just write a single word as answer, instead describe your observations and deductions.

A green circuit board with bodges on top.
2025-10-08

Today at work I got this thing to investigate and repair. It makes a nice #NameThatWare challenge.
The error is that there is a constant DC offset at the output, which should not be there.

Can you do a educated guess what this thing is and does? The perfect solution will have the exact product name.

Please use a CW for your answers. Googling is fair game. Please don't just write a single word as answer, instead describe your observations and deductions.

A blue circuit board.
Lots of THT components.
2025-09-19

Another unusual/old device has found its way into my shop. Which makes it a nice #NameThatWare challenge.

Please use a CW for your answers. Googling is fair game. Please don't just write a single word as answer, instead describe your observations and deductions.

The mystery ware. The image does not show the whole device, but a particular section of its internals.
2025-07-10

This is a #NameThatWare where I don't know the answer myself.

Who knows what kind of connector this red and blue coax-connectors are?

A printed circuit board assembly.
There is a blue and a red latching circular coax connector.
2025-06-17
2025-06-17

Found a picture for another #NameThatWare challenge.
Since its quite easy for people that have opened similar devices, the first image is only a section of the full picture. The 2nd post shows more of the thing.

As always, try to explain your guesses. What is your deduction based on? Why can't it be another similar thing?
And hide those words behind a CW to not spoil it for others.

If you are familiar with this kind of device, try to figure out the specific make and model.

mystery ware.
semi-circle thing with a connection of copper-braid wire.
its black-ish on the inside and has a copper-color coating.
the number 169 is printed on the thing.
2025-05-27

It works!
Now I need to mount two of those into the case. Which still needs to be build.

This is also a #NameThatWare what is the source of those pulses?

Oscilloscope picture showing a typical waveform for this kind of device.
2025-05-25

Here is another #NameThatWare challenge.
I opened this device to learn how its working and how to connect to it.

As always, hide jour guesses and deductions behind a CW.

A circuit board
2025-04-07
2025-04-07

Here is another #NameThatWare challenge. While I know what the device does, I was not able to identify much of the components on the circuit board. Quite sure I could not solve this challenge myself.

So far I have not been able to identify
* the microcontroller
* the silver can on the top right
* any datecode

As always, please write down your deductions and guesses behind a CW to not spoil it for others.

A circuit board with through hole parts only.
Quite a few of them are labled "sony"
2025-03-13

Here is another #NameThatWare challenge. This time I don't know the correct part number myself, only the function.

Can you figure it out?
As always, try do describe your observations and deductions and hide them behind a CW.

Backside of mystery PCI card.Front of the mystery PCI card.
2025-02-26

I got another #NameThatWare for you all. This time, lets try something new.
Its quite hard to make a challenge that is both accessible and challenging at the same time. So now, I will post multiple pictures. The first in this post is the 'hard' level. If you are not an expert, look at the 2nd picture that will be behind a CW. There is also a 3rd picture for easy-mode.

As always, try to write down you observations and deductions behind a CW to not spoil it for others.

Bottom side of a PCB. Mixed THT and SMD components.

(not more description here, since people are supposed to figure stuff out themself)
2025-02-20

Here is a new #NameThatWare
It came out of old lab equipment. The thing below the smiley is broken, but I got 6 more that look fine.
Now I need to build something out of it :)

As always, hide your deductions, guesses and answers behind a CW.

L shaped circuit board. It looks old.
No solder resist, the yellowish FR4 is visible. Traces are curvey and tinned.
A edge-connector on the right, hidden mystery component on the top.
There are some DIP chips, resistors and diodes on this board.
2025-01-28

Here is another #NameThatWare challegene. Again a quite old device. Datecodes are from the early seventies.

Please also write down your observations and deductions. And hide your guesses behind a CW.

This device failed the DGUV3 test and will be disposed of.

The inside of something something electronics.
Crusty capacitors and power resistors 
A few boards on the right side with THT parts.
2024-12-18

Here is another #NameThatWare challenge. This time I am quite sure that no text or marking needs to be blurred.
Do you know what this thing is? Can you name the exact part number or product name?

As always, explain your guess/deduction and hide it behind a CW to not spoil others.

The to be guessed ware.
(Sorry to all the people with visual impairment)
2024-12-11

Todays #repair at work was soldering a 0402 capacitor on 0201 pads. With the correct tools and magnification, this was actually not that hard.

The reason I had to fix this is because I broke it^^
For debugging purposes, some wires were attached to some of those caps. When removing those again, I broke one of the caps.

This is also a #NameThatWare quiz, can you guess what kind of thing it is that got repaired?
As always, hide your answer/guess behind a CW.

Closeup picture of a PCB.
A red arrow is pointing to a component (capacitor) that is about double the size of the other similar ones.
Next to this row of capacitors is a QFN chip with 'Si5338' markings.
On the top and left border of the picture high-pin-count connectors can be seen.
2024-12-05

Here is a new #NameThatWare challenge.

Please don't just guess into the blue, try to deduct what it is, write down your observations and thoughts.
Hide your answer behind a CW to not spoil it for other participants.

Edit: more text hidden.

The yet unknown ware.
Two pieces of a black plastic case, green PCBs in both halfes, they are connected with a white ribbon cable.

The bottom PCB is dominated by a big silver/chrome box.

There are 3 AA cells that have partially leaked.

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