Sharing More Electronic Knowledge - Tech Talk And Hang Time With Mr. C! 

Dear Paul, I have a Radio Shack Micronta FET VOM from the 1970s. I like the high input impedance, but I regret that they didn't provide a MOSFET version. But, the next meter I would like to have is a VTVM. There is nothing like that classic old equipment smell that the tube equipment have, as well as the high quality performance that I remember from back in school in the 1970s.

I might actually be able to make it to the ham fest tomorrow in kalamazoo. I am in dire need of some odds and ends.

I just bought a very old Micronta VOM at a Thrift store for $2.00 !!

Mr C can't you 3- d print a new lense ?

You'll be dreaming about kiloMegaCycles Carlos ! 😂

Same here

Doing stuff like this keeps that connection (no pun intended🙄) with your father... my dad was a cabinetmaker & though I ended up being a machinist all my life, I took up woodworking as an homage to him... I found that I would think alot about how he might do a certain cut or joint etc .. Good luck with the re-cap, Paul here will keep you steered in the right direction... I'm betting yer late dad would have loved these videos we are blessed to have ourselves... Thank you Mr. Carlson for that... From the Emerald Isle 😎👍☘️🍺

Manny, Tubes are cheap and easy to replace. The danger is that the caps are leaky (beginning to pass DC) and load down the power transformer until it burns out the very fine secondary winding. There is only a couple of things that usually make a tube radio beyond reasonable repair and they are the transformers, both the power and the IF transformers. Good luck with your dad's radio. It is not too hard to do, but you might want to practice on a radio you don't care about.

Don't rush it, Manny. Do your research. Your Dad would expect nothing less. You will get it right.

@@peterfitzpatrick7032 Nice that you do some woodworking to remember your dad. :) I find myself asking the same "what would dad have done" question and thinking about how I'll approach a project. I recently replaced my water heater. My dad was not a plumber, just a general repairman and maintenance tech for a jail and before that, an apartment complex. He did do lots of plumbing work as a result though. In planning the water heater replacement, I decided "Dad would do this job the right (hard) way using all soldered Type L copper pipe. He'd replace the old shutoff valve and he'd replace the drain valve with a full port ball valve for maintenance." So, that's exactly what I did. I used a few old copper elbows in the system in addition to the new ones from Home Depot. I used his pipe cutter, emery cloth, pipe wrench, channel locks, and work light to do the work. I'm quite proud of that install. :) I feel it's as good (likely better) than work a professional master plumber would do. Deburred every joint ID and OD. Lead-free silver bearing solder. Lead-free ball valve (tricky to solder). Water soluble flux. I practiced soldering correctly for days on some cheaper Type M pipe and couplings until I was very proud of my joints. I could hear my dad in my mind saying "No snots Manny! I don't like snots. Just take your time and let the solder wick in. There you, beautiful! Good job!" I think if he was here to see it, he'd pinch my cheek and say "You're my son." He was only 56, cigarettes caused bladder cancer. I wish I had 20 more years with him. :'( My grandparents were 83 and 81 when they died of natural causes. He could have done 76, I think. He was a good man. I would not be the mechanical nerd that I am today without his love and teachings. Your dad would be happy and very proud seeing you sharpen that chisel and use that table saw. Hopefully you have some of his own tools to use today? :) And yes, my dad would have absolutely LOVED Mr. Carlson. My dad had an associates degree and was a field electrician, but Mr. Carlson seems like an electrical engineer with extensive electrical theory education and advanced circuitry design knowledge. I think my dad likely would have went that same path if he had invested more in his college journey rather than stopping short and going with field work for new structure wiring and service calls. :)

@@ianbutler1983 Thank you so much for this information! You just taught me several things! I do have spare tubes for the radio as well as a speaker and (I believe) a button set that my dad had acquired at flea markets and antique electronic supply shops, but I do not have any transformers. :( I don't want to burn these ones out. It sounds like I made the right choice by boxing the radio up and stoping my frequent use of it until I get it sorted out. I did practice this a bit by replacing the capacitors in my dad's newly acquired Emerson AM-only All American 5 type radio. I found it in his apartment while clearing it out. He did not have it before he got the cancer diagnosis a few months prior to his death, so I had no attachment to it like I do with the Grundig. I think he bought it to restore it as a sort of busy project to stay in good spirits and revisit his youth and old hobbies. He just never got started on it, or he may have just replaced a tube to fix it. It worked ok when I found it. I believe I did ok with that Emerson re-cap. I only replaced the cylindrical yellow and orange paper electrolytic caps that Paul always harps on about being failed at this point in time. What does he call them? Yellow bees, or honey bees, or yellow jackets, or super bees or yellow drops...something like that. 🤷🏻‍♂️ I didn't replace any caps that looked different than that, so I don't think I accidently put an electrolytic in place of any mica or other special, high stability capacitor design. I looked at and recorded every Farad and voltage value that was written on every cap and I remember that I researched the tolerance allowed for these electrolytics in tube radios. Then I searched for the right ones with the exact values or a value as close as possible within that tolerance on online electronic supply shops. I verified that each one's value and position was correct on the schematic as I removed the old ones and soldered in the new caps one by one. I did not take the risk reorganizing things or tidying up all the components like Mr. Carlson often does to make it neat and visually appealing. Just point to point, following the old layout exactly. 😸 When I turned it on for the first time afterward, it worked! I was happy! The reception is not very good though. Only the strongest local station is really able to be listened to adequately. If I remember correctly, the dial was off quite a bit, it had several birdies and hums, and I think one other issue that just made it uncomfortable and annoying to listen to anything other than the station which is very close to the house and has a powerful antenna array. The reason why I didn't power through and tackle the Grundig re-cap after that apparent success was that it functions in AM, FM, 2 shortwave band ranges, and external input mode. There are TONS of components inside that chassis. Tons! They're buried underneath each other and sprawled out everywhere! Very intimidating and I'll absolutely cry if I ruin it. I should probably revisit that Emerson and get it perfect. Maybe add filtering or try to tune it better for clear reception and get the dial accurate. The antenna is intact so it's internal issues plaguing the performance. :( Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to read my comment and offer your valuable information. I sincerely appreciate it Ian.

Thanks for sharing your story, and your kind comment too Tom!

Good tip, thanks !

Thanks for your kind comment Vic!

Many thanks!

Thanks for stopping by!

Made me google that, but got no results that make sense in this context...

Remember the probe that looked like something my ex might like?

They're also known for the Stark Arc Reactor. It's a Marvel of engineering.

@@KeritechElectronics There was once a well used phrase, 'Stark raving loony'.

Thanks for your kind comment Jamie!

I really appreciate that he takes time to teach. Why do things the way they are done. Why to use certain components and what could happen if you use wrong components. Treats people of all electronics knowledge with absolute respect

@@GeorgeZ213 George.. yeah, I never knew about the "foil-side " of the old caps... learn something (a LOT actually) every time I watch Paul do his thing.. 🤗

He is the "Go To" Guy. Very few know what he knows, and he is sharing. Thanks, Paul!

@@jlucasound totally agree with you. AvE always says that we are spoiled these days. RU-vid allows us to look over the shoulder of experts for free and I couldn't agree more.

lol

Lol

Thanks for sharing your story Richard!

You will also like the 6HA5, 6AS6, 6HM5, Maybe the 2C51 too. (9 Pin)

Glad you enjoyed Dave!

Really? 😸 I always thought my old radio smelled like old books mixed with the smell of an old WW2 battleship or destroyer. If you've ever been inside a museum ship, you know that smell. Many times I visited Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts. BB-59, Battleship Massachusetts is my favorite warship in history. Big Mamie. ❤️ The Joseph P Kennedy and the USS Lionfish are awesome as well though. As a child, the destroyer and the sub were not too bad to explore. As an adult, they were a bitttttt more cramped. 🤣 "The smell of gun grease, and their bayonets they shine." -Sky Pilot, Eric Burden & The Animals That old paint and gun grease smell is unmistakeable. Old books are so soothing and earthy to smell too. I love it. Never smelled my radios or old US civil defense Geiger counter and noticed that they smelled like a bar bathroom full of old pee. 🤣 I'll have to be on the lookout for other ones.

Thanks for your kind feedback John!

Glad you enjoy it!

Many thanks!

Welcome aboard!

Thank you!

@@MrCarlsonsLab if you ever need a dream interpreted let me know

You are very welcome Brian!

Still use a Simpson 260 for a lot of repairs. Have several VTVMs as well.

Glad you're enjoying Jake!

Thanks for your kind comment Gary!

@@MrCarlsonsLab it is my privilege to be a small part.

My pleasure!

Sounds like you worked with a tough crowd!

Alan, I hope did not take your meter to work at Tektronix...lol. Sorry for your knuckles.

@@garybevis8691 Ha! Nice. We had pretty good equipment in the lab, just not enough of it to go around and management always wondered why commissioning equipment took so long. They should have spent less on company cars and more on us poor engineers who were actually trying to earn the income!