I’ve got an old curve tracer. It became my primary diagnostic tool when i was doing component level repairs in a shop. I could test most components quickly and easily. Saved me a lot of time and rarely failed me.
I have a 35 years old curve tracer, some years ago I bought one of these new units, I conect to a digital oscilloscope and conected to a computer for download all the grafics for future references. First line tool for me.
Great Video, not just a typical review. Appreciate your hard work in tear down and figuring out the workings. Plus you gave a concise description of what you did and found out. Applaud your efforts.
Thank you, Charles... Your video IS my user manual for this device and I appreciate all the time you dedicated to this project. Great video, my friend! Take care...
This is an incredibly thorough and informative video. Frankly, it converted me from a skeptical observer to a potential customer for this product! The manufacturer of the unit owes you a lot of credit (and I should think some remuneration as well)! Sincere thanks for your efforts.
Thank you Charles for making this video. I received this device today with no instructions. I would have been able to figure out how it works eventually, but I had no idea what supply voltage or polarity it required. 'Cycles-per-Second', not heard that term for many years !
It was the same with me, but I was determined not to be outdone so I spent the time to figure out what it was all about. I'm glad the video helped. I'm an old-timer so I use all the outdated terminology. I grew up with CPS, not hertz.
I just bought one of these; same model. I measured the 4 test frequencies, my unit: 30 Hz, 223 Hz, 2168 Hz, and 14,301 Hz. These move around a bit with temperature/on time, I see no problems. I’m very happy with the value for its price.
I had the bnc spark before I plugged into my scope so I never plugged it in. The other end of the cable was on an esd mat so I didn't want to plug it into my my rigol mso5354 or my old tektronix tds2002c. I have been in the hospital since it happened due to unrelated reasons but I could just use my isolation transformer after I check the internal connection since I just got home.
Bought mine 10 projects ago. When it arrived with zippo documentation, I literally went to aliexpress, nope, amazon, nope, ebay yup. OH, it's a VI Curve Tester! This no BS review is great FRANK! Thank you.😅
Ha, last time I came across the term *"cycles per second"* was in the UK in 1982 when using a Cobra 148dx radio it was how the legends were marked up on the front. Proper old school. ❤
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and finds. I have the same tracer and used an 12v power supply. But after your in-depth video, I’ll be ordering an 24v ps asap and start to calibrate the tracer correctly. Thanks again
I can no longer find the exact power supply I purchased but you can find similar on Amazon. Look for 24V Dc output 3A or less with a connector 5.5 x 2.1mm@@locotx215
Hello Charles. Do you have an idea of which regulator has the 210k i bought One but After some time i got smoke from the IC with heatsink.. i would like to repair it
Hi charles, after seeing your video i bought one. I connecter to 24V positive central. The traces started to work (lights on) but after a few minutes while i was still trying to figure the setup i head a bad burning smell. I found the internal IC (the one connected to the heatsink) burned. Do you know which IC is that? and what could have happened? maybe 24V was not the correct supply?
Nobody else has reported a problem using 24v. Since no instructions come with the device, I cannot verify if your model was made differently. I do not have a schematic and cannot identify parts numbers.
Thanks for the video. 1) What button should be selected (low,med1,med2,high) when calibrating? 2) Have you seen latest version NI-210SU with inbuilt display and Li-Ion battery chargeable via USB? Does it matter much that it has no graticule or way to measure?
Any frequency should work for calibration. Actually you are looking for a pattern or curve more than for measuring. Use your scope in all cases. Not sure about the revised version.
Awesome video! I ordered a couple of variants of these recently and am somewhat paranoid that it could kill some components if used in circuit due to the sweeping voltage range. I get that it’s quite low current, so maybe the risk isn’t as bad as I think it could be. Would love to see a followup video actually doing a test or repair of two identical boards with the alternating A/B function and the boards grounded together!
The test voltage is actually a very low current sine wave, which easily collapses. I don't think it could hurt anything. Just be sure the circuit you are testing has been turned off and the power supply voltage has been drained, otherwise you will probably damage the tester. The alternating A/B function works well and if you have two identical parts it will do a compare for you so that you can determine if one of them is bad or deficient. I will be using mine to test discreet components rather than comparing circuits. Perhaps, someone will make a better demonstration.
8 graticules in x/y mode, how many volts/graticule did you set the scope to ? as I would like to be able to measure the curve parameters ie Volts / Current of the DUT , PS I took your advice re 24v power supply .
Thanks for your explanations of this undocumented device. My copy came today from Ali and I found, that I've to use 200mV/div at X channel and 2V/div at Y channel for a correct X-Y display. Is this normal behaviour or should I adjust the X amplitude higher (or maybe Y amplitude lower) ? Apart from this, everything is working fine, so I'm not sure if adjustment is recommended.
@@charlessmith833 Ok, I adjusted both channels in 1V/div. Easy going. Just wasn't sure if the output voltage/current would be affected. But I still see 4.8V AC there.
Lots of 24Vdc adaptors are on Amazon. 2.5A or 60W is good. The 120/240AC line type is OK. I don't know if yours is 5.5 or 2.1 connector but a lot of them come with both.
Gotta love those void is removed labels… they are unenforceable under US law… but I’m sure thing thing didn’t have much past a “it showed up and powered on at least once” warrantee anyway.
Well, mine arrived DOA. One channel very low output of only about 5 mv even with the pot turned up full. No dry joints so I think it's the chip. They have helpfully removed the markings. Anyone know what clock chip they used? ( the big one near the BNC outputs)
Thank you for this explanation. I foolishly thought there was a battery-powered oscillator inside to provide the test current. Now I have to look for a 24VDC adaptor and cable, but perhaps an old laptop PSU with 19VDC might work and the cable plug might be OK too...?
You need a transformer type power supply for better isolation and safety. The one I bought on Amazon is a transformer type, regulated and with the right connector. I think I paid $20.00. It is shown in the video.
I'll have to get one of those, it was not possible to use the bench PSU either as there is a 12V DC offset between the scope ground and the BNC ground on the curve tracer, the current drawn was over 0.6 A so I disconnected it asap! @@charlessmith833
"No power supply" "No input voltage information" Ahhh, Chinese electronics. Such a convenient, wide selection of inexpensive components, which can also be very inconvenient at times.
China is the land of crappy software engineering except for the consultant agency they hired to watch their citizens. It's bananas. I have rigol and siglent gear and while not cheap I was able to unlock every feature. I'm tempted to buy a tektronix curve tracer so I have it and never need to worry about another. Buy a second hand one I mean. The prices vary wildy. I know my local schools do not have one and I plan to donate it after I'm done but dropping 2000cad on an ancient one with no guarantee of functioning is alot. A friend has one that's broken but won't fix it or sell it so I can. Haha. I'd just replace all the opamps.
I have a curve tracer, I don:t think i get the same display with FETs, if that were a pentode tube I say that is space charge building. What FET was that?
Too many varieties out there. Follow the instructions. What can I say? To avoid a potential problem, you can use a variable power supply to see if it works on 5V. If not, you can try increasing the voltage little by little until it works. Do it carefully.
This device will not work at 11V and it barely works at 12V. It will work at any voltage above that and up to 24V. However, the output voltage will rise with the input voltage and that makes the calibration different. It should have had a voltage regulator on board to prevent that. Other than that, it seems to work OK. No overheated parts or any other adverse effects that I can find.
@@charlessmith833 not talking about this device there are others that look similar that are different and they need 12 volts I had one of those and it blew up being connected to 24 volts
O:47 I really don't understand what is the point of all these EU laws and regulations that every EU country has to bent over backwards to abide by if you are going to let a myriad (a myriad? a few dozens of myriads more likely) sub-par, non-conforming, dangerous devices through the back door and then let them freely diffuse through the grid. I mean, it's not even possible to tell what these things are made off. And it's not limited to electronic devices, it's the same for all sorts of tools, utensils and consumer goods. Of course individual countries may have mechanisms in place that are much stricter but somehow I doubt this happens and anyway, once such a device is through one country, it can then go anywhere within EU through the second hand market. Rant over. Btw: I'm sorry to pick your channel/single out this case when there are thousands of videos on youtube about such devices. There is no intention to single out his channel -- this is just a general rant about our regulations and ruling system in the EU as a whole and it just came over me while watching this. The idea was always there that there is something iffy about this whole phenomenon but I just thought it's not entirely the fault of the consumers, it's mainly that of politicians and the powers that be. I just find the whole affair hypocritical to the nth degree.
The EU is a club to try to prevent any one member state getting too powerful again. After that it is made up of a myriad (!) of committees of politicians who failed in their own countries. The straight banana legislation and the €2 which is almost identical to the 500 Lira and the 10 Baht Thai coins tells us these committees are incapable of original thought.
I think you put more work into the curve tracer than the manufacturer did! Thanks for all your time and hard work. It’s a huge help.
I’ve got an old curve tracer. It became my primary diagnostic tool when i was doing component level repairs in a shop. I could test most components quickly and easily. Saved me a lot of time and rarely failed me.
I have a 35 years old curve tracer, some years ago I bought one of these new units, I conect to a digital oscilloscope and conected to a computer for download all the grafics for future references.
First line tool for me.
Great Video, not just a typical review. Appreciate your hard work in tear down and figuring out the workings. Plus you gave a concise description of what you did and found out. Applaud your efforts.
Thank you, Charles... Your video IS my user manual for this device and I appreciate all the time you dedicated to this project. Great video, my friend! Take care...
Thank you for taking your time and for sharing your knowledge with us all. God bless you.
This is an incredibly thorough and informative video. Frankly, it converted me from a skeptical observer to a potential customer for this product! The manufacturer of the unit owes you a lot of credit (and I should think some remuneration as well)!
Sincere thanks for your efforts.
Thank you Charles for making this video. I received this device today with no instructions. I would have been able to figure out how it works eventually, but I had no idea what supply voltage or polarity it required.
'Cycles-per-Second', not heard that term for many years !
It was the same with me, but I was determined not to be outdone so I spent the time to figure out what it was all about. I'm glad the video helped. I'm an old-timer so I use all the outdated terminology. I grew up with CPS, not hertz.
I just bought one of these; same model. I measured the 4 test frequencies, my unit: 30 Hz, 223 Hz, 2168 Hz, and 14,301 Hz. These move around a bit with temperature/on time, I see no problems. I’m very happy with the value for its price.
I had the bnc spark before I plugged into my scope so I never plugged it in. The other end of the cable was on an esd mat so I didn't want to plug it into my my rigol mso5354 or my old tektronix tds2002c.
I have been in the hospital since it happened due to unrelated reasons but I could just use my isolation transformer after I check the internal connection since I just got home.
Very interesting video and the careful instructions given were highly professional. Great job!👍
Bought mine 10 projects ago. When it arrived with zippo documentation, I literally went to aliexpress, nope, amazon, nope, ebay yup. OH, it's a VI Curve Tester! This no BS review is great FRANK! Thank you.😅
They should hire you to make their users manual. You are doing God's work -fantastic review and assessment.
Ha, last time I came across the term *"cycles per second"* was in the UK in 1982 when using a Cobra 148dx radio it was how the legends were marked up on the front. Proper old school. ❤
Thank you sir for all of your well presented and useful information! 👌😎👍
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and finds. I have the same tracer and used an 12v power supply. But after your in-depth video, I’ll be ordering an 24v ps asap and start to calibrate the tracer correctly. Thanks again
I verified the 24V on an ad on Amazon for this same model. It will barely work on 12V and fails at 11V, Don't know about other models.
@@charlessmith833 Do you have a link to the the Power Supply you purchased on Amazon?
I can no longer find the exact power supply I purchased but you can find similar on Amazon. Look for 24V Dc output 3A or less with a connector 5.5 x 2.1mm@@locotx215
Mine just arrived. Thank you for the legwork and the video
Hello Charles. Do you have an idea of which regulator has the 210k i bought One but After some time i got smoke from the IC with heatsink.. i would like to repair it
If the number is not on the part in question, I don't know what it is.
Hi charles, after seeing your video i bought one. I connecter to 24V positive central. The traces started to work (lights on) but after a few minutes while i was still trying to figure the setup i head a bad burning smell. I found the internal IC (the one connected to the heatsink) burned. Do you know which IC is that? and what could have happened? maybe 24V was not the correct supply?
Nobody else has reported a problem using 24v. Since no instructions come with the device, I cannot verify if your model was made differently. I do not have a schematic and cannot identify parts numbers.
Thanks for the video. 1) What button should be selected (low,med1,med2,high) when calibrating? 2) Have you seen latest version NI-210SU with inbuilt display and Li-Ion battery chargeable via USB? Does it matter much that it has no graticule or way to measure?
Any frequency should work for calibration. Actually you are looking for a pattern or curve more than for measuring. Use your scope in all cases. Not sure about the revised version.
@@charlessmith833 So rotary knob does not affect calibration voltages either?
All the knob does is control how fast it switches back and forth between the two inputs when doing comparisons.@@steve6375
Well made. Keep up the good work.
Excellent video. Thx for sharing!
Thanks for the video I have one on order at the moment
Awesome video! I ordered a couple of variants of these recently and am somewhat paranoid that it could kill some components if used in circuit due to the sweeping voltage range. I get that it’s quite low current, so maybe the risk isn’t as bad as I think it could be. Would love to see a followup video actually doing a test or repair of two identical boards with the alternating A/B function and the boards grounded together!
The test voltage is actually a very low current sine wave, which easily collapses. I don't think it could hurt anything. Just be sure the circuit you are testing has been turned off and the power supply voltage has been drained, otherwise you will probably damage the tester. The alternating A/B function works well and if you have two identical parts it will do a compare for you so that you can determine if one of them is bad or deficient. I will be using mine to test discreet components rather than comparing circuits. Perhaps, someone will make a better demonstration.
Do you have a video on how to use it on a digital oscilliscope
8 graticules in x/y mode, how many volts/graticule did you set the scope to ? as I would like to be able to measure the curve parameters ie Volts / Current of the DUT , PS I took your advice re 24v power supply .
8 volts I believe. 1V per graticule.
Thank you. Nicely done.
Thanks for your explanations of this undocumented device. My copy came today from Ali and I found, that I've to use 200mV/div at X channel and 2V/div at Y channel for a correct X-Y display. Is this normal behaviour or should I adjust the X amplitude higher (or maybe Y amplitude lower) ? Apart from this, everything is working fine, so I'm not sure if adjustment is recommended.
I like for them to be equal voltage. You need to be able to interpret what you see.
@@charlessmith833 Ok, I adjusted both channels in 1V/div. Easy going. Just wasn't sure if the output voltage/current would be affected. But I still see 4.8V AC there.
Any suggestions for a 24 vdc power supply? Does the power supply need to be an isolated from ac line type? 15 vdc wasn't enough to make it work.
Lots of 24Vdc adaptors are on Amazon. 2.5A or 60W is good. The 120/240AC line type is OK. I don't know if yours is 5.5 or 2.1 connector but a lot of them come with both.
Look on Amazon for F1TP 2.5A and get the one that shows the extra adaptor.
My power supply connector is 5.5 x 2 mm and I can't force it into the connector on the ASA unit. Could it be 2.5mm center pin?
Try 5.5 x 2.1 as noted in the video. Maybe they changed the connector size. Not sure.
Im taking notes. Great video.
Красавчик, братуха! Лайк тебе!
Very interesting video. Thanks 👍👍
Thanks for the review. Cheers Dave.
Gotta love those void is removed labels… they are unenforceable under US law… but I’m sure thing thing didn’t have much past a “it showed up and powered on at least once” warrantee anyway.
Can you please upload the calibration paper online cant find it online anymore thank you.
Well, mine arrived DOA. One channel very low output of only about 5 mv even with the pot turned up full. No dry joints so I think it's the chip. They have helpfully removed the markings. Anyone know what clock chip they used? ( the big one near the BNC outputs)
Hello, is it possible to connect this tester to a PC?
Thank you for this explanation. I foolishly thought there was a battery-powered oscillator inside to provide the test current. Now I have to look for a 24VDC adaptor and cable, but perhaps an old laptop PSU with 19VDC might work and the cable plug might be OK too...?
You need a transformer type power supply for better isolation and safety. The one I bought on Amazon is a transformer type, regulated and with the right connector. I think I paid $20.00. It is shown in the video.
@@charlessmith833 Good point - thanks again!
I'll have to get one of those, it was not possible to use the bench PSU either as there is a 12V DC offset between the scope ground and the BNC ground on the curve tracer, the current drawn was over 0.6 A so I disconnected it asap! @@charlessmith833
NI-210SU has internal Li-Ion battery and USB charge cable plus built-in LCD display.
Thanks! Should have got that instead.@@steve6375
"No power supply"
"No input voltage information"
Ahhh, Chinese electronics. Such a convenient, wide selection of inexpensive components, which can also be very inconvenient at times.
China is the land of crappy software engineering except for the consultant agency they hired to watch their citizens. It's bananas. I have rigol and siglent gear and while not cheap I was able to unlock every feature. I'm tempted to buy a tektronix curve tracer so I have it and never need to worry about another. Buy a second hand one I mean. The prices vary wildy. I know my local schools do not have one and I plan to donate it after I'm done but dropping 2000cad on an ancient one with no guarantee of functioning is alot. A friend has one that's broken but won't fix it or sell it so I can. Haha. I'd just replace all the opamps.
I have a curve tracer, I don:t think i get the same display with FETs, if that were a pentode tube I say that is space charge building. What FET was that?
MPF-102. The input is floating. It is a very sensitive FET
1 to 10 MEG resistor from gate to source is all that is required to stabilize an MPF-102.
It'll be interesting to know how this works.
Just arrived. The box says 5v 1 amp. I'm confused.
Too many varieties out there. Follow the instructions. What can I say? To avoid a potential problem, you can use a variable power supply to see if it works on 5V. If not, you can try increasing the voltage little by little until it works. Do it carefully.
Thanks for sharing!
the 24v on the sticker and in the instructions might have been a god clue. Thanks for the video.
No sticker, no instruction and no power supply came with my unit. Similar complaint from many others.
If you were listening he said it didn’t come with the labels. He MADE them.
Be careful some of the others that look similar (they may have a few more features) ae 12 Volt and will burn out at 24 Volt.
This device will not work at 11V and it barely works at 12V. It will work at any voltage above that and up to 24V. However, the output voltage will rise with the input voltage and that makes the calibration different. It should have had a voltage regulator on board to prevent that. Other than that, it seems to work OK. No overheated parts or any other adverse effects that I can find.
@@charlessmith833 not talking about this device there are others that look similar that are different and they need 12 volts I had one of those and it blew up being connected to 24 volts
I had some gift card money so i bought it to match some germanium diodes and transistors for some guitar pedals.
Hi, thank you for this perfect work! Where may i download file, to translate it into Russian language?😂
I have one this curve Tracer,his whit problema, this components dont' hás marking!
O:47 I really don't understand what is the point of all these EU laws and regulations that every EU country has to bent over backwards to abide by if you are going to let a myriad (a myriad? a few dozens of myriads more likely) sub-par, non-conforming, dangerous devices through the back door and then let them freely diffuse through the grid. I mean, it's not even possible to tell what these things are made off.
And it's not limited to electronic devices, it's the same for all sorts of tools, utensils and consumer goods. Of course individual countries may have mechanisms in place that are much stricter but somehow I doubt this happens and anyway, once such a device is through one country, it can then go anywhere within EU through the second hand market.
Rant over.
Btw: I'm sorry to pick your channel/single out this case when there are thousands of videos on youtube about such devices.
There is no intention to single out his channel -- this is just a general rant about our regulations and ruling system in the EU as a whole and it just came over me while watching this. The idea was always there that there is something iffy about this whole phenomenon but I just thought it's not entirely the fault of the consumers, it's mainly that of politicians and the powers that be. I just find the whole affair hypocritical to the nth degree.
The EU is a club to try to prevent any one member state getting too powerful again. After that it is made up of a myriad (!) of committees of politicians who failed in their own countries. The straight banana legislation and the €2 which is almost identical to the 500 Lira and the 10 Baht Thai coins tells us these committees are incapable of original thought.
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