Hi John for future ref the lens wasn’t on properly or the led was wonky too high etc, I have been doing tvs for years and been caught out so many times 😊 P.s most of the time it’s more efficient to replace the full set, as you can replace 2-3 LEDs and a week later another 3 go, a set of strips for like a 50” are £20-25 for the full set delivered from china
Hi mate, Thank you for your comments. You are probably correct. However later I also noticed that the LEDs viewing angle was far narrower than the factory LEDs. So I this would have required an even more accurate placing of the leds to try and balance that tight beam angle. Thanks mate Cheers, John
Thanks Marc 👍. The lens height certainly could affect the viewing angle, but in this particular case the LEDs I'd purchased only had a 25° viewing angle, so I changed to a more suitable one as I found this one was noticeable on the screen creating a hot spot. Cheers John
@@OrbiterElectronics Fair comment. I still learnt a lot though, I casually repair TV's as a hobby and pass them on for people who can't afford to just go out and buy one. I have the same LED tester. I have a shelf full of spare LED's/Strips taken out of old TV's that I haven't had the chance to use yet. It hadn't occurred to me that I would need to compare the pattern of light when replacing one, so I'm now armed with that knowledge for when I get my first one. So, sincere thanks for taking the time.
John, what's a normal current for these backlights to draw. Is their a max current above which the power supply will roll back the current and shut the backlight off??
Hi mate... Unfortunately there is not a 'normal' consumption current for back-lights as they vary A LOT. I'm not sure if the TVs PSU will shut off or not. Here's a helpful video if you're in the process of testing etc ua-cam.com/video/4RzuLiRTzJg/v-deo.html
@@OrbiterElectronics I powered them externaly and they little up perfect but they draw 250ma. I put on her own power supply and they come on and back off. I thought that 250ma would be ok as a current.
@@OrbiterElectronics I've watched all those videos, they are pretty much useless. I need to know is 250ma excessive or ok. I have looked at 3030 white leds and they are quoted at 300 ma
@@OrbiterElectronics 5 strips all in series with 9 on each strip total 45 leds. I hit it with 120 volts and they all light bar one I had to bypass and it's drawing 250ma which I thought was ok but I am wondering if these TV's have an upper cutt off current that they will shut down once crossed. I looked up tv leds for sale and they quote 300ma.
Hi Dave. .They're a handy little unit. However If you're talking about using this meter as a power supply with a resistor to test a zener, then no, as the voltage output of this tester is variable and initially starts at 325v. The easiest test for a zener without a dedicated tester like the PEAK Atlas Zen etc is using a resistor and a battery or PSU. The supply voltage just has to be higher than the rated zener voltage. As shown here.. goo.gl/b68sa7 Cheers John
@@OrbiterElectronics Hi Again. I've ordered the GJ2B but in the link below a guy is using it to test Zeners...think his is a GJ2C though like yours. ua-cam.com/video/427WhrttRJU/v-deo.html Another link for the GJ2B on aliExpress says it tests Zeners too. Not trying to catch you out, I just did some research after I posted the question. I had to test a 70V zener in a PSU the other day and had nothing to test it with. I think the PEAK Atlas Zen only goes to 50v and my PSU only goes to 30v. I was looking for something cheap for my toolbox. DOH. just found a GJ3C as well. Only just my ordered my GJ2B and it's out of date! In theory if the device starts of with little current and then starts ramping things up to find the forward voltage drop (or in this case reverse on the Zener) would it not be the same as it finding the forward drop of a 90v set of LEDS in a tele? Thanks for the video by the way 👍
@@OrbiterElectronics i do understand the concept, but how would it know what current to stop at, unless its fixed? I've actually seen the new 4c moddel (with built in ampmeter and configurable output) test up to 20mA, and then shoot up to 70mA in auto mode. A sure way to exceed specs, and burn out leds. I've never seen anyone actually test de device with an ampmeter in series, to actually see what it does, and how. Up till now i just test led(strips) with a current limited bench power supply, but i was looking into getting something portable like this. I see a lot of people showing them off, but no real spec testing and in depth reviews.
ua-cam.com/video/cOJCqeqvFmM/v-deo.html Thats the new moddel. So judging from the display, it tests at 1mA, until it finds the forward voltage for the led(s), and then cranks up the amps to 20mA, and after a sec or 2 it shoots up to 70mA. And its even configurable up to 300mA. My second point is that the 3c model, has a switch for 1mA and 30mA, which leads me to believe my theory is correct. In one mode it will find the correct voltage, and then crank up the amps to 30mA, and the other mode it stays at 1mA. And i'm guessing this 2c model is doing the exact same thing, only its not configurable. Seems to me that could well exceed led specs... so not so smart device afterall, unless i'm missing something..
@@Mordaur If I get some time I will perhaps do another video on this to explore it's details and supply currents further. The new one looks interesting too 👍
@@OrbiterElectronics it does indeed look interesting. Its fully configurable, so you actually have full controll over it. But it's double the price though. So i'm in doubt if i should get the 2c or the newer 4c model. In the end, its just a led tester... and my bench power supply has been doing the job just fine, albeit not being portable. ( and only being able to go up to 30v).
Funny, I had a similar failure with those little bulbs. Are they G4 12v types? I found when connecting them to 12v DC any power switch bounce could cause the integrated DC-DC converter to latch up and consume lots of current (about 1.5 amps IIRC), the leds would light dimmer and eventually the driver would cook. Using a 12vac 60hz transformer I couldn't get them to latch up. And if you think in a kitchen all that grease it could cause some less than perfect switch contact. Haven't tried it with one of those electronic halogen transformers yet.
Hi.. Thanks for the comments..Yes I'm using G4 12v capsule LED's. You could be on the right track.. I know for sure a couple of the bulbs driver circuits have definitely failed and cooked their circuits, however I think it's a combination of dodgy bulb components too, as I'd used LED's rated for DC & AC linked to a 12vac transformer, and both types cooked themselves. I've tonight tried another G4 LED's (same type but different supplier) and they're good :) Cheers, John
Also the filter capacitors in mine were only rated for 20vdc so any AC higher than 14.144vac might push them over the edge too. Maybe its just hard to design a robust driver in such a small space, some of these G4 fixtures are just tiny. Hopefully yours will last longer now, they're a good idea in theory as many are only used as accent lighting so getting the power consumption down is a welcoming bill saver (especially when certain family member's leave them on all night!).
I know a couple of the diodes in my LED's had melted too so something wasn't happy :) Now that I've found some that seem ok though I'll perhaps order a few more.. Just in case! I know what you mean about lights being left on.. My brother was always a bugger for doing that when he was a kid, my Dad used to go mad. Cheers, John.
Hi Jimmy, Unfortunately not my friend, turns out it was the LED itself which had a different shaped phosphor area, even though the LED package size was the same the phosphor area was round instead of square so obviously this affected the beam pattern/focus slightly. Also I had the diffuser lens superglued down at first instead of hot glued so at that point the lens will have been virtually the same height as from factory. Good suggestion though. Cheers, John
I didn't make this tester I purchased it from Ebay.. Unfortunately some of the main IC's on the underside of the PCB have their numbers ground off, and others are coated with a hard coating which can't be removed without damaging the IC's, you can see this here 4:51
I don't know, all this time and you didn't bring flowers or choccies he he :-D :-D. I just have to pull your leg john :-D Well that box of tricks does look handy, and with leds being so crap and unreliable i'm sure it will get a lot of use :-D. I didn't think leds in tv/monitors would need such a high voltage, 80v max would be my guess for a bucket load of leds in series. So it adjusts the current limiter possibly for a typical value and monitors the voltage for maybe a fit for single led voltage or a multiple of 2V (as a rough minimal). Something like that i suppose. I bet you have had a think about what it looks for too :-D
Hiya Harv. I did send the choccies mate, did you not get them. Don't worry I'll send you some more. I didn't send fresh flowers though as all the ones in the garden are frozen :D The 55" TV that's being repaired at the mo has 112 LEDs in it, however they're in 16 strips with 7 LEDs each, each strip being individually powered. So perhaps this lil' device is for powering much longer strings, I dunno. Unfortunately the IC numbers have been ground off the power IC, and that black stuff over what looks like the main control IC is rock hard, so I'm not going to try and dig it off to find out what's going on, I'd love to know though. But I don't want to destroy the tester in the process as I like it :) Cheers Harvey, John
The circuitry is designed so that it protects itself against damage or shock, the leads can be touched together without a problem, but it's not advisable to do it.
That is a bit of bad electronics there. High voltage convert down on the cheap. I bet you it’s got lots of cheap fake components inside. Very badly made and no safety at all to it. No thanks.
thank you so much for that review. I was looking for that kind of practical usage examples, and inside view.
You're very welcome. Thank you 👍
Hi John for future ref the lens wasn’t on properly or the led was wonky too high etc, I have been doing tvs for years and been caught out so many times 😊
P.s most of the time it’s more efficient to replace the full set, as you can replace 2-3 LEDs and a week later another 3 go, a set of strips for like a 50” are £20-25 for the full set delivered from china
Hi mate, Thank you for your comments. You are probably correct. However later I also noticed that the LEDs viewing angle was far narrower than the factory LEDs. So I this would have required an even more accurate placing of the leds to try and balance that tight beam angle.
Thanks mate
Cheers, John
@@OrbiterElectronics you’re welcome ☺️
Hello John, nice to see you back and with an interesting piece of gear as well. Regards, Dave
Hi Dave. Thank you, It's good to hear from my online mates again.
Cheers, John
Good video. Good information. Was the different light pattern not related to the height of the lens?
Thanks Marc 👍. The lens height certainly could affect the viewing angle, but in this particular case the LEDs I'd purchased only had a 25° viewing angle, so I changed to a more suitable one as I found this one was noticeable on the screen creating a hot spot.
Cheers
John
@@OrbiterElectronics Fair comment. I still learnt a lot though, I casually repair TV's as a hobby and pass them on for people who can't afford to just go out and buy one. I have the same LED tester. I have a shelf full of spare LED's/Strips taken out of old TV's that I haven't had the chance to use yet. It hadn't occurred to me that I would need to compare the pattern of light when replacing one, so I'm now armed with that knowledge for when I get my first one. So, sincere thanks for taking the time.
@@marcyd2007 No problem at all Marc 👍
Cheers
John
You could use the TV back light in your kitchen lol... Thanks for sharing
Darryl 603 Hi Darryl.. I'd possibly give that a try if they were powerful enough 😁
Cheers, John
Great video m8 keep the good work up 👍
Thanks buddy ;)
John, what's a normal current for these backlights to draw. Is their a max current above which the power supply will roll back the current and shut the backlight off??
Hi mate... Unfortunately there is not a 'normal' consumption current for back-lights as they vary A LOT. I'm not sure if the TVs PSU will shut off or not.
Here's a helpful video if you're in the process of testing etc ua-cam.com/video/4RzuLiRTzJg/v-deo.html
@@OrbiterElectronics I powered them externaly and they little up perfect but they draw 250ma. I put on her own power supply and they come on and back off. I thought that 250ma would be ok as a current.
@@OrbiterElectronics I've watched all those videos, they are pretty much useless. I need to know is 250ma excessive or ok. I have looked at 3030 white leds and they are quoted at 300 ma
@@irishguy200007 How many leds strips are there and how many LEDs on each strip?
@@OrbiterElectronics 5 strips all in series with 9 on each strip total 45 leds. I hit it with 120 volts and they all light bar one I had to bypass and it's drawing 250ma which I thought was ok but I am wondering if these TV's have an upper cutt off current that they will shut down once crossed. I looked up tv leds for sale and they quote 300ma.
Excelente equipo no lo conocia buena explicacion
good to see you back John! I was always wondering if this tool is any good...so thanks for sharing, great video. All the best
Thanks Peter, nice to hear from you my friend & as always thank you for your comments 👍
Cheers, John
Hi John. Think I might get one of these. would it be able to show Zener Voltages do you think?
Hi Dave. .They're a handy little unit. However If you're talking about using this meter as a power supply with a resistor to test a zener, then no, as the voltage output of this tester is variable and initially starts at 325v. The easiest test for a zener without a dedicated tester like the PEAK Atlas Zen etc is using a resistor and a battery or PSU. The supply voltage just has to be higher than the rated zener voltage. As shown here.. goo.gl/b68sa7
Cheers
John
@@OrbiterElectronics Hi Again. I've ordered the GJ2B but in the link below a guy is using it to test Zeners...think his is a GJ2C though like yours.
ua-cam.com/video/427WhrttRJU/v-deo.html
Another link for the GJ2B on aliExpress says it tests Zeners too. Not trying to catch you out, I just did some research after I posted the question. I had to test a 70V zener in a PSU the other day and had nothing to test it with. I think the PEAK Atlas Zen only goes to 50v and my PSU only goes to 30v. I was looking for something cheap for my toolbox.
DOH. just found a GJ3C as well. Only just my ordered my GJ2B and it's out of date!
In theory if the device starts of with little current and then starts ramping things up to find the forward voltage drop (or in this case reverse on the Zener) would it not be the same as it finding the forward drop of a 90v set of LEDS in a tele?
Thanks for the video by the way 👍
Would have been nice to see what amps it puts out.
Hi.. Its output current is not fixed, it is an intelligent type output, so the current varies to suit many different LED load configurations.
@@OrbiterElectronics i do understand the concept, but how would it know what current to stop at, unless its fixed? I've actually seen the new 4c moddel (with built in ampmeter and configurable output) test up to 20mA, and then shoot up to 70mA in auto mode. A sure way to exceed specs, and burn out leds. I've never seen anyone actually test de device with an ampmeter in series, to actually see what it does, and how. Up till now i just test led(strips) with a current limited bench power supply, but i was looking into getting something portable like this. I see a lot of people showing them off, but no real spec testing and in depth reviews.
ua-cam.com/video/cOJCqeqvFmM/v-deo.html
Thats the new moddel. So judging from the display, it tests at 1mA, until it finds the forward voltage for the led(s), and then cranks up the amps to 20mA, and after a sec or 2 it shoots up to 70mA. And its even configurable up to 300mA.
My second point is that the 3c model, has a switch for 1mA and 30mA, which leads me to believe my theory is correct. In one mode it will find the correct voltage, and then crank up the amps to 30mA, and the other mode it stays at 1mA. And i'm guessing this 2c model is doing the exact same thing, only its not configurable.
Seems to me that could well exceed led specs... so not so smart device afterall, unless i'm missing something..
@@Mordaur If I get some time I will perhaps do another video on this to explore it's details and supply currents further. The new one looks interesting too 👍
@@OrbiterElectronics it does indeed look interesting. Its fully configurable, so you actually have full controll over it. But it's double the price though. So i'm in doubt if i should get the 2c or the newer 4c model. In the end, its just a led tester... and my bench power supply has been doing the job just fine, albeit not being portable. ( and only being able to go up to 30v).
Funny, I had a similar failure with those little bulbs. Are they G4 12v types? I found when connecting them to 12v DC any power switch bounce could cause the integrated DC-DC converter to latch up and consume lots of current (about 1.5 amps IIRC), the leds would light dimmer and eventually the driver would cook. Using a 12vac 60hz transformer I couldn't get them to latch up.
And if you think in a kitchen all that grease it could cause some less than perfect switch contact. Haven't tried it with one of those electronic halogen transformers yet.
Hi.. Thanks for the comments..Yes I'm using G4 12v capsule LED's. You could be on the right track.. I know for sure a couple of the bulbs driver circuits have definitely failed and cooked their circuits, however I think it's a combination of dodgy bulb components too, as I'd used LED's rated for DC & AC linked to a 12vac transformer, and both types cooked themselves. I've tonight tried another G4 LED's (same type but different supplier) and they're good :)
Cheers, John
Also the filter capacitors in mine were only rated for 20vdc so any AC higher than 14.144vac might push them over the edge too. Maybe its just hard to design a robust driver in such a small space, some of these G4 fixtures are just tiny.
Hopefully yours will last longer now, they're a good idea in theory as many are only used as accent lighting so getting the power consumption down is a welcoming bill saver (especially when certain family member's leave them on all night!).
I know a couple of the diodes in my LED's had melted too so something wasn't happy :) Now that I've found some that seem ok though I'll perhaps
order a few more.. Just in case!
I know what you mean about lights being left on.. My brother was always a bugger for doing that when he was a kid, my Dad used to go mad.
Cheers, John.
Could it be the lens is to high or too low when it was re glued? Thought I saw something about that on a video Id like to know myself. great video
Hi Jimmy, Unfortunately not my friend, turns out it was the LED itself which had a different shaped phosphor area, even though the LED package size was the same the phosphor area was round instead of square so obviously this affected the beam pattern/focus slightly. Also I had the diffuser lens superglued down at first instead of hot glued so at that point the lens will have been virtually the same height as from factory. Good suggestion though.
Cheers, John
Hi, please share the internal circuit diagram and component list to DIY make this tester, thank you...
I didn't make this tester I purchased it from Ebay.. Unfortunately some of the main IC's on the underside of the PCB have their numbers ground off, and others are coated with a hard coating which can't be removed without damaging the IC's, you can see this here 4:51
Good one as usual John. Putting my order in for what is a very useful tool for the bench... O yeah which Vendor dis you use BTW?
Hi 101.. Thanks for the comments 👍.. I bought it from Ebay.. A seller called 'amazingstore66'.
Cheers, John
How much current does this box give out for the leds?
Hi mate... IIRC it's between 0 - 30mA.. This ramps up slowly to provide an appropriate voltage/current to power most individual LEDs or LED strips.
@@OrbiterElectronics So 250ma draw on backlight is to high??
You are awesome, thank you very much شڪراٰاٰاٰاٰاٰ ๛
Thank you ☺
I don't know, all this time and you didn't bring flowers or choccies he he :-D :-D.
I just have to pull your leg john :-D
Well that box of tricks does look handy, and with leds being so crap and unreliable i'm sure it will get a lot of use :-D.
I didn't think leds in tv/monitors would need such a high voltage, 80v max would be my guess for a bucket load of leds in series.
So it adjusts the current limiter possibly for a typical value and monitors the voltage for maybe a fit for single led voltage or a multiple of 2V (as a rough minimal).
Something like that i suppose.
I bet you have had a think about what it looks for too :-D
Hiya Harv. I did send the choccies mate, did you not get them. Don't worry I'll send you some more. I didn't send fresh flowers though
as all the ones in the garden are frozen :D
The 55" TV that's being repaired at the mo has 112 LEDs in it, however they're in 16 strips with 7 LEDs each, each strip being individually powered. So
perhaps this lil' device is for powering much longer strings, I dunno.
Unfortunately the IC numbers have been ground off the power IC, and that black stuff over what looks like the main control IC is rock hard, so I'm not going to
try and dig it off to find out what's going on, I'd love to know though. But I don't want to destroy the tester in the process as I like it :)
Cheers Harvey, John
👍
what happens if you touch one end to the other end? does the device burn?
The circuitry is designed so that it protects itself against damage or shock, the leads can be touched together without a problem, but it's not advisable to do it.
@@OrbiterElectronics 👋
what the exact name of these + - sticks
They're Multimeter Probes 👍
Hi My led type are rectangle not round the method is same please
Yes the test method is the same for all LEDs. Attention must just be paid as always to the correct polarity.
Request scematic circuit
Don't think I'll try that, as pulling off the black potting compound would rip the coated components off the PCB.
Did someone reverse engineer this device ?
Hi.. Not that I know of, not yet anyway.
Necesito diagrama de este equipo
Price sar
Around £25 .. Look on eBay for 'SID-GJ2C 0-300V LED Backlight Tester'.
Super realizat dar nu final
That is a bit of bad electronics there. High voltage convert down on the cheap. I bet you it’s got lots of cheap fake components inside. Very badly made and no safety at all to it. No thanks.
Agreed... It's definitely cheap and cheerful, but It still works well.