DIYstompboxes.com

DIY Stompboxes => Building your own stompbox => Topic started by: DarkHorse on June 30, 2020, 01:05:59 AM

Title: I’m sure you guys are hip to this ...
Post by: DarkHorse on June 30, 2020, 01:05:59 AM
...but this tester is dirt cheap, pretty darn accurate, and super handy ! I got it off eBay for like $20-25 or so. It tests transistors, caps, resistors, Diodes, etc....

A VERY handy companion to a multimeter, and extremely useful !
(https://i.postimg.cc/ykv8w4k9/5396-B2-AB-ECC1-4327-8-EA4-91-E9-D4272342.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/ykv8w4k9)
Title: Re: I’m sure you guys are hip to this ...
Post by: willienillie on June 30, 2020, 03:00:11 AM
How many cats do you have?
Title: Re: I’m sure you guys are hip to this ...
Post by: antonis on June 30, 2020, 05:06:58 AM
Quote from: DarkHorse on June 30, 2020, 01:05:59 AM
pretty darn accurate

Compared with..???
Title: Re: I’m sure you guys are hip to this ...
Post by: Marcos - Munky on June 30, 2020, 08:55:46 AM
Yep, it's a nice tool. Cheap, can measure lots of stuff, shows transistors pinout, blinks leds so you can check their colors, some of them measures ge transistors leakage (mine doesn't :'().

The only thing to be aware is the battery. It starts to be innacurate with a not so big battery voltage drop. Not a big deal for stompbox buildings, but once I had trouble measuring a very low value resistor (less than 1r). A fresh battery solved the problem.
Title: Re: I’m sure you guys are hip to this ...
Post by: MaxPower on June 30, 2020, 11:05:51 AM
Got a cheap careless version primarily for the pf cap range. Not reliable with jfets though (d and s pinouts often wrong). Haven't tried mosfets yet.
Title: Re: I’m sure you guys are hip to this ...
Post by: anotherjim on June 30, 2020, 12:27:13 PM
Quote from: MaxPower on June 30, 2020, 11:05:51 AM
Got a cheap careless version primarily for the pf cap range. Not reliable with jfets though (d and s pinouts often wrong). Haven't tried mosfets yet.
You can swap D & S on most JFET's without any ill effect  - still works. So, you can imagine the test box is not going to be able to tell you if they're wrong ways about.
Title: Re: I’m sure you guys are hip to this ...
Post by: duckduckgoose on June 30, 2020, 03:12:35 PM
I got one that I think is based on the same software but it's a black and white screen with a green backlight. clear acrylic case. i think it was only 8 dollars on amazon lol
Title: Re: I’m sure you guys are hip to this ...
Post by: Marcos - Munky on June 30, 2020, 05:36:42 PM
Quote from: duckduckgoose on June 30, 2020, 03:12:35 PM
I got one that I think is based on the same software but it's a black and white screen with a green backlight. clear acrylic case. i think it was only 8 dollars on amazon lol
This is the exact one I have.
https://pt.aliexpress.com/item/32810272625.html

Probably there are cheaper ones, I just copied the first link I came across. The keyword to find them is mega328.
Title: Re: I’m sure you guys are hip to this ...
Post by: DarkHorse on June 30, 2020, 11:03:21 PM
Quote from: antonis on June 30, 2020, 05:06:58 AM
Quote from: DarkHorse on June 30, 2020, 01:05:59 AM
pretty darn accurate

Compared with..???


Comparing not only to my MM, but also using it to measure known value parts to check accuracy.
Title: Re: I’m sure you guys are hip to this ...
Post by: DarkHorse on June 30, 2020, 11:04:04 PM
Quote from: willienillie on June 30, 2020, 03:00:11 AM
How many cats do you have?


Zero.

Two dogs.
Title: Re: I’m sure you guys are hip to this ...
Post by: Electron Tornado on June 30, 2020, 11:09:03 PM
I think I posted this, but here it is again:





Quote from: antonis on June 30, 2020, 05:06:58 AM
Quote from: DarkHorse on June 30, 2020, 01:05:59 AM
pretty darn accurate

Compared with..???


I have one of these as well as one of those pictured in the first post. I set up R.G. Keen's method for testing transistor gain on a breadboard and tested a bunch of germanium transistors*, then compared the gains given by both of those testers. The results were very close, with the largest difference being about 6%.

The one in the video is fussy about battery power, while the one in the first post has a rechargeable 5V battery. 



*A couple of Russian GM28 and a bunch of AC176.