$20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project

[hansibull]

Does anybody know of it's possible to download the "Chinese" firmware somewhere?
I messed up big time with my transistor tester (The one with a case and color TFT), and connected it to a circuit with charged capacitor. The result is a dead analog pin.

I tried dumping the firmware from the ATmega324PA using avrdude, but it kept telling me that the dumped binary file was empty, so they must have set the lock bits. I tried using Markus' firmware, but I'm struggling  to get it working properly. The original FW also looked a lot nicer on a color LCD.

I was thinking about ordering a new chip, replace the current one and reflash it with the original FW (hopefully). Is this a dead end?

The original firmware was "M-Tester v2.12k".

[bitseeker]

Does anybody know of it's possible to download the "Chinese" firmware somewhere?
...
I tried using Markus' firmware, but I'm struggling  to get it working properly. The original FW also looked a lot nicer on a color LCD.

The "Chinese" firmware are closed ripoffs of the open-source original and open-source variations of the original. Those losers lock the chip when they program them and don't contribute modifications (such as fancier color display output) back to the community from which they're benefiting.

If you're having trouble getting it working with the "m" firmware, perhaps try the "k" firmware (the original, original) to see if that gets you up and running. Markus and others here with intimate understanding of the firmware are an invaluable resource, unlike the manufacturers and vendors who mass produce and distribute these devices.

[flywheelz]

Does anybody know of it's possible to download the "Chinese" firmware somewhere?
I messed up big time with my transistor tester (The one with a case and color TFT), and connected it to a circuit with charged capacitor. The result is a dead analog pin.

I tried dumping the firmware from the ATmega324PA using avrdude, but it kept telling me that the dumped binary file was empty, so they must have set the lock bits. I tried using Markus' firmware, but I'm struggling  to get it working properly. The original FW also looked a lot nicer on a color LCD.

I was thinking about ordering a new chip, replace the current one and reflash it with the original FW (hopefully). Is this a dead end?

The original firmware was "M-Tester v2.12k".

I doubt you will ever get your hands on that firmware  .  It's the most heavily modified most beatiful UI of its kind.  You might need to settle with open source.  Maybe there is an unused pin you could use in place of the dead pin and modify the source code?

What kind of struggles are you having with getting open source to work?

[Dwaine]

Does anybody know of it's possible to download the "Chinese" firmware somewhere?
I messed up big time with my transistor tester (The one with a case and color TFT), and connected it to a circuit with charged capacitor. The result is a dead analog pin.

I tried dumping the firmware from the ATmega324PA using avrdude, but it kept telling me that the dumped binary file was empty, so they must have set the lock bits. I tried using Markus' firmware, but I'm struggling  to get it working properly. The original FW also looked a lot nicer on a color LCD.

I was thinking about ordering a new chip, replace the current one and reflash it with the original FW (hopefully). Is this a dead end?

The original firmware was "M-Tester v2.12k".

I have the same unit and did the same thing.    My unit will not power up now, but it still will charge the battery.  I really like the unit and it was 16mhz clock.

[hansibull]

Mine "boots" up, but the text is a little off screen (a few pixels in each axis), and it shuts off within 4 seconds, no matter what I configure it to be. If I power it with my USBtinyISP programmer, it stays on a little longer, enough to show what part it is for about a tenth of a second before the display just says "Bye". It stays like this until I remove the programmer, which is fair. Modifying CYCLE_DELAY and CYCLE_MAX does not change anything. I guess I'll have to desolder the LCD and reverse engineer the whole board to make sure all the wiring correspond to the firmware.

The QR code on the PCB links to http://91make.world.taobao.com, but I've not been able to contact the seller (Chinese is not my strongest side).

[Pukker]

Does anybody know of it's possible to download the "Chinese" firmware somewhere?
I messed up big time with my transistor tester (The one with a case and color TFT), and connected it to a circuit with charged capacitor. The result is a dead analog pin.

I tried dumping the firmware from the ATmega324PA using avrdude, but it kept telling me that the dumped binary file was empty, so they must have set the lock bits. I tried using Markus' firmware, but I'm struggling  to get it working properly. The original FW also looked a lot nicer on a color LCD.

I was thinking about ordering a new chip, replace the current one and reflash it with the original FW (hopefully). Is this a dead end?

The original firmware was "M-Tester v2.12k".

I doubt you will ever get your hands on that firmware  .  It's the most heavily modified most beatiful UI of its kind.  You might need to settle with open source.  Maybe there is an unused pin you could use in place of the dead pin and modify the source code?

What kind of struggles are you having with getting open source to work?

I've posted the original firmware for the Color kit in this post.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/$20-lcr-esr-transistor-checker-project/msg969074/#msg969074
Post 2130.
Meaybe it wil help you.

[hansibull]

Does anybody know of it's possible to download the "Chinese" firmware somewhere?
I messed up big time with my transistor tester (The one with a case and color TFT), and connected it to a circuit with charged capacitor. The result is a dead analog pin.

I tried dumping the firmware from the ATmega324PA using avrdude, but it kept telling me that the dumped binary file was empty, so they must have set the lock bits. I tried using Markus' firmware, but I'm struggling  to get it working properly. The original FW also looked a lot nicer on a color LCD.

I was thinking about ordering a new chip, replace the current one and reflash it with the original FW (hopefully). Is this a dead end?

The original firmware was "M-Tester v2.12k".

I doubt you will ever get your hands on that firmware  .  It's the most heavily modified most beatiful UI of its kind.  You might need to settle with open source.  Maybe there is an unused pin you could use in place of the dead pin and modify the source code?

What kind of struggles are you having with getting open source to work?

I've posted the original firmware for the Color kit in this post.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/$20-lcr-esr-transistor-checker-project/msg969074/#msg969074
Post 2130.
Meaybe it wil help you.

Does this got the same UI as the The transistor tester I have? Is it compiled for the ATmega328 or ATmega324?

[TheBay]

I still haven't flashed mine as I'm trying to find the original firmware just in case I want to go back to it, either MK-328 or GM328 Firmware.

The Chinese are not relenting to give up the original firmware and they usually lock the chips  .  Have you tried contacting the seller, maybe offer exchange for a positive feedback?  In any case take pics of the "Menu" to see what they enabled so you can recreate later. 

The most refined and reliable firmware is the "k".   The automatic Capacitor test on pins 1 and 3 as great when you got a batch of caps to test.   I think most testers are based on "k".  On the other hand, the "m" is speedy, flashy, with extra features but might need some tweaking.

Above statement is my opinion.

Mine is based on 1.12k firmware, but I do like the Font, Layout of symbols and readability, I think it's been tweaked slightly.
I'd love to see some screen shots of M firmware but cannot find any anywhere.

I took some pictures of mine, testing a few items and also the "Hidden Menu"

http://imgur.com/a/xWu9n

[TheBay]

Does anybody know of it's possible to download the "Chinese" firmware somewhere?
I messed up big time with my transistor tester (The one with a case and color TFT), and connected it to a circuit with charged capacitor. The result is a dead analog pin.

I tried dumping the firmware from the ATmega324PA using avrdude, but it kept telling me that the dumped binary file was empty, so they must have set the lock bits. I tried using Markus' firmware, but I'm struggling  to get it working properly. The original FW also looked a lot nicer on a color LCD.

I was thinking about ordering a new chip, replace the current one and reflash it with the original FW (hopefully). Is this a dead end?

The original firmware was "M-Tester v2.12k".

I doubt you will ever get your hands on that firmware  .  It's the most heavily modified most beatiful UI of its kind.  You might need to settle with open source.  Maybe there is an unused pin you could use in place of the dead pin and modify the source code?

What kind of struggles are you having with getting open source to work?

I've posted the original firmware for the Color kit in this post.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/$20-lcr-esr-transistor-checker-project/msg969074/#msg969074
Post 2130.
Meaybe it wil help you.

Does this got the same UI as the The transistor tester I have? Is it compiled for the ATmega328 or ATmega324?

All the devices I have seen with that UI seem to be based on the ATmega324.

[madires]

I tried dumping the firmware from the ATmega324PA using avrdude, but it kept telling me that the dumped binary file was empty, so they must have set the lock bits. I tried using Markus' firmware, but I'm struggling  to get it working properly. The original FW also looked a lot nicer on a color LCD.

The m-firmware doesn't fully support the ATmega324/644/1284 yet, but I'm working on it. There are several changes in the code already, still a lot has to be adapted to allow the necessary port/pin variations. Also I want to use the additional possibilities by the 324/644/1284, like hardware SPI for displays. I've just finished a 324/644/1284 dev board and etched the first PCB (fresh out of the etching tank). A lot of work, a lot of fun

[NiklasO]

I still haven't flashed mine as I'm trying to find the original firmware just in case I want to go back to it, either MK-328 or GM328 Firmware.

The Chinese are not relenting to give up the original firmware and they usually lock the chips  .  Have you tried contacting the seller, maybe offer exchange for a positive feedback?  In any case take pics of the "Menu" to see what they enabled so you can recreate later. 

The most refined and reliable firmware is the "k".   The automatic Capacitor test on pins 1 and 3 as great when you got a batch of caps to test.   I think most testers are based on "k".  On the other hand, the "m" is speedy, flashy, with extra features but might need some tweaking.

Above statement is my opinion.

Mine is based on 1.12k firmware, but I do like the Font, Layout of symbols and readability, I think it's been tweaked slightly.
I'd love to see some screen shots of M firmware but cannot find any anywhere.

I took some pictures of mine, testing a few items and also the "Hidden Menu"

http://imgur.com/a/xWu9n

I used this one (trendy 1.22m) and it seems to work.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/$20-lcr-esr-transistor-checker-project/msg964239/?topicseen#msg964239

I can't compile with the config.h and Makefile from that one because the layout for the files has changed between 1.22 -> 1.24.
I can only power my device using the usbasp at 5V (need to buy some 9v batteries, hehe) and I only have 3.3, 5 or 12 volt power at home for the moment.
The text is good with the 1.22m but I can't post pictures using it because the unit does not like 4.5V - 5V from the usbasp. Getting some text and then "Bye!" because of low battery. I know it is possible to make it accept 5V or lower if tweaking the Makefile or config.h but I don't know how really and as I said, cant use the config.h or Makefile for 1.24m.

Could someone please "port" the linked files to compile on 1.24m for my tester? I have found different Makefiles but I can't say I know what I am doing. One Makefile made it work but the text on screen was inverted and in the wrong position (at the bottom) and then I gave up.

Edit: I also have the LCD TFT-color unit you talk about above and I'm NOT messing with it.

[madires]

The text is good with the 1.22m but I can't post pictures using it because the unit does not like 4.5V - 5V from the usbasp. Getting some text and then "Bye!" because of low battery. I know it is possible to make it accept 5V or lower if tweaking the Makefile or config.h but I don't know how really and as I said, cant use the config.h or Makefile for 1.24m.

Could someone please "port" the linked files to compile on 1.24m for my tester? I have found different Makefiles but I can't say I know what I am doing. One Makefile made it work but the text on screen was inverted and in the wrong position (at the bottom) and then I gave up.

In the Makefile it's just the MCU type, clock and the programmer. Simply copy the values from your working one. The old config.h was split into a new config.h (MCU independant settings) and a config_328.h (MCU specific settings) with some minor changes. Take the old config.h and look for the settings in the new config.h/config_328.h and copy/change them. The battery low level can be set by BAT_POOR in config.h.

[NiklasO]

The text is good with the 1.22m but I can't post pictures using it because the unit does not like 4.5V - 5V from the usbasp. Getting some text and then "Bye!" because of low battery. I know it is possible to make it accept 5V or lower if tweaking the Makefile or config.h but I don't know how really and as I said, cant use the config.h or Makefile for 1.24m.

Could someone please "port" the linked files to compile on 1.24m for my tester? I have found different Makefiles but I can't say I know what I am doing. One Makefile made it work but the text on screen was inverted and in the wrong position (at the bottom) and then I gave up.

In the Makefile it's just the MCU type, clock and the programmer. Simply copy the values from your working one. The old config.h was split into a new config.h (MCU independant settings) and a config_328.h (MCU specific settings) with some minor changes. Take the old config.h and look for the settings in the new config.h/config_328.h and copy/change them. The battery low level can be set by BAT_POOR in config.h.

Thanks. Seems to be working now. Tried it last night but I think I was too tired.

Looks about right? I have since picture taken removed IR detection

Edit: detects cap at 20pF when nothing connected (adjusted/selftest). I know I read something about that in this thread but can't find it again..

[TheBay]

The text is good with the 1.22m but I can't post pictures using it because the unit does not like 4.5V - 5V from the usbasp. Getting some text and then "Bye!" because of low battery. I know it is possible to make it accept 5V or lower if tweaking the Makefile or config.h but I don't know how really and as I said, cant use the config.h or Makefile for 1.24m.

Could someone please "port" the linked files to compile on 1.24m for my tester? I have found different Makefiles but I can't say I know what I am doing. One Makefile made it work but the text on screen was inverted and in the wrong position (at the bottom) and then I gave up.

In the Makefile it's just the MCU type, clock and the programmer. Simply copy the values from your working one. The old config.h was split into a new config.h (MCU independant settings) and a config_328.h (MCU specific settings) with some minor changes. Take the old config.h and look for the settings in the new config.h/config_328.h and copy/change them. The battery low level can be set by BAT_POOR in config.h.

Thanks. Seems to be working now. Tried it last night but I think I was too tired.

Looks about right? I have since picture taken removed IR detection

Edit: detects cap at 20pF when nothing connected (adjusted/selftest). I know I read something about that in this thread but can't find it again..

Ah so you can remove menu items, I haven't got around to playing with the files yet. Half the stuff I don't want on there.
Can you take some more pictures of it testing items etc

[NiklasO]

The text is good with the 1.22m but I can't post pictures using it because the unit does not like 4.5V - 5V from the usbasp. Getting some text and then "Bye!" because of low battery. I know it is possible to make it accept 5V or lower if tweaking the Makefile or config.h but I don't know how really and as I said, cant use the config.h or Makefile for 1.24m.

Could someone please "port" the linked files to compile on 1.24m for my tester? I have found different Makefiles but I can't say I know what I am doing. One Makefile made it work but the text on screen was inverted and in the wrong position (at the bottom) and then I gave up.

In the Makefile it's just the MCU type, clock and the programmer. Simply copy the values from your working one. The old config.h was split into a new config.h (MCU independant settings) and a config_328.h (MCU specific settings) with some minor changes. Take the old config.h and look for the settings in the new config.h/config_328.h and copy/change them. The battery low level can be set by BAT_POOR in config.h.

Thanks. Seems to be working now. Tried it last night but I think I was too tired.

Looks about right? I have since picture taken removed IR detection

Edit: detects cap at 20pF when nothing connected (adjusted/selftest). I know I read something about that in this thread but can't find it again..

Ah so you can remove menu items, I haven't got around to playing with the files yet. Half the stuff I don't want on there.
Can you take some more pictures of it testing items etc

Yes. Removed some more stuff..

[vinceroger]

Quote! Edit: detects cap at 20pF when nothing connected (adjusted/selftest). I know I read something about that in this thread but can't find it again..

i can remember that thread too but cant find it what he did too solve it was to clean his board with ipa i think.

[TheBay]

Yes. Removed some more stuff..

You mentioned the 20pF issue, what firmware did you compile? was it the M or K?

[NiklasO]

Yes. Removed some more stuff..

You mentioned the 20pF issue, what firmware did you compile? was it the M or K?

Just tried 1.24m for now. Waiting on delivery of 9V battery in like 10 minutes.

[TheBay]

Yes. Removed some more stuff..

You mentioned the 20pF issue, what firmware did you compile? was it the M or K?

Just tried 1.24m for now. Waiting on delivery of 9V battery in like 10 minutes.

Looking forward to seeing pictures of it in operation!

[NiklasO]

Will take some pictures now when I have the correct battery. The 20pF reading is gone when using the right way to power the unit.

[NiklasO]

Size comparison   

[Dwaine]

Mine "boots" up, but the text is a little off screen (a few pixels in each axis), and it shuts off within 4 seconds, no matter what I configure it to be. If I power it with my USBtinyISP programmer, it stays on a little longer, enough to show what part it is for about a tenth of a second before the display just says "Bye". It stays like this until I remove the programmer, which is fair. Modifying CYCLE_DELAY and CYCLE_MAX does not change anything. I guess I'll have to desolder the LCD and reverse engineer the whole board to make sure all the wiring correspond to the firmware.

The QR code on the PCB links to http://91make.world.taobao.com, but I've not been able to contact the seller (Chinese is not my strongest side).

I'm just going to buy another one.  I really like the unit and it was pretty accurate.   They were not kidding when they say, "Discharge Capacitors".  I just plugged in a capacitor after just testing it.  It still had a charge in it.

 

[Back2Volts]

I'm just going to buy another one.  I really like the unit and it was pretty accurate.   They were not kidding when they say, "Discharge Capacitors".  I just plugged in a capacitor after just testing it.  It still had a charge in it.

I am surprised nobody has thought of putting a strip of tinned PCB above the jacks, under the discharge warning.   

[madires]

I am surprised nobody has thought of putting a strip of tinned PCB above the jacks, under the discharge warning.   

Please see below the pin header labeled DUT:

[KD0CAC John]

Dang I like that layout for SMD's