Proving the proper operation or finding faults in an electrical device. It can be done using electronic test equipment or by a software-based simulation.
Questions tagged [testing]
357 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
29
votes
3 answers
FCC and CE Testing / Failure Resolution
I'm seriously thinking about (practically committed to) taking one of my products through FCC and EC testing and it's my first time doing so. It's Arduino based electronics running off a 16MHz crystal with an Ethernet Controller running off a 25MHz…
vicatcu
- 22,499
- 13
- 79
- 155
24
votes
14 answers
What can I put a kilowatt into? (Or: help me save my hairdryers)
TL;DR: I need something to discharge roughly 160A at 14V into, or 2.24 kilowatts. Any comments, or answers, with either a) something I can dump a kilowatt into, b) some way I can modify a common item to take 2kW DC at 160A, or c) another way to…
Owen Versteeg
- 371
- 3
- 8
21
votes
4 answers
Electronics System Standards Compliance: Certification, Testing & Verification
Please note: this question has to do with the technical compliance aspects of the consumer electronics indsutry, and as such, I believe is within scope for this site. This question is about compliance, and Compliance is absolutely a qualitative…
smeeb
- 787
- 3
- 13
- 32
18
votes
1 answer
How do you test condoms electronically?
Condom packages often say "electronically tested". How can you test a condom electronically?
Johan.A
- 1,806
- 1
- 15
- 27
16
votes
6 answers
Any tricks to attaching a wire or pin to a testpoint?
More and more often, I find myself needing to tear apart a device to seek out and connect to serial pads. These pads typically give me access to the underlying operating system for research or tinkering, of which I'm perfectly comfortable with.
What…
Rafael Rivera
- 263
- 1
- 2
- 6
16
votes
3 answers
Puff of smoke in air. 3 different PCBs. PCB has ghosts?
Yes, that is a haiku. (EDIT: fixed it... it is now actually a Haiku)
No I'm not smiling.
I'm doing some standard testing; seeing what happens when one of the two power rails gets shorted to GND on a PCB that I designed. We're talking about a 12 V…
macdonaldtomw
- 1,420
- 17
- 32
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
12
votes
3 answers
How to add a controlled amount of jitter to a signal
Background
I am developing a digital clock and data recovery circuit and am now getting into the evaluation phase, focusing on testing the limits of the design and finding potential strengths and weaknesses. An important metric of this particular…
travisbartley
- 4,823
- 3
- 23
- 41
12
votes
8 answers
What type of connector can I use for repetitive testing of board with standard headers?
What type of connector (besides the regular female counterpart) could be used for repetitive connection/disconnection of these pins in circuit boards?
The problem with using the regular female connector is that it wears down and needs to be…
F. A
- 131
- 1
- 6
11
votes
2 answers
Lead Acid AGM battery testing - Why am I testing it this way?
OK, so maybe it's not fair asking YOU why WE test something the way we do. ;)
Here's the thing -- Our company uses AGM Lead acid batteries in some products. The testing methods are ancient (but so is lead-acid technology). There's nobody left in…
Kyle B
- 4,558
- 10
- 29
11
votes
1 answer
What happened to all of the Dynamic Signal Analyzers?
Decades back there were at least half a dozen instrumentation companies offering Dynamic Signal Analyzers (DSA's). Not Spectrum Analyzers, but rather Dynamic Signal Analyzers. The main differences being dual or multiple channel input and frequency…
docscience
- 864
- 1
- 9
- 17
9
votes
2 answers
What is a correct method to measure safe maximum voltage of a PCB?
I have a small (24 x 15 mm) PCB for a custom connector. It is intended for low voltage (< 48 VDC) applications, but I am interested in measuring it in order to provide customers a reasonable maximum voltage rating (de-rated of course).
It is a 1.6…
JYelton
- 32,302
- 33
- 134
- 249
9
votes
4 answers
How are high-speed circuits tested if test equipment doesnt exist?
How was testing done for Ghz to THz range circuits and devices before fast enough scopes and frequency counters existed?
FourierFlux
- 660
- 3
- 16
9
votes
4 answers
What is a good way to test maximum current?
I am building a device that can power other devices (it has a voltage regulator, battery controller, etc...).
What is a good way to measure how much current it will provide, and/or test if it will provide a specific maximum current?
Normally, my…
Matt
- 619
- 3
- 10
- 14