Test Equipment

Comment

When the manual for a military radio is written the equipment listed for bench test is what was standard issue at the time.  To run the same test today you can substitute more modern equipment as long as the newer equipment has equal or better specs.

HP Agilent Serial Numbers

For serial numbers in the format iijjAnnnn adding 60 to ii is the year made, jj is the week, the letter is the country where made.
for example 1848J02842

• 18 -> Made in 1978
• 48 -> Weeek # of last prodcution change 48
• J -> Made in Japan, or A = America, G = West Germany, U= United Kingdom
• 02842 actual serial number of instrument

The series prefix doesn't represent the date of manufacture.  Instead, it represents the date of the last production change that affects form, fit, or function, or for other modifications such as firmware version changes. We use the series prefix to tie production changes (changes in production documentation) to changes in customer documentation.

Tests on Radios

Because of the FM capture effect the way receiver sensivity is measured must be different for FM and AM radios.  AM radios have no capture effect.

SINAD FM receiver sensivity

This is an acronym for "SIgnal Noise And Distortion".  It's defined as:
SINAD = 20 * LOG((RMS Value of Signal, Noise and Distortion)/(RMS Value of Noise & Distortion))

The inclusion of noise and distortion with the signal is the way a distortion analyzer works, i.e. it measures everything then notches out the test tone.  The prior signal to noise ratio was difficult to measure because it required a spectrum analyzer to measure the signal all by itself.

I think the values used for SINAD when the HP 300 series analog distortion meters were popular was 10 dB.  But these meters used a average reading AC voltage detection method that was in error about 2 dB for non sine signals.  With the introduction of the 8903 and other true RMS reading distortion analyzers the spec was changed to 12 dB to produce about the same sensitivity readings as the prior analog instruments.  (The 8903 has an internal jumper option to connect an average reading detector if compatibility with the older 300 series instruments is needed).

The common modern definition of receiver sensitivity is the power level that produces a 12 dB SINAD.

The idea is that there are two factors contributing to the received audio signal to noise ratio in an FM receiver.  First as the signal strength increases from the noise level the audio output gets quieter (this is even when there is no modulation on the carrier).  Second as the signal strength with modulation increases from the noise a 1 kHz tone will get stronger.  The difference between the true RMS audio output with the tone modulation on and the true RMS audio output with the tone modulation off is the SINAD.

Distortion Analyzer

One way to measure this in a single step is to use a SINAD meter or a Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) meter.  Both of these methods notch out the 1 kHz tone and can measure both the tone and what's left.  The advantage of this method is that you don't need to turn the 1 kHz modulation on and off.  This would be very good when testing the SINAD in the field from a transmitter at a remote fixed point.

By using a real SINAD meter like the HP 8903B/E Audio Analyzer the transmitter can be sending a constant 1 kHz tone and the meter will notch out the tone and report the SINAD.  This would allow drive testing using GPS in the mobile unit or using a time log to allow plotting SINAD vs. position of the mobile unit.  Note for receiver testing the "E"  version (no audio gen, just the meter) of the 8903 is about 1/2 the price of the "B" version (internal audio gen).

True RMS Voltmeter

Another way to measure SINAD is to just turn on and off the modulation (note the carrier is left on all the time).  This has the advantage that you only need a true RMS voltmeter instead of the SINAD meter or a THD meter like the TS-723 (HP 330 series) distortion Analyzer.  I am using this method with the HP/Agilent 8648A signal generator and HP/Agilent 34401A Multimeter under computer control so that a plot can be made of both the plain AF noise output, the 1 kHz tone output, and the SINAD.  The problem with this is the requirement to turn on and off the modulation.  Easy to do on the bench but more difficult when a mobile unit is driving.

The Distortion Analyzer, THD and SINAD - college experiment that gives the equations and explanation of SINAD
FM Modulation Tutorial -

Receive Audio Frequency Response

By using a signal generator like the HP/Agilent 8648A with option 1EP and a voltmeter like the HP/Agilent 34401A a plot of the audio frequency response can be made.  It's interesting that the PRC-25 has a peaky response centered at 300 Hz but the PRC-126 has a fairly flat response from 100 to about 9,000 Hz.  This is probably because the PRC-126 was designed to support voice encryption over an even wider audio bandwidth and the SPKR audio has been low pass filtered to improve the s/n for clear voice.

This plot was used in a before and after manner when the PRC-25 was upgraded to the PRC-25B to support multiple channel telephony.

Transmit Output

There are a number of parameters to look at on the transmitted signal:

Power

Can be measured with a power meter like the PRM-34 or similar meters.

Frequency

Can be measured with a filed test meter like the PRM-34 or a modern spectrum analyzer like the Agilent 4395A.  When the transmit output frequency is not known the spectrum analyzer is a great tool to find the frequency.

FM Deviation

Can be measured with a deviation meter like the ME-505 or ME-525 but can also be measured directly on the Agilent 4395A or other spectrum analyzer.  The HP 8901 Modulation Analyzer is a modern version of the ME-505/525.

Harmonic and Spurious outputs

The spectrum analyzer makes this an easy test but it could also be done using a receiver, but finding spurious outputs with a receiver is very tedious unless a computer can do a spectrum sweep.

General Bench Test Equipment

This paragraph is for equipment that I either have now or have used.  Since I do LabVIEW programming, instruments with IEEE-488() and/or RS-232 so that they can be computer controlled are a plus for me.  You can get a lot more out of an instrument when a computer is in control vs. manual operation.

Analyzers

Bridges

Counters

• HP AC-4A Decade Counter Module used in the HP 531A Counter, 4 dual triode tubes & 10 each NE-2 Neon lamps
  
• HP 5216 Nixie tube display Counter
• HP 5328AF-096 Counter with HP-IB 
• HP 5345 - this is the successor to the HP 5245 and adds a display digit (9 total), goes to 500 MHz w/o a plug-in and has HP-IB
• HP 5384A - I was using the HP 8648A with about a 10 foot length of coax to drive the 5384A and was adjusting the trimmer for the internal oscillator.  In this process I was also going back and forth between the A input (Hi-Z 10 hz - 100 MHz) and the B input (50 Ohm 50 - 225 MHz).  The max power from the 8648A is +13 dBm (4.46 Vrms or 6.3 Vpk).  I'm not shure how but now the front end appears dead although the "check" function shows 10 MHz and the CPU is OK.  One the the transistors near the A input appears to be shorted.  Manual on the way to fix it.  Maybe the coax acted as a transformer raising the voltage when connected to the A input.  The fix may be to add a 3 dB BNC pad on the counter end of the coax to keep the voltage down
  
• Stanford Research SR620 Time interval and Frequency Counter - this 16 digit 1.3 GHz counter has a single shot time interval resolution of 25 pS which makes it ideal for working with 1 Pulse Per Second timing signals.  HI-IB  I feed it's external clock and that of the 4395A with a Stanford Research PRS10 Rubidium Source that is locked to the GPS system by means of a Motorola VP Oncore GPS receiver. A home Made 4-way GPS Splitter feeds the Motorola Oncore VP GPS receiver and other GPS receivers. 
• HP 53132A Counter - This counter can count frequency at the rate of 12 digits per second but has no speed advantage for Time Interval Counting.  It also has a very user hostile manual and computer interface. 
  
• Traded HP 53132A for the SR620 Time Interval Counter
  

DC Power Supplies

• American Reliance 1132 Electronic Load - great for testing batteries and power supplies. HP-IB & RS-232 interface.
• BK Precision 1786 Power Supply 0-30 VDC @ 3 Amps better for powering radios but difficult to program by hand. RS-232
• HP 6038A 60V @ 10 A  The four models with over 1000 watts are full rack wide, but the two lower power units are half rack wide.
  

• HP 6216A Power Supply - this is a small 0-30 VDC @ 500 mA supply that good for manual analog testing CV/CC operation.
• HP 6633ASystem DC Power Supply  
  

• HP 6236A Triple Output (Analog)

This was purchased very used to replace the HP E3631A Triple Output Digital Power Supply.  The problem with the E3631A is that after a power failure it defaults to all three outputs at zero volts. The 6236A uses front panel knobs to set the voltage and so comes up from a power failure at the set voltages (+5, +12 and -12 in this case). Note:  There are only two voltage adjust knobs.  One for the 0-6 Volt supply and the other controls both polarities of the 0-20 Volt outputs.  But there are seperate metering switch positions for each of the three supplies.

when connected to the Thunderbolt GPS receiver, both the +12 and -12  were at zero and the 5V was low. C33 s.b. 490 uF @ 85V tests at 54 Ohms ESR & 0.53 uF so is bad.  When removed it tests as an open.  It's across the +7.5V rail, maybe why the +5 output has limited range. Since this supply also powers the op amps and reference voltages it may be the only problem.  Caps on order 21 Feb 2011.

HP 6236A C33 Date Code 7626L i.e. it's 35 years old The vent (hole in center on right) is intact, i.e. it has not blown. Test open for DC and capacitance.

• HP/Agilent E3631A Triple Output Power Supply with IEEE-488.2 interface only 0.5 A for each of the two 15 V sides. HP-IB

Model	W	V @ A
E3610A	30	8 @ 3 or 15 @ 2
E3611A	30	20 @ 1.5 or 35 @ 0.85
E3612A	30	60 @ 0.5 or 120 @ 0.25
E3613A
E3614A	48	8 @ 6
E3615A	60	20 @ 3
E3616A	60	35 @ 1.7
E3617A This is my most used power supply.	60	60 @ 1
E3620A	50	25 @ 1 and 25 @ 1
E3630A	35	6 @ 2.5 and +20 @ 0.5 and -20 @ 0.5
E3631A Not suitable for long term use. It resets when the power fails.	80	6 @ 5 and +25 @ 1 and -25 @ 1
E3632A	120	15 @ 7 or 30 @ 4
E3633A	200	8 @ 20 or 20 @ 10
E3634A	200	25 @ 7 or 50 @ 4
E3640A	30	8 @ 3 or 20 @ 1.5
E3641A	30	35 @ 0.8 or 60 @ 0.5
E3642A	50	8 @ 5 or 20 @ 2.5
E3643A	50	35 @ 1.4 or 60 @ 0.8
E3644A	80	8 @ 8 or 20 @ 4
E3645A	80	35 @ 2.2 or 60 @ 1.3
E3646A	60	2X 8 @ 3 or 2X 20 @ 1.5
E3647A	60	2X 35 @ 0.8 or 2X 60 @ 0.5
E3649A	100	2X 35 @ 1.4 or 60 @ 0.8

Mesa Power Systems Model 10199 Power Supply Aircraft

My hope was that this would contain a 400 Hz 3-phase supply, but instead it has a number of DC power supplies.
Note aircraft "14 Volts" is exactly the same a ground vehicle "12 Volts" just as aircraft "28 Volts" is the same as ground vehicle "24 Volts".
These power supplies are set for the upper end of the range for each voltage (12V = 10 to 15 and 24V = 20 to 30).

No.	Volts	Max Amps	Max Watts
1	28 (30V ?)	5	140
2	15	25	375
3	+5 -5	5 1	25 5 ----- 30
4	15	2	30

I'm going to remove each supply and use No. 2 and 4 by connecting "12 Volt" Power pole connectors.  Note "12 Volts" means 10 to 15 Volts so these are perfect.
No. 1 will have a "24 Volt" power pole connector added.  No. 3 will go on the shelf.

Front panel only has circuit breaker and pilot lamp	Top View with numbers for each power supply
Topward 33010D  0-30V, 0-10A.

Switching Mode Power Supply Modules

On eBay you can buy ready made printed circuit boards with a SMPS circuit.
Note: a SMPS can be thought of as a transformer for DC.
If you look at the voltage x current at the input it's about the same as a voltage x current at the output.
While in operation the output power as a fraction of the input power (efficiency) is  typically in the mid 90% range.

DSN2596 based on LM2596

40/4 VDC input, 35/1.3 VDC adjustable output step down only.

DC Voltage Reference

Precision Voltage Reference 5V .01% Accuracy Calibrator

 is the eBay title.  From Malone Electronics, WA.

Calibrated using an HP 34401.  Very low cost ($27.50).
The data sheet that came with it said 5.00005 at turn on and 5.00021 after 15 minute warm up.
You can see I'm getting 5.00012.

The more accurate Geller SVR Voltage reference is on order.

Meters

• Boonton 160 (TS-617/U)  Q meter - spent a couple of years learning about coils, uses a 4 pin tube

• Extech 380950 AC/DC Clamp Meter

This 4000 count meter has the ability to work for DC amps which is the key thing I got it for.  The lowest DC Amp range is 4.000 A full scale.  To use the range after powr on and waiting a little for the meter to stablize press the ZERO button.  Then connect to the wire carrying the current.

Note that for small DC currents you can put multiple turns of wire in the 0.49" ID hole and divide the displayed current by the number of wires going through the hole.  With 10 turns the full scale range changes to 0.4000 Amps.

In addition to the AC and DC clamp Amp ranges the meter also supports:
VAC & VDC using the supplied test probes, Resistance, Continuity (but slow), diode test, capactance, Frequency or Duty Cycle and Analog Amp output (10 mV/A) to a scope or DMM.

Powered from two AAA batteries under cover with two (+) screws.

The manual is both English (shown) and Spanish (from back cover), to so reduce it's size I cut off the Spanish half.

• Fluke 12 DMM - this one does not have current measuring capability but does have "V check".  This is an automatic operation mode that has a very useful feature.  A real world example:  When trouble shooting a sprinkler system the 87 showed good voltage from the control box with the solenoid disconnected.  The 12 showed zero volts.  the reason is that the "V check" function puts a 1 K Ohm load across the voltmeter whereas the 87 has a very high input impedance. Volts and Ohms (no Amps)
  
  
• Fluke 87 DMM - This is a powerful and easy to use handheld meter that is about bullet proof.  Someone said that you could put it into Ohms range and plug the leads into a wall socket, but I don't want to try it.  I have let the smoke out of a number of cheap meters by measuring a power supply with the range switch set on Ohms.  The current in the diode test mode is a solid 1.0 mA.  This is very good to help identify diode types.  There are some undocumented beeps that have some meaning. Volts, Ohms, Amps, frequency, capacitance.  The Max/Min function is really handy for checking to see if there was some type of failure and for ranges of a changing value.  If you only have one meter this is the one to have..
  
  

  	When trying to test a Weston 594 Photonic cell no current could be measured, but it did have voltage output.  Also voltage across a shunt 100 ohm resistor.  A fuse was blown when trying to test Flash Amps on a Leclanché Battery. The self test on the Fluke 87 is to probe in Ohms mode between V-Ohm-diode connector and the mAuA connector where you should see 1 k Ohm. The test Failed. Also the fuse check is to remove test leads, select V= or V~ plug a test lead into uAmA - meter should click if fuse is good.  Failed Plug test lead into A - meter clicks if fuse is good.  Passed The yellow component is NOT blown, it's a spark gap. F2 is the 11 Amp fuse and the one I remember as blown.  So not sure which one blew.  I suspect it was the 11 Amp fuse because the expected Flash value was on the order of 10 Amps.
  	The fuse that's standing up  (F1 0.44 A) is open Also the yellow part OK.
  It turns out the 1k resistor from the bottom of the mA/uA jack that gets shorted by the range switch when in the mA range is not part of the analog circuitry but rather part of the digital monitoring of where the test leads are plugged in.  So it was reinstalled along with the adjacent four pin DIP bridge diode and a wire soldered across the blown fuse terminals.  After reassembly not only are the mA and uA ranges working but also the back light now works.  There must have been a bad connection (see What Goes Wrong)  between some of the parts that's now good.

  
  
• Fluke 87V DMM

• Heathkit IM-21 VTVM - used this for many years uses tubes
  
• HP 3400A True RMS AC Voltmeter - with a 10 MHz bandwidth. (the 3400B has a 20 MHz bw) uses this in many automated test systems to do the RMS detection and fed it's DC output into a digital DC voltmeter.
  
• HP 415E SWR Meter (also a 60 dB dynamic range gain/attenuation Meter) - just a very narrow bandwidth 1 kHz voltmeter.  Has many uses.
  
• HP 427A Voltmeter - This was the precursor to the DMM, portable hand held DC & AC Volts and Ohms (no amps)
• HP 432 Power Meter - Cal standard still in current catalog because it uses a fundamental measurement technique
• HP 436 Power Meter - HPIB, this and all the newer power meters rely on a 50 MHz calibration signal since they can not make a fundamental power measurement, like the 432.
• HP/Agilent 34401A Multimeter will measure AC (true RMS) and DC volts 2 and 4 wire Ohms, frequency and period, diode check and a number of other things.  HP-IB & RS-232  This is an extremely popular meter and offers very good performance for the price.  App Note on Kelvin Connection which allows measuring resistance to 0.000,1 Ohm (100 micro Ohms).
  
• ID-292 Alignment meter for the PRC-6
• ID-1189 Indicator, Channel Alignment for the PRT-4 and PRR-9 radios
• ME-61 1.5 to 24 MHz Field Strength meter made for the T-195/GRC-19 but useable for any HF Transmitter
• Millen 90651 Grid-Dip Meter -
  
• TS-20 (PRM-32) Tests survival radios by using 2 of them to talk to each other
• TS-24B Tests survival radios by placing the antenna into a shielded box with a connection that simulates free space (patented by ACR)
• PRM-34 Test Set to measure Frequency, Power using 2 ports so both radios and antennas can be tested, also has Field strength so can replace TS-3354
• PSM-13 Field Battery Tester
• TS-330 Crystal Impedance Meter can measure actual crystal parameters, unlike the crystal activity meter that's more of a go-nogo instrument.
• TS-585 - This is a military Audio Output Meter that has built in impedance matching over a very wide range.  Great for manually determining the audio input or output impedance of various audio devices.
• TS-1836 In-Circuit Transistor Tester
  
• TS-3354 - Test Set for aligning the PRC-68 after changing the channel frequency programming, could be used with other Family or squad radios
• TS-3754 (URM-182A) VHF Low Band Power Meter
  
• TS-4403/U & TS-4403A/U (Chemtronics LS 91) State Of Charge meter for LiSO₂ batteries (the only possible way to measure their SOC)
• KS-8455L2 Telephone test meter
• URM-6 14 to 250 Kc Field Strength Meter Set
• XC4070L LCR & h_FE meter
  The lowest inductance range is 20 mH, so it's not much use for electronics use where the common values are below it's ability to measure.
  
  

Transistor Testers

Heathkit IT-10 Transistor-Diode Tester - simple way to ID diode and transistor polarity and get a rough idea of beta.  The IT-27 may be the same tester with different color paint. This tester is very simple and seems to be very reliable. You get some idea of relative beta.
Heathkit IT-121 Transistor & FET Tester Uses a couple of "D" batteries and a 100 uA meter movement to test Beta, gm, and a number of leakage currents. Needed some contact cleaner in the switches and pots (was used by a heavy smoker).  The 166 Ohm cal resistor is supposed to be taped to the inside of the front panel (it's used for setting the pot on the PCB, but if not you can make one by connecting two 100 ohm resistors in series then connecting that 200 ohm resistor in parallel with a 1000 ohm resistor.
Front Panel	Back Instructions	Inside
GE Transistor Manual "Safe and Simple Transistor Tester'.  Made this for work when we were buying Ge microwave transistors and characterizing them ourselves rather than pay TI a lot extra to sort them.  The 150 Ohm cal resistor is built in on S4 so to do the full scale cal just press BATT TEST and S3. You can get numbers for beta, and a number of leakage currents.
TS-1836C/U - Military in and out of circuit tester also tests FETs and diodes.  Uses self rectification of square wave input to generate a DC output when xixtor is in a common base configuration. So far not very useful. . . . does not work, why?
TL-120 - rechargeable battery powered tester, automatic detection of NPN or PNP, no settings or meters, just LEDs for PNP, NPN & Fail LEDs.  NSN 6625-00-367-9323 patent 3870953  In-Circuit Electronic Component Tester  324/72.5; 324/537 made by Testline.  Uses a single probe that has three plunger type pointed tips so you can contact all three transistor PCB pads with one hand.  Handy probe and quick check.
This Electronic Goldmine tester uses a 555 oscillator driving a Flip Flop to act as a DPDT switch reversing the polarity to a common emitter configuration.  By noting which of two LEDs turns on you can tell the polarity of a transistor.  But you need to which terminals are the Emitter, Base and Collector.  Not too useful. The schematic diagram for this kit should win an award for the most convoluted, upside down and twisted schematic  possible for such a simple circuit.
M3 Semiconductor Analyzer - 2004? - my Ver 3 kit was built in 2007 This is the most advanced unit for the price.  Although there are a number of things I'd do to improve it.  There are three test leads, each of which is fed using a series resistor that's selectable (100k, 10k, 1k or 100 Ohms) and that resistor can be connected to either +5 or ground.  There's a DC voltmeter on each lead.  So by driving the leads two at a time and subtracting voltages you can find the voltage across the DUT.  Also since the voltmeters are after the series resistors you can also find the current at each lead. I'm having a problem with calibration.  It may be that I've just got some high resistance mux chips (M3 is sending 3 more chips at no charge, good support by Mike).  It turns out that if there's solder flux left on the board it can allow leakage to the high impedance voltmeter inputs.  Radio Shack no longer carries flux cleaner, so it's not available in my small town.   Isopopropal alcohol did not work.  But acetone did work. The problem was poor solder joints caused by using a fine tip soldering iron on a PCB with 2 ounce copper.  You MUST use a high wattage soldering iron in order to heat this PCB. Note you can see that the solder is not shiny, it's dull when inadequate heat is used. The neat thing about it is that it not only figures out which lead is which for transistors, FETs, etc. but it also shows some variable parameters like Vbe, HFE, whether it's a PNP or NPN, or N-JFET or P-JFET, etc.  The display cycles automatically which may be good for an experienced user, but I'd  rather have a "next" button to make writing down the answers easier. It's great for sorting out grab bags of 3 leaded devices.  I'm planning on adding a machined pin IC socket cut down to 3 terminals in addition to some nice E-Z-Hook grabbers to replace the cheezy ones that come with the kit. Based on the PIC 16F876 uC and using three each 74HC4052 Dual 4-Channel Mux controlling resistors of 100k, 10k, 1k or 100 Ohms on each of the three test pins.  The MAX4618 has much lower On resistance and has the same pin out. M3 Semi Anal Ver 3 (M3SA_Manual.pdf) Kripton2035: Semiconductor Tester Repository -
Peak Atlas DCA - Semiconductor Analyzer  - looks to be a very similar to the M3 above
Shenzhen DY294 Digital Transistor DC Parameter Tester This unit runs from 6 VDC, either 4 internal AA cells (although the battery compartment can hold 6 cells, but two positions have no electrical contacts) or using a female plug wall wart. It can test transistors for: VBR, VCEsat, hFE, Iceo.  3-terminal voltage regulators with 27 Volts input. Withstanding voltage on electrolytic caps up to 1000+ VDC.  This tester has a current limited high voltage supply that is activated when the TEST button is pressed (the red LED warning lights when high voltage is present).  When measuring the forward voltage drop on a semiconductor at 800 mA or 2 A the external 6 V @ >=2A power supply should be used.
		YouTube: Teardown and Review of the VC60B+ Insulation Tester/Megohmmeter, 18:42 -
Professional Type Semiconductor Analyzers I wrote many HP Basic programs to drive the HP semiconductor analyzer boxes like the 4142 & 4145 DC box and the related LCR meters.
Transistor - L/C ESR Tester Shown measuring a 470 uF 10 V cap as 482.6 uF & ESR=.01 The ESR-micro V4.0 measures it as       498   uF & ESR= .05 Also has provision for SMT parts.  If the SMT LED was removed it might also be used to test LEDs? DUT needs to be able to fit into socket eliminating things with fat leads. The Markus Frejek tester based on the AVR uC dates to 2009. Karl-Heinz Kubbler Arduino based tester dates to 2018 - includes rotary encoder for function selection. EEVblog Electronics Community Forum: $20 LCR ESR Transistor checker project - February 23, 2013 ArduTester - Arduino & prototype board. - same as the multi-tester with the rotary encoder.
LC100-A L/C Tester This tester is limited to testing inductors or capacitors, but it does that better than the more general purpose testers. Powered by either a Mini-USB cable (included) or a Wall Wart supplying 5 VDC (not included). Comes with short test leads that are connected to screw terminals. Pushing the red button at the lower right displays the test frequency (which changes with component value because this tester works be resonating the DUT with a component that's part of the tester. May be a knockoff of the AADE L/C Meter. Note (Up/Down) the White (/HiC), Blue (/HiL) and yellow (C/L) buttons are latching.
Fluke 87 (or any DMM with a diode test) can be used to check for the Base-Emitter and Base-Collector junctions of a transistor.  This is a very powerful method that's also simple.  But it's more time consuming than more advanced test methods. In diode test mode the red lead is positive and the test current is 1 ma (this is a very good way to do this since the Vf of most diodes is specified at 1 ma).  If a transistor tests as two forward diodes with the red lead common then the transistor is an NPN but of the black lead is common then it's a PNP. Most silicon PN junctions have a Vf of about 0.6 volts.  Silicon Schottky junctions range over 0.28 to 0.35 depending on the barrier metal.  Germanium is more like 0.4 volts. The 87 is the first piece of test equipment that I use.  If you're going to only have one test instrument this is it.  The only time it failed me was when checking a lawn sprinkler system and the 87 showed voltage at the valve but the valve was not activating.  The Fluke 12 showed no voltage in the "V-check" where the input impedance is 1 k ohm.
2024 May 15 TC1 Multi-Function Component Tester These have been on the market for maybe a half dozen years and are an iteration of the M3. Claimed Specifications: Built-in rechargeable Li battery (battery voltage show on most screens). 3.5 x 3cm TFT color screen (with graphic device symbols) Diodes with Vf up to 4.5 V Zener diodes up to 30V (when correctly inserted into KAA sockets) Transistor dect 0.01 - 4.5V Triac Range: Igt < 6mA Capacitance: 25pF - 100mF Resistance: 0.01 Ohm - 50 MOhm Inductance: 0.01 mH - 20H Battery Voltage Test 0.1 - 4.5V (DO NOT EXCEED 4.5 V) Reads some IR remote codes. YouTube 433 How Transistor Testers Work and How to Use them?, 21:29 - overview of how they work
TC2 Multi-Function Component Tester This version has many more IR remote protocols, and maybe other differences. TC-T7-H Full-Color Multi-Function Tester It's not clear what the differences are between the TC1, TC2 and T7-H.
Transistor Test Set Related Patents Class 324/768 Electricity Measuring & Testing/ (537) Of individual circuit component or element Bipolar transistor(768)  Moved to the TS-1836  Patents Because of the difficulty in measuring transistor "h" parameters (defined under conditions requiring a short or open) HP came out with the 8410 network analyzer that terminated the input and output of the transistor in 50 Ohms and thus got around the oscillation problems caused by the opens and shorts.  S-parameters were measured and used in design.

Scopes

• HP 120B Scope - used with the 114BR WWV Time Comparator
• HP 54501A Digital Oscilloscope - this was an early DSO from HP and has a rather user hostile front panel but it supports IEEE-488.2 interface and is a good value as used equipment though only 100 MHz BW when sampling and much less BW in single shot mode. HP-IB
• Tek 1502 Cable Tester (Time Domain Reflectometer)
  
• Tektronix 515A tube type 15 MHz scope - I got this new from Tek when I was going to college.  Picked up at the Fabian Way, Palo Alto Tek office near Philco (aka Philco Ford, Ford Aerospace, aeronurotic Ford, etc.).  They had a washing station where the scopes were cleaned.  This, and most Tek scopes, were designed to stand water washing.
• Rigol  DS1052E - is made by the same company that makes the low end Agilent scopes, but for much less money!
  

Sources

• Aerospace Research Inc. Model NS-LB Noise Generator -  Manual Wanted
  
• Heathkit IG-42 Laboratory RF Signal Generator
• Heathkit IG-72 Audio generator with multiple knob frequency control, but no analog control
• Heathkit ____ - 100 KHz crystal calibrator, for use with analog  short wave receiver to know where you are tuning,  i.e. set the band spread dial.
• HP 204B - Audio Oscillator  - dial frequency control, part of the 3550 triple instrument telephone line test set.
  
• HP 241A Audio Oscillator radio button frequency control
• HP 5100 - 5110 Synthesized RF Signal Generator - uses math and phase locked loops, many push buttons.  multiwire interface, used by BR communications to develop the chirp sounding system.
  
• HP 5060 Cesium Frequency Standard
• HP 8406A Frequency Comb Generator -
  
• HP/Agilent 8648A Signal Generator with options 1EP and 1E5. IEP is the pager option that allows generating POCSAG, FLEX and FLEX-TD pager signals and includes a built in function generator that will allow internal modulation from 10 Hz to 20 kHz with a sine, triangle, square or ramp wave form.  This function generator is also available without the paging features as option 1E2.  Because of the built in function generator a separate audio generator is not needed. HP-IB.  The 8648 did not have good enough stability for pager testing hence the 8648A with much improved specs.
• Stanford Research SC10 - 10 MHz double oven crystal oscillator retro fitted into old Gibbs frequency standard.
• Gibbs Frequency Standard.  This unit had a fatal design flaw.  A rack mount unit with the electronics on one side and some gel cell Lead Acid batteries on the other side.  What happens to printed circuit boards when you heat them and expose them to acid fumes  .   .   . the traces are etched away.

When I bought it the seller said it was only good for 1E-6 (i.e. the oven did not work, but it oscillated.  I soldered wires over the etched traces and brought it back to life (parts in E-10), but after adding glass caps to get the frequency back on, the crystal finally aged past the point where it could be pulled to 5.0 MHz.
The Bliley glass crystal was in the center of a dual cylindrical heater. between the outer and inner heaters was the electronics made up of ring shaped PCBs with the components between two of the rings "cord wood" style.  There was a pair that was the oscillator, and two pairs for the inner and outer oven control circuits.
• Stanford Research PRS10 - 10 MHz Rubidium oscillator locked to GPS, RS-232
• Stanford Telecom 5001A Navstar Test Transmitter - for testing GPS receivers that were built at Stanford Telecom for jitter.
  
• SG1144U - RF Signal Generator - dual analog oscillators are mixed to generate the output.

Table of Mil Test Equipment

These are instruments that show up in the military radio manuals but that I don't have.  Just for info. 

Mil Nomenclature	Description	Commercial Nomenclature	Power	Const	Key Spec(s)
AN/USM-37	SWR Test Set	HP 415 + Slotted lines	115/230	Tube	1 kHz narrow band amp.
AN/USM-281C	Oscilloscope	Tek 7603N11S TM 11-6625-1703-24P	120/220
OS-246A/USM-281D	Oscilloscope	Dumont	115/230
OS-189/USM-281A	Oscilloscope	HP 180+ PL-1186A  PL1187A
USM-425	Oscilloscope	Tek 465M	115/230 or  24 VDC Batt
OS-8	Oscilloscope	TM 11-1214 TM 11-6625-252-20	115
OS-106/USM-117	Oscilloscope	TM 11-6625-640-24P TB 9-6625-342-35		Transistor
USM-338	Oscilloscope			solid state
USM-140B	Oscilloscope	Tek 531?
SG1174/U	Sig Gen	AUL 6201B TM 11-6625-2952-24P		tube	3.8 - 7.6 GHz
SG-297/URM-103	Sig Gen	TB 11-6625-586-12/1		tube	18 - 80 MHz FM
SG-376	2 tone IF Sig Gen			Transistor	497.5, 498.5, 501.5, or 502.5 KHz
SG-823	2 tone Ref Sig Gen				2, 3.6, 4, 14.4, 16, 28.8 MHz
/URM-25	Sig Gen	TM 11-5551B TM 11-6625-278-20P TM 11-6625-603-40P			10 KHz to 50 MHz AM
SG-117/URM-26B	Sig Gen		115		4 to 405 MHz AM-CW-Pulse
SG-1170/1171	Sig Gen	Wavetek 3001 TM 11-6625-2952-24P TM 11-6625-3029-14,-24P TM 11-6625-3051-12, -24P, -40 TB 9-6625-2094-35
SG-1144	Sig Gen	P TM 11-6625-2954-14& TM 11-6625-2954-24P			50 kHz - 80 MHz
URM-103	Sig Gen	TM 11-6625-586-12, -12/1, -24P, -45
8350B	Sweep Gen	HP 8350B TB 9-6625-2124-35
USM-207	Digital Counter	TM 11-6625-700-10 -14-1, -25, -24P
CP-772A/U		HP 5245L TM 11-6625-1682-24P
USM-459	Digital Counter	HP 5328 TM 11-6625-2941-14&P TM 11-6625-2701-35 TB 9-9925-2334-35
AN/USM-323	Sig Gen	HP 8640B-323			500 KHz to 512 MHz AM-FM-Pulse
TS-403	Sig Gen	TM 11-5091 HP 616B			1.8 - 4.2 GHz
SG-557/TS-621	Sig Gen				3.8-7.5 GHz
USM-441	Time Mark Gen	Ballantine 6130A	120
TS-1010/UPM-84	Spectrum Analyzer		115	tube	10 MHz to 44.88 GHz
ME-180/USM-116	AC-DC Voltmeter		115	tube	20 Hz to 100 MHz 1 to 300 V fs
ME-440/USM-381 to 15 kV	Diff DV VM	Fluke 896A 1 kV			0-10-100-1000 VDC
ME-297/USM-223	Multi Meter		6-PXB1  1.3 V 1-"C" conved 2 AA + 1 C	FET	2.5 V - 5 KV 0.25 - 10 A DC 1K - 10 M Ohm
		HP 3478 TM 11-6625-3071-14
ME-77/URM-105C	Volt - Ohm	TM 11-6625-203-12, -24P, -35	2 ea. AA 22.5 V?		1 - 1000 V AC/DC 2k - 20 M Ohm 30 Hz-10KHz
URM-127(A)	Audio Osc	TM 11-6625-683-14, -24P TB 9-6625-1998-35	115	solid state	20 Hz to 200 KHz
	Audio Osc	HP 202C TM 11-6625-589-15
DA-43/U	Dmy Ld & Watt Mtr		28VDC		0.2 to 20 MHz 2 to 100 W
TS-3329/U		HP 236A TM  11-6625-2903-14&P
DPM-3	Power Meter				30 to 600 MHz 50 and 150 W ranges
ME-165/G	SWR Meter	TM 11-6625-333-15, -24P TM 11-809-20, -35			up to 30 MHz 600 W
URM-120A	Watt Meter				2 to 1000 MHz 10 to 1000 W
DA-75/U/URM-120	Dmy Ld	TM 11-6625-446-15			2 to 1000 MHz 10 to 1000 W
ME-82	Watt Meter	M 11-6625-595-34			50-600 MHz 120 W
DA-189/GRC	Dummy Load				600 to 1850 MHz 40 W
DA-727	Dummy Load				30 MHz 800 W
ZM-4	DC Bridge	TM 11-2019 TM 11-6625-249-12P, -34P TB 9-6625-388-35	3 each D	no active devices	1 ohm to 1,011 M Ohm
ZM-11	AC Bridge	Navships 91704A	115	tube
TS-505	VTVM	TM 11-5511 TM 11-6625-239-12, -34P	batt	tube
URM-145	Voltmeter	TM 11-6625-524-14
ME-26B/U	Multimeter	HP 410 TM 11-6625-200-12, -15, -24P, -35
TS-352/U	Multimeter	TM 11-6625-366-10, -15, -24P
TS-723/A/B/C/D	Spectrum Analyzer	TM 11-6625-255-14,  -24P, -34P HP 330x Distortion Ana
ME-505	Modulation Meter	TM 11-6625-3017-14 TF 2300A
ME-525	Modulation Meter	TM 11-6625-3059-10 82AD
ME-57	Modulation Meter	TM 11-6625-400-20P, -35, -40 TM 11-6625-2629-14&P, -24P TB 9-6625-2004-35 tube type
USM-44	Sig Gen	HP 608
URM-18	Distortion Analyzer	HP 333A
TS-4084/G	Distortion Analyzer	Tek DA 4084 ? NSN 6625-01-217-0054 TM 11-6625-3152-14
Tek 1502	TDR	TM 9-4935-601-14-3&P	115AC/230AC/12DC		1 to 2,000 feet of line
		HP 530x Counter TB 9-6625-2215-35
LA-387A		HP 5233L Counter TM 11-6760-242-24P

Related

5001A Stanford Telecom 5001A Navstar Test Transmitter - made to test their GPS receiver ICs
AMREL EL-1132 Electronic Load
BatTst  Battery Testers
Beltone 12D Audiometer - hearing test - audio
Capacitors table with ESR and Cap measurements for different types - table of test data
CEI CEI Tempest test Receiving System & TEMPEST related
CI (Crystal Impedance) Meters
Crystal Activity Meter
DC Gaussmeter Model 1
    AMY6 Magnetic Polarity Tester
    GE Gauss Meter & Reference Magnet
DDD Digitech Digital Data Signal Generator System
Dig2150A Digitech Serial Data Generator model 2150A
DMM Digital Multimeters
Eppley Standard Cells & Pyranometers
ESR-micro - ESR Tester & Coil ring tester
Exotech 100BX Radiometer - optical spectrum test
F600 Frederick Electronics 600A BER Tester
F91120 F91120 Field Radio BER Test Set
FCP Frequency Counter Patents
Frequency Standard, Audio (Anti Reverse Engineering design)
F.W. Bell 640 Incremental Gaussmeter -
GDO Millen 90651 Grid Dip Meter
GMQ-33 Cloud Height Set
GPend Onset G-Pendant, 3-axis accelerometer data logger.  also see the Hobo 4 external channel - data logging
GravityMeters Gravity Meters
GR 358 Wavemeter
GR650A General Radio GR 650-A & GR 1650B Impedance Bridges
GRsound General Radio Sound Measurement Instruments
GRM55 TS-1755A/GRM-55A for the PRC-25
Harris TS1000 ADSL Test Set
Harris TSP-21 Telephone Test Set Plus (like but set, but belt-clip & operators headset)
Helmholtz Coil
    Sensitive Research Instrument Co. Fluxmeter
    Annis M25 Pocket Magnetometer
    Cenco Scientific 79860 Dynamo Analysis Apparatus - works with Fluxmeter
Hilger & Watts Spectrometer D 168.3/290 - optical spectrum
Home Built Magnetometers
Honda Optimate 3+ Desulfating Battery Charger, Maintainer, Tester
HP 117A HP 117 WWBV time standard receiver
HP 204B Audio Oscillator from HP 3350 Carrier Test Set (AN/USM-181 Telephone Test Set
HP 241A Audio Oscillator w/Radio Buttons
HP 2748B High Speed Rack Mount Paper Tape Reader
HP33120 HP 33120 Function Generator
HP 3437A System Voltmeter
HP 3458A DVM (very accurate if it can be fixed)
HP 415E SWR Meter
HP 4260A Universal Bridge
HP 4261A LCR Meter
HP 427A Voltmeter AC & DC Volts & Ohms
HP 4274A & HP 4275A LCR Meters
HP 4328A Milliohmmeter
HP 4332 LCR Meter
HP 4395A Combination Network, Spectrum, Impedance Analyzer
HP 5004 Signature Analyzer
HP5060A HP 5060A Cesium Beam Frequency Standard
HP5100 5110A Synthesizer Driver & 5100A Frequency Synthesizer
HP 5110A Synthesizer Driver & 5100A Frequency Synthesizer
HP 5216 HP 5216A 12.5 MHz Nixie Tube Electronic Counter
HP 5342A Microwave Frequency Counter
HP 5345 Counter
HP 54501a HP 54501A Digital 100 MHz Oscilloscope
HP 59000 Family HP-IB Accessory Modules
HP 6038A Power Supply
HP 6200 Scanner Problem (was WIN98 Problem)
HP 66311A Mobil Communications DC Source
HP 71100C 2.9 GHz Spectrum Analyzer
HP721A HP721A Power Supply
HP8406 HP 8406A  Frequency Comb Generator
HP 8648A 100 kHz to 1 Ghz Signal Generator w/ pager option
HP 8702B Lightwave Component Analyzer - Electro Optical Network Analyzer - 8753A Network Analyzer
HP AC-4A Decade Counter module (4 tubes + Neon bulbs)
HP-IB Controllers
HP E1938 Ovenized Crystal Oscillator
HP E6450B GPS Drive Test Receiver
HP K79 Custom In House Diode Test Set K79 0981C
HP Z3805A Time & Frequency GPS Receiver
HT20 2000 mT Magnetic Flux Meter
Huntron Tracker In Circuit Component Tester
Inductors Inductors
James V-Meter V-Meter Mk I -measure concrete properties
Kelvin Connection Measurements
KGS Electronics SPC-6-1000-3PH 50/60Hz to 400Hz 3-Phase Frequency Changer - AC source
KS8455 KS8455L2 Line Loop Tester Telephone Installers & Repairman's Meter
KS-24361 (Lucent ) HP/Symmetricom Z3809A, Z3810A, Z3811A, Z3812A GPSDO System
Length & Weight Measurements - tools
LM631A Amprobe (Meterman) LM631A Digital Light Meter
Marconi TF-2700 Universal Bridge
MC1 MC-1 Magnetic Compass Calibration Set similar to AN/ASM-344
ME-165/G Standing Wave Ratio - Power Meter
ME61 ME-61/GRC Meter, Field Strength, H.F.
Megger - Holtzer-Cabot Meg Ohmmeter ZM-14A/PSM-2
MHC777P2 Maha C777 Plus II Battery Charger, Analyzer, Cycler
MHC9000 Maha MH-C9000 AA/AAA Charger, Analyzer, Discharger, Break-in, Cycler
Microwave Test Equipment - Network (Vector & Scalar), Power
Millen 90651 Grid Dip Oscillator (Meter)
MK2137 MK-2137/PRC-68 Maintenance Kit
ML-OSA Monolight Optical Spectrum Analyzer
                & Beseler PM1 Darkroom Color Analyzer
                & Wollensak L3524D Direct Vision Spectroscope
                & Ocean Optics HR2000 Spectrometer
Model NS-LB White Noise Generator
Noisecom 7110-FAC Programmable Noise Generator
NTgpsSTR2760 Northern Telecon GPS Satellite Sumulator STR2760
NSLB Model NS-LB Noise Generator
office_equip Instruments in my Office when I did this web page
PC based Oscilloscopes - Went with the Rigol box scope
PP2953 see PP-6224 Line Powered 24 Volt power supply
PP6224PwrSup PP-6224 24V Power Supply & Harris RF-5051-PS001
PP7286 PP-7286/U Battery Charger Time & Current
PP7601 PP-7601 6 Station Battery Charger Navy/Marine charger for PRC-68 family batteries
PP8249 PP-8249 SINCGARS Battery Charger, mainly for tanks, but I don't think it was ever used?
PP8444 PP-8444A/U Universal Portable Charger (UPC) small suitcase charger for BB-xx90
PP8496  PP-8496/U Self Discharge Device w/Capacity Meter
PP8498 PP-8498/U Soldier Portable Charger (SPC) Multi-Port Universal Battery Charger AC or DC input
PRC2577TstAdp PRC-25 & PRC-77 Test Adapter for POWER connector
PRM32 PRM-32 (TS-20) Test Set, Survival Radio
PRM34 TS-3951/PRM-34 VHF Low Band "God Box"
Probeye Hughes Probeye Infraed Thermal Viewer
PSA-45D Avcom PSA-45D Portable TVRO Spectrum Analyzer - looking at signals coming from the LNB
PSM13 PSM-13 Battery Test Set
PSPatent RF & Microwave Power Sensor Patents
PTR Phase Tracking Receivers
PTS 160 Frequency Synthesizer
Q Meters
RF204 Detector RFI,  RF-204 (not really bug detector, though might work)
Rigol DS1052E Oscilloscope
Seismometer - Seismometer & Geophone
SG-1144/U Signal Generator 50 kHz to 80 MHz
SG-886A/UR Interference (Noise & Tone) Generator
Shielding Integrity Monitoring System II RP98G & RP98D for screen-SKIFF rooms
SidekickTandN Tempo Sidekick T&N Telephone Line Tester
SOC Chemtronics LS 91 & LS 94 TS-4403/U & TS-4403A/U Battery State of Charge Meter LiSO₂ 7 to 9 AH
SR715 LCR Meter
Standard Electric Time Co. S-1-24 Timer (Stop Clock)
Subscriber Loop Analyzers
TandFTE Time & Frequency Test Equp:
    Gibbs Crystal Oscillator 
    Stanford Research SC10 Crystal Oscillator 
    Stanford Research PRS10 Disiplined Rubudium Oscillator 
    HP 53132A Counter 
    Frequency Standard 
    Stanford Research SR620 Counter 
    HP 33120A Function ARB Generator 
    HP 8648A Signal Generator 
    Stanford Research DG535 
    HP 54501 Scope
Tektronix 1502 Metallic Time Domain Reflectometer
Teledyne Avionics TA-3D Acoustic Impedance Meter
TelephoneToolKit  Telephone Tool Kit
Telephone Tone and Probe
Testing Small DC PM Motors, DC PM Motors, Flywheel
TF2700 Marconi TF-2700 Universal Bridge
TF_rack Time & Frequency Rack anotated photo
TMQ34 TMQ-34 Meteorological Measuring Set
Triton2 Charger Discharger Cycler
TS183 TS-183B/U Battery Tester & Large Table of Military Batteries
TS1775 TS-1775 Relay Test Set
TS1836 TS-1836 Transistor Test Set
TS23 TS-23 Light Output & Battery Tester for SDU-5/E Strobe Light
TS24B TS-24B survival Ratio Test Set
TS-2839/GY German Audio Test Set - H-3 & related audio connectors
TS3354 Squad Radio Test Set TS-3354
TS-3647/G, Control Orderwire Unit (COU), Telephone Test Set
TS4082PTPT100 TS-4082/URC PTPT-100 Test Set for the PT-25A, PT-25E, URC-100, URC-101, URC-104, URC-110, URC-111
TS585 TS-585 Audio Level Meter
TS799 TS-799/UGM-1 TTY Test Set (Pattern Generator)
URM106 Stoddart URM-6 Set, URM-106 Field Strength Meter 14 to 250 Kc
URM182A URM-182A TS-3754/U VHF Low Band Power Meter
USM-159A Hetrodyne Frequency Meter - transistorized version of the BC-221 (SCR-211) and LM series
USM481 USM-481 Test Set VINSON Interconnecting Boxs & Cables
Victor VC2000 Crystal & Frequency Meter
Walker Scientific MG-3D Gaussmeter
Wavemeter GR 358 Kit
Weston594Photronic Weston Model 594 Photronic Cell light sensor, & Weston 614 & Weston 615 Foot Candle Meters
Xam Crystal Activity Meter
Xec Crystal Unit Equivalent Circuit
Xtal Electronic Crystals
Xtal Impedance (CI) meters
Z Impedance Measurements
ZM-11/U Capactance-Inductance-Resistance Bridge, line powered
ZM-4 Bridge battery powered

Links

[an error occurred while processing this directive] page created 11 Nov. 2001.