OMG Arti! Watching you assemble this thing without removing the protective foil and hearing you complain about not seeing the display made my day! Thank you for this video; stay save, stay healthy and keep breathing, whatever happens!
I have one of these machines and it tested most components really well. I tested a MOSFET and it gave a good reading, but when I test anything else, it keeps showing, on the display, the last thing I tested, which was the MOSFET.
Not read all the comments but I was screaming test those two SMT capacitors on the output of the reg. They commonly cause shorts. Great vid, glad you left in the "deliberate mistake" with the backing paper, it makes things more real. Hope you still have the old one in the bin. I have several such testers even replaced an LDC on one. (I treat it like a foot ball, sticking my foot in the way trying to stop it impacting the floor when I knocked it off the bench) Still working a few years on.
I have a similar one that I ordered as a kit. It uses all through hole components and I enjoyed putting it together. I did add a power switch, as it does never go off completely. I read that a charged capacitor tends to blow them up, so I put a raw piece of PCB on the face of the case that I use to short them on before inserting. The other month it did seem like it died on me, I am not sure what was up, but when I went back to look at it a couple days later it was working fine.
Triac fail simply because the tester cannot provide enough current to latch the unit on. Try again with a C106D and it will work, or make one with a NPN and PNP transistor to make a PNPN device.
..same here :( As for me I forgot to empty a cap before operating the tester and then blackout with 250mA shortage. I also tried to replace the 5V regulator but well ...guess it's the processor. It's actually such a smart device and it would actually be easy to implement a protection against unexpected voltages on the input (which are mainly caused by loaded caps) - why not implementing a short discharge-routine on the input when pushing the flaming button? A simple resistor which is shorting the input for some ms would be enough, for example. More elaborated would maybe be a voltage-sniffer on the input which activates a Mosfet shortening the input for a time ..but well, the damage is done ;)
Yeah, maybe a bad SMD ceramic capacitor, those often seem to fail shorted. In any case this thing is based on an open source design so even buying a new microcontroller and reprogramming it yourself is possible.
I had similar problem. 200mA while pushing button and 7805 gettin hot. I connected 5V to output leg and chip is getting hot. So Its blown chip. But its atmega328, so you can buy buy it and flash pretty easy.
I think I would have to get drunk too!! Anyway I had one of these and it did not last long and in fact failed the same way. Out of all the ones I have used I really like it because the display is easy to read and is larger then most of the others...
Transistors in a TO-3 package usually are not soldered; they fit into a socket, so they do not show traces of old solder on their leads. I guess your TO-3 transistor has been used and fried in a socket.
@@artifactelectronics I full heartedly agree! I'm just saying that a thing of beauty and a joy to behold (Legos) might make the one hung low testers noivus. ;) kind of like His Royal Magesty The Emporer of Saudi Arabia sitting next to Mammey Van Doren at a garden party... With copious amounts of booze. He might start missbehaving. ;)
Dielectric absorbtion charged a capacitor up again in the time between you discharging it and you connecting the probes. Atmega died, killed by the overvoltage on it.
Did the same to my tester, however, the processor was mounted on a dip socket and the manufacturer sent me another one. Needless to say, I don't check capacitors with it anymore.
Here are three Add-On/Upgrades... The leads you know about. But, I made my leads to terminate to a row of three header pins. I can just drop the header in the ZIF and I am ready to go. Two, I never intended to use a battery with my unit. So, I pulled the connector to the outside, to use with a PSU, and dropped a crystal tester circuit in the battery compartment. Three, I just thought of, from your comment about discharging caps, before testing them... Add a 1M/1W resistor with a lead attached to each pin to the battery compartment, also. Attach these leads to a DUT cap, to drain it, before testing it. I did not receive instructions with my unit. Did I understand correctly that all I need do is short the three pins and turn it on... then test any capacitor? Please post the instructions on GitHub/DropBox/etc. Thanks for a great video. If you haven't trashed the broken unit, give it to a kid to fix. They will learn a lot and end up with a nice bit of kit.
Is that normal that from some time to time especially when turned on witch cap installed it shows ESR = 0 Ohm and test need to be repeated few times before it show ESR readings, or mine is damaged ?
Thanks for doing the video. I would be curious if you would compare the parts from both test units and see if you can isolate which part is defective on the old tester. Maybe a static discharge caused a fault or a component that gave up the ghost. Then let's get "hammered " together. What is your favorite beverage for relieving stress ? Mine is 101 Wild Turkey for now. J K
Hey Artie, you could be using the wrong terminals, depending on the tester. My tester, admittedly a slightly different model, has the bottom three pins from left in the ZIF socket wired differently, for a Zener Diode test. Mine lists as having the top terminals wired as 1 2 3 1 2 3 2 from the left, and the bottom terminals as K A A 1 2 3 3. Yours may be similar. Retest some of your suspect parts in the top three and then the bottom three left terminals to see if the results are repeatable. If not, this may be the cause.
The #s are on the silkscreen. ZIF Top row 1231111, bottom row should be 2223333. Unless your #s are different, the triac shouldn't have worked in the bottom row. Move the triac to the top row.
Amazing vid by Professor Arti. That looks like a really useful piece of guidance test equipment. Thanks for showing us how to use and calibrate it. Is the plexiglass case worth getting?
Hi @tanner1985. My LCR-T4 was working fine, but suddenly stopped. It draws normal backlight current when I push the button, but the Atmeg328 program does not seem to be running. I have some spare chips handy, but where did you get the program from ? I've ordered a replacement unit, but would still like the challenge of getting this one going.
@@kevingpearce I followed a video from the channel Survival Hacking. Summarizing, you need to buy a 5 dollars atmega programmer, solder a 6 pix header on the LCR pcb, connect it to a computer and follow the tutorial. You will end up with the device reprogrammed ex-novo
That case doesn't do much for me. Maybe a business opportunity to manufacture and sell carved out of solid aluminum cases for $74.99 a pop. Marble...? But entertaining and educational as usual.
I have been hearing a lot of bad things about these surface mount components for a very long time, mostly that they are highly unreliable and are hypersensitive to static charges, physical vibration, and heat. Which tells me that they are not worth using.
OMG Arti! Watching you assemble this thing without removing the protective foil and hearing you complain about not seeing the display made my day! Thank you for this video; stay save, stay healthy and keep breathing, whatever happens!
Theses testers are great and so cheap !...there is a fantastic backstory about the the guy who designed it, it's well worth a read...cheers.
I have one of these machines and it tested most components really well. I tested a MOSFET and it gave a good reading, but when I test anything else, it keeps showing, on the display, the last thing I tested, which was the MOSFET.
Not read all the comments but I was screaming test those two SMT capacitors on the output of the reg.
They commonly cause shorts.
Great vid, glad you left in the "deliberate mistake" with the backing paper, it makes things more real.
Hope you still have the old one in the bin.
I have several such testers even replaced an LDC on one. (I treat it like a foot ball, sticking my foot in the way trying to stop it impacting the floor when I knocked it off the bench) Still working a few years on.
It's still in the parts bin. And will be there for a while I'm afraid.
@@artifactelectronics
I have many items in similar circumstance's.
I call it my "later pile" troubling thing is it's bigger than my "to do" pile.
This was a fun video Arti, and as an added bonus, I heard Nazareth's "Razamanaz" in my head for the duration of this video. Thank you!
A Very Enjoyable Video!!!!!
I have a similar one that I ordered as a kit. It uses all through hole components and I enjoyed putting it together. I did add a power switch, as it does never go off completely. I read that a charged capacitor tends to blow them up, so I put a raw piece of PCB on the face of the case that I use to short them on before inserting. The other month it did seem like it died on me, I am not sure what was up, but when I went back to look at it a couple days later it was working fine.
I like the idea of a discharge plate in plain view so that you never forget
Triac fail simply because the tester cannot provide enough current to latch the unit on. Try again with a C106D and it will work, or make one with a NPN and PNP transistor to make a PNPN device.
I dropped mine a while ago. The display shattered, so I bought a new one. Always be sure to fully discharge the caps prior to testing.
..same here :( As for me I forgot to empty a cap before operating the tester and then blackout with 250mA shortage. I also tried to replace the 5V regulator but well ...guess it's the processor. It's actually such a smart device and it would actually be easy to implement a protection against unexpected voltages on the input (which are mainly caused by loaded caps) - why not implementing a short discharge-routine on the input when pushing the flaming button? A simple resistor which is shorting the input for some ms would be enough, for example. More elaborated would maybe be a voltage-sniffer on the input which activates a Mosfet shortening the input for a time ..but well, the damage is done ;)
It was funny and informative Art ! YUou keep making them I'll keep watching
Surprised you didnt desolder the surface mount caps next to the regulator to see if one of them was shorted.
I didn't want to spend any more time on this. First the caps, then the cpu and it'll just go for a long time.
Nice one Artie.
The initial Calibration is failed, as it requires the cap between p1 - p3, not p1 - p2.
Maybe try and feed the defective tester with 5V directly from the LAB-PSU and see what gets hot, to try and find what part is faulty.
Yeah, maybe a bad SMD ceramic capacitor, those often seem to fail shorted. In any case this thing is based on an open source design so even buying a new microcontroller and reprogramming it yourself is possible.
I had similar problem. 200mA while pushing button and 7805 gettin hot. I connected 5V to output leg and chip is getting hot. So Its blown chip. But its atmega328, so you can buy buy it and flash pretty easy.
You could connect 5V to the reg output on the old one and see what gets hot.
With my luck it would probably be the processor, so I didn't even want to go there.
I think I would have to get drunk too!!
Anyway I had one of these and it did not last long and in fact failed the same way. Out of all the ones I have used I really like it because the display is easy to read and is larger then most of the others...
Transistors in a TO-3 package usually are not soldered; they fit into a socket, so they do not show traces of old solder on their leads. I guess your TO-3 transistor has been used and fried in a socket.
You're right. The legs do kind of look like they've seen the business end of a soldering iron.
I have blown my component tester the same way you did by measuring a cap that must still have had some charge 😒
The Legos could have frightened it to death. They can be intimidating.
C'mon, that lego case is beautiful
@@artifactelectronics I full heartedly agree! I'm just saying that a thing of beauty and a joy to behold (Legos) might make the one hung low testers noivus. ;) kind of like His Royal Magesty The Emporer of Saudi Arabia sitting next to Mammey Van Doren at a garden party... With copious amounts of booze. He might start missbehaving. ;)
Dielectric absorbtion charged a capacitor up again in the time between you discharging it and you connecting the probes. Atmega died, killed by the overvoltage on it.
Just like a CRT then
Did the same to my tester, however, the processor was mounted on a dip socket and the manufacturer sent me another one. Needless to say, I don't check capacitors with it anymore.
Here are three Add-On/Upgrades... The leads you know about. But, I made my leads to terminate to a row of three header pins. I can just drop the header in the ZIF and I am ready to go. Two, I never intended to use a battery with my unit. So, I pulled the connector to the outside, to use with a PSU, and dropped a crystal tester circuit in the battery compartment. Three, I just thought of, from your comment about discharging caps, before testing them... Add a 1M/1W resistor with a lead attached to each pin to the battery compartment, also. Attach these leads to a DUT cap, to drain it, before testing it. I did not receive instructions with my unit. Did I understand correctly that all I need do is short the three pins and turn it on... then test any capacitor? Please post the instructions on GitHub/DropBox/etc. Thanks for a great video. If you haven't trashed the broken unit, give it to a kid to fix. They will learn a lot and end up with a nice bit of kit.
Is that normal that from some time to time especially when turned on witch cap installed it shows ESR = 0 Ohm and test need to be repeated few times before it show ESR readings, or mine is damaged ?
I prefer the ones with the rechargeable 5V battery and micro USB power in jack.
Thanks for doing the video. I would be curious if you would compare the parts from both test units and see if you can isolate which part is defective on the old tester. Maybe a static discharge caused a fault or a component that gave up the ghost. Then let's get "hammered " together. What is your favorite beverage for relieving stress ? Mine is 101 Wild Turkey for now. J K
I'm not too choosy late at night, anything that slows down the brain is welcome.
Hey Artie, you could be using the wrong terminals, depending on the tester. My tester, admittedly a slightly different model, has the bottom three pins from left in the ZIF socket wired differently, for a Zener Diode test. Mine lists as having the top terminals wired as 1 2 3 1 2 3 2 from the left, and the bottom terminals as K A A 1 2 3 3. Yours may be similar. Retest some of your suspect parts in the top three and then the bottom three left terminals to see if the results are repeatable. If not, this may be the cause.
I tried both the top and bottom rows in the ZIF, with both orientations and still no love.
Why didn't you buy a version of the TC1?
The #s are on the silkscreen. ZIF Top row 1231111, bottom row should be 2223333. Unless your #s are different, the triac shouldn't have worked in the bottom row. Move the triac to the top row.
Nice job;)
got that little tester as a kit sometime ago, its still in a kit form but someday :)
Amazing vid by Professor Arti.
That looks like a really useful piece of guidance test equipment.
Thanks for showing us how to use and calibrate it.
Is the plexiglass case worth getting?
It definitely is. With the amount of wires I have on the bench it makes good sense to isolate the PCB.
17:40 Remove light brown tape so can you see lcd display :)
It's a nice tester, but o so fragile. If you don't mine replacing it every so often its a good deal.
I think the case will do wonders for its longevity, but let's wait an see.
I replaced the atmega328p on mine and I repaired it with something like 3 dollars.
Hi @tanner1985.
My LCR-T4 was working fine, but suddenly stopped. It draws normal backlight current when I push the button, but the Atmeg328 program does not seem to be running.
I have some spare chips handy, but where did you get the program from ? I've ordered a replacement unit, but would still like the challenge of getting this one going.
@@kevingpearce I followed a video from the channel Survival Hacking. Summarizing, you need to buy a 5 dollars atmega programmer, solder a 6 pix header on the LCR pcb, connect it to a computer and follow the tutorial. You will end up with the device reprogrammed ex-novo
@@kevingpearce I had fun doing it, most importantly.
@@tanner1985 The Survival Hacking site is not in English, so no good to me. Thanks anyway.
No, no! Its the blue button....arrggg!! But that battery is only 6V not 9V.....
i took the resistor array seriously at first ffs
That case doesn't do much for me. Maybe a business opportunity to manufacture and sell carved out of solid aluminum cases for $74.99 a pop. Marble...? But entertaining and educational as usual.
The case fits right in on a bench, but I agree, it doesn't look too good next to a caviar dish on the formal dining table. Start carving a prototype.
I have been hearing a lot of bad things about these surface mount components for a very long time, mostly that they are highly unreliable and are hypersensitive to static charges, physical vibration, and heat. Which tells me that they are not worth using.
No... you didn't fix the old tester...
You noticed.
Crap! Second... But awesome video! :)
Young folks may be watching to learn electronics. The getting drunk comment probably wasn’t needed. Otherwise I love your videos.