Search RFCafe.com                           
      More Than 17,000 Unique Pages
Please support me by ADVERTISING!
Serving a Pleasant Blend of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow™ Please Support My Advertisers!
   Formulas & Data
Electronics | RF
Mathematics
Mechanics | Physics
     AI-Generated
     Technical Data
Pioneers | Society
Companies | Parts
Principles | Assns
 About | Sitemap
Homepage Archive		         Resources
Articles, Forums Calculators, Radar
Magazines, Museum
Radio Service Data
Software, Videos		      Entertainment
Crosswords, Humor Cogitations, Podcast
Quotes, Quizzes
   Parts & Services
1000s of Listings		  Vintage Magazines
Electronics World
Popular Electronics
Radio & TV News
QST | Pop Science
Popular Mechanics
Radio-Craft
Radio-Electronics
Short Wave Craft
Electronics | OFA
Saturday Eve Post
Software: RF Cascade Workbook
RF Stencils Visio | RF Symbols Visio
RF Symbols Office | Cafe Press
Espresso Engineering Workbook

Aegis Power  |  Alliance Test
Centric RF  |  Empower RF
ISOTEC  |  Reactel  |  RFCT
San Fran Circuits


LadyBug RF Power Sensors

everythingRF RF & Microwave Parts Database (h1)

Please Support RF Cafe by purchasing my  ridiculously low-priced products, all of which I created.

RF Cascade Workbook for Excel

RF & Electronics Symbols for Visio

RF & Electronics Symbols for Office

RF & Electronics Stencils for Visio

RF Workbench

T-Shirts, Mugs, Cups, Ball Caps, Mouse Pads

These Are Available for Free

Espresso Engineering Workbook™

Smith Chart™ for Excel
Anritsu Test Equipment - RF Cafe

"-Tron" Teasers - An Electronic Quiz
October 1963 Electronics World

October 1963 Electronics World

October 1963 Electronics World Cover - RF Cafe  Table of Contents 

Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Electronics World, published May 1959 - December 1971. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

"-Tron" Teasers - An Electronic Quiz, October 1963 Electronics World - RF CafeThyratrons, klystrons, and magnetrons I've heard of, but trochotrons, charactrons, tonotrons I ain't heard of. That made this quiz more of a learning exercise for me than a test of any sort of knowledge possessed. Heck, I thought an 'ignitron' was a pejorative term for a really dumb techie wannabe. In all there are 17 types of '-tron' devices given for which to match from a list of descriptions. You'll probably do better than I did on this quiz that appeared in the October 1963 issue of Electronics World magazine.

"-Tron" Teasers - An Electronic Quiz

By Robert K. Re

How many electronic devices do you know that end with the suffix "-tron"? Check your knowledge of the field with this quiz.

Quite a few devices used in electronics today were named using the suffix "-tron" (electron, cyclotron, etc.).

Out of the many words with this ending, can you match each

A. Thyratron G. Charactron M. Strobotron
B. Klystron H. Phantastron N. Trochotron
C. Cryotron I. Ignitron O. Monotron
D. Tonotron J. Magnetron P. Parametron
E. Megatron K. Chromatron Q. Compactron
F. Dekatron L. Dynatron  

  1. This special tube is used to generate TV test signals when stations are off the air.

  2. A gas-filled device, this counting tube is widely used in digital circuits.

  3. High currents are rectified in the electroplating industry with this mercury-cathode diode.

  4. Much older than a tunnel diode, this four-electrode tube exhibits negative resistance in oscillator circuits.

  5. Widely used in r.f. circuits, this u.h.f. transit-time triode is called a "lighthouse" tube because of its shape.

  6. Once fired, the grid in this gas-filled tube ceases to have control over plate current until plate voltage is removed.

  7. This is the general name for beam-switching tubes. It describes the path of the electron in the tube.

  8. Operating near absolute zero temperature, this super-conducting switching element shows great promise for

      new computers.

  9. This linear sweep generator, once triggered, will keep itself turned on until the sweep is completed. 

10. Crossed magnetic and electric fields are the key to the operation of this high-power, high-frequency oscillator.

11. A new device, this special CRT is a direct-viewing storage tube. Information can be stored for long periods, yet

     quickly erased.

12. This new class of computer circuits uses multiple phase "clock" signals to perform majority logic operations.

13. Having one or more tunable cavities, this high-frequency tube "bunches" the electrons to produce oscillations.

14. This neon lamp is capable of generating short bursts of high-intensity light.

15. A special color CRT, this tube has only one gun and uses phosphor strips in place of phosphor dots.

16. Using a special mask and beam-shaping plate, this CRT can generate symbols on its face.

17. This new 12-pin subminiature, multi-function vacuum tube is finding wide use in electronic equipment.

Quizzes from vintage electronics magazines such as Popular Electronics, Electronics-World, QST, Radio-Electronics, and Radio News were published over the years - some really simple and others not so simple. Robert P. Balin created most of the quizzes for Popular Electronics. This is a listing of all I have posted thus far.

RF Cafe Quizzes

Vintage Electronics Magazine Quizzes

Vintage Electronics Magazine Quizzes

Vintage Electronics Magazine Quizzes

Answers to "-tron" Teasers

  1.  O

  2.  F

  3.  I

  4.  L

  5.  E

  6.  A 

  7.  N

  8.  C

  9.  H

10.  J

11.  D

12.  P

13.  B

14  M

15  K

16.  G

17.  Q

 

 

Posted September 15, 2020
(updated from original post on 4/14/2015)
Anritsu Test Equipment - RF Cafe

About RF Cafe

Kirt Blattenberger - RF Cafe Webmaster

Copyright: 1996 - 2025
Webmaster: Kirt Blattenberger,
   BSEE - KB3UON - AMA92498

RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...

Copyright  1996 - 2026

All trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other rights of ownership to images and text used on the RF Cafe website are hereby acknowledged.

My Hobby Website: AirplanesAndRockets.com

My Daughter's Website: EquineKingdom
Anatech Electronics RF Microwave Filters - RF Cafe

Noisecom

Innovative Power Products (IPP) RF Combiners / Dividers