Oscillating

The HP 197A Oscilloscope camera with a Polaroid pack film back in a display case at HP headquarters in Palo Alto, CA

In preparation for an important meeting I found myself at HP headquarters in Palo Alto this week and last. It’s so vastly different from the norm of the IQ office in San Francisco, but also fun to spend your day somewhere new periodically. While I was there I had a moment to pop into an archive display area where I discovered this oddball Oscilloscope camera which caught my attention for the Polaroid packfilm camera back.

Placard Text: HP 197A Oscilloscope Camera (1965) Oscilloscope cameras produced permanent records of oscilloscope displays. These cameras could photograph single traces of the oscilloscope which were too short-lived for the eye to see.