test equipment

The majority of the review is available in movie format: I purchased a Rigol DP832 power supply from RAE Electronics (local supplier). I had a chance to play around with it and wanted to leave a bit of a review. To begin, I also bought some useful…

I've been spending some time with a low-cost PicoScope device, and wanted to give a review in case you're looking at one. To begin with, you can check out my Circuit Cellar Articles about selecting a scope. There's also a video version of this: Introducing…

Check it out - my blog post on Circuit Cellar on selecting an oscilloscope is live. It’s full of 4 parts, so check back every week on the CC website for the next part

If you check out my older blog post, you'll see a very detailed review of the PicoScope 6000 series device. I also had a chance to use a 5000 series device, specifically the 5444. The 5444 is a 4-channel scope with a built-in AWG. The sample rate is up to 1…

This is an *EXTREMELY* long post, but there is a ton of ground I want to cover. I hope you find it useful if you are seriously considering purchasing an oscilloscope. Looking for a medium-cost scope? There's lots of options out there, and I'm going to…

This blog post might seem commercial… but I have no connection to TotalPhase. I’ve used their Beagle 480 USB analyser for some time, and before that have used a variety of other solutions (mostly SW-based), so have some idea what other options are out there.…

This is the final product, it can hold a PCB for testing without needing to have soldered any pins to it: And without the PCB mounted: I got parts from ebay seller “pingf123”. Parts used were: “4 Edge Latches for Phototype Test Fixture PCB ICT” “20 Chisel…

For some time I've been using a METCAL soldering station. I picked mine up used on E-Bay, as they are expensive new. They have phenomenal heat transfer ability - they use RF energy to transfer heat right to the tip. It means you can go from soldering a 0402…