DIY transformer/inductor tester 

IMPRESSIVE performance! Never tought it would see one shorted turn

I learn more in one of your videos that I've ever learned studying electronics in school... Great video as always.

Really useful device! I might have to make one some time. Some of the Atmel MCUs (including Atmeg 328) also have an internal comparator which would be more versatile than a regular input pin. You could use it to make the threshold selectable in software (combined with a simple PWM DAC).

I have make it. In these days I build my version...

Great video as always

Very interesting 👌

Definitely going to have to build one of these. I fix old TVs and related junk, finding shorted flybacks would be very useful.

Cant you calculate the inductance too by measuring the oscillation frequency? Then you can use the LC equation to determine the value of the inductance.

Resonance is beautiful :-) Very interesting device! You should finish the build "Professional RU-vid style" ... with HOT-GLUE!!! But I guess your cat would interfere and tell you to use proper screws ... :-)

Wonder how this varies from the “blue2“ Bob Parker ring flyback tester? Always love it when Danyk talks about test equipment. Especially DIY test gear

Very interesting. This is a revamped version of the old school analog flyback testers used in TV repair. Good explanation too.

Awesome work! I have never taught about that inductors and transformers can be tested for shorted turns that way

Amazing demonstration of designing, making, and explaining how the tester works.

Is it possible to teach some assembler with Atmel AVR? You have quite a few projects on your website, comments in the program are in CZ. I think if you do some series on these projects explaining your thought process in programming of the microcontrollers, we can learn a lot. There seem to be no good videos anywhere on the net, connecting assembler with electronics projects.

I've been watching your videos for long now, I like your voice and accent, it's so charming. Also, I want to be a engineer so watching your videos would definitely help me!

Will you please do video regarding to the conversion of TL 494 /KA 7500 powered half bridge SMPS to adjustable bench power supply with current control.

Absolutely fantastic little circuit, I will be making one this weekend :)

These days, it can also be vital to know the operating frequency range of an inductor i.e. is it iron dust or ferrite. Would it be sufficient to measure inductance at a range of frequencies - any thoughts ?

Is it possible to change the code to regular Arduino compatible instead of assembly? Currently I don’t have the atimy chip. Thanks for the video.

It is doubtful if this technique can detect a SHORT CIRCUIT between adjacent turns of a coils or a transformer IF all other turns are OK

i have the schematics saved from some channel were the guy made a simple circuit that could tell if there is a fault in the winding's of a motor coil. ill try and look up the link in my saved videos. IF ANY ONE CAN TELL ME IF YOU CAN POST A PICTURE UP ON YOUR PAGE I HAVE THE SCHEMATIC IF ANY ONE WANTS IT. (NOW THIS CIRCUIT IS ONLY FOR MOTOR COILS. NOT TRANSFORMERS LIKE WHAT DANNY IS BUILDING HERE) P.S. IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN THE CIRCUIT I WAS TALKING ABOUT SEND ME YOUR EMAIL ON ME PAGE, AND I WILL SEND YOU ON THE PICTURE OF THE SCHEMATIC.. IT'S A VERY EASY BUILD. EVEN SOMEONE NEW TO ELECTRONICS WOULD BUILD IT IN ABOUT AN HOUR.. I BUILT IT MYSELF AND ITS GOT ME OUT OF A HOLE, SO IT'S WORTH MAKING.

Something DIY after long time.😀 Great video with great explaining.

With projects like this, I like to download the C source code and re-write it in assembly language... but with your projects, you've already done all the good work. ;)

For cheap occasional use, I'd love to see this use just a PC and Arduino. PC's serial terminal can fast scroll the count.

What a fantastic informative video. I have to build one of these - soo handy!

Wow, that cat is always right! Indeed time for some insightgiving scopepictures! But what a great and superusefull idea, this circuit! And what supergreat to share your program with this circuit! Thank you só al lot, because it makes copying your superusefull device so much more faster and easier for me, for us! There is nothing to try to improve it because you showed us already all the things one could think of. Indeed ideal as it is, and this way i would be stupid to nót build it because i can use it just as good because i have to build my ideas with mostly "recovered" components! Wow i am still impressed by your generosity (if that's the right word (i'm dutch)) to let everyone make use of your knowledge!(i remember years ago i found the circuitdiagram from my broken pc-powersupply on your website, áll the circuitdiagrams to easy choose from which one must be the one i had Just opended. I was (and still am) só greatfull for that!).. And now you did think out this ideal and especially easy to build device that i can and thanks to you wíll use within a couple of days

ممكن اضيف ترجمة بالعربي

Inspiring video, as always. I wonder if this could be used to test windings of a motor. I have a few questionable ones and I'd like to to be able to prove they have a problem or they are OK. Any thoughts?

Great work and a nice and needful project. I searched my bins for parts.... I can use AT Tiny84 (24/44/84 are the same except memory) and a IRLZ34N with Vgs(th) 2.5V and above @ ~60mOhm. Breadboard Weekend 😃

I would love a video about mag amp post regulation on secondary rails of SMPS

Thanks for the project! I will try to build this, but I can't seem to find "LD-D036UR-C" display - any alternatives?

Hi! I'm here to tell you that the links to your website return 404 errors. Is it right? Oh, I see: it's not configured to route requests over HTTPS to the same website.

Steady on! Looks just like a bought one.

Nice device , also can use to find out the transformer self resonant frequency by connect to scope..

I certain would use the big display, probably catch more attention from an uninterested person when I'll show, like this: I coming with the project and the guy "what are those". XD

Nice scope. And cool idea/principle for measuring.

Made one...does not work as shown re-number of rings. Changing input 1/2 to 1/4 makes zero difference. Tried to contact author through here but apparently not open for discussion. ie...no reply.

Brilliant! Thank you for sharing this and teaching us.

Mr. diode sir… I know you’re a busy man… But I would be so happy if you made some more general troubleshooting videos. About fixing power supplies and common stuff like that. They help me so much and they are very interesting to watch! You are one of the best teachers!

I am recruiting an electromechanical engineer m / f with skills in prototyping, patenting, creation / test / production management and business resources mission 1: help me determine which projects are the most profitable to patent / to create daughter companies mission 2: help me migrate to Sweden, patent the start-up projects there and establish a few daughter companies there mission 3: help me establish a few daughter companies all over the place mission 4: help me in R&D to cycle in patenting => creation of a daughter company 3000.00 € per month to start then paid by shares in daughter companies for human qualities the doctrine to adopt and promote is 'to believe one must not know, the only good belief is "to believe in humanity", it is equity'

great educational clips just like always. Thank you soooo... much for sharing. You are amazing.

Nice project. Liked the build process being shown. Nice project. I think I will just make a jig with 555 to pulse the coil and use my scope to count rings manually. Great idea. THANX.

Why not build a ardutester which can measure basicly anything (Led,diode,zenner, capacitor capacity and esr,transistor,MOSFET, inductor,resister,) basicly anything u need

but i do it lazily , just by connecting led to secondary winding , and pulsing dc to primary winding to see roughly if T/F is shorted or not

त्रंसिस्टर कैपेसिटर😂

Very interesting. Thanks!

This is such a great idea. Previously I've tested coils by manually putting a charged capacitor across them and watching an oscilloscope. This would be so much easier, especially since I don't have a storage oscilloscope. Maybe I'll build a hybrid version which just pulses the MOSFET with a 555 to ring the coil and then hooks up to the oscilloscope.

Hmm,what about aliexpress... Now they than we need it 😆

Please 🙏 make a video on the diy inductance meter.

It was a very interesting Video ! Its a good Testdevice.

finally diode gone wild teaching on youtube using avr mcu 🔥

Thanks for this simple & efficient circuit.. 👌😀

Top content. Thank you for sharing with us.

23:35 new digi os sc

Excellent video. Thank you for all of the visuals!

Geez, im trying get used to this pajeet english but my ears still bleeding

26 people tried to measure their transformers in-circuit.

How can we upload the software to atmel attiny24a

11:38 Niiice red hot glowing resistor lead effect. :)

Dear friend, what language do you speak ?

16:43 "There is some power factor correction inductor from an active power factor correction". Excellent sentence to repeat few times before bedtime to keep boogeyman away.

Fantastic device. Is the IRLB8743 transistor mandatory, or it can be substituted with an equivalent ? I have a cheap Amazon MOSFET assorted kit box with IRFZ44N IRF510N IRF520N IRF530N IRF540N IRF640N IRF740 IRF840 IRF3205 IRF9540.

Traffic lights with car detection loops in the pavement work like this. The loop is an inductor and it rings many times when there is no car on the loop. A car or even a motorcycle effectively shorts the coil slightly and the ringing is damped. Like when Mr. Wild puts a shorted loop above the cooker coil.

piece of art!

Nice project and good explanation...

Fantastic great informative video

How to pogram upload this micro controller ic

Hello you can send me the programmed ic

Possible to use 74HCT164 (8-bit edge-triggered shift register) Instead of attiny? Please check and replye Im collecting componnets attending to assembel that

This is the most amazing video on your chanel. Using theory to make a useful device is great. I watch your video regularly and wait for your next video . Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.

dan. why attiny 24a? 6$ per one not including shipping? very expressive avr :-(

you are the best , thanks a lot

Yay!

I have a question though. Is the displayed number on the device shows the number of windings of the transformer or inductor?

If you made it more sensitive and count more rings, eg, 100, does it still drop to 1/0 when you add a shorted loop, ie, maybe it would be better with more counts. If it drops to 10 it probably wouldn't be worth it because it's the same ratio.

Awesome man, thanks heaps!

Wow! I see you have a digital Tektronix ! Good for you ! This video (the project) seems amazing to me. Definitely in the near future I will start doing this tester, because it is absolutely necessary for a somewhat advanced electronics technician. I had problems at work with medium and large SMPS transformers, and the owner of the company did not make the slightest effort to equip us with absolutely no device in this regard. He didn't want to invest in anything. A stingy man you rarely meet. Almost all my attempts, with or without success, I did with my own control equipment and my components brought from home. In the majority. Now that I'm free and I got rid of him, now with no plausible future, last week with all the dust and smoke "outside", I had the crazy courage to order a RIGOL DS1054Z, to take revenge on all the unfinished projects and ideas, and to resurrect all my dead devices which have been gathering lately. My old oscilloscope is (was) a 10 MHz - C1-94 - analog russian that I have repaired twice in the high voltage inverter of the cathode ray tube, and yet somehow he came up with the idea of ​​"piercing" itself in the mains transformer, on its own, which disgusted me completely to fix it. However, even in perfect condition, it is still morally obsolete and no longer worth it. So, this is a must have. 10Q with the ideea in another clip about the ESR tester. I made it ! ;) And to be naughty : Is there a B-H coil saturation tester ? :D

rhank you! interessting slang, but perfectly understandible ! and great video, my teacher since ...should be good as you! then i probatly would be better, than i am now in repairing things. best regards, long and healthy live ! Sorry for my poor english !

Fun fact: This type of circuit is used for inductive sensing in wireless water meter reading. Meters have a half-disk made of metal that spins as the water flows, and an inductor can sense it. E.g. TI devkit TIDM-3LC-METER-CONV and many more. However they use ceramic capacitors, which after a quick datasheet search on TME, have a shit dissipation factor, around 1% compared to 0,01% for PP capacitors. Kind of a bummer that PP caps come only in high voltage huge package versions.

Absolutely awesome tutorial......cheers.

Think you could possibly build a clone of the HP 547a current tracer ?? One of the most useful troubleshooting tools of all times that is so ridiculously over priced now… Most folks will never get the chance to try them.

really love this one!!😁

to musím mít :) Díky

Good work Thanks for sharing

I built the CD4015 + LM393 based ring tester designed by Bob Parker a few years earlier. It can count only to 8 (with an LED bar), but still very useful. I would build yours if I haven't built the other one previously. I am an absolute dummy in programmig, so I had to choose a software-free version.

Could you try to tear down a JBL speaker with "JBL connect"? I would really like to know how they achieve to daisy chain up to a 100 speakers.

I see a possible flaw on your schematic diagram: if you do not drive each segment of each 7-segment display at a time, those 560 ohm current-limiting resistors on the common line will make the brightness vary when an 1 or an 8 are displayed.

See -- it's craziness like this that makes learning electrical engineering so damn confusing (to me, at least). It's hard enough to keep track of which insulated wires are going where, what their voltages are, etc. etc. And of course the water flowing through the pipe makes sense as a useful analogy for all that. But these fields that are being generated, and shorted vs. unshorted wires which do not connect electrically to the object being tested...that's where that water flowing through the pipe analogy just goes to sh!t. In fact, I think I would go so far as to say that the analogy is making it more difficult for me to understand what the hell these fields are.

so good, mind blown simple

The one you refering "Chinese capacitor" are actually called Maylar Capacitor, it is common to the Asians, specially in the Philippines.

Hello I have dropped you an email asking if you are still supplying the programmed IC?

Although slightly more dependent on special equipment. This can also be tested by making a wheatstone bridge where 2 legs are resistors and one is a known good inductor or capacitor in parallel with a potentiometer. The device under test is the final leg. after balancing the bridge (excited with an AC voltage or current) the ratio of resistance to reactance is shown by the potentiometer and capacitor/inductor. While this requires an ac source and detector, that could be as easy as a mains transformer and voltmeter if component values are large. All other parts can typically be found from scrap.

A cheap LCR meter that displays Q or Rp will also show a lower number in the presence of a short. The skill is always knowing what the measurement means. Ceramic caps should never be used for anything measurement or timing related. These applications always use polymer devices.

Great project. I wonder if you could use analog pin and count the spikes manually. Or perhaps use some ARM chip and do FFT or at least try to estimate the exponential decay factor rather than counting the number of pulses

Very nice. I want to build this to compare to my Sencore LC75 ring tester.

because you know the number of rings, the amount of time they take and the capacitance you could also calculate the inductance.

Can we use this LC oscillations on scope measurement to measure the inductance of a coil?

genius! I love it!

I wonder if the tester actually, at least in some degree, shows the Q of an inductor. BTW great video :D

Maybe an inductance meter with display next time?