Author Topic: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project  (Read 3408557 times)

0 Members and 16 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline MrJohnnny

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 19
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #575 on: July 20, 2014, 07:49:26 pm »
Hi guys, decided to show it working. Have to say, it works like charm, considering that it's built in such a rude way  ;D I discovered interesting little glitch - you test diode, it displays it OK (symbol), but when you reverse connection, symbol gets messed up ??? Does someone have similar problem? I think it's connected either with LCD or EEPROM
 

Offline madires

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7695
  • Country: de
  • A qualified hobbyist ;)
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #576 on: July 20, 2014, 08:34:27 pm »
Hi guys, decided to show it working. Have to say, it works like charm, considering that it's built in such a rude way  ;D I discovered interesting little glitch - you test diode, it displays it OK (symbol), but when you reverse connection, symbol gets messed up ??? Does someone have similar problem? I think it's connected either with LCD or EEPROM

Cheap Chinese LCD? :) I'd think something went wrong while compiling or flashing the firmware.
 

Offline radioFlash

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 163
  • Country: us
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #577 on: July 20, 2014, 09:53:06 pm »

Hi guys, decided to show it working. Have to say, it works like charm, considering that it's built in such a rude way  ;D I discovered interesting little glitch - you test diode, it displays it OK (symbol), but when you reverse connection, symbol gets messed up ??? Does someone have similar problem? I think it's connected either with LCD or EEPROM

I noticed the glitched diode icon with the latest version of the K version of the firmware. I didn't have the issue with earlier versions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Offline MrJohnnny

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 19
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #578 on: July 21, 2014, 04:54:16 am »
Cheap Chinese LCD? :) I'd think something went wrong while compiling or flashing the firmware.
Yeah, I bought it for around 3$  :D

I noticed the glitched diode icon with the latest version of the K version of the firmware. I didn't have the issue with earlier versions.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for response, this means that I programmed MCU right
 

Offline firewalker

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2450
  • Country: gr
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #579 on: July 21, 2014, 05:29:35 pm »
Maybe you have mentioned it several times... What is the method used for measuring inductance, capacitance? I am thinking an LC meter spin-off.

Alexander.
Become a realist, stay a dreamer.

 

Offline madires

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7695
  • Country: de
  • A qualified hobbyist ;)
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #580 on: July 21, 2014, 08:30:17 pm »
I noticed the glitched diode icon with the latest version of the K version of the firmware. I didn't have the issue with earlier versions.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for response, this means that I programmed MCU right

Ok, I've reported the issue to Karl-Heinz.
 

Offline madires

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7695
  • Country: de
  • A qualified hobbyist ;)
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #581 on: July 21, 2014, 08:40:16 pm »
Maybe you have mentioned it several times... What is the method used for measuring inductance, capacitance? I am thinking an LC meter spin-off.

I'd go for the frequency based solution (LC oscillator) for higher accuracy and a larger measurement range. The Transistor Tester uses:
- U_c(t) = U_in * (1 - e^(-t/RC)) for capacitance
- i_L(t) = I_0 * (1 - e^(-t R / L)) for inductance (limited by the max. test current supported)
 

Offline kubi48

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 7
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #582 on: July 21, 2014, 09:48:56 pm »
Hi guys, decided to show it working. Have to say, it works like charm, considering that it's built in such a rude way  ;D I discovered interesting little glitch - you test diode, it displays it OK (symbol), but when you reverse connection, symbol gets messed up ??? Does someone have similar problem? I think it's connected either with LCD or EEPROM

I could not verify this effect with my hardware and the developer version 1.11k :-[. Probably you can send the .hex and .eep together with your Makefile to my Email address.
You can find the Email address at the front page of my PDF documentation. Usually the actual versions for the ATmega328 don't use the EEPROM for text and
fix table data because the USE_EEPROM option is deactivated in the Makefile. Only calibration data are hold in the EEPROM. So you need only load the .hex data to the flash memory. The EEPROM is initilized automatically, if no valid data are found.
 

Offline radioFlash

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 163
  • Country: us
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #583 on: July 21, 2014, 11:41:23 pm »
Hi guys, decided to show it working. Have to say, it works like charm, considering that it's built in such a rude way  ;D I discovered interesting little glitch - you test diode, it displays it OK (symbol), but when you reverse connection, symbol gets messed up ??? Does someone have similar problem? I think it's connected either with LCD or EEPROM

I could not verify this effect with my hardware and the developer version 1.11k :-[. Probably you can send the .hex and .eep together with your Makefile to my Email address.
You can find the Email address at the front page of my PDF documentation. Usually the actual versions for the ATmega328 don't use the EEPROM for text and
fix table data because the USE_EEPROM option is deactivated in the Makefile. Only calibration data are hold in the EEPROM. So you need only load the .hex data to the flash memory. The EEPROM is initilized automatically, if no valid data are found.

The odd thing is that it's only the diode symbol, and only the one that's supposed to point to the right. Also, I noticed that the glitch isn't always the same. Below is a photo of the tester with a dual diode device. I will email you a copy of the hex file. I use "make upload" and avrdude to upload the firmware.
 

Offline Hydrawerk

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2599
  • Country: 00
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #584 on: July 21, 2014, 11:44:08 pm »
Try other firmware version. I think I saw this problem a few months ago. But after replacing firmware it never appeared again.
Amazing machines. https://www.youtube.com/user/denha (It is not me...)
 

Offline radioFlash

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 163
  • Country: us
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #585 on: July 23, 2014, 01:35:51 am »
Karl-Heinz has fixed the diode symbol issue and the fix is out in the repository. Thanks!

http://www.mikrocontroller.net/svnbrowser/transistortester/Software/trunk/
 

Offline firewalker

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2450
  • Country: gr
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #586 on: July 23, 2014, 08:58:51 am »
What version contains LCR and ESR? m or k?

Alexander.
Become a realist, stay a dreamer.

 

Offline madires

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7695
  • Country: de
  • A qualified hobbyist ;)
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #587 on: July 23, 2014, 01:23:43 pm »
What version contains LCR and ESR? m or k?

Both, also in-circuit ESR.
 

Offline Hydrawerk

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2599
  • Country: 00
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #588 on: July 25, 2014, 09:52:48 pm »
I finished my component tester. The varnish is not perfect, but I got it for free.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2014, 09:55:35 pm by Hydrawerk »
Amazing machines. https://www.youtube.com/user/denha (It is not me...)
 

Offline con-f-use

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 807
  • Country: at
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #589 on: July 26, 2014, 08:40:10 am »
You really went ape shit on this one. Thanks for sharing.
 

Offline madires

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 7695
  • Country: de
  • A qualified hobbyist ;)
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #590 on: July 26, 2014, 12:27:06 pm »
I finished my component tester. The varnish is not perfect, but I got it for free.

Nice rugged DIY design!  :-+
 

Offline torchTopic starter

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 397
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #591 on: July 26, 2014, 07:03:37 pm »
I like the credit for the firmware -- nice touch!
 

Offline SeanB

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 16272
  • Country: za
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #592 on: July 26, 2014, 07:16:35 pm »
I like that repurposed case you used. Even nicer is the 2 power input sockets so almost any power brick can be used as well irrespective of centre pin thickness.
 

Offline Hydrawerk

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2599
  • Country: 00
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #593 on: July 26, 2014, 08:39:13 pm »
In fact the metal case was never used before. A friend gave me that. It can be 10 years old or so.
Amazing machines. https://www.youtube.com/user/denha (It is not me...)
 

Offline con-f-use

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 807
  • Country: at
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #594 on: July 27, 2014, 08:44:51 am »
Will you post a bit more detail of your work aka pics of its guts?
 

Offline Hydrawerk

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 2599
  • Country: 00
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #595 on: July 27, 2014, 06:51:35 pm »
Some photos are included in the beginning of this video.
Amazing machines. https://www.youtube.com/user/denha (It is not me...)
 

Offline torchTopic starter

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 397
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #596 on: July 27, 2014, 11:18:15 pm »
Some photos are included in the beginning of this video.

A very nice job. I'm jealous and will have to seriously consider an ATmega328 version for myself.

One very minor little error I noticed: Correct spelling is "clamp the 3 leads together". Something for Karl to fix in the next build, I suspect.
 

Offline nickds1

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 36
  • Country: ae
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #597 on: July 28, 2014, 04:28:43 pm »
On the subject of typographical corrections, in the UK (and I suspect most native-English countries), we use "V" rather then "U" for voltage...
 

Offline retrolefty

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1648
  • Country: us
  • measurement changes behavior
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #598 on: July 28, 2014, 07:12:14 pm »
On the subject of typographical corrections, in the UK (and I suspect most native-English countries), we use "V" rather then "U" for voltage...

Good thing we use the same number symbols.  ;)
 

Offline MrJohnnny

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 19
Re: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project
« Reply #599 on: July 28, 2014, 08:34:02 pm »
I could not verify this effect with my hardware and the developer version 1.11k :-[. Probably you can send the .hex and .eep together with your Makefile to my Email address.
You can find the Email address at the front page of my PDF documentation. Usually the actual versions for the ATmega328 don't use the EEPROM for text and
fix table data because the USE_EEPROM option is deactivated in the Makefile. Only calibration data are hold in the EEPROM. So you need only load the .hex data to the flash memory. The EEPROM is initilized automatically, if no valid data are found.
Hi, I used already compiled version (so I don't have a Makefile), link you can find in post #573. I used avrdude GUI (BitBurner  :-+) to write the software, manually - flash then EEPROM then fuses  8)
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf