Thanks Tom, that makes two of us or more. LOL I updated the pdf file accordingly. Thanks for bringing this to my attention and let me know your thoughts on V2.0 after building and using it. Best, Don
A great re-design Don that shows the value of prototypes. I'm going to try building your V2 but I might add back the OLED as it could show a lot of useful info such as the ratio of the OF and not OF voltages which might indicate the effectiveness of the OF? Also the number of tests done, uptime et cetera. Many thanks for sharing your designs and the explanatory videos.
I did build up a high gain audio amplifier with a 6SJ7 driving a push pull 6v6 amplifier for a signal tracer circuit. If I place cap from grid to ground of the preamp grid it will detect the outside foil position with a hum in one configuration and no hum in the reverse position yours is more technological superior where mine is just plain old school. I have no experience with Arduino circuits. They came about when I was retiring a few years back. Im an old dog too.
This looks like a winner here Don, really nice! If I knew how to program an arduino I would build one. Alas, unfortunately I have not messed around with arduino. :(
Hi Don. Thanks for the all the great projects and repair videos! I'm new at building projects like this and I have a question. Where is C5? Is it soldered to the binder clip inside the blue plastic shield around the alligator clip? At first, I thought it was on the PCB since it is shown close to the base of Q1 on the schematic but there are only three capacitors on the PCB: C1, C2 & C4 (electrolytic). Using Occam's Razor, that's the only place I can figure it is located. I've been watching repair & restore videos in preparation for this new hobby, I notice quite a few people marking the foil end of their capacitors with a black dot when they're doing point--to-point wiring. I understand it's not quite as important on modern electronics as the capacitors are usually close to the ground plane on the board. I read that is the reason manufacturers don't bother marking the foil end anymore.
Steven - thanks for your kind words. C5 was omitted in my prototype build I shared, but I added it to the final schematic as-built. Most of my restores were done without identifying the outside foil/shield of the capacitor, but after seeing/reading from SMEs it motivated me to build this circuit using Arduino so I’ve used it since to do so. An interesting and informative article on the subject just in case you haven’t seen it at: www.aikenamps.com/index.php/where-to-connect-the-outside-foil-on-capacitors Thanks for reaching out and watching. I hope your future projects/endeavors are rewarding. Best, Don
@@RestoreOldRadios Thanks for the fast clarification, Don! It sounds like I can solder C5 after the coax but before the junction of R1 & the base of Q1.
Don, thats brilliant ! really cool. I wonder how easy it would be to test for DC leakage at the same time and display a fault with another LED.... Amazing work my friend
Thank you for continuing this project. I had starting building a Digikey cart from the V1.0 BOM but the 1N34A diode is obsolete. My diode theory is rusty and I gave up before I was able to find a suitable replacement. Would any general purpose germanium suffice or is there a particular characteristic to look for in this application? Thanks, and take care.
Steven, I was looking at Digikey myself a few days back as I used my last two for V2.0. I now see they have them, which are being supplied by NTE. Try www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/nte-electronics-inc/1N34A/11644260 and if unavailable try Mike’s Electronic Parts at www.mikeselectronicparts.com/product-category/electronic-components/diodes/ I didn’t try any other germanium diodes, but a similar spec diode should work. Hope this helps. Best, Don
I understand everything except why are using D1 and D2? Those two didoes do not deal with any coils. Could you be doing a single stage voltage multiplying??
Marc, thanks. The .ino file is the sketch for Arduino to make things happen. The schematic & BOM are in the pdf file at: drive.google.com/drive/folders/12nnNgbZC30TQLjV3k-TCbARjJ3PwmeZX Hope this helps. Best, Don
Don, I have had some errors compiling the code using Arduino IDE 2.0 is there any way I can send you the errors, if I put anything in the comments with a link it just gets deleted?
James - ping me back over the upcoming winter months at my gmail TheRadioRepairGuy as I may build another prototype. I apologize for my belated response. All the best. Don
I must be totally blind but I can not see Capacitor C3. Great idea. I was about to try version1 but this seems to be better
Thanks Tom, that makes two of us or more. LOL I updated the pdf file accordingly. Thanks for bringing this to my attention and let me know your thoughts on V2.0 after building and using it. Best, Don
Very cool handy device. Looking forward to building one.
Patrick - hope the build goes well. Mine continues to work flawlessly. Best, Don
I really appreciate your generosity in sharing your design; thank you!
You’re welcome. I hope you find the circuit helpful. Thanks again. Best, Don
I just got done building this and it seems to work great! Thank you so much for this.
Glad it’s working well for you. I used mine today to ID a few caps as well. All the best. Don
Looks like a great project. Thanks for the look.
Thank you John. It was a fun design and build. Take care and all the best. Don
A great re-design Don that shows the value of prototypes. I'm going to try building your V2 but I might add back the OLED as it could show a lot of useful info such as the ratio of the OF and not OF voltages which might indicate the effectiveness of the OF? Also the number of tests done, uptime et cetera. Many thanks for sharing your designs and the explanatory videos.
Steven - thank you. It sounds like some very useful enhancements. Keep me posted on your build if time permits. All the best. Don
this is great!
Thank you! Best, Don
I did build up a high gain audio amplifier with a 6SJ7 driving a push pull 6v6 amplifier for a signal tracer circuit. If I place cap from grid to ground of the preamp grid it will detect the outside foil position with a hum in one configuration and no hum in the reverse position yours is more technological superior where mine is just plain old school. I have no experience with Arduino circuits. They came about when I was retiring a few years back. Im an old dog too.
I like your old school approach as well and I know it’s a proven effective method. Thanks for reaching out and watching. All the best. Don
I like the big paper clip. I used that concept in a more hands on manual technique
Thank you Jim, it makes a difference for sure. Best, Don
This looks like a winner here Don, really nice! If I knew how to program an arduino I would build one. Alas, unfortunately I have not messed around with arduino. :(
Thanks Gregg, so far so good. My Arduino skills are average at best. Give it try, you’ll enjoy the change of pace. Best, Don
Your videos are great! Thanks for sharing, I'm going to assemble one for my banch.
Alan, thank you. I would appreciate your thoughts on the circuit afterwards. All the best. Don
Hi Don. Thanks for the all the great projects and repair videos! I'm new at building projects like this and I have a question. Where is C5? Is it soldered to the binder clip inside the blue plastic shield around the alligator clip? At first, I thought it was on the PCB since it is shown close to the base of Q1 on the schematic but there are only three capacitors on the PCB: C1, C2 & C4 (electrolytic). Using Occam's Razor, that's the only place I can figure it is located.
I've been watching repair & restore videos in preparation for this new hobby, I notice quite a few people marking the foil end of their capacitors with a black dot when they're doing point--to-point wiring. I understand it's not quite as important on modern electronics as the capacitors are usually close to the ground plane on the board. I read that is the reason manufacturers don't bother marking the foil end anymore.
Steven - thanks for your kind words. C5 was omitted in my prototype build I shared, but I added it to the final schematic as-built. Most of my restores were done without identifying the outside foil/shield of the capacitor, but after seeing/reading from SMEs it motivated me to build this circuit using Arduino so I’ve used it since to do so. An interesting and informative article on the subject just in case you haven’t seen it at: www.aikenamps.com/index.php/where-to-connect-the-outside-foil-on-capacitors
Thanks for reaching out and watching. I hope your future projects/endeavors are rewarding.
Best,
Don
@@RestoreOldRadios Thanks for the fast clarification, Don! It sounds like I can solder C5 after the coax but before the junction of R1 & the base of Q1.
@@SBWings If I were building the circuit again, I would place it at the junction of Q1/R1 then route the mini-coax over to the…
Don, thats brilliant ! really cool. I wonder how easy it would be to test for DC leakage at the same time and display a fault with another LED.... Amazing work my friend
Thank you Ron. The leakage test is one to ponder for sure. Thanks again. Best, Don
This looks great. Any idea how to implement also a capacitor leakage test?
One to ponder on. I haven’t considered it since all capacitors on vintage radios are leaky. All the best. Don
Very nice video thanks for sharing
Thank you, I appreciate it. Best, Don
I was wondering when you would need to use R4 which is marked optional? Thanks, great video!
Thanks Henry. I used it in V1.0 build and excluded it in V2.0 and haven’t seen any impact to this point. Thanks again. Best, Don
Thank you for continuing this project. I had starting building a Digikey cart from the V1.0 BOM but the 1N34A diode is obsolete. My diode theory is rusty and I gave up before I was able to find a suitable replacement. Would any general purpose germanium suffice or is there a particular characteristic to look for in this application? Thanks, and take care.
Steven, I was looking at Digikey myself a few days back as I used my last two for V2.0. I now see they have them, which are being supplied by NTE. Try www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/nte-electronics-inc/1N34A/11644260 and if unavailable try Mike’s Electronic Parts at www.mikeselectronicparts.com/product-category/electronic-components/diodes/
I didn’t try any other germanium diodes, but a similar spec diode should work.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Don
I tried some 1N60 germanium diodes and saw a slight degradation as compared to the 1N34As, but they should be useable. Best, Don
I understand everything except why are using D1 and D2? Those two didoes do not deal with any coils. Could you be doing a single stage voltage multiplying??
The diodes are used to covert the AC to DC so Arduino can be used to discern the data. Hope this helps. Best, Don
this looks great....but I cannot find a BOM in the folder. Can you please tell me where to look? Also what is the .ino file for?
Marc, thanks. The .ino file is the sketch for Arduino to make things happen. The schematic & BOM are in the pdf file at: drive.google.com/drive/folders/12nnNgbZC30TQLjV3k-TCbARjJ3PwmeZX
Hope this helps.
Best,
Don
@@RestoreOldRadios silly me ! thanks Arduinos are new to me, and it helps to look at page 2 of the pdf "duh" thanks again
Have you run into any caps it couldn't figure out? Nice project!
Hi Ted, one Poly 0.001uF that it couldn’t discern consistently, while another at the same value was consistently identified. Best, Don
Don, I have had some errors compiling the code using Arduino IDE 2.0 is there any way I can send you the errors, if I put anything in the comments with a link it just gets deleted?
Steven, my coding skills are average at best, but I’ll be glad to look it over. My gmail is TheRadioRepairGuy Best, Don
Why is R4 optional?
It doesn’t impact the performance based on my use of the circuit. Thanks for watching and reaching out. Best, Don
Would you consider selling one of these units? I'm very interested.
James - ping me back over the upcoming winter months at my gmail TheRadioRepairGuy as I may build another prototype. I apologize for my belated response. All the best. Don
@@RestoreOldRadios Ok. I will do that later this winter. Thanks again Don.
Send me your email address, please Don,