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  #1  
Old 11-04-2010, 09:02 PM
badguise badguise is offline
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Questions about a Leader LCG-388 Color Bar Pattern Generator

Hello all,

A friend of mine passed along an interesting piece of equipment to me the other day and I'm trying to get some use out of it. Unfortunately all the connections and cables are pretty foreign to me at the moment. All I know about it right now is that it looks pretty awesome. I'd love it if I could get some feedback on this thing.

Just to let everyone know - I don't have much experience with analog video equipment. I have a basic understanding of electronics and video gear, but it's limited to cameras, monitors, computers etc. I've been trying to experiment with new media for artistic purposes, in hopes of making some experimental films.

Anyway, here goes..



This is it. I'm not sure what the inputs on the right accept. Banana plugs maybe? Not sure what the Gun Killer does either, but I imagine it has to do with the RGB alligator clips (pictured below). I'd like to send these patterns to a monitor of mine via BNC. I've been able to get a signal from it by using the shoddy cables that came with it; more on that in a bit..
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Here's the back. The picture might not do it justice, but there's a switch in the middle. Channel 5 or Channel 6. I have no idea what to stick in the input on the right. Maybe more banana plugs?
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These are the cables it came with.

#1. A busted BNC adapter of some kind. It's soldered to a cable that connects it to #2.

#2. Tetanus covered cable. Connected to #1.

#3. Alligator clips. Red, green, blue and black. Not really sure what to attach them to.

I hooked the BNC to the back of my monitor, and held #2 to the 'Video Out' and what I think is the ground on the right side of front of the box. I was able to get something to display on the monitor, and it changed as I turned to knobs, but it was seriously distorted. I imagine the cables are bad, I just don't know what to replace them with.

I'm still not sure how to use those alligator clips.



Any advice would be amazing. I also have an old Vectorscope/Oscilloscope that I'll be posting about soon. Very exciting.

Thanks!

Last edited by badguise; 11-04-2010 at 09:54 PM.
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  #2  
Old 11-04-2010, 09:39 PM
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RitchieMars RitchieMars is offline
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While I know I can't be of much help with your signal generator, I thought it might help to let you know that there's still some issues with your photos. The first comes up as "Not Found" and the other two are there but are HUGE and are loading really slow, even with my hi-speed connection.

I usually use http://imageshack.us/ to upload photos, and I copy/paste the link here with [ IMG ] before and [ /IMG ] after the URL. ( without the spaces, of course ) The "insert image" button in the advanced menu here on VK will do it for you automatically, and you can paste the link into the box that comes up, without typing the IMG stuff. Imageshack has a resize thingie you can use as soon as you've uploaded the file. The size for message boards, or the 15'' one should work fine.
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Old 11-04-2010, 09:52 PM
badguise badguise is offline
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oops.

I had a feeling the size might be a problem. I updated the post - works fine now.

Thanks for the heads up.
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Old 11-04-2010, 10:44 PM
ctc17 ctc17 is offline
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If you working on vintage tvs your going to mostly use the rf output set to channel 5 or 6 with the leads in img 1 connected to the sets antenna connector. Those yellow antenna clips are real handy.
The grid patterns are used for color convergence and checking the linearity of the picture. The color bars are used to check the tvs color operation and some alignments of the color circuits.
Thats an older unit but Leader made top notch equipment.
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Old 11-04-2010, 10:53 PM
ctc17 ctc17 is offline
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to give you a rough idea here is a before and after shot of a zenith tube console tv that had a bad resistor in the vertical circuit. It really helps to have a generator and its mandatory for convergence


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Old 11-05-2010, 12:02 AM
badguise badguise is offline
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Thanks a lot for the input. When I hooked up #2 to the back of the pattern generator and #1 into the monitor I couldn't produce any kind of image on channel 5 or 6 (sorry about all the #1 #2 #3 stuff, I'm a novice). I've been able to get some distorted images popping up on the screen when cable #1 (BNC) is hooked up to the monitor and #2 is jammed in the 'Video Out' on the front of the device. Unfortunately, the BNC adapter is so busted that I have to hold it in place to get any kind of connection, and #2 doesn't really fit in that 'Video Out' hole. What should I get to replace #2? I was thinking a banana plug might fit.

Again, I don't know much about this kind of equipment. I'm just looking to experiment and make some interesting images.

Jack
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Old 11-05-2010, 12:22 AM
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bandersen bandersen is offline
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Nice piece of equipment. I have an LCG-400 and it's fantastic for adjusting TV sets.
Have you tried hooking it up to the antenna (RF) input of a TV ? I'm not sure what you mean by "monitor".
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  #8  
Old 11-05-2010, 02:43 AM
badguise badguise is offline
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Yep, that's what I've been doing. It only produces an image when I go to the monitor from the Video Out in the front. I can't get a picture by running out from the back. By monitor I'm referring to a CRT Color Monitor (one used primarily for professional video editing (Ikegami TM14-17R)). The signal I'm getting is extremely distorted, and I can only assume it's because the cables are so bad. The monitor has BNC inputs for a two channels, and separate RGB, YPbPr ins. As you can see from the picture of the cables (#1) the adapter is just a single prong with nothing to keep it in place, so I pretty much have to hold it there in order to see anything. It displays the patterns but again, they're very distorted (I think it looks pretty awesome actually).

I guess what I'm really trying to figure out here is what kind of cables to use for the front and back. Banana plugs don't fit. I think a pin tip plug might work in the front, but I'm not sure. As for the back I have no idea. I also don't know how to incorporate those alligator clips. What should they attach to?

Thanks for responding so quickly guys.
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