A dead Tek FG503 function generator plug-in inspires a teardown. The culprit? A bad op amp in the power supply.

The function generator is certainly more reliable than the USB screenshot feature on a Hantek ‘scope! The good news is that this generator does exactly what it claims.

Learn how to use the function generator at Sears think [box], Case Western Reserve University’s open-access innovation center and makerspace.

The result is a cheap function generator you can build with a Pi Pico and a handful of resistors, which will probably cost you the grand total of $12.

The traditional analog function generator with its customary triple-threat ensemble of square, triangle, and sine waveform outputs is a familiar tool on electronics lab benches. It’s also a classical ...