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Joblow
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Joined: 05/01/2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 54

Posted: 07:01am 18 Jan 2010

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I would dearly like to have a small ultrasonic cleaner in my back shed, there doesn't seem to be much to them, but I've not found any info on building one from scrap parts, any ideas anyone?

The man who never made a mistake never made anything

Downwind

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Joined: 09/09/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2333

Posted: 07:57am 18 Jan 2010

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No idear on building one, but they are not that dear on ebay.

You would need a rather big transducer and would think you might pay almost as much for that as you would a compleet one from China.
Not the sort of thing you would salvage from a washing machine or old stereo.

Pete.

Sometimes it just works

Tinker

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Joined: 07/11/2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 1904

Posted: 03:22pm 18 Jan 2010

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If you can source an old ultrasound machine as are used by Physiotherapists you would have all the parts required.

The older (simpler) machines would be best as they had no fancy skin pressure sensors to worry about.
The 'head' has a ceramic piezo disk inside that you somehow have to affix to the underside of your tank. A small ss sink as used on boats might work for that.

The head usually operated at 1Mhz with up to 3W/sq cm power, used to fix these things but its a while ago now...

Klaus

oztules

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Joined: 26/07/2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 1686

Posted: 10:30am 19 Jan 2010

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I can't believe that Klaus.

I spent a good bit of last night fixing one of those things up. Got it going, but I have never seen an ultrasound machine before, much less been asked to fix one up.... only to find someone the next day that fixed em up too.

It was an old one with black and white cathode ray tube....It's portable. They use it for pregnancy testing sheep.

............oztules

Edit: (blown tantalum cap took power supply out....)

Edited by oztules 2010-01-20

Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth

Tinker

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Joined: 07/11/2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 1904

Posted: 02:20pm 19 Jan 2010

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Yours is a different type of machine oztules, more complicated because it provides visual feedback. I doubt its head would be suitable for a U/S cleaning tank

.

The ones I repaired were just for applying heat to sore joints (I think that's what happens as it sure feels warm if the head is held tightly against the skin - but I'm no physio, just a humble electronic tech...)

The modern generation of these things are all processor controlled. Swapping boards is the usual way to repair them, nowhere near as much fun as trying to find the faulty part, painstakingly extracting it with fingers crossed the PCB tracks did not get wrecked in the unsoldering process...

Klaus

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