UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Powered By Google Custom Search Vintage Radio and TV Service Data

Go Back   UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum > Other Discussions > Homebrew Equipment

Notices

Homebrew Equipment A place to show, design and discuss the weird and wonderful electronic creations from the hands of individual members.

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 1st Jan 2022, 4:56 pm   #21
stevehertz
Dekatron
 
stevehertz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,809
Default Re: Magazine projects

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sideband View Post
One of the most ambitious projects (at the time) I embarked on was the Practical TV Monochrome Television (1977). I purchased the PCB for that and built it over two months and was able to find a suitable CRT from a scrap Philips portable. It worked extremely well pretty much first time. A few years later I converted it for simple remote control, just channel change and sound mute. Can't remember what happened to it but I think it got damaged in a house move.
Building a tele is indeed commendable.
__________________
A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..
stevehertz is offline  
Old 1st Jan 2022, 5:26 pm   #22
Colin Ames
Tetrode
 
Colin Ames's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Monroe, Georgia, USA. (from Coventry, UK).
Posts: 77
Default Re: Magazine projects

Two projects that I remember:

1) Practical Electronics sound to light unit. Worked very well, but using it at a party in my parent's house while they were on holiday caused me to have to repaint the ceiling. Why? Because I was using Christmas lights, and I stuck them to the ceiling with insulation tape. When I removed the tape, the black adhesive remained on the ceiling.

2) A digital clock from an early issue of Elektor. It used all discrete logic, and seemed to work OK until the fluorescent light in the dining room was turned on, whereupon the clock went crazy. I never resolved the issue.
Colin Ames is offline  
Old 1st Jan 2022, 5:28 pm   #23
Malcolm T
Hexode
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Lugo, Spain
Posts: 477
Default Re: Magazine projects

Racking the old noodle yet again , first thing i made was a crystal set and carefully set it in epoxy from a kids creative set , the connections came outside the rectangular block of clear epoxy as did the miniture shaft of the transistor radio capacitor for tuning that worked, then a metal detector from i think ETI magazine in a 6" to 7" upturned round plastic flowerpot tray, with a bakelite base.
Someone mentioned kits. Remember Amtron, still got the broadband amplifier and the kit book LOL.
Great times the 70s.
Malcolm T is offline  
Old 1st Jan 2022, 11:20 pm   #24
joebog1
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Mareeba, North Queensland, Australia
Posts: 2,704
Default Re: Magazine projects

I have mentioned before. My present Hi-Fi amp is directly taken from Radio, Television and Hobbies from 1954. The amp I am building now, The Laboratory Goldenear, is directly from August 1954 Radio-Electronics. When I was at high school there was a german engineer just down the road that fixed all manner of electronics, and he paid me in bits to build lots of simple test equipment for him, as well as put me on the bench to repair TV and radio sets. All B/W then, and all valve of course. The biggest project was to build him a 5" oscilloscope from Radio and Hobbies that he bought as a kit. I was very smug when it worked first time, but all the writers at Radio and Hobbies were very talented ticketed engineers, and the articles contained all the layouts in pen and ink drawings, as well as photographs of the chassis that they built while producing the project. Afterwards if there were any changes made, they were written up in an article every month called "Notes and Errata", that were always improvements to any particular project, and very rarely were they to fix problems.
I will still happily jump into ANY of their projects with the knowledge that it WILL work first time.
Elektor projects are the same.
My el-cheapo audio oscillator is from about 1980 and was entitled " A Low Distortion Audio Oscillator" and it indeed is low distortion and still works perfectly. My armature growler is also from a magazine but I forget which one.

Electronics magazines today?? 99% tiny computers that for me are useless.

Joe
joebog1 is offline  
Old 1st Jan 2022, 11:35 pm   #25
Terry_VK5TM
Nonode
 
Terry_VK5TM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Tintinara, South Australia, Australia
Posts: 2,324
Default Re: Magazine projects

I rarely built anything from a magazine as it was described, usually because they never did quite what I wanted, but two I remember was a 500MHZ frequency counter from Electronics Australia and a timed power down unit for the workbench, I forget which magazine it was in.

The timed power down unit basically ran for about 30 minutes overall and a little bit before the end would sound a buzzer. If you didn't push the reset button, it would shut off power to the workbench. Useful as it was, it was also annoying as it usually sounded the buzzer right when you didn't have any spares hands to push the button

Still have both of then somewhere in the shed.
__________________
Terry VK5TM
https://www.vk5tm.com/
Terry_VK5TM is online now  
Old 2nd Jan 2022, 12:21 am   #26
Aub
Nonode
 
Aub's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Nuneaton, Warwickshire, UK.
Posts: 2,034
Default Re: Magazine projects

I built the ETI 413 , 100 watt amplifier in the seventies and used it for a couple of years as part of our disco gear. Tough as old boots. I also built the PE Scorpio electronic ignition, which worked well.

Cheers

Aub
__________________
Life's a long song, but the tune ends too soon for us all.
Aub is offline  
Old 4th Jan 2022, 9:36 pm   #27
qtronix
Pentode
 
Join Date: Dec 2021
Location: Willenhall, West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 161
Default Re: Magazine projects

i have built loads of things over the, prob 60% worked lol. i i still have a 1973 practical wireless with an amp i want to build one day when i get around to it.

[img]********************Pwhrw8g/IMG-3178.jpg[/img]
[img]********************pww8gd6/IMG-3179.jpg[/img]
[img]********************V3n60PP/IMG-3180.jpg[/img]
[img]********************TWXdXH9/IMG-3181.jpg[/img]
[img]********************WyRr912/IMG-3182.jpg[/img]
qtronix is offline  
Old 4th Jan 2022, 11:01 pm   #28
Philips210
Nonode
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Redruth, Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 2,562
Default Re: Magazine projects

Hi.

I've built many magazine projects over the years.
As a kid, my first successful build was a touch sensitive door bell from Everyday Electronics, August 1976. It worked very well for several years.
Many radios have been constructed, some more useful than others but learnt quite a lot in the process.

The Television magazine was often a source of many projects. From this I built:

(1) A CRT tester/booster from August 1981. Built in a plastic lunch box It served me well for many years.

(2) The Colour Portable TV project May 1981. I started building this when doing my OND in 1983 and finally completed it in the spring of 1984. I hand etched all the PCBs to keep costs down. It more or less worked first time but had an unusual field scan problem plus lack of width. On reflection, I think this was due to the wrong scan coil on the Hitachi tube. It should have been type TC-01. The one on my tube was type TC-09.
I later converted the set to Teletext with a decoder from Sendz Components. Remote control interfacing was easy with the SAA1272C ic The picture quality was excellent, those 90 degree Hitachi CRTs gave a sparkling picture.

(3) ESR meter from April 1993. This used a calibrated scale rather than a meter but was extremely useful and still works.

(4) I built another ESR meter (2005) by Alan Wilcox and again a very useful piece of equipment.

(5) LOPT etc transformer tester from Sep 1993. Used with the oscilloscope, it's a very handy instrument for ring testing transformers and it never gave me any false results.

There are several other projects from this magazine that I intend to build if I can find the time!

Another item I built from Everyday Electronics (Sept 1976) is an LC resonance tester, very good when experimenting building radio tuned circuits.

I've built many metal detectors from various magazines, The first was a BFO type by FG Rayer (EE Oct 1977) and worked well but susceptible to ground effect. The ETI (Feb 1977) Induction balance type. I found a Victorian penny piece shortly after testing it out. Pity it wasn't a gold coin, oh well you can't have everything! . The PW Sandbanks (Pulse induction type) from Jan 1979. Great detector for beaches. I rewound the search coil in spiral form to reduce winding capacitance using insulated stranded wire. It works well. Another pulse induction detector from ETI, the "twin loop" from 1989. Using two coils it greatly reduces the ground capacitance effect and again works well. My other fairly sophisticated detector is the PE "Magnum" from 1980. I must admit I've not tested this properly as I need to modify the search coil to reduce the overall weight but it did function well on initial tests.

Metal detector related, I built the PE Proton Magnetometer (Oct 1970) but haven't sorted out the detection coils as yet.

Another magnetometer project EPE 2005, using fluxgate sensors is yet to be completed.

There have been many other magazine projects I've built, probably too many to mention and bore everyone, some were great, quite a few disappointing but have learnt a great deal in the process. Unfortunately I've many more incomplete projects and as you get older time isn't on your side. Things seem to take me longer to accomplish these days but when I can find the time I do really enjoy messing about in the workshop.

Regards,
Symon
Philips210 is offline  
Old 4th Jan 2022, 11:35 pm   #29
Chris55000
Nonode
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Walsall Wood, Aldridge, Walsall, UK.
Posts: 2,853
Default Re: Magazine projects

Hi!

I tried:–

a) CB to Medium Wave Converter published in "Practical Electronics", summer '81, dead as a dodo when I tested it, not even any more hiss on the M.W. radio I tried it with!

b) "Autoranging Digital Multimeter",. published by two Polish Doctors in the April and May 1979 issues of "Practical Electronics", that turned into a very excellent example of "Ernie!" when I tested it!

c) PW "Rhodian" Tape Recorder rebuilt from a "Playmaster" chassis, dead as a dodo but a very loud ear–splitting hum in the speaker!

I obviously made many mistakes during my attempts of construction of all these, either with unsuitable components or elementary construction mistakes I didn't spot at the time!

Alas to say, all the remains of these got thrown out in successive moves years ago!

Chris Williams
__________________
It's an enigma, that's what it is! This thing's not fixed because it doesn't want to be fixed!
Chris55000 is offline  
Old 5th Jan 2022, 12:21 am   #30
Philips210
Nonode
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Redruth, Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 2,562
Default Re: Magazine projects

Another project worthy of mention is the Radon Monitor from American magazine Electronics Now, Jan 1994. I built this just over fifteen years ago to check the Radon levels in various rooms of our bungalow. It's an interesting project and uses a couple of beer cans for the ion chamber. It incorporates a battery powered 500V supply for the chamber and uses readily available components so isn't expensive to build.

Regards,
Symon
Philips210 is offline  
Old 5th Jan 2022, 6:25 am   #31
TonyDuell
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Biggin Hill, London, UK.
Posts: 5,191
Default Re: Magazine projects

I built a number of the Maplin projects from their kits. From simple things like the live wire detector up to quite complicated things like the TV tuner/NICAM decoder. With one exception they worked either first time or with minimal debugging. The exception was an MSF clock receiver which used a PLL chip (NE567?). After a bit of fiddling I found the capacitor that set the centre frequency had a ridiculously high temperature coefficient -- holding a soldering iron an inch away would make the thing drift all over the place. I replaced it with something better and had no problems.

Built a number of the Elektor projects on PCBs I ordered from them. I think virtually all worked first time.

Built a line output transformer tester from 'Television', I forget which issue it was in, there were several over the years. Still use that a lot on the bench.

I had rather less success in my younger days building magazine projects on stripboard, etc. Partly due to less experience in soldering, partly due to using what I naively thought were suitable components from the junk box, and parly due to a lack of test gear and the experience to use it.
TonyDuell is offline  
Old 5th Jan 2022, 1:31 pm   #32
Philips210
Nonode
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Redruth, Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 2,562
Default Re: Magazine projects

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyDuell View Post
Built a number of the Elektor projects on PCBs I ordered from them. I think virtually all worked first time.
Hi

Yes, Elektor projects were very good. I built a few over the years. The car tachometer from 1984 was built and rather than install it in a car, I used it as a portable meter when setting up the ignition timing and carburettor settings. I still have it knocking around.

There was a lead-acid battery desulphator from 2001 but can't vouch for how effective it is. I guess it depends on how far the battery has deteriorated.

There was a good project back in the 1980s, a 3-way active crossover for loudspeakers. I spent a great deal of time tailoring the resistor/capacitor.
values to optimise the cut off frequencies. It worked really well.

There was a little circuit (September 1984 I think), a filament light saver. We had frequent failures of tubular filament light bulbs over a dressing table area. After installing the lamp saver we never had another bulb fail. It used the zero crossing part of the mains cycle to operate the bulb cutting any surges to a minimum. That project certainly paid for itself!

More recently, I built a very low frequency add-on unit for oscilloscopes (1987), and is really useful for displaying slow events.

Regards,
Symon.
Philips210 is offline  
Old 5th Jan 2022, 5:35 pm   #33
See_Mos
Hexode
 
See_Mos's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Ossett, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 482
Default Re: Magazine projects

I too have built many projects from magazine articles and most worked quite well. From crystal sets to computers, receivers and transmitters, test gear etc.

As well as several three channel sound to light units I built the eight channel one which used IC audio band filters, Practical Electronics I think it was.

There was also the Gemini Amplifier from Practical electronics which I used for many years. I tried to build one for a friend a few years back but the power amp was quite unstable even though i used the original board layouts and components.

My biggest projects were the Powertran Cortex computer featured in ETI followed by the most useful which is the Malcolm Burrell Colour Pattern Generator from Television magazine May 1979. I used it mainly for TV and video repairs and I still use it occasionally to repair monitors with video inputs.

Last edited by See_Mos; 5th Jan 2022 at 5:46 pm.
See_Mos is offline  
Old 5th Jan 2022, 5:39 pm   #34
Bazz4CQJ
Dekatron
 
Bazz4CQJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oxfordshire, UK.
Posts: 4,924
Default Re: Magazine projects

Does anyone remember the PW "Explorer" - a transistor super-regen for VHF, published mid to late sixties? It seems that lots of people people built it and very many people had problems with it. The author had used a transistor with a particular type designation, but it seemed that the same designation had been used for a quite different device that was on sale when the project was published. I think it turned out to be a design which PW wished they'd stayed well clear of.

B
__________________
Saturn V had 6 million pounds of fuel. It would take thirty thousand strong men to lift it an inch.
Bazz4CQJ is offline  
Old 5th Jan 2022, 6:06 pm   #35
G6Tanuki
Dekatron
 
G6Tanuki's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 13,953
Default Re: Magazine projects

I remember the "Explorer" from some of my brother's old copies of PW.

Sourcing the parts for a magazine-article project could sometimes be frustrating, specially if the original author had made good use of his/her well-provisioned collection of junk/spares.

Another one I remember was the PW "Clubman", a portable transistor radio that could also be powered from a 12V car-battery, from the days when you needed a separate licence for a car-radio.


I'm currently getting the bits together to re-create my first-ever construction project - "A Valve/Transistor Short Waver" from July 1961 Practical Wireless. I built this in about 1970 using a 1S5 valve scavenged from the local tip along with other parts bought from Waltons and Fenwicks in Wolverhampton; with it I discovered the 3.5 and 7MHz ham-bands... and listened to the distinctly-fruity expletive-rich language of North Sea trawlermen
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	sb.jpg
Views:	148
Size:	95.9 KB
ID:	249062  
__________________
I'm the Operator of my Pocket Calculator. -Kraftwerk.
G6Tanuki is offline  
Old 5th Jan 2022, 7:47 pm   #36
g0hze snowy
Hexode
 
g0hze snowy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, UK.
Posts: 316
Default Re: Magazine projects

still using and modded the PW Nixie clock built on vero board, been working for over 10 years now, just had 1 x nixie fail, in14 i think, struggling with the G3TSO 9 band kit which was available in Oct-Nov 1988 with updates Jan 1989. progress is slow, very slow.
g0hze snowy is offline  
Old 6th Jan 2022, 1:15 am   #37
kellys_eye
Octode
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Oban, Scotland, UK.
Posts: 1,118
Default Re: Magazine projects

Whatever projects have been built - and in respect to many mentioned on this thread - I seem to be able to recall EVERY ONE of them! Ok, not in minute detail but enough to realise that they must have drawn my attention at the time. Quite a testimony to either the magazine, the project or my memory! Not sure which.

It's not just one or two of the magazines, I seem to be familiar with nearly all the common magazines of the day, most certainly the Elektor series (which I had all issues at one time) but PE and PW along with ETI were also 'devoured' when they were published.

I'm thankful for that archive site that publishes them now - saves me having to download them all!
kellys_eye is offline  
Old 6th Jan 2022, 1:39 am   #38
Skywave
Rest in Peace
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Chard, South Somerset, UK.
Posts: 7,457
Smile Re: Magazine projects

In the early 1970s I did build the Lindsey-Hood 10-watt class-A stereo amplifier (it appeared in a W.W. mag. in the late 1960s) with a pre-amp design from a Mullard circuit handbook. It worked quite well - especially as a room heater! I no longer own it, except for the salvaged metalwork!

Having read the above posts, the nostalgia is over-whelming.

Al.
Skywave is offline  
Old 6th Jan 2022, 1:46 am   #39
Skywave
Rest in Peace
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Chard, South Somerset, UK.
Posts: 7,457
Default Re: Magazine projects

Quote:
Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler View Post
Magazine projects are a rather variable affair. Some are excellent work by people who know what they are doing. Some are thinly-disguised applications notes from some chip or valve manufacturer (for good or ill varies) and others show signs of having been created by the clueless. Most fit somewhere between these extremes.
David
It causes me no pleasure at all to state that I found many circuits etc. featured in the various issues of the RSGB Handbook seem to come into that category.

Al.
Skywave is offline  
Old 6th Jan 2022, 11:19 am   #40
Malcolm T
Hexode
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Lugo, Spain
Posts: 477
Default Re: Magazine projects

I wont forget F.G. Rayer, PW magazine. How many articles was his name on ?, used to love reading about his projects, and still do.
Malcolm T is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:30 pm.


All information and advice on this forum is subject to the WARNING AND DISCLAIMER located at https://www.vintage-radio.net/rules.html.
Failure to heed this warning may result in death or serious injury to yourself and/or others.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2002 - 2023, Paul Stenning.