Timothy Flath
Active Member
Possible dumb question - using the Chinese tester in post #6 above, do I need to continue pulling the transistors to measure it properly to determine if the transistor is faulty? I think I know the answer but looking for confirmation really - Pulling the transistors is what I have done in the past and it has worked marvels in identifying bad transistors on a few other projects I have done with great effectiveness. Also a great tool to ID what leads are B, C or E plus PNP or NPN I have found. I have done it this way because I have been concerned that measuring it installed on the board with the fine clamp probes would measure backward in the circuit and could give a false reading. I am not so concerned in the resultant numerical values as I am whether it tests good or bad. The Tester with three leads clamped onto the transistor will normally tell me which leads are the B, C and E leads among other numerical values or it will simply tell me if the component is faulty. I measured a couple Q's directly on the board yesterday and did get B,C and E info which would indicates to me that the transistors I tested in-situ are (probably) good despite the fact the values obtained are likely skewed by the fact it is reading other components in line/in the circuit. I am thinking the best confirmation though is to continue pulling the transistors off the board to be sure I am getting a good indication that the transistor is functional or not. Regardless I will be swapping out the known problematic Q devices as discussed in the thread above. Just wanted to conform my logic is somewhat sound. Thanks for any advice on this one...
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