# Electronic parts tester



## cathead (Dec 7, 2018)

These are really handy for anyone who builds electronic stuff or does repair and or testing of electronic parts.
You can order the kit on E-Bay for about 10 dollars more or less depending on which one you choose.  You can
find the tester ready built or as a kit using a 328 IC chip.  I built one kit a year ago and was so impressed I had to
get another.

Today's project was to mount the completed tester on an aluminum scrap plate and machine a holder for the
battery and switch.  You can buy the tester by the board itself or with a clear plastic case for a few bucks more.
I opted to make my own as one had to always find a battery and hook it up before using it.

This unit will test a myriad of parts from transistors to resistors to diodes and capacitors.  It will show the pin-out of
transistors and even tests for ESR(equivalent series resistance) on electrolytic capacitors which is VERY handy.

This kit takes a couple of hours to build but I must tell you that the parts are VERY small and require a magnifying
glass and a tiny soldering iron tip to accomplish it.

The screen identifies the part and gives many details to identify the part or test it..... totally amazing!
	

		
			
		

		
	



This unit will identify transistors and indicate if NPN pr PNP if one is sorting out a bunch of unknown parts, very handy.
It also has a square wave output for which I have not had a need for yet. It is really handy for repairing switch mode
power supplies to test the electrolytic capacitors for ESR.




That's what I did today, so far...........................................


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## hman (Dec 7, 2018)

Sounds fantastic.  What's the name and/or number of this tester (or what are the magic search terms)?  

I've seen a similar looking LCD oscilloscope in a post here a while back, and have been thinking of buying it.   The price is definitely right.
https://jyetech.com/Products/LcdScope/e138mini.php


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## cathead (Dec 7, 2018)

hman said:


> Sounds fantastic.  What's the name and/or number of this tester (or what are the magic search terms)?
> 
> I've seen a similar looking LCD oscilloscope in a post here a while back, and have been thinking of buying it.   The price is definitely right.
> https://jyetech.com/Products/LcdScope/e138mini.php



Type: "GM328 tester" on E-Bay and you will find several of these testers.  Mine is last year's model, the 2017.  I can't say much
about the 2018 model and have not tried one of them.   I have a 200mhz Siglent oscilloscope and have been very happy with it. 
I actually use the "GM328" more than I use the scope!


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## cathead (Dec 13, 2018)

I see several of you are interested in this parts tester.  Here is a photo of an assembled unit on the
left and on the right is a photo of the circuit board.  Down below is what you receive in a little plastic bag. 



I have no affiliation with this, just am amazed at the capability of this unit.


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## Chris Hamel (Dec 14, 2018)

I bought a dso shell 150 LCD scope from Bangood.  The cost for fully assembled is around $25.  The kit is under $20.  I have used this scope quite a bit and been quite pleased.

https://m.banggood.com/Orignal-JYE-...-Kit-With-Housing-p-1093865.html?rmmds=search

https://m.banggood.com/Original-JYE...loscope-Module-9V-p-1211151.html?rmmds=search


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## cathead (Dec 18, 2018)

Chris Hamel said:


> I bought a dso shell 150 LCD scope from Bangood.  The cost for fully assembled is around $25.  The kit is under $20.  I have used this scope quite a bit and been quite pleased.
> 
> https://m.banggood.com/Orignal-JYE-...-Kit-With-Housing-p-1093865.html?rmmds=search
> 
> https://m.banggood.com/Original-JYE...loscope-Module-9V-p-1211151.html?rmmds=search




The scope looks pretty nice from Banggood.   Some of their machining stuff is OK but the drill bits from them 
that fit into a 1/4 inch drill driver were pretty poor.


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## coherent (Dec 18, 2018)

Chris Hamel said:


> I bought a dso shell 150 LCD scope from Bangood.  The cost for fully assembled is around $25.  The kit is under $20.  I have used this scope quite a bit and been quite pleased.
> 
> https://m.banggood.com/Orignal-JYE-...-Kit-With-Housing-p-1093865.html?rmmds=search
> 
> https://m.banggood.com/Original-JYE...loscope-Module-9V-p-1211151.html?rmmds=search



I ordered one of the Bangood scope kits.  Thanks for the post.


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## Chris Hamel (Dec 18, 2018)

It either runs off of 9 volt battery or a power supply.  I found it eats up a 9 v battery quick, so I mostly run mine off of 9 v wall wort I got from ebay.


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## Bi11Hudson (Dec 18, 2018)

A couple of points to consider here, if I may... I am retired from a steel mill as an "electronics repairman". Actually did more electrician work than electronics. As a machinist, I am strictly a hobbyist. I also worked a while doing fiber optics, splicing at the commercial level. In both cases, professionally I have found LCD displays aren't fast enough for troubleshooting. They work well enough for design work, to make sure you have the correct waveform. But looking for a random glitch, I will always prefer a CRT scope. The retention of the phosphers will give enough time to see that "once in a while", random excursion from the norm. 

An optical Time Delay Reflectometer (OTDR) merely highlights this excursion. I have had an LCD OTDR but swapped it off for a CRT model for this reason. I realize the listed LCD models sell for less than 10 cents on a dollar for a CRT model. But once paid off, they become just another test instrument. I paid for mine way back, long before the I'Net ever existed. Probably would go with an LCD if I was starting fresh. But I have an older Hitachi 250 meg analog scope and often can find problems where a modern LCD won't. Just a rant here, having my say. But newer is not necessarily better. From experience.


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## tq60 (Dec 19, 2018)

Places where the Simpson 260 works better than the fluke.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk


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## Bi11Hudson (Dec 19, 2018)

Yeah, I have a Series 6 and a Series 5. That's one reason I'm still alive.


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## markba633csi (Dec 19, 2018)

I have found that analog multimeters are often more useful than digital ones for the same reasons- quick events and trends are easier to see


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## Chris Hamel (Dec 19, 2018)

For my limited knowledge the $25 scope has worked great. For several projects, including a metal detector and a driver for my mc 2100 treadmill controller board the scope has been a valuable tool.


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## warrjon (Dec 21, 2018)

Chris Hamel said:


> For my limited knowledge the $25 scope has worked great. For several projects, including a metal detector and a driver for my mc 2100 treadmill controller board the scope has been a valuable tool.



I think that would be a great little scope for project work. In fact I could have used it when I was installing the electronic cruise control in my car. I have a Tektronix TDS3000 but a battery pack for it is a $1000.00 and I didn't have long enough extension lead to drive up the road with the scope on the passenger seat.



Bi11Hudson said:


> But looking for a random glitch, I will always prefer a CRT scope. The retention of the phosphers will give enough time to see that "once in a while", random excursion from the norm.



I have been repairing electronics most of my life, last job was in the repair dept for a military calibration laboratory, mostly RF so low frequency was 10MHz. My go to scope was a Tektronix TDS3054 I really like these scopes ( I have one in my home lab), easy to use, and as a DPO scope has excellent transient capture capability. The Digital Phosphor database captures the transient and it is displayed, unlike a regular LCD scope that will most likely miss the transient event. It will even show the transient event as a different colour on the main waveform. Even if the transient event only happens once every 300-400 triggers the scope will display the spike unlike a CRT where the spike will fade.


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## cathead (Feb 26, 2019)

cathead said:


> These are really handy for anyone who builds electronic stuff or does repair and or testing of electronic parts.
> You can order the kit on E-Bay for about 10 dollars more or less depending on which one you choose.  You can
> find the tester ready built or as a kit using a 328 IC chip.  I built one kit a year ago and was so impressed I had to
> get another.
> ...







My original tester worked fine for parts like small signal transistors and circuit board electrolytic capacitors
but it was difficult to use without soldering on some little wires to fit into the little blue clamping device
on the circuit board.  The color coded clips allow one to identify the pinout on the part as the screen identifies
by number.    








Here is a side photo of the case I made for the tester using the bottom inch of an old Makita
docking cradle for a battery powered electric drill.  I sliced the case in half with a band saw
and fit a clear plastic cover over the top of it.  I will use this unit for larger parts like power
transistors and for testing big axial electrolytic capacitors by using the color coded clippies
that protrude out of the box.  I thought of milling out a hole for the original wire clamps but
liked the clean look as it is and still can use the first one I built for that.


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