Amateur Radio - a great hobby for people of all ages. Development, design and creation of a variety of electrical and electronic circuits is not only a great gymnastics for the mind, but also an opportunity to make a comfortable life and the lives of their loved ones by automating many everyday functions. In addition, a good radio amateur is able to repair many gadgets that will positively impact on the family budget.
In operation, with the different schemes often require measurements of the actual parameters of the individual elements, checking their serviceability and correct installation. In carrying out these and similar operations is desirable to use a single universal device.
It is known that any electronic circuit, in general, is a collection of resistors, capacitors and inductors, and various semiconductor devices (transistors, conventional and light-emitting diodes, thyristors and etc.).
The latter, in turn, may assume the same resistors and capacitors which require a power source and controlled by the applied voltage or current flowing through them. From this simple reasoning it follows that the primary measuring instrument amateur radio - RLC-tester.
Modern RLC-testers and their ability to
Modern RLC-tester is a small-size device size of a pack of cigarettes, which comprises embedded controller, a multi-line digital display and other necessary for the proper functioning elements. They are all mounted on a double-sided printed circuit board, one of which construction embodiment shown in Figure 1. In most cases, the tester is supplied frameless embodiment.
The controller takes care of:
- various internal settings;
- actual implementation parameters measurement algorithms;
- determining a type of the component under test.
The indicator serves as a graphical user interface.
It displays:
- values measured parameters indicating the dimension;
- various prompts (view measurements, battery level, etc.);
- icons to indicate polarity species controlled components pinout transistors and diodes, as well as other useful data.
Indications indicator when the transistor dimensions are shown in Figure 1, a throttle - in Figure 2.
To connect the components under test uses a set of contacts. Some models of testers along with universal contacts, equipped with specialized, designed for the connection of concrete elements. For convenience in the tester are supplied cords with tiny clips or traditional crocodiles, Figure 3. For convenience, the cable cords and / or protective liners crocodiles have different coloring isolation.
As a power source of various testers models can be used battery, installed in special compartment within the housing, or charge from the cellular phone, connectable to the instrument via the connector microUSB.
Restrictions on the use of the tester
Because of the relatively small capacity built-in or external power supply maximum current give tester is sufficiently small, and further typically limited schematics corresponding to about 5 mA. Given this characteristic, the tester does not always give the correct results when working with power transistors, thyristors, and distort the values of the capacitors of a large denomination.