Another straight forward explanation of a reasonably complex topic. I have learned more from your videos than I did when I got my degree back in '81. Great job as always, and thank you for what you do. I don't even know how to begin to thank you and express how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into this!
This is the fourth or fifth video explanation of the PLL I've watched. Should have come here first, Alan nails it again. It's the difference between "that kind of makes sense" and "Aha! I get it!".
A compact and still very rich concise information. Good teachers as you are gifted people, because there are many smart technicians out there explaining things but a very low percentage of them can make the magic. This means having crystal clear knowledge and the ability to transmit this knowledge with the smallest amount of accurate words. Congratulations ! Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina !
I needed to understand a PLL board I'm trying to adjust and decided to see if you had done a video explaining the basics. Sure enough, here it is! Simple and concise - much, MUCH appreciated!
Wow, a great explanation video for that 4046 chip! My first electronics engineering job after graduation in the late 1970s was with Burroughs, and I worked on a large mainframe disk drive that used a 4046 PLL circuit to generate a clock signal frequency that was locked to the spinning spindle, on which four 14" diameter disks were mounted. The input reference signal was a once-per-rev pulse from a magnetic sensor. We used a multi-stage divider after the VCO to generate a comparison signal. I did not do any of the design work on that PLL circuitry, although I did troubleshoot quite a few product units that weren't work properly. I do have a couple of those same Motorola MC14046 chips in my IC collection, so one of these days I'll take a close look at the data sheet (in the original printed data book 🙂) and set up a few experiment circuits, just as you've done in this video. There's nothing like "doing the math" on component selection and actually coming up with a circuit that does what it was supposed to do.
I am finally starting to understand this. An op-amp seeks to equivalate the voltage of its inputs. A PLL is like an op-amp in the frequency domain, which seeks to equivalate the phase of its inputs. This is the best explanation I have seen. Thank you!
Excellent tutorial! My training is in Air Force analog flight simulators - non-engineer. As a civilian, back in 1988 my GE television lost its audio. I had to teach myself how a phase lock loop synthesizer worked and used a scope to prove the PLL had died in my TV. It had no analog output to control which channel the audio should be on. I installed a new PLL and all was good. I wish I would have had your video back then. Thanks for posting. Brings back great memories!
Thanks for the video. I've been working with synthesized two-way radios since the late 70s. I began my "temporary job" in 1972 so I could go to law school at night. Oddly enough life got in the way and I spent the next 10 years learn my trade before starting my own company. May 1, 2020 marked the 37th anniversary of the founding of my little company. Thus I've had my temporary job for 47 years and at 75 am still working daily. I've been president of my small corporation for the last 37 years but I still identify myself on income tax forms as technician. My jobs in the company are numerous but I enjoy the bench best. My bench job is to fix the unfixable. I often go back to the basics and particularly enjoy your videos. My specialty is primarily RF. Watching this video with my ancient brain will probably cause me to watch it again, possibly multiple times. I tended to get distracted by the presence of a Simpson 260. My young people have to use a auto ranging DVM. I know things where the Simpson 260 is preferable. :-) My ham call (from 1960 to today) is K4WJZ. It is not a vanity call but "hamming" is primarily repairing or modifying ham repeaters. Thanks once again for your videos. John Hettish
You know I have some basic knowledge of these circuits from school many years ago. However there is nothing like seeing a real world working example of the circuit. That is my favorite thing with your videos. You close the loop on the explanation 🙂. You see what I did there. 73
I remember watching this video just about 10 years ago when I was in Electronics Engineering school. I haven't come across PLL's again, until now. I've come full circle so to speak. This is a timeless explanation of PLL's. Well done sir!
@@w2aew I'd love to know more about filters used on SMPS output filtering, Understanding Op Amp Parameters in a datasheet and what to watch out for, Exotic Op Amps like Chopper Op Amps and their use,... But anything will do. You make videos no one else makes. None of that "Lets make a video about a subject that ten other people have already made a video on TH-cam"!
I really appreciate how approachable this video was for me as a non-engineer electronics hobbyist. One suggestion for addressing your tangle of test probes: if you put male pin headers in the breadboard along each side, that will give you tie points into the circuit that you can connect to without obstructing the view.
No, I am not a professor. Maybe in my next career. I am an electrical engineer that started in a TV repair show while in high school, spent 25 years as a design engineer, applications engineer, test engineer, validation engineer at various companies. I joined Tektronix as a field applications engineer about 10 years ago.
I got this class 30 years ago however, I have use the XOR and the LM566 VCO separately. It is now that I see it all together. It has always been there in front of me and now I understand it well. Thanks w2aew.
Great explanation, demystifying PLL and showing in practice how (and why) it works, with lab equipment setup that usually is not available for most of us at home. Thank you!
You have a brilliant teaching method. This is the second of your videos that I have watched. In both cases, there was a point where I thought "yeah - got it". Once I have 'got it', it becomes something that I understand, so nothing to remember. It's great that you avoid complicated maths, and get straight down to how it works. Once I understand how something works, the maths is much easier.
Been a few decades since I last had dealings with PLL & frequency sythesis. This video was a great refresher course for me. Everything was explained clearly & concisely. Your "hands on" video is much easier to understand than the pure theory explanation provided by other You Tube videos. Excellent.
Alan, the first time I watched this it made sense, but going back and reviewing it, I found the answer for a project I'm building to use WWV to provide clock correction for a 10MHZ frequency standard. It's exactly what I am trying to do. Time to get the breadboard out.
Great video! Important concepts made easy to understand, clear and to the point. Although these are the basics they are critically important basics only on which can you build complications with confidence! Thank you for the presentation.
I've only just come across your channel and have watched 5 videos in a row. Straight to the point. Clear diagrams and explanations. Superb. Thank you. Subscribed!
I am a EE PhD student. I just want to say you are absolutely brilliant and you help me a lot in understanding those important points from a practical perspective.
What an absolutely outstanding tutorial. Content and delivery are perfectly balanced. I now understand the use of a type 1 PLL where the incoming signal is RF carrying intelligence so the polarity of the phase comparator is not important. I now feel confident in trying to repair the PLL on my ham radio. Thank you so much.
I really enjoyed this video and your explanation and demonstration of the PLL in work was wonderful! You inspired me to want to experiment with an analog PLL circuit someday soon. Thank you for taking the time to make this video and I look forward to watching more of your videos!
Thank you for the explanation of PLL. It's used in a lot of receivers that I now of and all the videos I've watched make me itch to start experimenting again.
Alan, Other than a few mispeaks, I found this very good. It reminded me of a project I built in the 1980s - a stereo FM generator from an article in Radio-Electronics. The L/C oscillators drifted horribly. I used a 74HC297 phase detector w/ a 4059 divide by N to hit each RF channel. My reference was a 10 MHz crystal. It seemed to exceed the stability standard required for FM BC transmitters. The stereo L/C oscillator generator produced 76 KHz and divided by 2 and 4 to get 38 KHz and 19 KHz. I scrapped that, and used a 74HC4060 oscillator/divider w/ a 9.728 MHz "rock" and picked the /256 and /512 outputs to get 38 & 19 KHz. Tuned circuits were adjusted for least phase difference (greatest stereo separation). 73, Bryan WA7PRC
Thank you so much. By far the most practical way to learn the functionality of a PLL. Lovely work. Lovely thinking! Thank you so much and hats off to you!
Thank you so much for this. It's answered so many questions I've had for such a long time. I thought I'd never understand but now I do. Thank you especially for the"Extra Credit" bit at the end, it's exactly what I need for my application of this circuit.
I feel like my Chakras have opened and I made a profound connection with the Universe (of Electronics) after watching this video. Those analog scopes are fantastic.
Alan,I am a professor of medicine and dean of a medical college interested in electronics.I have watched some of your videos.as always this video on PLL is very straight forward.these kind of practical set up and demo is amazing and makes things black and white.that too after some initial minimal reading,this video makes the theory very clear.Absolutely fantastic.keep going.amidst COVID-19 it is refreshing.being a medicine teacher,I like your way of your teaching much-dr.kanagaraj
...wow! the quality of your videos has NEVER dissappointed me and this particular one is a GEM :-) seriously, they should just put a link to this/your youtube video in that data sheet :P
As always, your vidoes and subject are well explained. The bonus part of this video was really amazing. I love watching your videos. Thank you for sharing. Regards.
The description of frequency synthesis was an "Ah ha!" moment for me. Now I have a much better understanding of how a microcontroller can create a rational multiple of some reference frequency (like from a crystal). Another use case I've seen for a PLL is when you have an external data signal with a clock signal embedded (like Group Code Recording for floppy disks), and you need to synchronize the receiver's clock so that you can reliably sample the data at the correct rate.
Excellent video as compared to other videos I have looked at on the same subject. There is nothing like comparing paper design to building the circuit and seeing how close the two agree.
very nice way to define, i never got bored during all time. At start of video, i was annoyed of moving camera. but very soon I started to enjoy moving camera. (my heart synced with camera movements)
Once again a fascinating video, it is funny how all sorts of applications spring to mind. Many years ago I worked for a company that used a PLL in a squelch circuit... it was an SSB radio and the PLL was in the audio path... unfortunately I don't remember the details but it did work pretty well.
this is amazing. The more I watch your tutorials and other EE videos like this - the more I realize that even I can understand this analog (well, and digital) black-magic :)
Another straight forward explanation of a reasonably complex topic. I have learned more from your videos than I did when I got my degree back in '81. Great job as always, and thank you for what you do. I don't even know how to begin to thank you and express how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into this!
There is no word that I can express my appreciate to you
This is the most informative electronics channel I have found yet. Thanks!
This and "Mr Carlson's Lab" are absolute gems of information. 💎
He's good isn't he ?
This is the fourth or fifth video explanation of the PLL I've watched. Should have come here first, Alan nails it again. It's the difference between "that kind of makes sense" and "Aha! I get it!".
This mirrors my thoughts exactly!
Hands down the best PLL explanation I have seen. Thank you for such a great video.
Things really start to make sense if the teacher isn’t just throwing formulas at you :) amazing explanation, as always
A compact and still very rich concise information. Good teachers as you are gifted people, because there are many smart technicians out there explaining things but a very low percentage of them can make the magic. This means having crystal clear knowledge and the ability to transmit this knowledge with the smallest amount of accurate words. Congratulations ! Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina !
I needed to understand a PLL board I'm trying to adjust and decided to see if you had done a video explaining the basics. Sure enough, here it is!
Simple and concise - much, MUCH appreciated!
Thank you, you saved me.
I didn't know ANYTHING about PLLs and now I think I understand in just 20 min!
THANK YOU
I've found a lot of topics in electronics are a lot easier than they seem. Even the math.
Wow, a great explanation video for that 4046 chip! My first electronics engineering job after graduation in the late 1970s was with Burroughs, and I worked on a large mainframe disk drive that used a 4046 PLL circuit to generate a clock signal frequency that was locked to the spinning spindle, on which four 14" diameter disks were mounted. The input reference signal was a once-per-rev pulse from a magnetic sensor. We used a multi-stage divider after the VCO to generate a comparison signal. I did not do any of the design work on that PLL circuitry, although I did troubleshoot quite a few product units that weren't work properly. I do have a couple of those same Motorola MC14046 chips in my IC collection, so one of these days I'll take a close look at the data sheet (in the original printed data book 🙂) and set up a few experiment circuits, just as you've done in this video. There's nothing like "doing the math" on component selection and actually coming up with a circuit that does what it was supposed to do.
I am finally starting to understand this. An op-amp seeks to equivalate the voltage of its inputs. A PLL is like an op-amp in the frequency domain, which seeks to equivalate the phase of its inputs. This is the best explanation I have seen. Thank you!
Yes - both are examples of negative feedback systems. An op amp is a basic one, a PLL is a more complicated one.
Excellent tutorial! My training is in Air Force analog flight simulators - non-engineer. As a civilian, back in 1988 my GE television lost its audio. I had to teach myself how a phase lock loop synthesizer worked and used a scope to prove the PLL had died in my TV. It had no analog output to control which channel the audio should be on. I installed a new PLL and all was good. I wish I would have had your video back then. Thanks for posting. Brings back great memories!
Thanks for the video. I've been working with synthesized two-way radios since the late 70s. I began my "temporary job" in 1972 so I could go to law school at night. Oddly enough life got in the way and I spent the next 10 years learn my trade before starting my own company. May 1, 2020 marked the 37th anniversary of the founding of my little company. Thus I've had my temporary job for 47 years and at 75 am still working daily. I've been president of my small corporation for the last 37 years but I still identify myself on income tax forms as technician. My jobs in the company are numerous but I enjoy the bench best. My bench job is to fix the unfixable. I often go back to the basics and particularly enjoy your videos. My specialty is primarily RF. Watching this video with my ancient brain will probably cause me to watch it again, possibly multiple times. I tended to get distracted by the presence of a Simpson 260. My young people have to use a auto ranging DVM. I know things where the Simpson 260 is preferable. :-) My ham call (from 1960 to today) is K4WJZ. It is not a vanity call but "hamming" is primarily repairing or modifying ham repeaters. Thanks once again for your videos. John Hettish
This is the best video i have found ever on TH-cam for PLL. Thanks a lot..❤
very helpful crash course to understand PLLs, thanks
Another excellent video from Alan - again with just the right amount of theory and plenty of oscilloscope waveforms to illustrate what's going on.
You know I have some basic knowledge of these circuits from school many years ago. However there is nothing like seeing a real world working example of the circuit. That is my favorite thing with your videos. You close the loop on the explanation 🙂. You see what I did there. 73
I knew absolutely everything in this video. But it was fantastic to watch! How satisfying!
This is the boat I'm in. Love his videos.
I remember watching this video just about 10 years ago when I was in Electronics Engineering school. I haven't come across PLL's again, until now. I've come full circle so to speak. This is a timeless explanation of PLL's. Well done sir!
I became a fan of you. What a way to explain the PLL working principle with live demo. No word to explain. Hats off to you.
I miss your back to basics series. They're timeless.
I've watched them all and learned so much. Thank you.
Are there any topics that you'd like to see a "back to basics" video on?
@@w2aew I'd love to know more about filters used on SMPS output filtering, Understanding Op Amp Parameters in a datasheet and what to watch out for, Exotic Op Amps like Chopper Op Amps and their use,...
But anything will do. You make videos no one else makes.
None of that "Lets make a video about a subject that ten other people have already made a video on TH-cam"!
I really appreciate how approachable this video was for me as a non-engineer electronics hobbyist. One suggestion for addressing your tangle of test probes: if you put male pin headers in the breadboard along each side, that will give you tie points into the circuit that you can connect to without obstructing the view.
You are an excelent professor, and if you are not a professor, you should be. Thanks for all your amazing videos.
No, I am not a professor. Maybe in my next career. I am an electrical engineer that started in a TV repair show while in high school, spent 25 years as a design engineer, applications engineer, test engineer, validation engineer at various companies. I joined Tektronix as a field applications engineer about 10 years ago.
I got this class 30 years ago however, I have use the XOR and the LM566 VCO separately. It is now that I see it all together. It has always been there in front of me and now I understand it well. Thanks w2aew.
That so nice to see real example of pll, not just the written theory. Like the fact the you go step by step.
Great explanation, demystifying PLL and showing in practice how (and why) it works, with lab equipment setup that usually is not available for most of us at home.
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, great TH-cam channel.
You have a brilliant teaching method. This is the second of your videos that I have watched. In both cases, there was a point where I thought "yeah - got it". Once I have 'got it', it becomes something that I understand, so nothing to remember. It's great that you avoid complicated maths, and get straight down to how it works. Once I understand how something works, the maths is much easier.
Great - now you only have 336 more videos to go!
Been a few decades since I last had dealings with PLL & frequency sythesis. This video was a great refresher course for me. Everything was explained clearly & concisely. Your "hands on" video is much easier to understand than the pure theory explanation provided by other You Tube videos. Excellent.
Alan, the first time I watched this it made sense, but going back and reviewing it, I found the answer for a project I'm building to use WWV to provide clock correction for a 10MHZ frequency standard. It's exactly what I am trying to do. Time to get the breadboard out.
Great video! Important concepts made easy to understand, clear and to the point. Although these are the basics they are critically important basics only on which can you build complications with confidence! Thank you for the presentation.
I've only just come across your channel and have watched 5 videos in a row. Straight to the point. Clear diagrams and explanations. Superb. Thank you. Subscribed!
I am a EE PhD student. I just want to say you are absolutely brilliant and you help me a lot in understanding those important points from a practical perspective.
Thank you for the nice comment, and I'm glad to hear that my video(s) are helpful in your studies. Best of luck with the PhD!
@@w2aew Thank you so much!
This is definitely the best explanation of a PPL that I've found, thank you.
Thanks for making this video man
very clear and straightforward
and very helpful too
Thanks so much for your tutorial. I really can't tell you how much I appreciate this, but your contents have given me job opportunities
I always admire the fact that you can take a complex subject and explain it in a clear, easily understood manner.
What an absolutely outstanding tutorial. Content and delivery are perfectly balanced. I now understand the use of a type 1 PLL where the incoming signal is RF carrying intelligence so the polarity of the phase comparator is not important. I now feel confident in trying to repair the PLL on my ham radio. Thank you so much.
This was a really excellent video, I learned a lot about Phase Locked Loops and it reaffirmed what I knew before. Thanks!
I really enjoyed this video and your explanation and demonstration of the PLL in work was wonderful! You inspired me to want to experiment with an analog PLL circuit someday soon. Thank you for taking the time to make this video and I look forward to watching more of your videos!
Wonderful explanation of Phase Lock Loop Circuits. Very much appreciated. Thanks very much.
Amos
This is the best explanation of PLL I have seen so far!
Thank you for the explanation of PLL. It's used in a lot of receivers that I now of and all the videos I've watched make me itch to start experimenting again.
Alan,
Other than a few mispeaks, I found this very good.
It reminded me of a project I built in the 1980s - a stereo FM generator from an article in Radio-Electronics. The L/C oscillators drifted horribly. I used a 74HC297 phase detector w/ a 4059 divide by N to hit each RF channel. My reference was a 10 MHz crystal. It seemed to exceed the stability standard required for FM BC transmitters.
The stereo L/C oscillator generator produced 76 KHz and divided by 2 and 4 to get 38 KHz and 19 KHz. I scrapped that, and used a 74HC4060 oscillator/divider w/ a 9.728 MHz "rock" and picked the /256 and /512 outputs to get 38 & 19 KHz. Tuned circuits were adjusted for least phase difference (greatest stereo separation).
73,
Bryan WA7PRC
Sir great explanation as always ,much appreciated ,thank for the great work
This is fantastic, you practically explained my 9 hours theory class on PLL in under 20 minutes.
Great video.
Great video as always, thank you Mr. Wolke.
Very good explanation. Loved the old analog meters and diagrams
Thanks for this video! It's frickin awesome! I've been trying to figure this stuff out for years and you made it sooooo simple and easy to understand!
Best analog channel ever!
Incredibly informative and well explained.
Thank you so much for taking the time to create these videos.
Thank you so much. By far the most practical way to learn the functionality of a PLL. Lovely work. Lovely thinking! Thank you so much and hats off to you!
Finally! Always wondered, how FPGAs were able to upscale a given clock signal. Now it all makes sense. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this. It's answered so many questions I've had for such a long time. I thought I'd never understand but now I do. Thank you especially for the"Extra Credit" bit at the end, it's exactly what I need for my application of this circuit.
I feel like my Chakras have opened and I made a profound connection with the Universe (of Electronics) after watching this video.
Those analog scopes are fantastic.
You are my favourite teacher! May you get long life and happiness!!! Love from Asia
Alan,I am a professor of medicine and dean of a medical college interested in electronics.I have watched some of your videos.as always this video on PLL is very straight forward.these kind of practical set up and demo is amazing and makes things black and white.that too after some initial minimal reading,this video makes the theory very clear.Absolutely fantastic.keep going.amidst COVID-19 it is refreshing.being a medicine teacher,I like your way of your teaching much-dr.kanagaraj
sincerely thanks for your sharing!!! pll has puzzled me for a really long time, and your video is so informative! thanks!
Excellent description of a commonly misunderstood circuit. Thank you very much!
...wow! the quality of your videos has NEVER dissappointed me and this particular one is a GEM :-) seriously, they should just put a link to this/your youtube video in that data sheet :P
Thanks so much for this video.
You just clear out a big misunderstanding I had for many years.
wish you all the happiness :D
This was a very informative video, far above the low tier educational content on youtube. Have subscribed
As always, your vidoes and subject are well explained. The bonus part of this video was really amazing. I love watching your videos. Thank you for sharing. Regards.
I know it's an older video but I really liked this one. You simplified the mysterious.
Thanks. I wanted to learn about phase locked loops, clicked on the first video that came up, and Im glad I did
Sir , i always like your videos. When i dont understand what you say i know that is my problem because you are perfect 😊
Again to helped me to get my head around a subject,that I heard of but couldn't get my head around, great video great help thank you.
This is a very informative video and easy to understand for non techies like me. Thanks.
the best explanation of this i've ever seen :) i sort of understand it now to a point cool.
Very informative, Straightforward. lab samples makes easy to understand.
The description of frequency synthesis was an "Ah ha!" moment for me. Now I have a much better understanding of how a microcontroller can create a rational multiple of some reference frequency (like from a crystal).
Another use case I've seen for a PLL is when you have an external data signal with a clock signal embedded (like Group Code Recording for floppy disks), and you need to synchronize the receiver's clock so that you can reliably sample the data at the correct rate.
Perfect explanation for the pll and the frecuency synthesizer
Phenomenal! Best explanation of PLL I've ever seen!
WOW! Simpson 260 multi-meter!! I haven't seen those since the 1990s in the US Navy and they were already "ancient"
This is so useful especially useful for demystifying a micro-controller PLL block.
Really cool. Waveforms really say the whole story. Thanks!
Helpful as always, love the conciseness
I love the Simpson meter in front of the circuit board. Memories of high school electronics class. Thanks, Mr. Banfield - LBHS!
Excellent video, thank you very much! Someone finally gave an insight about how a PLL can be used for frequency multiplying or dividing!
Thanks for taking the time to do such a good video explanation. The extra credit was just excellent!
Thank you very much for this video. The first time I really understood phase locked loops.
Excellent video as compared to other videos I have looked at on the same subject. There is nothing like comparing paper design to building the circuit and seeing how close the two agree.
I really enjoy these video's......even as an old techo, I still find them inspiring
You saved my life dear sir ! Thank you very much !
very nice way to define, i never got bored during all time.
At start of video, i was annoyed of moving camera. but very soon I started to enjoy moving camera. (my heart synced with camera movements)
A very good video explaining the basics of phase locked loop circuits theory along with some experiments.
Sir you are too good at this. You got my like and sub
Hi Alan !! I always enjoy watching your videos !! 73's Gary Grove
dude you should have 1M subs.
Best explanation I have ever watched.
Wow...That is what I call an explanation.....Thank You very much.
Always wondered how PLL works. Thanks for excellent explanation
Excellent - fabulous use of TH-cam thank you
Thanks, this is a great video, simple and to the point, finally i'm begining to understand how the PLL / phase detector is working :)
Once again a fascinating video, it is funny how all sorts of applications spring to mind. Many years ago I worked for a company that used a PLL in a squelch circuit... it was an SSB radio and the PLL was in the audio path... unfortunately I don't remember the details but it did work pretty well.
Wonderful explanation. Thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you!
this is amazing. The more I watch your tutorials and other EE videos like this - the more I realize that even I can understand this analog (well, and digital) black-magic :)
you are amazing w2aew, i wanted to do this experiment and i will get back to you and share my experiences after that
+Bhavani Shankar and...?
Golden!
You explained it all simple and easy
Great video, thanks for sharing! I never understood what's going on in a PLL-until now.