@@stevensexton5801 This was done to show to some of the viewers why one circuit may be more susceptible than another to RF. While I could have just exposed several meters to the same signal that damaged the 61e+, I would rather explain the hows and whys.
This is beyond amazing work. I am genuinely surprised, it was such a quick repair, major props and all. The little bastard lives but subjecting it to the same test would yield the same results.
Your videos have definitely inspired me to keep learning on my own by reading books and watching videos from you and the other top notch guys on this platform. You and W2aew( Alan Wolke ) are my favorites by far. I believe Alan works for Tektronix and very knowledgeable like yourself. You both keep things simple when explaining for us rookies which is nice to learn from without out getting barraged with mile long math equations. Alan was a big help to me bringing back an old Tek 485 350Mhz scope. Works like a champ. Looking forward to the testing of this E+ in future videos.
I've watched a few of his videos. I believe he wrote about being an applications engineer. Working with the public on a professional level I am sure has aided him on YT. His content is very polished. If you like rebuilding old tube amplifiers and music, I had a YT recommendation for this young ladies channel. I watched a few of them. th-cam.com/video/Uk_LsuM8Wq4/w-d-xo.html
Cheap vs good…. There could be an entire set of videos that topic alone. As you have shown, cheap isn’t necessarily bad and expensive isn’t necessarily good. I teach an “Operating in the Field” class as part of our Astronomy club’s “Introduction to Astro Imaging” classes. Each year I TRY to recommend a reasonable sub-$50 meter for the newbies to add as an essential to their tool kit for the field. Your robustness tests are always a factor in my recommendations. Lastly, I pass my Brymen and Fluke meters around so they can feel the difference in construction. A surprising number of participants ignore the bargain-basement meters and embrace my “Buy Once … Cry Once” recommendation. Often times these are the same folks that have other electronic interest such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi or who are avid DIYers. MANY Thanks Joe!
An other problem with RF is that it has no problems following other paths that have paracitic capacitance like nearby traces, and so damage other parts of the meter.
Thanks for the clear, detailed explanation! I hadn't considered some meters using the "surge" resistors that dont behave like this. Now I'm also wondering: If you didn't want to use a surge resistor for some reason, would anything speak against using a small inductor instead? Just to compensate (or slightly overcompensate) for the PTC's capacitive behavior. I'm not entirely sure if you could get problems with series resonance or it would be dampened by the resistance anyway.
@@joesmith-je3tq I know I can simulate simple passives and transistors etc, but more specialized components are not always easy.. Do any free SPICE simulators come with accurate PTC thermistor models that simulate the temperature aspect AND dielectric effects at those temperatures? Because that's what it would need to do to answer my question. I have used simulators quite a bit before btw, just not the "professional" ones.
@@Basement-Science Your question could be answered with paper and pencil. The simulator may help you better understand what is going on. For the PTC, now that you understand they are not a simple resistor, you can use that to make your own simple models.
@@joesmith-je3tq My question is about the parasitic capacitance of the PTC vs temperature and frequency.. Not sure how pencil and paper will help me there.
@@Basement-Science Your question was: "If you didn't want to use a surge resistor for some reason, would anything speak against using a small inductor instead?" which is fairly basic.
Thanks a lot Joe. Very professional and clear presentation! I have a question for you if you don't mind. Been looking for days for a good answer in terms of data logger, but cannot find it. I do R&D into electrical systems using custom built inductance. I use a MOSFET, which can pass up 30 Amps (Idrain) through it. I need to be able to "see" on the display and, most importantly, keep a record of multiple traces together (Vout, I drain, frequency, duty cycle, internal resistance ((batteries will be one of the key load to test)) and preferably Watt hours if possible too, in csv format) Most of the data logger I found are only documented to record one trace (usually Voltage), and no word about simultaneously keep track of all these parameters. Decades ago, we tracked all these deltas on paper logs. Seeing the overlapping traces will be so much faster and positive. Any suggestions would be very appreciated! Cheers.
Very nice video. Thank you for taking the time and making this. Very informative and that software you wrote is impressive. I have a Fluke 87 meter but this one is very nice for the price.
Well, the PCB and case are both damaged so I don't see it as being better. With the meter being modified, we can not use the data we collect to gauge how the meter would perform. This is certainly not better. For the particular problem shown, you didn't see me do anything to address it, so the meter would be damaged if I repeated the test. That's certainly not better. The only thing I can think of that is better is that maybe a few of you have learned something.
First, I have no idea if any change I made improves the meter. For posting parts lists, I would not do something so irresponsible. I suggest you read the FAQ.
Excellent analysis. I certainly did not think a PTC could go so low in impedance. Checking a few datasheets of PTCs, none of those describe any behaviour with regards to HF. It would have been nice to minimally mention some capacitive nature, but not even that. Goes to show nothing in electronics is black and white.
Lets think about it. There are many devices that are only characterized for how they are intended to be used. Take a resistor for example. We know it has inductance and capacitance and they become very important as we work at higher frequencies. Not all resistors will be the same. Yet, you seldom find details like this in the datasheets. The same for a PTC as we normally don't think of it as an RF device. Rather we think of them in terms of DC to 10s of Hz. This doesn't mean that resistors and PTCs can't be used at higher frequencies but it is important that the designer considers how they will behave. We don't know what happened in this case. Maybe marketing took the 2MHz that the designers came up with and added a couple of zeros.
True that. Everything has a 'character'. That to me is why analog electronics will never bore me. Nothing is simple, nothing is trivial. One of the last electronics books I got is the ''AOE X Chapters''. There are chapters dedicated to such topics, however I have not yet seen anything like that on PTCs. Is there a tiny equivalent capacitor in parallel with the huge temp co resistor? It would be fun to model in LTspice and compare to your results. I will give it a shot at some point.
@@Ruudwardt I made a review of the NanoVNA when it came out. I few people whined about my introduction where I was reading from a book on digital design. Your comment about why analog electronics is exactly why I included that. Highspeed digital design is very much an analog world. th-cam.com/video/mKi6s3WvBAM/w-d-xo.html I've not used LTSPICE. I did play a bit with Micro-Cap after it was released to public for free. I used the NanoVNA to collect some data that I then used to drive a SPICE model. You can see that here: th-cam.com/video/v01lSgWo904/w-d-xo.html
TL;DR: If it’s not on the datasheet, assume nothing. The avoidal-of-the-buttocks part is the crux. Although with PTCs there may be a simple explanation that doesn’t take a degree in materials science :)
I've been watching alot of your videos and you're an incredible engineer. What language did you write the nano vna software in? I'm curious. I'm a hobbyist but a very eager learner. I know a bunch of languages from my schooling. Jack of some, master of none as my career path changed after graduating. I'm 44 and picked the hobby back up but I'm amazed at how much there is to learn.
My original 61e failed on the mV range within 2 weeks of me buying one around 9 years back, just 3 or 4 uses and it was stuffed, failed using DC millivolts into the clearly flawed meter. Only Uni-T's I stlll use and have any faith in are the Mini Clamp UT-210e and the UT15c 2 pole tester, still both running great having had a lot of use nearly a decade later but just on vehicles. Flukey Dukeys - 23, 25, 83iii, 106, 113, 117 (Hairline Crack in top of the case, following drop of around 4ft onto concrete, very weak meter physically, a Harbour Freight freebie meter is stronger😯. Failed UK Cal Certification because of this) 17B+, 325, 87v, T90, T120 and Brymen 525s are always my weapons of choice alongside an Agilent 1232a, the one that doesn't read Temp without a plug-in gadget 😂 but has a GDT for protection. Uni-T had a very strong market position amongst novices to intermediates and even many pro's until they rebooted the range and ignored many of the complaints made in reviews. They don't appear to have retained any of that early promise with the Pro range or the 61 range redesigns, they just bumped up the prices instead 😂. Always were more style over substance, now they are style over substandard at the higher price. They could have started nipping at the heels of Brymen, Hioki, etc. Instead of staying slightly above Aneng, Mastech and Kaiweets.
It is kinda funny if you think about it. They often tell cheap meters are better for people who start in electronics instead of buying a good one, While they are the once that need a good protected robust meter the most. I seldom made mistakes that could fry my meter (I can not remember the last time) but if I do there is a big chance my meters will survive (my most used: Agilent U1252, Brymen 869S, Fluke 1587 all only used for electronics repair) The 869S is my favourite daily driver, the Fluke was a gift from a friend, it was broken and he got a new one. I repaired it and I must say, it is a nice meter to use, but I prefer the Brymen
I'm interested in showing how the meters hold up after seeing my first DMM ever fail several times by my hands and the high costs to repair it. With meters now being so inexpensive, everything is disposable. Personally, I would rather have something robust but everyone is different.
Is this selector switch able to withstand higher usage? Do you have to lubricate this selector switch over time? I'm afraid that later it will start to make bad contact. Thanks.
Would love to see you do more analog meters. Apparently the Sanwa em7000 is high-end analog meter these days. But the new tekpower TP8260L Is decent. I’ve been pretty impressed with it for the price. Holds its ground with the Sanwa em7000….. there are a lot of times I need a portable analog meter, watching the needle move really comes in handy in certain situations. Obviously neither compare to my benchtop meters… But I wasn’t expecting them to match an 8.5 digit Metrology instrument. Always like to use the solid-state analog meters. Or “FET-vom’s” as there apparently called…. & I’ve had a lot of fun playing with the RadioShack micronta meters from the 80s and 90s. They had several solid state models like the 22-220a but my favorite is the 22-208a. Thanks for your work and time! Always enjoy your content!
I can't think of one time in the last 40 years where I would consider using an analog multimeter. When it comes to looking at handheld DMMs, I am mainly interested in how robust they are. For the analog meter, a quick drop test should do most of them in. If that doesn't, I suspect the transients would.
@@joesmith-je3tq You’re probably right. I spend so much time watching guys work on old radios and tube gear. Like “Mr. Carlson‘s lab”, “xraytonyb” etc… they’re always singing the praises of analog meters. Not only am I NOWHERE NEAR as competent as those guys, But I don’t work on that type of equipment. I do mostly component Level board repair for industrial/government clients… with a bit of test gear repair/metrology to keep me humble. Can’t remember the last time if ever I actually “needed“ an analog meter. Sometimes I’m troubleshooting components in circuit… Like ESR, Or tracing down shorts or intermittent issues…. I can fallow the slower movement of an analog needle… Better than a bar graph on the DMM. But that comes down to an issue of “low brain bandwidth”. 😂 I know It’s not the best idea to troubleshoot many of things in circuit… Like ESR etc….… but sometimes that’s simply the start of my process while trying to quickly track down an issue. Because Most of the boards I work on need to be super reliable. Therefore I end up carpet bombing most of the electrolytic caps and replacing them anyway. I really like your channel and I’ve followed you for years. Thanks for all the insights and interesting content.
I'll leave the component selection to the EEs. You should NEVER attempt to modify a safety device. It did certainly extend what I could expose the BM869s to and still have it survive. th-cam.com/video/u9P4N5HPwf4/w-d-xo.html
@@joesmith-je3tq I don't have any desire to modify my meters. I was curious to see what you used so I could look it up and compare it to the one you replaced and 2n2222s which I regularly use in my designs. Understanding why it worked better in your Bryman might inform my use of BJTs for ESD/EOS protection in the future.
I didn’t quite know what specs of a transistor were important in this application, since BJTs aren’t normally characterized for such use. So I played with parts I had and learned a bit, with the satisfaction that comes with discovery. I think you’d get lots of such satisfaction as well.
I bought it for 55 USD on 11.11 deal, but still, not worth it, considering the false advertised parameters, hFE jig with fake smd contacts and empty slot terminals, etc.
Hi Joe. If you do swap one PTC for a resistor, what duty cycle will you use to test freq? It'd be a shame to continue validate to 220Mhz if power level's are going to cause you more grief.
Now that I have shown that the advertised frequency counter does not work, and expanded on Dave's comment about the lack of the surge rated resistor, I will not do anything more with CW RF. The plan is to move onto other tests, but of course now that the meter has been damaged and no longer using OEM parts, it's purely for entertainment. Then again, you never know. Maybe we will learn something along the way.
a great job where you show us that for electronic repairs you do not need multimeters or oscilloscopes or measure anything, the important thing is to have good glasses. If I were a doctor, I would operate on you without X-rays or analysis that are a waste of time
I am writing this to invite you to take a video on TH-cam, and you will get these multifunctional voltage tester for free. Looking forward to your reply, we can talk about cooperation in detail.
I think you are confused. This isn't the unboxing ,all meters get five star reviews, channel. There are many channels like that and I'm sure they would appreciate free products to review.
Success!! Enjoyed watching. Really liked info on VNA. BTW,after your testing and results on Brymen 789, I purchased one. Ended up purchasing in Germany, could not find it state side. So far works very well with plenty of capability in trouble shooting equipment. Thanks for the look.
I was surprised you didn't replace one of the PTC with a resistor.
I left it to viewers to decide how to proceed. Not one person asked to see it modified so I am not sure why you would be surprised.
@@joesmith-je3tq I was surprised because you went through the dual PTC vs the Resistor and PTC rolloff on the VNA.
@@stevensexton5801 This was done to show to some of the viewers why one circuit may be more susceptible than another to RF. While I could have just exposed several meters to the same signal that damaged the 61e+, I would rather explain the hows and whys.
I think your comment is worthy of being pinned.
@@joesmith-je3tq Wow, First time ever pinned. Thanks.
The network analyzer demonstration was very educational, thank you. And congratulations on repairing the UT61E+ to better than new status!
As mentioned, it would still fail the same test as I didn't make any changed to improve it.
You make it look easy Joe, that shows the years of experience. Looking forward to the next video.
This is beyond amazing work. I am genuinely surprised, it was such a quick repair, major props and all. The little bastard lives but subjecting it to the same test would yield the same results.
It would be insane to believe otherwise.
Your videos have definitely inspired me to keep learning on my own by reading books and watching videos from you and the other top notch guys on this platform. You and W2aew( Alan Wolke ) are my favorites by far. I believe Alan works for Tektronix and very knowledgeable like yourself. You both keep things simple when explaining for us rookies which is nice to learn from without out getting barraged with mile long math equations. Alan was a big help to me bringing back an old Tek 485 350Mhz scope. Works like a champ. Looking forward to the testing of this E+ in future videos.
I've watched a few of his videos. I believe he wrote about being an applications engineer. Working with the public on a professional level I am sure has aided him on YT. His content is very polished. If you like rebuilding old tube amplifiers and music, I had a YT recommendation for this young ladies channel. I watched a few of them. th-cam.com/video/Uk_LsuM8Wq4/w-d-xo.html
Cheap vs good…. There could be an entire set of videos that topic alone. As you have shown, cheap isn’t necessarily bad and expensive isn’t necessarily good. I teach an “Operating in the Field” class as part of our Astronomy club’s “Introduction to Astro Imaging” classes. Each year I TRY to recommend a reasonable sub-$50 meter for the newbies to add as an essential to their tool kit for the field. Your robustness tests are always a factor in my recommendations. Lastly, I pass my Brymen and Fluke meters around so they can feel the difference in construction. A surprising number of participants ignore the bargain-basement meters and embrace my “Buy Once … Cry Once” recommendation. Often times these are the same folks that have other electronic interest such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi or who are avid DIYers. MANY Thanks Joe!
Can't wait for the grill starter 😁
Excellent video Joe!! Can't wait for the grill starter test. Considering Uni-T's track record i'm not holding up much hope for it though.
You and me both.
An other problem with RF is that it has no problems following other paths that have paracitic capacitance like nearby traces, and so damage other parts of the meter.
It could but in this case I think we know what was all damaged and understand why.
@@joesmith-je3tq I was just speaking in general.
Thanks for the clear, detailed explanation! I hadn't considered some meters using the "surge" resistors that dont behave like this.
Now I'm also wondering: If you didn't want to use a surge resistor for some reason, would anything speak against using a small inductor instead? Just to compensate (or slightly overcompensate) for the PTC's capacitive behavior. I'm not entirely sure if you could get problems with series resonance or it would be dampened by the resistance anyway.
You should learn to use SPICE. You could then try some of your ideas out without the need to actually build anything.
@@joesmith-je3tq I know I can simulate simple passives and transistors etc, but more specialized components are not always easy..
Do any free SPICE simulators come with accurate PTC thermistor models that simulate the temperature aspect AND dielectric effects at those temperatures? Because that's what it would need to do to answer my question.
I have used simulators quite a bit before btw, just not the "professional" ones.
@@Basement-Science Your question could be answered with paper and pencil. The simulator may help you better understand what is going on. For the PTC, now that you understand they are not a simple resistor, you can use that to make your own simple models.
@@joesmith-je3tq My question is about the parasitic capacitance of the PTC vs temperature and frequency.. Not sure how pencil and paper will help me there.
@@Basement-Science Your question was: "If you didn't want to use a surge resistor for some reason, would anything speak against using a small inductor instead?" which is fairly basic.
Thanks a lot Joe. Very professional and clear presentation! I have a question for you if you don't mind. Been looking for days for a good answer in terms of data logger, but cannot find it. I do R&D into electrical systems using custom built inductance. I use a MOSFET, which can pass up 30 Amps (Idrain) through it. I need to be able to "see" on the display and, most importantly, keep a record of multiple traces together (Vout, I drain, frequency, duty cycle, internal resistance ((batteries will be one of the key load to test)) and preferably Watt hours if possible too, in csv format) Most of the data logger I found are only documented to record one trace (usually Voltage), and no word about simultaneously keep track of all these parameters. Decades ago, we tracked all these deltas on paper logs. Seeing the overlapping traces will be so much faster and positive. Any suggestions would be very appreciated! Cheers.
For home experiments, I just use the equipment I have and run it from LabView.
For the people getting confused if it's a modified or non modified meter, maybe you can put like a big text on the screen or something
The detritus finds a way to float to the top.
@@krisluedke9557 True. There's no fix.
Very nice video. Thank you for taking the time and making this. Very informative and that software you wrote is impressive. I have a Fluke 87 meter but this one is very nice for the price.
Great stuff Joe , really interesting Cheers
Thank you for the video.
Ive been using my homemade pure violin rosin flux its working well with adjustments
Maybe is good that on PTCs to extend legs litlle more to bend on other side for avoiding pealing off from board in case of overheating.
I think so. Maybe place a bend in the leads as well (fairly common technique). Then again, vibration could be a problem.
Interesting to watch! Great job! Now your UT61E+ is back to work! Just wondering if it is better now than before?
Well, the PCB and case are both damaged so I don't see it as being better. With the meter being modified, we can not use the data we collect to gauge how the meter would perform. This is certainly not better. For the particular problem shown, you didn't see me do anything to address it, so the meter would be damaged if I repeated the test. That's certainly not better. The only thing I can think of that is better is that maybe a few of you have learned something.
@@joesmith-je3tq Everyone would like to see how you can improve it and hack it! All the glory to be a hacker these days! LOL
@@hqiu6828 In part one, I asked viewers what they wanted to see done with the meter. Not one person requested I hack, improve or modify it.
very nice informative video loved it, and the comments at the beginning, "oh they killed Kenny again" from south park and the way you said it :D
I need the schematics for 161D+
Could you provide a list of parts replaced to improve that meter please I have one
First, I have no idea if any change I made improves the meter. For posting parts lists, I would not do something so irresponsible. I suggest you read the FAQ.
Excellent analysis. I certainly did not think a PTC could go so low in impedance. Checking a few datasheets of PTCs, none of those describe any behaviour with regards to HF. It would have been nice to minimally mention some capacitive nature, but not even that. Goes to show nothing in electronics is black and white.
Lets think about it. There are many devices that are only characterized for how they are intended to be used. Take a resistor for example. We know it has inductance and capacitance and they become very important as we work at higher frequencies. Not all resistors will be the same. Yet, you seldom find details like this in the datasheets. The same for a PTC as we normally don't think of it as an RF device. Rather we think of them in terms of DC to 10s of Hz. This doesn't mean that resistors and PTCs can't be used at higher frequencies but it is important that the designer considers how they will behave. We don't know what happened in this case. Maybe marketing took the 2MHz that the designers came up with and added a couple of zeros.
True that. Everything has a 'character'. That to me is why analog electronics will never bore me. Nothing is simple, nothing is trivial.
One of the last electronics books I got is the ''AOE X Chapters''. There are chapters dedicated to such topics, however I have not yet seen anything like that on PTCs. Is there a tiny equivalent capacitor in parallel with the huge temp co resistor? It would be fun to model in LTspice and compare to your results. I will give it a shot at some point.
@@Ruudwardt I made a review of the NanoVNA when it came out. I few people whined about my introduction where I was reading from a book on digital design. Your comment about why analog electronics is exactly why I included that. Highspeed digital design is very much an analog world. th-cam.com/video/mKi6s3WvBAM/w-d-xo.html
I've not used LTSPICE. I did play a bit with Micro-Cap after it was released to public for free. I used the NanoVNA to collect some data that I then used to drive a SPICE model. You can see that here: th-cam.com/video/v01lSgWo904/w-d-xo.html
TL;DR: If it’s not on the datasheet, assume nothing. The avoidal-of-the-buttocks part is the crux. Although with PTCs there may be a simple explanation that doesn’t take a degree in materials science :)
I've been watching alot of your videos and you're an incredible engineer. What language did you write the nano vna software in? I'm curious. I'm a hobbyist but a very eager learner. I know a bunch of languages from my schooling. Jack of some, master of none as my career path changed after graduating. I'm 44 and picked the hobby back up but I'm amazed at how much there is to learn.
The VNA software is all written in LabView.
It's Alive!
Yes sir.
ut61e+ products are not protected well, it will cause the microcontroller to die ?
This meter is still functional but no longer stock after my initial repairs.
i love UNI-T
My original 61e failed on the mV range within 2 weeks of me buying one around 9 years back, just 3 or 4 uses and it was stuffed, failed using DC millivolts into the clearly flawed meter. Only Uni-T's I stlll use and have any faith in are the Mini Clamp UT-210e and the UT15c 2 pole tester, still both running great having had a lot of use nearly a decade later but just on vehicles.
Flukey Dukeys - 23, 25, 83iii, 106, 113, 117 (Hairline Crack in top of the case, following drop of around 4ft onto concrete, very weak meter physically, a Harbour Freight freebie meter is stronger😯. Failed UK Cal Certification because of this) 17B+, 325, 87v, T90, T120 and Brymen 525s are always my weapons of choice alongside an Agilent 1232a, the one that doesn't read Temp without a plug-in gadget 😂 but has a GDT for protection.
Uni-T had a very strong market position amongst novices to intermediates and even many pro's until they rebooted the range and ignored many of the complaints made in reviews. They don't appear to have retained any of that early promise with the Pro range or the 61 range redesigns, they just bumped up the prices instead 😂. Always were more style over substance, now they are style over substandard at the higher price.
They could have started nipping at the heels of Brymen, Hioki, etc.
Instead of staying slightly above Aneng, Mastech and Kaiweets.
It is kinda funny if you think about it. They often tell cheap meters are better for people who start in electronics instead of buying a good one, While they are the once that need a good protected robust meter the most. I seldom made mistakes that could fry my meter (I can not remember the last time) but if I do there is a big chance my meters will survive (my most used: Agilent U1252, Brymen 869S, Fluke 1587 all only used for electronics repair) The 869S is my favourite daily driver, the Fluke was a gift from a friend, it was broken and he got a new one. I repaired it and I must say, it is a nice meter to use, but I prefer the Brymen
I'm interested in showing how the meters hold up after seeing my first DMM ever fail several times by my hands and the high costs to repair it. With meters now being so inexpensive, everything is disposable. Personally, I would rather have something robust but everyone is different.
Is this selector switch able to withstand higher usage? Do you have to lubricate this selector switch over time? I'm afraid that later it will start to make bad contact. Thanks.
Higher than what? Higher than the 50k life test I ran? I don't lubricate any of the selector switches on my handheld meters that I use.
Would love to see you do more analog meters. Apparently the Sanwa em7000 is high-end analog meter these days.
But the new tekpower TP8260L Is decent. I’ve been pretty impressed with it for the price. Holds its ground with the Sanwa em7000….. there are a lot of times I need a portable analog meter, watching the needle move really comes in handy in certain situations.
Obviously neither compare to my benchtop meters… But I wasn’t expecting them to match an 8.5 digit Metrology instrument.
Always like to use the solid-state analog meters. Or “FET-vom’s” as there apparently called…. & I’ve had a lot of fun playing with the RadioShack micronta meters from the 80s and 90s. They had several solid state models like the 22-220a but my favorite is the 22-208a.
Thanks for your work and time!
Always enjoy your content!
I can't think of one time in the last 40 years where I would consider using an analog multimeter. When it comes to looking at handheld DMMs, I am mainly interested in how robust they are. For the analog meter, a quick drop test should do most of them in. If that doesn't, I suspect the transients would.
@@joesmith-je3tq You’re probably right.
I spend so much time watching guys work on old radios and tube gear. Like “Mr. Carlson‘s lab”, “xraytonyb” etc…
they’re always singing the praises of analog meters.
Not only am I NOWHERE NEAR as competent as those guys, But I don’t work on that type of equipment. I do mostly component Level board repair for industrial/government clients… with a bit of test gear repair/metrology to keep me humble.
Can’t remember the last time if ever I actually “needed“ an analog meter.
Sometimes I’m troubleshooting components in circuit… Like ESR, Or tracing down shorts or intermittent issues…. I can fallow the slower movement of an analog needle… Better than a bar graph on the DMM. But that comes down to an issue of “low brain bandwidth”. 😂
I know It’s not the best idea to troubleshoot many of things in circuit… Like ESR etc….… but sometimes that’s simply the start of my process while trying to quickly track down an issue. Because Most of the boards I work on need to be super reliable. Therefore I end up carpet bombing most of the electrolytic caps and replacing them anyway.
I really like your channel and I’ve followed you for years. Thanks for all the insights and interesting content.
veeery nice video!
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
@@joesmith-je3tq I have a Brymen 869s mostly thanks to your videos. very nice tester with very nice quality/price ratio.
What type of BJT did you substituted in meter? You mentioned a 2n2222, but implied this device worked better in your Bryman.
I'll leave the component selection to the EEs. You should NEVER attempt to modify a safety device. It did certainly extend what I could expose the BM869s to and still have it survive. th-cam.com/video/u9P4N5HPwf4/w-d-xo.html
@@joesmith-je3tq I don't have any desire to modify my meters.
I was curious to see what you used so I could look it up and compare it to the one you replaced and 2n2222s which I regularly use in my designs.
Understanding why it worked better in your Bryman might inform my use of BJTs for ESD/EOS protection in the future.
@@Chris_Grossman For your designs, as the designer, I will let you select the components you need to meet your requirements.
I didn’t quite know what specs of a transistor were important in this application, since BJTs aren’t normally characterized for such use. So I played with parts I had and learned a bit, with the satisfaction that comes with discovery. I think you’d get lots of such satisfaction as well.
So the frequency counter wasn't registering, so you just kept pushing more RF power into it? I hope nobody is surprised by the outcome.
It's a UNI-T, I hope no one was surprised by the outcome.
Always interesting and I can have to just respond 😃. Love you too ❤️
I bought it for 55 USD on 11.11 deal, but still, not worth it, considering the false advertised parameters, hFE jig with fake smd contacts and empty slot terminals, etc.
At $55, it would make a decent upgrade. At least you get the backlight.
Hi Joe. If you do swap one PTC for a resistor, what duty cycle will you use to test freq? It'd be a shame to continue validate to 220Mhz if power level's are going to cause you more grief.
Now that I have shown that the advertised frequency counter does not work, and expanded on Dave's comment about the lack of the surge rated resistor, I will not do anything more with CW RF. The plan is to move onto other tests, but of course now that the meter has been damaged and no longer using OEM parts, it's purely for entertainment. Then again, you never know. Maybe we will learn something along the way.
Eu entendo o que Você faz ,mas não entendo o que fala,podia colocar legenda em português .seus vídeos são muito bons
I knew you were going to break it, so never give it anything to repair
Would have been fine had they not suggested the meter's counter could read up to 220MHz.
a great job where you show us that for electronic repairs you do not need multimeters or oscilloscopes or measure anything, the important thing is to have good glasses. If I were a doctor, I would operate on you without X-rays or analysis that are a waste of time
@@juancarlosgarcia4005 All that TE is just there for the looks.
I am writing this to invite you to take a video on TH-cam, and you will get these multifunctional voltage tester for free. Looking forward to your reply, we can talk about cooperation in detail.
I think you are confused. This isn't the unboxing ,all meters get five star reviews, channel. There are many channels like that and I'm sure they would appreciate free products to review.
Success!! Enjoyed watching. Really liked info on VNA. BTW,after your testing and results on Brymen 789, I purchased one. Ended up purchasing in Germany, could not find it state side. So far works very well with plenty of capability in trouble shooting equipment. Thanks for the look.
I think TME carries them as well.