Strange watch Elektronika 2110 from a strange country

Shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first personal computers began to appear on the market, if that is what you can call the system of distribution of goods in the USSR, which were decades behind Western models, as well as various designs on microprocessors, the control method of which could cause stupor even among the most ardent supporters of the Soviet electronics industry.

One of the strangest designs is the watch “Elektronika – 2110”. It would be interesting to know who was its author? In any case, the design of this watch is far from the world trends of that time and is still popular in some post-Soviet countries, judging by the appearance of Russian cars. A characteristic feature of Soviet design is the combination of the lowest quality materials, careless workmanship with strange ideas that the most complete sexual pervert can envy.

This design was far from Western standards, although sometimes one could see the desire of Soviet authors to outdo their foreign colleagues. This, with your permission, design can be called “Soviet geometrism”, and to this add “Soviet traditionalism”. In any case, the principle of control of these devices was amazing. Starting with the instructions, which were printed on machines that remember the first edition of the newspaper “Pravda”. Moreover, not only the instructions themselves, but also the explanatory inscriptions on Soviet products were produced in Cyrillic – i.e. an alphabet that is extremely little known in the world. The attachment of Russia and Ukraine to it remains the biggest mystery.

The Electronica 2110 is not just a clock, but a timer, i.e. a device that can turn on and off the power supply to consumers at different times. But this can be considered an extended version of the timer, since it can independently control three different devices and has a memory for 16 cells, each of which refers to a specific or any day of the week. Where can such a timer be used? The first idea that the creators of this product offer is an aquarium controller. For example, you can turn on the pump and lighting: day and night, i.e. program an imitation of the natural habitat for the fish. It can be used anywhere where it is necessary to turn on and off electrical devices from time to time, from a carousel to a computer in a child's room, who should be asleep by 10 p.m. These devices are connected to almost ordinary network connectors on the back wall. True, the quality of their manufacture promises sparks and other special effects. All this is controlled using a keyboard reminiscent of a piano.

The appearance… is cosmic and unique, arousing curiosity and disgust at the same time. Interestingly, even the operating instructions for the device are unique and geometric. Let's return to the back of the device for a moment. These are sockets for connecting electrical devices, to which voltage is supplied using a programmer. In addition, there is a network cable and a fuse. The instructions indicate that the power consumption of the switched devices should not exceed 500 W, so a heater or iron cannot be connected to them, or only for a short time.

Unlike the back, the front side is rich in buttons and their descriptions, since they have a triple meaning. The first 10 are used to enter numbers, days of the week, or combinations of socket states. There are buttons associated with the current time display, programming, timer, rejection (in the normal world they write exit there) and confirmation of input (in the normal world enter). There are switches on top: one limits the brightness of the display, which also affects its lifespan, and the second turns off the sound signal regardless of the software method of ensuring silence. The display is located behind blue plexiglass and contains a large digit displaying the state of the sockets, four digits of the clock with a colon, and letter symbols-abbreviations: days of the week, turning on the sound signal, programmer mode and timer. The device looks like it does, but at the same time creates the impression of an incredible Chinese cheapie. Some buttons need to be pressed with all your might, while others spit out a whole series of numbers at the slightest touch. Everything here creaks and cracks when touched.

It's time to lift the lid, for this you will need to unscrew four screws. Essentially forever, since the plastic posts with threads here are disposable. Before your eyes appears a miracle of engineering thought from the steampunk era. Perhaps not from Victorian times, but from the Brezhnev era, because that's when this style was born. We must honestly admit: it was in democratic countries that most watches, calculators and even general-purpose microprocessors were created. It can be assumed that most of the ideas here came from the decaying West.

It is hard to imagine that a young talented Soviet engineer would start his week on Sunday. This is a typical system found in some Western countries. Therefore, the heart of this controller was probably designed elsewhere to some extent and perhaps adapted to local needs. On the other hand, a lot of them were produced, and despite the modest capabilities of this clock, it is very complex and contains almost 7000 elements. The breadth of applications of this microcontroller is surprising. It was part of the control systems of various devices, including tape recorders and possibly VCRs.
The operating voltage is also non-standard: it is 12 V, and the outputs related to the display can work with a voltage of up to 30 V. In addition to the so-called microcontroller, we have here a small logic that controls the relay. It consists of two four-bit serial-parallel registers and 8 2AND-NOT elements on two microcircuits. These are ordinary CMOS chips compatible with Western standards. Of interest are the power buses, typical for designs with hundreds of digital TTL microcircuits that allow currents in units of amperes. Here, the problem of jumpers for power supply was solved with a flourish and with a hundredfold reserve, since CMOS microcircuits consume only units of milliamperes.

There is also a source of plaintive, Soviet-like squeaks, i.e. a ceramic speaker in a tin resonance chamber, beeping in honor of the end of a program or the timer reaching zero. The clock frequency, which is maintained by a quartz crystal at 32 kHz, is additionally adjusted by a trimmer capacitor. With a little communist persistence, relative synchronization with real time can be achieved.
The actuators are relays powered by two-transistor keys in characteristic cases. The relays were originally placed in polystyrene cases, but here's a surprise – their fastening fell apart and we can examine each one separately. These are completely closed structures, made with a flourish and should serve for a long time, not counting these unfortunate covers. However, the most interesting thing is undoubtedly the display. It is as beautiful as any fluorescent display. We will tell you how it works in one of the issues. In short, it is a relative of a television kinescope. Here you can see the cathode wires, which are heated to a barely noticeable red level. There are four cathodes, but it would be better if there were more, because the digits glow unevenly. Each digit is behind a grid. These are control grids. If there is a positive voltage on them, electrons from the cathodes move towards the anode, which is the elements of the digits covered with a phosphor. This way, one digit can be turned off at a time, which is necessary for multiplexing. But to light up specific segments, their anadas also need to be connected to positive voltage. The attracted electrons bombard the phosphor, which glows a mesmerizing greenish light.
As you can see, the subsequent segments are connected in parallel to limit the number of display pins. There are 34 of them, but they are arranged in pairs, most likely to ensure mechanical strength, since all the internal contents are held on them. It looks impressive and creates the impression of being partially handmade. It is necessary to remember that there is a vacuum inside and all this must work at glow discharge temperatures.
Let's leave this brilliant development of Soviet designers aside for now and look at the other parts. All of this is powered by a transformer that provides several voltages. The voltage that accelerates electrons is more than 30 volts. The voltage that powers the digital part is 12 volts, and the voltage of the cathode heating is variable and is slightly more than 3 V. The sockets are connected to the board with this tangle of wires. Cable ties appeared here later, initially – there was chaos here. For variety, two switches on the front panel could be connected to the board with neat cables, but here a large-diameter wire was used that can withstand several amperes. As a result, when closing the device, everything creaks and the screws try to grab the thread like a fish grabs air. However, in the nomination of Soviet quality, a number of these buttons win. It is not known who designed them, but he clearly cruelly took revenge on consumers. Their size does not fit the definition of either micro or macro, and the precision of their operation can cause an attack of dull irritation.
Interestingly, everything is clean and there is no oxidation of contacts. The tradition of washing boards after soldering in the Soviet Union is old. Perhaps, not all the alcohol was stolen to make the tincture 🙂 Press PRG, then BKL and K simultaneously. The display is behind a blue filter, which has a positive effect on its visibility, although the plexiglass is cloudy and scatters everything extremely unattractively. An interesting fact is that in the upper part of the case there is a black screen that reduces light reflection. And what about the backup power supply? It is there and what a power supply. In the compartment at the bottom of the case, there is space for two 9 V batteries. Such pleasure is not cheap, but such were the requirements of the microcontroller. When the voltage drops below 10 V, the system falls into amnesia, and then brings to light a forty-hour working day and similar fantasies.

Finally, let's move on to the description of the programming of the device. We will take the liberty of quoting it almost in full, since it is some kind of madman's ravings. It cannot be said that it is the only one in the world, you can find a lot of strange interfaces in different parts of the world. However, this one will probably be the leader. So… After turning on the device, random values ​​​​may appear on the display, although usually we see zeros. You need to start with a reset, which will occur after pressing PRG, then PRG and K at the same time. Now you need to set the time, which is not very difficult: first 0, then the day of the week according to the prompt in the pink field, and the week starts here with Sunday, then the hours and minutes and the P button, and finally the TB button. The colon will start blinking – the clock has started. Interestingly, you can set an hour of 72 or one minute. Now you can quickly turn on and off the sockets, but according to the principles of normal logic, and according to the Soviet system, according to the gray prompt. Therefore, pressing 1 will turn on the first socket, and pressing 5 will turn on the first and third sockets, and zero will turn them all off. It would seem that the reason for such a large number was at the beginning – it shows the number of the socket combination.
How to program the power supply control of the sockets? The method is somewhat shocking. After pressing PRG, we will see an animation, at the end of which 15, square, 3, 7 and PRG will be displayed. Why is that? Only the great scientist Stalin knows. In any case, this is the starting position. Now you need to enter the code to turn on the sockets – this was told about a minute ago, then the day of the week or 7 – if the event should occur every day, then the hours, minutes and P, which will save the command in memory. And this can be done 16 times, this is the memory capacity. From here you can go to the clock by pressing TB. However, if we want to view the status of the commands, then each time you press PRG, the next entry will be displayed as a bright but sluggish animation. We will not talk here about editing entries and such curiosities as the sixty-first minute of the hour. The instructions, crooked as the way of thinking of the Supreme Council of the CPSU, can be found on the Internet.

How do I start the timer? You need to press TM, but the ON inscription should light up, which can be achieved by briefly pressing PRG and TB. Logical? It depends. Once this timer is set, you can set the parameters, as in the case of programs: the states of the sockets, which will be updated after the countdown reaches zero, then – surprise – the days of the week are now responsible for the hours, according to the code from the pink stripe to the blue one. Thus, the maximum range is 7 hours. Then it’s normal: minutes and seconds, and finally P and TM. The device can be used as an alarm clock, activating any of the programs when the ON indicator is lit. Above is a description of the switching state of this indicator. That's all. You will not see anything more perverted in life. Today, such things are often solved with the help of applications on a smartphone, often with an equally confusing interface. You can also do something similar on an Arduino, this time with a control method that is limited only by your own imagination.