Home

construction manual RoeTestV8

1. Here you can set the output voltages of each individual card Note the output voltages are connected to the voltage rails but not to the tube sockets Connect your test instruments and load resistors to test point 1 on each of the cards e There is no software over current or short circuit protection don t overload the MOSFETs for instance don t connect the maximum anode board output voltage of 300V to ground to simulate a short circuit for any length of time The hardware limited maximum output current is about 350 mA That means that with a source drain voltage Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 55 of about 350V the MOSFET has to dissipate some 115W and it can do that for a very limited amount of time and will get very hot in the process If it gets too hot this e Make all voltage calibrations without a load resistor Constant voltages The 320V and 56V constant voltages can be calibrated using the trim pots marked with the green arrows in the picture below Use the test points indicated with the red arrows to measure the voltages measure the voltage between the test point and ground 00 F gen W T gt 4 n D n IN4007 B a Variable microcontroller controlled output voltages The next section describes the calibration procedure of the anode board The heater and G1 G2 and G3 boards are calibrated in a similar manner
2. r L spare I rt Bi CKY TT ceti By E L rit tl ra me aT es Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl XXX KLS YTO KKK X L Kel 1 a 1 N LE d FKT p Fabian LE 2 4 KKK PROT lela chela R x ee T fe L wg vibe WNA N fa Sool R 4 x LAL TL AT moe c UI TT T F il cn nN JMi Ba Ved veq Pl KAI y Vou Vea L i Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 50 The complete unit can be mounted in an appropriate enclosure for instance a tabletop cabinet pictures Moe Test Ve Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 51 Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 52 Wiring The remainder of the wiring can be done quickly Make sure you use quality wiring with good insulation and a sufficient wire gauge 1 From the power cord connector to power on switch to main PCB you may want to use an RFI filter 2 Ground connection from power cord connector to front panel Use for the ground connection to the front panel an extra screw Remove the anodized layer below the screw Earth connection to the main board 6 3 mm connector Connect main transformer to main board twist the wires 5 Wires from main board to tube socket receiver 1 5 mm wire gauge thickness Solder the wires to the main board bottom side At the socket box receiver side used RF attenuators for each of the wires These consist of a ferrite RF
3. Select the 400V range on your multimeter and connect it between test point 1 on the anode board and ground On the pc software select Options Test gt sending voltages Make sure software offset compensation is off Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 56 The output voltage is calibrated for both the low and high ends of the output range But because the D A converters are less accurate towards the far ends of the range digital 0 and 255 we don t calibrate at the extreme ends but use the D A values of 20 and 230 to calibrate set the anode plate voltage to low range 0 51V and select a current DAC value of 20 either by moving the slider or by entering the value in the field where the DAC value is displayed As an alternative the 20 or 230 DAC values for calibration can be selected by using the buttons circled in red in the picture below Ohren Prit Meb und Kegeneriergerat Spannungen senden zur Pr fung und Einstellung der Hardware lungen Kalibrie maximale Spannung M 306 E q max D A Wert 9 wert JE un m aktuelle Spannung M 0 Aktueller D A Wert 0 ugi M max DA Wert 255 Ug2 V interne Gleichstromheizung interne Gleichstromheizung die Schienen aber nicht an i E legt gt Spannungen mit Multimeter E gen Karte messen B kalil ren Sortwareschutz vor Uberstromen Adjust the trim pot marked unten kleiner Bereich on the an
4. 10 8 7 lt ee Heizspannung Masse Connection diagram for the DIN 41622 connector seen from front on socket box receiver Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 32 Connector for socket box receiver Use RF attenuators for the 10 pins Dont use ferrite beads for the ground yellow green and heater red connections The connector itself is bolted to a metal 20 x 20 mm aluminum angle and a plastic box is used to cover it all This has to be screwed to the front panel from above since you can t get to the bottom side anymore once the PCB is mounted to the front panel The front panel must have M3 threaded holes for that E 8666 L _ pid Pai pe ne x u i e lt a o v C z U rn AT pe S C six BE kee X E rr BE Ke C L E d mie Cei D ty 337 ee T mej f i mea i 1 g ma A das MTF PTT dA 1143 EI Y PEHI 44 61 Eai TE FEET TS 4 ELELEE T ii it R FETT a GEES PTS Lav o LI dL di d R 91 SA Ene TTF syrror trir te ll U Hi N N pr FEN f E er h a E N e s fig DT fa in F x i yE T er a 4 Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 33 t M The socket box receiver is made from plastic clear acrylic or similar and an aluminum angle and has two rails to guide the socket boxes Make sure that the bolts are not too lon
5. Thus there is great flexibility in the enclosure design Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 38 Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Option 1 Mounting on front plate as heat sink Option 2 With heatsink vertical mounting my favorite Option 3 With heatsink horizontal mounting Suitable for mounting ina suitcase Page 39 Mainboard is sawn out The front panel must be at least 5 mm thick 6mm better The front panel does not need to be as thick 3mm range Here short pieces of wire are required to connect the MOSFETS to the mainboard The MOSFET s must be isolated from the front panel or heatsink suggest Kapton insulation with only 0 15 K W thermal resistance Insulation with poorer properties should be avoided because the MOSFETs could overheat before the heat is passed to the heat sink The MOSFET connectors are soldered directly to the motherboard On the CD you can find a front panel design made with the Front Panel Designer software that can be downloaded for free from Front Panel Express Inc in the US or from the Schaeffer AG company in Europe With the Front Panel Designer you can modify my front panel design and order it online from Front Panel Express or Schaeffer Of course if you have the tools you can make the front panel yourself which is considerably cheaper There are also many more companies that manufacture front panels Please delay orderin
6. connection to the MOSFETs and to the tube socket station This reduces the number of hours required to build the RoeTest and reduces the probability of errors 2 The microprocessor PCB is now also double sided All the other PCBs remain single sided There are only a few remaining wire patches required on the heater board 3 A chassis is no longer required Instead the main PCB and the main transformer can now be screwed to the backside of a stabile aluminum front panel The front panel can then be put into an applicable cabinet such as an aluminum suitcase or table cabinet 4 A front panel design is now available made with Front Panel Designer If you are not able to or don t want to make your own front panel you can now use the design to order one from Front Panel Express Inc the US branch of the Schaeffer company in Germany 5 The front panel is also used as the heat sink for the MOSFETs A separate heat sink is no longer required Small tubes can now be tested continuously if you are testing larger tubes you ll have to monitor the temperature and if needed wait in between testing tubes or alternatively you can use a fan for extra cooling There are a few downsides with the new large main PCB you have less flexibility in choosing or constructing a cabinet for the tube tester The large double sided PCB is probably too complex to make yourself If you like to make your own PCBs or if you want more flexibility with constructing a cabine
7. Page 46 IAA The MOSFETs are soldered directly on the the ua main board With this layout wire length is kept to a minimum The ferrite bead in the picture is not necessary drilled and tapped the heat sink for m screws and installed the screws Then cut off the heads of the screws and attached the mosfets with washer snap ring and nut The Mosfet s are isolated from the heatsink The MOSFETs must be electrically insulated from the front panel use high end Kapton insulators their thermal resistance is only 0 15K W at 1 inch Attention Normal insulating foil or glimmer is not suitably for this hi power dissipation application bad thermal resistance Connect ground wire coming from the mains to front panel case and PCB with wires This way all metal parts that can be touched from the Outside are grounded Use an extra screw on the front panel for grounding Remove the anodized layer below the screw Connection only with the bolts is insufficient They can break Attention The bolts have sometimes no connection to the front panel especially if they only stucked All spacers are plastic And 10mm long Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 47 gt obe S Pe Sulle T Da ma s 1 u L ieee oe Page 48 RPT 7 7 rer Pw pi I 1 IRRBBBBE suey Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl S EE F views
8. Testing tubes for sale is permited but the sale my software or documentation and the building RoeTest tube testers or components for sale is prohibited Printed Circuit board PCB designs and layouts may be changed for your own purposes and use You are not allowed to give or sell the PCB designs and layouts to third parties without my consent You may only send these to a PCB manufacturer for the purpose of ordering PCBs for your own use The sale of PCBs from my designs is prohibited The firmware for the PIC Microcontroller can only be obtained from me in the form of a preprogrammed PIC Microcontroller chip Copying and distribution of the software and firmware is prohibited The read only protection of the microcontroller firmware may not be disabled in any way When you print the results of tests made with the RoeTest you may not remove the copyright marks Many of the socket images used by the RoeTest software are provided by Mr Franz Hamberger Mr Hamberger makes these images available for private use on his website The internet address for Mr Hamberger s website is Nttp www dl7avf info charts roehren index html Distribution of these images is only allowed under the conditions described on Mr Hamberger s website Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 5 Hardware Revision History RoeTest4 changes compared to RoeTest3 The Roetest4 has the same functions as the RoeTest3 The circuits to supp
9. adapter box Template This can be made from a piece of aluminum angle and provides a guide for drilling and cutting schaltplan Fassungsbox Beispiel Nowal Fassung won vorne aut Fassungsboxhalter gesehen Reichelt ML A12 DIN4TEZZ Masse an Metallteile Heizung wird nur fur Spezialzwecke verwendet 2 8 Compactron Fassuna Nixies Large socket boxes Reichelt GEH KS 50 Small socket boxes Reichelt GEH KS 35 Male connector DIN41622 Reichelt ML A12 Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 37 For tubes which are very prone to oscillation Usually you will not need any ferrite beads in the socket boxes because of the addition of the new built up RF attenuation elements for all 10 pins allocations immediately in front of the socket box receiver as long as the wires to the socket are kept very short It is possible that an additional ferrite bead or RF choke may be required for a very few tubes that are most prone to oscillation For these very sensitive tubes if required you could easily retrofit a ferrite bead in that socket box always for the anode pin Make sure to use appropriately sized wire for the heater connections since heater currents can be quite high To have an overview of which pins could be connected to anode or heater created a table for the most common tube socket types see the Sockelubersicht xls file Make sure the ferrite beads don t touch each other causing shorts use heat shrin
10. electrolytic capacitor as indicated on the bottom side silk screening Anode aka plate voltage PCB LYM III 0837441 the Did FARSI V KH TESTEN Rot TA ti ndaddti er Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 29 G2 voltage PCB ATT At At AT DEAS A HLR pL AR A AA AR b A i TT EEEE Im 12641 B J ca AL fe Dip tee Ry v oi uy moi A a F di rhe ARP 3 a N LA A Am dU X K wom ah A N N ji gt we Au A aga o T E S 009 E N 0 N ITEM Er 5 gt Ce A PRES E po are w C gt ay 5 C Q W L O di ADI IRA EET x G3 Spannung v8 ee A w FLG AS Fer The G3 PCB from version 6 onward has an additional function if the board is not used to generate a G3 voltage it can be used to measure voltages up to 600V For that purpose the PCB has an additional trimmer resistor for calibration purposes This funkction is used at testing voltage stabilizers Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 30 11 600V range PCB ai i ob 58 ol 58 58 58 EEE OA 1 PRR RUESUAR SEAS ENE HG D a RE E LELE mu m Here please be sure to use a TL061 due to the lower power consumption neither TL081 nor TL071 are suitable 12 Temperature sensor PCB This PCB must be mounted to the heat sink in such a way that the LM75 IC touches it recommend the use of thermal compound between the IC and the heat sink Be sure to insulate the
11. so far only stabilization The voltage at the load is thus ultra stable as with the other cards Another advantage is that the components on the card stay cool previously a small amout of power was wasted minimum load of the voltage regulator 9 Adapter board for USB chip Now soldering the tiny USB chip to the motherboard loses its Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 8 terror In a failed attempt you can just use another adapter board no damage to the motherboard 10 More ground trace surface Soldering on additional copper wire to carry high current is no longer needed 11 Better RF attenuation elements on socket box receiver This means that in most cases no ferrite beads are required in the socket boxes themselves Functional description The RoeTest employs a USB interface to connect to a PC A PIC microcontroller receives commands from the PC software and executes these The PIC microcontroller controls the output voltages of the heater H anode a k a plate A G1 G2 and G3 boards and a matrix of relays to connect tube pins to a voltage source The PIC continuously measures voltages and currents and sends these back to the PC software for display and analysis The PIC also supports functions such as checking for continuity and controlling external heater voltage relays To be able to increase the anode voltage there is a 600V board which is a constant 300V voltage source connected in series with the anode
12. time Output voltage should decrease when the current limiter kicks in and the output current should not further increase Note make sure to use 5W wire wound resistors for the current measurement and current limiter circuits other resistor types repeatedly failed on me To test voltage regulation of the H A and G2 boards From Roetest 4 onwards electronic voltage regulation is used Output voltages must remain stable as long as the output current limiter does not kick in Connect a resistor and verify the output voltage is constant Continuity test circuits The continuity test circuit is used in various tests for instance for the filament test or when testing for shorts Verify the function of the continuity circuit with no tube inserted The continuity test circuit uses the S2 A and S4 G2 rails When the check for continuity relay is switched on 5V is fed through a resistor and diode for protection is connected to the S4 rail and should be measurable Switch the relay on using the software as shown PC software gt Options T est gt Relays gt check for continuity Now connect the S2 and S4 rails This can be done by removing a relay card and using a wire to connect the S2 and S4 rails in the card socket on the motherboard The causes the MPSA44 to be switched on and the signal B7 at the PIC goes from hi to lo The software should indicate that by illuminating the software LED check for continuity as shown be
13. to provide this voltage is not commercially available For cost reasons have dispensed with a special design and instead use two standard transformers To obtain the correct output voltage use two transformers with different outputs interconnected One is Reichelt EL30 23 224 2 8 VA 2x24V 2x58mA short circuit proof the other is Reichelt EL30 18 224 2 3 VA 2x24V 2x48mA short circuit protected The secondaries are all connected is series After the transformer a voltage doubler generates the appropriate DC voltage The only special made part is the main transformer recommend the use of a toroid transformer Toroid transformers are compacter lighter and more important the difference between the output voltage under no load and full load is less You ll find a table with the toroid transformer data on the CD Trafodaten RoeTest pdf It is important that the transformer windings are able to deliver the specified voltages under full load The no load voltage however should not be too high to protect the filter capacitors and to make sure power loss is not too high The transformer must physically fit in the space that is planned for it Since having a transformer made to specification is very expensive ve had someone manufacture a small supply If you re interested contact me Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 14 Main transformer toroid transformer made to specification wi
14. voltage board Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 9 Block diagram The 5 voltage sources can be recognized in the block diagram The 5 voltage sources and ground are connected to 6 rails The tube pins are then connected to the rails using a matrix of relays The relay matrix consists of 10 cards each with 6 relays In addition on the motherboard are supplies for 5V 12V 68V 320V and 12V unstabilized for the relays for the various circuits Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 10 Circuit description Supply voltages The relay voltage is not stabilized The 5 and 12V sources need to be very stable and for that reason precision voltage regulators with low temperature drift are used The absolute voltage output is less important than the stability since voltage variations would result in measurement errors The additional 320V and 68V sources are stabilized using an LR8 Variable voltage sources for the heater anode plate and G2 voltages These all function in a similar manner as shown in the following simplified diagram Leistungsteil sirommessung 330 V rs Spannungseinstellung Regelung oben 7 8 E Eh Be 5 E E m DG LI L PCFESSIP A D A converter that is connected to the I C Bus is controlled by the PIC and generates a 0 to 5V voltage and that voltage is amplified to over 300V using an opamp and a transistor Th
15. 06 measure 600 with g3 calDA 255 rating Idle current correct at For lt m 0 B maximum voltage f Plate Anode voltage lo E Uh Vv Ih lo mA Uh lo Y Gi hi 1 0 9 E Th hi mA Uh hi V C Gilo current DAC value 0 255 0 N la lo mA max Di4 value 255 e f G2 a f G3 f heater voltage hi internal DC heating P heater voltage lo internal DC heating x 3 Ig2 mA Ig mA Voltages switchted to the rails but not to the tube sockets Please measure voltages at testpoint1 of the related card Attention In this mode are no overcurrent protection S calibration on autosearch values Set the anode board output to 280V and then calibrate the G3 board by adjusting the trim pot for the 600V range on the G3 board until it indicates 280V Note you can only do this if you have set the correct version of the G3 card in the software Options test gt Options and your G3 card must be version 6 or higher Otherwise the checkbox will not be displayed on the screen Never connect the cards using a wire Calibration of the heater voltage measurement Problem When you connect a multimeter to the tube socket and measure the heater voltage using manual mode for the heater voltage the measured voltage will be the same as indicated in software However if a load is connected like a tube that requires 1A heater current it is possible that the value measured won t exactly match the software indicated value
16. Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 1 Noval Ban Tn mem ehren dy Construction manual for Roelest V8 professional tube testing system c Helmut Weigl As of 01 2015 Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 2 Table of contents Introduction to this manual iii 3 LEG A 3 COLO A RR SR RA RR RR RR A 4 Hardware Revision HIStory i i 5 RoeTest4 changes compared to Roefest3 sese ee 5 Hoe Test V5 to RoeTest4 nenn nenennnnnnensnennnsnenenennnnsnensnennnnnnnnen 5 Changes RoeTest V6 to RoeTestBi 6 Ghanges ZIO VO torero 2 52 Eh 0 LS DA LA LODI L DA la Lal ela alee ala ale l sla Lola dala Lella aha 6 Changes V7 AMO 2303 LISI ELA OLANDA LS LANSA LA LO DANS DAS LOD ALS LRU LOR USS AIRE LO lol hl 7 ETIE N 210 Wissens 7 F NCNONALGESELDION TTT 8 BIOCK OO AIM ee een aaa nennen nenne nen 9 Circuit dee et pl onen 10 Se TT 12 Component selection css eee eee ee 13 Se ii i 16 POESCONSIIUC ON gt man 19 Socket box receiver mechanical construction eee 31 ROUSINGICIDI clacio 37 WING ele 52 First time power on test procedure se eee eee eee 53 ONS AE ONL A e 55 Variable microcontroller controlled output voltages 55 Calibration Of TNE GOOV board z 4sssesassa EEEE 57 Calibration of the voltage measurement ranges eee ee ee ee ee eee 57 Calibration of 600V measurement range on G3
17. FETs are used to increase output power See detailed circuit diagrams The G3 card also has a circuit to measure high voltages and the circuit is active when the G3 card is not used for generating the G3 voltage This is used e g when testing voltage Stabilizers Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 12 Boards There is a PCB for each of the 5 voltage sources There is also a PCB for the PIC microcontroller with relay drivers and a PCB for the 600V range Finally there are 10 PCBs for the relay matrix each with relay drivers These PCBs are connected to and inserted in the main PCB The main PCB has the following circuits Supply voltages Fuses and rectifiers and the filter capacitors for the H A G2 voltage and 600 V boards Continuity checkers Relays to switch to an external heater voltage source USB interface Soft start for the toroid transformer using an NTC and relay Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 13 Component selection recommend using only first class components If you re using second class components you should expect second class quality For tube sockets recommend you use socket boxes and not to have fixed sockets Transformers For 12 V relays and other voltages normal standard transformers are used For the 68V supply a 2 x 24V transformer will do Since the load is minimal the idle no load voltage is high enough Fixed 320 V supply A transformer
18. Ohm 0 065 mA so the remaining 0 01 mA is offset For this case there is the option to have the software remove the idle current at maximum output voltage To do that press the button for lt autosearch values gt RoeTest must be connected and the software will adjust it s indication accordingly Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 62 Enter the leakage current RoeTest professional tube testing system send voltages This window is the hardware test and calibration window ltage adjustments ftware calibration of measured data Plate Anode voltage hi maximum voltage Idle current correct at measure 600V with g3 ca D A 255 maximum voltage C Plate Anode voltage lo W Ih lo mA C GA hi current voltage Y 0 E j Th hi mA C Gib current DAC value 0 255 sE Ia lo mA max DNA value 55 S a CG2 CG3 heater voltage hi internal DC heating heater voltage lo internal DC heating 9 E Ig2 ma Voltages switchted to the rails but not to the tube sockets Please measure voltages at testpoint1 of the related card Attention In this mode are no overcurrent protection If the meters don t read zero at idle the settings in the right column can be used Do this with the button lt autosearch values gt with RoeTest This window is the hardware test and calibration window ltage adjustments ftware calibration of measured data Plate Anode voltage hi maximum voltage Id
19. RL is soldered to the adapter board On the same side of the adapter two SMD capacitors 100nF type 805 are also soldered The adapter board is fitted with pin contacts and plugged into an IC socket to the motherboard Use an 8 pin IC socket and split it Adapter board with pin contacts Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 26 Adapter board seen from the bottom Here you can see the two SMD capacitors 100nF type 805 Using the adapter has the following advantage If the first try at soldering the USB serial adapter is unsuccessful you can use a new adapter board for future attempts with no damage to the main board Windows driver Windows needs a driver for the USB interface The new Windows Versions 8 1 have a driver on board Driver installed automatically be patient please wait For older Windows drivers can be found on the FTDI web site You can also find a driver on the CD ROM Before you connect the RoeTest and switch it on you must have the driver unzipped After connecting the USB interface Windows will report that it found a new USB interface and wants to install a driver for it this also indicates that the connection of the USB chip to the PC is in order since the PIC Microcontroller is not yet installed the USB chip to PIC connection will not yet be made You can than indicate where which directory the driver is to be found After successfull driver installation the interfac
20. TI LIHAT 1 4S y Gi Spalla 7 8 And finally the relay matrix PCBs Also here despite single sided layouts no wire bridges are needed You can separate the PCBs for instance by bending them on a table edge right at the PCB edges Relaleplatine v7 Relaisplatine W n U F 2 PCFS574 A PCF8S74 A ci MOI DA l gt 2 ne E PC Adresze C Adresse 7 Ss Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 19 PCB construction Main PCB Please isolate the sections of the main PCBs that have traces directly connected to the mains SO you are protected from accidentily touching them Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 20 Make sure you correctly orientate the 64 pin 4 mm PCB DIN connectors on the main PCB fat white lines indcate where the PCBs have to be plugged in I TPAR N a ge EN me me ee oe A E E s ies PIG gt e ene EE 7 S E T d i Fi lat ri fs Pal FE Ket K a ae eee eter Li z spe ee ae i aeeaeete eae E a n gt ai Si n memo m j me KE wits l T Eo 3 dl PS 4 l ares lt SEIL 4 a T Be b zur I m a Pe E u 9 ou S n 71 3 L E sa g We Za srt u m DE p lt P 1 ELE in a 9 i Oo Mi S i 1 k oe gt 4 i A Fi Fil dor i H SLIT a d d ni BE KM C ERLI E Additional connectors are needed f
21. TIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES LOSS OF USE DATA OR PROFITS OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY WHETHER IN CONTRACT STRICT LIABILITY OR TORT INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THE CIRCUIT DESIGNS HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE The building of a RoeTest is undertaken at your own risk Software especially is never fault free and can lead to a malfunction Lethal and high voltages Tubes and tube testers including the boe Test work with high and lethal voltages Please note that working with high voltages is dangerous The voltages in the tube tester and also on the tube sockets pins are dangerous and can lead to injury or death Use with care Ensure the RoeTest is only used by adults with knowledge of vacuum tubes and electronics Keep away from children and animals You and anyone using the tube tester are responsible for making sure you meet all the nationwide and local safety regulations Please remember that charged capacitors in a power supply will remain charged to high voltages for a long time after being switched off or disconnected from the mains despite the use of bleeder resistors Please discharge these capacitors with a Suitable resistor before working on or experimenting with the circuits The RoeTest is a do it yourself DIY project The Roe Test
22. The RoeTest will indiciate a slightly higher voltage than the multimeter depending on how much current is drawn Cause Copper traces connector pins relay contacts wires etc have a resistance If there is a current there will be a voltage drop This will have an impact on the measured values and test results in the RoeTest even if this voltage drop is very small This only a factor for the heater voltage low range 0 12 75V for the following reasons e The low voltage range has high currents e The measurement system amplification is high e The deviation is large compared to the low voltage in the heater circuit in case of a 300V anode voltage a measurement error of 0 1V can be ignored Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 59 The problem with the voltage drop is mostly a ground connection problem Even though the ground traces are wide and fortified with 2 5 mm wire there is still a voltage drop This effectively shifts the 0 point for the measurement amplifier with respect to the point where the voltage divider is connected gn i a Therefore it s important where the 0 points on the main PCB are connected Slight voltage variations at the different ground connections impact the amplifier output and result in measurement errors Solution There is a trim pot on the heater PCB marked Kompensation Spannungsmessung that can be used to compensate for the voltage differential at the ground c
23. anges V8 to V7 2 1 A reduction in size of the motherboard This is only 39 cm long and fits just in a steel housing with 40 cm length 2 Due to the shorter motherboard we re again saved a few cm wire length 3 For the fixed 320V supply the previous 4 transformers were replaced by two transformers and configured as a voltage doubler saves board space 4 The G1 G3 voltages now go to 63 V previously 51V 5 The measuring range for heater current is now extended to 6 1 A previously 5 1 A The larger measurement range can show in rush current better The long term current capability of 5A has not changed only for brief periods currents of 5 5A are allowed Only the measuring range has been increased 6 The measuring range for anode current is now extended to 300 mA The continuous current capability is still 250 mA 300 mA for short periods is allowed With the change short peaks are displayed This gives an advantage in the recording of characteristics For short period high current flows the curves measured with V8 now display up to 300 mA 7 The measuring range for G2 current is now extended to 60 mA The continuous current capability of 50 mA 60 mA is only briefly allowed has not changed With the changes in V8 short peaks up to 60mA are displayed The advantage is in the recording characteristics For short period high current flows tests and curves made with V8 may display up to 60 mA 8 600V Card New circuit with control
24. card from version 6 onwardSs Rene eee 58 Calibration of the heater voltage measurement ee ee e ee ee eee 58 Current measurement calibrationi iii 60 CUR 63 To test voltage regulation of the H A and G2 boards eee 63 Test CHECK TON CO MAU IS iii ETERNIT ATTI 63 BIOSING os ee eee mr E E EA EE AREA A AA 64 Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 3 Introduction to this manual Building the RoeTest tube tester is not a project for beginners In addition to the size and complexity of the project this tube tester works with high and lethal voltages Experience is required recommend that you only try to build this tester if you have ample knowledge of and experience with electronics That said the tube tester can be built successfully as shown by the many testers built by other people You can see these on the website The manuals appear to be complete and correct would be grateful if you would let me know if you find errors in the manuals or if you have improvement suggestions Disclaimer THE ROETEST CIRCUIT DESIGNS HARDWARE SOFTWARE OR ANY OTHER MATERIAL ARE PROVIDED BY ME AS IS AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED IN NO EVENT SHALL I BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT INDIRECT INCIDENTAL SPECIAL EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUEN
25. choke with a parallel 100 Ohm resistor use only low inductance film resistors The attenuators are insulated with heat shrink tubing sani ni Important keep all wires to the socket box receiver and to the MOSFETs as short as possible The longer the wires the more risk there is for oscillations with certain tube types In my devices there are only a few inches from the back of the motherboard to the socket box receiver The MOSFETs are soldered directly to the motherboard Within the socket boxes have shortest wire routing possible when only one socket per per box is installed With this setup have no oscillation problems even with very high gain tubes Fuse table In my machine RoeTest V8 used the following fuses all slow blow Primary Secondary Heater low range Heater high range Anode supply 600 V board supply G2 supply Relay power supply All fuses are on the main board Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 53 First time power on test procedure Please check all the wiring again before you switch power on for the first time My recommendation is to test parts of circuits separately You can remove and insert various fuses and PCBs to do that Important note when you make changes or fix something TURN POWER OFF and wait FOR the filter capacitors to discharge Also don t insert or remove PCBs with power switched on or with charged filter capacitors The following sequenc
26. component placing significantly No wire bridges are required thanks to double sided layouts with vias to connect layers This is true for the main PCB microcontroller PCB the 600V PCB and the temperature sensor PCB The main PCB microcontroller PCB and 600V PCB are manufactured as a whole with perforations to separate the PCBs Use a small saw to separate the PCBs and use a rasp to smoothen the sides The PCB size is 390 x 254 mm The temperature board and 2 adapters for the FTDI are provided individually Note color blue green and layout may vary from the pictures agi pi 30 da Yy a ky ij L L EEE TI oo CACAO TOGO EEEE SERA pr i E RON C gt alal Tp ra F d 5 P al EEEE PEEELCEEELLI i LITE Ete beh R p Lik 10 x Relais platen ka bo i ka Bere C DI F F a a 8 A lt n G a i FE be i Af imi x aal TT Dm n T Voltage PCBs despite single sided layouts no wire bridges are needed You can separate the PCBs for instance by bending them on a table edge right at the PCB edges Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 18 odz aA as oe ws TF LUI gt iu S YVR TG we o r lt D Wiy9 DA Fi a crodz 1941 a QA lt x Z K Las De G l O 1019 M InwjeH 9 SuniaBuaB 13A 0 S B uB UTS N Com Su Di Td ut au J 19 94 1111111111111111 11111111 LIII LL C n 3 j TMT E E ONES v7 LAS TI
27. d connector since we want to determine the voltage drop over the ground connection 4 If needed adjust the trim pot for the heater voltage low range measurement until the multimeter and software indicated voltages match exactly 5 Now insert the tube so that a heater current actually starts to flow again dont select the heater adjustment function 6 If now the multimeter and the RoeTest software indicate different values adjust the trim pot Kompensation Spannungsmessung until the values indicated are the same Now whether the tube is removed or reinserted the indicated values remain the same Current measurement calibration Current measurement ranges must also be calibrated For example for the anode current there are two measurement ranges a 0 25 mA low range and a 0 250 mA high range select the 0 51 anode voltage range Connect a resistor that can handle the wattage for example a 1200 Ohm 75W in series with a milliamp meter to the anode board test point 1 and ground Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 61 Tip If you dont have the required high watt resistors you can use a 230 240V light bulb for example a 15W light bulb for the G2 board Increase the output voltage until the multimeter indicates about 20 mA Now adjust the trim pot for the low current range until the virtual instrument displayed by the software also indicates the same value Then select the 300V output range and set t
28. e connected to ground Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 41 Make sure that the front panel and the cabinet are connected to ground and also that the central ground connection of the main PCB is connected to ground Make sure safety is ensured for example make sure you cant touch anything that carries a high voltage and be sure to comply with all the safety regulations and requirements of your country Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl My Roe Test V7 prototype Below are some pictures of my RoeTest V7 prototype Page 42 Front panel made by Fa Schaeffer AG made from 3 mm thick or more aluminum panel Back side with pressed in threaded studs and heat sink attached Note studs installed for MOSFETs and temperature sensor in the heat sink Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 43 have mounted the heat sink with a bit of distance from the front panel so that the heat can escape The heatsink gets MA threaded holes for mounting Threaded bolts use 10 mm plastic spacers except for the ground eee m Connection where a metal A spacer should be used when the main PCB is attached to the back side of the front panel The LEDs are soldered in after the PCB is attached to the front panel so that it s easy to solder them in at the correct height When installing the LEDs the longest wire is positive Construction man
29. e database has cost price information although you will need to verify and update the cost price information since these prices are constantly changing You can add and delete components to from the database which may come in handy if you already have some components Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 16 PCBs The double sided main PCB with many vias connecting different layers is very complex It is also very large at 390 x 254 mm This kind of PCB can hardly be made at home anymore It will also too expensive if everyone just has to have one made with a quantity of one For that reason and also to protect my design no longer distribute the main PCB design files You will find the parts layout PCB silk screen design on the CD ROM which you can use if the silk screen print becomes unreadable have ordered a larger quantity of the PCB set and you can buy them from me at a fair price These are professionally made PCBs Epoxy FR4 2 mm for mainboard 70 u copper thickness Double sided with vias where needed to connect layers Solder mask on both sides Silk screen print indicating component location on both sides HAL pre tinned for easy soldering This table lists how many PCBs you need Application Main PCB Relay matrix PCBS Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 17 And this is what professionally made PCBs look like Silk screening solder mask and pre tinning speed up
30. e of steps is recommended First with no PCBs or fuses inserted in the motherboard test all the power supplies connected to the mains and make sure the no load idle voltages are not too high they should not exceed the voltage limits of the filter capacitors Check 12 and 12 Volt 5V unregulated 12V relay supply set the 68V using the trimmer pot the idle voltage of the circuit before the regulator is ca 90V and set the 320V using the trimmer pot the idle voltage of the circuit before the regulator is ca 380V the maximum allowed value is 400V Then insert the fuses in the secondary circuits of the heater anode and G2 power supplies and measure the output voltages Test pins can be soldered to the main PCB at the indicated locations They can be used to discharge the capacitors and or measure the voltages The idle voltages for the A G2 and 600V supplies should be approx 360V For the next steps switch off the anode G2 and heater supplies by removing the fuses in the secondary circuits Insert the microcontroller PCB When the power is switched on the working on indicator LEDs should blink a few times indicating the PIC microcontroller is starting up It should now be possible for the PC software to communicate with the PIC microcontroller via a USB cable Make sure all necessary drivers are properly installed see the user manual for instructions The PIC should now respond when it gets commands If you start the testing for shor
31. e output is connected to a voltage divider around RV and the voltage measured at that point is fed back to a differential amplifier This differential amplifier compares the voltages on the and inputs of the differential amplifier and keeps the output voltage constant feedback loop To make the circuit stable many circuit updates needed to be made so the real circuit has quite a few more parts Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 11 Additionally each PCB has a few relays to switch various ranges The H A and G2 circuits use MOSFETs for increased power output Finally the H A and G2 circuits have a current limiter circuit if the voltage drop over a resistor exceeds about 0 6 volts a transistor is switched on to decrease the MOSFET output voltage such that the output current is limited Here is some more detail please refer to the actual circuit diagrams these are on a CD ROM can be obtained from me A voltage divider circuit is used to measure the voltage outputs of the voltage boards and that voltage is fed into an opamp whose output is connected to an A D converter input on the PIC microcontroller H A and G2 output current is measured by measuring the voltage drop over resistors in the ground connections between the input voltage sources and central ground For that current is supplied by separate transformer circuits Opamps are used again as amplifiers for the measured voltages and the output voltage is c
32. e will report itself as a serial interface You can also see the new COM port in system devices also wether the driver is correct installed Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 27 Relay PCBs e 10 of these need to be built one PCB for each tube pin The ISC addresses hardware programmed you do that by connecting the address pins of the correct IC types PCF8574 or PCF8574A to either 5V 1 or OV 0 as per the table below PCB nr el IC Pin2 IC Pin3 IC por ao jo he 2 Pers 180 3 foi 2 POF8574 68 1 u 4 PEF8574 70 ooo EEE 5 Posa R 10 e posna m po p po PCF8574 76 PCF8574 78 o Pcras7aa n2 o 10 Poreszaa a 1 In the finished boards provide these addresses are set in the manufacturing process Solder bridges are no longer required here Please make sure that the right IC Type is used HED in oO Q Stift ULNLUVJ A c Helmut Weigl www roehrentest de Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 28 Microcontroller PCB euerung V8 Microcontroller PCB RoeTest This PCB is double sided with vias to connect the layers On the bottom side you will need to solder a 4 7K resistor Heater voltage PCB ay forees UR sei 1w ihr LE AaRAHR EERE LALA CFE sii TTT A T H SR REREAD AES lt KA x E i rd ee HT LL Y hie Also the following components need to be soldered on the PCB bottom side s 6 8 Ohm 5W resistor e 9 1K metal film resistor e 47uUF 350V
33. g and touch the PCB or the main transformer Make sure to bolt the main transformer to the frontpanel before bolting on the socket box receiver Construction manual Roe Test V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 34 Befestigungsl cher 3 mm i Befestigungsl cher 3 mm Aluwinkel eloxiert 19x8x1 6 L nge 115 mm 2 St ck Kunststoff 4mm Farbe transparent 13 4 x 115 mm 2 St ck Kunststoff 4 mm Farbe transparent 108 x 120 mm 2 St ck socket box receiver socket box receiver components Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 35 Here are some examples of the tube socket boxes I m using from RoeTest V4 onwards the low cost plastic boxes get new bottom plates that is wider as the box itself in my case it s 80 mm wide so they fit within the rails of the socket box receiver Fassungsbox 3 amerikanische R hren RoeTest 4 It s best to have only one tube socket per socket box That way wiring can be kept simple and there is less chance for oscillations usually ferrite beads are no longer needed in the socket boxes now that the RF attenutator elements are built in directly in front of the socket box receiver for all 10 pins and with short wires in the socket boxes Make sure to connect any metal parts that can be touched to ground Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 36 Numbering of the pins at rotated adapter box The connector flushes with the boundary of the
34. g the front panel until you already have the Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 40 enclosure and heat sink The external dimensions of the front panel heatsink attachment etc should be finalized before the front panel order is placed The front panel with all electronics bolted to it can be put in an aluminum suitcase or some other suitable cabinet The above procedure is only a guideline Of course the main circuit board can also be mounted in a different housing or chassis On my website there are numerous illustrations of Roetests constructed by makers who have chosen different ways of building and different housing options Front panel seen from behind with main PCB and the spot for the toroid transformer The sockets for the required connections USB banana sockets mains switch etc are on the front side You can also see the locations of the MOSFETs and the temperature sensor Mounting of mainboard on the front panel for a Roelest V7 this shows the way the V8 motherboard would look after cutting along the dashed lines where the MOSFETs are connected The above is just a recommendation obviously you can use a chassis or put the whole thing together in another way Whatever you use it should be some metal housing that is connected to ground for safety reasons and also to avoid RF radiations Please pay attention to e Ventilation heat must be able to escape s All metal parts that can be touched must b
35. h discrete components a high voltage opamp IC is used e The G3 board has an additional circuit for measuring high voltages that is for instance used when testing voltage stabilizers e Completely redesigned circuits for the plate G2 and heater supply boards Voltages are controlled by an integrated precision opamp instead of an opamp built using discrete components e The USB power is now supplied using a relay such that no current flows when the RoeTest is switched off When the RoeTest is switched on power is supplied to the USB chip using the relay to enable the USB interface e The 600V plate voltage circuit is redesigned and is put on a separate PCB e Small layout changes in the other PCBs e Use ofa different PIC Microprocessor with 12 bit A D converters before 10 bit A D converters were used e New firmware e The software is modified to support the new design and is compatible with earlier versions The new circuit designs allow for more accurate measurement and test results Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 6 Changes RoeTest V6 to RoeTest5 Circuit designs stayed largely the same The goal was to simplify the construction of the Roelest To accomplish that the following changes were made 1 New double sided PCB The transformer PCB and connector PCBs are now integrated with the main PCB Even more wire patches are removed The only remaining board connections are the mains power mains transformer
36. he output voltage such that your multimeter indicates 150 mA and adjust the trim pot for the high current measurement Now set the slider to OV and slide it slowly up At about 25 mA you should hear the relay click that switches the current measurement from the low to the high range Now lower it again and it should switch back to the low range with a little hysteresis Only when the ranges are properly calibrated the switch from low to high range and back happens at the right moment Software calibrate Measurements Offset calibration by trimmers is not possible If need be you can set an offset in the software e g if the offset is 0 02 mA enter a 0 02 mA value in the software calibration screen Options Test gt sending voltages gt software calibration of measured data gt rating lf there are large offset values you should find the cause of it and remedy the problem e g replace the opamp if it causes the problem Now Remove the load resistors Set the anode voltage to the maximum value The current display should still indicate 0 If not and the value shown is high you likely have a ground connection problem and you should try and find the cause My prototype shows a leakage current of 0 075 mA for the A and G2 boards There will always be a small current flowing at maximum output voltage if only because the voltage divider network at the output used to measure the output voltage puts a small load on the output 300V 4 733 000
37. is not UL CE GS T v tested or listed and cannot guarantee that use of the RoeTest is legal or permitted Changes may be made to the software or hardware at any time Compatibility with earlier versions is not guaranteed even when current versions are compatible with earlier versions Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 4 Note related to the tube data database The extensive tube data database is constantly changing Tube data is added changed and or deleted Current tube data may be wrong or incomplete No warranties are provided as to the completeness and or correctness of the tube data The database does contain data for tubes that the RoeTest cannot test either because the required voltages or currents are too high or because they are for certain tubes for special applications Copyright Copyright Helmut Weigl Heidestr 7 92708 Mantel email info roehrentest de maintain all rights to the hardware hardware designs and software The software hardware designs or any other material remain my intellectual property You merely obtain a license to use the hardware designs software or any other material for private use only The database is made available for private use only and changing the data structure or removing copyrights is prohibited Use of the contents of the database for any other application than the RoeTest tube tester is prohibited Commercial usage is allowed only with written permission from me
38. k tubing Banana sockets are mounted to the front panel for Pin 9 and 10 these are used for making connections to tubes with top connectors and for voltage regulator tubes ground unstabilized relay voltage 12V 2 connections to be able to connect an external heater voltage source Housing cabinet A chassis is no longer necessary because all parts are attached to the aluminum front panel The aluminum front panel can simultaneously serve as a heat sink for the MOSFETs To ensure isolation use insulation with a low thermal resistance for example Fischer KAP218 If the aluminum fornt panel is to be used as a heat sink it should be at least 5mm to 6mm thick In this case the motherboard should be cut out along the markings so that the MOSFE T s can be mounted on the front panel same as RoeTest V7 When a separate heat sink is used there is more cooling power This is an important advantage if you often measure more powerful tubes You can then choose a thinner for example 3 mm material for the front panel The heat sink can be mounted vertically or horizontally to the front panel The choice of the heat sink is relatively open However it should be large enough to disapate the heat The SK 479 75 SA that used Fischer elektronik extends over the entire back panel 40 cm and has a cooling capacity of better than 0 5 K W For closed cases one could also use cooling units heatsink with fan
39. le current correct at T measure 600V with g3 calD A 255 maximum voltage C Plate Anode voltage lo W Ih lo mA C Gi hi TRE NE IN 0 E Ua Ih hi ma C Gilb current DAC value 0 255 la lo mA max WA valwe 255 S C G2 CG3 heater voltage hi internal DC heating P heater voltage lo internal DC heating B Ig2 mA Voltages switchted to the rails but not to the tube sockets Please measure voltages at testpoint of the related card Attention In this mode are no overcurrent protection Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 63 Current limiter The RoeTest uses hardware current limiters to limit the current output as per the table below max current design Current limiter kicks in at Heater low range ca 5000 mA maximal ca 6000mA Heater high range 500 mA ca 670 mA Anode plate 255 mA ca 350 mA Note that the actual values at which the current limiter takes effect depend on the tolerances of the semiconductors and the resistors The transformers used should be able to continuously deliver about 1 25 times the maximum current To test the hardware current limiters Test the heater anode and G2 voltage boards one after the other gt connect a suitable resistor that can handle the load or if you don t have one use for instance a light bulb to test point 1 and ground and increase the output voltage until the current limiter kicks in Do this only for a short period of
40. low Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 64 Note if the check for continuity circuit doesn t work reliably you may have voltages somewhere that are not properly connected to ground Make sure the A G2 and H boards are inserted when testing this and that the fuses are inserted in the secondaries of the power supplies for these cards If you have the 600V board inserted than this must be connected to ground through a 0 47uF 630V capacitor PPh Peo 1 DAI hy I CISH Le Hauptplatine m m PIP i Durchgangspruter esterne Heizspannung Anodenzsp Erhohung Ung EFSO N oval BOA Di f 6 3 Fe 03 g Now if everything works correctly and is correctly calibrated you can insert your first tube and test the tube Closing remarks When you have successfully built the Roe Test you ll have a tube tester you cant find elsewhere If you don t count the hours to build it it ll cost you less then a well maintained vintage tube tester You can do a lot more with the RoeTest and it is much simpler to operate Good luck with building the RoeTest and have fun testing tubes Helmut Weigl Additional documentation The following documents are on a CD ROM that can be ordered from me complete circuit diagrams PCB layout diagrams parts database more pictures PC Software measurement software drivers database many documents and manuals for instance this manual The program
41. ly the test voltages have changed The following has changed e New circuit electronic stabilization of the voltage supplies under load Software compensation is no longer required e Simpler calibration of the voltage supplies e The 2 5 V voltage supplies are no longer required e Special transformers are no longer required low cost standard transformers can now be used The main transformer has less windings Maximum heater current is increased to 5 A in the 12 75V range The PCB layouts were redesigned requiring less patch wires The USB interface is now on the main PCB such that just a small USB connector board is needed e My prototype is constructed differently the main PCB is split in two PCBs and housed in a compact cabinet with transparent sides The goal was to improve the circuits to reduce the effort to build the RoeTest and to decrease the need for special parts Now standard low cost and readily available parts other than the main transformer and the tube sockets are used Also a few more components had to be placed on the test voltage PCBs Especially the heater voltage PCB is densely populated A small solder iron and some patience helps when putting it together The main PCB was laid out in such a way that it can be manufactured as one piece 40 x 20 cm or as two pieces 2 x 20 x 20 cm RoeTest V5 to RoeTest4 e The G1 and G3 boards are completely redesigned Instead of a high voltage opamp built wit
42. med PIC microcontroller can only be obtained from me As long as supplies last you can also order the PCB set and the main transformer from me Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 65 You can find more information and software updates published irregularly on my website www roehrentest de
43. note the USB interface components such as the USB socket the LEDs and a resistor are soldered onto the bottom side of the main PCB such that they stick out a little The distance between the main PCB and the front panel is 10 mm 10 mm spacers are used Soldering the tiny USB to RS232 converter IC FT232RL is a tricky job This part is only available as an SMD part It must be soldered on the bottom side of the main PCB You will need a very fine solder tip and a steady hand Lots of light and a magnifier are also very helpful Put a tiny amount of solder tin on the PCB connections Then place the IC into position and hold it there with one finger and solder one corner pin Then solder the opposite corner pin and then the remaining pins You ll want to keep a desoldering pump handy to be able to remove excess solder Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 25 Because many electronics technicians have difficulty soldering this component have created the following options 1 The IC as before is soldering directly onto the motherboard 2 You can solder the IC to a small adapter board and solder the adapter board either with 8 small wires from the bottom of the motherboard or provided with connectors 8 pin IC socket cut in half and put on top of the motherboard In this manner one has several tries if one fails at the first time Option 1 FT232RL soldered directly to bottom side of the main board Option2 FT232
44. ode PCB until your multimeter indicates the same voltage as the value shown in red on the screen select the anode plate voltage high range and calibrate using the same procedure Then enter a DAC value of 230 and adjust the trim pot marked oben kleiner Bereich until the measured voltage equals the voltage now displayed in red on your computer screen Since the trim pot adjustments are somewhat interactive repeat this calibration sequence a few times Select the anode plate voltage high range and calibrate using the same procedure Calibrate the G1 G2 G3 and heater boards in a similar manner Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 57 Position of the trimmers on the PCB s if Li Fi Poti unten below re 6 3V Calibration of the 600V board Connect your multimeter to the test points marked on the PCB and adjust the trim pot until you measure 300V exactly Connect a load resistor for instance a 15W bulb make sure the bulb can handle the voltage and verify that the output voltage is kept constant within approximately a 1 2V range Calibration of the voltage measurement ranges The calibration of the measurement voltage trimmers ensures that the virtual voltmeters displayed in software on the screen indicate the same values as the multimeter Make this calibration towards the high end of the output range for example at 280V anode voltage Adjust the various trim pots marked measuremen
45. onnected to an A D converter input on the PIC microcontroller see detailed circuit diagrams Board component dimensions and layout are different for each board Where needed relays are used to switch measurement ranges This allows for high resolution even in the low ranges for voltage output control and output voltage and current measurement For the heater circuit low high ranges also the transformer circuit and current limiter resistors are different Each board has a relay to connect the output to a relay matrix rail The G2 board can also be connected over two 470K resistors to a rail for testing magic eyes The G1 board can be connected to a rail over a 1 2M resistor for tube vacuum testing Relays are controlled by the PIC microcontroller by using relay drivers on the PIC PCB or for the relay matrix cards by relay drivers on the relay matrix PCBs connected to the 1 C Bus LEDs and discharge resistors are used to discharge the electrolytic capacitors when the tube tester is switched off The LEDs indicate whether the resistors are still charged with a high voltage For safety reasons you should only work on the tester when all electrolytic capacitors are discharged The main PCB has various connection points that allow you to quicker discharge these capacitors e g using a light bulb or that allow you to measure the voltage levels to verify the capacitors are discharged A high voltage opamp OPA445A is used for the G1 and G3 boards MOS
46. onnection points The trim pot appears to be connected in a useless manner since both ends are connected to ground However these are actually different ground points There is a minimal voltage differential between these points depending on how much current flows through the ground connection This trim pot can therefore be used to compensate for measurement errors Note that the RoeTest can only correctly auto adjust the heater voltage when it the voltage is measured correctly Despite all of this still take all measures to minimize voltage drop e g fortify the copper tracks with wire keep wire connections to the tube socket as short as possible etc Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 60 two different grounding points Testpunkt 1 N oou in Widerstand 6 8 Ohm 5V G na il E ie e Pi 2 i LD 14 cm m N IE el A ir Mar ae Sonn nen a Calibration steps 1 Pick a tube that requires about 1A heater current for example an REN914 or a 6L6 for US users Load the tube data but don t insert the tube yet 2 Select the manual mode and use the slider control to set the heater voltage to the manufacturers specification e g 4V Don t enable the heater adjustment and don t insert the tube 3 Press the start button and measure the heater voltage at the tube socket at REN914 pins 2 and 3 Dont measure at test point 1 and groun
47. or the A G2 H and 600V PCBs and you can make these by using a saw to cut up a 64 pin 4mm PCB connector as shown below You may have to glue the bottom piece back on on the separated pieces a DICA a elms bi Ae A ET i an gt TRoeTest 47 re amp c Helmur Weigl N slwww roehrentest d E H Li ow 7 la I K 600V ErG hon re en A Dutchgangs Te va L Al hall Page 21 Picture of the V7 main PCB an industrially made PCB has many advantages over home made PCBs silk screening solder mask double sided with vias exact fit all this just saves many Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl hours of work making it a good investment m Stade a lalala roehrente unuiigigaieia x DI CECECo lt e Lube L 9 g Le O S gt LO L 2 x S Y ua Cy d LZ Q L and the traces underneath it have used a must be insulated from the main PCB to avoid a short circuit between the heat sink tranparent plastic sheet and glued it between the traces and the heat sink as shown here 4 1 i i Er gms i r L LSD ohn tice o Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 22 The bridge rectifier for the low heater range 5A KBU808G can deliver up to 8A if a heat sink is used The front panel is used as the heat sink for this rectifier For this purpose the component is
48. pins to heat sink Very important please always be sure to insert each PCB into the correct connector slot on the main PCB and don t put them in the wrong positions as this will destroy the circuits Don t insert or remove PCBs when power is switched on Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 31 Socket box receiver mechanical construction Tube sockets are not built in permanently instead a socket box receiver is used so that individual socket boxes can be connected Advantages Less risk of oscillations flexible it s eays to add socket boxes for new tube socket types Recommendation use good quality connectors make sure to select an appropriate wire size for the current use wire with good isolation keep wire connections as short as possible e Use RF attenuators made up of parallel connected of RF chokes and 100 ohm resistors between each matrix card and it s pin in the socket box receiver Usually with these installed additional ferrite beads in the socket boxes are not necessary make sure all metal parts like screws or nuts are connected to ground for safety reasons or use plastic screws the best is to have socket boxes with only one tube socket recommend 12 pin DIN41622 female connectors Reichelt FL B12 DIN41622 10 connections are used for the tube pins one pin is used for ground and the remaining pin is connected to the heater voltage
49. soldered onto the bottom side of the main PCB The distance between the main PCB and the front panel is 10 mm The bride rectifier is not that thick so plastic rings are put between the rectifier and the PCB as shown to the left Please use a little heat sink paste aka thermal compound between the bridge rectifier and the front panel A bolt is used to press the rectifier on to the front panel Vika PLI WT Ta N Laas drt oP 3472 1013 SET 544 Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl aka th k K it hL harain LIT iti Ava dii RUN pe air 4 Ji DAL T CAO d i ri ai Lit TT TA S 5 a The 10 mm spacer is shown as a comparison At this location you don t need to use a spacer since the plastic rings and the bridge rectifier are effectively used as a 10 mm spacer here Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 24 USB interface These days USB is the standard for serial interfaces USB 2 0 is used the old USB 1 1 is too slow Both your PC and operating system must support USB 2 0 Windows XP service pack 2 or higher The RoeTest is connected to aPC using a USB interface The USB interface is on the main PCB The USB connector and the LEDs are at the top of the main PCB If you want these ata different spot you can separate that section of the PCB from the main PCB and connect them using connectors and wires Please keep the connections as short as possible Important
50. t voltages in the picture above so that the software voltmeters agree with the measured output Offset calibration is not possible with the trimmers Only when there is no other option and you are sure the hardware is OK should you set an offset voltage in the software For example iff the offset is 0 1V enter a value of 0 1V Options Test gt sending voltages gt software calibration of measured data gt rating The calibration compensation is only made effective after pressing the Calibration On button You can also set the limit at which values are ignored For lt n 0 This is useful when your instruments don t exactly indicate 0 when the machine is idle Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 58 Calibration of 600V measurement range on G3 card from version 6 onwards The new G3 card has a function allowing you to measure anode voltages up to 600V but only when the G3 voltage output is not needed You can use this for instance when testing voltage regulator tubes For calibration of this function the output of the anode supply is connected to the input this measurement section of the G3 card You do this in the software by checking the checkbox as indicated in the picture below g RoeTest professional tube testing system send voltages Burg This window is the hardware test and calibration window voltage adjustments software calibration of measured data e Plate Anode voltage hi maximum voltage 3
51. t you can still use the RoeTest 5 main PCB designs The main PCB V5 is compatible with the other V6 PCBs Changes V6 2 to V6 No changes in circuit design A few PCB layout errors were fixed Also a few small changes were made 1 Banana jacks are now mounted on the main PCB No external wiring needed 2 The wire connections to the tube socket boxes are now soldered directly on to the bottom side of the main PCB leading to even shorter connections Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 7 Changes V7 to V6 2 1 Change of layout such that no wire connections to the MOSFETs are needed the MOSFETS are now soldered on the main PCB This required a change to the main PCB and the plug in PCBs 2 The plug in PCBs for the heater anode G2 and 600V boards now have additional contacts 3 Temperature management you can now optionally connect a temperature sensor to the heat sink to control a fan The software can now turn on the fan if the temperature gets too high The heat sink can be smaller and yet there s more margin 4 The 320V and 68V voltages are now regulated using a LR8 supertex voltage regulator such that the circuit is now simpler 5 PCB layout improvements especially ground connections have been overhauled 6 New version 7 firmware compatible with hardware version 5 and higher Changes V7 2 to V7 1 optimization of the layout shorter wires 2 new Firmware 7 2 compatible with hardware from V5 Ch
52. th long wires For resistors please use metal film resistors or wire wound high wattage resistors where needed Trimmer pots should be good quality multi turn units Low cost trimmers are fragile Handle with care and do not turn beyond limits Consider Bourns or other good quality trimmers Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 15 Relays In the RoeTest 3 different types are used Type 1 2 pole 400V 5 8A 12V Mainboard and Example F1CL012R or voltage cards at F1CA012V Height 16 5 several places mm there are also the single pole type 3 Type 2 2 pole 250V 2A 12V Mainboard and Example Omron G6S 2 Voltage cards 12V Reichelt Type 3 1 pole 400V 16A 12V Relay boards Example K1CK012W Note The relays are slightly lower than type 1 max Height 15 7 mm higher relays do not fit here There is a components database application for the RoeTest that can be downloaded or that can be found on the CD ROM directory Bauteileliste_ Components It lists all the parts and components needed for the RoeTest with the Reichelt order number if available You can print lists of components to order or you can save them as a csv file that can be uploaded to Reichelt note that import doesn t always work properly You are responsible for ordering parts cannot be held responsible for wrongly ordered parts There is a manual for the parts database application on the CD ROM Bauteile Hilfe pdf Th
53. tion of all the trimmer pots For a final calibration the machine must be fully warmed up which takes about 30 minutes at room temperature and the calibration steps repeated recommend recalibration after the machine has been used for a few days and then at regular intervals To calibrate the hardware select menu C SEE ee voltages and you should see the folowing screen ster type _ ater type 2 info end RoeTest professional tube testing system send voltages This window is the hardware test and calibration window voltage adjustments software calibration of measured data Plate Anode voltage hi maximum voltage 306 rating Idle current correct at For lt n 0 I measure 600 with g3 calDVA 255 ng gt W maximum voltage C Plate Anode voltage lo E Uh Vv Th lo mA Uh lo v Gi hi RE NONE I U E Ua M Ih hi ma 08 Uh hi v C Gi lo current DAC value 0255 i NL la lo mA max WA value 255 e CG2 CG3 heater voltage hi internal DC heating JE E m C heater voltage lo internal DC heating Ig2 mA Ig2 mA Voltages switchted to the rails but not to the tube sockets Please measure voltages at testpointi of the related card Attention In this mode are no overcurrent protection calibration on autosearch values
54. ts test the working indicator LED should blink With 5V and relay power on open the relay test function PC Software gt Options T est gt Relays and test the check for continuity relay on the main board Now insert the relay PCBs make sure the PCF8574 A chips are inserted and test the relays PC Software gt Options Test gt Relay PCBs one card after the other and test each of the pin relays Insert the remaining PCBs still no fuses for A G2 and heater and test the relays using the PC Software Test the PCF8991 in the H A G1 G2 and G3 boards select PC Software gt Options Test gt sending voltages With the slide control you can set the PCF8591 pin 15 output for each of the boards Measure the voltage on pin 15 you should be able to set it from 0 to 5V using the slide control Now check that you can control the G1 and G3 output voltages using the PC software Connect your meter to test point 1 on these boards Note that the boards are not yet calibrated Next A G2 and H cards by reinserting the fuses in the secondary circuits and test wether you can set the output voltages test point one on each card And finally insert the 600V PCB which has a 300V fixed output Measure the output between the two test points on the card Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 54 Calibration Before calibration the machine should be completely assembled and all circuits operational The first step is a rough calibra
55. ual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 44 Attaching the banana sockets Besides the banana socket you will need heat shrink tubing and 8 mm plastic spacers available at home inprovement stores The 8 mm spacer together with the washer and the nut are 10 mm exactly the distance between the board and the front panel The banana sockets also function to attach the board to the front panel Bolt the toroid transformer to the front panel Transformer connections to main PCB route the wires in between the PCB and the front panel You may want to twist the wires together as this will help to suppress radio interference Solder the transformer wire connectors to the bottom side of the main board for those wires routed in between the board and the front panel Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl Page 45 CLC E GER YSS cet K LA 5k Spannung NEA COR D Q EFE L ELL TS RET Paro 3 pp T MRT SIR DAG l st IL F C vr h oh HN L Lt To avoid short circuits or flash overs I red used plastic tape in between the connectors and the front panel WAIHD HEED Fey sn K EN Y Netz 230X b mains N The main board connectors close to the toroid tranformer are soldered on the top side of the PCB The cable for the mains connection is also routed in between the front panel and PCB used regular 2 wire mains cable Construction manual RoeTest V8 c Helmut Weigl

construction manual RoeTestV8

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents