Dilshan R Jayakody’s Web Log

These days good quality oscilloscope is not an expensive instrument and, we can see it in most workbenches. With the advancement of oscilloscopes, simple testing tools such as logic probes are not as popular these days. However, if the oscilloscope or logic analyzer was out of reach, the logic probe is a handy instrument to check digital circuits.  Also, in some cases, a logic probe is an easy option to check the functionality of low-speed logic circuits because it provides a real-time visual indication of the logic state without adjustments or calibrations. Prototype version of the logic probe. The logic probe design described in this post uses common and inexpensive ICs, including the popular NE555 timer and LM393 low voltage comparator IC. At the time of this writing, both ICs were prevalent in the market and cost less than LKR50 (US$ 0.25). This circuit design using SMD components to minimize the board size. The dimensions of the soldered PCB are around 70mm × 14mm × 6.6mm, ...

This is an automatic Cat6 / Cat5 network cable tester designed using NE555 timer and 4017, decade counters. This unit test all 8 wire lines of twisted pair network cable and indicate pass/fail status with a single LED. We design this unit to test network connectivity issues in Cat6 / Cat5 cable systems and it is capable to check both crossover and straight-through type network cables. A prototype version of network cable tester. The recommended way to construct this circuit is on PCB. Both Master and Salve units need to be built on two separate boards. To perform test one end of the network cable must be connected to the Master unit and other ends need to be connected to the Slave unit. After connecting both Master and Slave units press " START-TEST " (S1) button to perform the test. Status of the cable is indicated through LED2 ( PASS indicator). PCB and schematic of this unit are available to download at google drive and easyeda.com .

This is simple Colpitts oscillator to test commonly available passive crystals which range between 2MHz to 27MHz. This unit must connect to an oscilloscope and/or frequency counter to get the frequency of the crystal. This circuit is designed to work around 9V to 12V DC power source. Both 2SC930 transistors can replace with any high-speed NPN transistor such as 2SC829, 2SC933, etc. Testing 5030kHz FT-243 crystal using a prototype version of crystal tester. In our lab, we use Manhattan-style layout to prototype this crystal tester and it produces highly accurate results with an above-specified frequency range. According to our observations, after 27MHz, the amplitude of the waveform starts to decrease steeply. Schematic and Stripboard wiring layout for this crystal tester is available to download in here .

This is an ATmega32 based Proteus simulation of 16 line connectivity tester. I mainly did this project to get familiar with the new Proteus 8 simulator (mainly the new Proteus  - ISIS module). The main functionality of this system is to detect open and short circuits in cables and connectors. This system can test maximum of 16 lines in each test cycle and it indicate the defective line(s) through LCD. This is customizable system and user can configure number of test lines through single push button (SW1). The ATmega32 firmware is developed using WinAVR toolset and it design to work with both simulation and real modes. Schematic of 16 Line Connectivity Tester I never test this system with real parts. If someone interested about real implementation make sure to change RN1 and RN2 to 22K and diode array with 16 - 1N4148 diodes. Recommended supply voltage for this system is 5V DC. This is an open hardware Project and this work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attr...