Troubleshoot Electronics FAST with a Super Probe 

Who? Who would give this wonderful man a thumbs down? Carlson has effectively revolutionized the way I do electronics. We are so fortunate that he is willing to spend the time to teach in such a didactic and clear manner.

You make me realise how unintelligent I am. On another note, you really should do a kickstarter campaign for this. Designs like this are normally never explained to the public. Simply amazing.

I haven't seen any negative comments, so what's with the 'Thumbs down' the man is not only very clever but he has the ability to teach, which is a bonus. Thank you .

Oh my god. Mr carlson i absolutely love and appreciate your videos so much. I have always been an electronics junkie since i was a little kid and have done quite extensive repairs and built circuits of my own for various projects. All of my knowledge is self taught through reading and trial and error but most of my good fortune i think comes from having a very meticulous nature. I can do a lot but there are gaps in my knowledge. It is so difficult to find explicitly detailed and thorough, intermediate and advanced electronics information about repairs for free for someone like me. (I wanted to become an EE but life got in the way.) Your videos help me immensely. You are by far the most knowledgeable, the most meticulous, the most intelligently logical in your decision making as per troubleshooting and when i am watching your videos i feel like i am finally getting the opportunity to shadow a briliant mind and peek in on the process. Thank you yet again sir.

I am like a kid on Christmas morning when Paul releases a new video. Thank you.

Mr. Carlson, I sure wish I had had you as an instructor when I was going through Aeronautics school! 55 years later here I am learning more from your videos that what I had learned back then! I know the world of electrical engineering and especially HAM Radios of which I am living now is so fascinating and ever evolving! Thank you for lending your knowledge to all of us!

Built the circuit with BC547's and slightly different resistor components (what I had available). Built it on perforated circuit board and connected it to a previously built low noise headphone amp. Housed in a mint box (not an actual cylindrical probe). Had a lot of trouble shooting to do in view of sloppy soldering but finally worked pretty good. Can sense a 40 watt fluoroscent light from 2 m away. Thanks Mr. Carlson for sharing and the explanations given. Much appreciated. Have a great 2017.

A great learning experience. Super Probe is an amazing invention and a real time saver. It would be great if this probe was available as a kit that can be assembled, or as an assembled unit for purchase.

I resist calling anyone Mr. but I am in awe of you, Mister Carlson.

Mr. Carlson = "the electron whisperer"

I know nothing about electronical stuff, but I do enjoy your and other peepls videos. I will keep watching because I will learn bit by bit

Projects like this are excellent and a great ways to learn about EE. Thank you so much for making all your videos and taking the time to explain the design process / physics behind all your circuits. This one was especially helpful for me!

Mr Carlson, thumbs up for this design. From the 60's I mostly had to form an image of the working of audio equipment in my head, but in this video you have put a new compressed view trough my ears. I think that you've made not only a useful troubleshooter, but as much a very educational tool.

if you ever write a book or if you ever do a paid course I will buy whatever you put out. I hope you understand how amazing you are as a teacher. thank you so much. truly amazing

A great approach to troubleshooting a variety of circuits. The major advantage, no direct contact with the isolated area, which means no loading of the circuits, a huge advantage when troubleshooting tricky issues. Well done Paul! very professional construction and design.

Damn, my jaw was on the floor when you were assembling that probe box on top of the speaker. From the PCB to the slick enclosure, that's some badass work!

Not long ago, i used an RIAA MC preamp connected to a very simple probe, ( an audio cable with a little isolated antenna at the end ) to do something like that, to find where the audio path of a reel to reel recorder was broken. I had not seen this video yet, your probe is fantastic!!! Really, i can't understand the thumbs down on this video...

Hi Paul - that was a great video. I can tell you just live for electronics. My job for 45 years was electronics and systems. I must say you remind me of me and how every day at work was just another day at my favourite hobby. Nice work from start to finish on the super probe and the demo was the icing on the cake. Super.

Take my Money!! Make this a Kit, and I will buy it! Outstanding project!

In the far past I made a circuit that use audio converted from 1/ohm, for locating shorts but this probe is a most have. Thank you for all your illuminating work and its B12 injection of wisdom and knowledge. Wish you blessings and time to spend them!

Massive thanks Mr Carlson! Another absolutely must-build for my workbench in my lab. Many years ago when i worked after school for a repair shop it seemed we were always using the professional model signal tracer but as time has passed and the kinds of gear i work on the idea of using one has just gone out of fashion. I can see so many applications for one once again (rather than pulling out the 'scope etc) with extreme sensitivity as this design offers... just need a bit of spare time to do it justice!

Gosh, you really do run THE most splendid electronics channel, I bow and tip my hat to you. I wanted something just like this back in the 90s, to pick up POTS telephone line audio from the line cord; I would assume this would be sensitive enough to do so?God bless you, thank you for all your incredibly hard but rewarding work.

Great Project! It makes me happy to see how generous you are by sharing your founded knowledge gathered over years. IMO it's rarely these days. Many thanks for this!

Dang it, aren't I glad I became a patreon. I must say you've got a treasure trove of knowledge there. Thanks!

Great video, and what killer little probe made with very basic jelly bean parts. I shared this with some colleagues, across the pond. Roly, said, maybe put a FET on the probe input, for less hiss, and better performance, but he was still quite impressed with it. He used to run a company called Mitrex, that made sound systems for discoteques in the 1970s. Thanks!

I have been a electronics tech for 32 plus years. Would have liked this years ago. Nice work. Enjoy your channel. Keep them coming.

That is a cool probe. And you're right I can see it being used for all kinds of test. Thanks for sharing with us. I know I speak for many by saying, this probe will help our diagnostic time immensely. Thanks again!

Thanks so much for all your hard work. I really love the clarity of your explanation and your circuits are always super reliable. BRILLIANT!

I saw this video last week and started collecting parts immediately to make one. The transistors and output amp were not so readily available in the UK. I substituted 3904 for the transistors and slightly reworked the output to accept TDA7052. It works prefectly. What a fantastic tool . You sure know your stuff, you seem too young to be so knowledgeable. I have watched many of your videos now, some of them twice over. A+ all the way.

When you see someone teaching you how to do something that nobody else is doing, something so cool and handy; subscribe.

I built the non-contact probe and it works great! Thank you. Another tool added to the arsenal.

Hands down the best electronics channel on RU-vid!

The very best explanations I have ever heard. I have been learning all this stuff from the 'school of hard knocks' since 1949. Your explanations are all very clear and understandable.

What a beautiful project!! As always Paul, your work is so amazing, engineering clean and A+++ quality. I can't wait to build my own. Would also make a neat first PCB etching project!! Thank you so much for always sharing your superb expertise and "Tech Secrets"

Wow ! You are amazing and have a great gift with all of this. I am so glad that I found you so I can continue to watch your videos. Yes I will start looking for some old probes and test equipment when I go to the next hamfest. I agree with some of the other people that have asked for a kit. Thank you.

Merry Christmas from Poland to you and whole whole USA . Thanks for all your fantastic video's .

Hi Paul. Just a quick note that after so many time I now built this probe and it works amazing. It really speed up the process of trouble shooting. Thank you.

You are so sharp when it comes to this subject. Just watched one of your power supply videos and your ability to read the circuitry so well like it's second nature is a rare skill indeed. You're the Steve Howe (guitarist) on the bench.. I joined your Patreon and will step up the level soon. And yes - I'll be making this one.

This looks like a very useful tool that I need at my fingertips! I love the light bulb protecting the VR from shorts! Great work, Mr. C!

Thankyou for your instructional videos, I have begun some simple ham radio restoration projects and found a new avenue of the hobby to pursue. You are an excellent presenter and instructor!

excellent video, one of the very best DIY electronic test equipment videos on youtube,

Paul this is exactly the kind of probe we been looking for... now if I can just get one of the young guys to make me one!

Such an awesome device, Mr. Carlson. And as always, and in-depth and incredibly thorough walkthrough of the technology and concepts involved. Excellent job, thank you.

You are not kidding when you state there are lots of other uses. I have been using an inductive amplifier to trace noise on power circuit lines in commercial buildings. This is just amazing. Thank you sharing.

I know i already thanked you for this video but i just cant help myself, i need to do it again. You are the best most completely thorough and knowledgeable instructor. Thank you.

I really like how you present your projects. A short and clear overwiew, extreamly well explanations. Thank you very much!

Looking at your videos I wish I went into electronics engineering. Excellent, thanks.

Love your true inventor mindset, rare these days in its pure sense. Thanks, very cool product!

This definitely rocks!! I'm following Mr Carlson videos since last week and it's amazing. Tanks for sharing all that knowledge. Following and learning...

I wish I could of seen this about 30 years ago when I was doing this for a living. Very nice presentation, thank you!

I finally got around to building a version of your super probe ! Built dead-bug style on a copper plane, and then fitted down an aluminium tube approx 17mm bore (you're Canadian so you will understand mm !). I machined ends for the case from solid ali, and had to machine a tiny control knob to thread into the switch for complicated assembly reasons. Mine has the probe gain pot in a tiny box at the far end of the probe coax, which then plugs into my workshop audio amp, and takes supply voltage from there too. The probe works exactly as in this vid of yours - I can't believe some of the signals it has sniffed where I had not expected any to be :o) I have photos of my version if you are collecting them. It was certainly a challenge getting a non-smd pcb to fit down such a small tube !

Another wonderful learning experience provided by Mr. "Wizard" Carlson. Thank You sir. I'm a Patreon member now! The information there is just mind blowing, and for only $2.00. Thanks again Mr. C.

Thanks Mr. Carlson for your great videos, even Tesla would be proud of you. Greatings from Sweden, thumbs up....

Incredible! Bravo sir! I'm going to share this immediately. I'm not quite geared up for this level of tool making, but I'd buy this thing in a heartbeat.

Top shelf as usual Paul. This is already being built for my bench. Thanks for the detail.

Incredible video! You are a Grand Master. I would buy one of these from you in a second.

This is outstanding ! Can't wait for your other designs.

The Best Engineer Designer on Earth.....thumbs up.........

This is a very clever little circuit. The I/P Z is very high as is the gain of each stage of amplification. Normally providing base bias via an open resistor is a big "No-No" in transistor amplifier design but in this case it works perfectly. Next project is to build one. Nice one Paul.

Just ordered all of the parts to build your probe! This will come in handy in the future. Thank you!

I love it. Thank you, Mr. Carlson! You are truly the Mr. Robinson of electronics.

This is also useful as a short or open circuit detector, e.g. to trace broken wires inside audio cables. It's accurate up to a couple of millimeters ;) Very useful! Thanks!

Mr Carlson is like the Mr Rogers of electronics - he takes all the terror out of it. Such cool vids!

Just brilliant , well done Mr. Carlson

I have a small job shop so I do a lot of machine work. I love playing around with electronics but I'm not any kind of expert. your videos are just excellent. I appreciate your ability to explain things in a basic way. you have helped me over several hurdles so far. Thanks for your time and efforts to share your expertise. it is truly appreciated.

Absolutely a gem of a video. This is useful in so many ways, including learning. The only minor disappointment was the lack of a smooth finish on the metal probe body.

Paul, I really hate to grade your videos, but I consider this #1. Absolutely awesome and well done. Thanks. WB3BJU

Very nice and handy tool for finding weak signals and noisy components! I will build one, for sure!

Great video Mr Carlson, I generally skip through some of the boring stuff in these video's but I had to watch your video's from start to finish. Thank you for sharing.

My first oscilloscope was a 1MHz tube CRO bought at a yard sale at an old TV repair shop. It came with several probes like this, RF sniffer and such. It seems to be a forgotten test instrument. Thanks for doing a video about this.

Thanks for these videos, unpretentious gerous sharing of your knowledge and ideas, between yourself and Xraytony I dont need to else where to be entertained, very informative and educational. So many videos to watch !

My humble compliments on your clarity of expression, and understanding of electronics technology. Also a warm appreciation of your generous sharing. Have a Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year.

Hi Paul , I finally got around to building the non contact probe amazing thing, now retired I'll have a go at the super probe. Paul

Thanks! I never knew such a simple tool could have so many uses!

Great probe, I'm excited to see your desoldering probe build!

Incredibly awesome kind Sir. Thanks Paul for what you have shared with us. As always, you are a "Cut-Above".

Hi, once again, you did a really interesting video that explain well how it work. i'm French and learning electronic. in french it's hard to find interesting video like this Thanks a lot

Wow, that's some pretty serious sensitivity. Very cool video!

Excuse my "French", but you sir, are an EE badass! And your build quality is superb. Marie's graphics are also lovely. Really enjoyed the video facts in the description. Only I'm now wondering about that custom microphone. ;) Back in the old days, an audio 'engineer' was usually an electrical engineer, as well. When you needed something, you built it. When something broke, you fixed it. So many off the shelf solutions available for audio people these days, half of the artform has been lost to the dustbins of history. I can understand the use of the ART piece; Applied Research and Technology makes awesome gear at a price that's almost a steal. Cheers, this was an amazing video. Thanks for all the time and effort you out into your channel. :)

Do a kickstarter and build them there’s nothing like that that I know of. Very cool, you’re a genius with all the test equipment you have invented.

Fantastic video and project. I am seriously thinking of building one of these as I have two good but dead amps to fix. I have learned so much from this channel, I can't say enough how much I appreciate your content.

I like the way you explain how it works, excellent job!

Mr. Carlson, I have to admit I'm a huge fan of yours (and a recent one at that). I've always been interested in electronics and computers, but I was never very much interested in academic pursuits, and due to family connections I spent about 10 years of my adult life applying practical computer network architecture to offer affordable business and customer management solutions for healthcare professionals, along with picking up the sales, support and other needed skills to grow the business. I often find myself wondering what projects I would be working on if I had taken a different approach, one that had me working with a more technical understanding of electronics engineering, and I have to thank you because your videos have taught me so much about electronics, from soldering tips to abstract concepts I never thought I'd fully understand. For that, I tip my hat to you and thank you again for sharing your wonderful knowledge about the foundation and inner-workings of our connected world! I'm also a licensed ham and I must also confess I've been absolutely mystified by radio since I was really young. I often found it fascinating that we could send information through the air, and to my young mind this was what real magic was about, so I made it a point to learn exactly how that works. It's hard to pick one single thing that I'd like to study but if I absolutely had to, I'd like to really understand how some RF amplifiers work, and some key design goals to have while building one. Also, what are the key differences in circuit design between audio and RF amplifiers? Is it practical idea for a project to start with an audio amplifier and convert it with the aim of making it work on any of the ham bands, and if so in what modes?

I am surprised about how many noises there are in that little cd player! Great video as always!

Finally a tec teacher that talk's MY language great channel.

Thanks. What a fantastic addition to the workbench. just what the Dr ordered.

An extremely well-crafted video and project, thank you for your time and effort. Happy holidays…DR

Just an extension for those who can't read a scope or any number of simplistic instruments.. For that fella down the list here explaining really that all his time learning theoretical analysis of circuit theory, there is an avenue of a good techincian called having an "astute" ability. You don't need 4 years of calculus to dream up this project, as it's many small test devices rolled into one. I've even gone to simpler routes to repair even more complex tube radio receivers in my own electronics shop long long ago. Mr. Carlson is an astute person and may have been all his life. Hats off to him. For those who don't know the word, look it up. Still, I have to give him an immense amount of credit passing his knowledge to so many others via the power of the internet. As for compiling a book, I believe the days of circuit building as well as kit building is over. That has had it's day. It's all instant self-gratification these days for the most part without putting much into effort in anything.

Great work Paul. Your excellent video gave me some ideas on how to modify my Eico signal tracer circuitry. Thank you for taking the time to share your projects with us. Don M.

Hello thank you very much for sharing your circuits on you tube. I think the super Probe is realy fantastic!!!. i am getting all the comonents together to Build this Device, . I am using 22mm copper pipe for the probe body and 22mm end caps for each end of the probe body!. I realy enjoy watching your work thank you.............

Great work! Can't wait for the future videos! Thank you!

Paul, you and your videos are fantastic, but this one was especially meaningful!! I own quite a few of the items in your lab (along with lots of antique technology going back to the late 1800's & early/mid 1900's) and exhibit a lot of it at schools, museums, Maker Faires, etc. It was projects like your Super Probe that got me into science as a kid and inspired me to become a science instructor as an adult. When you brought your Super Probe close to the detector tube of that sweet little superhet and the radio station crackled into existence out of seemingly thin air, I felt as giddy as the very first time I ever wired up a simple transistor oscillator as a kid and heard its mysterious little voice start singing! And listening to the secret sounds emanating from the CD player reminded me of when I would spend hours scrolling through the shortwave bands with an 80 ft. wire strung out of my bedroom window to a tree as a kid listening for strange sounds coming from distant and mysterious beacons and data burst transmitters. A question for you... Once built, would you mind if I used this in my science shows and events? I would even credit your channel during my live shows and classes. I want students to feel the way I did as a kid, and the way I did again during this video! (Note: I present science shows, classes, and camps-featuring physics, chemistry, and electricity-as well as antique science & technology exhibits to youth all over the state of Texas. You can see what I actually do here: www.scienceshows.tech) Thanks again for reminding me why I love electronics. I can't wait to build this! It's a treat that you're sharing your creations with us. Keep up the great work! ~Daniel

You're right on time! I have a record player with one channel louder than the other. With this probe I can sniff out the culprit :) I was planning to build a tracer, but this is more elegant.

Paul... this is one outstanding project! Much appreciated and well done!

what a great project very useful and not complicated Thank you very much for that and Merry Christmas from the UK

Watching your old vids while sheltering from Corona Virus. Interesting hand techniques while camera focused on work bench.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and the obvious passion to electronics with us....

Just perfect. I will make one of this. Thanks Mr. Carlson.

Excellent detection circuit! Very well made!

A short piece of copper tube works well, although I put heatshrink around it or otherwise insulate it to reduce the chance of shorting something or getting shocked by being well grounded. I also like using felt tip markers as probe bodies. You'll need to shield them internally. There are some interesting marker bodies, especially for highlighters.