OMG! Amazing watching this. Like back to basics and really well explained. I love it when people EXPLAIN EACH STEP AND WHY. I find many videos leave this out _ suppose to protect their art. Thanks buddy! Subscribed.

Love that desoldering Iron .. which I have never seen before .. Very cool tool indeed ..

*SUCH* a useful device for analogue repairs, I must have repaired hundreds if not thousands of power supplies, monitors, televisions, amplifiers etc. etc. with the help of one of these built into a Hameg 'scope. Brilliant for testing individual components and if you're lucky enough to have a working board the same type as the faulty one you can race through them and track down faults/suspicious areas *so* quickly.

The Value in this video ☝️ is priceless. Well done 👍

Beautiful work. Such skill & intelligence. Perfect lab you have too. What a plessure to see this. Thankyou

Very elegant in its simplicity. A dedicated digital curve tracer is more accurate but I apreciate the ingenuity of making something so useful from only a transformer, couple of resistors and an osciloscope.

Very nice. Thank you for sharing your work with us.

Excellent video, really interesting and well narrated. I’ve always fancied a VI curve tracer & will certainly be lookin to build the version you’ve shown. Thank you & God bless.

I’ve used curve tracing most of my days, using a Hameg HZ65 external add on for scopes. However, it could potentially destroy (pun intended!) digital circuits. I then bought an ABI System 8 BFL and AICT module that can curve trace dozens of pins at the same time and even store the traces for comparison later. Really powerful power off diagnostic technique!

Amazing. I saw the Tracker demonstrated by a salesman at a company I was with in about 1978 or 79 I think. I was very impressed and it was too expensive. I have been curious about them ever since.

Beautiful work. fantastic.

I built the simple add on for my scope to do the same thing with junctions, as used Huntrons are priced more than your scope, if you can find one. But the home made one is simply two selectible AC voltage levels and 60 Hz. A fixed frequency is very limiting when you want to test stuff like inductors or capacitors with it. So I may devise a way to connect a function generator to same sort of test circuit so I can clearly analyze different capacitors and coils with the most appropriate frequency range. With diodes I can screen them for knee voltage and reverse leakage if I have a pile of diodes that are untested and cull the duds. OR match diodes.

Thank you very much sir. This is the first tool I’m building to go with my BK Precision 2120B. I love how YT knew I needed this video. As always a pleasure being learned by Play With Junk channel. ❤️

Very neat, this shows that you don't need a super expensive Tektronix curve tracer. I have not seen the Huntrons before, they look awesome. I like your test load.

Absolutely fantastic practical demonstration of curve tracer. ❤❤❤

Most comprehensive clip I ever saw! ❤

Wow, such an interesting video. Thank you very much! And really cool devices you built and use :)

Great video, thanks for sharing.

Thank you for this, it's another thing to learn more about. 😀

Thank you for the memories. I first saw the octopus circuit in 1962 in a late 50’s copy of “electronics Illustrated”.

Super video and brilliant explanation, thank you. I will be building the curve tracer adaptor very soon. (I note you are based in Switzerland, I have great affection for your beautiful country and have had many wonderful hiking experiences there. I will be visiting again soon).

We used this type circuit at NASA and WSMR starting in 1970 onward, to repair TTL logic. We built our own and used an oscilloscope for display. Great little device for a few bucks you can build yourself.

lovely and very informative

So cool to see repairs

Thanks for posting this video.

That reverse mounted transistor is a weird choice. But so is mounting the power switch _through_ the heatsink. Weird.

Really neat tool!

8:39s those days we made this jig to prep our components for our manual insertion production lines. Only when parts come in loose packing, if taped we feed them to automatic cut n form machines.

Good work 👍

Never heard of this before, wonderful, I mean, really!

When mounting the load resistors, I would give them more airspace (i.e. longer legs) if there is enough room in the case. That way the cooling is improved, you could see from the blackened pcb that there is too much heat in a confined space.

That was cool as you putting yourself in the circuit!

I've not seen a Huntron Tracker for a very long time. I learned how to use one back in my apprenticeship, but ended up in the digital domain and never really considered getting one. Might end up building one for the scope though, that would be handy addition. The other handy tool was the Toneohm audiable short circuit locator, but I guess the world is flooded with micro ohm and milli ohm meters now.

PSU's like that are good for our business...! Subbed.

My hameg 603 has this built in.... I just press the component tester button, very handy except for scopes being huge....

grate video Sir

Super interesting! I also love the Distrelec component bender (or whatever is called) never saw that

So basically a component tester that comes with most hameg scopes... So useful it's unreal. Must have if you repair stuff without schematics

Thank you!

I was missing this tool for my field repairs, but recently came across some nice chinese battery powered handheld 2ch scope w. built in signal generator (w.DPO feature!) - with the help of few external components i have my very versatile curve tracer back in my set of instruments for field use! Wonder why they do not integrate such a useful feature in the otherwise great new toys! Great video btw!

Wow! Nice effect with foot stepping!!!!

We always called it a "knee bender". It also gives you a circle for a capacitor.

Back in my old TV Repair days, I built the tracer device and used the old tube scope that I had. It worked a wonder. LOL Sometimes, old tricks still work nicely today.

I agree the huntron tracker was very useful for comparisons.❤

I’ve got the hunting tracker 1000 had to outbid the other person to get it. Just looked they’re not cheap even one that doesn’t work. Made the home version years ago to use with a scope that version works as good.

great video and groovy music!

Yaaay! Before you showed the octopus, I was chanting "octopus, octopus, octopus".... and then it appeared! ;) I love the MOSFET foot tapping.

In repairing systems, it really depends on the context of the repair as to the troubleshooting approach used. Obviously, we must consider either an active test or a passive power-off test, or perhaps a mix of the two. But, the testing approach is greatly influenced by what is being repaired and where. For example, the Huntron Tracker used for analog signature analysis for a company repairing their own products at a repair depot, would have procedures to use the Huntron and have a library of known good waveform shapes (signatures) across circuit nodes while the equipment is powered off. We should consider that the Huntron may just be one tool in how the engineering team envisioned the repair procedures. So, you might see AC powered equipment first connected to an AC variable power supply to see what current is being drawn on power up without removing the DUT (Device Under Test) case. The current can tell you a lot especially if you can vary the AC line voltage and protect the DUT with a circuit breakers or a current limiting device. You usually will see two different types of AC variable power supplies one for troubleshooting and one for outgoing test. If we look at analog signature analysis, once a problem is confirmed with the AC power supply then after the unit is powered down, disassembled and large capacitors discharged, the Huntron would be used to compare signatures. The Huntron approach is useful for in-house product repairs that are within the DUT warranty period because there is an established approach to the signature testing and the DUT has not reached the end of its useful life, also the Huntron is very easy to use, you just have to know how to probe and then compare traces. If you play with junk, then you do not know what you will encounter as a repair, so you would have to formulate a strategy for repair as you evaluate the equipment. Signature analysis is certainly doable on unique (one-off) repairs, but I think it loses some of its advantages if you don't have known good signatures. The newer Huntron Trackers like the 2800 are very versatile in analog signature analysis given the options for voltage, source resistance and frequency, but the 2800 is not cheap, and if you move up in capability you are usually incorporating production circuit scanning. If you see brown spots on the PCB you know that it is getting hot. To find out how hot you can use a thermal imaging camera. This may lead you to replacing some resistors with a high wattage equivalent, especially if you have a lot of vertical board space available. I think it should be mentioned that once a power supply is repaired you have to understand if it meets spec. This means measuring load regulation, line regulation, noise (ripple) and a host of other parameters (maybe even custom AC input test waveforms) before releasing it back to the customer. The transistor mounted backwards makes no sense at all. I would guess looking at the board itself is that the PCB layout is wrong, and the manufacturer did not want to waste any PCBs regardless of the problems with useful life. If you look at the PCB you will notice no silkscreen on the top layer or markings of any kind, not even in copper to denote capacitor polarity. Also, if you look at the pad size for the large diode you will notice the pad is actually too small for the lead size given the space available.

The choice of steel for the heat sink is probably because it is also providing a lot of the structure of the PSU against torsional and compressive forces.

That's just reminded me that my old Hameg HM 205-2 oscilloscope has a built-in component tester. Three and a half pages of the user manual are dedicated to it. It's something my Rigol DS2072A-S doesn't appear to have, at least according to the manual as I'm sure the word "diode" would be in there if it did.

Excellent! I have to build one now and the first item I will test is the ASA V-I Tracer (shown at 1:47) which I bought but which doesn't work - no output. Thank you!

Rubycon is the good stuff, you clearly are a man of good taste!

Nice vid. Do you know a type or dedicated cutter for Male header pin 2.54, I need to cut them but my cutter is making a sharp finish, maybe there is a cutter for that purpose you may know and can mention.

We had transistor curve tracers in high school, the ones that gave a couple of curves rising from zero to N like in the transistor data books. I don't know where they went. That stuff was all over my head back then.

Hi, thanks for sharing this informative video. I have a question please regarding Huntron Tracker 2000. I have one but the transformer has burned out and I need a new part or used to get it back to work, Can you help me where to find it?

As seen on Mr Carlson's Lab :) I sometimes use one I built from a gutted old scope. Speaking of scopes - Hameg had a bunch of models (e.g. HM204) with that feature built in. Pretty nice. Lovely 10Ω resistor :) All hail the FULL BRIDGE RECTIFIER, for it brings us the power!

I found the Huntron 2000 very useful when working for Telstra Service Center for near 14 years. Very expensive through.

You have to be carefull with the curve tracer on some lower voltage IC's. You can destroy them checking pins. I used one of those, and in some cases it is a handy tool once you understand how to use it. Different manufacturer IC's can look very different when testing the same pins. You can make an adapter like that to attach to your scope.

Super!

Yep. I had one in 1966.

I'd love to see a collab video between playingwithjunk and tronixfix. Probably logistically impossible but I feel tronix would learn some cool shit

When I listened and watched the first seconds of the video, I thought to myself, finally a video on topic I am curious about with a good sound. Then the jingle passed and I was faced with the usual sobbing into a pillow sound quality.

We built our own in the early 70’s out of a OS-8 Oscilloscope. We called it a “Octopus”.

Thanks for the useful information, very informative. I would like to know as to where can I purchase the “DISTRELECT” Resistor Lead Forming Tool.

I still have a CTO from decades ago - 5 decades - I never threw it out. Besides that - I also have more modern CROs as well as The current RIGOL 4 channel 200MHz -- and that will sill be around after I am dead. So I don't know what will happen to all my tools and equipment.

I made one back in the 1980's when I was an AT in the USN.

I had one from Hameg ( I think) as an add-on to a scope.

wonderful tool really! one question please, what is that desoldering pump you use? It looks like it is a lot easier and safier to use than usual pump plus iron I use.

Nice

Pretty good. Is there any part number for that blue component lead bender? Thank you.

I used to use and love the huntron tracker. It is cool to see one of those again. Best probes ever, I need some new ones. Do you have a source for the probes?

Sehr gut. Habe auch beide. Gibt es das auch in deutsch? Danke.

Have we not all used a simple multimeter in resistor or diode mode to test circuits ? Well, this octopus tester does the same. But instead of having to swap leads and switch between different modes, it does this all in one go. If you want to go real fancy, replace the transformer with a sine wave generator. That way you can not only identify if there is a resistance/short/diode but even show inductance and capacitance

It'd be interesting to make one but use a frequency generator and class-D amplifier as the signal source. You could vary the level and frequency of the generator for whatever that you are working on. Low voltage for sensitive electronics, high frequency to test SMPS caps.

CORRECTED EDITED TEXT: ; The Octopus tester (or VI curve tracer) is a very simple and extremely ; useful device for repairs of analog circuits. ; It comes in many varieties... an add.on to a CRO - An oscilloscope that ; uses a Cathode Ray Tube. A modern Digital Oscilloscope can also be used - ; however it will not perform as well as a CRO. ; It is so easy to use that we call it " Tubelitester " ; ( Swiss German: Idiot tester ). ; It's so simple that everyone can use it...

Is that a Weller with a magnastat tip? I bought mine 1982 and it is still working 👍

Mein Hameg 605 hat auch einen Komponententester sehr gut bei der Fehlersuche spart zeit ohne ende

Has the Mosfet at 12:51 blown? Looks to me like a big crack at the side :O

Can I ask you the manufacture of your de-soldering tool? Yours works so much better and faster than mine. Great informative video. Especially the curve tracer. Thank you!

Great stuff. Regretable that default sound level too low.

Thank you very much for your video. I will buy myself a device right now too. One question; I find your desoldering tool very intriguing. Is it sucking up the solder? Or is is a blow torch? Which one is it you are using and could you please give a recommendation? Thanks in advance.

Thank you. Very cool. Where is the sucked solder going to...? Is there a chamber you can clean? 7:41 😊👍👍 8:40 maybe put some clear tape on it to prevent further damage.? Thx 4 this vid 😊👍 Ps: 12:39 😅😂😂😳😂😂👍 elsewhere the Power switch would have gotten too hot.. 😉

Very good! Could You post the mosfet tester schematic? Thank You!!

When I looked that you've said diodes are shorted, and after removing them didn't check if the short is still on the PCB, I've started to worry :D.

I have an oscilloscope with that functionality built in.

Sehr interessantes Video 👌😀👍 (Ich würde gerne mehr über dieses Entlötgerät sehen/wissen❗)

We had that huntron 2000, but rarely used.

Do you know a method to test a logic gate inside a circuit without remove it from the board? and some optocouplers too ?

I’m not going to touch the phrase “Play with Junk”.

The tester looks like a handy item. That de-solder pump works remarkably well :-)

Where did you get that blue tool that helps you bend component leads at the right point? I've never seen a multi-size one like that!

5:58s sounds like a pacecenter desoldering tool working. Could it be correct?

That PCB went BENG

8:20 what is the name of that blue component lead bender?

12:44 isn’t that a bridge rectifier? (I see 4 terminals on the one at the back)That’s not likely to get warm maybe

You maybe solved a mystery that was haunting me from decades! I was working in greece and I used a similar devices in the '90, to test and fix digital boards full of components, by tracing faults. It worked like this: You have a GOOD board and an identical faulty one. You put the ground on all 2 boards, then you probe the good board and the bad board anywhere (on IC pins etc) and you must have identical images. When you found a different shape, almost every time there's where the fault is - change the component, test again, etc. I never remember how this device was called. Do you think that this is it? Thank you :)

Where will be get this individual component tester I know old analogue oscilloscope is available using individually please reply me

Didn't you replace the X2 Capacitors as well? In my experience they are mostly always gone =)

dumb question here; say you're testing a diode, doesn't the rest of the circuit potentially affect the measurement? Couldn't you get a false result because of the circuit it's installed in?

My guess that last clip the transistor backwards probably a PCB design error got the legs the wrong way around so they just fitted it backwards bizarre. I would of cut the trace on the PCB and use two bodge wires than fit it backwards or they didn’t and it was an alternative part that was the same apart from the different leg position