I-V curves can tell you more about a semiconductor junction than a multimeter.... that is why the Huntron Tracker was such a success in industry. A Tracker can identifiy unusual situations on PCB mounted components when compared to a known good board...it can be a very efficient diagnostic tool if you use it correctly and understand the displayed images. For those wanting an auto switching comaprison mode, the Huntron HT1005B just incorporates a SPDT relay that is driven by a simple low frequency oscillator and the relay contacts present one of the two input channels to the Trackers meaurment input. A 555 based oscillator running at 1 Hz or less and connected to a SPDT relay would be an easy implimentation of such
Also these are great for seeing a worn potentiometer.....really nasty display on a poor one or one that is worn/intermittent.
I am not going to so a sales pitch on I-V display devices..... I suppose you like them and find them useful, or you don't
Indeed!
On another thread,I posted the following:-
"We had a Huntron Tracker at one of the TV Stations I was at.Only one Tech ever used it much,& he swore by it.
As far as I could see,you needed another good board to compare with,& if I had that,I could do the same things with an Oscilloscope & DMM,so I never spent the time needed to learn its use.(probably my loss!)"
I was in the majority,too!
The poor old Huntron languished in the test Equipment cupboard for years at a time.
Every once in a while,someone would take it out & fiddle for a while,then give up!
We very seldom had "spare" boards,so you had to remove one from another working unit.
(If you had a good board in another faulty unit,you usually "cannibalised" one or the other to get one working unit.)
With a good & a bad board,& two units,if the "bad" one didn't have a fault which would damage the equipment,we could compare waveforms & DC voltages,either by "board swapping",or with both units powered up.