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Category Archives: Test Equipment
1951 EMC 211 Service Tube Tester Refurbish
From Rain City Audio: I don’t often work on test equipment, but sometimes I take a tube tester or similar for service. This one in particular is a 1951 EMC Model 211 tube tester, a quick and simple emissions tester … Continue reading
Posted in Electronics, Projects, Test Equipment, Vintage
Tagged 1951, EMC, EMC 211, repair, tube tester
3 Comments
Bad Caps in Everything
I just had a bit of a scare with my Audio Precision analyzer. The 2004-era Dell OptiPlex GX270 which drives the AP hardware decided it would refuse to power up – just flashing the “ON” light for a fraction of … Continue reading
Posted in Computers, DIY, Electronics, Test Equipment
Tagged audio precision, capacitors, motherboard, system one, windows 98
3 Comments
Bose® Active Equalizer Test Platform
This project is going to take a while since I’m slammed in the shop, but I’m in the process of converting a Bose® 901 Series I Active Equalizer to a test platform. With sockets for the transistors, and clip connections … Continue reading
Posted in Audio, Bose, DIY, Electronics, Stereo, Test Equipment
Tagged Bose, conversion, Equalizer, sockets, test platform, transistor
3 Comments
Retro 1956 Cyclometer VTVM – Hycon Model 615
A pretty cool, very rare piece of test equipment turned up on eBay recently: a 1956 Hycon model 615 AC/DC VTVM. This was a precursor of today’s digital, using analog servo circuitry to drive the numeric digit display. These were … Continue reading
Posted in Electronics, Gadgets, Test Equipment, Vintage
Tagged bench meter, cyclometer, hycon, model 615, voltmeter, VTVM
2 Comments
Tektronix 575 Mod 122C Curve Tracer Restoration Project – Part 1
A while back I picked up a Tektronix 575 Mod 122C transistor curve tracer from Craigslist and just started digging into it. With some encouragement from reader petepdx, I’ve started actually looking into fixing it up. (Click the photos for a much larger … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Electronics, Test Equipment, Vintage
Tagged 575, crt, Curve Tracer, mod 122c, old test equipment, overhaul, restoration, tek, tektronix, transistor, vintage test equipment, water damage
16 Comments
Collector or Bargain-Hunter? There are Craigslist deals out there.
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 4c250, ghz oscilloscope, kilomegacycle, oscilloscope, tektronix, tektronix 519
7 Comments
Mailbag: What’s the best multitester for vintage radios?
I recently got this question in the mailbag, and it seemed like a good one to answer: What’s the best multitester for vintage radio repair? That’s actually a tougher question than it seems. The short answer? Well…it depends a bit, but … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, DIY, Electronics, Gadgets, Test Equipment
Tagged chanalyst, multitester, signal tracer, test equipment, vintage radio repair
2 Comments
Hands On with the FLIR One for Android
Several months ago I ordered a FLIR One for Android, a small attachment which adds infrared thermal vision capabilities to most Android smartphones and tablets. After the backlog of pre-orders finally cleared out, I got my hands on mine today! … Continue reading
Posted in Electronics, Gadgets, Technology, Test Equipment
Tagged android, camera, FLIR, FLIR One, infrared, night vision, Thermal Imaging, thermal sensor
1 Comment
Adding Capture to a Vintage Scanning Electron Microscope
Applied Science over at YouTube has a great video about adding a capture capabilities to a vintage scanning electron microscope, including some great videos of that instrument in action. Check it out:
Posted in Commentary, DIY, Electronics, Test Equipment
Tagged repair, scanning electron microscope, upgrade, vintage
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What’s On Your Workbench?
People ask me what kind of gear I use at Retrovoltage and at Rain City Audio 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 … Continue reading →