Category Archives: Electronics

Westinghouse LCD Repair

Posted on August 28, 2011 by retrovoltage

After seeing the repair I made on the Samsung LCD monitor, a friend gave me a few-years-old Westinghouse LCD/TV that had quit working – it wouldn’t power on anymore. It’s a Westinghouse SK-19H210S, 19″ LCD accepting VGA or HDMI up … Continue reading →

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Testing Salvaged CCFLs

Posted on August 26, 2011 by retrovoltage

I scrounged these up a while back and just now decided to test them out as a part of another project I’m starting. They’re CCFL bulbs, cold cathode fluorescent lamps. Each driver powers two lamps; I have 8 connected. Naturally, they’re … Continue reading →

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Dumpster Diving: Samsung 225BW LCD Repair

Posted on August 22, 2011 by retrovoltage

I found a Samsung 225BW LCD sitting on top of my apartment’s dumpster, and figured I’d drag it upstairs. It’s a few year old model but it’s better than the current older Dell LCD that I’ve been using (1680×1050 versus 1440×900). … Continue reading →

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New Project Idea: Oddball Tube Hi-Fi Amplifier

Posted on July 12, 2011 by retrovoltage

I’m looking for a new summer project, and think I’m going to branch off from repairing radios to building some of my own gear. I’m interested in making a tube hi-fi stereo amplifier to go with my old speakers – … Continue reading →

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Found: Sansui SP1500 Speakers

Posted on July 9, 2011 by retrovoltage

It’s been a little while since I’ve gone on my rounds through the salvage and recycling centers nearby. There wasn’t much out there today, but I did find a very good condition pair of Sansui SP1500 speakers. I already own … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Projects, Vintage | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Refurbishing Vintage Sansui SP2500 Speakers (Crossover Repair)

Posted on April 5, 2011 by retrovoltage

A look at refurbishing the crossovers in a pair of Sansui SP2500 speakers to improve their muddy sound weak highs from early in Retrovoltage’s history with audio repair. Includes links to buy the required parts from Parts Express. Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Projects, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , | 39 Comments

Review of Victor 3165 Frequency Counter

Posted on March 14, 2011 by retrovoltage

A frequency counter is an important part of any electronics service bench where it’s necessary to deal with unknown signals. I used them to verify the operation of my RF signal generator while performing alignments on tube radios, because I’m … Continue reading →

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Project Idea: Digital Vacuum Tube Tester

Posted on February 15, 2011 by retrovoltage

Update: I did pursue this project for a good while, and bought some parts and sockets, but ultimately decided that if I wanted to go this route I’d use a uTracer, but since I wasn’t going to be selling curve tracer … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Projects, Radios and Tubes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Refurbishing a Capacitance Tester

Posted on January 20, 2011 by retrovoltage

Parts Express sent me an advertisement for a $45 capacitance meter today. This actually a pretty good deal, and it’s a useful thing to have around if you’re doing electronics work. I’d probably have bought one myself, if I didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Radios and Tubes, Vintage | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Meter Clock Roundup

Posted on December 7, 2010 by retrovoltage

Meter clocks are interesting works of geeky art that display the time using analog panel meters driven by a microcontroller. They can be strikingly artistic – and are getting to be very popular. There are a lot of homebrew designs … Continue reading →

Posted in Collections, Electronics | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment