Home DIY Electronics

Ranjith Seneviratne's Comment

Sun, 17 Jan 2021 12:24:03 +0000

I am not good in electronics, please explain clearly

die Dauphin's Comment

Fri, 20 Sep 2019 22:38:58 +0100

I have just bought the book, and I think is good .. I am currently building the circuits, I have a question, though .. Does anyone know if it is possible to use the SoundCard Oscilloscopio of Christian Zeitnitz in Virtual Box if I use Ubuntu 18.04 as host and Windows 10 as guest? I am not sure if I might have issues with the Audio Input .. I am using Virtual Box 5.2

Ranjith Seneviratne's Comment

Mon, 11 Feb 2019 19:04:05 +0000

The Calibrator and probe parts are listed, the probe circuit also shown but the calibrator circuit diagram not shown.

Steve's Comment

Wed, 25 May 2016 11:17:42 +0100

Hi Garry,

Sorry but it's only available in Kindle format. You can read it on almost any device using Amazon's free players though.

Steve

garry's Comment

Tue, 24 May 2016 08:07:56 +0100

Hi Steve
Seems to be only Kindle format and saved to kindle cloud. Any other formats available?

Steve's Comment

Thu, 03 Sep 2015 15:15:15 +0100

Hi Leslie,

Yes I do mean building both circuits on the same piece of stripboard. It avoids having to worry about how to mount two boards instead of one. They are still two separate circuits though.

The circuit of the calibrator could be a little clearer now that you point it out. C1 and C2 are NOT connected, the wires just cross over each other. I should have drawn a little bridge or something and added dots where all the connections are made. Sorry about that. Mental note to do better next time.

This should become clearer as you follow the build instructions for the calibrator/signal generator. You will see that C1 and C2 are not connected.

As for the information on the website, some of it is similar to what you find in the book but it is not the same. I didn't copy and paste from the website if that's what you were thinking. I try to put much more explanation into the books also.

Steve

Leslie's Comment

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 05:48:14 +0100

Hi Steve,
I have built and now have working the SCO and have really enjoyed the project ( I am a beginning amateur). I was now thinking of building the Calibrator and Wave Form Generator but am a bit confused by the instructions in the book. I understand that you recommend building both the WFG and the Calibrator into one enclosure but not sure if that means two circuits on the same stripboard or if the two circuits are integrated into one circuit? I am also confused by the 2 schematics you have included for the Calibrator (C1 & C2) as I am not quite sure where the two join - I am assuming with the RHS of C1 connects to the LHS of C2. Also in looking around yopur excellent website I have found what appears to be a slightly different WFG circuit in one of your tutorials. Maybe all the information is in the book and on your website but as I said I am a bit confused and hope you can advise the best pathway.
Regards Les

Steve's Comment

Mon, 24 Aug 2015 12:41:44 +0100

Hi Leslie,

The exact value of the pot is not critical so you are ok using the one you have chosen. I'm pretty sure that I used the ones that I could find cheaply here in the UK too.

Steve

Leslie's Comment

Sun, 23 Aug 2015 16:45:53 +0100

Steve thank you, that makes perfectly good sense to me and I will follow your advice. I have built the circuit on a breadboard(one channel) and it worked exactly as expected. Only change I made was using a 5k pot instead of a 4.7k pot as the latter size while available in Australia wa around the $40 mark while the 5k was only a couple of dollars. I felt the slight increase in resistance at the high end would have negligible effect. Hope you agree.
Cheers

Steve's Comment

Sun, 23 Aug 2015 08:58:48 +0100

Hi Leslie,

Thank you for your kind words. You are quite right about the two ground connections. You do only need one but I know that it is very useful to have a spare ground connection sometimes. I'm always trying to find somewhere to clip the -ve probe of my multimeter for instance.

I was also thinking that some people may purchase and adapt standard leads that might then have two ground connections. It's easier if there are two screw connections to secure the wires into.

I use two copper tracks for ground and connect them with links. This is simply to ensure that the ground resistance is kept to a minimum. It is common practice when designing products to maximise the conductor used for the ground. Often one of the inner layers of a multi-layer printed circuit board will be devoted completely to this connection. It's often referred to as a ground plane.

In commercial products the use of ground planes reduces the effects of tiny circulating currents and hardens the circuit to electromagnetic interference. In this particular project I'm sure that it makes little difference whether you use one or two strips for ground but it is good practice to use it if you have it.

I hope this helps.

Steve

Leslie's Comment

Sat, 22 Aug 2015 23:44:22 +0100

In reviewing the circuit diagram contained in your book Prior to building the oscilloscope I am wondering why you use two probe connections for the common ground? Is there any reason why the probe connections couldn't just be a three hole arrangement and also any reason the strip board can't be built using a common strip instead of jumper connections?
Fantastic book, very clear and easy to follow with a very practical approach to explaining the project. Highly recommended. Regards

Steve's Comment

Sat, 11 Jul 2015 00:35:14 +0100

Hi Peter,

The probe design is suitable for low voltage applications less than approximately 30V. Valve amplifiers tend to run from higher voltages so you would have to be very careful not to overload the oscilloscope probe.

You could modify the design to accept higher voltages but you should only attempt this if you know what you are doing.

I hope that this helps.
Steve

Peter's Comment

Fri, 10 Jul 2015 02:37:43 +0100

Before I commit to buying this book, I would like to know if it has probes suitable for a valve amplifier. Thanks

sundaram's Comment

Sat, 06 Dec 2014 12:05:55 +0000

a good circuit for osciloscope