Bug Sniffers
Kirt's Cogitations™ #154

RF Cafe University"Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and "Tech Topics Smorgasbord" are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:

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Bug Sniffers

Back in the early days of digital computers, engineers would often troubleshoot hardware by writing "musical software." Portable AM radios would be used as "sniffers" in circuit areas where tubes and/or relays would be turning on and off with rhythms that were determined by the test software. If the chosen familiar tune did not sound as it should, then the problem could be deduced to be associated with that area of the processor known to be controlled by the program.