Questions tagged [test]

A definitive procedure that produces a test result.

Often being part of an experiment, a test is a technical procedure, that is executed with the intent of determining one or more characteristics to given product and/or, (in case of electronics, a specific component, circuit or system), in order to evaluate if its behavior attends to the desired/expected objectives.

More datails and references on Wikipedia.

200 questions
34
votes
5 answers

Testpoints: Vias versus pads

I was fixing an ultra cheap home router few days ago and noticed that it had vias marked TP_12V, TP_3V3, TP_GND and similar. The problem turned out to be leaky electrolytic crapacitors in the buck converter and the vias really helped debugging that,…
AndrejaKo
  • 23,261
  • 25
  • 110
  • 186
22
votes
5 answers

How can we test the lifespan of electrical components?

We work with some electronic devices in our projects. We are at the stage where we need to create some test strategy to validate the lifespan (e.g. 1 to 5 years) of our devices for which we provide warranty. We need to standardize this test strategy…
MKSJ
  • 229
  • 2
  • 5
19
votes
1 answer

Soft-CPU verification

I'm currently in the process of designing a simple CPU in VHDL using Xilinx ISE and ISIM. The design portion is going remarkably well, but I can't seem to figure out a way to do verification in a consistent manner. Right now I have a VHDL test…
drxzcl
  • 3,735
  • 2
  • 30
  • 32
18
votes
3 answers

What is Full form of hFE of a digital multimeter?

In digital multimeter, there is a transistor-check function, and there is a term hFE. I do-not know how-to use-it, however, different Websites say it is a measurement transistor's gain ("the ratio of the Ic/Ib") such as: …
Always Confused
  • 1,591
  • 6
  • 25
  • 49
17
votes
6 answers

What unit test framework can I use for a c based mcu project?

I'm thinking about how I can use unit tests in my mcu project, and what frameworks I can use to simplify it. Today I am using a stm32 with OpenOCD-jtag from a Linux pc, where it is all controlled from a classic Makefile and crosscompiled with…
Johan
  • 2,385
  • 2
  • 25
  • 27
16
votes
1 answer

Does anybody have any idea what this piece of equipment is?

A friend of mine picked this up at a garage sale where an elderly electrical engineer was selling a bunch of old test equipment. It's missing a faceplate where it should name what it is, and he's googled the company name and model number, all to no…
TehBam
  • 161
  • 3
16
votes
8 answers

What is the difference between testing and verification?

Every textbook I've seen makes a big deal of the fact that testing and verification are two different concepts. Yet none of them provides a clear (or clear enough to me, at last) distinction. To provide some context, I'm interested in the…
VHDL Addict
  • 161
  • 1
  • 1
  • 5
14
votes
1 answer

Amateur radio practice exam question about voltage drop

So the question is as follows: "Your mobile HF transceiver draws 22 amperes on transmit. The manufacturer suggester limiting voltage drop to 0.5 volt and the vehicle battery is 3 metres(10 feet) away. Given the losses below at that current,…
Mohammad Ali
  • 313
  • 1
  • 8
13
votes
4 answers

Continuity tests, risks?

Even though the electronic device is powered off, isn't there a risk of doing a continuity test on connections in the middle of the circuitry ? I mean, you do apply voltage doing so - couldn't that harm the components? Or is the voltage too low?
user18110
  • 133
  • 1
  • 6
13
votes
3 answers

How to check if my multimeter's fuse is damaged?

I recently bought a cheap multimeter. I played around measuring stuff on simple circuits and I think I managed to damage it as I don't seem to be able to measure current anymore (always get zero amperes, although voltage, resistance, and the rest…
geo909
  • 243
  • 1
  • 2
  • 6
13
votes
4 answers

How to test a crystal resonator in board?

I have 2 quartz crystal resonators in my pcb board: 32.768 kHz & 20 MHz. They are connected to a Freescale MC12311 transceiver IC, which has an HCS08 micro-controller embedded in it. I want to test if these crystals are working properly or…
Omid1989
  • 275
  • 1
  • 3
  • 12
11
votes
5 answers

What parts would one typically use for automated PCB testing?

I have a circuit board in production, primarily through-hole, to the tune of ~400 units per year. Each one is manually inspected and tested. The board has ten distinct voltage rails, four voltage feedback amps, three current feedback amps, a…
Stephen Collings
  • 17,373
  • 17
  • 92
  • 180
10
votes
1 answer

Verowire woes - how to reliably solder it?

I'm using Verowire (wiring pencil, Road Runner, you name it) quite often to contact test points on my board to make them accessible for measurements (oscilloscope probe, multimeter clamp ...) Image source: Not a number. Every now and then it…
Arsenal
  • 17,464
  • 1
  • 32
  • 59
9
votes
2 answers

How to program MCUs and test PCBs in mass production?

I am working on a PCB which includes an microcontroller (STM32), some sensors and a BLE module. Right now it is still a prototype, only 3 units have been produced. To program the microcontroller, I am using the programming probe provided by…
JackOfHearts
  • 649
  • 1
  • 6
  • 14
9
votes
3 answers

SMD Crystal solder(?) problem and any recommended test procedure

I use a 32.768 kHz SMD crystal (datasheet) for a MCU. Here is the layout part of the crystal. Here is a view from an actual PCB I mounted the components by hand-soldering, and produced about 30 modules. Most modules' crystal didn't start working…
Angs
  • 3,275
  • 8
  • 33
  • 54
1
2 3
13 14