The Ware for February 2023 is shown below.
Just a small portion of the ware is shown here to make things a bit more challenging. If after a week it turns out to be too hard to guess based on the subtle details included in this image, I’ll add another image to this post with a bit more context.
My bet’s on it being some kind of Pioneer audio equipment, such as a DJ system. I found some PCBs in the RRV4592 service manual marked “T/U” and “VI” in a box, but it doesn’t match this PCB.
Agreed. That’s what I’m finding as well. I was searching for some of the PCB naming conventions that are non-standard and they point solidly at Pioneer audio equipment. I know the giveaway has to be the mechanical bit in the middle. What we see is an axle in a bushing with a grounding clip around it held in place by screw labeled ’22’. Whatever is connected to that axle has to be pretty low speed given how thick that grease is, so it’s not likely to be the spindle of a CD or LP drive–it’s way too much drag for a CD and way too weak for an LP. It’s very likely a knob or control input of some kind. That fits with your DJ theory as well as it could be a jog control.
It has to be a reasonably modern system as we see a 3.3V power rail. It’s likely to be for a device that’s not exactly cutting edge based on the parts we see–those SMD parts are pretty big and there’s a low level of integration. There just isn’t all that much on this board.
So the one NTW that I solved a long time ago had reference designators like the ones on this board. A letter with 4 digit numbers, if I remember right. I was able to match the board to a manual just by doing a search of several of the designators. But when I tried that this time the only thing I got a hit on with the ones I tried was an old CRT TV service manual.
So my next strategy was to cheat. :) Bunnie says he may post another image later. I figure he may have already taken that pic and even put it on the server in case he decides to post it. The filename of the image is “ntw_feb_2023_a.jpg” so I figure the next picture would be “ntw_feb_2023_b.jpg.” I change that in the URL and I just get a 404. :)
So then I wonder if he has directory listings enabled. Nobody does that anymore, right? But I’ll try just “https://bunniefoo.com/ntw/” and see what happens.
I get a page with nothing but “hmm…”
Nice.
I agree Pioneer, and that bearing thing is clearly the bottom end of a DJ controller. Some googling gave me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmtHCcMo3qA, so Imagonnasay Pioneer DDJ-400.
Great!
Yo’ve nailed it.
https://cdn.hackaday.io/images/9386581641117960518.jpg
“If after a week it turns out to be too hard to guess based on the subtle details included in this image, I’ll add another image to this post with a bit more context.”
Have you every actually had to go through with adding hints? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these make it a week.
I think I reembmer once about a year ago, but it’s not been common recently. We’ve had some great early responders for a while now! As much as I’d like to ‘win’ again, I much prefer seeing all the participation.
Ones involving die shots of chips tend to go very long, or they get very ambiguously answered so it’s hard to judge a winner. And sometimes an early guess sends the comment thread off into the weeds and it takes a couple weeks before someone ignores all of that and comes at it with fresh eyes.
In general, I err on the side of the ware being too easily guessed, than being totally unguessable tho: for every guess in the comment thread, perhaps 100x more eyes had seen it, but had no comment. Since the competition is more about outreach than climbing the summit of Mt. Challenge, I generally err on the side of accessible, but interesting either for historical or technical reasons. Or sometimes I just share a guest ware because the photography or design is just too stunning to pass up!