(This is not a blues song!)

.... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly
old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.

Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.

Any thoughts, please?

On Thu, 28 Dec 2023 09:38:21 +0000, John Armstrong wrote:

> (This is not a blues song!)
>
> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly
> old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>
> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>
> Any thoughts, please?

Measure the voltage at the 5v end. That's a flyer with such limited
information.

John Armstrong <jja@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> (This is not a blues song!)
>
> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly
> old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>
> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>
> Any thoughts, please?

Yes, the power supply has failed! :-) What sort of 'thoughts' are you
hoping for? Wall-wart 5v power supplies are two-a-penny, what sort of
connection does it require?

--
Chris Green
·

On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
> (This is not a blues song!)
>
> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly
> old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>
> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>
> Any thoughts, please?

A device like that can be had for less than a fiver on ebay, if you are
happy to bodge it in

You say 'disconnected'...is it some kind of wall wart? Does the thing
produce volts when disconnected from the clock?

99% of electronic faults in modern kit seem to fall into two categories
- corrosion on the board, or shorted capacitors across the supply rails.

And with today's surface mount boards, repair needs an infra red camera,
a hot air station, plenty of IPA and flux, and probably a microscope
and a very steady hand. And usefully some paint on UV activated resist
and and a UV lamp.

So if the clock *itself* is the issue rather than the power supply,
expect to spend up to £120 to get it fixed...two hours of painstaking
work with a well equipped service person.

The sort that repair smart phones and tablets....

If the PSU is externel and is the issue, buy a new one . 5V 1A is
pretty much what any wall wart USB PSU will deliver to e.g. a raspberry
Pi. Or smart phone.

You just have to find or bodge an adapter cable.

OTOH if the PSU is good and the clock is bad, chuck the radio and get a
new one if the PCB is all surface mounted blocks.

--
“But what a weak barrier is truth when it stands in the way of an
hypothesis!”

Mary Wollstonecraft

On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
> (This is not a blues song!)
>
> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly
> old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>
> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>
> Any thoughts, please?

Given we are rapidly ditching DAB for DAB+ I would ditch the radio.

Dave

On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
> (This is not a blues song!)
>
> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly
> old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>
> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>
> Any thoughts, please?
I have a Sony Cube Clock Radio my wife bought in May 1989. It's AM/FM
and despite its diminutive size it sounds quite good. It has been in use
continuously since it was bought apart from a 3 week period in 2000 when
we moved house.

The VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent) display is now very dim. I don't know if
it's the display or PSU. Maybe spot-knocking (as done to old CRTs) may
help or possibly the HT isn't so H any more. Apart from the dimness it
works perfectly still after 34.5 years.

It's outlasted my need for an alarm clock as I only work part time now
and no longer have 7am starts. For the last 15 years I've not needed a
alarm clock, my body wakes me between 6.45 and 7.15 every day anyway!

On 28/12/2023 11:22, David Wade wrote:
> On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
>> (This is not a blues song!)
>>
>> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly
>> old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>>
>> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
>> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>>
>> Any thoughts, please?
>
> Given we are rapidly ditching DAB for DAB+ I would ditch the radio.

How many stations moving from DAB to DAB+ are remaining on FM? If the OP
listens to one of those, the radio should be okay for at least a while.

--

Jeff

On 28/12/2023 14:53, Jeff Layman wrote:
> On 28/12/2023 11:22, David Wade wrote:
>> On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
>>> (This is not a blues song!)
>>>
>>> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly
>>> old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>>>
>>> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
>>> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>>>
>>> Any thoughts, please?
>>
>> Given we are rapidly ditching DAB for DAB+ I would ditch the radio.
>
> How many stations moving from DAB to DAB+ are remaining on FM? If the OP
> listens to one of those, the radio should be okay for at least a while.
>

For me, it was the loss of Mellow Magic that sealed the fate of my
little Roberts Radio. Over 20 national stations are now on DAB+

https://getdigitalradio.com/dont-miss-a-thing-dab-plus/

Dave

On 12/28/2023 8:54 AM, mm0fmf wrote:
> On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
>> (This is not a blues song!)
>>
>> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>>
>> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>>
>> Any thoughts, please?
> I have a Sony Cube Clock Radio my wife bought in May 1989. It's AM/FM and despite its diminutive size it sounds quite good. It has been in use continuously since it was bought apart from a 3 week period in 2000 when we moved house.
>
> The VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent) display is now very dim. I don't know if it's the display or PSU. Maybe spot-knocking (as done to old CRTs) may help or possibly the HT isn't so H any more. Apart from the dimness it works perfectly still after 34.5 years.
>
> It's outlasted my need for an alarm clock as I only work part time now and no longer have 7am starts. For the last 15 years I've not needed a alarm clock, my body wakes me between 6.45 and 7.15 every day anyway!

The VFD I had on my hobbyist clock, was only 27V. It's
not dangerously high.

You've probably seen the filaments in the thing. If those
thin out, the filament current will drop. And the metal
could be deposited on the glass.

The clock here has 27V tubes as well, which might be similar
to mine. For mine, I had a turquoise plastic cover, that set
off the tubes nicely (you just see the light from the tubes
and not all the infrastructure).

https://www.tube-tester.com/sites/nixie/different/ge-100/ge-100.htm

The problem with my clock, is the PCB was a poorly made one
done in the kitchen sink. No passivation. Just bare copper, and
the copper was completely rotted after about ten years. But that clock
used to wake me up every morning, and the control to kill the
alarm was on a long wire so I had to get out of bed to stop it.

Paul

On 28/12/2023 14:53, Jeff Layman wrote:
> On 28/12/2023 11:22, David Wade wrote:
>> On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
>>> (This is not a blues song!)
>>>
>>> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly
>>> old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>>>
>>> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
>>> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>>>
>>> Any thoughts, please?
>>
>> Given we are rapidly ditching DAB for DAB+ I would ditch the radio.
>
> How many stations moving from DAB to DAB+ are remaining on FM? If the OP
> listens to one of those, the radio should be okay for at least a while.
>
And how many are offering internet radio access as well?

I could build an alarm clock radio that was preset tuned to a single
radio station out of a raspberry Pi and an audio hat, or use a TV style
hat to get DVB DAB or FM radio..

The main problem is the planned obsolescence and all the internet radio
sites keep changing how they are accessed so you cant just grab them on
an icecast stream.
You have to pay someone to get the access to your internet radio
hardware, and that keeps changing, making old hardware obsolete.

--
"First, find out who are the people you can not criticise. They are your
oppressors."
- George Orwell

On 28/12/2023 15:37, Paul wrote:
> On 12/28/2023 8:54 AM, mm0fmf wrote:
>> On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
>>> (This is not a blues song!)
>>>
>>> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>>>
>>> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>>>
>>> Any thoughts, please?
>> I have a Sony Cube Clock Radio my wife bought in May 1989. It's AM/FM and despite its diminutive size it sounds quite good. It has been in use continuously since it was bought apart from a 3 week period in 2000 when we moved house.
>>
>> The VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent) display is now very dim. I don't know if it's the display or PSU. Maybe spot-knocking (as done to old CRTs) may help or possibly the HT isn't so H any more. Apart from the dimness it works perfectly still after 34.5 years.
>>
>> It's outlasted my need for an alarm clock as I only work part time now and no longer have 7am starts. For the last 15 years I've not needed a alarm clock, my body wakes me between 6.45 and 7.15 every day anyway!
>
> The VFD I had on my hobbyist clock, was only 27V. It's
> not dangerously high.
>
> You've probably seen the filaments in the thing. If those
> thin out, the filament current will drop. And the metal
> could be deposited on the glass.

The lifespan of VFDs is very unpredictable. I've got a tuner used almost
every day since I bought it in 1990 and the display is as bright as
ever; and a LaserDisc player whose display started fading after just a
few years, though I only used it occasionally. I had a Humax PVR where
the first four characters faded (ones on most of the time), suggesting
that it is loss of luminescence of the anodes that is the issue.

--
Max Demian

On 28/12/2023 15:42, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 28/12/2023 14:53, Jeff Layman wrote:
>> On 28/12/2023 11:22, David Wade wrote:
>>> On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
>>>> (This is not a blues song!)
>>>>
>>>> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly
>>>> old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>>>>
>>>> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
>>>> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>>>>
>>>> Any thoughts, please?
>>>
>>> Given we are rapidly ditching DAB for DAB+ I would ditch the radio.
>>
>> How many stations moving from DAB to DAB+ are remaining on FM? If the
>> OP listens to one of those, the radio should be okay for at least a
>> while.
>>
> And how many are offering internet radio access as well?
>
> I could build an alarm clock radio that was preset tuned to a single
> radio station out of a raspberry Pi and an audio hat, or use a TV style
> hat to get DVB DAB or FM radio..
>
> The main problem is the planned obsolescence and all the internet radio
> sites keep changing how they are accessed so you cant just grab them on
> an icecast stream.
> You have to pay someone to get the access to your internet radio
> hardware, and that keeps changing, making old hardware obsolete.
>
At the risk of upsetting you all, I actually use an Amazon Echo....

Dave

On 28/12/2023 10:47, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
>> (This is not a blues song!)
>>
>> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly
>> old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>>
>> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
>> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>>
>> Any thoughts, please?
>
> A device like that can be had for less than a fiver on ebay, if you are
> happy to bodge it in
>
> You say 'disconnected'...is it some kind of wall wart? Does the thing
> produce volts when disconnected from the clock?
>
Thanks to all who responded. Sorry I wasn't clear.

It's a wallwart. Output when plugged in is zero volts. The lead (to
connect to the radio) terminates in a plug with external diameter 5.5
mm. I don't know what this type of plug is called, but they appear to be
quite common these days.

John Armstrong wrote:

> terminates in a plug with external diameter 5.5 mm. I don't know what
> this type of plug is called

barrel plug, internal diameter varies as well as external.

On 29/12/2023 09:31, John Armstrong wrote:
> Thanks to all who responded. Sorry I wasn't clear.
>
> It's a wallwart. Output when plugged in is zero volts.

Even when not plugged in to the clock?

the 5.5 mm is a barrel connector

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256323394899

--
"Anyone who believes that the laws of physics are mere social
conventions is invited to try transgressing those conventions from the
windows of my apartment. (I live on the twenty-first floor.) "

Alan Sokal

On Fri, 29 Dec 2023 09:31:16 +0000
John Armstrong <jja@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

> On 28/12/2023 10:47, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> > On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
> >> (This is not a blues song!)
> >>
> >> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's
> >> fairly old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
> >>
> >> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
> >> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
> >>
> >> Any thoughts, please?
> >
> > A device like that can be had for less than a fiver on ebay, if you
> > are happy to bodge it in
> >
> > You say 'disconnected'...is it some kind of wall wart? Does the
> > thing produce volts when disconnected from the clock?
> >
> Thanks to all who responded. Sorry I wasn't clear.
>
> It's a wallwart. Output when plugged in is zero volts. The lead (to
> connect to the radio) terminates in a plug with external diameter 5.5
> mm. I don't know what this type of plug is called, but they appear to
> be quite common these days.
>

There are two common sizes of these, 2.1mm and 2.5mm internal diameter.

*Always* suspect the wall-wart first.

--
Joe

On 29 Dec 2023 at 10:29:36 GMT, Joe wrote:

> On Fri, 29 Dec 2023 09:31:16 +0000
> John Armstrong <jja@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> On 28/12/2023 10:47, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>> On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
>>>> (This is not a blues song!)
>>>>
>>>> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's
>>>> fairly old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>>>>
>>>> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has
>>>> failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>>>>
>>>> Any thoughts, please?
>>>
>>> A device like that can be had for less than a fiver on ebay, if you
>>> are happy to bodge it in
>>>
>>> You say 'disconnected'...is it some kind of wall wart? Does the
>>> thing produce volts when disconnected from the clock?
>>>
>> Thanks to all who responded. Sorry I wasn't clear.
>>
>> It's a wallwart. Output when plugged in is zero volts. The lead (to
>> connect to the radio) terminates in a plug with external diameter 5.5
>> mm. I don't know what this type of plug is called, but they appear to
>> be quite common these days.
>>
>
> There are two common sizes of these, 2.1mm and 2.5mm internal diameter.
>
> *Always* suspect the wall-wart first.

The jack plug on my Sony cube clock radio is colour coded.

Not sure about the OP's, but I got a USB to to jack plug lead so it runs off a
portable USB power thing.
--
Cheers, Rob, Sheffield UK

On 29/12/2023 10:36, RJH wrote:
>> here are two common sizes of these, 2.1mm and 2.5mm internal diameter.
>>
>> *Always* suspect the wall-wart first.
> The jack plug on my Sony cube clock radio is colour coded.
>
> Not sure about the OP's, but I got a USB to to jack plug lead so it runs off a
> portable USB power thing.

Be careful. Not all USB power supplies will deliver enough current

--
How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.

Adolf Hitler

On 29/12/2023 09:39, Andy Burns wrote:
> John Armstrong wrote:
>
>> terminates in a plug with external diameter 5.5 mm. I don't know what
>> this type of plug is called
>
> barrel plug, internal diameter varies as well as external.

So does the polarity...

--
Max Demian

In article <ummbqn$qh4e$2@dont-email.me>,
Max Demian <max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> On 29/12/2023 09:39, Andy Burns wrote:
> > John Armstrong wrote:
> >
> >> terminates in a plug with external diameter 5.5 mm. I don't know what
> >> this type of plug is called
> >
> > barrel plug, internal diameter varies as well as external.

> So does the polarity...

It is possible to get wallwarts with a lead having multiple outputs
(different size connectors) and a polarity change connector.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England - sent from my RISC OS 4té²
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On Fri, 29 Dec 2023 11:50:47 +0000, Max Demian
<max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote:

>On 29/12/2023 09:39, Andy Burns wrote:
>> John Armstrong wrote:
>>
>>> terminates in a plug with external diameter 5.5 mm. I don't know what
>>> this type of plug is called
>>
>> barrel plug, internal diameter varies as well as external.
>
>So does the polarity...

If the existing wall wart is dead, How will the OP will get the
polarity right if he cannibalises a spare one. Will the leads be
colour-coded, red and black, +ve & -ve, or if not, would it blow his
radio if he got it wrong?

--
Chris

On 29/12/2023 14:21, Chris Hogg wrote:
> On Fri, 29 Dec 2023 11:50:47 +0000, Max Demian
> <max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
>> On 29/12/2023 09:39, Andy Burns wrote:
>>> John Armstrong wrote:
>>>
>>>> terminates in a plug with external diameter 5.5 mm. I don't know what
>>>> this type of plug is called
>>>
>>> barrel plug, internal diameter varies as well as external.
>>
>> So does the polarity...
>
> If the existing wall wart is dead, How will the OP will get the
> polarity right if he cannibalises a spare one. Will the leads be
> colour-coded, red and black, +ve & -ve, or if not, would it blow his
> radio if he got it wrong?
>
they are 99% inner +ve

--
“Some people like to travel by train because it combines the slowness of
a car with the cramped public exposure of 
an airplane.”

Dennis Miller

On 12/29/2023 4:31 AM, John Armstrong wrote:
> On 28/12/2023 10:47, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>> On 28/12/2023 09:38, John Armstrong wrote:
>>> (This is not a blues song!)
>>>
>>> ... to discover that my radio alarm clock was not working. It's fairly old, probably 15 years or so, DAB/FM.
>>>
>>> Imvestigation has shown that the SMPS rated at 5 volts, 1 amp has failed, although when I disconnected it, it was very warm.
>>>
>>> Any thoughts, please?
>>
>> A device like that can be had for less than a fiver on ebay, if you are happy to bodge it in
>>
>> You say 'disconnected'...is it some kind of wall wart? Does the thing produce volts when disconnected from the clock?
>>
> Thanks to all who responded. Sorry I wasn't clear.
>
> It's a wallwart. Output when plugged in is zero volts. The lead (to connect to the radio) terminates in a plug with external diameter 5.5 mm. I don't know what this type of plug is called, but they appear to be quite common these days.
>

Back when Radioshack still existed, they used to keep a mass of
cables on the wall, with barrel fittings on the end. A customer
could come in and fit their sample item, to the display thing,
and discover what letter it was. There might have been fifteen
barrel connectors or so at the time, and in some cases, two
would fit, but only one of the fitments was actually "correct".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_power_connector#Adaptaplug

M and N might be popular ones.

In any case, you can see there are as many variants as there
are engineers with pencils.

Barrel connectors come permanently affixed to wall adapters.
That's not a problem generally.

But the Radioshack general purpose adapters, the cable end had
two equal holes on it. You could rotate an adapter and fit it
to the end of the cable. This caused the polarity to be wrong.
Other brands of adapters, the two hole thing, one hole was
smaller than the other, and this served as a "key" to better
control the resulting polarity.

The end result is, you test with a multimeter, that the thing
you bought is actually correct for the appliance. Because there
remains a small chance, it is not suited to the task.

The appliance casing should have symbols stamped in it
(black symbols on a black background), as to what kind of
adapter is required.

# Polarity

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarity_symbols

# AC, Unregulated DC, Regulated DC

https://www.electrical-symbols.com/electric-electronic-symbols/electric-current-symbols.htm

Paul

In article <o0ltoi1bnee4mujmvugdo5v1453801kjig@4ax.com>,
Chris Hogg <me@privacy.net> wrote:
> On Fri, 29 Dec 2023 11:50:47 +0000, Max Demian
> <max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote:

> >On 29/12/2023 09:39, Andy Burns wrote:
> >> John Armstrong wrote:
> >>
> >>> terminates in a plug with external diameter 5.5 mm. I don't know what
> >>> this type of plug is called
> >>
> >> barrel plug, internal diameter varies as well as external.
> >
> >So does the polarity...

> If the existing wall wart is dead, How will the OP will get the
> polarity right if he cannibalises a spare one. Will the leads be
> colour-coded, red and black, +ve & -ve, or if not, would it blow his
> radio if he got it wrong?

It often states on the appliance,

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England - sent from my RISC OS 4té²
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

charles <charles@candehope.me.uk> wrote:
> In article <o0ltoi1bnee4mujmvugdo5v1453801kjig@4ax.com>,
> Chris Hogg <me@privacy.net> wrote:
>> On Fri, 29 Dec 2023 11:50:47 +0000, Max Demian
>> <max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
>>> On 29/12/2023 09:39, Andy Burns wrote:
>>>> John Armstrong wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> terminates in a plug with external diameter 5.5 mm. I don't know what
>>>>> this type of plug is called
>>>>
>>>> barrel plug, internal diameter varies as well as external.
>>>
>>> So does the polarity...
>
>> If the existing wall wart is dead, How will the OP will get the
>> polarity right if he cannibalises a spare one. Will the leads be
>> colour-coded, red and black, +ve & -ve, or if not, would it blow his
>> radio if he got it wrong?

> It often states on the appliance,

The polarity, voltage, and either current or wattage, will be printed
somewhere on the wall wart.

--
Spike