What's Your EQ?
June 1961 Radio-Electronics

June 1961 Radio-Electronics

June 1961 Radio-Electronics Cover - RF Cafe[Table of Contents]

Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio-Electronics, published 1930-1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

This month's set of "What's Your EQ?" (EQ = Electronics Quotient) turned out to be somewhat of a fail. I won't spoil your efforts by identifying which problem turned out to not have a problem at all (not that I could have proved it). One problem had received no potential solutions in time for the answer to be published in the next issue (July 1961 Radio-Electronics magazine). The third problem does actually have a solution. With that one, I got a couple more possibilities than presented, but it includes outputs of zero volts. No drawing was provided for the "Frequency-Divider Puzzle." Answers are at the bottom of the page.

What's Your EQ?

What's Your EQ?, June 1961 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeHere we go again with a new group of three stimulating electronic problems. The first, like all service problems, may have more than one answer. The last one may also have more than one solution. But there is only one correct answer to the Voltage Jungle. Can you find the right solution to all three?

Answers to last month's problems are on page 104. We are using the author's solution for the photo-relay circuit as we received nothing in time to print here.

Send in your own original brain-teasers. We pay $10 for each one published. Address Puzzle Editor, Radio-Electronics, 154 W. 14 St., New York 11, N.Y.

 

Service Stinker No.2, June 1961 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeService Stinker No.2

Symptoms: Picture covers about three-quarters screen; very heavy vertical retrace lines. Vertical blanking bar locks firmly in center of screen. Vertical hold control has absolutely no effect at all on picture!

Question: Is the trouble in vertical hold control? Vertical retrace eliminator network? Vertical sync? - Jack Darr

Voltage Jungle, June 1961 Radio-Electronics - RF CafeVoltage Jungle

With the supply voltage shown (115 volts), how many different voltages can you get with the transformer in the drawing? The voltages indicated for each winding would, of course, be the manufacturer's rating. The transformer windings can be connected any way you like (series aiding, opposing, etc.) - Dellroye D. Darling

 

Frequency-Divider Puzzle

A 12-to-1 frequency divider is required to produce one output pulse for each dozen objects moving by on a conveyer belt. The objects on the conveyer are sensed by a phototube. A four-stage binary counter is available and is to be modified so that it will produce an output pulse for every 12 input pulses (instead of every 16 input pulses as it normally would). What modification should be made in the binary counter? - Ed Bukstein

Quizzes from vintage electronics magazines such as Popular Electronics, Electronics-World, QST, and Radio News were published over the years - some really simple and others not so simple. Robert P. Balin created most of the quizzes for Popular Electronics. This is a listing of all I have posted thus far.

RF Cafe Quizzes

Vintage Electronics Magazine Quizzes

Vintage Electronics Magazine Quizzes

Solutions

Service Stinker No.2

None of the troubles suggested by the author were found to exist! Despite the appearance of the set, trouble turned out to be heater-cathode short in the 6SN7 vertical multivibrator tube! (Left section, although with these circuit connections, it would seem to be immaterial which one.)

The Voltage Jungle

Mr. Darling tells us it is possible to get 21 voltages from the 115-volt supply with the transformer he showed if all the possible connections are made. Of course some of them can be obtained in more than one way. Has any reader succeeded in beating the author at his own game and getting more than 21 voltages?

Frequency-Divider Puzzle

At the time of writing, we have only the author's answer to this problem, and several people have suggested that there may be other (and possibly better) answers. Therefore we are waiting till next month, when we may be able to print more than one solution.

Notes on June Puzzles from August 1961

The frequency-divider puzzle was answered by a number, all of whom suggested that a feedback from stage 4 to stage 3 would give the effect of an extra four counts, and thus produce an output at the count of 12. Two methods of solving the problem of re-setting the counter were proposed.

 

 

Posted August 8, 2023