Quote:
Originally Posted by xargos
Being young enough to have access to the home computers of the 1980s at an early age, this is actually pretty much how I learned to program, assemble, and fix computers!
Anyhow, thanks for all the advice, everyone.
I actually have recapped an Emerson brand AA5 (plus replaced a defective rectifier tube) that has been in the family since new. One of the first things that I heard on it was, surprisingly enough, the 1939 radio show of "A Christmas Carol." Doubtless some of the resistors have drifted, though, and without a signal generator I haven't attempted to align it.
Before that, I had assembled a modified version of the Dynaco ST-70 amplifier using new components. That was actually my first real soldering work, and surprisingly enough the thing actually worked when I completed it.
I did pick up a set of books that appears to be pretty good, but I haven't started reading it yet. It is one of the older courses designed for the US Navy, so it definitely covers vacuum tubes. Hopefully it will help me to understand the theory behind how different types of circuits work.
Besides that, I guess one of my issues is that I need to work on my confidence regarding repairing things. I generally worry that I will just make a problem worse. Then again I guess you can't learn without making some mistakes, right?
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Troubleshooting is a logical process, and you can avoid making the problem worse by following some basic steps. Mine are more or less like
1. First step is to understand how the device is supposed to work
2. Isolate the problem by signal tracing and process of elimination. An oscilliscope is a huge asset here
3. Repair problem
4 confirm repair by testing device with real world operating parameters
Now this is all easy to say, but every time I do it another way like substituting parts or guessing, it just makes work and wastes time (like the water pump my mustang didn't really need)