Hi Jordan!, the cassette deck you fixed for me was the Sony TC-WR820 and still is going strong thanks to you. this tracer and the meter I gave you I bought it in the mid 70's in a electronic store and I kept them in the attic of my hose for years. YOU ARE THE MAN!!! 💪 💪 💪 💪 💪 💪
Your middle name should be 'Speedy' that didn't take long :-D Very clean for it's age, nice little tracer. Millions of years ago I hacked up a car radio pcb to use as an audio tracer. it runs off the mains and i put a bnc connector on the front. It has been so handy for checking audio stages. I also put a disk capacitor in line with the bnc to block d.c just in case. Sorry waffle mode :-(.
Great stuff JP! Love your channel and your troubleshooting skills. Started checking out your content a few years ago after hearing Shango066 mention your channel. He is a mad genius himself! He cracks me up with his wit and his unorthodox ways of doing electronics. Anybody who can bring a curbside piece of junk to life with a multimeter and a dim bulb has my respect. Learned a great deal from you both. Thanks for the knowledge sharing 😊
You say FFWD the boring Cap swap out.....but I enjoy watching the technique you use, as everyone is different in how they approch the task. Along with commentary it makes it fun. I also use wick and a soldapult only when needed.
The PCB of 70s looks unbelievable. Is there is any specific testing meter available to check ceramic disc caps and polystyrene caps which ranges in picofarads. The Atlas ESR only shows good values above 1MFD. Please give your suggestions sir.
Not practical to test esr at such low values. An lcr meter will give indication of capacitor value, a true capacitor tester will have test voltages up to 1kv to test for leakage. Now adays it's cheaper to replace if the component is suspect
ceramic and poly caps very unlikely to fail, and if they do it'll be obvious as if they do go bad, almost always either dead short or open circuit, some poly metallised film types, especially newer 'cheapo' ones have been known to go low capacity, mostly when used with high pulse or ripple currents involved, such as capacitive droppers or motor run caps , i've had this on 3 occasions so far in 30+ years
If you’re just looking to find the value of the parts, I’ve found the little Chinese $20 test-everything-under-the-sun devices do very well with small capacitances. They’re surprisingly accurate down into the dozens of pF range. Also very handy for quick checks of semiconductors and other parts.
6:24 Are those pop rivots or are they those weird "nuts" that look like a washer with prongs that stick out to function as threads? It seems to me like a nice unit like this ought to not have pop rivoted parts.
Well, that's a lot slicker than the old Pencrest battery radio on which I connected a couple of binding posts to the volume control. Hope you get years of service from it.
Hey Jordan Pier , i have the caracteristics of one transformers (T3) but not for primary, and no caracteristics for T2, may you have an idea where i could find theirs caracteristics ? Best regards Alain
About your only hope is to see if there are any identifying numbers, search them for manufacturer (triad, Merritt, etc) and see if you can find an old catalog with specs for the number. it's a long shot but that's about the only way
Sir Jordan, very amazing servicing you did on that solid state signal tracer! Built like a tank and even though some capacitors are old, they still hold. But some really need to be replaced in order to work well. Surely more years of being part of the troubleshooting tools will that solid state signal tracer will do! I wonder, are there big differences between tube-type signal tracer, and that solid state signal tracer, in terms of amplification and electronic functions?
Rivets on the transformers and the PCB mounting hardware says factory assembled. One thing to watch out for is the frame surrounding the front panel is made of cast zinc. It will fall apart in the right environmental conditions. Just like pot metal that it is. I had an Eico RF signal generator (same series as the tracer) I built from a kit when I was a teenager and that's what happened to it. Frame fell apart.
On the subject of rolling blackouts, environmental issues and carbon emissions. We have a Air quality detector at work; when I peel a satsuma the CO2 alarm goes off as the ppm count jumps from 400ppm to over 2000ppm. So don't go designing any cars that run on Satsuma juice OK? edit: BTW I really like the signal tracer it looks to be quite well designed.
This is extremely well built for a sig tracer, and yes DONT buy a desoldering gun, they are EXTREMELY noisy and can destroy pcb pads, desoldering wick (if good quality) is the most efficient way.
A desoldering gun isn't any more likely to destroy pads than wick if used properly. I regularly use both for surface mount and through hole rework & have worked on every type of PCB from the early phenolic boards from the 50s up to modern boards made of paper/epoxy. Dwell time, force applied, and soldering temperature are the killers and matter a lot more. Some boards are definitely very fragile (the early ones especially so), but can still easily be worked on if you are mindful of how much heat you're putting in the board, how hard you're pushing, and for how long you're soldering.
@@andygozzo72 They each have things they specialize in. Like for example on a lot of switch mode power supplies with big ground and power planes, wick just won’t cut it especially with double sided boards. But on the flip side wick works extremely well for surface mount rework. I use both liberally
Thankyou for the replies sir. It's pretty difficult to find the exact polystyrene caps these days so I just leave them. I have a Philips AW626 powerhouse hifi amplifier for service. The problem is the idler with gear missing on both mechanism. The capstan with gear rotates the idler and idler rotates the supply reel and take-up reel whatever the button we press. The reels have no rubber tyre and only have gears. Then the missing idlers must be geared. Without the idlers the reels don't rotate and only capstan rotates. If I put a cassette it will damage the tape by pulling out. Anything possible to change the whole mechanism ? Kindly give your opinion sir thankyou.
You will need to find original parts or a donor transport from another machine. Service manual will have part numbers to search online for. Look at exploded Diagrama
The other option is to solder the two main filter caps on the solder side of the board, SMD-style; just make one 90-degree bend at the body of the cap, and tack the leads to the pads.
I don't think it would be necessary to re-flow any of the old solder joints, as solid-state connections generally don't generate much heat. It doesn't appear that most electronic components have really changed all that much since the mid-1970's, except for the size of the electrolytic caps.
I've found that oxidation can break down the solder connections. Perhaps not as quickly as with thermal cycling, but numerous subjects from the 60s through the 80s have had soldering that looked ok, but actually had failed connections. I found the metal oxidized underneath. The solder has a complete, but dull appearance
Its the system, not always the people you elect. You can have the right person elected but seems the "establishment" controls them...Politics aside, I enjoy the desoldering and soldering part in the video. Not boring and as you said if I don't like it I can skip it easily.
We cannot vote our way out of this problem. Besides, we don't really live in a democracy. We have the trappings of democracy, but we have absolutely no say in what policies get implemented. Believe it or not, there have been studies that track public opinion vs policies that are implemented. There is a negative correlation between what we want and what we get. The more popular something is with the broad population, the less likely we are to get it.
I didn't subscribe earlier in order to hear about views on California politics, but to hear about resurrecting electronic equipment. At some point, everything that we take for granted started as a "feeling." We can call it a spiritual sense. I see it as liberals trying to iron out inhumane shortfalls experienced by the poor, while conservatives try to maximize their own positions in radical individualism. There is no way they are going to completely agree, but perhaps they can meet in the middle. To have a sane country it's not possible for one class to keep telling another class to go to hell.
Well said. Sometimes the frustrations faced become outside the realm of a monologue. It can be very difficult to keep the show going without power, especially when we cannot have a backup generator on the premises
Today’s democrats are not Liberals. They are authoritarian assholes, the enemy within. They use the green scam to gain total control over the masses, who, under their endless rues, will live like shit, while the elite political class live like kings. NEVER VOTE DEMOCRAT.
You say you didn't subscribe in order to hear about political views, yet you go on to talk about politics, even though all the man was trying to do was explain what any Californian with common sense knows, which is that the current policies are causing problems due to leaders being guided by emotion instead of common sense. To the point that it affects the quality of said creator's videos. That is what I got out of it at least.
The Eico factory was in my old neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. We see to make routine dumpster dives on the weekends when we were kids.
Hi Jordan!, the cassette deck you fixed for me was the Sony TC-WR820 and still is going strong thanks to you. this tracer and the meter I gave you I bought it in the mid 70's in a electronic store and I kept them in the attic of my hose for years. YOU ARE THE MAN!!! 💪 💪 💪 💪 💪 💪
Your middle name should be 'Speedy' that didn't take long :-D
Very clean for it's age, nice little tracer.
Millions of years ago I hacked up a car radio pcb to use as an audio tracer.
it runs off the mains and i put a bnc connector on the front.
It has been so handy for checking audio stages.
I also put a disk capacitor in line with the bnc to block d.c just in case.
Sorry waffle mode :-(.
Great stuff JP! Love your channel and your troubleshooting skills. Started checking out your content a few years ago after hearing Shango066 mention your channel. He is a mad genius himself! He cracks me up with his wit and his unorthodox ways of doing electronics. Anybody who can bring a curbside piece of junk to life with a multimeter and a dim bulb has my respect. Learned a great deal from you both. Thanks for the knowledge sharing 😊
I’ve never had issues with Rubycon. Good parts!
You say FFWD the boring Cap swap out.....but I enjoy watching the technique you use, as everyone is different in how they approch the task. Along with commentary it makes it fun. I also use wick and a soldapult only when needed.
It looks like a well-made Heathkit inside.
I hope your're safe.
The PCB of 70s looks unbelievable. Is there is any specific testing meter available to check ceramic disc caps and polystyrene caps which ranges in picofarads. The Atlas ESR only shows good values above 1MFD. Please give your suggestions sir.
Not practical to test esr at such low values. An lcr meter will give indication of capacitor value, a true capacitor tester will have test voltages up to 1kv to test for leakage. Now adays it's cheaper to replace if the component is suspect
ceramic and poly caps very unlikely to fail, and if they do it'll be obvious as if they do go bad, almost always either dead short or open circuit, some poly metallised film types, especially newer 'cheapo' ones have been known to go low capacity, mostly when used with high pulse or ripple currents involved, such as capacitive droppers or motor run caps , i've had this on 3 occasions so far in 30+ years
If you’re just looking to find the value of the parts, I’ve found the little Chinese $20 test-everything-under-the-sun devices do very well with small capacitances. They’re surprisingly accurate down into the dozens of pF range. Also very handy for quick checks of semiconductors and other parts.
@@classiccomputers6211 Thankyou sir I will try from your given stores.
6:24 Are those pop rivots or are they those weird "nuts" that look like a washer with prongs that stick out to function as threads? It seems to me like a nice unit like this ought to not have pop rivoted parts.
Well, that's a lot slicker than the old Pencrest battery radio on which I connected a couple of binding posts to the volume control. Hope you get years of service from it.
Excellent.
Hey Jordan Pier , i have the caracteristics of one transformers (T3) but not for primary, and no caracteristics for T2, may you have an idea where i could find theirs caracteristics ? Best regards Alain
About your only hope is to see if there are any identifying numbers, search them for manufacturer (triad, Merritt, etc) and see if you can find an old catalog with specs for the number. it's a long shot but that's about the only way
Bloody wonderful :)😀
Sir Jordan, very amazing servicing you did on that solid state signal tracer! Built like a tank and even though some capacitors are old, they still hold. But some really need to be replaced in order to work well. Surely more years of being part of the troubleshooting tools will that solid state signal tracer will do! I wonder, are there big differences between tube-type signal tracer, and that solid state signal tracer, in terms of amplification and electronic functions?
Nope. Feature dependent on model and manufacturer. Tubes vs transistors the tracer is designed to do the same.
Rivets on the transformers and the PCB mounting hardware says factory assembled. One thing to watch out for is the frame surrounding the front panel is made of cast zinc. It will fall apart in the right environmental conditions. Just like pot metal that it is. I had an Eico RF signal generator (same series as the tracer) I built from a kit when I was a teenager and that's what happened to it. Frame fell apart.
Sound is a bit low
Yeah a little, apart from the demo of the loud crackly pot close to the beginning 😃 lovely video Jordan, thank you ❤️
On the subject of rolling blackouts, environmental issues and carbon emissions. We have a Air quality detector at work; when I peel a satsuma the CO2 alarm goes off as the ppm count jumps from 400ppm to over 2000ppm. So don't go designing any cars that run on Satsuma juice OK? edit: BTW I really like the signal tracer it looks to be quite well designed.
This is extremely well built for a sig tracer, and yes DONT buy a desoldering gun, they are EXTREMELY noisy and can destroy pcb pads, desoldering wick (if good quality) is the most efficient way.
A desoldering gun isn't any more likely to destroy pads than wick if used properly. I regularly use both for surface mount and through hole rework & have worked on every type of PCB from the early phenolic boards from the 50s up to modern boards made of paper/epoxy. Dwell time, force applied, and soldering temperature are the killers and matter a lot more. Some boards are definitely very fragile (the early ones especially so), but can still easily be worked on if you are mindful of how much heat you're putting in the board, how hard you're pushing, and for how long you're soldering.
@@classiccomputers6211 yep, sometimes you have to use a solder sucker of some sort, i've tried both and each is better for different things
@@andygozzo72 They each have things they specialize in. Like for example on a lot of switch mode power supplies with big ground and power planes, wick just won’t cut it especially with double sided boards. But on the flip side wick works extremely well for surface mount rework. I use both liberally
Thankyou for the replies sir. It's pretty difficult to find the exact polystyrene caps these days so I just leave them. I have a Philips AW626 powerhouse hifi amplifier for service. The problem is the idler with gear missing on both mechanism. The capstan with gear rotates the idler and idler rotates the supply reel and take-up reel whatever the button we press. The reels have no rubber tyre and only have gears. Then the missing idlers must be geared. Without the idlers the reels don't rotate and only capstan rotates. If I put a cassette it will damage the tape by pulling out. Anything possible to change the whole mechanism ? Kindly give your opinion sir thankyou.
You will need to find original parts or a donor transport from another machine. Service manual will have part numbers to search online for. Look at exploded Diagrama
@@JordanPier Thankyou sir. I will try that.
The other option is to solder the two main filter caps on the solder side of the board, SMD-style; just make one 90-degree bend at the body of the cap, and tack the leads to the pads.
I don't think it would be necessary to re-flow any of the old solder joints, as solid-state connections generally don't generate much heat. It doesn't appear that most electronic components have really changed all that much since the mid-1970's, except for the size of the electrolytic caps.
I've found that oxidation can break down the solder connections. Perhaps not as quickly as with thermal cycling, but numerous subjects from the 60s through the 80s have had soldering that looked ok, but actually had failed connections. I found the metal oxidized underneath. The solder has a complete, but dull appearance
Its the system, not always the people you elect. You can have the right person elected but seems the "establishment" controls them...Politics aside, I enjoy the desoldering and soldering part in the video. Not boring and as you said if I don't like it I can skip it easily.
We cannot vote our way out of this problem. Besides, we don't really live in a democracy. We have the trappings of democracy, but we have absolutely no say in what policies get implemented. Believe it or not, there have been studies that track public opinion vs policies that are implemented. There is a negative correlation between what we want and what we get. The more popular something is with the broad population, the less likely we are to get it.
Great video! Your sound level is too low.
I would definitely change that RF input jack to a BNC. Those mic jacks are terrible.
BNC is more standard now, but there is nothing wrong with those mic jacks, as long as the plugs are properly installed on the wire.
Dirty controls hyumm do full diagnose
Jason JJ Cruz, shango066 loves you, we all love you, its all about the capacitors, thats all that matters...
I didn't subscribe earlier in order to hear about views on California politics, but to hear about resurrecting electronic equipment.
At some point, everything that we take for granted started as a "feeling." We can call it a spiritual sense. I see it as liberals trying to iron out inhumane shortfalls experienced by the poor, while conservatives try to maximize their own positions in radical individualism. There is no way they are going to completely agree, but perhaps they can meet in the middle. To have a sane country it's not possible for one class to keep telling another class to go to hell.
Well said. Sometimes the frustrations faced become outside the realm of a monologue. It can be very difficult to keep the show going without power, especially when we cannot have a backup generator on the premises
Today’s democrats are not Liberals. They are authoritarian assholes, the enemy within. They use the green scam to gain total control over the masses, who, under their endless rues, will live like shit, while the elite political class live like kings. NEVER VOTE DEMOCRAT.
You say you didn't subscribe in order to hear about political views, yet you go on to talk about politics, even though all the man was trying to do was explain what any Californian with common sense knows, which is that the current policies are causing problems due to leaders being guided by emotion instead of common sense. To the point that it affects the quality of said creator's videos. That is what I got out of it at least.