Show us your $20 Transistor Tester enclosures and mods (note: lots of pics)

[Dubbie]

Does no-one else use the SMD pads? I use them probably just as much as the ZIF socket.

[linux-works]

That looks amazing! One question: what does the 111₂333 mean?

I think the dropped '2' is for visual effect. It helps it not to blend in with the multiple '1' and '3'. I like it.

(smile) - yes, you got it.  I dropped the 2 below the 'line' just to set it off visually.  that's all it was about

[ebastler]

Lokk what this guy did, I think it's the best case I ever seen for the GM328.Maybe it may costs a little more,for me in France you go for 40 euros or more to print it but finally it's a semi-pro case.
Maybe even pro, the project was forced to obey the actual shitty solutions for i/o-s.
All credits go to the person who did this of course.
http://3dtoday.ru/3d-models/mechanical-parts/body/box_tft_gm328_transistor_tester_/



best regards to everyone,ovidiu

Once you close the ZIF socket by pushing the lever down, how are you ever going to pry it back up again?
Not convinced...

[aargee]

If it's like mine, you just push the lever far enough to 'grab' the component and then push test while you're holding it.

[Codebird]

Do diode testers count?

https://birds-are-nice.me/ipfs/Qmd8GXUEkw63J8SBmkS5thnoDTyJTyp1yM6SfzEHvLZp3M/tester_complete.jpg

0-5V (true zero) high-precision lower supply with voltage and current display, and serial output for drawing nice I/V graphs. Includes a built-in meter for voltage and current measurement using an external supply too. I built it to test schottky diodes. Can't trust eBay parts to be on spec - I got caught once by a diode sold as a schottky that turned out to be a regular diode with a false label on it.

[PointyOintment]

I do plan to post the mechanical drawing (files) for this so anyone who has a laser cutter can do it or farm it out.  the only slight problem is that the thickness of the acrylic is somewhat non-standard; its less than 1/8" and if you use standard 1/8" plastic, the notch holes will be too tight.

3 mm? Around here, that, not 1/8", is the standard.

[linux-works]

2.64mm is what my mitutoyo calipers say.

[upsss]

Lokk what this guy did, I think it's the best case I ever seen for the GM328.Maybe it may costs a little more,for me in France you go for 40 euros or more to print it but finally it's a semi-pro case.
Maybe even pro, the project was forced to obey the actual shitty solutions for i/o-s.
All credits go to the person who did this of course.
http://3dtoday.ru/3d-models/mechanical-parts/body/box_tft_gm328_transistor_tester_/



best regards to everyone,ovidiu

Once you close the ZIF socket by pushing the lever down, how are you ever going to pry it back up again?
Not convinced...

I solved the problem by simply bending up the lever.

[ebastler]

Does this count? Note the highly optimized human factors design, with easy access to the ZIF lever, SMD pad, and battery compartment...

With hindsight, I should have put the battery holder on the left side, to make the SMD pads even more accessible. I had not wanted to block the LCD contrast pot, which sits on the left below the display, but I never touch that anyway.

I did patch in the encoder, on a PCB that was laid out for just a pushbutton. The layout was accommodating enough; drilling four extra holes and soldering two patch wires did the trick.

[bitseeker]

Hehe, nice tweaks.

[xrunner]

Bookmark -

pic tomorrow ...

[aargee]

Chalk and cheese.

Got the colour just right, it was printed before the Agilent arrived.

[Dubbie]

Ebastler, yours is the only one I would find useful so far! All the others don't have the SMD pads exposed.

[bitseeker]

@aargee: That's quite a color match. Just a coincidence or did you have another Agilent/Keysight meter to base your filament color on?

[ebastler]

Ebastler, yours is the only one I would find useful so far! All the others don't have the SMD pads exposed.

Thanks! Laziness might have played a part in my "design decision" as well, to be honest... 

Pepe10000's black enclosure (on the first page of this thread) also does a nice job keeping everything accessible. The board he used seems well-suited for an enclosure, with all user interface elements sitting nicely on the same level.

[xrunner]

Here's what I threw together.

[aargee]

@aargee: That's quite a color match. Just a coincidence or did you have another Agilent/Keysight meter to base your filament color on?

Purely coincidence, the roll of PLA 3D filament I have here is an exact match for Agilent orange!

[bitseeker]

Amazing coincidence!

[linux-works]

I guess the lack of smd pad access does not bother me.  if I need to check an smd device, I might just make a jig that plugs into the zif socket and gives me 'direct' access that way.

this could be a good small project; design a small board that has .1" spacing for pins and various smd layouts on the top board that connect to the 1/2/3 pins.  there could be a panel of such boards with different spacing and you just plug in the right extender module.

the laser-cut method does not lend itself well to multi layers.

[upsss]

Here you go, http://www.ebay.com/itm/5pcs-Double-Side-SMD-SOT223-SOT89-to-DIP-SIP3-Adapter-PCB-Board-Converter-NEW-CA-/141975735634?hash=item210e69cd52:g:gMoAAOSw7NNT4gB-, 1$ and just solder 3 pins.

[bitseeker]

Over the past couple years, I've seen in the original thread several variations of test pads for these testers, either integrated into the case or via adapter PCB. After scrolling through over 2100 posts trying to find them, here's a summary:

This one has the ZIF socket and SMD pads on the adapter and connects via banana plugs:


Someone else made adapters like these:


Mauro made his own:


One by zhqsoft:


This one has many layouts:


And a Russian tester with DIP socket and adapter:

[bitseeker]

And now, for something completely different. An LCR-T3 in an audio cassette case.

[linux-works]

has anyone done a Qi charged build before?



this is using off-the-shelf parts, more or less.  a $10 credit card thing that is a qi coil and circuit in a thin card; this is taped to the base of the plastic box, inside the box (the thickness of the plastic is between the sender coil and this unit's coil).  a $10 charger/boost converter board from amazon (many models like it at the usual places).  this takes 5v from a usb connection (or my qi coil!) and charges a 3.7v lipo battery.  I used a quadcopter toy battery that is 500mah rated and should run this tester for a fairly long time (have not tested it yet for run-time). 

that's really all this is, the $10 qi coil card thing, remove its usb male and solder to its 2 wires after confirming which is red and which is black (they are flat wire and the plastic has to be scraped off from one end and then wires soldered to that copper flex trace.  its not hard to do).  and then some combo of a charger board and a boost converter to create the final 5v.

I used my existing box design that worked for a 9v battery but the wiring now goes to the input of the volt reg chip instead of thru a diode or transistor.  I get a 'warning' at power-up (I'll get rid of that with a custom sw build) but other than that, it seems to run ok on 5v.


also on this build: I removed the crappy TFXTDOL zif and put in a real, actual, honest TEXTOOL socket.  found a few of them, used, at my local surplus store.  note, this one was 16pin so I had to cut off the top 2 pins since the pcb did not have spare holes (that would have been nearly brilliant of the pcb designer to allow for 14 and also the slightly more common (imo) 16pin zif sockets.  there's still room on the board for even longer sockets.  the china fakes are 'genuine crap'   I was going to buy new textool sockets ($16 or more, sigh) but found some used ones that were still in good shape.



edit: 2nd photo with the tester on a charging stand.  usb charging cord for stand is too dark to be seen in this photo.  stand has adjustment knob on the back to let you slide the coil up and down.  loosen, move coil until you get max output with the device, then tighten and its now aligned to that device, perfectly.  here, the red light shows its charging.

[bitseeker]

That's the first Qi-compatible rechargeable version I'm aware of. Nicely done!

[perieanuo]

Here's my egg
i know it's not even finished (still looking for a cheap glass or plexi to cover the display from inside box)
cheap stuff like 5 euros for the box
the back side has also a DB9 connector for firmware update,opposite gender regarding to testing DB9 conn so anybody can't reverse those two
reason:that is what I had in my secret closet