Useful workbench tool (tester) from tayda

[stringsthings]

I just got one of these in my latest tayda order:

http://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/measurement/esr-meter-transistor-tester-lcd-diode-multimeter-capacitance.html

It's a very handy tool to have.  I originally bought it to test transistors ( which it does well ) but I found that it's great for double checking resistors and capacitors.  I had been using my DMM for this, but it was kind of a pain making contact with component leads with the tester probes.  With this new tester, you just stick the component in the tester like you would into a PCB, hit the button, and it gives you a readout.  It turns itself off and has a nice low insertion force socket.

BTW, I think there was a thread on something similar on ebay but I couldn't find it.  ( and I don't work for tayda  ) 

[BrianS]

I had looked at those elsewhere but was sort of cautious of buying one awhile back. Since Tayda is excellent at giving you credit when something doesn't work I believe I will get one on my next order.  They keep adding more and more neat items to their inventory. Good find.

[matmosphere]

Please test a few caps and resistors with it and your dmm and let us know how acurate it looks. I wish I had something to test caps, but then I just talked with a very experienced electrical engineer and he was giving me a hard time about being so specific about part values, particularly caps.

[jimilee]

Please test a few caps and resistors with it and your dmm and let us know how acurate it looks. I wish I had something to test caps, but then I just talked with a very experienced electrical engineer and he was giving me a hard time about being so specific about part values, particularly caps.

This


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[neandrewthal]

Please test a few caps and resistors with it and your dmm and let us know how acurate it looks. I wish I had something to test caps, but then I just talked with a very experienced electrical engineer and he was giving me a hard time about being so specific about part values, particularly caps.

This


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Yes but if you make a mistake with a wrong value of cap it will most likely be by a factor of 10.

[EBRAddict]

I've bought a few of these from eBay, different designs, with different displays. They seem to function well for small cap testing and resistance. I wasn't impressed by the hfe measurements which seemed to be low resolution (ie everything from 70-89 got lumped into 80 hfe, +/- 10% maybe close enough for government work) and you were given no clue at what collector current or Vce it was measured.  They aren't very durable, if you drop that model linked from Tayda the screen will break. The ZIF socket is quirky, too, sometimes you have to jiggle to get a good contact. A few of mine had battery drain while off so disconnecting the battery is a good idea. Finally, if you have a grounded metal tabletop it will short out if you lay it on the table. I wound up hot gluing mine to a plexiglass sheet with the battery on a mechanical switch.

For $12 it isn't bad just limited.

[galaxiex]

I've got one of those testers from ebay.

Use it quite a bit. It checks ok/very close compared to my Fluke meter. (ohms, capacitance)

I take the hfe readings with a grain of salt. Mostly use it to verify pinout.

I put mine in a plastic project box. The ZIF socket on mine can be flakey too.

Edit; It does not do well with leaky germs, but then it's not meant for that.

[stringsthings]

It compares very well to my DMM, which isn't the best for capacitors.  For resistance, both do very well.
The tester does better with caps than my DMM.  It does very high values ( The highest I have is 1000uf which it had no problem with )
and went as low as 33pf.  My DMM is very poor below 1nf.  So the tester performs as well as the specs given.

I just got mine, so I've had no problems with the ZIF socket.  It does have four holes in or near the corners, so mounting it to something
isn't a problem.  The 9V connector does have a strain relief, but the weight of the battery could pull something loose.

[stringsthings]

Update:   The hfe testing is not very good.  For example, out of 10 3904's, 8 tested as 433 or 434.