Bonus Report
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How To Build A Cheap, Simple And Yet A
Powerful Zener Diode Tester
For those who already own the Testing Electronic Components Ebook
you would have known the way on how to properly test a zener diode. By
using an analogue meter to place across a zener diode with appropriate
range setting you will know if the zener diode is good or bad. However
there are few problems arise when test on a zener diode. Problems like
missing coding (voltage rating) of a zener diode. How do we know
exactly what is the voltage of the zener diode? How do we test on an
intermittent problem in zener diode? Another question, how do we test on
a zener diode that can breakdown when under full load? The answer for
all these questions can be found with the help of a Zener diode tester.
Usually you can’t get any zener diode tester from the market and the only
choice you have is to build one for yourself. The zener diode tester is
cheap, versatile and very easy to build. All of the components used can be
easily obtained from any local electronic shops. Here are the parts that
you need:
1) LM317T IC
2) 220 ohm ¼ watt resistor
3) 1 Kilo Ohm 1/8 or ¼ watt resistor
4) LED with the holder
5) On/Off switch
6) 4 pieces of 1N4007 diode
7) 1000uf 50 VDC electrolytic capacitor
8) A 30 VDC analogue panel meter
9) A pair of Test probe
10) A 24 VAC Output linear transformer with the rating of 1 Ampere
11) 2 pieces of Grommets
12) A plastic Box (Casing)
13) Some wires
14) Power cable
15) Three pin plug
This zener diode tester can be used to test zener diode voltage rating from
2.4 Volt to 30 Volts. The LM317T IC is used to supply a definite amount
of current to the zener diode under test so that it would not damage the
component and the DC output from the power supply is about 32 Volts.
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Here are the photos of the project
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Here are the test results of different zener diode voltage rating:
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The advantages of the Zener diode tester are:
1) Part number missing or no part number printed on its body- By
using this meter, we could quickly identify the zener diode voltage as
shown in the photos below. If the zener diode is shorted/burnt we can’t
find out the value unless we have the equipment’s schematic diagram.
2) Avoid Confusion In Reading Zener Diode Part Number- Some
zener diode part number printed on its body could cause confusion to the
electronic repairers. I have email that asked me whether the zener diode
should read 8.2 Volt or 2.8 Volt. With the help of the tester, you can
easily know the exact voltage
2) Find out intermittent problem- All test have to be done off board or
one leg out from the circuit board. Carefully look at the scale
pointer/needle and if there is any erratic movement then we know that the
zener diode have intermittent problem.
3) Zener diode breakdown when under full load- Our normal
multimeter don’t have the capability to test zener diode that breakdown
when under full operating voltage. The maximum output voltage from
our analogue meter is only 12 Volt but this zener diode tester has output
voltage of about 32 Volt! If you have confirmed that a particular circuit
have problem and could not locate the bad component, I guess is the time
for you to use this tester and check on the zener diode voltage. A zener
diode that breakdown when under load will have two zero volt reading
(testing both ways with your probes) while for a good one the pointer will
points to the voltage of the zener diode like 18 volt, 22 volts and etc.
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4) Short circuit test- A shorted zener diode will registered zero volts
readings tested either way with the test probes.
5) Open circuit- If the pointer remains at the 30 Volts range, this could
indicate the zener diode has an open circuit or the zener diode under test
have voltage rating that is higher than 30 Volts. If the part number printed
on the body of zener diode is 18 Volts and the pointer still showing 30
Volts then we can assume that the zener diode under test have an open
circuit.
Note: Zener diode has tolerance and it can vary from 5 to 20%.
That’s why sometimes when you test on a good 15 Volt zener diode,
the result that you get could be in the 14.5 to 14.9 Volt range.
Here is the powerful part. Besides for the Zener Diode tester to test on
zener diode, this tester actually can be used to test on other components
as well. Below are the list and explanations of components that can be
tested with the Zener diode tester.
1) Battery Voltage-You can use it to test on any batteries whether it is a
dry cell or UPS battery. Place the red probe across the positive side of the
battery and the black probe to the negative and read from the scale. It can
test battery voltage from few volts up to 30 Volts.
2) Continuity Test- Yes, you can use this tester to check on a broken
cable, fuse, on/off switch, solenoid winding, relay coil and etc. If the
pointer moved to zero volts you know that the component is good.
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3) Voltage regulator- Suspect that a 5 volt voltage regulator IC have
problem? Don’t need to worry about buying an expensive power supply
to test out the voltage regulator. Just place the red probe to pin 1 and
black probe to pin 2 of the voltage regulator and check the output voltage
(pin 3) with your digital meter. It should read about 5 volts. You can test
the voltage regulator up to 24 Volt with this method.
4) Testing LED- Some LEDs that need 4 volts to run (like the Blue ESR
meter LED) can’t be tested with an analogue meter because the meter
can’t produce such a voltage under X 1 Ohm (max only 3 volts). Using
the zener diode tester solved the problem. Not only that, you can also use
it to test on the normal LEDs that need lesser volt to light up.
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5) Testing Diode- You will be amazed that this tester also can be use to
test diode, Schottky Diode and Bridge Rectifier. The good component
should show only one reading and if you get two zero volts reading
(testing both ways with your probes), then the diode is considered
shorted.
6) Testing Small Non Polarity Capacitor- Checking only the
capacitance value and the ESR of a small non polarity capacitor like the
.1 uf (typically the 50 volt rating) does not really guarantee they are good.
You need to perform the insulation test as well. Some of the small
capacitors could breakdown when under load and this Zener Diode tester
can do the job for you. The meter’s scale should not show any zero volt
reading when test on a small non polarity capacitor. If you get reading
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then the capacitor is considered breaking down when under load or it
already has short circuit internally.
Conclusion- If you are creative enough in fact you can use this tester to
test on other components (from your own R& D), install a digital panel
meter (for accuracy) instead of the analogue panel, use a smaller and a
better casing, modify the circuit to use batteries to power up the circuit
instead of from the Main AC and many more. There is no reason as why
you don’t want to build one for technical use and lastly the overall cost of
building this Zener diode tester was only between USD20.00 to
USD25.00.
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