tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32401646773969724522024-03-17T19:02:56.613+01:00Emanuele GirlandoElectronics repair & tweakingEmanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-20626909277216191692024-01-30T22:23:00.006+01:002024-02-19T20:40:16.426+01:00TOWER 5 Transistors Walkie talkies from the 60s - The ones that ignited my radio/electronics hobby.Tale of my first transmission : 27.125MHz - CB Channel 14.When I was young (late sixties, first seventies) I got a couple of black TOWER walkie talkies.They were shiny and looked like rocket science objects.My actual unitsIt wasn't long before I realized they weren't usable: communications with a friend were difficult, if not impossible, even between rooms.On the other hand, however, one evening,Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-27047147347354049842023-11-20T16:40:00.020+01:002023-11-20T22:48:28.375+01:00A DIY bench RF step attenuator with Arduino and Aeroflex-Weinschel step attenuatorsA while ago I made a bargain purchasing a couple of Aeroflex-Weinschel step attenuators (models 150T/11 and 150T/70) for 20EUR each.The idea was to implement a bench step attenuator for my lab.Here is the project.Those attenuators offer serial and parallel digital interface. I choose to use the parallel interface protocol.Each attenuator is controlled by 4 bits (a nibble), so, with the help of Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-85924909339041090732023-10-26T18:51:00.025+02:002024-02-24T18:56:15.211+01:00My HP 6632 Power Supply has got crazy (SOLVED)My 6632A s/n 3145A-06821 Symptoms:power on is ok; no self test errors on the display;VSETing from the front panel to values greater then 5/6 Volts triggers OVP.Checks:with these symptoms always double check the sensing terminals (S+ and S-): they must not be left floating. Be sure they are directly connected to output terminals on the rear terminal strip or to a remote load. For testing Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-86471858971712525642023-04-28T21:22:00.075+02:002023-05-11T20:51:55.024+02:00 Graetz Joker-834 portable radio repair What a challenge! This radio is as old as me: born in 1959.Initial conditionsFound it in very tough conditions: dirty, smelly, not working (dead).Inside the PCB was dirty and strangely greasy in some area.I have found the schematic in my personal old paper archive.Here is the annotated version I used during the repair job (look at the end of the article for a high res pristine version):Please note this rig Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-68791116217604408552023-02-26T10:48:00.000+01:002023-10-31T12:45:43.030+01:00Hard Disk catastrophic failureHave you ever seen inside an hard disk that suffered a very strong catastrophic failure?I don't: I've never seen something like this before....The disk suddenly went in FAILURE status inside my server. Here is what I've found inside: RAID saved me!Ciao.Emanuele.Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-78099408588688061682023-02-20T14:38:00.014+01:002023-05-01T22:21:37.384+02:00Telefunken Italia - model "Mignonette MF" - 1a SerieTelefunken Italia - model "Mignonette MF" - 1a Serie JAN 2023 - restoration notes.I don't want to bore you with information that is already available on the net about radio restorations and/or about this particular radio model.I just want to share my restoration notes and annotated schematic.This radio has the chassis directly connected to the power line.There is a very HIGH risk of electrocutionEmanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-68423484505510265862022-01-14T23:48:00.058+01:002023-05-01T22:19:51.245+02:00Adventest R3361B Spectrum Analyzer vertical instability fix (failed joint between input LPF and coupler)After full recapping of the PSU and CRT modules of my R3361B the instrument began showing a pronounced vertical instability: looking at the CAL signal (30MHz / -20dBm) the trace was randomly jumping up and down in a 5-8 dB range.
I initially suspected a side effect of my recent recappings, but that was not the case.Long story short:
during recapping I was forced to move/dismount/rotate/drag the Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0Str. della Creusa, 27, 10133 Torino TO, Italy45.0305316 7.693814145.018399548168745 7.6766479623046875 45.042663651831262 7.7109802376953125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-12431103049271912772021-12-19T23:32:00.010+01:002024-02-25T15:31:38.335+01:00Advantest R3361B Spectrum Analyzer CRT module removal and recapping.DISCLAIMER:
the following instructions are provided only as a report of my hobby
experience. In NO way they can be interpreted as a replacement of the
Advantest service manual instructions. In no way I am responsible of
any damage you or your device can suffer by following this procedure.
Lethal voltages are present in the device!! Qualified personnel only! You
know what you are doingEmanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0Piazza Carlo Freguglia, 2, 10133 Torino TO, Italy45.029455 7.687848499999999445.029075872118526 7.6873120581970209 45.029834127881472 7.6883849418029779tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-91243898465357425602021-12-16T21:25:00.022+01:002024-02-25T15:29:56.950+01:00Advantest R3361B Spectrum Analyzer shows two side bands 10KHz apart from 0Hz (aka: PSU recapping)I was having fun performing some modulation measurements on my sig-gen (HP8640B) by using my R3361B as a modulation analyzer ...when started to note a tedious 10KHz AM modulation on all signals, even in CW (I mean with all 8640's modulations settings turned OFF). Using a different S.A. I verified that there is no modulation whatsoever
in the 8640's CW signals. The sig-gen is not the culprit.So IEmanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0Strada Comunale dei Ronchi, 3, 10133 Torino TO, Italy45.0294772 7.688239899999999245.029098072478874 7.6877034581970207 45.029856327521131 7.6887763418029778tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-68164527667779583002020-12-28T11:03:00.006+01:002020-12-28T13:15:28.506+01:00An Italian VOM: Chinaglia "Cortina Major"I own one of those superb VOMs.It features 40kOhm/Volt both in CC and AC, not a so common feature.Googling around I realized that the schematic diagram is not available on the net.Here it is:Please note the galvanometer specs: 17.5uA FS!!Enjoy.Emanuele.Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-32576645261732666392020-04-02T15:55:00.001+02:002020-04-02T17:27:33.707+02:00how to recover a ck77 3.3V camera module from a scrap PCGot a ck77 94v-0 3.3V (model 5SF001N2F) camera module out of a scrap ASUS K550V. It shows a Realtek RTS5806 chip on board.
ck77 94v-0 3.3V (model 5SF001N2F)
There are plenty of instructables posts and videos out there teaching how to recover webcams out of scrap PC.
Unfortunately none of them covers the webcam module I have got so I had to find myself the pinout needed to Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-48366879355570047042018-12-07T19:03:00.001+01:002023-10-31T12:48:41.149+01:00Get rid of that f..ng "permission denied" error when using -acpitable file=/.. option in libvirt XML guest definition file.
ABSTRACT:
This post relates to how to activate an OEM windows10 when it runs as a kvm guest controlled by libvirt, getting rid of that f..ng "permission denied" you
get using the qemu:arg ... -acpitable command line option within the libvirt XML guest definition file.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE IN HURRY:
Grab your product key out of MSDM ACPI table.
Place your SLIC.bin file in /usr/share/seabios Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-61933511851978905972017-07-19T19:59:00.006+02:002023-11-20T23:00:28.960+01:00TAB key autocomplete not working in xfce4 (no file completion) First I noticed that bash autocomplete (also known as "shell file completion") stopped working. Pressing TAB I only see the cursor to flash a little and got no filename or command expansion.
All relevant lines in .bashrc were in place and correct.
Then I noticed the TAB key was not working in any application (e.g. text editors, mail, ....): TAB was doing nothing. So it is obvious that Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-64919364595182724052015-12-28T11:14:00.002+01:002023-10-31T12:52:02.222+01:00How to test the TDK TBD420NR CCFL inverter
TDK TBD420NR inverter with some signal paths highlighted.
The TDK TBD420NR CCFL inverter is found in many laptop screens. I've found it in an HP Pavillon DV9500.
LCD screens with CCFL backlight are prone to failures and you are often in doubt if it is an inverter or CCFL lamps failure.
So it is very useful to have a way to live check the inverter before ordering a new one just to Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-75661706822343173452014-12-14T23:32:00.000+01:002023-10-31T12:54:05.632+01:00Installing an HP OEM Windows 2012 R2 Essential server as KVM Guesth2 { margin-top: 0.17in; }h2.western { font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; }h2.cjk { font-family: "Droid Sans"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; }h2.ctl { font-family: "Lohit Hindi"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; }pre.western { font-family: "Droid Sans Mono",monospace; }pre.cjk { font-family: "WenQuanYi Micro Hei",monospace; }pre.ctl { font-family: "Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-34244387391603757362014-03-03T00:31:00.002+01:002022-02-25T23:28:16.381+01:00ARDUINO UNO as a USB to GPIB controller - version 6.1
TEK2232 loves Arduino
Fluke PM2534 loves Arduino
Disclaimer:
This program is provided as is. It is a hobby work.
It doesn't work correctly. It has not been tested. It can damage your Arduino and the device you connect it to.
Can have unexpected behaviors, can get stuck at any moment, can read and write data to/from the device in ways you might not expect. It can send wrong or erratic Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-46931311839153740492014-02-05T10:07:00.000+01:002014-06-22T22:19:14.498+02:00Arduino UNO as a USB to GPIB adapter / controller
NOTE:
This version is OBSOLETE!! Please go to this post for the 6.1 release software and documentation.
---
Version 1 of this project is aimed to provide a cheap and quick GPIB solution to those that need to gain control over a single instrument and interact with it (e.g. to calibrate instruments that can be calibrated by GPIB only -- 6632A Power Supply being a good example).
I supposed that Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.comTurin, Italy45.030961647389567 7.695418596267745.030260147389569 7.6941580962677 45.031663147389565 7.6966790962677tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-42954561691174578142013-05-12T22:32:00.000+02:002013-05-12T22:34:19.177+02:00How to defeat the standby circuit in the Seleco BS700 tv chassisSome time ago my 14" Seleco TV started to exhibit a problem:
exactly 5 minutes (and when I say exactly 5 minutes, I mean exactly 300 seconds) after startup, it turn back to standby (here is a post about that here).
I 've found this problems is related to the processor's NVRAM (C.I.1 - NVM3060) that lost its content.
I managed to reprogam it (using the ponyprog programmer I have writtenEmanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-37988968646798057442013-05-12T01:43:00.003+02:002022-05-02T10:07:02.447+02:00A cd player error's dance (aka, how to monitor read errors in a CD player with TDA1541 chipset)
NOTE: THIS POST IS A COMMENT TO WHAT YOU CAN WATCH IN THE ATTACHED VIDEO.
Hello everybody!
Today I wanted to investigate the behavior of the error signal in one of my Philips CD-670 players.
The error signal is coming out from the decoder chip (SAA7210) to advise the following interpolation &digital filter chip (SAA7220) that errors have occurred while reading samplesEmanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-52205719376586601802013-03-01T22:45:00.001+01:002015-04-19T22:45:58.311+02:00Again on Philips CD670 and the CDM/2 cd transport
During the last year BOTH my Philips CD670 cd players have began to express annoying symptoms:
randomly unable to read the TOC even with CDs that yesterday successfully played many times;
randomly stopping playing with "error" message on the display (mainly when playing your preferred piece of music of your preferred cd...), even with CDs that yesterday played ok many hours;
being very Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.comTurin, Italy45.0629022 7.678489744.883473200000005 7.3557662 45.2423312 8.0012132tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-10067591563474702982012-01-30T22:20:00.006+01:002018-06-07T22:15:02.836+02:00A ponyprog EEPROM programmer implementation
To fix a tv set I had to build a EEPROM programmer for NVM3060 EEPROMs.
At first I believed it was possible to use my i2c EEPROM programmer I use for 24CXX memories, but I have soon realized that NVM memories follow a different signaling standard called IM-BUS.
Googling around I've found the PonyProg project from Claudio Lanconelli (http://www.lancos.com/prog.html), an EEPROM programmer Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-69205527299384443652012-01-30T19:37:00.000+01:002012-02-01T18:47:05.993+01:00Seleco BS700.4 turns in standby after 5 minutes
My Seleco 14SE112 (BS700.4 chassis) started suffering a weird problem: it turned back in standby mode after exactly 300 seconds (5 min) since startup.
Observing the screen picture carefully I also noticed that colors were too shining, like the color setting was set to MAX.
While tuning brightness and contrast from the OSD menu worked fine, color setting had no effect.
To make a long Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-88595454071169476462010-05-21T18:34:00.001+02:002011-09-22T18:57:59.114+02:00Majestic DVX-478 USB repair brief
Received with 90% failures on startup sequence. Some swish comes out from inside during startup.
Investigation revealed the swish as originating from the lens touching the dvd support as soon as the autofocus procedure starts.
Tweaking the F (focus) trimmer less that 1/16 of degree clockwise cured the problem. The trimmer is located on the laser pickup.
PS: how to turn a trimmer 1/16 Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-81934812152791921662009-10-07T12:52:00.004+02:002009-10-11T22:54:03.086+02:00Riduzione tempo di risposta del sensore FAPI domotica art. n. 30006
(Sorry for italian here!)
Sostituire il condensatore elettrolitico da 10uF 25V indicato nelle figure con uno da 0,47uF 25 Volt.Il tempo di reazione alla rilevazione si riduce a meno di un secondo
condensatore da sostituire
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Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3240164677396972452.post-47388117983209856872009-10-07T11:59:00.024+02:002010-04-20T21:12:49.575+02:00Zyxel Prestige 660-HW ADSL2 router repair brief
Don't trash your Zyxel,
...possibly it only needs a full CAPS replacement.
This page describes a couple of successfull repairs concerning a Zyxel Prestige 660-HW ADSL2 router.
Lightning.
After a summer storm I have found my Zyxel 660Hw out of order. It has received a voltage surge from the ADSL line.
Reconstructing PCB lines behind the ADSL socket fixed the problem.
&Emanuele.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16247706124762161027noreply@blogger.com0