- HCT14 died after accidentally hitting pins 7 and 8 of the *21 driver with the meter probe at the same time, and I think took out the 7805 with it. Replaced with spare 7805 and LS14 (for now, was in the parts box, will order HCT14 from Digikey)
- HCT74 dragging pin 4 of HCT14 output high. Replaced with Ls74 (again, will order proper part)
- Initial test gave humming but no sparks. Had to switch the driver ICs to get unit working
I am leery tearing into the unit, replacing all 4 parts, putting it back together, and having the same effect, and then finding out it's just the lack of a ground plane or something like that. I ask because I pulled out a 4' flourescent tube from the basement, and when I put the tube near the breakout, I get nice large streamers (only about 4 inches, but very wide) with the tube nicely lit. So, it does seem the power is there (the sound level also increases significantly in the process).
Jim