Signal Injector and Tracer

Description:
A simple test circuit to fault find audio and radio equipment. Can be used to inject a square wave signal, rich in harmonics, or used with headphones as an audio tracer.

Notes:
A single pole double throw switch is used to switch between inject and trace modes. The diagram is drawn in trace mode, the earpiece being connected to the collector of the last transistor. Both transistors are wired as emitter followers, providing high gain. DC blocking is provided by the 1n capacitor at the probe end, and the two stages are capacitive coupled.

when the switch is thrown the opposite way (to the blue dot) both transistors are wired as an astable square wave generator. This provides enough harmonics from audio up to several hundred kilohertz and is useful for testing AM radio Receivers.