Category Archives: Commentary

Reviewing the Gemtune APPJ PA1501A 6AD10 Stereo Tube Amplifier

Posted on August 17, 2016 by jwk

I recently picked up an interesting little tube amp via a group buy on Massdrop, the Gemtune APPJ PA1501A stereo tube amplifier. Try saying that three times fast! It’s a cute little single-ended stereo tube amp using a pair of 6AD10 … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Commentary, Electronics, Hi-Fi, Stereo, Toys | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

“Won’t that ruin the vintage sound?”

Posted on March 16, 2016 by jwk

Audio as a hobby sits in an interesting place in the world. There are hard numbers and objective measurements made with lab equipment on one end, and on the other end you have the subjective and variable linguistic descriptions assigned … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Commentary, Electronics, Hi-Fi, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

New Bench Storage

Posted on February 26, 2016 by jwk

Some pegboards, and wall mounting some parts bins, really cleaned up the benchtop!

Posted in Commentary, Photos | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

555 timer teardown (and a Retrovoltage drum trigger project)

Posted on February 23, 2016 by jwk

Ken Shirriff’s blog has a fantastic and detailed teardown of a 555 timer, the ubiquitous decades-old timer circuit that turns up in so many places: If you’ve played around with electronic circuits, you probably know the 555 timer integrated circuit, … Continue reading →

Posted in Collections, Commentary, DIY, Gadgets | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Like Classic Receivers? Check Out This Blog

Posted on February 3, 2016 by jwk

If you’re reading this, you’re probably at least somewhat interested in vintage stereo gear, since that’s a huge amount of what I work on. There’s a lot of it out there! I just discovered a great new blog that showcases … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Internet | Tagged , | 2 Comments

How to Read Capacitor Codes

Posted on January 24, 2016 by jwk

I ended up with a massive stash of mil-spec CDE Mica caps recently, and was searching for a refresher on decoding their military part numbers like “CM05FD221GP3”, since the caps came marked for their values but not their voltage ratings. … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, DIY, Electronics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Merry Christmas from Retrovoltage!

Posted on December 25, 2015 by jwk

Radio & Television News, December 1954

Posted in Collections, Commentary, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What’s On Your Workbench?

Posted on December 20, 2015 by jwk

People ask me what kind of gear I use at Retrovoltage for projects. So, here we go: While it’s by no means the best-equipped workbench out there, it has a good mix of lab- and service-grade equipment which can take care … Continue reading →

Posted in Collections, Commentary, Test Equipment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Posted on December 16, 2015 by jwk

Bring the Sound of Christmas Into Your Home with RCA Victor Radio

Posted in Collections, Commentary, Vintage | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Collector or Bargain-Hunter? There are Craigslist deals out there.

Posted on December 12, 2015 by jwk

If you’re like me and have a liking for vintage electronics, you’ll know that they turn up in a lot of places. Craigslist tends to be a pretty good spot for radios and even piles of tubes from time to … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Test Equipment, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments